HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - City Council - 03/09/2009 •
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Charles E. Hefter, City Manager
AGENDA
SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL
CITY }BILL
575 DORSET STREET
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING 7:00 P.M. Monday, March 9, 2009
1) Administer oath of office (Donna Kinville, City Clerk)
2) Election of City Council officers(City Manager presiding)
a) Chair
b) Vice Chair
c) Clerk
3) Set time and place for regular meeting; First and Third Monday of each month.
* 4) Annual appointments to be made by majority vote of City Council pursuant to
City Charter, Chapter 3, Section 301 (2)
5) Consider entering executive session to discuss real property acquisition.
6) Adjourn
Respectfully Submitted:
Th
Charles a er, City Manager
* Attachments
575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4107 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com
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Charles E. Hatter, City Manager
March 5,2009
Chairman and City Council
City of South Burlington
South Burlington, VT 05403
RE: Annual appointments to be made by majority vote of City Council pursuant to City
Charter, Chapter 3, Section 301(2)
To All Members:
Attached is a copy of the City Charter, Chapter 3, Section 302 (2) that requires the following
appointments be made annually by City Council:
Position Incumbent
City Treasurer Donna Kinville
Asst. City Treasurer Denis Gravelin
City Attorney Stitzel & Page
Zoning Administrator Ray Belair
Assistant Zoning Administrator Cathyann LaRose
Auditor Angolano & Company
First Constable Sgt. Paul Edwards
Second Constable Det. Andrew Chaulk
Grand Juror Charles Hafter
City Agent & Trustee of Public Funds Charles Hafter
All the incumbents are willing to serve another year.
Please make appointments as required by City Charter.
Sincerely,
Charles Hafter
City Manager
ccappts.2008
575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4107 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com
A 1
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necessary to carry out the provisions of this charter as well as
those provided by law. The offices of fence viewer, fire warden,
weigher of coal and inspector of lumber shall be abolished.
( 1 ) The officers of the South Burlington School District
shall continue to be those provided by law for school or school
districts; provided, however, that the school directors shall
hold no other school district or city office except as provided
otherwise in this charter. When a vacancy occurs on the Board of
School Directors, the remaining members of the board may fill the
vacancy until the next annual meeting when the School District
shall fill the vacancy.
(2 ) The council by majority vote of all its members shall
appoint annually the city treasurer, whose office shall be no
longer elective and the city attorney, zoning administrator,
auditor, first and second constable, grand juror, city agent, and
Trustee of Public Funds .
(3) The term of office of the City Clerk shall be three
years, the first term to expire in 1975 .
Sec. 320 . CITY COUNCIL - NUMBER, TERMS OF OFFICE, ELECTION
(a) There shall be a City Council consisting five (5)
members .
(b) Three members shall have terms of office of three
years; two members shall have terms of office of two years .
(c) All present selectmen shall serve as councilmen until
the expiration of their terms and their successors have been duly
elected and have qualified.
(d) All councilmen shall be elected at large, and shall
hold no other city or school district office except as provided
otherwise in this charter.
Sec. 303 . ORGANIZATION
(a) Forthwith after their election and qualification, the
council shall organize and elect a chairman, a vice-chairman and
a clerk by a majority vote of the entire council and file a
certificate of such election for record in the office of the city
clerk.
(b) The chairman of the council or in his absence, 'the
vice-chairman shall preside at all meetings of the council and
shall be recognized as the head of the city government for all
ceremonial purposes .
6
FRANCIS X. MURRAY
Attorney and Counselor At Law
Two Bedford Green, South Burlington,VT 05403 Office:802-862-3174 Fax:802-862-2937 Email:vtlaw@aol.com
March 6, 2009
Mr. Chuck Hafter
Manager, City of South Burlington
575 Dorset Street
So. Burlington, VT 05403
Dear Chuck:
Thank you for your time on February 9, 2009 and for your respect to me during our meetings in
November and December. I look forward to working with you. I have a great deal of respect for
your integrity and expertise. The Council will need all of your ability to be successful.
Enclosed is a draft resolution for Monday evening's meeting. I have forwarded copies to my
fellow councilors for their consideration in advance of our meeting.
Gratefully yours,
Francis X. Murray, Esq.
