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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/23/1995CITY COUNCIL 23 FEBRUARY 1995 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Thursday, 23 February 1995, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: Robert Chittenden, Acting Chair; Michael Flaherty, James Condos, David Maclaughlin, William Cimonetti Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Joe Weith, City Planner; Walter Possich, Fire Chief; Lee Graham, Acting Police Chief; Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Margaret Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Albert Audette, Street Dept; Bruce O'Neill, Tom Hubbard, Recreation Dept; Dick Ward, Zoning Administrator; Claire Buckley, Library; South Burlington Firefighters; James Goddette 1. Presentation of 1995-6 City Budget a) Planning: Mr. Weith said the Planning budget shows a $4000 overall increase. $1300 of this is for mapping to update the Comprehensive Plan maps. $1000 is for shelving and filing cabinets (the latter may be obtainable at a lower cost). b) Zoning: Mr. Weith said the Zoning budget shows a $1400 overall increase over last year. There is a new line item for legal services to pay for appeals to Zoning Board decisions. There is also a request for a map file. c) Recreation Dept. Mr. O'Neill said this budget is $1600 less than last year. There is a small decrease in phone use and in utility bills. New items include a new printer and 2 bike racks for Dorset St. Park. Mr. O'Neill noted the Park will be officially opened on 13 May. d) Leisure Arts: Mr. O'Neill said the leisure arts budget is down a little. They are, however, expanding the use of a specialist for bringing special needs children into recreation programs. Mr. O'Neill noted that the same increase that is being felt in the schools is being seen in the registration for recreation and leisure arts programs. e) Library: Ms. Buckley said there is an increase in postage as the library rate for 4th class mail saw a huge increase this year. There is also an item for furniture for the new adult reading room. Ms. Buckley noted that the S. Burlington library has the lowest budget for books and related materials in the County, less than half of what is spent in some communities. The current request is for about $12,000. She felt $22,000 was a good range to be in. Mr. Hafter explained that the Library is working on automating as are other communities. A funding mechanism for this must be developed. He noted there are $13,000 in funds appropriated for the Police that could be allocated. $9,000 of this could go for a Police vehicle with $4,000 going toward a start for Library automating. The Library Trustees have $11,000 in computer fees and donations from Friends of the Library which would make a total of $15,000. This would have no net effect on the budget. The School Dept. has agreed to split the cost for the system with the City for the next two years. Ms. Buckley said the system is the same as the one just installed at the Fletcher. Mr. Flaherty moved that Mr. Hafter's proposed amendment regarding Police and Library funding be put into effect. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. f) Fire Dept: Chief Possich noted there is $8400 less in salaries and benefits. There are some new line items including: 1)medical equipment (separated from medical supplies for the first time). Chief Possich said medical calls are up 18% in one year and 56% since 1990; 2) Hepatitis B vaccinations for all staff; 3) money for "rehab" (coffee, etc.) for firefighters at a major incident; 4) uniforms for call personnel (so the entire department can be dressed in the same dress uniforms. Mr. Chittenden felt the call personnel should use the money paid to them for these uniforms. He said he would rather give them extra pay. Mr. Hafter felt that recognition and appreciation is part of how these people are paid for risking their lives for the community. Chief Possich felt that one of his goals is to tie career and call personnel together. Mr. Condos said this is such a small amount (.003 of the budget) and agreed it would in-crease morale in the department. Budgets for tools and oil and telephone use have been reduced. There is $2000 more in vehicle repair, $400 more for conferences and $1400 more in training. The total budget is up about $10,000. In the area of capital expenditures, Chief Possich said he is requesting a diesel exhaust removal system for both stations. He said this will be a requirement in a few years. Exhaust in the stations is excessive and has been found to be a carcinogen. They will also replace an aged generator (the other will be replaced next year). Chief Possich said he would like to increase the vehicle replacement fund