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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/24/1981CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 24, 1981 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, August 24, 1981 at 8:00 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Martin Paulsen, Michael Flaherty, William Burgess Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Pat Burgmeier, The Other Paper; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Peggy Picard, City Clerk; Gloria Yandow, Bookkeeper; Albert Audette, Highway Department; James Goddette, Fire Chief; Douglas Bouvier, Kevin Hayes, William & Ethel Schuele, F.C. McCaffrey, John Towne, Carol & Gerald Parot, Marilyn Luchini Agenda additions and changes The following additions and changes were made: 1. Add a discussion of the Brigham Road drainage problem. 2. Add a discussion of the Lakelands right of way status. 3. Add a discussion of William Schuele's comments regarding the Planning Commission scheduling of a recent hearing on Mitel's expansion. 4. Move item #10 (John Towne's resignation) to second place on the agenda, at Mr. Towne's request. 5. Move Carol Parot's comments on a dog problem from #12 to #3 on the agenda. Minutes of August 3, 1981 The August 3, 1981 minutes were approved on a motion by Mr. Paulsen, a second by Mr. Flaherty and a unanimous vote. Accept John Towne's resignation from the Council Mr. Towne stated that he would first like to clear up any misunderstanding which might have been created by the recent Free Press article on his resignation. He stated that he had wanted to draw sons attention to areas that he felt needed improvement, but he said he felt he had been privileged to serve on the board. He felt that the board had gotten bogged down sometimes, but he did not want to leave a black/mark against the Council. He has discussed some problems with the bookkeeper, and said there might be a need for another person helping in that department part-time. Mr. Farrar read the letter of resignation. Mr. Flaherty moved to accent John Towne's resignation with thanks and to ask the City Manager to prepare a letter of appreciation for his year and one half of service and to wish him well. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted for it. Discuss a dog problem with Carol Parot Ms. Parot said that on August 19 her son had been bitten by the dog owned by her next-door neighbors, the Provenchers. The dog was not leashed, it is not registered, and it has not had shots. Her son was bitten while on the Parot's property. Ms. Parot called the police, who said the dog had to be given back to the owners for observation for 10 days. Ms. Parot said that if the dog disappeared, her son would have to have 5 rabies shots, at a cost of over $500, so she asked that the dog be held at the pound for the 10 day period. The police could not do that, they said, so her son's health was in the hands of the Provenchers, who would have to keep the dog at home for 10 days. She discussed the situation with the Provenchers, and at 9:00 pm that night they agreed to put the dog in the pound, even though the police told the Provenchers that they did not have to do that if they did not want to. When they got to the pound, they were not expected. She called the health inspector and the deputy inspector, but they were both on vacation. She then called all 5 Council members, only reached Mr. Paulsen, who helped her get the dog impounded. Ms. Parot wanted the Council to consider having a dog immediately impounded when he has not had his shots. She said the dog owner was in violation of three laws in this case. Mr. Farrar said there were two issues here. One is the specific procedures followed and the other is the question of violation of the laws. Both of these can be checked, but Mr. Farrar was not sure the city had the authority to change the procedures. He said he would discuss it with the city attorney. He felt the most important item here was the general procedure followed and he wanted to be sure that if a similar incident happened again, the people involved would not be subject to the same frustrations Ms. Parot was. Ms. Parot asked about a long-term solution to the problem of the dog, now that 3 complaints have been made in writing about him. A date for the hearing was set as probably being September 8. Mr. Paulsen asked that the city attorney research the statutes to see who could give an impoundment order in the absence of both the Health Officer and his deputy. Sign Disbursement Orders Disbursement orders were signed. Sign Police Association Contract and Police Grievance Agreement Mr. Flaherty moved that the City Council sign the police contract. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and all voted for it. Mr. Paulsen said he had not yet seen the final version of the grievance agreement and it was discovered that Mr. Farrar had the only copy. Even Mr. Bouvier had not seen it, so it was decided to delay the signing until all involved had read it. Review Capital Budget program The Council looked at a sheet of highway construction needs dated 2/23/81. Mr. Audette felt all his estimated costs were accurate, except perhaps #1, which is rebuilding Dorset St. to 4 lanes. He felt that figure could be cut in half if South Burlington personnel were used. He said that the city contracted paving work, so that could be done anytime. He felt the sheet represented a 5 year program. Mr. Audette noted that the items were prioritized from his point of view. The Planning Commission might have a different list of priorities. These are maintenance and upkeep priorities, not traffic priorities. Mr. Farrar asked what this list would look like in 5 years if the Council found $300,000 per year to give the department. Mr. Audette replied that drainage, curbing and sidewalk problems would have been eliminated, and