Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/18/1999CITY COUNCIL 18 OCTOBER 1999 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 18 October 1999, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: James Condos, Chair; Joan Britt, David Austin, Terry Sheahan, Chris Smith Also present: Charles Hafter, City Manager; Peter Bestenbostel, Assistant City Manager; Rep. Frank Mazur; Joe Weith, Director of Planning & Zoning; Bill Miller, Deb Linehan, Albert Audette, Bill Wessell, Jake Cunavelis; Susan Green, Free Press; Anna K. Johnson, The Other Paper 1. Comments & questions from the audience (not related to agenda items): Rep. Mazur reported on a survey he took in the community. Specific items of interest were: On the issue of whether school choice should be extended to elementary Schools, 50% said yes, 37% no. Some felt choice should be only within the city. On the question of whether Vermont should continue to mainstream special ed students, 37% said yes, 33% said no, 30% were unsure. Some felt mainstreaming should be only for those who do not disrupt the classroom. Others felt there should be programs for gifted students as well. On the question of whether the schools are doing a good job of educating children, 34% felt they were, 47% felt they were not, 19% were unsure. Some felt costs were too high. Others felt there should be more basic courses. Others said teachers are too stressed by having to serve as "social workers." Some felt there should be a longer school day and/or school year. On the issue of whether Act 60 is good for education, 62% said no, 15% said yes. Some felt it was "dumbing down schools." Others were concerned there was no mechanism to control costs. Some felt equalization in spending was good but were not sure how to achieve it. 2. Announcements and City Manager's report: Mr. Sheahan advised that the next Regional Planning Commission meeting will be 25 October, 7 p.m. Mr. Sheahan also advised that the committee working on the public works garage will be coming in on 1 November with a presentation. Ms. Britt said that the Hallowe'en Weekend Haunted House needs volunteers. Mr. Austin reported that the Natural Resources Subcommittee of the Regional Planning Commission met today and discussed the portions of the draft of the Regional Plan related to natural resources. The discussion will continue at their next meeting, 15 November. Mr. Condos announced that the second Town Meeting on growth issues will be held on Thursday, 21 October, at 7 p.m. Mr. Hafter reported the following: On 25 October, there will be a meeting on the Airport Dr./Airport Parkway project, 7 p.m. at Chamberlin School. The Steering Committee will meet on 3 November, 7:30 p.m. At the 1 November meeting, there will be reports from the Airport Commission, Public Works building project group, and National Gardening. There will also be consideration of the purchase of a "muffin monster" for the sewage treatment plant. Mr. Hafter suggested the Council meet at the Bartlett Bay plant at 6:30 p.m. on that evening. 3. Public hearing on amendment to Sign Ordinance to permit scoreboard signs; second reading: Mr. Condos noted the ordinance has been reworded so that there will be no internal or external illumination of the signs. Ms. Britt also felt there should be nothing hanging down from the signs that could be additional advertising. She also asked what happens when someone else wants to donate a fence or bleachers, etc., and wants signage. Mr. Condos said his main concern was size. Mr. Cunevalis said he would propose that the two Little League scoreboards be 4'x9' and that the big field sign be 5'x14' (because of the size of the field). He noted the advertising portion of the sign only comes 18" high. Members had no problem with this as it was only ¼ of the height of the scoreboard. Mr. Sheahan moved to close the public hearing, waive the reading, and approve the second reading of the proposed ordinance as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. First reading of amendment to Zoning Regulations Parks and Recreation District; schedule public hearing of same: Mr. Condos noted that the Council's concerns had been addressed by the Planning Commission. Mr. Weith said the City Attorney had recommended not defining "public benefit." Members were comfortable with the "not for profit" definition. Mr. Austin moved to waive the reading of the proposed amendment, approve the first reading, and schedule a public hearing for 15 November. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed. 5. Update from CCTA and request for action on 3/2000 bond vote for new buses and amendment to CCTA mileage formula: Ms. Linehan reported that CCTA has 11 1979 buses with over 1,000,000 miles. The average age of the fleet is far above the national average. CCTA has the ability to expand service but does not have the fleet to do it. They had applied for federal funding help but got only enough for 4 buses instead of the 15 requested. CCTA is currently debt and bond free. Ms. Linehan said she would provide final language for the bond vote as soon as possible. The South Burlington share for the buses would range from $28,000 (4 buses) to $107,000 (15 buses). She thought CCTA would ask for 10-15 buses. Mr. Hafter said the maximum levy would be 1/10 of a cent on the city tax