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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/26/1979CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 26, 1979 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, February 26, 1979 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road. Members Present Paul Farrar Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Martin Paulsen, William Burgess, Kenneth Jarvis Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Robert Babcock, Mary-Barbara Maher, and Michael Martineau, South Burlington Representatives; Will Wootton, Free Press; Andy Potter, WJOY; Nick Bogert, WCAX; Kay Neubert and Cynthia Rubin, The Other Peper; George Mona, Sidney Poger, Kirk Woolery, Jim Draper, Planning Commission members; Jean Cochran, WVMT; Jim Goddette, Fire Chief; Albert Audette, Highway Department; Tony Cairns, Bruce Righi, Frank McCarthy, Dick and Audrey Gracey, Joan Solomon, Ronald Schmucker, Mark Tigan, Winooski; Michael Richardson, Burlington; William Spignesi, Shawn Whalen, William Schuale, Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Director Minutes of February 5, 1979 Mr. Paulsen moved to approve the February 5, 1979 minutes. Mr. Burgees seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Sign Disbursement Orders Disbursement orders were signed. Meet with legislators to discuss pending legislation Mr. Martineau said that his committee had had public testimony on a bill providing for enforcement of municipal by-laws but that some committee members were not sure the bill was the best way to do what was needed. Some felt that it was not the proper function of the legislative body to be quasi-judicial and felt that might duplicate the efforts of the Zoning Board. What the committee decided to do was have some law students research the problem and report to the committee. Ms. Maher thanked Mr. Martineau for doing all this work on the bill. Mr. Farrar asked about a bill to create a separate police force for the airport and noted that he did not think the city would like that idea. Mr. Martineau said he would look into it. Mr. Babcock said there ware a lot of proposals to change the Miller Formula for State Aid to Education this session and that almost all of them have an income factor as a measure of wealth or as a way to distribute funds. The equallised grand list may also be changed. Continue public hearing on Interim Zoning application of C.A. Cairns of Champlain Oil to operate a convenience store and gas station at 1241 Williston Rd. Mr. Burgess asked what the difference was between this proposal and the one for a full line convenience store. He was told that the other proposal would have included, for example, a line of meats and this one will only have pre-packaged meats. A full line convenience store would have had more items than this and would have had more quantity and selection. Mr. Cairns went on to say that when the original proposal was presented the person who was to run the store had not realized how small the space was so this new proposal was consistent with the available floor space. Mr. Ron Schmucker said that he represented Messrs. Gracey and Solomon and that he was not sure of the difference in the two proposals since they had both been for a convenience store in a 2,000 square foot area, the same size as Mr. Gracey's store. He did not feel the application was specific enough to allow the city to regulate the use, and noted that the store could grow and still be within the definition of a convenience store. On the issue of the gas allocation, Mr. Schmucker noted that the allocation base year had been changed from 1972 to 1977-78 so that station would have the capability to pump as much as it pumped during that latter period. Mr. Schmucker also noted that the applicant owned the gas station across the street from this one where there were large gas tanks on the ground waiting to be put underground. He said that the applicant had noted that nationally known brands of gas sell better than lesser known brands but he pointed out that the nationally known brands were leaving the area, which would create a larger market for those brands which stayed behind. Mr. Schmucker said that this station could pump whatever the market could bear and that that might be 992,000 gallons per year. Mr. Cairns said that the base year had in fact been changed but he said that the station started selling gas in November and that the price was one of the lowest on the street. Despite this, they are pumping only 30,000 gallons per month, which is far from what Shell pumped (about 80,000 per month). He said that was a 250- 300% difference in volume of gas and therefore cars, and that those figures did not even include the loss of the service activity that was there when Shell was operating. Mr. Cairns said the station could pump a lot of gas but that the Council had to look at what the condition of the road was when Shell was pumping a million gallons per year. Even if the station pumps more gas than it does now and the store generates traffic, Mr. Cairns noted that they would have a long way to go to match what Shell was doing. He also noted that Bruce Houghton had said the traffic impact of the proposed use would be negligible. Mr. Gracey said he owned a convenience store at the corner of Hinesburg Road and Williston Road. He felt the city needed the service stations and that without them citizens would not be able to get their cars fixed. He also felt there were enough convenience stores in the area. Mr. Gracey also noted that there were no traffic lights in front of this proposed store and felt that there should be some traffic control for cars that wished to cross the street. In response to a question from Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Gracey said he filled his 7,000 