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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/16/1998CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 1998 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 16 February 1998, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: William Cimonetti, Chair; James Condos, Joan Britt, Terrence Sheahan, David Austin Also Present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peg Strait, Asst. City Manager; Anna Johnston, The Other Paper; Albert Audette, Highway Dept; Lee Graham, Police Chief; Sen. Ann Hallowell, Rep. Ann Pugh; WCAX-TV Crew; Susan Green, Free Press; Wesley Eldred, Larry Kupferman, Sue Trainor, Roger Dickinson, Ken Schatz, Jerry Milot, Al Bartlett, Stephen Crampton 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience (not related to Agenda items): No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: a. Mr. Condos advised that the Solid Waste District Executive Board will meet Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the District office. The District's general meeting will be on 25 February at 7:30 p.m. at S. Burlington City Hall. b. Ms. Britt noted that there will be a meeting at Channel 17 on Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. c. Mr. Cimonetti noted that the Board of Civil Authority will meet on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Council's budget meeting at 8:00 p.m. There will be an MPO meeting Wednesday at 7:00 in Williston and a CCTA Board meeting a week from Friday at 5 p.m. to discuss the proposed budget. d. Mr. Sheahan advised of a Regional Planning Commission monthly meeting on 23 February at 7:30 p.m. e. Mr. Hafter reported on the following: 1. The city's driver's ed program discussed at the last Steering Committee meeting is already sold out and there is a waiting list for the summer program. 2. More than 120 people attended the father-daughter Valentine dance on Saturday. 3. Mr. Hafter gave members the proposed 1998­9 city budget. He noted that for the 5th straight year the city's tax rate has declined slightly to 82.6¢. 3. Discussion with John Murphy, Superintendent, Chittenden Correctional Facility on Incident of 1/8/98: Mr. Cimonetti noted that the city has a liaison committee that discusses issues. It meets about four times a year. The committee and City Manager met with Mr. Murphy a week ago at the request of the City Manager. Mr. Murphy said it is important to have all questions answered. He noted that the disturbance occurred on the first night of the ice storm, and that the flash point was the elimination of visiting time which occurred because the room could not be adequately lighted. Despite efforts to negotiate another visiting time, inmates were very upset and wanted "visiting or else." Mr. Murphy stressed that this was an internal event and was over in 2 hours. It was aggravated by conditions brought about by the storm and by the high numbers of inmates in the facility. The event was studied and analyzed by people not present at the time. There was also a discussion with neighbors to tell them what happened and what was learned from the experience. Mr. Cimonetti asked what loss of power means in relation to the community in terms of alarms, etc. Mr. Murphy said they do not call the Fire Department when there is a "white" (smoke) alarm, only when the "red" (fire) alarm sounds. What set off the alarms during this event was damage being done to the units, and the alarms could not be silenced because of the damage. Mr. Murphy noted that all external lighting was lost, but the locking devices still worked. Internal lighting was at about 30%. This problem is being addressed, and there is a request in to insure that they are at 100% power when commercial power fails. Mr. Austin asked if penalties have been assessed against those who caused the problem. Mr. Murphy said that 16 of the 22 inmates in the unit were involved and were held accountable. The investigation is in the hands of the State Police who will make recommendations. Perpetrators were convicted of disciplinary reports and 10 were shipped out to St. Albans and Newport facilities. Length of incarceration has been impacted as well. Mr. Austin asked at what time S. Burlington police were notified. Mr. Murphy said they were not notified. He noted they have never had an event such as this and had no precedent to go by. They did now know that S. Burlington police want to be notified, and there is a commitment on the part of the Correctional Facility to do so. Ms. Britt said the city is concerned with the overcrowding issue and asked what is on the horizon to address this. Mr. Murphy said they have "hard beds" for 198 inmates. The last time they were that low was in December, 1996. They are now averaging over 240. He noted this is true in other facilities as well. There is an agreement with an institution in New Jersey to take some Vermont individuals, and they are now looking at which inmates are appropriate to send. They are also looking at other facilities in New England. Newport will be getting 114 beds in November. Other than that, there are no other "beds" being developed. Mr. Cimonetti asked who determines when there is