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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/25/1991STEERING COMMITTEE 25 NOVEMBER 1991 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Monday, 25 November 1991, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present City Council: Michael Flaherty, James Condos, John Dinklage, William Cimonetti; Charles Hafter, City Manager School Board: Dennis Snyder, Julie Duppstadt, Theodore Manazir, Karen Shilgalis, Peter Cole; Fred Tuttle, Superintendent of Schools Also Present Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Leo Brown, Lawrence LeCours, School District; Margaret Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Department; Michael Sheridan, Channel 17; H. Charles Hill, Phyllis & Alex Linton, Roger White, Ed Smith, Robert Holdridge, Michael Gilligan, Bob Torney, Tony Cairns, Tom Macken, Terry Taylor, Terri Hopkins, Tom Bacon, Pauline Beaulieu, David Rice, John Dirmaier, Fred Erdman 1. Election of Officers: The floor was open for nominations for Chairperson. Mr. Flaherty nominated Ms. Duppstadt. Mr. Dinklage seconded. As there were no other nominations, Ms. Duppstadt was elected unanimously. Mr. Snyder nominated Mr. Condos for Clerk. Ms. Duppstadt seconded. There were no other nominations, and Mr. Condos was elected unanimously. 2. Minutes of 21 March 1991: Mr. Condos moved the minutes of 21 March be approved as written. Mr. Snyder seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Receive a report regarding the Citizens' Long Range Planning Committee: Dr. Hill presented the report. He noted that the school population is growing while school space is shrinking. The question is which direction to move in. A committee was formed in the spring of 1990 to address this situation. The committee considered the problem from the points of view of population, educational programs, facilities, and finances. Population projections show that the elementary school population is growing and will continue to grow until 1993 when it will level off. At least one of the elementary schools would reach the "action point" at this time. Dr. Hill noted that community needs are also shifting. Concerns now include "latch key children," the Early Essential Education program, and children at risk. He also noted that there is a fair amount of space available at the Middle School, and so the question of re- districting and reorganizing the school also arose. With regard to educational programs, the committee encouraged the school district to retain the current grade configurations and also to retain three elementary schools, though not necessarily the three existing schools. They felt that existing programs would benefit from some expansion and renovation of the three facilities. They also encouraged a feasibility study to see if there should be a district-wide pre-school in the community. From a facilities point of view, a sub-committee recommended changing the current grade configuration. They felt that redistricting might save some time and money. They also felt that schools could be improved from the point of view of access, safety and comfort, that current programs could be enhanced, and that schools should address the needs of an expanding population. The bottom line of the specific school improvements they proposed is $4,500,000 ($1,500,000 per school). About $500,000 of the work has already been done, mostly in the area of safety and access. If the remaining work is to be done, the cost to the community would be about $2,300,000, or $36.00 per year for an average home owner. Dr. Hill noted that all the subcommittees recommended the desirability of drawing the community and the schools closer together. Mr. Dinklage asked if there was any discussion of expansion of facilities in the middle or high school such as science labs, vocational areas, etc. Dr. Hill said this was discussed. Mr. Condos asked if any studies were done on the possibility of selling off Central School and rebuilding elsewhere since Central School sits on prime commercial land. Dr. Hill said at this point in time, the School District owns no land on which to build a school. He added they did go through the exercise of trying to determine whether any school is on a "hot property." Mr. Cimonetti asked what would be the next step. Supt. Tuttle said the Board has begun to review various recommendations and to address them. Ms. Duppstadt noted that more space and renovation of existing space is needed with or without a new school. Ms. Picard asked if any thought has been given to holding school year round. Dr. Hill said that to his recollection this was not considered. Supt. Tuttle said the subject has come up in community forums. Dr. Hill noted there are a lot of things going on in the school buildings during the summer. 4. Receive a report from the committee to create an indoor ice skating facility: Mr. Hafter noted it was very hard to get information as there are no accepted accounting standards and no community they could find has a "stand alone operation." Mr. Cairns outlined the process the committee went through. First, it was felt they could raise the money themselves. They did a feasibility study. With the economy as it is today, they could raise only $300,000 of the $1,000,000. Then they tried to scale down the facility to "bare bones." This would reduce the cost to $900,000. A subcommittee then compiled data on other facilities in other communities. A Profit and Loss projection was then made based on projected costs and income. The committee felt that the facility could make a $20,000 profit per year. Mr. Snyder asked whether the proposed facility could be used in conjunction with another activity such as an arts center upstairs. Mr. Cairns said they had thought of using the upstairs for offices. Mr. Cairns also noted they met with a company that would build the facility for $1,800,000. He noted that they already have the boards needed for the rink which were gotten from the old UVM facility. A lot of material would also be donated and this could save a lot of money. They still feel they can raise $300,000. Mr. Cairns noted that a suggestion was made to put the rink between the high school and the middle school. This would eliminate the need for parking as it already exists on that site. Mr. Cairns stressed that the timing is right for consideration of such a facility as construction costs won't get any cheaper. He also noted that in the spring and summer, the facility could be used for indoor baseball practice and for other uses such as trade shows, bingo, boat shows, concerts, graduation ceremonies. Mr. O'Neill noted that the ice rink in Barre supports the auditorium. He also noted that South Burlington doesn't have a community building that brings people together. Mr. Cole said he felt other areas of the building should be available for use by non-athletic kids. Mr. Condos said the facility could be used for some kind of day camp in the summer. Mr. Flaherty felt that at this point goals need to be set and he suggested forming a new committee with representation of the City Council, School Board, Mr. Cairns' Committee, etc., and to have that committee come up with a proposal for the May ballot. Mr. Dinklage said he would like to see the City Council include the amount of money needed in the capital budget. He said he wasn't yet enthused about putting the question on the May ballot. Mr. Condos said that people want to see the park being developed. He felt the project should move forward. Mr. Flaherty agreed with Mr. Condos. Mr. Gilligan, UVM hockey coach, said he felt the community needs a recreation facility to make the town "feel great about itself." He said the only place you can take people in S. Burlington is the Mall. Mr. Cairns stressed that they have a plan, they have enthusiasm. He felt they would lose a lot of volunteer help if there is too much delay. He stressed that this would be a multi-faceted facility that would pay for itself. Mr. Dinklage said he shared the concern but still felt it should go through the budget process. Mr. Flaherty felt this would lose time. He noted the history of the recreation path which might have gone by the boards had it not been dealt with immediately. Mr. Cole suggested the committee include parents who are working to see something happen now. Ms. Duppstadt said she didn't want to see her tax money put into a hockey rink. If it's combined with a student center, she could support it. Mr. Dinklage moved to appoint Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Cole to work with the existing committee to bring a proposal to the City Council as part of the budgeting process. Mr. Snyder seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Other Business: a. Mr. Hafter provided an update on the Dorset St. project. Work is basically done for this year. He has met with the State on a landscape plan and the city got much of what it wanted. The plan will include median and street trees. Superintendent Tuttle noted that cooperation with the various city agencies on this project has been excellent. b. Mr. Hafter also noted that Recreation Path construction is proceeding very well and described the work as "spectacular." As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.