gallon gas tank every 10-14 days, and that about 1 out of every 25-30 cars that came in to the lot bought gas and food or had their tanks filled up. Mr. Burgess then asked him, since he had a 2,000 square foot convenience store, what kind of traffic count he had per day just for the store business and Mr. Gracey replied that it was about 500 cars per day average. Mr. Schmucker noted that the new Citgo station at this location had opened without any fanfare and felt the Council should not be deluded by any gallonage figures given them at this time. He felt the station was truly a high volume station and that if the use were being proposed on a vacant lot, he did not think it would be approved. He also felt the lot was quite small and would create problems for cars trying to move around on the lot. Mr. Cairns noted that he did not own this station now. Mr. Flaherty moved to close the hearing on the request of Complain Oil Co. to operate a convenience store and gasoline sales station at 1241 Williston Road. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Public hearing on proposed use of Federal Revenue Sharing funds Mr. Farrar read the warning for the public hearing, which was published on February 17, 1979. He then said that the city would use the revenue sharing funds presently available to directly pay for operating budget items, basically salaries. The reason for this is that it creates the least red tape for use of the funds if done this way. The funds to be received during the year in question (1979-80) will be put into Certificates of Deposit to be used during the following physical year. There were no comments, questions, or suggestions. Mr. Paulsen moved to close the public hearing on the federal revenue sharing funds. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion, and all were in favor. Act on resolution for intermunicipal cooperation on low-cost housing Mr. Farrar said the Planning Commission had recommended that the Council not sign the resolution. He also noted that he had talked to the City Attorney about the text of the resolution and that he had felt there were better ways to say what the resolution wanted to say. He read the rewording given him by the Attorney, and noted that the original wording might have been interpreted as committing the city to something it could not legally commit to do. The new wording would only commit the city to explore the situation and put together a specific proposal. After the city sees a specific proposal it can proceed on its merit. Mr. Farrar felt the city would want to see the grant application, assuming the resolution was passed before it was submitted, to be sure South Burlington's concerns were included. Mr. Tigan said that Burlington and Winooski wanted approval from the City Council and that they would work with the city in what it wanted. He said they could bring the grant application to the Council but did indicate that there were deadlines to be met and delay could cause those deadlines to be missed. Mr. Burgess wondered if, working with tight deadlines, any significant changes to the application would be precluded. Mr. Flaherty felt that the most important approval was the early one, and noted that the city might lose control of the process after that, and find it hard to back away. Mr. Tigan said there were several steps in the process where the city would be involved. They would approve the grant application and after the grant was awarded they would be party to the contract drawn up. The city would have approval of the developer and could have site approval also. The contract would also have areas where the city could get involved, such as in design, tenant selection, and rents. Mr. Flaherty did not feel that Section 8 was the best way to go, saying it was wasteful, inefficient, and did not do sociologically what the city wanted to do. Mr. Woolery added that if the government could subsidise low-income people's rents for 40 years, why could they not subsidize the mortgage payments on a house in his neighborhood for the same person? The same amount of money would be spent, the people would be dispersed throughout the community, and some equity in a home would be built up. It was noted that this might be a better solution, but there was no program to do it on a large scale. Mr. Jarvis said that citizens in the community had been somewhat resistant to the idea of this housing and had asked him why Burlington and Winooski were so anxious to help South Burlington. He also said that about 8 months ago he had gone to about 80% of the homes in the city personally and had not found any people who did not have decent housing. Mr. Farrar felt that some of the people this housing was intended to help were people who used to live in the city and some were children of the people living here now. Mr. Paulsen asked Mr. Tigan at what point the city was too far in the process to back away and was told that, from a practical sense, he felt it was when the foundations were in the ground. Mr. Paulsen wondered what would happen if the grant were approved and the city then backed away. Mr. Tigan said that he and Mr. Paulsen seemed to disagree on the point of no return. It was noted that if the city could have a more concrete proposal they might be better able to make a decision on it. Mr. Poger, speaking as a private citizen because he had only attended 1 of the 3 meetings held on this proposal, said that he felt South Burlington had taken a passive approach to low income housing in the city. There had been three attempts at it in the city - a bonus provision for clustering units under a PUD (this was a failure), the Brand Farm condominiums, which are relatively low in cost and were given preference in the sewage capacity waiting line because it was felt they filled a social need for low cost