Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/04/1969BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING AUGUST 4, 1969 The South Burlington Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting in the Library of the Middle School, Dorset Street, South Burlington, Vermont, on Monday, August 4, 1969, at 7:00 P.M. Mr. Behney, Chairman, called the meeting to order. MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman Charles H. Behney, Vincent J. D'Acuti, Walter Nardelli, Gregory L. Premo, and Raymond E. Stearss. MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHERS PRESENT George Silver, Town Assessor; William J. Szymanski, Town Engineer; Richard Ward, Town Code Officer; Roger LeCours, Free Press Reporter; James Alexander, Personal Property Tax Assessor; Charlotte Marsh, John R. Gingras, Paul R. Graves, Attorney; Jane Brennan and Jean Hildick from the League of Women Voters and Frederick Blais, representing the JayCees. READING OF THE MINUTES OF JULY 21 and JULY 30, 1969 MEETINGS On a motion made by Mr. D'Acuti and seconded by Walter Nardelli, the minutes of the meetings of July 21 and 30, 1969, were accepted as read. JAMES ALEXANDER, PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX APPRAISER Mr. James Alexander, Vermont State Personal Property appraiser, appeared before the Board and explained that he had devised a very successful method of appraising personal property taxes. He said his experience has been that many towns are losing substantial sums of money because this phase of the tax system has been neglected. JAMES ALEXANDER, PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISER, CONTINUED After a general discussion Mr. Alexander said he thought he could start working in South Burlington around the first of October if he was hired. He said the proper procedure, according to state statutes, to obtain his services was to have the Board of Lister's request, in writing, the Selectmen for expert assistance in this project. The Board would then contract with the state, who in turn would contract with Mr. Alexander to work in South Burlington at a cost to the town of $200 a week. No length of time for the appraisal of the personal property was mentioned, although Mr. Alexander said he could stay on till the job was completed. The Board unanimously agreed that Mr. Silver should contact the Board of Listers for their cooperation in requesting the expert help from the Selectmen, after which the Board would contract with the state for this service. Mr. Behney thanked Mr. Alexander for appearing before the Board for discussion. NAMING AND DEDICATION OF THE RECREATION PARK ON PATCHEN ROAD Mr. Frederick Blais reviewed the steps and financial aspects of the acquisition of the O'Brien property on Patchen Road for recreation and civic purposes, and recommended that the building on the property be named the 'O'Brien Memorial Civic Center' and the park be named 'The JayCee Community Park' In discussing a desirable date for the dedication ceremonies Mr. Blais said the Town Manager's recommendation was to have the dedication in mid- September or later. NAMING AND DEDICATION OF THE RECREATION PARK, CONTINUED The Selectmen unanimously agreed that Mr. Blais should confer with Mrs. Mabel O'Brien and ask her if she wanted any change in the wording of the name of the Civic Center, and also to determine what talent he could book for the dedication ceremonies, and set the date of the dedication for that time. The Board expressed their thanks to Mr. Blais, Project Chairman for the JayCees, for the Club's efforts in behalf of the town. TOWN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE JOINT MEETING WITH SELECTMEN Mr. Blais asked if the Town Government Committee could meet with the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of presenting the recommendations that have resulted from its study of different municipal government methods. It was decided to meet with that committee on the fourth Monday in September and to make every effort to have that item the only one on the agenda. Mr. Blais said that Monday, September 22, 1969, at 7:00 P.M. at the Middle School, was a convenient time for this joint meeting. JOHN H. GINGRAS - USE VARIANCE APPEAL - SWIFT STREET Paul R. Graves, Attorney, spoke for Mr. Gingras, noting that the Zoning Board of Adjustment had approved a Use Variance that would enable Mr. Gingras to operate a body shop on Swift Street. He felt that the business was not out of line with other endeavors, specifically automobile dealers who occasionally did body work on the premises. The Board explained to Mr. Graves and Mr. Gingras that the Town Attorney's review had disclosed that the Zoning Board had acted in error, the approval was not legal, and in fact was a direct violation of the South Burlington Zoning Ordinance. The Board unanimously voted that the approval could not be sanctioned. REPORT ON QUEEN CITY PARK WATER POLLUTION PROBLEM Chairman Behney said he had asked Town Engineer Szymanski for a report on the Queen City Park water pollution problem. He read from the report which stated the reason for the pollution was because of the effluent from septic tanks which was flowing into the lake waters. The only way to stop the pollution was to expedite the sewer project in the area, and stop this flow. Mr. Szymanski said that the present sewer project plans do not service three permanent homes and the cottages at Red Rocks, and that it would cost approximately $20,000 to construct a pumping station to service these properties. A copy of Mr. Szymanski's report is filed with these minutes. The Board was agreed that the pumping station should be incorporated in the plans, and instructed Mr. Szymanski to work out the details and cost of adding the pumping station to the system. BENOIT COMPLAINT - DAVIS PARKWAY - SEWER USE CHARGE Chairman Behney read a letter of complaint about the sewer use charge received from Mr. E. L. Benoit of 66 Davis Parkway, who felt he should not have been charged for the first quarter that he was connected to the system. Mr. Szymanski explained