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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/22/1979CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 22, 1979 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, January 22, 1979 at 7:30 p.m. 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; Stephen Page, Planner; Tammy Pittman, Free Press; Robert Stewart, Executive Director Vermont League of Cities and Towns; Albert Audette, Street Department; Joseph Popecki, Frank Mazur, Ralph Cramer and William Wessel, Chittenden County Transportation Authority; Andy Potter, WJOY; Mary-Barbara Maher, Robert Babcock and Michael Martineau. State representatives; William and Ethel Schuele, Mary Thompson, Kay Neubert, Earl Greer, James Meunier, Lowell Krassner, Gordon Hurley, Mark Tigan, Bruce Hyde, Michael Richardson Addition to agenda The following item was added; Sign Water Department note renewal. Minutes of January 8, 1979 K. Jarvis moved to accept the January 8, 1979 minutes. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Meet with the local state representatives to discuss coming legislation P. Farrar said that Robert Stewart of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns would be coming to discuss the inventory tax but would be a little late. M. Maher asked what the Council wanted the representatives to do in the coming session, especially now that there has been such a large drop in State Aid to Education for the city. P. Farrar felt the decision the Legislature had to make was whether it felt that the general property tax level in the state was balanced. He said that if the Legislature felt the property tax was getting too high it could cut expenditures in local schools or take money out of the income and sales tax. R. Babcock said that almost every town in Chittenden County received less money this year for education than they thought they would. He felt the Miller formula had to be changed and said that there were a lot of bills which would be introduced this session to do just that, although he gave the chance of a change this session very little hope. He said he would introduce a bill to use the 1978 budget surplus funds to help cushion the losses of funding to cities in Chittenden County, but M. Maher did not think that bill would pass. The problem of juvenile offenders was discussed. It was felt that this was a serious problem although it was probably caused by a small group of children. M. Maher asked how the community felt about locating a group home for offenders in the city and was told that they had 1 or 2 and that it would probably be all right, if it would solve the problem. Some of the people present felt that parents should be held responsible for the damage their children do until they are 18 years old but M. Maher did not agree, feeling that children sometimes deliberately try to hurt their parents. She felt the 18 year old should be responsible for the damage he did at age 12, perhaps. She felt there had to be a limit to the parental responsibility. Regarding State Aid for highways, the Council felt the funds for local highway maintenance had not kept up with inflation. W. Szymanski asked about a bill which would require municipalities to reimburse private utilities if poles or lines were moved. He stated that would hurt South Burlington. As it stands now if the utility is in the city right of way and has to be moved, the utility pays for it and if the utility is in its own right of way and has to be moved, the city pays for it. This bill is H118 and the representatives said they would look into it. The inventory tax was discussed and M. Flaherty said that the proposal now is to make a pool of money from various tax sources and then send money back to the cities on a formula basis. The original bill proposed to use a 1975 base but M. Flaherty said it would be much better for South Burlington if a later date were to be used - the latest date possible. M. Maher said that this year the representatives were going to try very hard to pass a law to help enforce city ordinances. She has tried in the past without sucess but all three representatives will work on it this year. She asked if P. Farrar, W. Szymanski, and the City Attorney would be willing to testify in Montpelier on the issue and was told that P. Farrar and W. Szymanski certainly would and the Attorney would be asked about it. R. Babcock said that the city's voter checklist was quite inaccurate. Once the poll tax was repealed, the city lost its annual voter registration through that tax. He said that when property was sold the change was recorded but that there was no way to check when rental property changed hands. P. Farrar said the problem might be solved by using the school census information. The City Clerk is working on the problem now. It was decided that the representatives would come back before the Council the third Monday in February for another discussion. P. Farrar thanked them for coming in. Meet with South Burlington's representatives to the C.C.T.A. to discuss possible Authority bond issue Joseph Popecki gave a brief history of the Transportation Authority. They started in 1973 with a 4 community service and have had various problems since then, such as decreasing ridership and increasing costs. In addition to this, they bought 9 new busses which turned out to have many problems right from the beginning. The Authority needs a new reliable fleet of adequate size. J. Popecki said that they could have a 20 bus fleet by late summer if they can order by April 1 and said that they would like to ask the voters to approve a $300,000 bond issue for new busses, radios, fare boxes, rider shelters, and an addition to the garage. If the bond issue is approved, there will not need to be an increase in the tax rate because of it this year, he said. The Authority wants to put the issue on the March 6 ballot and have the vote in all 4 communities taken at one time. He said that this was not a South Burlington referendum, but a CCTA one and that the cooperation of the City Council did not necessarily mean that it endorsed the bond request. What they are asking is to be able to use South Burlington's voting machinery and they will reimburse the city for the cost. P. Farrar asked why the vote could not be taken at the regular election in May and was told the Authority Charter strongly suggested a single special election so that there will be one vote only. He was also told that if they wait until May they will have