no room. Mr. Murphy replied, "Someone I haven't met." Mr. Cimonetti noted that South Burlington was guaranteed a maximum of 88 inmates, and there are now over 200. If a facility is licensed for so many beds, why doesn't the fire marshall shut it down for violations. Mr. Murphy replied that they have a statutory obligation to serve this area. He said the facility is woefully small but that siting a new facility is a long, hard process. Mr. Cimonetti again asked when it is "too full." Mr. Cimonetti said he has the feeling this is the "lockup of convenience" for delivery of prisoners to court. Mr. Murphy said it is more likely that other facilities are holding inmates who belong in Chittenden County than vice versa. He said that 40% of the prison population is from Chittenden County. Mr. Condos asked how many of the prisoners in South Burlington should be in a higher level facility. Mr. Murphy said very few. Mr. Condos asked about the furlough system and whether any inmates are being housed in a South Burlington hotel or apartment. Mr. Murphy said not to his knowledge. He also said that people with a history of hurting others are not put in the furlough program. Mr. Condos asked about the female population noting that were originally 38 beds and are now 48. Mr. Murphy said the female prison population has gone up in the last year and a half. Mr. Condos asked why the state isn't moving toward a new site in this area since it takes so long to get the process completed. Mr. Murphy said they are looking at a different regional setting to house women. Mr. Condos stressed that the current site has been outgrown and that the city is willing to help lobby for a new facility. Mr. Cimonetti asked if there is a level of loss of control in what plans involve the South Burlington Police Dept. Mr. Murphy replied there is nothing specific. Their plans involve the State Police. He added that the State Police were informed of the recent incident though they were not involved. The greatest use the city police could serve would be securing the perimeter in an emergency situation. Mr. Cimonetti said he would like to see a communication plan in writing for incidents such as this. Sen. Hallowell said it is because of the close communication between the liaison committee and the city that she became aware of the problem. She noted she is on the Senate Institutions Committee and wants to be sure the Correctional Facility has the resources it needs. She hoped they could come to some good decisions very soon. She said the city's concerns are valid and that similar concerns exist elsewhere in the state as well. Rep. Pugh noted the Legislature is discussing a women's facility and what services it needs to provide. She noted there also has to be a balance with chronic and long-term mental illness sufferers. 4. Discussion with Fire District #1 on city participation in proposed fire service water main for Queen City Park: Mr. Hafter said there is an agreement on design and how the system will work. The cost is about $150,000 for the fire line. The question is whether the city should participate in this cost. In order for the item to appear on the ballot, there must be a 30-day warning for the notice, so a decision will have to be made by the next meeting as to whether this and other items go on the May ballot. Mr. Hafter noted the District has a 0% loan for the project. Mr. Kupferman noted that the bond vote in QCP did not include money for the fire line. The District can borrow that money and it can be paid back on an appraisal basis based on the District's ability to tax. That would cover the first $90,000 of the project. State money can be used only for the water improvement part of the project. Mr. Dickinson said the total cost of the water and fire line would be $350,000. The state grant would be $65,000, the local (district) share $208,000, leaving $77,000 (1/2 of the fire line). The Fire District has bonding approval for $226,500. Mr. Condos felt that a line that could be used for both water and fire would cost significantly less. Mr. Kupferman said that is not the case. The CWD alternative is very similar because the infrastructure would have to be changed. In the present plan, the water infrastructure would not have to be changed. Mr. Cimonetti said a ballot question could be for a charge for the whole city or on a 50-50 basis with the residents of the area paying half. Mr. Kupferman questioned residents having to pay that 50% since they are already paying 50% of the project. Mr. Condos said the problem is that this type of arrangement would usually be paid on a user fee basis, but in this case there is very little user fee that would be paid for from the QCP district. Mr. Kupferman noted that the previous fire chief felt this project would help the city's fire rating which could result in additional savings for the city. Mr. Hafter suggested a possible annual "fire protection fee." Members agreed that it is important to get adequate fire protection in the area. The question is how to pay for it. Mr. Cimonetti suggested two alternatives: a) the city provide only the unmet money ($77,000) and get half of that back from the Fire District and half from citywide users; b) the project be looked at as a whole (154,000) and half of that be recovered from the District and half citywide. Mr. Schatz noted that they don't have bonding authority for that. Mr. Hafter said it would be financed over a number of years and it wouldn't come from bonding authority. Mr. Cimonetti asked staff to work through both scenarios and the Council will then warn a public hearing on which language to put on the ballot. Mr. Kupferman noted the city will take ownership in any situation. 