rate. Ms. Britt asked if there would be anything salvageable from the old buses. Ms. Linehan said a little. Regarding the proposed CCTA Charter amendment, Ms. Linehan noted that the #1 disincentive to people joining the Authority is that it is funded by property taxes. In other states, state funding is very high. Ms. Linehan noted they will be going to the Legislature on this issue. Another disincentive is that unless a new service gets a 50% farebox recovery, they can never go into the mileage formula. This is virtually impossible. The amendment would reduce this to 29%. Mr. Austin suggested that instead of 29% they should use whatever the past year's recovery rate was. Ms. Linehan said she wouldn't recommend going below 29%. Ms. Linehan said if customers pay 30%, you're probably pricing fairly. 29% is very healthy. Ms. Linehan noted that members feel Colchester is getting service it is not paying for. She said she has recommended to the CCTA Board (which has not acted on the recommendation) that this be paid for from advertising revenues. This would save South Burlington $26,000 a year. Ms. Britt noted South Burlington would pay one way or the other. Ms. Linehan said at least it would be removed from the direct assessment. Mr. Condos said that money could be used to help member towns, and now they don't get the benefit of it. Ms. Linehan said she doesn't know a better solution but realizes it is not fair. CCTA has gotten a grant that will enable them to provide Sunday van service for senior citizens and the disabled. Service began this week. SSTA is running the vans but has a driver shortage. There will also be a "bus buddy" program to show people how to use the buses. On 11 October, a project began to bring people in to the Kimball Ave. area in the early morning, at midday, and in the evening. The target is shift workers. Meetings will be held with employees to adjust the schedule to their needs. The program is being funded by a $129,000 grant for 2 years. There is a 50% state match and no local match. Mr. Condos suggested asking the heads of local governing bodies to go with CCTA to the Legislature on funding issues. Mr. Mazur suggested doing this now in pre-session, when plans are being made. 6. Consideration of draft year 2000 Chittenden County Regional Plan and comments to the Regional Planning Commission: Mr. Sheahan said he got a letter from Harry Smith of Essex. The letter, sent to all members of the Regional Planning Commission, indicated Essex will be instructing its representative to vote against the Regional Plan draft. Mr. Sheahan suggested South Burlington send its comments to all the Commissioners. Mr. Austin suggested a subgroup from the Council go through the draft to provide more detailed comments. He felt it was important to spend time to do it right. Mr. Sheahan suggested that at the meeting next week he give Commission members a copy of South Burlington comments with a cover letter stating the City Council won't authorize its representative to vote for the plan. Mr. Austin suggested adding how the city would participate to make it a better plan. Members will submit further comments to the City Manager 7. Consideration of appointment of Bill Cimonetti to the City Charter Committee: Mr. Austin moved to appoint Bill Cimonetti to the City Charter Committee to fill a vacancy which expires in 2002. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Review Agenda for Development Review Board Meeting of 19 October 1999: No issues were raised. 9. City Council Minutes of 20 September, 4 October, and Public Forum Minutes of 7 October: Ms. Britt moved to approve the minutes of 20 September as written. Mr. Austin seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Austin moved to approve the minutes of 4 October as written. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. It was noted that in the minutes of 7 October, on p. 2, in the middle paragraph, the figure of 25 new residences per year should read 125 new residences. Mr. Smith moved to approve the minutes of 7 October as amended. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Entertainment Permit for Haunted Mansion, October 29, 30, 31: Mr. Hafter noted that the Community Education Fund is presenting the event which will be held in the former Hilson's building. Mr. Austin moved to approve the entertainment permit for the Haunted Mansion as presented. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Austin moved the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter presented a second class beverage license application from Kinney Drug, 1653 Williston Rd. He said the application was all in order. Mr. Austin moved to approve the second class beverage license for Kinney Drug as presented. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Austin moved the Board adjourn and reconvene as City Council. Ms. Britt seconded. Motion passed. 12. Sign disbursement orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 13. Executive Session: Mr. Sheahan moved the Council adjourn and reconvene in Executive Session to discuss real property acquisition and contract negotiations and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Regular Session The City Council returned to regular session. Mr. Sheahan moved adjournment. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.