Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 05/23/1977SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY COUNCIL MAY 23, 1977 The City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, May 23, 1977 at 8:00 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Offices, 1175 Williston Road. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Frank Armstrong, Michael Flaherty, William Burgess, Martin Paulsen. Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Helen Paquin, That Other Paper Reporter Minutes of May 16 and May 18, 1977 Mr. Armstrong moved that the minutes of May 16 and May 18, 1977 be approved. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Water Department renewal note Mr. Szymanski explained that this note was taken out in 1971 with the Merchants Bank and was renewable every year. Mr. Farrar said that the Water Department was reasonably independent from the City Council but that they could not borrow money and that the Council had to do it for them. Resignation of City Clerk due to retirement The Council discussed the letter dated May 18 from Helen Paquin saying that she wished to retire on July 1, 1977. Mr. Farrar said that she had done a very fine job over the years and that they will all miss her. He added that if he thought they could persuade her to stay, they would try. Mr. Flaherty moved that the City Council reluctantly accept the resignation of the City Clerk and Treasurer with gratitude for her many years of service and many good wishes for her retirement. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. Mr. Farrar said that he did not like to see the city lose a faithful public servant, but that things do change. He said that they would have to find someone to serve as City Clerk (which is elective) and City Treasurer (by appointment of the City Council) until the next election. He said that they had one applicant already, and that they should take action soon on the question. Mr. Paulsen asked if they planned to put an ad in the paper concerning the job, and recommended that they do, and set an action time. Mr. Armstrong felt that perhaps it should be an in-house advertisement. Mr. Flaherty asked Mrs. Paquin to submit some questions that the Council could ask applicants for the job. It was pointed out that the ad should reflect the fact that this is only an interim appointment, that only South Burlington residents are eligible for the elective position, and that the two jobs are combined. Review of Zoning Board and Planning Commission Agendas Mr. Farrar explained to the new members that the Council reviews these agendas in order to see if they want to attend the meetings to give the boards guidance on any point or try to convince them why they should make a decision one way or another. Mr. Ward then went through the Zoning agenda for June 6, and the Council discussed the items. After some discussion, Mr. Flaherty moved to request that the Chairman of the City Council express their concern on appeal #6 on the Zoning Board of Adjustment agenda for June 6, 1977. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. The concern revolved around the issue of the curb cut for the property. The composition of the Zoning Board was then discussed. Mr. Farrar said that it was desirable to have a larger body and that this was being taken care of right now, but that a public hearing on it was needed. Mr. Paulsen moved that the Council instruct the City Manager to advertise for a public hearing on the change in the Zoning Ordinance on the 20th of June, 1977. The motion was seconded by Mr. Flaherty and passed unanimously. Mr. Ward said that one of the members was resigning right away and asked if they could find a replacement. The Council felt that it could interview people on the 20th. Urban Systems applications for pedestrian traffic lights on Williston and Shelburne Roads Mr. Farrar explained that at the last meeting they had discussed the possibility of getting some money from the government for these pedestrian signals and that they thought that they could do it. He said that there was about $1.5 million in Urban Systems funds from 1975 which had to be used by September or it would revert to the government, and that they had not known this until 3-4 weeks ago. He said that several streets qualified for the funds and that they would have to do some budget juggling but that it would save the City 70% of the cost and that he therefore felt that it was sound planning. Mr. Paulsen asked how much the lights would cost and was told that there would be two, one by Hinesburg Road and one by Brewer Parkway, and that they would cost about $12,000 each. Mr. Farrar also said that the City would improve Airport Parkway from Limekiln south, and work on the drainage on Spear Street near the UVM farm. Mr. Flaherty brought up the question of ordering signs prohibiting right-turn-on-red for several streets and Mr. Szymanski said that he would like to talk to Bruce Houghton about where to place them. Mr. Flaherty moved that the City Council sign the Urban Systems applications for pedestrian traffic lights on Shelburne and Williston Roads. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. Acquaintance session for new council members Mr. Farrar discussed the School budget, saying that the City government pays the School Board the money they have budgeted and that there are limits that both the City and the School Board have to be under. Since the tax rate for the schools is based on the estimated Grand List in March, because the actual Grand List may be different, surpluses and deficits often occur. He said that it was not necessary to do anything about the problem right away, but that he suggested a self-correcting procedure to insure that the estimated Grand List and the actual Grand List come out equal. He said that the meeting of the Steering Committee, which is composed of the City Council, School Board, Superintendent of Schools, and City Manager, is coming up and that the Council members should be prepared to discuss the budget thoroughly. He also said that every year the City Manager has to give the Council a financial projection for the next five years and that they would also like one for the next ten years and that they will need to do something legally about this with the Enabling Legislation. He then went on to say that the biggest problem in South Burlington right now is the Growth Policy. This comes from the language in the Master Plan and calls for a growth rate of 2% per annum compounded or the County Growth Rate, whichever is higher. If the rate exceeds this, the Planning Commission should tell the Council, which will see if further growth will impact the City services adversely, and if it will, implement measures to control the rate. He said that the Council had tried to convert the language of the Plan into numbers for the Planning Commission to use as a guide in their approvals. One difficulty is that not everything that is approved gets built and it is not fair to hold up one developer who wants to build because another one had permission first and did not use it. Mr. Farrar felt that the City could probably accommodate everything that has been approved in terms of sewage disposal, but that anything partway through the planning process might cause problems in terms of capacity. He said that South Burlington is growing much faster than ever before and that is causing a lot of problems. Mr. Burgess asked how long approval of a plan was good and Mr. Farrar replied that they would try to work with the District Environmental Commission on that and that he would like a time limit set on it of 2 years. Mr. Ward said that a subdivision permit was good for 3 years. Mr. Farrar said that he wanted to get people with subdivision approval to say when they were going to build and then hold them to that. He said that the most complete control that they could legally get, would be if they passed Interim Zoning but that is drastic and he would not do it lightly. Moreover, it would just postpone the problem for two years. He added that no one could get an Environmental Permit until they have an Act 250 hearing and that one of the questions asked here is whether the plan is in conformity to the Master Plan. If South Burlington says that it is not, the burden is on the developer to prove that it is. On other topics, Mr. Flaherty suggested that the Council pass a resolution commending John Dinklage, and Mr. Farrar pointed out that since the poll tax had been abolished, they had lost a valuable source of information about the City and he suggested instituting a yearly census. The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.