Councilor Elect
enclosure
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_ _ _ _ __ _ _
a a •
City Council Resolution regarding need for Expanded Space
for City Services
Whereas, the Police Department of the City of South Burlington is the best in Chittenden
County, as well as one of the best in the nation;
Whereas, South Burlington desperately needs professional working space for its Police
Department, and has needed such space for quite sometime;
Whereas, on two recent occasions [May 2006 and November 2008] the City sought, but
failed, to secure taxpayer approval of different plans for additional police space;
Whereas, the City recently sought and received offers from City property owners to sell
their property to the City for the location of a new police facility;
Whereas, the City already owns property where existing services by police, fire and city
hall are centrally located and unified; and said property could potentially be used for
needed construction and/or expansion of said services at a potential saving in cost to
taxpayers;
Now therefore be it resolved that South Burlington's City Council directs its Manager to
solicit RFP's from architectural firms, especially local firms with a working knowledge
of the City, to work closely with the City Council, the Community and City Employees to
assess and develop reasonable facility options to accommodate space needs for expanded
municipal facilities for the community of South Burlington;
Be it further resolved that the City Manager of South Burlington prepare said RFP in a
reasonable expeditious manner and submit a draft of said RFP to the City Council for its
approval;
Be it further resolved that as part of the assessment described in two paragraphs above,
the Council and its Architect shall review all previous studies, options and plans for said
facilities heretofore developed for South Burlington;
Be it further resolved that as part of the assessment described in the preceding
paragraphs, the Council, Community, City Employees and the City's Architect shall
assess community property already owned by the South Burlington taxpayers as well as
property recently offered to the City for purchase, and develop a comprehensive,
reasonable and pragmatic plan for the development of reasonably needed community
facilities for presentment to taxpayers for their decision;
Be it finally resolved that the Council, as part of its endeavor described above, shall
utilize subsections (8) (a) and (b) of section 310 of the City's Charter, which were added
by voters at Tuesday's election, by convening public meetings throughout South
Burlington for the purpose of increasing transparency for the above described process and
securing critical, essential public input.
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south :
Charles E. Hefter, City Manager
Memorandum
March 5, 2009
EXECUTIVE SESSION
To: Chair and City Council
From: Chuck Hafter, City Manager q)
Subject: Executive Session items
Please be prepared to discuss:
1. Property Acquisitions: The City is actively involved with the purchase of three
separate parcels at this time. I want to bring Council up to date on where negotiations
stand. For the benefit of new members I will briefly summarize what has been very long
processes on two of the parcels:
• Leduc Farm: This project has moved forward very nicely and Alex Wiley of the
Vermont Land Trust will be present to discuss the status with you. She will ask
you for a letter of intent, so the VLT can request additional funding from the
Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
This project is a joint effort of South Burlington, Shelburne, the VLT, and at least
one private foundation. The Leducs own several large parcels in South
Burlington and Shelburne (see map). The South Burlington two parcels total
about 84 acres. This acreage has long been identified as very desirable for green
space, and to help conserve a"green corridor" from Dorset Park to Shelburne
Pond. The Leducs have carved out several homesteads for their family, but are
willing to sell the remainder, at market value. The parties have put together an
agreement whereby the VLT and a private foundation will hold the "risk" in the
project by purchasing the development rights on the property for resale in the
South East Quadrant. Shelburne and South Burlington will contribute cash to the
project; our share is $500,000 which Councilor Boucher has negotiated down
from an original request in excess of$1.2 million.
575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4107 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com
The conserved land will be held by the VLT and resold to a working agricultural
project. The City will retain an easement to build a recreation path on the
property. Currently VLT is working with a South Burlington group, called
Common Roots, which is attempting to raise $250,000 to purchase the property
for use as a project of the community and school system. The thought is that the
school system can use agriculture as another avenue to reach at-risk students. The
VLT will require that agriculture be the only use on the property in perpetuity.
• Marceau Meadows: Due to a great deal of dysfunction on the part of the Marceau
family, and only slightly less dysfunction on the part of a former city planner, this
has been a project that makes great sense to all parties, but cant seem to get done.
The work to complete the project has been on-going for at least three years.
In the 1990's, Ms. Marceau sold half of the family property on Hinesburg Road
just south of Butler Farms to John Larkin for a housing development. In addition,
the Marceaus sold the development rights from 34+- acres of the other half of
their property to Mr. Larkin. The Marceaus retained development rights on an
additional 10 acres fronting Hinesburg Road (containing the family home and an
apple orchard). The remaining parcel was subdivided into two lots. Lot A is the
front 10 acres and Lot B is the rear 34 acres with no underlying development
potential. (See map).
In addition to selling the development rights to Larkin, in a process known as
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), the Marceau's made two other side
agreements with Larkin. First, they gave (sold?) Larkin a Right of First Refusal
(ROFR) on the rear lot B. They also gave Mr. Larkin the right to refuse any
future development on Lot B if in his sole opinion such development was a threat
to his ability to build and sell houses in his future development.
The Marceau family did not all agree to the purchase by Larkin and the parents
eventually divorced and the family split over the transaction. The remaining
property went to Dr. Marceau who has assigned his affairs over to daughter
Marcy and her partner Alex Bird.
Why does the City want this property? The City's interest is in the rear 34 acres
(Lot B)which are the most appropriate location in the SEQ for recreation fields.
