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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/03/1984CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 3, 1984 The South Burlington City Council held a Regular Meeting on Tuesday, January 3, 1984, at 7:30 PM, in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. EXECUTIVE SESSION Prior to the Regular Meeting, an Executive Session was held with members of the Planning Commission and Zoning Board to discuss pending litigation and challenges to the City's Zoning Ordinance. Present at the Executive Session were: City Council: Hugh Marvin, Chairman; Paul Farrar, Leona Lansing, William Peters Planning Commission: Sidney Poger, Chairman; Mary-Barbara Maher, George Mona, John Belter, William Burgess Zoning Board: Jonn Dinklage, James McClary, James Thibault, Al Guyette Others: William Szymanski, City Manager; David Minnich, Assistant City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Richard Spokes, City Attorney REGULAR SESSION Members Present Hugh Marvin, Chairman; Paul Farrar, Leona Lansing, William Peters Also Present William Szymanski, City Manager; David Minnich, Assistant City Manager; Richard Ward, Zoning Administrator; Richard Spokes, City Attorney; Richard Underwood, City Assessor; Sidney Poger, Mary-Barbara Maher, Planning Commission; Jim Cheng, Burlington Free Press Motions Relating to Executive Session Mr. Farrar moved that the City Council instruct the City Attorney to uphold the challenged sections of the Zoning Ordinance in regard to the Carter case. Ms. Lansing seconded with unanimous approval. Mr. Farrar then moved that as the parties to the hearing on the application of Carter & Co. for a reversal of the site plan approval and zoning variance have the opportunity to present all the facts, that the City take no part in those actions. Ms. Lansing seconded with unanimous approval. Comments & questions from the public not related to items on the Agenda There was no discussion. Meet with City Attorney to discuss future updating of City Grand List Mr. Minnich noted that this April the reappraisal process will be complete for the year beginning in July. In 1981, the Council had moved to have reappraisal done by sample on an annual basis. He said that the Council might want to review that decision, as it will involve extra funds not in the budget for the year, namely for an additional person. During the past year, a data base has been gotten from a private firm. This data base is in place to do a reappraisal this year. What is not in place, but is easy to put on, is other kinds of information, such as sales data, number of rooms, etc, to facilitate the correlating of like properties throughout the community. Mr. Spokes said it was a 3-part process: First was the procedure of grievances which might drag on through the summer; Court appeals would take longer, possibly 2 to 3 years. It will be a very busy summer for the Board of Civil Authority. Secondly, now that there is a data base of updated information, the next step is to feed it into the computer. A lot of information is needed so it will be able to be properly utilized. This will require programming time beyond the limit of City Hall people. Third is the question of whether annual reappraisal can occur avoiding what we have to go through now. He noted that it had been suggested that a certain percentage of each "class" of property could be reappraised each year and common denominators applied to the rest of the "class" concerned. Vermont law requires discretion on the part of the appraiser, and Courts have discouraged rigid use of a formula. Mr. Farrar commented that State law requires property be appraised at 100% of fair market value. If it falls below 80%, school funds can be lost by the community. The City must comply with the law. Without a formula system, the City would have to go through a reappraisal every four years, based on a 5% raise in cost of living. The only rational way to do that, he felt, was to adjust appraised values by a sampling technique. He asked Mr. Spokes whether the City Charter could be modified to this purpose. Mr. Marvin then asked why a ruling could not be gotten from Montpelier. Mr. Spokes said he had gotten a letter from the Tax Department expressing reservations. He said he might be able to get an Attorney General's ruling. Mrs. Maher asked if there was any place in New England where this is done. Mr. Spokes said there is none in Vermont, but Mr. Szymanski noted it is done in Keene, New Hampshire. Mr. Marvin said the City Council should know what it will cost each year to carry out this plan. Mr. Spokes said he would propose not to implement this for the year beginning April, 1985 as all of Dick Underwoods efforts will be in the appeal process. Also, it is crucial to program the computer and this will require, among other things, a decision from the Council as to what they would like to see in the sampling process. Mr. Minnich added that if this is the direction the Council wants to go, an additional person must be on board to help Dick Underwood. Other Business Mr. Peters noted that an item in the Free Press relating to the sewer plant seemed to be misleading, intimating that the project was already in place. Read minutes of Regular Meeting of December 19, 1983 Mr. Farrar moved that the Minutes of December 19, 1983 be approved as written. Ms. Lansing seconded with unanimous approval. Sign Disbursement Orders Disbursement Orders were signed. As members felt that no further business should be considered without a full Council, the meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.