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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Steering Committee - 01/21/2010 AGENDA SOUTH BURLINGTON STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 7:00 P.M. SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY HALL 575 DORSET STREET SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT 1. Approval of minutes of November 18, 2009 Steering Committee Meeting 2. Public Hearing on proposed City Program Budget for 2010-2011 3. Public Hearing on proposed School District Program Budget for 2010-2011 4. Other items to come before the Committee 5. Adjournment If you are interested in having an item placed on a future agenda, please contact the superintendent. Any person requiring special accommodations to attend this meeting should contact the superintendent's office at 652-7252 at least 72 hours before the meeting. STEERING COMMITTEE 18 NOVEMBER 2009 The South Burlington.Steering Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 18 November 2009, at 6:00 p.m., at the Tuttle Middle School, Dorset Street. Members Present: School Board: A. Clift, Steering Committee Chair; E. Fitzgerald, J. Allo, J. Everitt, Superintendent of Schools; City Council: J. Knapp, M. Emery, S Dooley, C. Hafter, City Manager Also Present: P. Conner, Director of Planning &Zoning, D. Young, Assistant Superintendent of Schools 1. Minutes of 21 September 2009: • Mr. Rafter moved to approve the Minutes of 21 September 2009 as written. Ms Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Brief City Update: A. Police Station: Mr. Hafter distributed a current floor plan design for the Police Station on Gregory Drive. He noted that the City has signed the Purchase/Sales Agreement. The facility will be approximately 26,000 sq. ft.,most of which will be on the first floor. Lockers and a small exercise room will be on the second floor. The city hopes to lease space on the second floor to help pay for the bond. Renovation work has begun, and it is hoped the Police can move in next April or May. Mr. Hafter noted that a lot of the specialized items are coming in under the original estimate. Ms. Fitzgerald asked if the Police facility near the school will still be used. Mr. Hafter said it won't be used by the city. Mr. Young said it was good to have the Police presence there,but since there are officers in the school, it is not a concern to have them leave that facility. B. Airport Parkway Sewer Project: The project has gone to bid and the contract was awarded to Pizzagalli. They will break ground in the spring. The Town of Colchester will pay about half of the upgrade costs. The upgrade will expand treatment by 650,000 gallons per day. There will also be a co- generation element to the project which will allow for the re-use of energy. C. Tilley Drive: Mr. Hafter distributed a copy of the plan for the extension of the Rec Path system. The path will connect the end of a dead end street to Community Drive in Technology Park. STEERING COMMITTEE 18 NOVEMBER 2009 PAGE 2 The City received an 80% grand for this work which will go under construction in the spring. D. Storm Water Projects: Mr. Halter noted that the city received 4 federal grants for storm water facilities upgrades; Half of the work will be paid for from these grants,the other half from residents of the areas involved. One project has been completed, 2 others are substantially complete, and the 4th project is awaiting an agreement with a neighboring property. Mr.Haller said these projects will result in improvements to the quality of creeks in South Burlington. E. Mid-Block Crossings: The City received 100% grants to make mid-block crossings safer. LED lights will be used at these crosswalks to alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians. These have been used very successfully in the west. Installation will begin in the spring. The City also received a grant to upgrade San Remo Drive. This will be done in the spring as well. F. City Charter Changes: The City Charter Committee met yesterday to discuss changes necessitated by the public vote on the city/school budgets and Australian ballot issues. There is a proposal to reduce the number of days the budget goes to the Steering Committee before the vote from 60 to 45. Budgets would be mailed to votersl0 days before the public hearing(no change) and 20 days before the vote(reduced from 50 days). The public hearing would be 10 days before the vote instead of 40. This will also move budget meetings outside of the holiday season so more people can attend. In the second issue, the City Charter currently requires all votes to be by Australian ballot. This year,the city received some"time sensitive" federal grants that could not be warned for Australian ballot due to time deadlines. Voting was held at a City Council meeting and then affirmed by Australian ballot at a later date. The City Charter Committee is working on language to address this situation. STEERING COMMITTEE 18 NOVEMBER 2009 PAGE 3 3. "Cars to People": Mr. Conner said the goal of this initiative is to make South Burlington a more pedestrian and bike friendly city. He noted that last fall the City received a grant from the MPO to look into zoning along corridors in order to encourage people to walk and bike in those areas. Mr. Conner noted this relates to the"Safe Routes to School" initiative in which all South Burlington schools are involved. This is a 2-part program: first getting people to think about these possibilities and second to consider what infrastructure can be put in place to make it happen. Ms. Clift asked if there are plans to make it easier to cross Williston Rd. Mr. Conner said that is at the top of the list. He noted that a project has been identified for White Street/ Williston Road as part of the City Center project. Ms. Dooley felt reducing the speed limit is critical. Mr. Hafter noted that the#1 priority for CCTA is a bus directly up Williston Rd. to the Town of Williston which will run every 15 minutes. Mr. Conner noted the only stop off Williston Rd. would be at Umall. 