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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/18/1975CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 18, 1975 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, August 18, 1975, in the Conference Room, Municipal Offices, 1175 Williston Road. MEMBERS PRESENT Paul Farrar, Chairman; John Dinklage, Michael Flaherty, Duane Merrill, Catherine Neubert MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHERS PRESENT William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator, Rick Flood, Tom Schroeder, Bill Robenstein, F. McCaffrey, Charlotte Marsh, M. A. Monell, Fire Chief; A. C. Audette The meeting was called to order by Chairman Farrar at 8:00 p.m. Minutes of August 4, 1975 On page 8, line 18, it was agreed that this should be deleted and followed by the following sentence: A motion was made by Mr. Merrill to table, seconded by Mrs. Neubert, and voted unanimously to table by the Council. Also on page 8, 4th line from the bottom of the page, electrical system should be changed to burglary alarm system. It was moved by Mr. Flaherty, seconded by Mr. Dinklage, and voted unanimously to approve the Minutes of August 4, 1975, as amended. Disbursement orders Chairman Farrar announced the disbursement orders were ready for signature by the members of Council. Location of Council meetings It was asked by Charlotte Marsh that the Council give consideration to holding its meetings in the Assessor's Office where the accoustics were better and because of the air conditioning the room would be more comfortable. Changes in the Agenda Chairman Farrar announced there would be no discussion on Item #8, the Lamplough contract, because there was nothing further to be brought forward at this time. The attorneys have not finished working on the contract. Mrs. Neubert moved that Council delete Item #8 from the Agenda. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage and voted unanimously. Mrs. Neubert asked that Council discuss the hiring of an interim person immediately in the area of planning. City Employee Retirement Plan — Adopt amendments to conform to Frederal Regulations Mr. Szymanski stated it was necessary to adopt a resolution designating the City as Trustee of the City's pension plan and he had asked Rick Flood (of Smith, Bell, and Thompson) to come in and explain this to the Council. Mr. Flood said that President Ford signed the Employees Retirement Act, a document of 278 pages of which about 250 pages are still not clearly understood. There are many gray areas, but one of the things that did come out was the fact that in every pension plan a Fiduciary has to be named, the entity that is legally responsible for the plan. In this case it is the City of South Burlington. In the existing South Burlington Retirement Plan no Fiduciary was named and this amendment is simply naming the City of South Burlington as Fiduciary. Mr. Flood stated that to the best of his knowledge this was the only change that would be necessary. Because South Burlington is a government organization it is exempt from about 95% of the new law. He recommended that the Council adopt this amendment. Mr. Dinklage moved, seconded by Mr. Flaherty, that the Council sign this resolution. Voted unanimously for approval. Review revisions to burglary alarm ordinance Copies of the proposed burglary alarm ordinance, revised as of August 13th, had been submitted to the members of the Council. The City Manager noted the changes made in Sections 4, 7, also (2) in Section 8. Mr. Tom Schroeder asked that provision be made for modifications to a building which might affect the alarm system and the user should not be subject to penalties for such false alarms. He felt strongly this should be included in the ordinance. In the discussion of this request, some members felt it could be left up to the discretion of the Police Chief to waive the penalty in such cases. Mr. Flaherty moved that an addition be made under Section 8 (3) that the Police Chief of South Burlington be empowered to waive the count of the false alarms in the fee schedule if he feels there are mitigating circumstances. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage. Mrs. Neubert felt this was placing an unfair burden on the Police Chief. Mr. Robenstein asked how the powers of the City Manager could be delegated to the Police Chief. Mr. Merrill said he would prefer restricting this to when a building permit was issued. Mrs. Neubert felt the Police Chief already has the discretion, and this motion would put him on the spot. Mr. Flaherty withdrew his motion. Mr. Schroeder then referred to false alarms created by "acts of God", things that nothing can be done about, saying this places the individual user under a bit of a burden. Mr. Merrill explained the ordinance is intended to do that in the sense of placing some of this responsibility back onto the user because of the number of false alarms the City has had in the past. It was moved by Mr. Merrill that in Section 8(3), last paragraph, the words "or any additional modification" be inserted after the words "initial installation". Seconded by Mr. Dinklage and voted unanimously. Mr. Schroeder then brought up the amount of fee in Section 8(3). He said he felt this to be inequitable and suggested a fee based on the direct cost involved in terms of distance travelled and time involved. He said he doubted this would be a total cost in excess of $10. He then referred to Section 9, saying that if a violation for failure to comply is deemed necessary, that the emphasis of fining be here, since it would place the