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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 04/03/1978CITY COUNCIL APRIL 3, 1978 CORRECTION On page 2 in the last sentance on the page it should read "and Williston Road widening between Dorset St. and Hinesburg Road." The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, April 3, 1978 at 8:00 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Frank Armstrong, William Burgess, Martin Paulsen, Michael Flaherty Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Stephen Page, Planner; Fran Brock, Free Press; Cynthia Rubin, The Other Paper; J. Everett Reed, Robert Martineau, Paul Graves, Fred Fayette, Zoning Board; George Feinburg, Sterling Emerson, Peter Collins, Rene and Lucille Racine, Chris Johnson, Karen and Jim Draper, Donald Whitten, Stanley Wilbur, Ralph Goodrich, Hugh Marvin, James Lamphere, Ray and Nomie Unsworth, David Brassard, Bob Larson, John Ditzgen Additions to Agenda The following additions were proposed: 1) Discussion of traffic on Williston Road 2) Dog damage complaint 3) Sign Urban Systems applications 4) Expense budget discussion Mr. Farrar asked if there were any objections to the additions and Mr. Armstrong said that item four had not been warned and he asked if a representation of the senior citizens was present. There was no response, so he said that he felt that if the senior citizens had known this would be discussed, they would have been here. Mr. Farrar said that the Council could not add an item to an agenda unless no Council member objected, so the item was not added. Mr. Farrar said it would be discussed at Thursday's budget hearing. Minutes of March 16 and March 20, 1978 It was moved by Mr. Burgees and seconded by Mr. Armstrong to accept the minutes of March 16 and March 20, 1978 as presented. The motion passed with all in favor. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Meet with agent for the parcel of land at White St. and Williston Rd to consider land swap Mr. Szymanski said that there was a proposal to swap some privately owned land at the corner of White St. and Williston Rd. for some city land. Mr. Page showed the Council where it was and what was proposed. Judge Feinburg said that he had the power of attorney for the heirs to the land and that he felt the proposed swap would not be equitable. He felt he would be giving up valuable property in return for land of little value. Mr. Szymanski said that it had been suggested to the city that it swap this land so that it could realign White St. to come to a 90° angle with Williston Road and make one parcel out of what is currently two - the lot in the triangle created by the intersection of the two roads, and a parcel located on White St. that goes with this lot and is intended to provide parking. Mr. Page said the subject had come up at subdivision review for the property across the street and that there had been at the same time a proposition in front of the Zoning Board concerning the land. The person interested in the land had indicated that he would be receptive to the proposal. Mr. Page said the loss of property to the owner would be nominal and he would have a larger piece of developable property fronting on Williston Road. He said the advantages of having a contiguous piece of property would outweigh the small loss of space. Mr. Page felt it was in the best interests of the city to pursue this idea. Mr. Feinburg said that he had never been asked about the swap and he did not like the idea. Mr. Sterling Emerson said that he had brought about the question and had discussed the idea with Mr. Page, but said that he thought he had not committed himself to anything and did not think the city had. Mr. Farrar said it looked like the city did not have a swap to consider. Mr. Graves, from the Zoning Board, said that there was a request before the Board for a variance on the land because the owner is losing money on it, and says it cannot be developed. Since there does not seem to be a swap, he said, perhaps the city should think about condemnation and now is the time to do that, before another building is put on the land. Mr. Martineau, Chairman of the Zoning Board, said that a year ago the appellant had been before the Board for a variance and had been denied because there was not enough evidence of hardship. Now they are back, saying that the land is hard to sell. He said this would be an ideal situation to line up curb cuts on Williston Road. He asked if the city had considered buying the land and was told they had not. Mr. Fayette, also of the Zoning Board, said that the Board had asked that the representative of the estate approach the city on a solution and he took it that this had not happened. Mr. Feinburg said that he had never heard that the city was interested in the land and that since the time the Zoning Board refused a variance last time, the offer he has gotten for the land has dropped considerably. He said that he was not interested in selling any of the land. Discussion of traffic on Williston Road Mr. Ralph Goodrich said that the city was in an