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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/06/1972SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 6, 1972 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting in the Conference Room of the City Hall on Williston Road on Monday, March 6, 1972. Chairman Stearns called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with a Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. MEMBERS PRESENT Raymond Stearns Dr. Harold Brown, Jr. Frederick Blais Walter Nardelli Kenneth Jarvis OTHERS PRESENT William Szymanski, City Manager Leon C. Bundy Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator Maurice Senesac Deborah Stearns, Burlington Free Press Albert Audette, Highway Dept. Mr. and Mrs. L. Leveilee, Fairview Toyota George Smith Charlotte C. Marsh Bud Monell, Fire Chief Keith Marston Charles Laplant ADDITIONS TO AGENDA It was duly moved, seconded and unanimously approved to add the following items to the agenda: 7. Resolution Supporting Senate Bill 126 on Highway State Aid (Mr. Szymanski) 8. Discussion of Discontinuance of Bus Service (Mr. Stearns) 9. Acknowledgment of letter from GBIC thanking us for contribution (Mr. Stearns) 10. Report on Senate Bill 168 - Deals with County Court Tax (Mr. Stearns) 11. Discuss possible Charter Change - Charlotte Marsh MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 7 and FEBRUARY 21, 1972 Chairman Stearns asked if there were any corrections or additions to the Minutes of February 7 and February 21, 1972. Dr. Brown referred to Minutes of February 22, 1972, Page 1, Paragraph 5, Line 4, requested that the word "price" be changed to the word "zone". Dr. Brown moved that these Minutes be approved with correction noted. Mr. Nardelli seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. DISBURSEMENT ORDERS Chairman Stearns announced that disbursement orders were on the table to be signed before adjournment. CONSIDER THE SANCTIONING OF THREE USE VARIANCES APPROVED BY THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AT ITS MARCH 1, 1972 MEETING a. Fairview Toyota, Lawrence Leveillee ­ Shelburne Road property north of the Horticulture Farm Road. 90 days special exception – purpose is for the storage of new automobiles. Mr. Ward informed the Council that, because of the dock strike, Mr. Leveillee now has a large number of cars arriving which he has no room for in his present location. He has requested that he be allowed to store these cars on his lot on Shelburne Road for a period of 90 days. The vehicles will not be sold at this location, only stored. Mr. Ward noted the stipulations imposed by the Zoning Board of Adjustment: 1. Vehicles must be parked neatly arranged in parallel lines, first line a minimum of 300 feet from Shelburne Rd. 2. Maximum of 75 vehicles stored at any time. 3. Variance granted will expire on June 1, 1972. 4. Corporation to sign agreement with Zoning Board to above stipulations. A copy of Mr. Ward's letter of March 2, 1972 to Fairview Toyota informing the company of these stipulations and the fact that the variance must be approved by the City Council is filed with these Minutes. Mr. Nardelli made a motion that the request be tabled until the next meeting of the City Council on March 13, 1972, when the Minutes of the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting of March 1, 1972, including the findings of fact, are available. Dr. Brown seconded the motion. Discussion followed. Both Dr. Brown and Mr. Nardelli felt they could not take proper action until they had the opportunity of reviewing the Minutes. Mr. Blais felt it was wrong to hold up a decision which might cause a hardship to Mr. Leveillee because the Minutes were late, particularly so since he has no room to park the cars. Chairman Stearns said he believed the Zoning Administrator was capable of seeing that stipulations are met and with his presentation tonight he felt there was adequate information. Mr. Jarvis said he did not know what more the Minutes could tell us, although he could understand Dr. Brown's and Mr. Nardelli's position. A vote was called on Mr. Nardelli's motion. Result:3 opposed 2 in favor (Brown and Nardelli) Mr. Blais moved, Mr. Jarvis seconded that the appeal as read, within the stipulations set by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, be ratified by the Council. Result of vote:3 in favor 2 opposed(Brown and Nardelli) Mr. Leveillee stated he appreciated Mr. Nardelli's comments on having the Minutes available and he wanted to compliment the Council on the very fine Zoning Board of Adjustment - - he feels they are really watching the community. ************ Item c. Leon C. Bundy, 35 Myers Court - Construct and use a building for the display and sale of Wastewater Treatment systems. Mr. Ward informed the Council that the Zoning Board of Adjustment has granted the request for variance with the following stipulations: 1. One year conditional use, to be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. 