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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/15/1982CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 15, 1982 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, February 15, 1982 at 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Hugh Marvin, William Burgess Member Absent Michael Flaherty Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; David Minnich, Assistant City Manager; Ray Stearns, Albert Audette, Street Department; James Goddette, Fire Department; Donald Whitten, Water Pollution Control Department; Margaret Picard, City Clerk; Pat Burgmeier, The Other Paper; Robert Chittenden, William Shearer, Larry Snuder, Danny Parot, Gary Rounds, D. McKenzie, David Boehm, Rick Ward, Edwin Sanborn, James Thibeault Minutes of February 6, 8 and 9, 1982 The minutes of February 6, 8 and 9, 1982 were approved on a motion by Mr. Burgess; a second by Mr. Marvin and a unanimous vote. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Interviews for vacancy on the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission William Shearer - Mr. Shearer said he had lived in the city for 6 years and that he had grown up in Burlington. He works in real estate and feels he would have the time to devote to the board. Mr. Farrar asked if there were anything a specific he would like to do and he replied that he felt that towns in the area all did their planning individually and he felt there should be more cooperation among the towns in order for them to succeed as a whole. He thought that with more communication among towns, all could benefit from the experiences of the others. Mr. Farrar asked what he felt the relationship should be between the regional plan and local plans and he replied that the regional board was there to help local people by providing them with information to make better decisions. Mr. Marvin asked whether Mr. Shearer felt it was a case of the towns needing to communicate better with the Regional Commission, or should the Commission be more considerate of the towns and Mr. Shearer felt it was some of both. Mr. Marvin asked him whether he would stand up for the city if he felt a particular concern was dominating the board and was told he would. Mr. Shearer said he would be willing to serve on another board, if not appointed to this. Larry Snyder - Mr. Snyder said he had been a resident of the city for 2 1/2 years and of the area for about 12 years. He is the director of energy management at the University and has represented the University before the Act 250 board, and the Burlington and South Burlington Planning Commissions. He has a Master's degree in historic preservation planning and a background in environmental law and environmental planning. He felt that the Regional Commission, with a strong representative from the city, could be a substantial benefit to the community. He said he had the time to devote to the board and would be willing to serve on another board if asked. Mr. Marvin asked whether Mr. Snyder felt that, with the development of the Regional Council, that the Regional Planning Commission was an extravagance, but Mr. Snyder felt a certain amount of regional planning was very important. He felt there were some city interests which had regional impact and vice versa. David Boehm - Mr. Boehm said he had lived in the city for about 4 years. He is a consulting engineer and worked for a regional planning commission in New York. He has also worked as a county planner and engineer in Maryland. In that state the county acted at a regional level, having administrative responsibilities as well as acting in an advisory capacity. Mr. Boehm said he had his own office now. He did not feel the Regional Planning Commission was a luxury. He felt it should provide an overview on a regional level. He said he would be willing to serve on another board. Mr. Burgess asked what role Mr. Boehm saw for the Regional Planning Commission in this area. He was told that Mr. Boehm felt the Commission had to respect the jurisdiction and individuality of the towns, but that the Commission's responsibility was to make regional decisions and recommendations. He felt the board had to pay attention to local wishes, but that its responsibility was to look at the overall picture in the region. A few more candidates will be interviewed before an appointment is made, Mr. Farrar said. Public hearing on proposed use of Federal Revenue Sharing Funds for Fiscal 1982-83 budget Mr. Farrar explained that the city did not spend revenue sharing funds until it had received them and that it used them in the ways least likely to cause aggravation to the city administration. Mr. Szymanski read the notice of the hearing which had been published in the Burlington Free Press. He said funds available were $125,845 and funds the city anticipates are $97,700. The city anticipates interest of about $23,000, for a total of $246,545 for 1982-83. The proposed use of the funds has been divided into the same ratio as last year in the operating budget. Financial administration will be $55,915, public safety will be $63,780, and public transportation $126,850, for a total of $246,545. It was noted that citizens could provide written or oral comments and suggestions. There were no comments from the audience, so Mr. Farrar declared the hearing closed. Meet as Liquor Control Board to consider application for first class license and entertainment permit for Ward Business Inc., (Old Board, Shelburne Road) Mr. Burgess moved to adjourn as the City Council and meet as the Liquor Control Board to consider the application of Ward Business Inc. Mr. Marvin seconded the motion and all voted aye. Mr. Goddette, fire chief, said he had inspected the business today. He felt there were a few things to be taken care of before the business opened. He wanted a certificate from the sprinkler company to say that where the partitions were changed, the system would still protect the area. He also felt the cellar floor under the dance floor was a hazard, and the emergency lighting was out. Mr. Goddette felt that if those problems were cleaned up, there would be no problem with the business opening on Thursday, and he saw no reason those problems could not be resolved by that time. He said he would do another inspection before the business opened and he saw no reason not to approve it subject to a final approval. Mr. Szymanski said everything else on the license was in order. Mr. Marvin moved to sign the liquor license subject to the final approval of the fire chief. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. Mr. Marvin noted that he wanted the license signed after the inspection is done. The board members can sign it individually after the inspection is completed. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said Mr. Ward was also applying for an entertainment permit for a live band with a mixture of types of music and a disco setup. This will run from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. 