interim zoning situation but he had looked at the Capital Budget and did not see any improvements slated for Williston Road until 1981-82. He suggested that the city should bring these projects into a closer year to this year. Mr. Farrar said that the improvements would be made the year before they show up in the budget, which is the year they begin to be paid for. Mr. Paulsen said he favored a move ahead to bonding for 1980-81 because he felt the city should start planning right now in anticipation of federal funding which may be coming out of Washington for towns that have prepared plans. Mr. Armstrong said that he agreed the city should start on this, saying that it often took much longer to complete a project than was anticipated and the delay was often unavoidable. Mr. Paulsen asked if the city had requested improvements to Williston Road and was told that they had been submitted as part of the city's input to the Regional Planning Commission for inclusion in the 10 year capital budget. The city needs to submit applications for specific projects. Mr. Paulsen moved that the city take that step immediately and file with the State Highway Department to implement the programs in the 10 year capital budget plan entitled Williston Road widening at Gaynes and Williston Road widening at Dorset St. and Hinesburg Road. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. Mr. Paulsen said that he would like to have plana ready to go if money from the Round 3 program out of Washington became available Mr. Szymanaki said the city had applications in for a skating rink and a swimming pool but Mr. Paulsen felt more taxpayers would benefit from road improvements. Mr. Goodrich said the businesses in the Dorset Street area were being choked with traffic and he suggested moving improvements to that road ahead also. Mr. Paulsen felt it would be a good idea to get plans ready for that also and he moved that the project involving the widening of Dorset St. also be put on immediate request to the Highway Department for plans and specifications. Mr. Armstrong seconded the motion, which passed with all in favor. Williston Road sewers inflow and infiltration report and flow gauging Mr. Szymanski said they had set up separate recording instruments at the Airport Parkway treatment plant for about 2 weeks, which had shown consistently that one was metering less flow than the other. The city had then employed a consultant to make sure the temporary recorder was accurate and it had been within 1- 2%. This means that the original meter had been showing more flow than there actually was. Mr. Szymanski said this was because there had been a buckle in the flume. Mr. Paulsen asked how long that had existed and was told it had probably been there since the construction of the plant. Mr. Paulsen said that seemed like loose procedure but Mr. Szymanski said that the city had had no reason to check the accuracy of the flow meter before this time. Mr. Don Whitten said that South Burlington was at the bottom of the State's list of communities that had inaccurate flows. He said that some had been off by as much as 35%. The defect in the flume was not visible to the naked eye, he said. Mr. Farrar said he would like a letter from the State saying that it accepts the new readings as correct and accurate. Consider a name for the new industrial park road Mr. Szymanski said that the road could not be named "Industrial Park Road" because that was too similar to roads in neighboring communities and the post office would have trouble with it. He suggested Tilley", after a city clerk who once worked for the city. Mr. Armstrong suggested advertising in the city papers for suggestions from citizens. Mr. Ward said that he had a list of suggested names that the League of Women Voters had given the city about 5 years ago and he said he would try to find it. Mr. Farrar said the Council would act on both suggestions. Capital Budget, Interim Zoning, and Official Map - Discuss methods of implementation. Mr. Page showed the Council a schematic drawing of what an official map for the city might look like. He said that it would have two functions: 1) it would make effective use of the stipulations and conditions placed by the Planning Commission on a developer, and 2) it would provide the right of first refusal to the city to buy land for road widening, saver easements, etc. that would be needed in the future. Mr. Page said that he had discussed the concept of an official map with the City Attorney, who had been lukewarm on the subject, feeling that land would have to be surveyed to put it in place and that this would be better done after the Capital Budget and Program are in place. He also pointed out that the city had to have the money to back the map up. Mr. Page felt the city could make the first steps by showing already existing easements and other restrictions, but he was not sure the by-law was in the city's best interests. Mr. Farrar said that the city needed to plan in a rational way for its future needs and he felt the official map would be a good tool to let the Planning