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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 04/02/2001CITY COUNCIL 2 APRIL 2001 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 2 April 2001, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, C. Smith, S. Magowan, T. Sheahan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; M. Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; Rep. A. Audette; J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; L. Graham, Police Chief; R. Farley, The Other Paper; S. Deacon, G. MacFarland, L. Kupferman, D. Cummings, V. Kelsey, S. Fortier 1. Comments & questions from the audience not related to agenda items: Ms. Fortier of UVM said she had met with Mr. Sheahan and Ms. Hoover regarding the new Comprehensive Plan. She felt most of the issues UVM has can be handled by going back to the Planning Commission. There are a number of concerns with the Recreation Plan. UVM may also be asking for a zone change on the northwest end of Spear St. at some time in the future. Ms. Hoover feels this is not appropriate now. Ms. Fortier gave members written comments from UVM. 2. Announcements and City Manager's report: Mr. Smith: Several meetings of the Tech Center Committee have been held, but no substantial progress has been made. Mr. Magowan: Attended a CCTA Board meeting at which language regarding grants was approved. This is the language the city wanted. They are also interviewing for a new Executive Director and hope to have someone in a month. Mr. Hafter: The Steering Committee public hearing on the proposed 2001-2 budgets will be held on Thursday, 5 April. Members agreed to hold a special Council meeting prior to the Steering Committee. Construction begins this week on the Williston Rd. bridge reconstruction. A meeting is scheduled to discuss emergency services during the construction period. Mr. Sheahan: As of this morning, the newest draft of the Regional Plan is out. This version will be the one that goes to public forums. There will be six forums around the county, one at South Burlington High School on 2 May. After those meetings, staff will put together a final version for review and public hearings. Mr. Condos: South Burlington is one of 20 communities in the country chosen to test some new community-based software. 3. Interview for appointment to the Development Review Board: The Council interviewed Larry Kupferman. Mr. Kupferman said he lives in Queen City Park. He has been involved tangentially in development and is very concerned with open land. He is also interested in the development of the City Center and with encouraging public opinion on development projects. Mr. Sheahan noted that the new format for the DRB and Planning Commission stresses modifying ordinances rather than granting variances. He asked how Mr. Kupferman feels about this. Mr. Kupferman said he agreed there should be a plan based on a neighborhood basis. Mr. O'Rourke asked how Mr. Kupferman would react if a project complied with regulations but was one he didn't personally like. Mr. Kupferman said he would have to comply with the regulations. 4. Update on Vermont Community Gardens development: Mr. Cummings noted National Gardening is in partnership with the city to build a botanical garden in South Burlington. The garden is located on city land in a park-like setting. The project also includes an educational facility. Mr. Cummings then reviewed progress in the past year. He noted they now have 400 paid memberships and have gotten a 501C-3 status. The have a development Board of Directors and have hired a part-time administrator. Last summer, they did a children's garden and a display garden. They also have a plan for Phase I building development. Mr. Cummings showed the Phase One Preliminary Plan for acreage along the frontage to the ridgeline. The plan includes a facility that could be used for weddings, etc; a perennial garden, children's garden, vegetable and herb gardens, 4-season garden, and a community garden. The access to the facility will be changed to Swift Street with parking on the north side. They are considering various floor plans for the proposed Community Center. This will not impact the Calkins House. The other buildings will be behind the Calkins House. They hope to start construction in 2003 and open in mid-2004. A big capital campaign will begin soon. An Executive Director is being sought, and they are looking for someone with capital campaign skills. They are hoping to have more gardens in front of the Calkins house, possibly a 3-foot berm with landscaping, etc. They will work with the DRB on the design and specifics. Summer programs for both children and adults are being planned. Mr. Cummings noted that last year they mowed the paths and this has become a very popular walking spot. Ms. Kelsey noted that education is the mission of National Gardening. Their goal is to do joint programming with the Botanical Gardens, and this has gone very well so far. Their aim is the same: to create a beautiful environment and to provide education. 5. Public hearing on proposed amendment to City Charter re: appointment of City Clerk: Mr. Condos noted that City Clerk Peg Picard will be retiring a year before her current term is up. The question has been raised whether the position should remain an elected office or be filled by appointment. Mrs. Picard introduced city clerks from several nearby communities who support her belief that the position should remain an elected office. She noted there is no job description for the position, and electees go to school to learn the job. Mrs. Picard said that so many things have been taken away from the people that she felt this should remain a people's choice position. The Williston Town Clerk she had held several positions in Williston before becoming Clerk, so she was familiar with operations of the town. But this did not prepare her for the job, and when she became Clerk, she started at ground zero. She did not know how the city would set up a job description. She noted that if you're not doing your job, the people let you know it. Mr. Condos said the city is concerned that if someone is elected for 3 years and does not prove to be capable, the city is stuck with them for that period. The Clerks noted there are numerous courses, seminars, etc., to support the position. They also noted it takes 4 years for a Clerk to do all parts of the job at least once. Mrs. Picard noted there are 6 or 7 appointed city clerks in the state (Brattleboro, Rutland, Essex among them). Colchester has just decided to keep it an elected position. Mrs. Picard also noted she has been City Clerk for 24 years and has never run in a contested election. She said that is typical throughout the state. Another of the Clerks said she has had the position for 5 years, and nothing she had ever done prepared her for the job. The outgoing Clerk in her community stayed with her for 6 months to help her learn the job. She felt an elected Clerk would