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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/16/1996CITY COUNCIL 16 DECEMBER 1996 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 16 December 1996, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: James Condos, Acting Chair; Robert Chittenden, David Austin, Terrence Sheahan (Chairman Cimonetti was present for executive session.) Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peg Strait, Asst. City manager; Margaret Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Wallace Possich, Fire Chief; Albert Audette, Street Dept; Todd Boutin, Dave Taber, Channel 17 Executive Session: Mr. Austin moved the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel issues. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session - 8:10 p.m. 1. Comments & Questions from the Public not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements and City Manager's Report: Mr. Chittenden noted that on the Library Report there was a "multi-cultural group" listed and asked what it is. Mr. Hafter replied that it is a student group. Mr. Hafter reported on the following: a. At the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast on 6 January, Governor Dean will be the featured speaker. b. He and Mr. Condos will be going with a group from the Solid Waste District to a sludge processing plant to see what can be done to salvage the pelletizing plant. c. The Steering Committee will meet on 19 December at 7:30 p.m. d. Frank Mazur has arranged a meeting with the Agency of Natural Resources regarding the Bartlett Bay Sewage Plant. e. I am working with students at SBHS on a web page. f. Ski trails have been established on the Calkins property. There are 5 Kilometers of x-country skiing with trails rated at easy, medium and hard. 2. Public Hearing on Amendment to Motor Vehicle & traffic Regulations to Establish a No Parking Zone on the North & South Side of Holmes Road from the Intersection with Shelburne Road to the Railroad Tracks; Consideration of Adoption of Same: Mr. Hafter read a letter from Dr. Julian Walker describing what he feels is a very dangerous situation. Mr. Hafter said it has been determined that it's Dinsmore who has been parking 3 trucks there. Mr. Walker recommended that there be 2-hour parking allowed at the end of the road near the railroad tracks. Mr. Austin said he spoke with a few people in the area who felt the most hazardous part was toward Shelburne Rd. Mr. Boutin said his company has a number of tractor trailers coming in and out all day. He felt Lewis Rd. is very dangerous with many cars coming out to use the light, Visibility is limited and there have been accidents. He felt the no parking zone should go all the way to the railroad tracks. He cited problems with overnight parking. Chief Possich said there is a problem for fire trucks trying to get out when trucks are parked on the road. Mr. Chittenden said he wouldn't support closing off the whole street, possibly to Lewis Rd. Mr. Boutin said even with one side of the road parking it is very hard for a tractor trailer to get out. He noted that Dinsmore was parking behind the beverage place but had been told to move. Mr. Condos noted that Dinsmore says they are parking on the street because they're using up their lot for display vehicles. He noted that's the reason there are standards for the amount of display vehicles, and other businesses have to meet these standards. Mr. Condos supported the parking ban on both sides of the road because of the potential dangerous situation. Chief Possich and Mr. Audette both supported the parking ban especially because of the number of driveways and because there are no residences in the area. Mr. Austin moved to close the Public Hearing. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Austin moved to adopt the Amendment to the Motor Vehicle and Traffic Regulations to Establish a No-Parking Zone on the North Side of Holmes Road from the Intersection with Shelburne Road to the Railroad Tracks, as presented, Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed 3-1 with Mr. Chittenden opposing. 4. Consideration of Proposal to Establish a Limited Self-Funded Group Health Insurance Plan for Employees of the City: Mr. Hafter introduced Dave Taber, President of Comprehensive Benefits, Inc. Mr. Hafter noted that VLCT rates for insurance keep going up. The increase will be 12-15% as of January. The difference between what the city pays and what is paid out in claims is substantial, and it was felt that employees could be given the same benefits while still saving considerable dollars. The expected total cost for Blue Cross/Blue Shield will be $386,000, of which the city would pay $350,000. With the proposed plan, there would be an $83,500 fixed annual cost with an expected $190,000 in claims. This would result in a $112,000 savings. Mr. Hafter didn't recommend taking the BC/BS appropriation out of the budget but to use it to establish a reserve fund. Thus, the city and the employees would pay the same amount for one year. Mr. Taber said his company has been in existence since 1986. Over the years, they have been able to serve about 120 clients with about 140,000 employees. Some of his clients are S.T. Griswold, Lake Champlain Transportation, and Vermont Transit. For the most part, Mr. Taber said, employees won't have to pay for medical costs in advance. His company works directly with providers. Mr. Condos asked if there are any other school districts or communities in the plan. Mr. Taber said there are some in a dental plan, but not medical. Mr. Sheahan asked if there would be any more work for the administration. Mr. Hafter said there would be. The plan is to form a group of city people to see how this works and to review the plan on a monthly basis. The work will be balanced out because Pam and Peg now spend a lot of time interacting with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Ms. Strait said she has previously worked with this kind of system with her previous employer and is comfortable with it. Mr. Condos said he has also worked with self-funded companies and knows that the system works. Mr. Sheahan moved to authorize the establishment of a self-funded insurance claim system. The intent is for the city to establish a reserve from money not paid out in contract costs or claims. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Status of Used Aerial Truck Search: Chief Possich said they have been searching nationwide through brokers. There are not a lot of available tower trucks with the standards and specs the Department wants. There are, however 3 possibilities, an '87 Grumman, an '84 Pierce and a '90 Pierce. The last of these is the most promising. It is a 100 ft. tower platform and seems to be in even better shape than the Lancaster truck. It would cost $425,000. It is being sold because it is too big for what the community needs. This truck was certified last month and has been appraised by Pierce which felt the price is what the truck is worth. The city has right of first refusal through January. Chief Possich said there will have to be some negotiation of price because of transportation costs. There are several transportation options including rail car ($8,000), flatbedding ($810,000) or flying city people out to drive it back. If the last option is used, drivers would have to get CDL licenses. A drop driver could also be hired for about $3,000-3,500. Mr. Hafter said 3 people will be sent out to inspect the truck. 6. Appointment of Health Officer: Mr. Hafter said there are not a lot of calls for the Health Officer. The person now holding the position does not want to serve again. The city could appoint Mr. Hafter and recruit a Deputy Health Officer or have the Council Chair be the Officer and Mr. Hafter be the Deputy. Members suggested advertising for the position and having Mr. Cimonetti and Mr. Hafter serve in the interim. 7. Review Planning Commission Agenda for Tuesday, 17 December: Mr. Austin asked how things are going on Dorset St. He noted a bad traffic situation on the weekend. Mr. Audette said the Mall can't handle traffic internally. There was a line to get into the Mall from 11:30 to almost 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. He suggested that whoever designed the circulation system should have to stand out there and direct traffic. There is also another problem with 100 Dorset St. people can't get in there quick enough to avoid tying up traffic on the road. Mr. Austin felt that with the Mall on the Agenda, this could be discussed. He suggested Mr. Audette attend the Planning Commission meeting. Mr. Austin also noted that L&M is coming in and felt it was a good opportunity to discuss problems with that project as well. Mr. Audette said they were promised three times that Fayette Rd. would be paved this year, and it didn't happen. Mr. Austin suggested calling the bond. It might also be possible to have them pay for a person to direct parking to where it should occur. Mr. Condos noted that item #7 involves the Airport proposed parking garage and terminal expansion. He hoped the project would be aesthetically pleasing. Mr. Condos also noted that neighbors are very concerned about what the temporary parking lot will look like and about having headlights shining into their windows. Mr. Condos wanted to assure that berms are in place before there is a problem. 9. Review Minutes of 2 December 1996: Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the Minutes of 2 December as written. Mr. Austin seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 11. Adjournment: Mr. Chittenden moved adjournment. Mr. Sheahan seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM. Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.