to pay $115,000 more for the busses they need and the delivery time will be 12-14 months later. The $300,000 will cover the 20% local share of the bus cost, with the rest of the money coming from Federal funds. J. Popecki said that 10 busses had been ordered already and were due to arrive perhaps in October. If the Authority orders another 10 before April 1 they can receive all 20 at the same time, but if they do not, they will have to wait 12-14 months for the second 10. Frank Mazur and William Wessel recommended the March election for the bond issue. Lowell Krassner said he was a bus rider but that his route had been terminated and he wanted some commitment from the Authority to restore the line. He had a list of 12 South Burlington residents, 4 Shelburne residents, 1 Burlington resident, and 5 Williston residents who were interested in having this route restored. Ralph Cramer said that he could not run that bus because it did not pay for itself, but added that if he could be assured that enough people would ride it to make it pay, he would put it back in the plan. F. Mazur felt that it was reasonable to want to use the bus to get to work, as L. Krassner did, and said that if the Authority had the necessary equipment, they could do subscription business, as he felt this was. He noted also that the Council could say that it wanted this route run and if it would underwrite the cost, the Authority would run the bus. J. Popecki said that that route had been run under a special program which had been terminated and that it was a lower priority than the regular routes. The Council was told it could recommend any route it wished. The Authority is doing a route evaluation now. The Authority feels that if it gets its new busses the high cost of maintenance, particularly with the 9 faulty busses presently owned, will drop sharply. The issue of bus routes was raised again, with Ethel Schuele saying she did not feel the present routes served South Burlington very well. One cannot get to the library or the medical center at Timberlane from the airport side of the city without changing busses at a very busy intersection. There is also no service between the two sides of the city. J. Popecki said they hoped for a new traffic pattern to be set up soon which would be more reliable and useful. He said the city could design a service pattern as long as it understood that it would pay for it on a mileage basis. M. Flaherty moved to make available to the Chittenden County Transportation Authority the election machinery of the city for a March 6 ballot on the CCTA bond issue with the understanding that the Authority will pay for the cost involved. K. Jarvis seconded the motion and it passed 5-0. Discussion of Inventory Tax Robert Steward, Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, spoke to the Council on this tax. He said the tax would be repealed in the near future and he felt it must be replaced. What they have proposed is to create a pool of money gathered from other sources and then distribute those funds to towns on a formula basis. Distribution would be in the fall of every year, but R. Stewart felt strongly that they did not want to create a bureaucracy to handle the distribution. Asked about what the base year would be, he said that 1975 was the last year the state had complete data from the towns, but that was not really a good year to use and they are proposing to take the highest figure from the years 1975-9. The Council told R. Stewart that they did not like the basis for the transfer formula and did not want a 1975 base. Asked when this would take effect, R. Stewart said the first distribution would be November 1, 1980 if it passed the Legislature this year. Consider a resolution for intermunicipal cooperation on low cost housing (Section 8) between the city and neighboring communities P. Farrar read the resolution (see attached copy). He then gave some background on the issue, saying that the South Burlington Master Plan called for the city to foster development of housing which meets the needs of all the people in the community regardless of income level. The Federal government has set up Section 8 which provides for low cost housing to be privately built and owned. Taxes on the property will be paid and the government will subsidize rents. South Burlington was approached by Burlington and Winooski and asked to cooperate on this project. It was proposed to build 100 units, with 50 of those in South Burlington and 50 in Shelburne. The restrictions on who would be allowed to manage these buildings would not be so stringent that no one in the area could do it, the Council was told, although HUD might have some requirements. The Council asked whether 50 or 100 units were being proposed for the city but they were unable to get an answer to that. Mark Tigan, director of the Winooski Community Development Department, said it was hard to tell the number of units now since they did not know any of the costs involved. He was asked what happened if only 1/2 of the units were rented and said that HUD guarantees the rents for up to 1 year to allow time for the units to fill up, but that they did not allow units to be built unless the need for them in the area had been proven. HUD will pay the rent on empty apartments until the year is up. The ultimate ownership of the buildings belongs to the developer and he is responsible for his investment. HUD will not allow him to let the building deteriorate - he must submit a management plan to them. W. Schuele expressed concern about creating a ghetto by grouping so many low-income people together and urged the Council to consider other options. M. Tigan said that it would be possible for a community to select an ideal site for such a project and use the $100,000 HUD would give them for purchasing an option on the land so it could then be offered to a developer. This $100,000 is HUD grant money. W. Burgess was uneasy with the resolution, feeling that it was a foot in the door for things which were explicitly not stated in the resolution. He wanted to know specifically what was being discussed here. K. Jarvis moved to table further discussion of the resolution until the next meeting, which is February 5, and have it as an item of business. M. Paulsen seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. M. Paulsen then suggested that this subject appear on a Planning Commission agenda and that the Council discuss with them the impact of this type of program on South Burlington