5. and 6. These items were passed over as no one was present to address them. 7. Appeal of Recreation Impact Fee Assessment for Dorset Farms Development: Mr. Crampton noted that this is an affordable housing project. He also noted that Council members Sheahan and Austin had said that the Planning Commission had approved this project with the proposed impact fee in mind. Mr. Crampton said this doesn't matter as they had no idea what the proposed ordinance would say, and the ordinance wasn't passed for until more than a year later. Mr. Crampton also noted that the city has said that the ordinance wasn't properly interpreted, but Mr. Crampton felt this was counteracted by the exemption which the Council later enacted. Mr. Cimonetti noted that the Spear Street Findings of Fact have now been made and are before the court. Mr. Milot said he was told that the impact fee credit he had on the Spear St. project was no longer valid and that he should approach the Council to see if he could get relief from having to install the bike path. He said he told Mr. Weith he was surprised the city would build a park on the backs of new homes when there was no need for a park. Mr. Weith told him there was going to be a meeting to consider grandfathering all developments passed before a certain date, and he later got a call from Mr. Weith saying "You're grandfathered." He said it appears that years later someone felt this was a good source of income to get money into the city's coffers. He felt the city's intent had been to grandfather all existing approvals from one year before the impact fee ordinance had been passed. Mr. Cimonetti asked if there is anything different about this project from the Spear St. project. He said he was uncomfortable with any discussion of what has already been appealed to the court. Mr. Milot said he felt the Council should ask themselves if they looked at this the right way and review it. 8. Champlain Water District presentation on $3.2 million bond issue on March 3, 1998 ballot: Mr. Fay gave members written information on the project. The project is necessitated by a growing need for water in the County. CWD had hoped to wait until 2001 because of existing debt, but it can't wait because water sales are going up so fast (South Burlington is up .18mgd. Mr. Fay noted that wholesale water rates have been the same for 12 years, and with this project, there will be commitments from IBM and Essex Junction Village to help hold rates for another 7 years. The project will add two filters, one clarifier. Part of the added capacity will be added now and the remainder hopefully after 2003. CWD will also buy surplus water from Burlington during peak periods. Mr. Condos asked what assurance there is that Burlington water is high quality. Mr. Fay said there will be a performance contract based on CWD regulations/standards. 9. Consideration of acceptance of Community Drive as a public street: Mr. Hafter said the city has been paid for work that will be done in the spring. All but 6 street lights will be removed. The city will maintain the remaining six. Mr. Condos moved to accept Community Drive as a public street upon receipt of money for lighting. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Update on Chittenden Regional Planning Commission Activities: Mr. Sheahan reported that he had attended a Regional Planning retreat this past weekend which was time well spent. He said he needed guidance from the Council regarding the city's position on some things that will be on the horizon. These include the Champlain Initiative/growth concept. He felt there is need to be careful of the "semantics" game. 11. Information Item: City Center Design Review Study Commission Report: Mr. Cimonetti noted the Planning Commission will hear the report at tomorrow night's Commission meeting. 12. Review Zoning Notice for public hearing on Monday, 23 February 1998: No issues were raised. 13. Review and approval of City Council Minutes from meeting of February 2, 1998: It was noted that on p. 1, item "d," "That meeting..." should read "The meeting of February 19th..." Mr. Condos moved to approve the Minutes of 2 February as amended. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. Austin abstaining. 14. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 15. Executive Session: Ms. Britt moved the Council adjourn and reconvene in Executive Session to discuss personnel matters, contract negotiations, and litigation and to resume regular session only to adjourn. Mr. Condos seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: the Council returned to regular session. Joan Britt moved adjournment. Jim Condos seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.