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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 07/30/1979CITY COUNCIL JULY 30, 1979 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, July 30, 1979 at 7:30 p.m. in the Assessor’s Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Kenneth Jarvis, William Burgess, Martin Paulsen Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Stephen Page, Planner; Laura King, Gene Cenci, Bruce O'Neill, Gary Farrell, William Schuele, Sandy and Dale Kleppinger, James Ewing, Ernest Levesque, Lowell Krassner, Kirk Woolery Review additional data and formulate action and stipulations on the closed public hearing of Hospitality Inns - Gary Farrell to convert an existing motel unit to office complex at 870 Williston Road Mr. Farrar stated there might be a procedural problem here in that 3 of the Council members had a conflict of interest on the item. They are employees of the possible tenant of the motel unit. He consulted with several attorneys on the question and received different answers. In order to maintain a quorum, he suggested that the members be part of the hearing, but vote present, rather than yes or no. Actions of the Council do not have to have a majority of the full board voting yes, just a majority of yes votes. Mr. Szymanski said the City Attorney had been consulted and had said that if the request were granted, it would remain with the property and to reconvert the office to a motel would require the applicant to come back before the city. Mr. Flaherty suggested making it part of the motion that the office be reconverted within a specific time frame, as the applicant has suggested would happen. Mr. Flaherty moved to approve the request of Hospitality Inns for a multiple use at 870 Williston Road of an office and motel for a period not to exceed 24 months and that after 24 months, the use will revert to what is presently the use now. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion and it carried with Messrs. Jarvis and Flaherty voting aye and Messrs. Farrar, Burgess, and Paulsen voting present. Review Planning Commission draft on Recreation Chapter for Master Plan By way of introduction, Mr. Page said the chapter had been streamlined and improved. There is an effort to categorize the types of recreation facilities now in the city and to articulate a policy as to how to provide for the recreation needs of the future. He noted that the city was not the sole supplier of recreation facilities in the city. Mr. Page also said the trails system in the city had been very successful. Mr. Page said the emphasis in the chapter has changed from a focus on small, scattered park sites to a larger city site and facilities. Part of the reason is economy of scale but part is also that not everyone wants a park next door to them. Mr. Farrar felt there were two different recreation needs - an area for organized activities and an area in a neighborhood to act as an expanded backyard to give people room to do what they cannot in their own back yards. He wondered if a balance between the two needs should be struck in the language of the Plan. Mr. Burgess felt there should also be a park which fell somewhere between these two possibilities. Mr. Farrar felt the two needs should be defined. Mr. Schuele wanted three types of park included in the Plan - the large city park of perhaps 100 acres, a smaller type with facilities, and a smaller type without facilities. The large city park was discussed and Mr. Page said that the thinking behind the proposal was that this park would be used for everything from active to passive recreation. There could also be other buildings on the site, such as meeting rooms. The location would probably be near the Kennedy Drive area, where people from that highly developed area could walk to it. Mr. Farrar asked if organized activities in other areas of the city would be moved to this location, and Mr. O'Neill, City Recreation Director, said that might be possible in the future. The possibility of attaching this type of facility to the schools in the city was mentioned. The possibility of having a school site in this large piece of land was also mentioned. Mr. Krassner suggested having bike paths to the large site so children could get there easily. Mr. Paulsen suggested the location of the site not be narrowed too much right now. Mr. O'Neill saw a need for more indoor and outdoor facilities in the future, and he felt it was good sense to try to centralize things. He felt there was a need for a large piece of land. On page 8 the word "directly" was taken out of the third line. Mr. Page said bike paths were part of the Transportation Chapter but that he would cross-reference that here. Mr. Woolery said that in his opinion purchase of the large city park site was a higher priority than any other land acquisition now. Mr. Page said that with this chapter the Council and Commission were pretty much caught up together. Mr. Jarvis felt that special meetings for chapter reviews were a good idea. The Council agreed that they were in basic agreement with the chapter, if the language is changed a little. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.