burden on the offender. Mr. Merrill explained there is an enforcement problem in connection with Section 9. A graduated fee system had been discussed by Council but the figure they came up with was the one used in Section 8. Mrs. Neubert explained to Mr. Schroeder that the Chief has to expand the board and he couldn't do that if he had to put up with false alarm problems such as he has had. Council is attempting to give him an ordinance that will control his problems somewhat and give service to the community. Mr. Schroeder repeated that it was the intent of the user not to have a false alarm and it was only equitable that a fair charge be made, perhaps a graduated fee would be more acceptable. He felt there was no way a fee of $25 could be justified as a cost. Mrs. Neubert told Mr. Schroeder that Council had agreed to this, they have reached this point, and he was the only person who has argued against it. It has been discussed many times and Council has already made the decision. Mr. Merrill said there is a four-week grace period and six months time when there can be two additional false alarms, then he would start having a charge. Mr. Merrill then said he would offer the following motion: that Council change the $25 fee to $15. This motion died for lack of a second. Mr. Merrill then moved that Section 8(3) be changed as follows, beginning in line 3, within six months of the first response, a fee of $15 would be charged, and any subsequent call after that would be $25. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage and voted unanimously. Mr. Schroeder then requested that the users be included in the consideration of the kind and cost of equipment. He would like a committee composed of businessmen, the police, and the Council, and suggested that proposals or bids be submitted to the committee. He was told a committee would be established just to review this, but in terms of deciding the final decision would rest with Chief Carter and the City Manager. Chairman Farrar said Council had two options open; the ordinance could be retyped before any further action is taken, or it could move to approve it tonight as amended, as the first reading of the revised August 13th draft as submitted. Mr. Dinklage moved that Council approve this as the first reading. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert. Mr. Flaherty then moved to waive the reading of the ordinance. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert. It was voted unanimously to waive the reading. It was also voted unanimously to approve the first reading. Mr. Merrill moved that the Council empower the Chairman to appoint a committee to work with the City Manager. Police Chief, and area businessmen to review the cost and type of equipment to be installed for the new burglary alarm system. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty and voted unanimously for approval. Comments on City Operations by Mr. Robenstein Mr. Robenstein began by saying he would like to see the money allotted for a City Planner used elsewhere. He would like to see an assistant city manager to help Mr. Szymanski. It is physically impossible for one man to do the things placed on the City Manager. Help in this area is much needed and is far more important than the replacement of a city planner. He also emphasized the need for more clerical help in areas such as the Zoning Administrator's office. The lack of a purchase order system was inefficient and could be costing the City money. He mentioned the purchase of gasoline for example, also that the Police Department sends work out when it might be cheaper to do it in their own establishment. He said administrative support can be a far less expensive area than twelve or thirteen thousand dollars for a planner; morale could come up, and maybe expenditures could be cut here and there. He mentioned his high respect for Bill Szymanski and said this would place help in the areas where it is really needed. He suggested measuring the effectiveness of some of the programs and their responsiveness. He mentioned the shoulder work needed to be done by the Highway Department as an example. The City Manager explained the City has always used purchase orders for everything; he sees every one before it goes out and he sees each bill. The departments do minor purchasing but must check with him for anything over $200. Mr. Robenstein then brought up the question of the Water Department, saying that before it does anything it is supposed to notify the Planning Commission. Mrs. Neubert replied the Water Department did come in to the Planning Commission. Mr. Szymanski added that the report that was part of the Master Plan by Webster-Martin was also approved by the Planning Commission, and that was the only project they had done within the last four or five years. Asked by Mrs. Neubert what kind of person would call himself an assistant manager, Mr. Robenstein said it should be someone fresh out of college with an engineering degree, and that Mr. Szymanski is more than qualified to pick the individual. Mr. Szymanski said that Mr. Robenstein knew he favored the set-up they had before they hired the planner; he was satisfied with that set-up but was also concerned that the Planning Commission wanted a planner. Mr. Merrill said he disagreed with the idea that a planner is not what is needed; he felt a City Planner was essential. The work done on the Capital Budget is an area which needs to be continued. Concerning the problems of government as such, the City is going to have them; the City does have enough people at this time and hiring an assistant manager is