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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/01/1982CITY COUNCIL MARCH 1, 1982 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, March 1, 1982 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Howard Perkett Members Absent William Burgess, Hugh Marvin Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; David Minnich, Assistant City Manager; Pat Bergmeier, The Other Paper; Gloria Yandow, Bookkeeper; David Spitz, Planner; Sidney Poger, Ernest Levesque, Gary & Richard Caron, Marilyn Pendergast, Harold Mandel, John Sullivan, Fred Duplessis, Maureen O'Brien, Dana Kittell, Cathy Cushing, Gary Farrell, J. Everett Reed, Terry McLoughlin, George Mona, Kirk Woolery, James Ewing, City Clerk Margaret Picard, David Wood, Glen Bolster, Martha Gazlega, Edward Gallagher, Richard Morgan Agenda additions Mr. Farrar noted that there was an election tomorrow, and, as members of the Board of Civil Authority, the Council members were going to be counting votes, so he suggested that tomorrow night's meeting be made 8:00 instead of 7:30, as planned. This was agreed. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Public hearing on request of Richard and Gary Caron to convert existing warehouse to automotive and sales service Mr. Farrar ruled that to approve the request would take 3 affirmative votes, since any action taken would be the board acting as a zoning board of adjustment. He noted that since only 3 members were present, the applicant could decide to postpone the hearing until more members were present. Mr. Gary Caron asked what would happen if it were denied tonight and was told they could ask for a new hearing and that might or might not be granted. The applicants decided to have the request heard tonight. Mr. Richard Caron said they bought the U.S. Auto Broker on Airport Parkway last year. The building was formerly used by LaBounty Construction. They honored the lease LaBounty had with the Auto Broker, but now they would like to convert the back area to recondition used cars they have for sale. Mr. Farrar noted that the plan in front of the Council was not identified in any way, so Mr. Richard Caron signed and dated it with today's date. Mr. Farrar asked the zoning in the area and Mr. Szymanski said it was vague. The boundary line is very close to this property. The Zoning Administrator has said it is zoned R4. Mr. Farrar felt that if it were zoned Airport Industrial, there would be no problem with the use. If not, he said he did not necessarily object to the use, but felt the proper way to handle it would be to change the zoning instead of granting a use variance. Mr. Perkett asked how the Auto Broker use got started and what the city's position on that use had been. Was it an approved non-conforming use? Mr. Caron said they did not want to do any more than was being done on the site now. They want to sell their used cars from their business in Burlington and said they would not mind regulating the business to a certain number of cars. Mr. Gary Caron said they did not intend to sell a lot of cars - it is just a side line and they want to keep it that way. Mr. Caron said they would make no major changes to the building. Mr. Flaherty asked whether the use would be allowed in the AI district and Mr. Szymanski said he would check. Mr. Farrar said there were some facts the Council should know here and he felt the request should be continued, so they could get the answers. He said that if this was in the residential zone abutting the AI zone, the Council, in its deliberations on the zoning ordinance, might want to consider moving the boundary line. He asked for Planning Commission input on that question. Mr. Perkett moved to continue the request of Richard and Gary Caron to convert an existing warehouse to automotive and sales service until two weeks from tonight at City Hall. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted aye. Interview applicants for appointment as City Auditors for fiscal year 1981-82 Urbach, Kahn, Werlin, PC - Ms. Marilyn Pendergast said the firm was a regional one with offices in the State of New York. 15 years ago they started to do governmental auditing and have done a lot of federal program auditing through New England. They have also done work for the State, school districts, sewer districts and municipalities. There is only one person in the Burlington office, but he would not work on the account, since he does not have the government experience. The auditor would come from the Albany office and the firm would absorb the travel costs. Ms. Pendergast said her firm had government experience plus a management advisory service which included computer capability. They also have a fast turnaround time. Mr. Perkett asked if they had understood the requirements in the bid proposal and was told they had. He asked if there were any extra costs the city should consider and was told there were not, although the firm might want to explore with the city the single audit concept. Mr. Perkett asked what percentage of the firm's work this audit would be and was told it would be about 1%. Briggs, Keyes Company - Dana Kittell and Cathy Cushing represented the firm. Mr. Kittell said they had offices on Shelburne Road, in St. Albans, and in Morrisville. The firm employs about 40 people and a lot of its work is for municipalities. They have worked with revenue sharing requirements. He stated