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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/19/1992STEERING COMMITTEE 19 MARCH 1992 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Thursday, 19 March 1992, 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 Also Present Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Leo Brown, Lawrence LeCours, School District; Margaret Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Bruce O'Neill, Recreation Department; Sean Reagan, The Other Paper; Michael Sheridan, Channel 17; William Szymanski, Francis and Mary Anne Murray, Mary Nelson, Kevin Dempsey, Maureen Genzlinger, Susan Lesage, Monica Smith, Irene Stowe, Mike O'Day, Tom Mackin, Robert Holdridge, Tony Cairns 1. Other Business: Mr. Cimonetti asked members to think of an appropriate form for the city to recognize Supt. of Schools Fred Tuttle and the contributions he has made to the school system and to the city. Mr. Cimonetti said he has envied the School Committee because it has had Mr. Tuttle for so many years. What he has done for the city and its young citizens has been immeasurable. Mr. Cimonetti then moved that a suitable recognition for service be drafted and presented to Superintendent Tuttle and that a subcommittee of the Steering Committee be asked to meet soon and devise suggestions for a commendation for the service Fred Tuttle has given to the city. Mr. Dinklage seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dinklage commented on his friendship with Mr. Tuttle and noted that Mr. Tuttle had brought residual aspects of the Overlake Day School to S. Burlington. He also noted that The Children's School (a pre-school) still operates in the community. 2. Read and Approve Minutes of 25 November: Mr. Condos moved the Minutes of 25 November be approved as written. Mr. Manazir seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Received a progress report from the committee to create a S. Burlington Recreation Arena: Mr. O'Neill reviewed the history of the project and noted the committee has held a number of meetings with the goal of designing a facility that will provide ice activities, recreation activities, shows and other community activities. Mr. Holdridge then presented the committee's plan. He said they had tried to provide a facility that would be the keystone building for the recreation park. The committee received a lot of input from citizens who were not necessarily hockey/skating oriented, and he felt the proposed plan is all-inclusive and that the voters should have a chance to make a judgment on it. The building would be located as originally sited on the park plan. From the lobby of building, one could access a large multi-purpose community room with kitchen, two meeting rooms with a movable partition, and the building manager's office which would have visual access to the rink area. The main access of the arena could service boat shows, antique shows, areas for public skating, and major rest room facilities. The ice surface would be 200' x 80'. Mr. Holdridge noted UVM has donated the boards and glass from the old Gutterson rink. There would also be a patch ice surface, 80' x 68' for public skating, especially good for young children. The facility would seat 950 people, about the same number as the Leddy rink. Mr. Holdridge noted there would be the capacity for year-round ice. Mr. Holdridge then indicated areas for locker rooms, rest rooms, showers, etc., and said these facilities could service the entire park, not only this facility. There would also be first aid facilities. The second floor would house a very large multi-purpose room and an office area with a viewing area above the ice. The building would serve all areas of the population: children, high school students, adults, senior citizens, etc., and could accommodate a myriad of activities year round. Mr. Holdridge noted that St. Mike's is interested in bringing its hockey program to this facility. Mr. Murray raised the question of maintenance and asked if the facility could pay for itself. Mr. Holdridge said the committee has visited similar facilities that do pay for themselves. Mr. Cairns estimated $134,000 income from the ice time alone. He said there can be more from a skate shop and concessions. Expenses could run about $143,000/year. Mr. Hafter then outlined cost figures. The facility would cost $2,650,000. A 20 year bond at 7% would result in an average annual cost of $19.11 to a homeowner of a home appraised at $100,000. Mr. Mackin explained the costs breakdown and noted that a number of items could be obtained via donations. He noted that figures are good for at least a year. Mr. Dinklage thanked the group for its responsiveness to community comments. He asked what could be added if another $100,000 or so were available. Mr. Cairns said he would like to see the facility built of brick, at least with a brick ledge that could be added onto. Mr. Hafter noted the City Council will have the proposed bond issue on its agenda of 6 April. 