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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 09/25/1972SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL September 25, 1972 The South Burlington City Council held a continuation of its September 18th meeting in the Conference Room of the City Hall on Monday, September 25, 1972. Chairman Blais opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman Frederick C. Blais, Brian J. Gee, Michael Flaherty, Harold P. Brown and Walter Nardelli. OTHERS PRESENT William Szymanski, City Manager; Don Duell; Kay Neubert; George Wilson, WCAX-TV; Charlotte C. Marsh; Lynwood Johnston; Anna K. Johnston; Ruth A. Lippman; Ulrich Lippman; Bruce M. O'Neill, Recreation Department; Sharon Scherner; Richard Gucciardi; William Robenstein; Barbara Bull, Natural Resources Committee; Sunny Audet. 1. Signing of Disbursements. Chairman Blais reminded the Council that the disbursements should be signed before the end of the meeting. 2. Continued Discussion on the Acquisition of Neighborhood Parks. Chairman Blais explained that at the last Council meeting it was moved to continue discussions this week after a meeting with Leo and Daniel O'Brien to see if the city could secure an option on their property through June. City Manager William Szymanski reported that Daniel O'Brien would agree to extend the option only until mid-March at a cost of $4,000 to the city. That amount would not be applied to the $60,000 purchase price, thus raising the cost of the property to $64,000. Chairman Blais said the Council now had one of two decisions to make; first to consider going for a money question on one or more parcels or it could decide not to proceed at this time. October 2 is the deadline under which the city can warn the question. Kay Neubert asked if under good planning principles there was a real need for open spaces and asked for comments as to the locations of each park. Chairman Blais replied that all the locations were good and that a need is basically there. He read a motion by the Natural Resources Committee that $15,000 be encumbered for a neighborhood park system; the fund not to be encumbered for more than five years. Mr. Gee asked if the City Attorney had given his opinion on whether or not specific conditions could be presented on the ballot. Chairman Blais said the City Attorney reported the city can legally warn any one or any combination of parks without any specific conditions; a letter will be forthcoming in this particular regard. Mr. Nardelli raised questions about the financing of the parks. Mr. Szymanski said a BOR application could be processed in about two months for 50% of the cost. Mr. Blais said if federal funds were not available the project would die because of a lack of matching monies and this would be noted in the warning. He also pointed out that the City was close to its borrowing limit. Mr. Blais said the city could pay for one or all four parcels out of existing revenues; the voters have approved an $18,000 line item for open space acquisition. It was roughly calculated that a bank loan rather than a bond could be used. Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Nardelli commented that they did not think the Potter property should be considered with its existing condition. Mr. Blais added that Planning Commission does not feel comfortable with the existing conditions either but he felt the four areas should be considered separately on the ballot. Mr. Nardelli asked about maintenance costs to the city for the parks. Mr. Blais said the parks could be left as buffer spaces with little or no maintenance and this reflects the sentiments of some of the townspeople. The only cost would be loss of taxes to the city. Mrs. Neubert expressed concern at the large size of the parks. Mr. Blais quoted some park definitions which correlated with the proposed park acreages. He also pointed out that landowners were not willing to sell less acreage. Bruce O'Neil, Recreation Director, suggested going into the various neighborhoods and seeing what the people wanted done with their own park. Charlotte Marsh suggested that the Garvey property be put on the ballot and hold the others until March. Mr. Blais felt this procedure might result in defeat of all the parks. Richard Gucciardi, representing a group of Laurel Hill and Laurel Hill South residents, reminded the Council that residents of that area do not want the Yandow property put on the ballot with its existing condition (that the city allow a temporary access to a planned development along Andrews Avenue should it be approved by the Planning Commission). He also suggested that the city ask for the 15% of open land that a developer is required to set aside. He said that the 6.2 acres proposed for the park is quite inadequate. Dr. Brown said the 15% open space requirement has not been legally decided. Mr. Blais said he felt all four parcels should be put on the ballot for decision by the voters. William Robenstein said an analysis of the park areas should be made such as density of people, age groups, how many people would go into the parks, zoning of areas, etc. He would like to know the facts in order to know what he is buying. Walter Nardelli moved the City take the option on the Garvey property; that the land areas on Iby, Duval and Andrews Streets be considered in March for bonding if the price is considered proper for Duval and Iby and if Andrews property is drawn up in agreement suitable to most of the people living there. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion. Chairman Blais noted that the Council cannot encumber next year's budget and that he did not know if the city could get BOR funds on a leased basis. He suggested that BOR be contacted immediately to see if money is available and ask for legal advice on the best way to handle indebtedness. The question was called and the motion was defeated three to two - Blais, Brown and Gee voting against the motion; Flaherty and Nardelli voting for the motion. Dr. Brown moved that the City put up for vote in November the separate purchases of Garvey, Duval, Dumont and Potter properties with appropriate financing considered. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gee. Chairman Blais said the warning would have to be prepared to show the funding. Mr. Gucciardi said the people of Laurel Hill and Laurel Hill South did not want the Yandow property on the ballot with its existing conditions. Chairman Blais said that any particular area of the city shouldn't be isolated and that it would be entirely up to the people of the community to show what they wanted the city to do. The motion passed three to two - Blais, Gee and Brown voting for the motion; Flaherty and Nardelli voting against the motion. Walter Nardelli moved that the City encumber $10,000 of the present line item if BOR funds come forth. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gee and was unanimously passed. 3. State Aid Construction Money for Widening and Installation of Curbs on the South Side of White Street from Patchen Road to Airport Parkway. Mr. Szymanski explained that in the budget the city stated improvements would be on Dorset Street and White Street. The city feels it could go much further with improvements on White Street only. Mr. Nardelli moved the permission be granted to use the $8,000 for improvements on White Street. Mr. Gee seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed. Mr. Gee moved that the City Council meeting be adjourned. Mr. Brown seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed. LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD The Board looked over liquor control entertainment permits for restaurants and night spots in South Burlington. The matter was tabled pending investigation by Mr. Szymanski to see if the city could charge a fee for this permit. Motion was made, seconded and unanimously carried to adjourn and go into Executive City Council Session. Adjournment at 9:40 P.M. Approved Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.