that there would be no conflict of interest and that, although they do not have computer capabilities in-house, they have access to them immediately. The people assigned to the audit would have experience with municipalities. The firm has done work for Colchester, Shelburne, St. Albans and others, and 20% of its work is in the government area. Mr. Szymanski asked whether the firm would be available if the city were audited on revenue sharing and was told they would be. If the time required were only one day, there would be no charge. If it were longer, they would let the city know what the charge would be. Mr. Perkett asked whether they had understood the requirements and was told they had. They said they had not included any extras and that this audit would be less than 1% of their business per year. A.M. Peisch and Company - Mr. David Wood said the firm had offices in Burlington, White River Junction and Brattleboro. They have about 20 accountants and a lot of experience with municipalities in the state. They have worked for Swanton for 5-6 years and they do not have a lot of staff turnover. Municipal accounting accounts for about 10% of the firm's work and Mr. Wood said that he would estimate that it would take between 735-805 hours for this work. He said he had understood the requirements, that there were no extras and that this would be about 1% of their business. Sullivan, Powers and Company - Mr. John Sullivan said the firm was located in Montpelier and was a growing business. They have a lot of government experience. They have audited the City Water Department in the past. This would be 3-4% of their practice and they do about 30% of their business in the government area. They have 9 accountants and have a good record of client retention. They have done work for Winooski and come to the Burlington area almost every day. The firm has done revenue sharing and grant auditing. Turnover in the staff has been pretty low, Mr. Sullivan said. He did not feel there would be any conflict of interest and he said their procedure had been indicated on the attachment on page 4 of the response to the bid proposal. Mr. Perkett asked if the requirements had been understood and was told they had. He asked if there were any extras bid and was told there were not. Mr. Sullivan said they were always free to answer questions. Smith, Batchelder & Rugg - Ms. Maureen O'Brien represented the firm. She said they were a regional firm working in Vermont and New Hampshire with 4 offices in each state. They have limited government experience, but they feel their wide range of experience would be helpful to the city. Their local firm can give the city fast service. They are located on Dorset Street and have done work for the CCTA, CWD, and the Chittenden Central School District. They have experience with revenue sharing and have 9 people in the city. Ms. O'Brien said some hours had been included in the estimate for electronic data processing review. In the first year that might take 40 hours. Gallagher, Flynn, Crampton and Company - Mr. Richard Morgan said this was a new name for an old firm and that they have an office in Burlington. There are 30 people on the staff and they have done work for the city and school for the past 20 years. They have computer capability and over the past few years have urged changes in the city's system and worked with the city in that area. A year ago they subscribed to Alexander Grant and now have access to their library, computer, and consultation. Mr. Morgan said they had understood the proposal, bid no extras and that the work for the city alone would be about 1% of their business. He said they had audited the school system for several years and they felt their hour estimate was very realistic. Continue review of proposed zoning regulations Planner David Spitz continued to go through his "Explanation of Major Zoning Changes" memo, which had been started at the last meeting. He explained that some land abutting the Interstate north of Holiday Inn has been kept residential, instead of commercial, as it is in the Master Plan, because the topography is so rugged. He showed a map of the area in question. The Commission looked at the area and decided it did not want to encourage a road going from Williston to Patchen Roads because it would have to go up and down steep slopes and across a wet area. One portion of the land would be hard to develop for either commercial or residential uses. Access will be hard for most of the land. Mr. Farrar asked whether R4 density was appropriate, given the difficult terrain and Planning Commission Chairman Sidney Poger agreed that might be high. Mr. Farrar asked the Commission to look into this further. The Belter farm was discussed and Mr. Spitz showed a map of the land. Some of the land has been removed from the floodplain zoning. Mr. Spitz said most communities used the 100 year flood line, but he thought the 500 year line could be used if it was desired. The Commission did not want residential zoning under the airport approach cone on the Belter land, even though no extension of that runway is seen in the foreseeable future, because such an extension is always possible. They felt the land near Country Club Estates should be zoned residential, because it will tie into that area. They felt the area under the approach cone should be industrial. The open field is good farm land and is being used that way now, so the Commission