4. Community Outreach on Policy Governance: Ms. Clift said the School Board is trying to reach out to the community to be responsive to needs and interests. A community forum was held last week which focused on what people expect high school students to be able to do when the leave the system. Supt. Everitt said the Board is considering some election day surveying as well. Mr. Hafter said they should check with the State on rules for this. Ms. Fitzgerald asked about demographic number, e.g., the number of families with children in the school system, etc. Mr. Hafter said there are Health Department estimates,but these should be more accurate after the 2010 census. 5. Brief Discussion on Proposed Shift of School Teacher Retirement to Local Property Tax: Superintendent Everitt reviewed the history of this. He noted that it is being considered by a Legislative committee. Issues they are considering include health benefits, contributions by teachers, etc. The significant issue is where funding will come from, and there is talk of moving it to a property tax base. This could result in a"teacher retirement"line item or a surcharge on the state property tax. STEERING COMMITTEE 18 NOVEMBER 2009 PAGE 4 Mr. Hafter commented that this doesn't seem to be a savings,just a shift. Supt. Everitt said the State Treasurer has said something must be done and the Governor agrees. Mr. Hafter noted that the City's contribution to the retirement fund is about $1,400,000 a year. He felt the School District was looking at a lot more. 6. Other Business: Mr. Hafter noted the City has completed the first draft of the 2010-11 budget. There will be no tax increase on the general operating budget (the city will use funds from the 1 cent local option sales tax to offset the increase). The only increase taxpayers will see is from the Police Station bond they approved. As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Clerk WARNING CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON ANNUAL CITY MEETING MARCH 2 , 2010 The legal voters of the City of South Burlington are hereby notified and warned to meet at their respective polling places at the Chamberlin School on White Street, the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School on Dorset Street and the Orchard School on Baldwin Avenue on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 7 o ' clock in the forenoon, at which time the polls will open until 7 o ' clock in the afternoon, at which time the polls will close, to vote by Australian Ballot on the following Articles : ARTICLE I ELECTION OF OFFICERS To elect all City officers required by law. ARTICLE II APPROVAL OF CITY BUDGET Shall the City adopt the City Council ' s proposed budget for FY 2010-2011 totaling $22, 151, 098 of which it is estimated $9, 802, 828 will be raised by local property taxes? ARTICLE III MODIFICATION OF USE OF ANNUAL CONSERVATION TAX LEVY Shall the voters authorize expenditure, on an annual basis, of not more than five percent (5%) of the existing annual tax levy for the Conservation Fund approved by the voters at the Annual City Meeting on May 16, 2000, to pay for maintenance of City-owned open space in South Burlington and conduct of conservation activities on such property? ARTICLE IV APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS FOR REPAIR of CITY STREETS Shall the voters fund a portion of the cost of repaving and repairing City streets in FY 2011 with $130, 000 of City Rooms and Meals Tax revenues and $80, 000 of fees previously collected from persons who performed private work within the limits of City streets? ARTICLE V PROPOSED CITY CHARTER AMENDMENTS Shall the voters amend the following sections of the City Charter: Subchapter 1 . Power of the City § 110 . Annual city report Subchapter 5 . City Meetings § 503 . Special city and school district meetings Subchapter 13 . Budget §1302 . Preparation and submission §1303 . City and school district annual meeting warning and budget The complete text of the proposed amendments is available for review on the City' s Web Site, www. sburl . com, and at the City Offices at 575 Dorset Street during normal business hours . POLLING PLACES ARE THE CHAMBERLIN SCHOOL ON WHITE STREET, THE FREDERICK H. TUTTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL ON DORSET STREET AND THE ORCHARD SCHOOL ON BALDWIN AVENUE. VOTERS ARE TO GO TO THE POLLING PLACE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DISTRICT Dated at South Burlington, Vermont, this day of January, 2010 . Mark L. Boucher, Chair Sandra Dooley, Vice Chair • Y proposed budgets. (c) The Council shall fix the time and place for holding a public hearing ea the hadgeto €ems-the-ei y _nd the ,.,.,�oo district, and shall give notice of the hearing at least 10 days pr-i-e-r—ther-e-t-e—iff-a-newspaper of general circulation in the city or by electronic moans. The h aring shall be held not less than 40 days nor more than-60 dates- a to tie-mate- of t al nd e4ee- d-0sfri_t _tin,., The council shall warn then review the city budget and approve it for submission to the voters not less than 