Commission know where things should go in the future. Mr. Page said that even without the map, the city had been getting what was outlined in the Master Plan and he said that he would start now to do the cataloging of what the city already has. The Council agreed. On interim zoning, Mr. Paulsen asked if the Council agreed that all the findings of fact were indeed facts and Mr. Burgess said that since he heard no objections, he thought they were probably all right. Mr. Paulsen then asked what would implement any action on interim zoning and Mr. Burgess said that they needed to commit themselves to doing something during the interim zoning period. Mr. Flaherty suggested putting in a different zone for Shelburne Road, as suggested in Mr. Morency's High Traffic Generators report. Mr. Paulsen asked if there were any old studies of Shelburne Road and was told that there had been a Route 7 Corridor Study and a Topics report. Mr. Szymanski said that Regional Planning had taken some studies. Mr. Paulsen asked Mr. Szymanski about the proposed northbound ramp onto 1-89 at Kennedy Drive and an interchange at Hineaburg Road and was told that Mr. Szymanski had been told that nothing would be done until the entire interstate was completed. Mr. Paulsen moved that the City Council advance one year the bonded indebtedness of $3,000 in 1981-82 and $10,000 in 1981-82 up to the year 1980-81, indicating our intent to implement the programs. The motion died for lack of a second. Mr. Farrar felt they had already shown their intent on a realistic schedule but Mr. Paulsen said he would like input from the Highway Department, and he was still thinking of Round 3 money. Mr. Farrar felt the chances of South Burlington being given more money than it needs were very slight and he suggested that they take 2 or 3 weeks and discuss some of these projects with the Highway Department. Discuss recommendations for revisions to the Regional Master Plan Mr. Farrar asked if the members had studied the Plan and Mr. Paulsen said he had not had time to review it fully. Mr. Szymanski said that he would get some updated copies of the Plan and give them to the members. Mr. Farrar said the Planning Commission had commented that it was not reasonable to respond within such a short time as had been requested and he felt this was true. He said that in the absence of any specific recommendations, he would write something for the next meeting, so that it could be reviewed. Review Planning Commission and Zoning Board agenda Mr. Paulsen said that the Commission had told the Council it would give them a job description of the additional help it needed and he asked if they had done that. He was told they had not. He said that modifications to the budget could be made still and that if they still had the need, now was the time to ask. On the April 17 agenda of the Zoning Board, the Council received a memo relating to one appeal (see attached copy), from the Natural Resources Committee. Mr. Szymanski said that almost all the homes in that area had variances and Mr. Armstrong felt he needed more information before he would oppose the appeal. Mr. Paulsen said he would like the memo transmitted to the Zoning Board and he moved to transmit the April 3, 1978 memo from the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed unanimously. On appeal #2 on the same agenda. Mr. Farrar said that the proper way to have a zone change was to go through the Planning Commission, not the Zoning Board. Mr. Armstrong moved that the Council go on record an opposing this appeal because it is an improper procedure. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burgess and passed unanimously. Mr. Farrar said the Council should send a memo to the Zoning Board to that effect. Dog damage complaint Mr. Szymanski said that a dog had recently killed 3 ducks on Hinesburg Road near the interstate. The dog was captured but had Alabama tags. He talked to the owner of the ducks who said that they were worth about $80 because they were a special breed and weighed quite a bit. Mr. Burgess moved to enable the City Manager to pay up to that figure after further investigation if he finds it is reasonable. The motion was seconded by Mr. Armstrong and passed with all in favor. Mr. Armstrong said that Mr. Szymanski could contact the University of Vermont about how much the ducks were worth. Sign applications for Urban Systems money It was moved by Mr. Flaherty and seconded by Mr. Paulsen to sign the Urban Systems applications for the already agreed upon paving. The motion passed unanimously. Liquor Control Board Mr. Flaherty moved to adjourn as the City Council and meet as the Liquor Control Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said that there were 30 renewals and that neither the City Attorney nor the Police Chief had any adverse comments on them (see attached list). Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the liquor licenses for the 30 renewal applications. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. The meeting was declared adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.