the policy of the billing department in this regard, saying Mr. Benoit was treated exactly like the other residents in town. BENOIT COMPLAINT, CONTINUED On a motion made by Mr. Nardelli and seconded by Mr. Premo, the vote was unanimous that the Board agree to stay with the town's policy as stated. Chairman Behney left instructions to have Town Manager LeClair inform Mr. Benoit of the Board's action. SIDER LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION - BIG BEN - SHELBURNE ROAD Chairman Behney told the Board that Signor Pizza Management Corporation had sent in a check for $75 and a liquor license application to be considered for approval. He was advised by Mr. McNally of the State Liquor Control Board that the state does not consider applications until the structure is built and ready for or already in operation. The Board unanimously voted to return the check and application, and instructed the Town Manager to notify the firm of the Board's action, asking the company to resubmit the application when the structure is built and ready for operation. REVIEW BUILDING CODE PROGRESS In a general discussion about adopting the National Building Code, Mr. Behney, Chairman, said that several area towns have adopted the code and it works out very well. Mr. Ward, Code Officer, reported that the National Building Code Association offers 40 to 60 hour courses at the University of Conn. for the benefit of the men enforcing the code. REVIEW BUILDING CODE PROGRESS, CONTINUED Mr. Nardelli made a motion to adopt the National Building Code and to name the Code Officer as enforcing agent of the code. The motion was seconded by Mr. Stearns and passed unanimously. REVIEW DISCUSSION WITH ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT After discussing the fact that there is no time limitation in the granting of a use variance, Mr. Nardelli made a motion to authorize the Town Manager and Town Attorney to draft an amendment setting the time limitation of a Use Variance at one year. The motion was not seconded and the Board agreed to instruct the Town Manager and Town Attorney to draft such an amendment and present it to the Board for review. REQUIRE CERTAIN BUSINESS TO GO BEFORE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FOR APPROVAL BEFORE BUILDING AND OPERATING Mr. D'Acuti expressed his desire for a legal opinion on the possibility of having certain businesses go before the Board of Adjustment for permission before they are allowed to operate in town. Mr. Stearns said this could be a discriminatory action, and said that an amendment stating economic saturation of a service in a particular area would be a legitimate reason for having some service businesses go before the Board of Adjustment. It was agreed that the Town Attorney should be instructed to investigate the matter from a legal point of view. BUILDING PERMITS The Board voted to instruct the Town Manager to make recommendations on the minimum construction cost allowable before a building permit has to be obtained and also on the time limit before construction after the issuance of a building permit - six months or one year. REQUEST FROM CHIEF CARTER FOR RESCUE EQUIPMENT Chairman Behney read a letter from Chief Carter in which the Chief requested the Board to consider the feasibility of purchasing rescue equipment for the town to use in rescue operations such as drownings, car accidents, etc. Mr. Stearns said that many towns own their own equipment, and he felt any community, especially those near water, should own this equipment. Chairman Behney then suggested that the Police Chief and Town Manager investigate this further as to exact cost, possibility of obtaining equipment through the Department of Purchasing for civil defense material as well as the advantages of renting such equipment when it is needed. MR. STEARNS' REPORT ON MEETING WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD Mr. Stearns reported that he had asked the School Board for an opinion on whether or not it would be advisable for the town to present bond issue votes for Phase IV and V of the sewer construction to the voters at the same time that the school presents an issue. The concensus of opinion was that the school board preferred that this not be done. USE OF CENTRAL SCHOOL Mr. Stearns also reported that the School Board had asked him to request a letter of intent from the Selectmen as to whether or not they were interested in using the old portion of the Central School for town purposes. The Board agreed to have a letter written to the School Board expressing interest in the building, and also set a date of Monday, August 25, 1969 at 7:30 P.M., to meet at the Central School with members of the School Board to look over the building. FIVE YEAR SITE ACQUISITION PROGRESS Mr. Premo reported that he had met with Mr. Sargent of the Planning Commission and the Town Manager to consider the five year site acquisition plan and said they hope to come up with some recommendations shortly. REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION - MEETING RE RELOCATION OF ROUTE 7 Chairman Behney read a letter from the Regional Planning Commission, in which the Commission proposed a meeting with interested parties on the Route 7 relocation for Tuesday, September 16, 1969 at 10 A.M. The Board agreed that this was not a convenient hour for the meeting, and left instructions for the Town Manager to so notify the Commission, setting the date for Monday, September 15, 1969 at 7:30 P.M., stating that the meeting could be held in our middle school if more convenient. SET DATES OF MEETINGS IN SEPTEMBER Because of the holiday falling on the first Monday in September, it was unanimously agreed to hold the regular meetings that month on the second and fourth Mondays, the 8th and 22nd, 1969 at 7:00 P.M., with the meeting of September 22 being restricted to one item if possible, that of the joint meeting with the Town Government Committee. It was moved, seconded, and so voted to adjourn at 9:30 P.M. APPROVED Gregory L. Premo, Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.