not really the solution. South Burlington has maintained the same City tax rate the last two years and very few cities can say that. If expenditures have increased in South Burlington, there is another department and another committee concerned. Mr. Merrill also suggested a charter change could be made to allow the Zoning Administrator to handle the subdivision regulations as a response to another question Mr. Robenstein had raised. Mr. McCaffrey complained that his taxes had gone up, and members of the Council explained to him that the City rate had remained the same, the increase having been the School District tax. Mr. Merrill commented that many people are not aware of this fact. The School District could have taken a 15¢ increase but took 13¢ which was reflected in a higher tax bill for the taxpayer. Referring to Mr. Robenstein's comments, Mr. Merrill said that if there are inefficiencies he would like to have them pointed out, but he didn't think there was a situation where thousands of dollars were being spent which were not being looked at. He said a planner is an effective person; the City needs one. It adds the professional element to planning in the City of South Burlington; someone to do the background work. Mr. Robenstein said the program cannot be measured by placing the planner there. Administrative backup is necessary. He asked Mr. Ward about finals of each subdivision since 1963, saying this is the backbone of administration. Mr. Ward replied he would definitely say there is some difficulty in the clerical area. Mr. Dinklage said with all due respect to Mr. Ward and with thanks for the help he provides, he has too many things on his shoulders to provide the kind of assistance the Planning Commission needs. He said he saw very clearly the difference between operating with and without a planner, though he would have preferred personally to see him take a much stronger position. Mrs. Neubert said the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan were written without a city planner. One of the problems with the Lamplough property, she felt, was that the planner did not provide enough backup information for the Planning Commission to make a decision. Mr. Dinklage said he felt the Planning Commission needs help, and he would support clerical help for Mr. Ward also. Mrs. Neubert said the planner needs clerical help too. Mr. Flaherty asked for comments from the Highway Department Superintendent and the Fire Chief, who were both present. Mr. Audette said he looked at the gas problem two years ago. He would be more than glad to have someone come in and go over each department. His personal feeling was that a re-study of the whole City government should be done; he thought two or three years ago there had been a study about City government. As for comments, he felt that was Bill's area, that he didn't feel it was up to him to comment. Chief Monell agreed that having someone go through each department was a good idea; making a study of each department. Mr. McCaffrey suggested the Planning Commission is either too big or too small; it isn't getting anything solved. Mrs. Neubert suggested one of the problems with the planner was the job description and the way he was chosen; that he should perhaps have other abilities than the book-type of planning Fred Mitchell had; perhaps more of an engineering background. It might cost more to get an engineering type of person. It is becoming very difficult for Bill to be called in to answer questions by the Planning Commission. Mr. Dinklage said the Lamplough problem is one area where someone with a bookish background is needed and he was speaking in defense of someone with a strong planning background. Mrs. Neubert said she was interested in more work on traffic. Mr. Robenstein said it should lie with the individual to provide all the information that can be available; if he knows where he can obtain all this he can put it into a simple format for the Planning Commission to make a decision. Mr. Ward said the City Manager had been talking about an assistant planner. The Planning Commission wanted an engineer. Mr. Ward said he thought the City needed an administrator to the Planning Commission and not a planner. He added that he had a very serious hangup about hiring somebody outside of Vermont as he wastes a year of his time trying to understand Vermont law. Mr. Merrill asked if he was suggesting some with a strong legal background. Mr. Ward replied they had no legal problems when Bon Schmucker was on the Commission; now he has to call Dick Spokes every Wednesday for one, two, or three legal opinions. He added that Fred had just enough time in Vermont to start breaking into it. Mr. Merrill asked if someone really familiar with Vermont law would be most beneficial at this time. Mr. Ward mentioned the hangup about who enforces the subdivision regulations; it is an administrative officer, it could be himself; it is just that an administrator is needed. Mr. Flaherty asked what function Mr. Ward had in mind. Mr. Ward explained a person is needed who could do more field work, for example. He has to have some engineering knowledge, some legal knowledge, at least be familiar with the laws in Vermont. He has to have general over-all knowledge of everything that happens in the building field in the physical construction of it. Now, he said, he has to take everything to Bill, even setting a pipe has to go to Bill. Mr. Dinklage said maybe the functions of City Engineer and City Manager should be separated. Mrs. Neubert thought Council should see if there might be somebody who falls in between, an engineer