Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/20/1997CITY COUNCIL 20 OCTOBER 1997 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 20 October 1997, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: William Cimonetti, Chair; James Condos, Terry Sheahan, Joan Britt. Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Albert Audette, Highway Dept; Joe Weith, City Planner; Peg Strait, Assistant City Manager; Steve Stitzel, City Attorney, Susan Wheeler, State Representative; George Chamberland, The Other Paper; Tom Grocki, Don Weinreich, Stephen Crampton, Stephanie & Eric Keunaugh, Annie Voldrun, Marla Weiner, Robert Ryan, Harold Solunder. 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience (not related to Agenda items): a. Mr. Cimonetti introduced Rep. Susan Wheeler who was appointed to take the place of Ann Hallowell in the Vermont House when Ms. Hallowell replaced the late Sen. Barry. Ms. Wheeler reviewed her background and said she is looking forward to learning about South Burlington and serving the community well. b. Don Weinreich and Tom Grocki expressed concerns about speeding on Laurel Hill Drive and suggested a 3-way stop sign at Laurel Hill and Cranwell to try to slow traffic down. They noted the stop signs on Proctor Ave. have done a good job of slowing cars. Mr. Grocki noted there are 19 children in homes in one short stretch of Laurel Hill and only one "Slow - Children" sign. Mr. Cimonetti suggested putting a portable traffic unit in the area and getting some traffic counts as a start. Mr. Sheahan said he would check on traffic counts at Regional Planning. Ms. Britt noted that she walked in the area frequently and is also concerned about the problem. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: a. Mr. Condos advised that the Solid Waste Board meeting has been postponed until next Wednesday. b. Mr. Cimonetti reported that the MPO will meet this Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Essex. c. Ms. Britt noted that the San Remo Dr. Committee has finished its work and will be presenting a report to the Council soon. d. Mr. Hafter reported on the following: 1. The Bartlett Bay neighbors will meet with city officials on Thursday at 7 p.m. to discuss the expansion of the Sewage Treatment Plant. 2. The City Charter Committee will meet on 29 October at 7 p.m. 3. The next Steering Committee meeting will be on 6 November at 7:30 p.m. Sean Campbell and Kathy Hoyt have been invited to present the State's position. 4. At a meeting last week, the state accepted the Kennedy Drive proposal and is moving forward with the design stage. The city will be taking over management of this project. Mr. Audette noted the TIP will have to be amended if the city decides to speed up the project. 5. A meeting was held on 14 October with Bartlett Bay residents and the State regarding train crossings/quiet zone concerns. Neighbors seem pleased with the plans. 6. There will be a public meeting at the Boathouse on 29 October at 7:00 regarding the commuter rail project. A tour of the rail station will take place at 6:30. Mr. Cimonetti noted this is the required public hearing on the commuter rail project and may be the last one before the train goes operational. A lot of detail should be discussed that night. Mr. Cimonetti said it looks as though South Burlington will not have a station, at least for the start of the project. Mr. Condos noted that the Vermont Rail Co. has asked the state to take over maintenance of rail crossings as it is too much for them to handle. 7. On 22-23 November, there will be 3 events to kick off the holiday season: the Vermont Handcrafters Show at the Sheraton, the Festival of Trees at the Ramada, and the UM all official start of holiday shopping. City representatives have been invited to participate in the openings of these events. 3. First reading of amendment to Ordinance to Regulate Truck Traffic, to establish 12,999 lb. registered vehicle weight limit on Old Farm Rd; consideration of public hearing schedule: Mr. Cimonetti explained the provisions of the current ordinance and the proposal to add Old Farm Rd. to the ordinance. He reviewed the penalties for violations and noted that a similar ordinance has made a great deal of difference on Spear St. There is the potential for a very severe accident situation on Old Farm Road since there is the temptation for traffic to use the road as a short cut from Rt. 116 to Rt. 2A. Old Farm Rd. cannot support much more traffic and certainly not through truck traffic. Trucks making deliveries in the neighborhood would still be allowed access. Mr. Condos moved to waive reading of the Ordinance, to approve the first reading and to set a public hearing for 17 November. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Residents voiced support of the proposed ordinance and expressed concern with the speed of traffic on Old Farm Rd. The limit is 25 mph, but traffic goes at twice that speed. Ms. Voldrun said there has been a big increase in truck traffic, especially large trucks. Mr. Cimonetti said residents should get the names of companies whose trucks use the street as company officials are usually very good about ordering drivers to use main thoroughfares. One resident said many of the trucks are from Lane Press and said that since there are no shoulders on the road, joggers are very vulnerable. Mr. Cimonetti explained that speed limits are set according to law. Speeders can be convicted when caught and there can be surveillance to some extent. Residents asked about speed dips and bumps. Mr. Cimonetti explained that these are a problem from a maintenance point of view and can be a legal problem. The City of Burlington is trying more of these and South Burlington will check to see how they are working. Residents suggested police patrols in the morning when there seems to be the most speeding. In the vote that followed, the motion was passed unanimously. 