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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/17/1975CITY COUNCIL MARCH 17, 1975 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, March 17, 1975, in the Conference Room, Municipal Offices, 1175 Williston Road. MEMBERS PRESENT Michael Flaherty, Chairman: John Dinklage, Paul Farrar, Duane Merrill, Catherine Neubert MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHERS PRESENT William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Sheri Larsen. F. C. McCaffrey, A. C. Audette, Cary Rounds, Diane Rounds, Paul Graves, Harry Behney, James Lamphere Chairman Flaherty called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Minutes of March 3, 1975 It was moved by Mr. Dinklage and seconded by Mrs. Neubert to accept the Minutes of March 3, 1975, as presented, and voted unanimously for approval. Minutes of March 6, 1975 It was moved by Mr. Dinklage and seconded by Mrs. Neubert to accept the Minutes of March 6, 1975, as presented, and voted unanimously for approval. Minutes of March 11, 1975 Mr. Farrar made a motion to accept the Minutes of March 11, 1975, as presented. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert and voted unanimously for approval. Minutes of March 13, 1975 Action on the Minutes of March 13, 1975, was deferred, pending inclusion of certain attachments to the Minutes. Date for hearing on the Lamplough property zone change Chairman Flaherty said there had been some question on the legality of the vote for the zone change on the Lamplough property that had been sent to the Council as a recommendation from the Planning Commission. An opinion from the City Attorney has been requested, and Mr. Flaherty recommended that Council hold a work session on this before any public hearing takes place. Mrs. Neubert stated she had a great deal of reservation about what the Planning Commission did, that there were questions which do not directly concern the developer, and she would like to see a work session on the whole problem in that area as to whether or not it conforms and whether or not the Master Plan states our intent. Also whether Council is able to change the zoning that the Planning Commission sent, before Council makes its own warning. Mrs. Neubert said she understood from Mr. Spokes that if Council doesn't like the zone change that the Planning Commission forwarded, it can warn a different zone change as long as it is for that specific piece of property. She said she would like to have it talked about before a date is set for the hearing. Mr. Dinklage said it seemed good to him that there was some concern about the possibility of changing it; that Council should allow itself sufficient time; and there should be a work session as soon as possible. Mrs. Neubert said she also had reservations about zoning it BPD. Chairman Flaherty said that is what could be taken up at the work session, that Fred Mitchell could be there and the City Attorney. Mr. Flaherty told Mr. Graves and Mr. Lamphere they could be at the work session, or not be there, with Mr. Graves replying they would prefer to be there and present to Council the situation regarding the conflict between the language of the Comprehensive Plan and the Map. Mr. Flaherty said he would like to address that point when the City Attorney was present. Mr. Merrill recommended a work session as soon as possible whenever Mr. Graves was ready. Chairman Flaherty said he had checked with the City Attorney who had said it should be held within a reasonable time. Council agreed to meet on Monday, March 24th, at 7:30 p.m., for a work session, and hopefully to set a date for the public hearing at that session. Report on GBIC - Mr. Behney Harry Behney, Executive Director of GBIC, said they felt over a year ago that GBIC should try to get the Willis property under option. After considerable time an option was negotiated on 110 acres of the Willis land, and in addition to that an option was secured on the Boyer property directly behind the Willis property. The Boyer property cuts in behind the Wright property as well as the Willis property. Both options run until July 15th, and GBIC must either exercise these options or let them go. At this time they are considering going ahead with a considerable amount of engineering work on the Willis property and will be addressing the Planning Commission with this in another week. There are a few things that would be helpful to the development of this site which require obtaining the necessary permits so that GBIC will be able to say that certain things are going to be done. One thing is the access road which everyone understands is something that wont have a great deal done on it until there is a certain need when the population reaches a certain level on the site. Prior to accepting the option, the community, Mr. Willis, and GBIC have to agree on the access road. The City Manager said the City is in agreement with O'Brien as to where it should be placed. There were two different locations and an agreement was reached on one. Mr. Behney said he would encourage getting that tied up with everyone concerned. Mrs. Neubert asked if there was a problem. Mr. Behney said not to his knowledge. Mr. Willis's attorney had told him that nothing had been done on it, and Mr. Behney again urged that there be some kind of contract to lock it in. GBIC's next concern, Mr. Behney said, was the sewer which was approved by bond issue. He recommended that the City utilize State planning money to get a contract with someone to get a final plan for the sewer system so that GBIC can tie in, knowing exactly what the sizes, locations, elevations, constructions costs, etc. are going to be. This would not cost the City anything for the design and he was encouraging the City to have it done so that GBIC could act quickly if something comes along. He emphasized the time it takes, mentioning the problems Colchester has had as an example, and saying that it might mean losing a prospect they would like to have in the industrial park. Mr. Farrar asked the City Manager if this would be a problem. Mr. Szymanski said it would not, that they had been waiting to get some idea of what might be done, that there is plenty of Federal money now and they should be taking advantage of it. Mr. Behney then said there was need to develop a schedule for financing the Airport Parkway sewer plant, how much investment is going to be needed and how it is to be financed, plus the $200,000 bond issue. Mr. Farrar said Council should have a session when time would be spent in going over these suggestions of Mr. Behney. Mr. Farrar moved that the Council authorize the City Manager to proceed with the final design for the sewer system for the industrial area provided that State or Federal planning money is available. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert. Motion voted unanimously for approval. Mrs. Neubert moved that the City Manager be empowered by the City Council to make contractual arrangements with the people who are concerned with the road into the industrial park. Seconded by Mr. Farrar. Mr. Merrill said the location could be established at this time but that he would question contractual arrangements–that just arrangements would be made. Motion voted unanimously for approval. Mr. Behney then explained what he meant by upgrading the Airport Parkway sewer plant. He said the City may be approaching the capacity levels of the plant and should be considering doing some preliminary design work, again using Federal money, for a secondary treatment facility. This should take into consideration the projects now on the drawing board for South Burlington, the industrial park, shopping centers, as well as housing developments that may be on the drawing boards. He said there had been a prospect which would have had a high discharge which would take the greater part of the capacity of this plant, and it would certainly be bad for the City to use all the capacity of this plant for one firm. Mrs. Neubert asked why they are being told the plant has insufficient capacity now when they have been told right along there was plenty of capacity in the system. Mr. Szymanski explained that taking this one industry with a high discharge rate would mean loading the system. He then explained the City's permit had an expiration date, at which time the City had to undertake designing plans to upgrade the plant, but this permit had been extended another three years. That three years is up this summer and studies will have to made to update the plant. Mrs. Neubert asked what is meant by studies. Mr. Szymanski it means undertaking the design. Mrs. Neubert then asked about the actual construction. Mr. Szymanski there is no date for that, the City will have to plan it. The City could go ahead with another bond issue. Mr. Farrar commented the City is being forced into planning it, and then a "carrot" will be dangled infront of the City to go ahead and do it. The City Manager said South Burlington has come a long ways, that there are still some communities discharging raw sewage. Mrs. Neubert asked at what point the plant would become inadequate. Mr. Szymanski said when the community starts approaching 1.2 M. gallons a day. The average is around 700,000 now, There could also be an overload of BOD, biological oxygen demand. Mr. Dinklage said that with the question of one industry coming in and with one fell swoop overloading the presently adequate sewage plant, the City must assess what it is willing to provide so that GBIC can say this is what is in the capital plan. He said he did not feel the level should be unlimited, and this should be a planning study as well as a design study. Mr. Behney said this present permit will probably be renewed with the stipulation that the City start the design. Mr. Szymanski agreed that this would be the case. Mr. Farrar moved that the Council instruct the City Manager to undertake preliminary design studies for the upgrading of the sewer plant for the secondary treatment facility provided that Federal or State funds are provided. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage. Motion voted unanimously for approval. Mrs. Neubert asked if any industry that comes in could cause the upgrading of the plant. Mr. Behney replied that very few industries would cause that. Chairman Flaherty said that somewhere along the line the City would be required to upgrade it anyway. Mr. Behney said this would give him something to talk about to industries; that he was afraid of a crisis and not being able to do anything about it for a couple of years. Mrs. Neubert asked about matching money for construction, and was told the minimum would be 10%, it could be 15%. Mr. Flaherty then asked Mr. Behney if they intended to exercise the option on the Willis property. Mr. Behney said they would start working with the Planning Commission next week, talking of a project somewhere in the neighborhood of a million dollars, and preparing presentations on it now. They are expending about $5,000 in promoting industrial sites in the Burlington community, with a well-done professional job. The air photo used shows transportation facilities, airport and interstate. There is a demand for statistics on the area and he now has an assistant for three months working on upgrading information. Mrs. Neubert asked if he would be discussing zoning restrictions with the Planning Commission. Mr. Behney said there are no zoning restrictions except regarding setbacks and he doesn't consider those to be restrictions. They are not looking for any exceptions unless possibly for not running sidewalks out to the through-way from the Willis farm. Mr. Behney said he would set up a presentation later on Chittenden County Transportation Authority for the Council. He commented the new Essex run is proving successful. Mrs. Neubert complimented him on the appearance of the new buses. Urban Systems Road Designations Mr. Szymanski showed a drawing of the Urban Systems Roads and indicated the additions being made in South Burlington to the Urban Systems. The members studied the map and considerable discussion took