30 days before the annual city meeting, with or without change, and in the same manner the board of school directors shall warn review its budget and approve it for submission to the voters, with or without change. § 13-1303. City and school district annual meeting warning and budget The proposed budgets of the city and school district shall be distributed made available to the legal voters of the city and school district at least 49 20 days before the annual city and school district meeting public hearing on the budgets. Not more than forty (40) nor less than thirty (30) days prior to The warnings for the annual city and school district meeting, notice shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation within the city informing voters of the date of a public hearing on the budgets and availability of the warnings for the annual city and school district meetings, the proposed city and school district budgets and the city and school district annual reportsy or by electronic means, at least 10 days before the date of the annual meetings and the proposed budgets for the city and school district shall likewise be published. The council and the board of school directors shall hold a public hearing on their respective budgets not more than 10 days before the annual city and school district meetings. 2 Proposed Charter Amendments: § 503. Special city and school district meetings Special city meetings, and special school district meetings, shall be called in the manner provided by the laws of the state, and, the voting on all questions shall be by the Australian ballot system; unless: (a) The council or board of school directors determine that action on a specific matter may not be delayed for consolidation with an Australian ballot vote on other matters because of unanticipated circumstances; and (b) an Australian ballot vote is not required on the matter under general laws of the State of Vermont or the United States; and (c) the council or board of school directors waf' the matter to be voted from the floor at a meeting of City voters. § 13-110. Annual city report The annual city and school district reports shall be made available end noticed to the legal voters of the city and school district at thc earliest time following the fiscal year, but not later than twenty (20) days prior to the annual city and school district meeting March 1. § 13-1302. Preparation and submission (a) The city manager and superintendent of schools shall prepare the budgets for the city and school district, respectively, and submit same to the council and board of school directors at such time as required by said boards. The budgets shall contain: (b) The council and the board of school directors shall cause copies of the proposed budgets to be delivered to each member of the steering committee forthwith after the final preparation of said budgets, but not less than 49 45 days prior to the date of the annual city and school district meeting. The steering committee may hold a meeting for the review of such budgets, giving notice of the meeting as required in Section 1102 and thc South Burlington school district,,No less than h5 35 days prior to the annual city and school district meeting, the steering committee may submit to the council and the board of school directors its report and recommendations concerning the 1 Meaghan Emery James Knapp, Clerk Frank Murray Received and Recorded this day of , 2010 . Donna Kinville, City Clerk Son09-014 Warning -Annual Mtg.for Steven Stitzel, 11:02 AM 12/18/2009, Charter Adoption Schedule Page 1 of 1 X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at sburl.com X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TN EF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: Charter Adoption Schedule Thread-Index: Acp/+5Ak516A4EHhTMGIAiEaeFzsyA== From: Steven Stitzel <SStitzel@firmspf.com> To: Charles Hafter <chafter@sburl.com> Subject: Charter Adoption Schedule Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:02:56 -0500 X-Assembled-By: XWall v3.44 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 18 Dec 2009 15:55:14.0281 (UTC) FILETIME=[7C9EBD90:01 CA7FFA] X-Antivirus: AVG for E-mail 9.0.717 [270.14.113/2573] Below is a schedule of"no later than" dates for action on the City Charter amendments. December 29th Latest day to post public hearing notice for hearing on January 29th January 19th-29th Post Warning for Annual City Meeting January 29th Latest day to hold first public hearing February 9th Potential day for second public hearing February 10th Latest day to modify charter changes March 2nd Annual City Meeting Steven F. Stitzel, Esq. Stitzel, Page& Fletcher. P.0 171 Battery Street P.O. Box 1507 Burlington,VT 05402-1507 Telephone: (802)660-2555 Fax: (802)660-2552 www.firmspf.com This Electronic Mail transmission and any accompanying documents contain information belonging to the sender which are CONFIDENTIAL and legally PRIVILEGED. This information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom this transmission was addressed, as indicated above. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or action taken in reliance on the contents of the information in this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please reply to the sender at 802-660-2555 or the above address and delete this message and all attachments from your storage files. Thank you. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG -www.avg.com Version: 9.0.717 /Virus Database: 270.14.113/2573 - Release Date: 12/18/09 02:35:00 Arintarl fnr(`harlac Tdaftar<-"ohaftarrnlcl»>r1 1 /1 d/lnl 11