what would be left would be normal resurfacing. He felt that streets not on this list would need only general maintenance. Mr. Audette felt that if the schools built a new garage, it would be good for the street department to take over the present one. Mr. Farrar felt this was an ongoing problem and that operating funds would have to be increased in this area. He wondered whether a bond issue, an added tax, or a combination of the two would be best. He felt the money the city was putting into this today was not enough to keep up with the problem. Mr. Paulsen suggested meeting with the Planning Commission to discuss this item. He felt the Council had to weigh structural vs traffic demands and put together a total package. Mr. Farrar asked that the Commission, or a representative, be at the next meeting, if possible, to discuss this. Mr. Audette had not had time to put cost estimates on all the projects, but said he would do it. Authorize Chairman to sign Digital sewer easement agreement The easement will allow for a sewer line across Digital property to serve Mitel. Mr. Flaherty moved to authorize Chairman Farrar to sign the Digital sewer easement agreement. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Sign petition for gas main installation on Kimball Avenue Mr. Szymanski said the gas company wanted to install a line starting from the intersection of Kennedy Drive and Williston Road and running on the east side of Kennedy Drive and the north side of Kimball Avenue to the new building under construction there. The line will be pushed under the road and will be installed behind the guardrail. Mr. Szymanski did not think the installation would disrupt traffic. Mr. Paulsen did not want anything on the road - he wanted a free flow of traffic. Mr. Flaherty moved that the City Council sign the petition for a gas main installation on Kimball Avenue with the provision that any plan to limit traffic or do digging on Williston Road, Kennedy Drive and Kimball Avenue have the approval of the city manager. Mr. Burgees seconded the motion and all voted for it. Review Planning and Zoning agendas There were no comments. Discuss Brigham Road drainage Mr. Szymanski said that during the spring runoff this year, the culvert under the road had not carried the water. It went over the road, but he did not think it had been impassable. Mr. Audette thought this was the first year it had happened and he said the February conditions had been unique. Mr. Szymanski thought it had happened last year also and said a second pipe beside the existing one was needed. Mr. Audette felt it should be watched for another year, since it might be a very infrequent problem. Discuss Personnel Rules and Regulations Mr. Goddette noted that under section 6.3, city employees received 8 hours of personal time, and the firefighters were to be given 12, which did not make it into the regulations. That will be added. Also, on page 14, vacation time is given for years 1 through 4 above and 1 through 5 below. Mr. Goddette also pointed out that if a city employee took a week of vacation with a holiday in it, he had 4 vacation days counted against him, and he wondered what would happen with a fireman in the same situation. Mr. Farrar felt the Council should think about that before answering. On page 16, Mr. Goddette noted that if there is a death in the family for a city employee, they can take 3 days off, with an extra one if the funeral is a long distance away. He asked whether that was 3 work days or 3 days in a row and was told it was probably 3 days in a row. Ms. Yandow noted that some employees were allowed time off for the death of an aunt and others were not. Mr. Szymanski was asked to check for any such inconsistencies and bring them to the Council. Mr. Audette asked about vacation time if an employee's anniversary date fell on July 2. After some discussion, it was noted that if vacation time was credited on an employee's anniversary date, it would solve the problem. Mr. Farrar did not object to that. Mr. Goddette felt the best solution to the death in the family problem was to give hours, not days, off. Mr. Saymanski said he would make the corrections and get back to the Council. Discuss the status of the Lakelands right of way The status of the railroad grade crossing was discussed briefly. Discuss Planning Commission scheduling of a hearing on Mitel. It was noted that the Commission started a hearing on Mitel on August 11 and continued it until August 18. On the 18th, they did not have a quorum and they met on the 20th to take final action. Mr. Ward said that on the 18th, the Chairman had set the date of the 20th. The meetings of the 11th and the 18th were warned meetings. Mr. Farrar noted that the new meeting time had been set on the 18th, so anyone who knew there was a meeting on the 18th would have also known that the meeting had been moved to the 20th. Mr. Ward said the meeting on the 20th had not been warned or posted. It was a continuation of a warned meeting, called by the Chairman 40-45 minutes after the time the meeting was scheduled to begin. Mr. Schuele was concerned that this kind of thing could potentially be used to keep people from coming to a particular meeting. Mr. Farrar felt there were two questions here - was it legal and was it proper. He noted that the Council posted an agenda for every meeting, and said he would check into the procedures of other city bodies. Meet in executive session to discuss personnel matters Mr. Flaherty moved to meet in executive session for the purpose of discussing personnel matters - one by Richard Ward and one by the City Manager - and then to reconvene for the sole purpose of adjourning. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and all voted for it. At 10:11 pm, the Council came out of executive session and adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.