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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/07/1977CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 7, 1977 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, November 7, 1977 at 8:00 p.m. in the Conference Room, Municipal Offices, 1175 Williston Rd. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Frank Armstrong, William Burgess, Michael Flaherty, Martin Paulsen Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; P.F. Iafrate, Jym Wilson, Sidney Poger, Kay Neubert, Albert Audette Minutes of joint meeting of October 12 and regular minutes of October 17, 1977 Mr. Paulsen moved to approve the minutes of October 12 and October 17, 1977 as printed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Review of Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment agendas Mr. Armstrong brought up the question of the application of McDonald's for a restaurant and drive-up window on Shelburne Road. Mr. Farrar said that he felt that the Council should offer the Zoning Board assistance on this one if they needed it. Mr. Armstrong said that he thought McDonald's should be warned that eventually there might not be left-turns allowed there. Mr. Flaherty said that he would hate to see it pass too easily because of the concern that has been shown by making these things conditional uses and by the concern for traffic that may result in a new zone in that area. Mr. Farrar hoped that the criteria used to evaluate this would be those used throughout the zone. Mr. Szymanski said that the road was only two lanes down there and that the drive-up window would increase the traffic generated. He said that the City Attorney had recommended getting some traffic expertise on this appeal. Mr. Flaherty moved that in light of the fact that the city is presently re- studying the zoning on Shelburne Road with an eye to limiting the use of High Traffic Generators, we suggest that this conditional use be studied carefully, and the City Council would offer whatever assistance the Zoning Board of Adjustment might need in making a proper evaluation. The Council is also concerned about the precedent-setting that might occur by approval of this initial conditional use. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burgess and passed unanimously. Mr. Flaherty then moved to appoint Mr. Farrar to represent the City Council at the next Zoning Board meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. Consideration of resolution re: Building Permit fee Mr. Farrar read the resolution, which is as follows: In accordance with Article XIV, Section 14.40 of the South Burlington Zoning Regulations, the City Council hereby resolves to amend the zoning permit fees as established in November, 1968, as follows: "No permit shall be required for any structural alteration or interior remodeling project which does not exceed five hundred ($500) dollars in construction cost." This provision does not apply to any exterior addition which is subject to those requirements set forth in the South Burlington Zoning Regulations. Adopted November 7, 1977 Mr. Armstrong moved to sign the resolution. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Consideration of amendments to Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations. Mr. Farrar said that the Council had suggested that the amendments be warned separately but that they had not been. He said that the Council would discuss them at the next meeting. Review of Traffic Consultant's proposals Sidney Poger said that Steve Page had sent a letter to various engineering firms, mainly in the Boston area, describing the city of South Burlington and asking about getting some specific help on the triangle area formed by Dorset Street, Kennedy Drive, and Williston Road. The letter also asked about further help on a retainer basis. Mr. Poger looked at the responses and chose the 3 firms that looked the best. He described the responses and said that one had not given a price but had said that they were competitive. The second said that the Triangle study would cost around $7-11.000 depending on local help and what information was available and that further help would be charged as needed and as used. The final one said that the Triangle study would be around $12-18,000 and that further assistance would cost about $250 per day. Mr. Armstrong asked if there were any responses from Vermont-based firms and Mrs. Neubert said that she and others did not think there were any in Vermont. Mr. Paulsen asked if Mr. Poger had looked for federal aid for this and said that he knew that it was available. Mr. Flaherty said that the studies that the city had paid for in regard to Pyramid Co. would be in by the end of the year and those might help. He suggested slowing down on this right now. Mr. Poger felt that the city might have waited too long already and pointed out that what the Commission wanted was not a traffic engineer as such, but an engineer with traffic expertise who could also give the City Manager some help. He felt that the city might also be more willing to use someone in the city than a consultant who would have to be flown up for specific purposes. Mr. Flaherty said that the city would have trouble finding money for this purpose this year and recommended looking into possible federal aid. Mr. Flaherty asked if the Commission would spend some of its money on this and Mr. Poger replied that while some of that had already been spent, the Commission felt that traffic was a high priority and might put up some of its money. He said that he could not speak for the Commission on that, though. Mr. Szymanski thought that money was going to be hard to find in the next year and suggested that the issue be taken to the people. Mr. Armstrong said that with the energy