place. It was agreed that the industrial park road should be the #1 priority. Chairman Flaherty said he was signing the resolution that had been prepared to go with the map. He had been authorized to sign this at the last meeting of the Council. Mrs. Neubert asked if the Highway Department would make decisions on priorities. Mr. Behney said it would depend on how much funding is available, that the Highway Department administers the funds. City Service Officer Mr. Dinklage moved that the Council grant to the City Manager the power to appoint anyone including himself as City Service Officer. Seconded by Mr. Farrar and voted unanimously for approval. The City Manager has presently been acting as City Service Officer, and an appointment must be made by April 1st. Items for the ballot – May 20th election Chairman Flaherty said these items have to be put into legal form by Dick Spokes, and the first one he had thought of was Lakeland properties. Mrs. Neubert suggested having two separate items on this, one if State funding is available, and one if State funding is not available. Mr. Farrar said the Master Plan basically points to the community acquiring lakefront property and the City has an obligation to its citizens to be able to say whether or not they wish to implement that portion of the plan at that time. Frank McCaffrey said "You don't buy any property up here." Mr. Szymanski replied that the City had just bought the Dumont property. Mrs. Neubert explained that Red Rocks is not meant for fishing or boat access as it would spoil it for swimming. Another access to the lake would provide for these. Mr. Merrill said it should be considered that the State doesn't have money, so it would be financed 50% - 50%. Mr. Dinklage said the City should get clarification from the voters as to whether or not they want a reappraisal every five years or leave it up to the Council's discretion with the recommendation of the City Assessor. Mr. Farrar said he had a question as to whether the State requires a reappraisal every eight years and he would like an answer to that. Mrs. Neubert said she felt the way the Charter reads is all right. Chairman Flaherty said the Council has until the 20th of April to prepare the items for the ballot and Dick Spokes will work on them. Report of Salary Review Committee Mr. Farrar presented an eight-page report from the Salary Review Committee which is attached to the Minutes of this meeting. Chairman Flaherty expressed his appreciation for the excellent report of the committee which had been chaired by Paul Farrar, and Mr. Farrar said he wished to publicly thank all the members of the committee for their patient and diligent work. One point brought out was that extending the amount of sick leave that can be accumulated actually benefits the City as it is an incentive for the employee not to waste his sick leave but to save it. Regarding the Personnel Regulations for City Employees, Mr. Farrar said in some places these are outdated and in other places are illegal and must be updated. Job descriptions will be included. It was also emphasized that reevaluation process puts the responsibility on the management, which Mr. Farrar said is right where it belongs. Asked by Mrs. Neubert about "inadequate" Mr. Farrar said this will be defined in the Personnel Regulations and if a person did not improve he could be terminated. Regarding the appeal process, Mr. Szymanski said there had been just one case of appeal by an employee to him, and that did not get as far as Council. The base grid scale, Mr. Farrar said, was set by comparing with other communities in the area. Mr. Merrill said these figures are certainly justified at the present time, considering what City employees have been offered for the last three or four years. It was brought out that the same offer will be made to the unions. Chairman Flaherty asked Mr. Farrar if this report was a general concensus of the committee, and Mr. Farrar answered they had reached it all by general agreement, that this was a report of the committee. Mrs. Neubert said she understood some members felt they did not get a chance to have their say about some of the things because it was not voted. Mr. Merrill said this was completely false; that if anyone had something in his mind, he generally put it out. Mr. Farrar said there were numerous times when there were very difficult problems which were considered. In each case all points of view were heard and it was left at a point where a concensus had been reached. If a concensus was not reached it was gone over again, over the same ground, until a point was reached where all points were reconciled. Mrs. Neubert said she had told people they should lay it out to the committee, when there was a problem, and not go home and talk about it outside. She said she had only wished to bring out what certain people had expressed to her. Mr. Merrill said they had been very objective, everything was out there, and as for the majority of them they tried to look at the problems of South Burlington and not use it as a negotiating session. The City Manager commented that a consultant could have been hired for seven or eight thousand dollars and the City would not have gotten as much in the way of results. After more discussion of the report Mr. Farrar said that on behalf of the Salary Review Committee he would move that the Council accept the recommendations of the Committee. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage. Mr. Flaherty said this could be Council's recommendations to the unions and suggested that the Highway Department and Police Department could come in at 7:00 p.m. next Monday night to meet with Council. The vote on Mr. Farrar's motion was unanimous. Mrs. Neubert then asked if everyone understood that Paul Graves is not to come in and give his arguments at the next meeting. Mr. Dinklage agreed that the only decision that can be made is to set a date for a public hearing. A motion for adjournment was made by Mr. Farrar, seconded by Mr. Dinklage. The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.