7 days a week. He noted that on Sunday, (morning) by State law, they would have to stop selling liquor by 1:00 a.m. and close by 1:30 a.m. Mr. Burgess moved to approve the entertainment permit with the exception that the hours on Saturday be changed to 1:00 a.m. Mr. Marvin seconded the motion. Mr. Goddette noted that he had discussed some problems with Mr. Ward. He told him that if he, the fire chief, had to go down to the business at midnight to inspect for overcrowding, as he had had to before, he would recommend that the liquor license be pulled. Mr. Szymanski asked whether he felt he had to operate 7 days per week and Mr. Ward replied that he had changed that to be 6 days per week. They will be closed Monday evening unless they have a special event, such as a wedding. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Burgess moved to adjourn as the Liquor Control Board and reconvene as the City Council. Mr. Marvin seconded the motion. City Clerk Picard asked whether she could get some direction from the board on how applications are handled after this board signs them. She said that in the past, the applications have been taken over to the Liquor Control Board, but that board does not like that. They want to have them mailed in. Mr. Farrar felt that if the Liquor Control Board wanted them mailed in, they should be mailed in. The motion carried unanimously. Meet with administrator of City Retirement Plan to recommend changing investment vehicles Mr. Ray Stearns said he had prepared this information at the request of the city and he had recommended to the City Manager that the investment vehicle be changed to obtain a better return. He said that based on a comparison of the 3 bids submitted, he recommended going with Connecticut General. Mr. Marvin asked for comments from the City Manager and Assistant City Manager. Mr. Minnich wondered why something could not be worked out with the present carrier to increase the return. Mr. Stearns noted that they had been offered the opportunity to do so, and had not responded, even though he had personally gone to their offices in New York to talk to them. Mr. Marvin felt people in the city should talk to the carrier for a response. Mr. Szymanski noted that the city had had no service from the carrier for 4-5 years and Mr. Stearns agreed, noting that with their service record, even if their offer had been the best, he would not recommend staying with them. Mr. Burgess moved to accept the recommendation of Ray Stearns in his memo of February 8 to the City Manager. Mr. Marvin seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Sign Resolution of Commendation for Martin Paulsen Mr. Farrar read the resolution. Mr. Marvin moved to sign the resolution. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and all voted for it. Sign Ambulance Service Agreement Mr. Farrar explained that the city contracted with Burlington to provide ambulance service for South Burlington. This contract will extend the present one for 3 years at a cost of $12,000 per year. Mr. Burgess moved to sign the ambulance contract and Mr. Marvin seconded the motion, which carried without dissent. Act on proposal for bus service for the handicapped Mr. Farrar noted that the Council had seen a presentation on this item two weeks ago from the Executive Director of the CCTA and the Chairman of that board. He gave some background on handicapped transportation in the area. Mr. Marvin asked how much the cost had been last year and was told that it was $20,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, not including the cost of the minibus itself. Since South Burlington pays about 23% of the CCTA subsidy, that amounts to about $4600 for the city's share of the cost. Ms. Debo estimated the cost of the new service to be $3300 per year and she requested that amount plus $1100 for the rest of this fiscal year, in her proposal 2 weeks ago. Mr. Burgess moved to accept the proposal for handicapped transportation as proposed by the CCTA, with an outside limit of $5,000 for the next 16 months. Mr. Marvin seconded the motion, but he questioned the $5,000 limit. He felt it should be $4400, which is what was requested, and if more were needed, the Council could be approached again. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously. Review proposed Highway Union contract It was noted that this has been put together by the attorneys for both sides. This represents present practice. Mr. Minnich said some changes were that the new contract stated that promotions would be based on seniority, but that there would be a 6 month probationary period, during which time the city can change the promotion. Another change is that the employees will each receive a winter coat. There is also new language regarding disciplinary action not being taken if an employee is not at home when he is called back to work, if he is not being paid to be home. There have also been minor changes made in the arbitration procedures. Mr. Szymanski said the words "or equivalent" should be added after the dental plan mentioned in the contract. Mr. Audette said he had not seen the final draft of the contract, so it was decided to meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night to receive his comments on it. Review Zoning Board agenda Mr. Farrar wondered why item #1 on the February 22 agenda was not coming before the Council instead of the Zoning Board and he asked that Mr. Szymanski find out the zoning of the land in question. Review proposed city budgets Water Pollution Control Department - Mr. Whitten said the proposed budget was within the suggested 10% increase. Mr. Farrar noted that the Council had not approved any salary increases yet, but that the City Manager had recommended that department heads use a figure of 10% for budget purposes. He asked whether there were going to be any large equipment or maintenance items that the city should be planning for now. Mr. Whitten did not foresee any large costs before the updating of the Airport Parkway plant. He noted that that had been moved from fiscal year 1986 to fiscal year 1985, and Mr. Farrar said that meant the bond issue would have to be voted on in May of 1984. He asked if any of the expenses could be broken up so the city did not have to pay for the entire thing at once. Fire Department - Mr. Goddette noted that he had presented budget items in two columns. One column stayed within the 10% figure and the other did not. Mr. Farrar noted that the ISO report showed that the city had lost credits for divergence and he said he would like an explanation of that. Mr. Goddette said he could get an answer on that for him. Mr. Farrar asked where the city stood on the fire truck damaged in the recent fire in Burlington and was told the chief had met with Burlington officials in an attempt to come up with a settlement. Mr. Goddette said that if the city could get a new truck already built it might cost between $185,000 to $215,000. If they have to have one built, it will cost about $232,000 and October would be the earliest they could have it delivered. Replacing the ladder would cost $100,000, and Mr. Goddette did not recommend it, noting that the chassis was a '48. He said insurance would pay no more than about $10,000, and he felt that it would be 2-3 weeks before anyone knew what had caused the failure. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.