crisis and the Carter energy program, no one really knew what would be happening to traffic in the next years and he wanted to hold off on any expensive studies for a while. Mr. Poger said that was a rational argument but that this issue had waited a long time already and that when he had discussed the consultant with the Council 3 months ago, they had asked for a price and a specific question, both of which have been given. Mr. Flaherty said that in the interim the Council learned about possible federal aid, and spent $5,000 on a traffic study in relation to Pyramid. Mr. Farrar said that he wanted to explore the federal aid question and that he would like to have the study start in January if the funding was found. Sign Telephone Company petitions for installation of buried cables on Barrett Street and Williston Road Mr. Szymanski described where the cables would go. Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the petitions. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Consider purchase of Xerox duplicating machine. Messrs. Farrar and Burgess removed themselves from this discussion. Mr. Szymanski said that the city had found the Xerox machine to work very well and that they could purchase it if they wanted to. He felt that this would save them some money. Mr. Paulsen felt that the AB Dick machine was much better - cheaper, smaller, and easier. He said that he would like a financial analysis of copiers to find the best one, and Mr. Szymanski said that could be done. Mr. Paulsen moved to empower the City Manager to investigate costs of copying machines and to present figures to the Council for review at the next meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Flaherty and passed with Messrs. Farrar and Burgess abstaining. Review of 10 year Urban Systems projects Mr. Farrar said that he and Mr. Szymanski had attended a meeting to determine the situation with Urban Systems funds and said that it looked as if there would be more money than projects for it. Mr. Szymanski made a list of possible local paving and long-term projects and Mr. Farrar said that he and the City Manager would report the city's priorities on these projects. It involves no commitment on the part of the city, he said. Mr. Flaherty moved that if Urban Systems funds are available this year, the priority list of local repaving projects be as follows: 1) Dorset Street (Kennedy Drive to F.A.I. 89 overpass widen to 22' and repave), 2) Spear Street (Jug Handles to Swift Street - widen to 22' and repave), and 3) Swift Street (Farrell Street to Dorset Street - widen to 22' and repave). The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. As far as major projects went, Mr. Szymanski had more than could be reasonably anticipated, said Mr. Farrar, and the Council should choose some of them. Mrs. Neubert felt that the proposed Hinesburg Road-Dorset Street Connector should be considered a priority, but Mr. Szymanski said that was not on the Urban Systems map. Mr. Paulsen felt that thought should be given to a Hinesburg Road-Interstate interchange and he said that perhaps the city should be acquiring the land for it. Mr. Burgess moved that the priority list for major construction be as follows: 1) Southern Connector Extension, 2) Industrial Road (Extend to Williston), 3) Dorset Street (widen to 4 lanes - Williston Road to Kennedy Drive). 4) Williston Road (Jug Handles to F.A.I. 89 - add left turn lane), 5) Williston Road - Kennedy Drive intersection (widen to include turning lanes), and 6) Williston Road - Hinesburg Road intersection (widen to include turning lanes). The motion was seconded by Mr. Flaherty and passed unanimously. Mr. Farrar said that he has talked to various people about the proposed changes in the interchange configuration and that the Highway Department, Burlington Planning Commission, and the Burlington Planner all seem to be open to suggestion. He said that the State wanted them to ask for a citizen's committee to study procedures for South Burlington's part of the road. Mr. Paulsen moved that the City Council would request that the State Highway Department take the necessary staps to empower us to appoint and request other communities to appoint people from their communities to a citizen's committee to study South Burlington's part of the Southern Connector. The motion was seconded by Mr. Flaherty and passed unanimously. Report concerning recommendation of Steering Committee subcommittee on tax distribution Mr. Farrar said that a number of ways to take care of the problem of distributing tax revenues had been discussed and he briefly outlined them. He said that the subcommittee would get it all down on paper and circulate it to both the City Council and School Board and that it could then be discussed at the next Steering Committee meeting. Meet as Liquor Control Board Mr. Burgess moved to adjourn as the City Council and reconvene as the Liquor Control Board. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said that the Council did not have to consider a license for serving liquor on the upper floor of Pauline's Kitchen as well as the main level. All that was needed was to notify the State whether they approved or disapproved. Mr. Burgess moved that the request of Pauline's Kitchen for a redefinition of their liquor license be approved and that the City Manager be empowered to write a letter to the State to that effect. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said that Pizza Hut had applied for a first class license and that the Police Chief had reviewed the application and had no adverse comments. Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the liquor license for Pizza Hut. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. The meeting was declared adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.