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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 07/01/1996CITY COUNCIL 1 July 1996 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, 1 July 1996, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: William Cimonetti, Chair; James Condos, David Austin, Terry Sheahan Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Sonny Audette, Street Dept; Margaret Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Jon Kruger, Police Dept; Debra Ploof, Police/Fire Dispatch; Doug Dapice, NENA; Littleton Long, Susan Deacon, Jay Appleton 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience (not related to Agenda Items): No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Condos advised of a special Solid Waste District meeting on 2 July at 5:30 p.m., to finalize the budget. Mr. Hafter reported the following: a. A study is being done on an alternate access to I-89 from Hinesburg Rd. in connection with the proposed Pizzagalli development. A meeting is being held with the AOT on Wednesday. b. The first general meeting regarding reappraisal will be held on 10 July at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. c. The public dedication of the new fire trucks will be held at 7:00 p.m. on 15 July, prior to the next City Council meeting. d. Tax bills are now bar coded and this is saving a great deal of time. Ms. Picard reported that the motor vehicle reregistration is going very well. They have done 148 since Thursday. The public is very receptive. In September, this service will be open to City Clerks in other communities. Mr. Cimonetti suggested that communities near the Lake could also do boat registrations. Ms. Picard also reported that automatic tax payments are going well. About 80 property owners are using this service now. There is no cost to the city. Mr. Hafter noted the grand opening today of the Living Technologies Plant. He said they are removing everything but phosphorus. 3. Continued Public Hearing on Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing a Street Naming and Street Addressing System in South Burlington; second reading: Mr. Kruger introduced Doug Dapice of NENA, Sally Rice of the U.S. Postal System, Dispatcher Debby Ploof, and Jay Appleton of Regional Planning who are involved in the E-911 effort. Mr. Austin moved to waive the second reading of the proposed ordinance and open discussion. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Cimonetti asked Ms. Rice how long the Post Office would continue to deliver mail addressed to old addresses. Ms. Rice said that under these circumstances a very long time, even beyond the usual 12 month forwarding period. Mr. Cimonetti stressed that nobody would be moving; it would only be addresses that are changing. Ms. Rice asked that the city work with the Post Office when renumbering is done. Mr. Hafter noted that the State's first position was that every 5.28 feet should have a new number. Many communities felt that this would take away from the "small town" feel. South Burlington is proposing every 50 feet. Mr. Austin thought this might be a problem in the City Center. Mr. Dapice said that numbering is very important. Mr. Cimonetti said that South Burlington is "a believer"; the Council just wants to be sure they are getting enough guidance about renumbering. Mr. Appleton recommended 5.28 feet or something small because of the density of development. Mr. Hafter said that would lead to having house #34 next to house #56, and that could confuse people. Mr. Condos raised the question of a house being on one street and its driveway on another. Numbering based on the driveway would be very confusing in that case. Mr. Dapice said he would check on that. Mr. Cimonetti said he would like to know what other cities have done. Mr. Austin said he would like to know the status of grandfathering. Mr. Appleton said the real question is whether emergency services providers are comfortable with the current system, and apparently they are not. Mr. Kruger said there is no uniformity in the city and this leads to delays in responding to calls for help. The condominium developments are particularly terrible. There are no numbers visible in all of the Georgetown development, for example. Mr. Hafter suggested the place to start was to identify problem areas. Mr. Appleton said a State person can do the renumbering and then the city can decide what it wants. He stressed the need for consistency. Mr. Dapice said he could provide the city with maps of other towns to see what they have done. Mr. Condos stressed that the city wants the E-911 service. The Council just needs guidance on how to go about it. Mr. Condos moved to continue the Public Hearing. Mr. Austin seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Consideration of Adoption of Resolution Authorizing $1.00 Surcharge Per Page on Document Recording to Fund Restoration, Preservation and Conservation of Municipal Records: Mr. Hafter said the city now charges $6.00 per page. This year the Clerks put forth legislation to allow a $1.00 surcharge for preservation of old documents. In South Burlington, this should raise about $10,000. It would be in a separate account and could be used only for this purpose. Ms. Picard said they need map files. At present, they cannot allow picture taking of mylars. They want plastic covers so that picture taking would be possible. This would cost about $5-6,000. They also need to get started putting records on the computer. Ms. Picard said a memo would be sent to area attorneys advising of the surcharge. Mr. Condos read the proposed Resolution. Mr. Sheahan moved that the Council adopt the Resolution as read. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Consideration of Approval of Capital Equipment Note, Resolution on Capital Equipment Borrowing and Certification of Non-Arbitrage for Purchase of 2 Fire Engines: Mr. Cimonetti noted that the rate of 4.75 is fixed for 4 years. Mr. Condos moved to approve the Capital Equipment Note, Resolution on Capital Equipment Borrowing and Certification of Non-Arbitrage in connection with the purchase of 2 fire engines. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Consideration of One-Year agreement on Provision of Legal Services with Stitzel and Page, P.C: Mr. Hafter said Stitzel and Page are willing to continue on a one-year basis. They currently receive $90/hour with a retainer of $2400/month. In the one-year extension, they would get $100/hour for Mr. Stitzel's time and $80/hour for his associates, and a $2500/month retainer. The increase is provided for in the budget. Mr. Hafter felt this was very reasonable. Mr. Austin agreed this was a very competitive rate. Mr. Austin noted there are questions of what would be under retainer and what would be billed separately which could result in increases the city didn't anticipate. But he felt this agreement was acceptable for one year. Both Mr. Sheahan and Mr. Condos felt Stitzel and Page have done an excellent job and have a good relationship with the city. Mr. Austin said that on the basis of that relationship, he would be willing to let the City Manager and Mr. Stitzel work out the details. Mr. Condos moved to authorize the City Council Chair to sign a contract with Stitzel and Page, P.C. for a one year continuation of their contract with the City. The new contract would include a $100. increase in the monthly retainer and a $10/hour increase in the hourly billing for Mr. Stitzel. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Discuss Interview Schedule for Appointments to Boards and Commissions: Mr. Hafter recommended 15 July for interviews for Planning and Zoning Boards and 5 August for interviews for other committees, etc. Members agreed. 8. Review Upcoming Planning Commission Public Notices for 9 July, 16 July, and 23 July: No issues were raised. 9. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.