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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/03/1978CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 3, 1978 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Tuesday, January 3, 1977 in the Conference Room, Municipal Offices, 1175 Williston Road, at 8:00 pm. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty (late), William Burgess, Martin Paulsen Member Absent Frank Armstrong Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; William Schuele, Doris Bailey, Barbara Bull, E. G. Thieret, Peter Yankowski, Bruce O'Neill, Jerry Olson, William Meyer, Bill Brown, Peter Lavallee, Robert Hawke, Jr., Wendell Worth, Fran Brock, Free Press Minutes of December 19, 1977 It was moved by Mr. Paulsen and seconded by Mr. Burgess to accept the minutes of December 19, 1977 as printed. The motion passed unanimously. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Trail System presentation by the Natural Resources Committee Mr. Schuele introduced the members of the Committee and said that they had been working on the system since the summer. It has been shown to the Planning Commission. The Committee took one portion of the city and worked on it extensively. This is the prototype for the entire city system. The Council was shown slides of the trail that were taken this summer. Mr. Brown said that parts of the trail were well worn already but other parts would need work. Mr. Farrar asked if the city had rights of way over a lot of the trail and was told that they have very few. Mr. Olson said that they were working with Steve Page and Dick Spokes on easements. The main problems with trails of this kind, he said, were vandalism, liability, and motorized vehicles. He felt that the problems could be solved, but said that the answer to some of them might be money. He said that if a property owner agreed to have the trail on his property, there might be a clause stating that after 5 years, the owner could decide that he did not want it anymore if the city has not kept it up properly. Ms. Bailey asked how the city would keep motorized vehicles off the trails and Mr. Farrar replied that they were illegal but that it was hard to enforce that law. He said that he would discuss the problem with the City Attorney. Mr. Paulsen commended the Committee on its presentation. Sign Police Department Union contract Mr. Flaherty moved to empower the City Manager to sign the Police Department agreement. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burgess and passed unanimously. Pyramid Mall Traffic Impact report. Mr. Farrar said that the Council had received a copy of a summery of the initial report on the Pyramid Mall traffic. He said that the topic would be discussed in the Mall hearings and he said that the Council should discuss how to introduce the report into the record and what recommendations they should make. He said that they were trying to assess the positive or negative impact the Mall would have on South Burlington and that if it was determined that the Mall would have a negative impact, they wanted to be sure that the citizens did not pay for it without compensation. He felt that what they should do would be to put into the record any additional burdens the Mall would place on the city that would not be placed by other alternatives, such as more but smaller stores located in different areas. Mr. Paulsen said that the Council would have to postpone any real comment until they received and read the entire report. Mr. Farrar said that the Council should establish the fact that if the cost to the city is more to have Pyramid Mall than to have the same amount of shopping space spread further, that would constitute a negative impact. Mr. Paulsen said that based on the memo the Council had received, it looked like there would be a negative impact. The Council indicated deep concern over the impact but took no action on the issue at this meeting. Discussion of retirement plan age limit Mr. Szymanski said that as of now, the city has a mandatory retirement age of 65, but that pending federal legislation could outlaw that. Two people are retiring this year and one wants to leave and the other does not. He said that the city could amend the insurance policy to allow people to work to a later date. Mr. Farrar said that he personally opposed mandatory retirement. Mr. Flaherty said that he would like to leave it open for people who want to retire at 65 to do so. Mr. Farrar suggested moving the mandatory age to 70 with the right to retire at 65. The City Attorney will be consulted about various options open to the city. Review of tax penalty waivers The Council reviewed the list. Mr. Flaherty moved to receive the City Manager's report on the journal entries for tax penalties. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen. Mr. Szymanski said that he had checked the list and felt that it was OK. Mr. Burgess did not like the exemption of Harper Hotels, feeling that the reason for lateness was not sufficient. The check had been dated the 14th, but the postmark was the 16th, or a day after the due date. He felt that citizens get a penalty for late taxes and he thought that the hotel chain should not be different. Mr. Szymanski said that it was the first time it had happened in many years of operating in the city. The motion passed unanimously. Review Planning Commission and Zoning Board agendas There were no comments on the Zoning agenda and the only comment on the Commission one was the request for a zone change on the Muddy Brook Industrial Park. Since zone changes come to Council anyway, it was not discussed at this time. Resolution of sympathy on the death of James Marvin Mr. Szymanski read the resolution (see attached copy). It was moved by Mr. Burgess and seconded by Mr. Paulsen to sign the resolution of sympathy on the death of Jim Marvin. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion of special meeting Mr. Farrar said that he would like to meet specially this week to discuss the sewer situation and possible adoption of Interim Zoning because of the sewer and traffic problems in the city. It was decided to meet Thursday night, January 5, 1978 at 7:30 pm at City Hall. Convene in Executive Session Mr. Flaherty moved to go into Executive Session at 10 P.M. to receive a report from the City Manager on litigation regarding Economou vs. the City and on a proposal for a land swap with Investors Corporation, and to reconvene without taking action. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed unanimously. The Executive Session was adjourned and the regular session reconvened at 10:15 P.M. On motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously, the regular session was adjourned at 10:16 P.M. Approved Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.