felt that area should be zoned agricultural. The landowner has told the Commission he would rather sell that land and rent better farming land elsewhere. Mr. Farrar asked how the Commission felt it should be zoned if it were not agricultural and was told it should be industrial. Planning Commission member Kirk Woolery noted that the Commission had told the landowner that if the land were to be developed, the intersection in that area would have to be upgraded. The Lakeshore - Allenwood district was discussed. This is a 75-100 acre piece and is the last piece of lake frontage in the city. The Commission feels it would be nice to protect public access here, and a special lakeshore zone has been set up. Access will be a problem. Mr. Farrar was not sure the potential value of the property should be changed at this time, when the city is thinking about putting the Southern Connector in that area. Mr. Spitz said that Mr. Tilley has told him that family will be going out of the farming business and that they are looking for a zone change from agricultural in the area near Digital and Old Farm Road. Mr. Spitz said he felt the industrial zone line could be moved closer to Old Farm Road to a tree and fence line, which would still provide a buffer for Old Farm Road. Mr. Szymanski asked Mr. Spitz the zoning on the Caron land discussed tonight. Mr. Spitz felt the line ran through the middle of the property. Mr. Poger felt that with plans to extend Kirby Road, this might be a good area for industrial zoning. Mr. Spitz showed the traffic overlay map. Mr. Farrar asked why it could not be adopted as an official city map, which the city could then use to protect, for example, the Southern Connector corridor. Mr. Spitz said the information on an official city map was different than the information on this, but he said he could check into it. The map identifies major intersections, high volume road segments, and restricted roads. Mr. Farrar noted that there were roads shown as proposed which went to the Williston line and he asked whether Williston had any corresponding plans. He felt that should be checked. He also noticed that there was an extension from Shelburne Road between Laurel Hill and Holmes Avenue which crossed Green Mountain Drive. Mr. Spitz said he did not know what that was and it was suggested that it be cleaned up. Mr. Spitz said it was his feeling that lot sizes in the industrial zone did not have to be 80,000 sq. ft., based on what he had seen in the city and elsewhere. He noted that the size of commercial uses would be limited by road frontage and lot coverage. The uses would be controlled by the anticipated traffic generation. The 50 acre lot size for the industrial zone in the Southeast Quadrant was discussed. The Council wanted to know why 50 acres had been chosen. Mr. Poger noted that the Commission had discussed the definition of large lots, and had finally decided, with a close vote, on 50 acres. He said there was no rush to develop this land and the Commission felt that holding it for a large company made sense for the city's tax base as well as the proper use of land in the city. Mr. Woolery felt that much smaller lots would increase the potential for development, and he noted that if 50 was not the right number, it would at least forestall development for a long time in that area. Mr. Mona added that it was also easier to decrease the number, if it were wrong, than to increase it. Mr. Farrar did not feel 10% coverage was that much. Mr. Spitz said it would preserve open space. It was decided that the Council would hold its public hearing on the zoning ordinance on April 5 and that they would meet with the Commission again in two weeks to finish discussing the revisions. This is tentative. Meet as Liquor Control Board to consider request of Grandview, Inc. for a temporary liquor license at the K of C Hall on March 17, 1982 Mr. Flaherty moved to adjourn as the City Council and convene as the Liquor Control Board to consider a temporary liquor license for Grandview, Inc. Mr. Perkett seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski said the police were going to have a St. Patrick's Day party on March 17, 1982 from 5 pm until 2 am the next morning. He said there were no problems with this. Mr. Flaherty moved to grant the request of Grandview. Inc. for a temporary liquor license at the K of C Hall from March 17, 1982 at 5:00 pm until 2:00 am on March 18, 1982. Mr. Perkett seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Flaherty moved to adjourn as the Liquor Control Board and reconvene as the City Council. Mr. Perkett seconded, and all voted for the motion. Executive session to review auditing firm applicants Mr. Flaherty moved to go into executive session to discuss the auditing firm applicants and to then reconvene in regular session and take no action other than possibly making an appointment. Mr. Perkett seconded the motion and it carried without dissent. Mr. Flaherty later moved to come out of executive session and reconvene in regular session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Perkett and carried unanimously. Make auditor appointment Mr. Flaherty moved to appoint Sullivan, Powers and Company as auditors for the city, school district and water department for one year, to audit the books for the calendar year of 1982. Mr. Perkett seconded the motion and all voted for it. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.