The land is also almost completely flat, especially compared to any other large
undeveloped parcel in the area. Tom Hubbard, recreation director, loves this
parcel. The City will buy the whole parcel if necessary.
Several years ago, the City Planner Juli Hinds, made an offer to the Marceau
family to purchase Lot A for $1 million and Lot B for $660,000. She had no
authority to do so from either the Council or myself. The Marceau's accepted this
offer of$1.66 million and Ms. Hinds brought it to City Council in executive
session last year. The Council, rightfully, asked that the parcels be appraised by a
professional before making any offer. Ms. Hinds took exception to this for
several reasons, and her reaction is one reason she decided to leave City
employment.
The appraisal came back at $155,000 for the rear 34 acres (with no development
rights) and $675,000 for the front ten acres for a total of$830,000. The
Marceau's were indignant that they thought they had a deal at the much higher
number. Eventually, with the assistance of broker Tony Blake, the Marceau's
began to realize that they were not going to sell that property for anywhere near
the original asking price. Marcy and Alex continue to feel strongly that the City
did not treat them fairly by not proceeding with the purchase at $1.6 million.
To make a long story shorter—in January I visited the Marceau's in their home in
Sharon, Vermont and negotiated a sale price of$850,000 for the entire 44 acres.
We issued a purchase and sale agreement, and a deposit check for $50,000 to the
Marceau's. However, the agreement was only to go into effect if the Marceau's
could get Mr. Larkin to relinquish the ROFR and get his written agreement that
the use of the property for recreation fields by the City would constitute an
acceptable use by Mr. Larkin.
Marcy Marceau/Alex Bird and John Larkin do not get on (this is an
understatement) and we have been put in the middle of their negotiations. Mr.
Larkin wants certain concessions from the City to give his "use" consent, but I
feel these can be worked out. However, he also wants $200,000 from Marceau to
release his ROFR. The Marceaus will not go over $75,000. (In addition, the
Marceaus want the City to do their negotiations with John Larkin for them). I
have instructed Steve Stitzel not to continue any work until the Marceaus and
Larkin reach a deal, if ever.
Meanwhile, despite a purchase and sales agreement, and taking our $50,000
deposit check, the Marceaus have put the entire property up for auction on March
27, 2009. We have requested our check back since we just discovered that Marcy
Marceau never signed the purchase and sale agreement. Talks are dead, as far as I
am concerned.
I want to discuss if the City wants to make a separate arrangement with John
Larkin, who has no objections to a park next to his development, to bid on the
City's behalf at the auction. I do not know the floor price for the property. I have
a silent partner going to the open house on the property this afternoon, and I hope
to get that information. We may be able to get the property or even only the rear
acreage at a much reduced price.
I apologize to being so wordy, but this has been an incredible process.
• Goodrich: Mark Goodrich has control of 22 non-developable acres adjoining
Muddy Brook in the SEQ (see map). The 22 acre parcel adjoins an additional
larger 32 acre parcel previously purchased by the Airport to provide off-site
mitigation for their proposed development at the southern end of the Airport.
This parcel has been appraised by the owner at $100,000. Why would we want
this land if it is not developable anyway? The answer is that the 22 acres will
have enough assimilative capacity to provide 100% of the necessary off-site
mitigation for the entire City Center project. This would provide a long-term
solution to a difficult problem at a very reasonable cost and would permanently
protect 22 acres of property along Muddy Brook. The information on this
potential purchase is new to all Council members.
How can the City afford these purchases? The City collects a 1 cent property tax as
part of the total city tax rate that is dedicated to the purchase of open space or land for
recreation purposes. It is expected that the balance of open space accounts on June
30. 2009 will be approx. $550,000. The City can also issue a tax-anticipation note,
and use the future tax collections from the 1 cent tax to guarantee the note for any
remainder above our current collections. No additional property taxes should be
necessary and no long-term bonding.
Police Station: Mike Simeneau, Chief Whipple and I are prepared to review in detail
the proposals submitted for location of the Police Station. We are putting a
presentation together, but may not have all the elements in place until Monday
evening. I have invited Police Chief Whipple and Union President Ron Bliss into the
executive session.
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City of South Burlington
Meeting Time/Date: Traditional 1st and 3rd Mondays; 7:00 pm
List of City Council Meeting Dates FY 2009/10
1st 2nd
Meeting Meeting
March '09 2 16
April 6 20 (*)
May 4 18
June 1 15
July - 20
August 18 Tuesday(Bennington Battle Day) -
September 8 Tuesday(Labor day) 21
October 5 19
November 9 23
December 7 21
January '10 4 19 Tuesday(Martin Luther King)
February 1 16 Tuesday(President's day)
March 1 (*) 15
(*) School vacations: Winter Recess - February 22-March 2
Spring Break-April 20-24
3/6/2009