2. No erection of signs and provisions provided for off-street customer parking. 3. No outside storage of equipment or machinery. A copy of Mr. Ward's letter of March 2, 1972 to Leon C. Bundy with these stipulations and informing him that the variance must receive approval of the City Council is filed with these Minutes. Mr. Bundy informed the Council that the building will look like a two-car garage, the front of the building will be a display room and the rear will house compressor parts. Chairman Stearns asked Mr. Bundy if a week's delay would inconvenience him. Mr. Bundy said it would not. A motion was made by Mr. Blais, seconded by Mr. Jarvis to table this request until the next meeting of the Council on March 13, 1972. Approval was unanimous. *********** Item b. Manmoth Mart, Shelburne Road - add to present store (internally) for the sale of building materials which is a District B use. Mr. Blais moved, Mr. Nardelli seconded, to table this request until the next meeting of the Council on March 13, 1972 when the Minutes and findings of fact of the Zoning Board of Adjustment are available. Approval was unanimous. AMEND THE CITY LANDFILL ORDINANCE TO EXTEND THE USE FEE TO ALL TYPES OF TRUCKS Mr. Szymanski presented a draft of a proposed amendment to the City Landfill Ordinance, Section 6. Permits, Subsection B, Use Fee. A copy of this draft dated March 6, 1972 is filed with these Minutes. Mr. Szymanski noted that the Ordinance should also be updated to change the references of "town" to "city" and "selectmen" to "councilmen." Section 6. Permits, Subsection B, Use Fee to read: Residents and non-residents, doing business or performing work within the City hauling waste other than that generated from a single household or office, the following fee schedule shall apply: Pick-up trucks or vehicles with utility trailers $1.00 per load Dump trucks, rack style trucks and licensed carter vehicles $2.00 per load Packer trucks, three axle trucks and tractor trailers $4.00 per load Packer trucks over 20 yards $10.00 per load Trucks used for demolition $5.00 per load. Sub-section c. Annual fee: 1. Residents - no charge Permit issued annually. 2. Residents and non-residents doing business within the city No charge for regular household or office waste. Permit issued annually. Chairman Stearns requested that the words "hauling waste other than that generated from a single household or office" be underlined, to avoid a number of telephone calls. Mr. Jarvis moved for passage of the amendment. Mr. Blais seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. CONSIDER THE REQUEST OF CITIZENS IN THE PHASE V SEWER AREA (EASTERN WILLISTON ROAD) FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THAT PROJECT, ESTIMATED COST IS $400,000 Mr. Szymanski informed the Council he has received several inquiries from the Eastern Williston Road area as to the timing on Phase V sewer construction. He said only the preliminary design has been completed. Mr. Szymanski has inquired about state aid but results have not been very promising. After a brief discussion, Mr. Szymanski was requested to look into the possibility of obtaining state aid for Williston Road, Bartlett Bay and Airport Parkway treatment plant construction; also to investigate the availability of state aid money for final planning of Phase V sewer and for preliminary plans for secondary treatment plant at Airport Parkway. DISCUSSION OF WILLISTON ROAD WATER SHUT-OFFS ON FEBRUARY 29, MARCH 1 and 2 Dr. Brown noted that water in Williston Road area was shut off three days in a row. He called the Fire Department to determine whether or not they were notified of the shut-off, and found they had not been told about it. The water was off for 3 to 5 hours. He expressed concern in the event of a fire, particularly so if the Fire Department is unaware of the shut-offs. Mr. Szymanski stated the water had been shut off because leaks were discovered in a new line. He suggested Dr. Brown discuss the matter with the Water Commissioners. Mr. Stearns, however, stated this is a matter of concern to the Council and requested Mr. Szymanski to write a letter to the Water Department urging that the Fire Department be notified of any water shut-off in the future; also that a letter be written to the Fire Department requesting that information regarding water shut-off is recorded when it is received from the Water Department. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING SENATE BILL 126 ON HIGHWAY STATE AID Mr. Szymanski told the Council this bill, which has been introduced by Senator O'Brien, provides for a change in the formula of state aid for highways. If this formula had been used this year South Burlington would have received $4,000 additional money. Senator O'Brien has requested the Council's support of his bill. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Jarvis that Mr. Szymanski write to our three Representatives and urge them to support Bill 126 when it reaches the House. Mr. Nardelli seconded the motion. Approval was unanimous. DISCUSSION OF DISCONTINUANCE OF BUS SERVICE Chairman Stearns noted he has received a letter dated February 19, 1972 from Mrs. Vincent Maretta, 1377 Williston Road urging bus service not be discontinued since it would cause a hardship to many people who are entirely dependent on bus transportation. Mr. Stearns reported there had been a meeting last Tuesday (February 29) with Mayor Paquette, Burlington and representatives of several surrounding communities; also Jerry Premo, a representative of the U. S. Dept. of Transportation in Washington and Arthur Hogan, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. The problem of public transportation was thoroughly discussed. Application was made for federal funding for a study of the public transportation problems, needs, economic factors, etc. Each city and town was urged to do the same. Mr. Stearns has written to Mr. Hogan requesting such a study be made, with the hope of continuing bus service on a full time basis. The letter has been delivered to Mr. Hogan and it is expected there should be a reply within a week or ten days. LETTER FROM GBIC THANKING CITY FOR CONTRIBUTION Chairman Stearns noted he has received a letter from Francis Cain, on behalf of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, thanking the city of South Burlington for its payment of $1,000. REPORT ON SENATE BILL 168 - DEALS WITH COUNTY COURT TAX Chairman Stearns reported that last Thursday (March 2) seven towns were represented at a meeting of the Government Operations Committee in Montpelier. Represented were: Colchester, Shelburne, Winooski, Williston, Essex Junction, Waterbury and South Burlington. Mr. Stearns and Mr. Blais represented our city. Mr. Stearns said it was a very fair hearing and complimented Mr. Blais on the excellent job he did in presenting the arguments for South Burlington regarding the tax assessment imposed by the County Court. He noted our tax bill was $22,500. It has been reduced to $8,500. DISCUSSION OF CHARTER CHANGE - CHARLOTTE MARSH Miss Charlotte Marsh stated she has observed that the Councilman who serves on the Planning Commission is a voting member. She stated she does not think it is right that one person should have two votes. She believes the Council representative on the Planning Commission should be an ex-officio member. Mr. Blais replied it is not right to ask a representative from the Council to attend these meetings without the right to vote. He said Burlington and all cities and towns in Vermont exercise the right of vote to all representatives who serve on the Planning Commission. Mr. Stearns noted that all opinions were checked by our City Attorney. Miss Marsh still urged that consideration be given to amending the City Charter to eliminate the voting right of the Council representative on the Planning Commission. Mr. Jarvis suggested this matter be referred to the City Government Committee for study. Miss Marsh urged that this be done. A motion was made by Mr. Nardelli, seconded by Mr. Jarvis, that the City Government Committee be charged with the study of voting rights of the Council's representative on the Planning Commission. Approval was unanimous. Mr. Blais noted that this Committee has already been charged with the study of Budgets, City Districting and Conflict of Interest. He raised the question of priority on the study which was passed this evening. It was agreed by all members of the Council that it would follow the normal sequence. Mr. Blais also wanted the Minutes to show that the study was not a recommendation of the Council but at the recommendation of Charlotte Marsh that the Council is passing the matter along to the City Government Committee for review. CONSTABLE STATUS STUDY FOR SOUTH BURLINGTON POLICE OFFICERS Chairman Stearns said he thinks our police officers should be given constable status. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Jarvis, seconded by Mr. Blais, to charge the City Government Committee with a study of granting constable status to our police officers. The motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Nardelli moved to adjourn the Council meeting to go into Executive Session to discuss the City Budget and to meet with representatives of the Volunteer Fire Fighter Association. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9 P. M. ************ The Executive Session was adjourned at 11 P. M. No action was taken. Approved Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.