amount from $30,000 to $42,000. Mr. Maclaughlin asked why this amount is so low. Mr. Flaherty said it has been a question of balancing the budget in recent years. Mr. Maclaughlin said the city needs to look into updating its fleet. The community keeps growing, and the stress on equipment is growing. He would like to see extra money go to the replacement fund for this equipment. He said that the city has changed in terms of layout and heights of buildings and using outdated fire equipment puts the community at risk. Mr. Condos agreed. Mr. Flaherty said this is what happens when you put things off to keep taxes low; now it's time to catch up. Mr. Hafter said there are several alternatives to accomplish this: a) a bond issue; b) transfer the money from somewhere else; c) look at the tax rate (get the same rate as last year would raise an additional $14,000.). Chief Possich said three units need to be replaced: 2 pumpers and a tower truck. None of the trucks would meet standards for a truck manufactured today. He also noted the impossibility of getting parts for the older equipment. g) Highway: Mr. Audette is asking for one new person, 1/2 time highway and 1/2 time park maintenance. He noted that in 1975 there were 15 people in the dept. There was then 52 miles of roads, 10 miles of sidewalks, 30 miles of sewer and 4 recreation areas. Now he has 18 people, 65 miles of road, 35 miles of sidewalk, 60+ miles of sewer, and 9 parks, a recreation path, new fields at Central School, Dorset Street, etc., plus cemetery maintenance. Mr. Audette noted that the Dorset St. project has more than doubled the cost for power. There is also an item for tree replacement. The capital budget shows less for equipment replacement. Items to be replaced are a dump truck and a loader. Mr. Audette said he would one day like a new Public Works Facility so he can bring some of the equipment inside. He noted a prior agreement with the Schools seems to have gone out of their thinking. Mr. Cimonetti suggested the possibility of doing something in stages. The road work budget is about the same as last year. Mr. Audette said he's been told both Poor Farm Rd. bridge and Van Sicklen will be done this coming year. Mr. Hafter noted that if the city gets more transportation money from the state, it will go to paving. h) Parks: Mr. Cimonetti questioned whether the city should continue having Public Works do park maintenance or contract it out to a landscaper. Mr. Audette said that Mr. Hafter got a quote for Dorset St. and Overlook Pk which was $17,000. Mr. Audette felt it was a question of privatization vs. public works, and said he believed if the Public Works Dept. is run like a private business, no private business can compete with them. Mr. Hafter noted the need for people to plow the streets and said it is a question of the difference between the cost of a private landscaper and the cost of a new man in the dept. and whether what that man can do is worth the cost. A lengthy discussion followed. Mr. Audette said he hopes to have the Youth Corps back this year. The cost will be up a bit to $6,000. He felt they could do the trail system in the high areas. There is $3000 in the budget to replace furniture at J.C. Park and do other improvements there. There is $4000 for fencing at Dorset Park and work on the Calkins property. Mr. O'Neill noted a lot of "spur of the moment" work has to be done and he feels he can call Mr. Audette on the spur of the moment to property maintain some facilities (deal with broken glass, etc.). He felt an additional person this year would be a tremendous help. i) Other Agencies: Mr. Hafter said he had wanted to keep these level funded this year. He did, however, just receive word that CCTA has cut $3259 from its budget and Mr. Hafter recommended adding $860 to Winooski Valley Park as they requested. A brief discussion followed. Mr. Cimonetti moved to reduce the CCTA appropriation by $3259 and increase Winooski Valley Park's appropriation by $860. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. j) Revenues: Mr. Hafter noted recording fees are down a bit. Investment interest is up this year. It is anticipated that State highway aid will be up as well. Fees received at Red Rocks Park are down which was anticipated when people were allowed to park outside the park. Mr. Hafter said the Council will have to authorize presentation of the Budget to the Steering Committee at its next meeting. Mr. Flaherty noted that the Zoning Board has requested an increase in their pay to equal that given to the Planning Commission. Mr. Hafter advised of a new state law that would allow for two boards, one to do project reviews and zoning variances and another to do long range planning. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.