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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/19/1976CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 19, 1976 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, January 19, 1976, in the Conference Room, Municipal Office Building, 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; Earl Gettinger, Gary Rounds, Edward Rounds, George G. Smith, F. C. McCaffrey, Margo Howland The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 8:00 p.m. Minutes of January 5, 1976, and January 15, 1976 On page 2 of the Minutes of January 15th, line 18, delete the rest of the sentence, South Burlington had projected... and replace with, he felt the three areas the Regional Planning Commission had selected for growth for South Burlington were unrealistic, were already developed or undevelopable. It was moved by Mr. Dinklage, seconded by Mr. Flaherty, and voted unanimously to accept the Minutes of January 15, 1976. with the above change. It was moved by Mr. Flaherty, seconded by Mr. Dinklage, and voted unanimously to accept the Minutes of January 5, 1976, as presented. Disbursement Orders The Chairman noted the Disbursement Orders were ready for signature. Decision on Primary Election Chairman Farrar said the City Attorney could be instructed to prepare a resolution authorizing the special meeting for the primary election and the last date for the Warning would be Thursday, January 29th. Mr. Dinklage moved that the Council instruct the City Attorney to prepare a Warning for a special City meeting to be held March 2nd for the purpose of conducting a primary for the Presidential election. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty. Mr. Szymanski said the cost of the special meeting would be around a thousand dollars. The check list would have to be posted by Wednesday, the 21st. The Board of Civil Authority would meet in February. Asked about any other ballot items. Mr. Szymanski said there were none. Asked about the fee paid by the candidates to enter the primary, he explained that goes to the State, not the local communities. The warning date, he said, could actually be January 31st but the intent is to post it on the 26th or 27th. Mrs. Neubert suggested staffing the election with volunteers to keep down the cost. Unless there was more than one candidate for each party, it was felt by Council it would be unreasonable to hold the special election. Mrs. Neubert asked if the City would print the ballots and the City Manager said he assumed they would be printed by the State, would all be uniform. Mr. Dinklage's motion was voted unanimously for approval. Mr. Dinklage then moved that the Council instruct Chairman Farrar to deliver the Warning to the City Clerk on or before the posting date of January 31st or to call a special meeting of the Council for the purpose of deciding it would not be a meaningful contest. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty. Motion voted unanimously for approval. The City Manager referred to a letter received from a firm selling computerized voting equipment of a card-counting type. The firm wishes to set up two pilot projects in Vermont at no cost. The Chairman recommended turning the letter over to the Board of Civil Authority. Fire Department Rules and Regulations Mr. Flaherty said the Fire Department men had accepted the changes made last time except for two minor changes; also several changes had been recommended by the City Attorney in his letter of January 8, 1976. Mr. Flaherty then moved that the changes made by Council at a prior meeting and the changes suggested by the volunteers of the Fire Department be incorporated into the final Fire Department Rules and Regulations, and that the opinions of the City Attorney contained in his letter of January 8, 1976, also be incorporated in these Rules and Regulations. The proposed regulations to be voted on at the next Council meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage. It was suggested that complete copies of the Rules and Regulations be sent to the volunteer firemen. Mr. Flaherty's motion was voted unanimously for approval. Accept Deeds to National Life Road and Green Belt land Mr. Szymanski explained this was for the parcel of land opposite Bartlett's Bay road and also the green belt area which was a condition of approval at site plan review by the Planning Commission. The City Attorney, he said, feels this should be accepted by a resolution of the Council. Chairman Farrar read aloud the resolution, as follows. RESOLVED, that the City of South Burlington hereby accepts the dedication of the conveyances by National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont, of, (A), a "Green Belt Area" of 12.9 acres, more or less, and (B), a roadway designated as Green Mountain Drive along with a circular easement for roadway purposes at its terminus, and a roadway for vehicular traffic abutting Shelburne Road, by warranty deed dated January 6, 1976. Mr. Dinklage moved that the Council approve the resolution to accept the roadway and the Green Belt Area conveyed by National Life Insurance Company. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty. Mrs. Neubert asked about the previous controversy over this. The City Manager explained the City didn't accept the University road or the frontage road offered by National Life. What is being conveyed now is in accordance with the accepted plan and has been checked out by himself, also the City Planner and the City Attorney. The Chairman said it was the City Attorney's recommendation that Council go through the resolution procedure; it has not been done this way in the past. The motion by Mr. Dinklage was voted unanimously for approval. Consider reinstatement of volunteer to Fire Department The City Manager referred to his memorandum to Council dated January 16, 1976, saying a volunteer fireman who was suspended last July had asked to be reinstated. This is up to the Council, he said. He has no objections himself. This man, he explained, is a full-time employee of the Street Department, is an