be much more dedicated to the community whereas an appointed Clerk would feel loyalty to the Council. Rep. Audette noted that South Burlington has had only 3 City Clerks in 75 years. Mr. Hafter said he has a perfect working relationship with Mrs. Picard. He said he didn't know what the differences might be between working with an elected Clerk or an appointed one. Another of the Clerks said there have been problems in other New England states with political overtones with appointed Clerks. She said she has been Clerk in Shelburne for 19 years. She was appointed to fill an unexpired term of someone who didn't work out, and then has been elected ever since. She didn't know if anyone could interview for the job and really indicate whether they would work out or not. She noted there has been a large turnover in Clerks in the past few years, and the new people have worked out very well. Another clerk noted there is a mentor group for new clerks and a great support system in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties. Members of the Council indicated they had changed their original thinking on this and were willing to leave the City Clerk position as an elected office. Mr. Hafter noted that Mrs. Picard will be retiring in mid-July. He recommended that they immediately begin to look for someone to replace her, at least by 1 May, so that person can work with Mrs. Picard to learn as much of the job as possible. A member of the audience suggested that anyone who is interested should come in and observe what goes on in the job. Mr. O'Rourke moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. City Council discussion on comprehensive plan update: Ms. Hoover reviewed her written list of changes made since the first reading. She noted that many of these are typo corrections and better wording. Members discussed the wording concerned with undergrounding of utilities. Ms. Hoover was concerned with making this an "absolute" in case there was an extreme situation where this couldn't happen. After some discussion, it was decided to leave the language as written. Members also discussed "increasing wildlife" as a goal. They decided to have the wording say "preserve" instead of "increase." Mr. Condos said he would like to see something in the zoning regulations that says if a developer removes residential units as part of a development, they are required to replace them or contribute to a fund to replace them. Mr. Smith moved to incorporate the comments from UVM, Market Street Consulting, and Ms. Hoover's memo into the Comprehensive Plan and include them in the public hearing of 16 April. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. O'Rourke suggested the city might want some language saying that in a conflict between the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Regulations, it is the Zoning Regulations that have precedence. Mr. Magowan suggested this language could fit in the opening paragraph of the Plan. Mr. Condos noted that a similar suggestion has been made regarding the Regional Plan: if there is a conflict between the Regional Plan and a local plan, it is the local plan that has precedence. 7. Discussion of establishing a storm water utility in South Burlington: Mr. Hafter said there had been a suggestion that the City take over all private storm water facilities. This had many negative aspects to it. As an alternative, a "storm water utility" was suggested. Mr. Hafter said he gave this to Ms. Hoover to address. Ms. Hoover said this would be called a "Stormwater Management Utility." The concept involves centralized management of decentralized facilities (instead of leaving it to the property owners to manage). The utility would state how the facilities are to be maintained and who can do the required maintenance. It would also keep track of permits, repairs, the condition of facilities, etc., and would have the power to enforce violations, set and collect fees. Ms. Hoover noted there is currently no way to insure that the City will be able to comply with all EPA measures, and the state will be requiring the communities to do this. Ms. Hoover also stressed that better maintenance will have a positive impact on waterways. Mr. O'Rourke asked about liability. Mr. Hafter said they haven't looked at that yet, but the City's Water Department does maintain private hydrants and assumes the liability if they don't work. Mr. O'Rourke asked about sediment that shouldn't be there. Ms. Hoover said she would check on this. Ms. Hoover also said there is no reason the City shouldn't charge for this service. Mr. Hafter said it would be a revenue neutral situation that would pay the city's expenses. Ms. Hoover suggested this could be a fee for services or there could be an "incentive structure" where more would be charged for areas that the city wanted to keep as open space. Members liked the concept and asked that work be continued on it. 8. Review Development Review Board agenda for meeting of 3 April 2001: No issues were raised. 9. Minutes of 12 March and 19 March 2001: It was noted that in the minutes of 12 March, p. 4, third paragraph from the bottom, the sentence should read "...not having it become a Kennedy Drive." On p. 6 at the top, the sentence should read "...evaluation of a community/aquatic facility is recommended." Mr. Smith moved to approve the minutes of 12 March and 19 March as written or amended. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. Sheahan abstaining. 10. Sign disbursement orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 11. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Smith moved the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter presented liquor license renewal requests from Airport Mobil, Burlington Billiards, Huang's Gourmet Chinese Cuisine, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Lake View Bar & Grill/The Lake-View House, Pizza Hut, Short Stop, Spillane's Servicenters, U Save Beverage. He said all were in order. Mr. Magowan said he would have to step down on the Pizza Hut application due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve all the license renewals with the exception of Pizza Hut as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Magowan then stepped down from the Board. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the license renewal for Pizza Hut as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Executive Session: Mr. Smith moved the Board adjourn and reconvene as City Council in Executive Session to discuss appointments to committees and personnel issues and to resume regular session only for the purpose of making appointments and/or adjourning. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: The Council entered executive session. Mr. Magowan moved the appointment of Larry Kupferman to the remaining one year on a three-year DRB term. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Sheahan moved adjournment. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.