4. Continued discussion of options related to city participation with developer for cost of extension of water line on Dorset St. and hook-on of adjacent properties: Mr. Crampton, representing the developer, said they want the city to impose impact fees to reimburse the developer for the water line from the middle of the golf course property south to the MBL project. Mr. Crampton agreed with the City Attorney that there are alternatives to handle this and said the applicant supports holding a public hearing on the amount of the fee and then implementation. Mr. Crampton noted that the project was first presented to the Planning Commission in 1989 when the Ordinance included a provision for such reimbursement when a developer extended a sewer or water line. They are asking to extend this philosophy to reimburse the MBL developer who had to build the line in conjunction with future plans of the Southeast Quadrant. Mr. Crampton noted there was a ruling that the city and a developer cannot unilaterally set the price for hook-up to a sewer line since such hook-up is mandatory. But it is their feeling that since hooking up to the water line is voluntary, there can be such a fee set. Mr. Crampton noted the project has gone through many appeals and much expense. It has provided moderate cost housing in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan and has extended both water and sewer lines. They feel that reimbursement should be supported by the city. Mr. Cimonetti said the history of the project has very little to do with the issue. He said the water and sewer lines in question are being installed in a city right-of-way with permission of the city. There was never a discussion of the developer recovering any costs for that installation. When the project was approved, the developer was obligated to install water and sewer as part of the approval. Nothing in any of the Minutes indicates or implies that the developer ought to be able to recover costs. Mr. Cimonetti also noted that the developer Mr. Crampton represents is responsible for the water line from Old Cross Rd, not from the water tower. Mr. Crampton said the Ordinance in existance at the time said this is how such situations were to be handled. Mr. Cimonetti reiterated that no condition of approval required the city to reimburse the developer for the infrastructure he installed. Mr. Condos added that the city did express a willingness to pay the difference between an 8" and 12" line, but it turned out that the developer was required to put in the 12" line to service the project. Mr. Cimonetti referred to a letter from Mr. Milot indicating that he would "sell to the city. . ." the linear footage of the lines. He recommended the applicant come to the city with a proposal as to what they will "sell" to the city. Mr. Crampton said they are not talking about a sale but an impact fee. They feel people should pay their fair share to hook on. Mr. Condos said he thought the line was to be turned over to the city. Mr. Cimonetti said there won't be water in the line until it is turned over to the city. He again stressed that he wanted this handled in a businesslike way and to see in writing a proposal from the developer as to what is being offered to the city. Mr. Condos noted that one of the major issues in the development was "leapfroggin" and since the developer chose to leapfrog out to that location, it was his responsibility to bring the utilities out that far. Mr. Cimonetti asked for a specific statement of what each property owner would pay to hook on, according to the developer. He noted that city practice has been to assess half the cost of a sewer line to a neighborhood and the other half to the whole community. Mr. Cimonetti noted that the City Council would reserve the right to discuss the specifics of any contract in Executive Session. Mr. Jacob of the Water Commission noted that there were no such contracts when water lines were put in. The line is tested then turned over to the city. Costs were divided half to each side of the street. Policies have now changed and developers are not covered for any extension, except when putting in a 12" line instead of an 8" when only an 8" is required for the project. Mr. Jacob also noted that the line on the Economou project is handled through a pumping station and the Milot line is gravity fed. The two have nothing to do with each other. Mr. Cimonetti noted the Water Dept. still has the responsibility for water mains and suggested a meeting with Water Commissioners. He also asked to see a diagram of the water system for that meeting and also a position statement from EZP. 5. Continued discussion on the renaming of Corporate Way: Mr. Hafter said the road will probably open in the spring. Some street lights are now up and trees are due in soon. "Corporate Way" does not reflect what is now on the road. A request for possible alternatives has yielded the following: Main Street, MacKenzie Way (the MacKenzies owned the farm on which the road is built), E. Winooski St., Central Ave., Center Place, Columbia Concourse, Hines Ave., O'Brien Ave., Woodland Drive, Rebel Way, Rectangle Way, Center Parkway, Dorsberg, Short St., Middle Forest, Center Main Street, Color St. School St. Mr. Cimonetti suggested adding Champlain Street to the list. This discussion will be continued. 6. Public Hearing and consideration of approval of application for Municipal Planning Grant Program to study establishing a development corporation for City Center: Mr. Cimonetti noted this has been recommended by the Economic Development Committee. Mr. Hafter added that the funds involved are those promised in Act 200. Mr. Weith said that in the application, the types of projects are ranked and the first in order are implementation projects. The city has tried to stress the implementation aspect of this project. Ms. Britt moved to approve the Resolution as presented. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Consideration of issuance of special event entertainment permit for Magic Hat Brewery grand opening celebration, 11/5/97, 5-11 p.m: Mr. Hafter said the application is in order. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the issuance of a special event entertainment permit for Magic Hat as presented. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Britt left the meeting at this point. 8. Review Zoning Notice for Public Hearing to be held on 27 October 1997: No issues were raised. 9. Review Planning Commission Agenda for 21 October 1997: No issues were raised. 10. Review Minutes of 6 October 1997: This item was tabled for lack of a majority of attending members. 11. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 12. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Condos moved the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. a. Permit to serve alcoholic beverages, Magic Hat Brewing Company, 5 November 1997, 5-11 p.m: Mr. Hafter said beverages would be complimentary. Mr. Sheahan moved to grant the special event permit to allow the serving of alcoholic beverages by Magic Hat Brewery on 5 November 1997, from 5-11 p.m. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. b. Second Class Liquor License application of Healthy Living, 150 Dorset Street: Mr. Hafter said that Fire, Police and Tax Department have reviewed the application and have no concerns. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the Second Class Liquor License of Healthy Living as presented. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.