asset to the City not only during working hours but also active in the Fire Department during off hours and has responded anytime he was called. Mr. Dinklage said he would gather from what the City Manager had said that his memorandum comes to Council as a matter of good will and general good policy, and asked if Mr. Szymanski had any other circumstances he cared to bring to the attention of Council. Mr. Szymanski said he had stated everything he wanted to say. George Smith, Acting Fire Chief, said he had to keep the taxpayers' money in mind and this man is an asset to the Department, but he didn't want to set up a pattern on this. Mr. Flaherty said this was not a policy, just a single suspension. Mr. Dinklage moved that Council reinstate the suspended volunteer fireman. Seconded by Mrs. Neubert. Mr. Merrill asked Mr. Smith if this reinstatement would cause problems in the Department. Mr. Smith replied it might cause a few but they could take care of it — the majority of the Department feel this way anyway. Mr. Dinklage added to his motion upon the recommendation of the City Manager and the Acting Fire Chief. The addition to the motion was seconded by Mrs. Neubert. Motion voted unanimously for approval. Inventory of roadside hazards — report by Mr. Szymanski The City Manager said in the process of budget preparation all of the streets will be inspected and he feels the inventory of roadside hazards can be made with the cooperation of the Street Department Superintendent rather than using outside assistance. This report will be ready by the middle of March. Mrs. Neubert asked if anyone is going to review this report, would Dr. Waller be consulted before the work is budgeted. She thought pressure was to be put on the State also. Mr. Szymanski said either Dr. Waller or the Highway Department. Chairman Farrar suggested the City Manager consult with the Highway Department. Asked by Mrs. Neubert about cutting down trees as hazards, Mr. Szymanski said this could be done only with the approval of the Tree Warden. Also, he said the report would cover pedestrian hazards, not just for vehicles. The Chairman said he would assume the list from the City Manager would show in some priority basis what he felt should be taken care of, and it would be up to Council to make the decisions. Mr. McCaffrey called attention to the snow-pile hazards at intersections, and the City Manager said they will have to start removing these piles if more snow falls. Mr. Dinklage said he would like to have the report sent to Dr. Waller as a courtesy at least. Mr. Gettinger, who was present at the meeting, offered to help with the review of the City Manager's report. Sign application for State Aid for Shelburne Road sewer extension The City Manager explained this was an application for State Aid for the project of extending the sewer line on Shelburne Road. Five bids had been received, the lowest being from Murray Construction Co. of Underhill for $48,990. The cost had been estimated at $51,798. Council has to sign the application for State Aid in the amount of $7,770. Mr. Dinklage moved that Council sign the application for State Aid for the Shelburne Road sewer line extension. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty and voted unanimously for approval. Continue review of Regional Plan Chairman Farrar read aloud a draft he had prepared for the submission to the Regional Planning Commission of the Council's objections to the proposed Regional Plan. His draft covered the following sections: Conformance to local plan Growth rate projections Economic development Transportation Land use classification Establishment of Regional Council Tax sharing proposal The objections stated in Mr. Farrar's draft were derived from discussion and suggestions made at previous Council meetings. Mrs. Neubert suggested tightening up the language to make it more easily understood, particularly in regard to the growth rate projections. She also asked why two major industries in the area, the university and the hospital, had not been included in the service area of the plan. Mr. Merrill felt the economic development section of the plan was a very poor job and suggested Mr. Farrar put more detail on this into his draft. Regarding the transportation section, Mr. Dinklage said he would like to see more imaginative and innovative ideas for transportation. Mrs. Neubert felt the plan had been forced into considering transportation other than the automobile because of the energy crisis, but this is not realistic. Mr. Farrar said it was unrealistic to plan for what is not technicologically feasible. Mr. Dinklage recommended more express buses. Mr. Farrar agreed to add to his draft a suggestion that further express routes be considered. Mr. Dinklage suggested pointing out that the Regional Plan is in opposition to the City's Master Plan. Mr. Farrar said he was trying to give the basic philosophy while keeping it as short as possible. Mr. Dinklage moved that Council request the Chairman to send this letter to the Regional Planning Commission, with copies to all the chairmen of the Boards of Selectmen and Aldermen of the communities of Chittenden County. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty and voted unanimously for approval. Mr. Dinklage then moved that the Council request the Chairman or the City Manager to send a copy of the letter to South Burlington's representative on the Regional Planning Commission and request that he vote against it for the reasons outlined; that copies also be sent to the City's representatives in Montpelier; also copies be sent to the principal news media in the area. Seconded by Mr. Flaherty and voted unanimously for approval. Mrs. Neubert commented she had talked with people she knew in other communities, people who are active in various issues, and they all told her they had neither read nor reviewed the plan. Mr. Merrill said this was true of many people in business. Mr. Flaherty moved that the meeting be adjourned. Seconded by Mr. Dinklage and voted unanimously. The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.