and whether there are areas in the city which might receive this type of program, and if so, where they are. Public hearing on conditional use applications within the Interim Zoning District Earl B. Greer, 8 Dorset Street to operate a heating subcontracting business from an existing structure - E. Greer said that he had constructed a 60' x 80' warehouse and that one of the people renting space in the building had moved a desk and secretary into the building. The business is air conditioning but no retail business is done in the building at all. Some repair work is done there. The only traffic resulting from the business is the secretary's car and 3 service trucks which come in and out once each day. E. Greer apologized to the Council and said he had not realized that an office was going to be set up until it had been done. When he realized what had occurred, he came in and talked to the Zoning Administrator about it. It was determined that an office would be a permitted use in this area under the permanent zoning. E. Greer felt that there was no repair shop in the building, so all he was asking for was permission to have an office there. The business in question has been in the building since November 1. P. Farrar said he saw no problem with the use but noted that if the Council approved it, it would be after the fact. It was also noted that E. Greer had come in himself to discuss the violation. W. Schuele hoped the Council would indicate that it was concerned about after the fact approvals and that it would note that that was not an acceptable procedure. M. Paulsen moved to close the public hearing on Earl B. Greer's application for a conditional use at 8 Dorset Street. K. Jarvis seconded the motion and it passed 5-0. P. Farrar said a decision on this and the other appeals would be made at the next meeting. W. Burgess asked that the issue of after the fact approvals be discussed with the Planning Commission at the same meeting at which the two boards discuss low income housing. James Meunier, 10 Patchen Road, to convert the lower level of an existing structure to office use, - J. Meunier submitted a letter detailing what he wanted to do (see attached copy). He said that at one time the lower level had been divided as he wishes to do. He wants to put in 3 offices and felt that he would be looking for professional uses such as insurance, accounting, psychology, etc. He has also had a request from a dentist. W. Burgess asked whether, if the Council approved this use, they could look at the proposed tenants and was told that normally they could not. The City Attorney could be asked, however, if it would be legal to put such a stipulation on the approval. J. Meunier was asked if he would be willing to accept a non-appealable stipulation of approval that the Council would have the right to review the tenants who would use the offices and he replied that he saw no problem with that right now. It was noted that if the funeral home in the building were active, that could generate a lot more traffic than some offices uses. K. Jarvis moved to close the public hearing on the application of James Meunier at 10 Patchen Road. M. Paulsen seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. R. Gordon and Joyce Hurley, to construct a medical and dental clinic at 595 Dorset Street - G. Hurley said that he had originally asked for and received permission to build 7 condominiums on this lot but that now he feels this would be a better use. He felt the only factor that this change of use would alter would be the traffic impact. He has one dentist interested in moving in and he told G. Hurley that he expected to have 8 people per day come in. If he receives permission for this use, G. Hurley said, he will drop the idea of residential units. This building is smaller than the original proposal and the carports have been eliminated, so the traffic flow would be improved. The building will be 2 1/2 stories tall. The medical and dental use would be a permitted use under the permanent zoning in the area. G. Hurley said that all the conditions of the other application still apply such as the setback for a possible Interstate ramp. It was noted that there could be as many as 100 cars per day using the facility. G. Hurley said he could not have more than 7 offices but could combine two if someone wished that. K. Jarvis moved to close the public hearing on the R. Gordon and Joyce Hurley application at 595 Dorset Street. W. Burgess seconded the motion, which passed 5-0. Accept deed to Twin Oaks Drive W. Szymanski said that the acceptance of the road included acceptance of the sewage pumping station there. Everything is up to city standards and in good repair. The pumping station was designed to serve the tennis center plus the 200 units of housing proposed. Sewage from the Brand property nearby will also go through the pumping station, although it will have to be modified to be able to handle that extra flow. The developer of the Brand property will pay for that before he is allowed to hook on. M. Flaherty moved to accept the deed to Twin Oaks Drive. K. Jarvis seconded the motion and it passed 5-0. Sign resolution for Friendly Ice Cream Corporation A copy of this resolution is on file with the city. M. Flaherty moved to sign the resolution for Friendly Ice Cream. W. Burgess seconded the motion and all were in favor. Sign Water Department renewal note W. Burgess moved to sign the renewal note for the Water Department with the Merchants Bank in the amount of $999.36 with an interest rate of 4.65% for 6 months. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with all in favor. Review Planning Commission and Zoning Board agendas It was noted that the Commission would be deciding the issue of private streets in Meadowood at Spear and P. Farrar suggested the Council inform the Commission that it felt those streets should be public. The Council also indicated that it did not like the practice of plowing private streets. It was felt that a policy regarding plowing should be promulgated. The City Attorney strongly suggests that the city not plow private streets. W. Szymanski was asked to put an item on the next agenda to discuss a snow plowing policy. W. Burgess moved to request the Planning Commission to make the streets in the Meadowood at Spear development public streets and that further, if they choose not to do that, to at least insist that the streets be owned by a homeowners association. M. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.