housing, and the Elderly Housing project, which was a Section 8 program. He felt the city had not done enough in the area of low cost housing and felt this proposal from Burlington and Winooski offered them a chance to take an active role. He was not sure Section 8 was the best way to go but noted that he felt it should be explored. He said it was important for the city to try to provide this type of housing. Ms. Neubert felt the city had an obligation to Chittenden County to have at least some low income housing. Mr. Tigan was asked if the wording given the Council by the City Attorney would be acceptable and he said it would work all right. Mr. Woolery asked if the project would go forward if South Burlington said no. Mr. Tigan said that would depend on the mayors of Winooski and Burlington but added that he did not feel Shelburne, which had said OK to 50 units, should be asked to take 100 and he felt less than that would not be feasible. Mr. Paulsen asked if a regional approach was necessary to get the project going and was told that Section 8 was not necessarily regional but that all the money available now was for innovative projects, which this was and which a project totally in South Burlington would not be. On the subject of subsidized rents vs. subsidized mortgage payments, Mr. Tigan said that some people paid more for rent now than they could afford, and as a result other things, such as good nutrition, suffered. These people are paying rent now, not building equity, and what the program will do will be improve their rental conditions. He said Winooski was not foreign this on the city - they were just making the opportunity available. They felt it was important for the region and only wanted the administrative costs they would have to put in. Mr. Paulsen asked what would happen if the issue were tabled for the time being and was told that Mr. Tigan would probably recommend to the mayor that the project be dropped and it probably would be. He (Mr. Tigan) felt that if the city decided to go after Section 8 housing after the project was dead, they would probably never see it in South Burlington unless it was forced on the city by the government or a developer. He felt this was the city's best opportunity to participate in low and moderate income housing. Mr. Paulsen said, then, that the urgency to approve it tonight was not because the funding was going to be cut off shortly, and Mr. Tigan replied that the federal government had been convinced by Burlington and Winooski that the project had merit and some money had been set aside for it which might be lost. Mr. Jarvis asked whether South Burlington and Shelburne had been selected as the communities Burlington and Winooski would like to work with without the involvement of those governing bodies first and was told that was true, but that no specific names had been used when the project was discussed with the federal authorities. Mr. Tigan said they had only a verbal commitment from HUD. Mr. Flaherty moved to discontinue discussion on the resolution for intermunicipal cooperation on low cost housing. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and it passed 4-1, with Mr. Farrar voting no. Meet as Liquor Control Board to consider liquor licenses Mr. Paulsen moved to adjourn as the City Council and meet as the Liquor Control Board. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Mr. Szymanski said that he had applications for first class licenses for the Ground Round and the Rotisserie (change in ownership). Both have been reviewed by the Fire and Police Chiefs and found to be all right. Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the applications for the liquor licenses for the Ground Round and the Rotisserie. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burgess and passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said that he also had a request for an entertainment permit for the Ground Round from 7 pm to midnight and for movies on Friday and Saturday. There will be a singer and some musical instruments but this will be geared toward entertainment and not dancing. Mr. Paulsen moved to sign the entertainment permit for the Ground Round. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed with all voting aye. Mr. Flaherty then moved to adjourn as the Liquor Control Board and meet as the City Council. This motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen and passed without dissent. Act on State Highway request for comments on the proposed Southern Connector Extension in South Burlington The Agency of Transportation requested a written opinion from the Council regarding the various alignments proposed for the Southern Connector in a letter dated January 24, 1979. A map of the area was included with the letter. Mr. Jarvis moved that the City Council recommends the east alternate as shown on the proposed map and the inclusion of the Laurel Hill connector. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Review draft of policy on private street plowing prepared by City Manager The City Manager submitted a draft policy to the Council (see attached copy). Mr. Burgess said the city could insist that the person who owns the street plow it. Mr. Jarvis moved to accept the Private Road Snow Plowing Policy as drafted by the City Manager. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion. Mr. Burgess moved to amend the Policy to strike item #1. This motion died for lack of a second. The motion passed unanimously. Start review of City Budget The Council set several dates for budget discussions, including February 6 and 12 at 7:30. Mr. Farrar felt the Capital Budget would need to be discussed this year and some of the items moved. Review Planning Commission and Zoning Board agendas There were no comments. The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.