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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/02/1987CITY COUNCIL 2 MARCH 1987 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 2 March 1987, at 7:30 p.m, in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Molly Lambert, Francis X. Murray Also Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Wendy Schroeder, Business Manager; James Goddette, Fire Department; John Race, Police Department; Albert Audette, Street Dept; Don Whitten, Water Pollution Control Dept; Ruth Poger, The Other Paper; Sam Bogorad, Keith Kertland, VNA; Jean McCandless, Women Helping Battered Women; Ann Yawney, Mary Thompson, Area Agency on Aging; Steve Crowley, William Schuele, Natural Resources; Ethel Schuele, Marnie Kneeland, Marci Mack, Community Library Comments & questions from the public (not related to items on the Agenda) No issues were raised. Continue work on 1987-88 City Budget Mr. Bogorad, S. Burlington representative to the Board of Visiting Nurse Association, explained that VNA is funded in various ways: through United Way, by payments made for services by institutions such as Medicare, philanthropy, and allocations made by the communities it serves. Services include home care, hospice program, maternal-child health program, and the homemaker program. Mr. Kertland, Executive Director, added that because of the shift from acute care facilities to home/community facilities, people are coming home sicker. The problem is that there has not been a shift in insurance coverages to compensate for this fact. Cities and towns are asked to help provide support when people coming home don't have insurance or the means to pay. During the past year, S. Burlington visits have been increasing, so that there were 500 more this past year for a total of 5,803 visits and over 10,000 hours of services. $137,799 was spent in the City. Reimbursement totaled $119,000. With last year's allocation, they still faced a loss of $6,000. Their request this year is for $15,357. b. Jean McCandless of Women Helping Battered Women cited 253 hours of direct services in S. Burlington. There were 33 sheltered bed nights for S. Burlington women/children which includes counseling in the shelters. The agency has also provided training to the police for handling of domestic violence. They have spoken in all school levels. They are requesting $1,500 this year. c. Mary Thompson and Ann Yawney spoke for the Champlain Valley Area Agency on Aging, citing the real crunch with the cutback in federal support. In S. Burlington, 32 residents received meals this year, many from Meals on Wheels. 90% of the cost is paid by the Agency. Some residents receive Sunday meals at one of 2 centers to which transportation is also provided. 47 City residents received assistance from advocates, including Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security, etc. Transportation has also been provided on an emergency basis. They are asking for $2,000 this year. Department Budgets Steve Crowley noted that Natural Resources will be emphasizing work on the trails this year. Mr. Schuele stressed that they try not to use money if they don't need it. They are requesting a new program centered around disposal of household hazardous waste. They hope the Rotary Club will aid in the project which will involve hiring a company to come in to collect hazardous materials brought in by homeowners (paint cans, pesticides, etc). The projected cost is $3,000-6,000. They hope this will help avoid long-term problems with hazardous waste materials in the landfill. Mr. Szymanski will check if there is room in the budget for this program. Mr. Murray noted with regard to the question of ambulance service raised at the last meeting that the city does not get charged any more for back-up from Burlington. However, there has recently been a question of liability insurance, and he did not know what the cost of this would be. Mr. Whitten presented the Water Pollution Control budget. They hope to start the new plant in August. This will involve considerably more power usage which is reflected in the budget. They do not anticipate an increase in staff this year, but do think they will need another person next year. They also do not have any contracts with farmers for sludge disposal as it is hard to get the 5-year commitment they would like. Mr. Szymanski noted that present rates will not generate enough money for this budget. Mr. Whitten felt a $20 increase per household would be required. Mr. Farrar felt a charge of $7.50 per 1000 was appropriate. The Police budget includes the new personnel. They will also be buying one more cruiser than last year and new flak jackets all personnel. The radio equipment request represents 1/3 of the cost of 4 mobiles and 2 hand-held units. Chief Race noted it would save about $2500 if they were paid for all at once. A special request has been made for a computer system, and Chief Race will look further into this to see what would actually be required. He noted that he felt the training budget was particularly low, especially in view of new state training requirements. He will get back to the Council with a new recommendation. Marni Kneeland of the Library Board advised that they will be demonstrating the computer system they hope to buy at an open house on Sunday. They are waiting to learn if this will integrate with the State system. They are looking for additional time for their part time people for next year to offset the large growth in usage. There has also been a request from the Vt. Council on the Humanities for the Library to bear part of the cost of discussion programs. Mr. Szymanski noted that the estimate from the state for the Queen City Park sidewalk is $32,000. It is still not known who will pay for it, and the city may have to bear the cost. He felt it would cost them $12,000 to do it themselves. Mr. Farrar asked what would be the next project Mr. Audette would move up in the listing. Mr. Audette said he would like to do more on Ethan Allen Drive. Mr. Audette noted he had approached the state about painting the lines of streets such as Airport Parkway. This will supposedly be done this spring. Regarding the landfill, Mr. Audette noted that the site improvements proposed should get the city into compliance. Mr. Farrar noted that the City Charter Committee will meet this week to discuss the question of Fire Department equipment funding. After a brief discussion, members agreed to go for the bond issue for the new Fire Station on the May ballot. Mr. Farrar said the new number for the Grand List is $5,665,100 which would set the maximum budget tax rate at .532. Members then discussed which special items requested by various departments they felt could be added to the budget and still remain within Charter limits. They agreed to make a final decision at a special meeting next Monday at which time it was hoped all members could be present. Review Planning & Zoning Agendas No issues were raised. Review Minutes of 16 February 1987 Mr. Murray moved the Minutes of 16 February be approved as written. Mrs. Lambert seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Disbursement Orders Disbursement orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the City Council, the meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.