who is interested in planning, rather than just advertising for a planner. Mr. Szymanski said he had corresponded with Durban, New Hampshire, and also he is to get Burlington's applications. Mr. Dinklage suggested having a very small sub-committee look at the job description again. Mr. Ward said there are too many varieties of so-called planners today and care must be taken. He would like to add to the agenda to re-evaluate the job description of the planner, having more of the engineering input into it even if it means paying more money — and in the meantime he felt they are floundering. He said there is a person in the area who would like to come to work for the City for about six months. He is capable of interpreting the ordinances, he is capable of helping the Zoning Administrator. He thought he did an excellent job before. Mr. Merrill said he would like to see the job description done in front of the whole Council instead of in a sub-committee. Chairman Farrar then asked Mr. Robenstein if he had any more points. Mr. Robenstein said that if Council does get a group and intends to take a look at some of the functions and the supervisors think this is a very good idea, then he thought that was a step forward. That was his whole intent, he said, and he thought Council had listened, and he thanked them for listening. Progress report on Ridgewood Estate development The City Manager said there is an agreement that spells out all of the points that were brought up when this was reviewed about a year ago. Dick Ward and Dick Spokes have reviewed it and he is in the process of reviewing it himself. He has only two problems: one is that he would like the road maintenance to specify snow removal; and the other is to have a larger sewer pipe to allow for future hookups. He has been working with the engineer who is doing the sewer system. That is progressing quite well and they expect to start construction this fall, he believed. Mrs. Neubert asked about condominium agreements. Mr. Ward explained the City doesn't have to approve the by-laws, the by-laws just deal with the project itself. Dick Spokes has to review them and he is working on them with their attorney. Mr. Robenstein asked about a sidewalk. Mr. Szymanski said they have already agreed to provide a gravelled walkway on Dorset Street. Mr. Robenstein said actually this was just reinforcing the shoulder, but Mr. Szymanski they are going to fill and widen it. Mrs. Neubert asked about the plan to put the recreation building in the Conservation District. Mr. Ward said the developer hasn't gotten his land use permit yet. They are relocating the building out of the Conservation District. Mr. Robenstein asked about the school bus turning lane off from Dorset Street. Mr. Dinklage explained that Council didn't want a turning lane; it was considered less of a hazard to stop in the street and bring traffic to a halt. The Chairman stated and the Board was in agreement that all things seemed to be proceeding according to the stipulations now. Appointment to fill vacancy on Fine Arts Committee Mr. Flaherty moved that the Council appoint Karin Larson to fill the vacancy on the Fine Arts Committee. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert and voted unanimously for approval. Discussion on the draft of the Regional Master Plan Mr. Ward said Harry Behney would probably come to a Council meeting, but Mr. Farrar suggested Council might want to meet in general discussion first and go over the groundwork. Mrs. Neubert said the Planning Commission did a fairly good job in addressing sections of the plan and she didn't know if Council should repeat that. The decisions and the votes taken should be forwarded to Council to save time. Mr. Ward said they want to do some more on it. Chairman Farrar said at the next meeting Council will not schedule much other business other than the discussion of the Regional Plan. Regarding the Lamplough contract, he said they will have a draft of the contract next week; a copy is to be sent to himself and Dick Spokes. Mr. Farrar said he would send copies to the Council members and would like to get their comments back directed to him, so he can meet with the City Attorney and the attorney for the developer before the meeting so they can come in with some language which will satisfy at least the majority, so Council can decide it either has a contract or it doesn't have a contract. Council would then go ahead with publication, warning it for a separate meeting. Mrs. Neubert said she had been to two Planning Commission meetings and tried to get their minds off the mall. Mr. Ward said the Commission finally agreed it wasn't going to be split any more, they are going to sit down together, but they are all very confused. Mr. Dinklage suggested a joint meeting with the Commission, but Mr. Ward said this would be very bad. If the Council gives them direction, they will do what Council wants — and Council might as well do it themselves. The Planning Commission is supposed to initiate it — right or wrong. A discussion followed as to how to make the Planning Commission realize it must come up with a zone, with Mr. Merrill emphasizing that anyone who makes a decision has to have a good reason for it. Mr. Ward announced the next meeting is to be September 2nd at 7:30 p.m., an already advertised public hearing on the zoning amendments. Mr. Merrill recommended calling a special meeting on the contract and to interview Stephen Page also. Upon a motion by Mr. Flaherty, seconded by Mr. Dinklage, the meeting was declared adjourned at 10:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.