4. Review Proposed City and Schools Budget: Mr. Hafter presented the City budget. He reviewed Charter limitations as follows: Grand List: $6,981,120, a 1% growth from last year. Maximum Operating Budget Tax Increase: 1% Maximum Operating Budget Tax Rate: .641 Actual Operating Budget Tax rate: .63 Maximum Operating Budget: $5,914,614 Actual Operating Budget: $5,351,207 (down $25,000 from last year) Maximum that could be raised from taxes: $4,474,897 Actual raised from taxes: $4,392,000 Mr. Hafter said he felt the Charter limitations worked extremely well. He then outlined other budget items (Water Pollution Control, etc.) for a budget grand total of $6,477,984 and a total operating budget tax rate of .665. The debt service tax rate (for items approved by voters) is .108 for a total tax rate of .773. This is 8/10 of a percent increase or an $8.00 increase for a home assessed at $100,000. Mr. Hafter then reviewed significant line items. There will be no new personnel. All safety equipment will be replaced for the Fire Dept. this year. The Police Dept. will replace 4 cruisers. The Street Dept. will establish a centralized fueling station to comply with all regulations. The will complete work on Dorset St. South and hope to free up money for intersection work at Swift/Spear; Hinesburg Rd/Kennedy Drive, Corporate Way/Hinesburg Rd., and Airport Parkway/Shamrock Rd. Mr. Hafter noted the new state capital budget includes design funding for an on-ramp at Kennedy Drive to I-89 Northbound. The Water Pollution Control budget shows a 15% increase, 6% of that due mostly to sludge management and 9% for debt service for sewers. It is the intention to make the sewer system self-supporting. Mr. Hafter then reviewed the 10-year capital budget. Additions this year include beginning development of the park. The city hopes to be in Act 250 by the end of April and to start construction by fall. Ballot items this election will include: creation of a special assessment district for sewers (Swift Estates and Country Club Estates), landfill closure (Mr. Hafter noted the city hopes to continue to keep the landfill open and escrow more money toward eventual closure), a referendum on the Southeast Quadrant, and the proposed recreation arena. Mr. Lecours and Mr. Brown presented the School Budget: Mr. Lecours noted the challenge this year in preparing the budget because of the low growth in the Grand List and the drastic loss of State Aid. He said last year the city was supposed to get $397,000 but ended up with a $190,000 shortfall. Only $81,000 is projected for this budget year, 1/2 of 1% of the total budget. Mr. Lecours said the operating budget is up less than 1% and the total budget just over 1%. Enrollment is not expanding as quickly as thought, and the projected enrollment for 1992-3 is 2,090, mostly in the elementary schools. Regarding contract negotiations, Mr. Lecours said they have settled with support staff and administrators are in the second year of a 3-year contract. A fourth negotiating session with teachers was held last night and there is still no salary demand from the teachers. The schools continue to attract more students from other communities, especially the Islands. In 1988-9 there were 70 tuitions students. Last year there were 104. Pupil-teacher ratios will remain about the same as last year. The average cost per pupil in 1991-2 was $7,415. It is projected to be $7582 for 1992-3. Budget changes include some staff reduction, about 4.5 FTE's. These occur mostly in the high school with the elimination of 2 sections of English, 1 of art, 3-4 of foreign language, 1 practical arts, 3 of math, 1 of science, 3 of social studies and 1 phys ed. $10,000 has been cut from athletics. At the elementary and Middle Schools, a retiring math teacher is not being replaced and they are reducing a special ed person by .25, a music teacher by .60 at the Middle School and a music teacher by .40 at the elementary schools. This results in a $224,000 reduction in budget and has allowed the incorporation of a lot of important technology items. Mr. Lecours noted there will not be any program changes because of the loss of State aid. The District will use some of the income from investments to cover the shortfall. Regarding the Public School Approvals process, the Middle School and Chamberlin are fully approved. Central and Orchard Schools are 99% approved. The High School is approved program-wise but has some facilities problems. A citizens' committee report revealed the needs for retrofitting the elementary schools. The Board will be addressing this in the next few months and hope to have items in the next budget. In the area of "good news," Mr. Lecours reported that Chamberlain School is under consideration for an award and last week Redbook Magazine named the High School as one of the top 141 in the country. This year the High School has 6 National Merit finalists, more than any other school in the State. They also have 2 Presidential Scholar candidates. Mr. Brown then reviewed budget items. Grand List: $6,981,120. Allowable Tax rate: 1.956 Allowable in Taxes for Operating Budget: $13,655,071 Operating Budget: $15,591,567 To be Raised From Taxes: $13,655,071 Operating Budget Tax Rate: 1.956 Bonded Dept Tax Rate: .017 Short Term Debt Tax Rate: .016 Total to be raised from Taxes: $13,886,334. Total Tax Rate: 1.989 Total Gross Budget: $16,817,480. Line item changes include: changes in medical/dental insurance; plant operations changes relating to Public School Approval Process; conversion from oil to gas heating, emergency generators for power, maintenance van, replacement of two buses. Mr. Brown noted the Board is considering refunding of bonds because of lower interest rates. Mr. Murray asked if there is enough money in the budget to settle with teachers. Mr. Manazir said no salary request has been received from teachers. He added that the Board has not budgeted for an increase in base salary. Mr. Dinklage moved to send the budget as presented to the public hearing. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Szymanski complimented the city on the great job in preparing the budget book. Mr. Lecours asked the Steering Committee to consider a Resolution concerning the reduction in State Aid and the very late notice of this given to the community. He noted that the Board worked hard to try to keep the original allocations, even with the reduction. Ms. Shilgalis moved to have the Committee sign and send such a Resolution. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.