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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/02/1981CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 2, 1981 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, November 2, 1981 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Martin Paulsen, Hugh Marvin Member Absent William Burgess Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; David Minnich, Assistant City Manager; Margaret Picard, City Clerk; Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Director; Pat Burgmeier, The Other Paper; William Schuele, Leo Brown, Doreen Sheridan, Carol Stevens Agenda additions The following items were added to the agenda: 1. Discuss traffic signals in the city 2. Meet as Liquor Control Board to consider two liquor licenses. Minutes of October 15, 1981 The October 15, 1981 minutes were approved on a motion by Mr. Paulsen, a second by Mr. Flaherty and a unanimous vote. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Meet with representatives of Chittenden Trust (Doreen Sheridan) and First National Bank of Boston (Carol Stevens) on short term borrowing and sale of bonds for the municipal complex Ms. Sheridan noted that there had been many changes in the banking industry lately. She did not think there was a local bank which could take on the city's bond anticipation financing and give them a good rate, because the cost of money is very high, and the growth of bank funds is not coming in the high priced areas. She said the Chittenden wanted to help the city out indirectly and help them obtain a rate better than what they could give them. Ms. Sheridan said that looking at the First Bank of Boston would not lock the city in. She noted that if the city went with the First Bank for short-term notes, its paper would be distributed over a wider area and that might help the city in the future. Ms. Stevens said First Bank wanted to help both the Chittenden and the city - they did not want to interfere in their banking relationship. The bond anticipation notes are going out into April to give people the opportunity to buy tax-exempt paper at the time they need to pay their taxes. Ms. Stevens noted that her bank would sell the paper, which, would let them give the city a better rate than they could if they kept it in the bank portfolio. Mr. Szymanski asked today's rate and was told it was 10.25%. Mr. Marvin asked how long this would look the city in short-term and was told 165 days. Mr. Minnich asked the lead time needed for a long-term bond sale and was told at least 1 month, and probably 90 days. Ms. Stevens said that MSRB rules require the bank, because this is a negotiated sale, to terminate its relationship with the city during the process. She said the Council would have to sign a paper which stated that the bank might have a conflict of interest. Ms. Picard had no problem with going this way and Mr. Brown said the school was also doing it. Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the two resolutions dated November 2, 1981, for borrowing, with the rate being 10 1/4%, for a total borrowing of $1,330,000. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted for it. Ms. Stevens said the notes could be rolled over in April if the city did not want to go long-term then. Mr. Szymanski asked whether other short-term notes could be included in the amount when the city went for the permanent financing and was told they could. The amount could also be decreased at that time. Ms. Stevens was asked about why CWD's debt was considered overlapping debt for the city, when it is the residents of the city, not the city itself who are responsible for it. Mr. Flaherty felt the statement might be misleading and Ms. Stevens said that if they did it again, she would footnote it. Mr. Flaherty moved to sign the non-arbitrage certificate dated November 3. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Mr. Flaherty then moved to sign the City of South Burlington Temporary Notes in Anticipation of Bonds, numbers 1-39. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted for it. Ms. Stevens said there was a non-litigation certificate signed by the City Attorney. It has the wrong numbers in it and will be corrected. Sign petitions for installation of the following underground utilities Buried telephone cable on Bartlett Bay Road - Mr. Szymanski said the cable would start at Grossman's and go west under the railroad tracks and on the other side up to the sewer plant. Mr. Paulsen moved to approve the installation of buried telephone cable on Bartlett Bay Road as described. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted for it. Gas main on Brewer Parkway - Mr. Szymanski said the main would run the length of the street. It will start at Shelburne Road and run along the south side of the street. When it comes to the loop, it will run around the inside, and at that point, they will have to cut across the street. The main will be installed between the curb and sidewalk and will not cut the pavement except for the loop. They would like to do it before winter. Mr. Paulsen moved to approve the installation of the gas main on the south side of Brewer Parkway. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted for it. Discuss the negotiated settlement of police grievance No. 811 Mr. Farrar said that at the hearing on this grievance, it had been felt the issue might be resolved better through negotiation. A meeting was held with the city attorney and police representative Lansing Reinholz and a tentative agreement was reached. It would involve adding a section to the contract. The issue is the assignment of temporary shift commanders. Mr. Farrar recommended that the Council approve the agreement, and he added that part of that approval would be agreement that compensation would be paid to those Corporals, who had worked as temporary shift commanders since July 1, 1980. He felt this compensation should be paid. Mr. Paulsen wanted to know how much this compensation would cost and Mr. Szymanski said he would get the figure. Mr. Flaherty moved to accept the negotiated settlement for police grievance #811 and the modification to the contract as stated in the Spokes, Foley and Obuchowski memo dated November 2, entitled "Police Grievance 811." Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion, and it carried with Mr. Marvin abstaining. Meet with representative of Natural Resources Committee. Bill Schuele, to discuss development of land for recreational purposes Mr. Schuele said that as early as 1967 the Natural Resources Committee (NRC) has documented the recommendation that this particular location (behind Fassetts) be developed as a lakeside park. Except for Red Rocks, the city has no parkland where a view of the lake and mountains is accessible, and at Red Rocks the view is seen from hiking trails, so residents who are not mobile cannot enjoy it. The NRC recommends that the city obtain 15% of the land for a public park, and it also hopes for a pedestrian trail in the CO zone along the lake, which can connect with Shelburne's system or with a system to the north if it is ever developed. Even in the short term, Mr. Schuele felt this trail would be important. Mr. Schuele said he had discussed the above with the Planning Commission. He noted that the Plan emphasized a lakeside park and he requested feedback from the Council on whether they agreed with the concept. Mr. Farrar asked whether the NRC had a specific area for the park and was told there was a reasonable place for it. Mr. Schuele said the developer would meet with the NRC to discuss the land. He said the developer is pushing for a boat launch, which neither the NRC nor the Recreation Department particularly want or feel is appropriate in that area. Mr. Paulsen favored a boat launch, noting that the one in Shelburne was terrible. Mr. Farrar felt that when the NRC met with the developer, they might agree on a proposal which was mutually acceptable and at that time a choice could be made between that proposal and the developer's original proposal. He felt that the Council could be asked which it preferred at that point. If an agreement could not be reached, he said he would like to see a detailed presentation of the developer's plan and the NRC's proposal. Mr. Schuele said the developer had also mentioned paying a fee instead of donating the land. He did not like that idea, and the Council unanimously agreed that it did not like the idea either in this particular case. Mr. O'Neill said he did not think a boat launch by itself was that desirable here. Review Planning and Zoning agendas There were no comments. Old business Mr. Paulsen asked the procedure when traffic lights burned out. He noted that one signal had been out for a week or a week and a half recently. Mr. Szymanski said usually the police called him and he called Green Mountain Power about it. They change the bulbs because the city has no equipment to do it. Mr. Paulsen felt a standard procedure should be established. He felt that when a policeman noticed a light out, he should report and log it. Mr. Szymanski said that could be done. Meet as Liquor Control Board Mr. Flaherty moved to recess as the City Council and convene as the Liquor Control Board. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and it carried 4-0. Mr. Szymanski said Merrill Jarvis was requesting to sell beer in one of his theaters. He was supposed to come tonight, but was not present. It was felt that he should be present to answer questions. Mr. Paulsen moved to table this application until further information is available. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted aye. Mr. Szymanski said the airport restaurant was having a change of corporation. One of the directors has a court record for DWI, and that is being corrected on the application. Since the error was corrected, the police chief has been out, so he has not seen it. Mr. Paulsen moved to sign the application on the concurrence of the chief of police. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed 4-0. Mr. Flaherty then moved to adjourn as the Liquor Control Board and reconvene as the City Council. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted aye. Meet in executive session to discuss completion of the Nowland property purchase Mr. Flaherty moved to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing the completion of the Nowland property purchase and to then reconvene without taking any action. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and it passed without dissent. At 9:30 pm the Council came out of executive session and adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.