Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/12/2001CITY COUNCIL 12 MARCH 2001 (This meeting was the regular meeting of March 5, 2001 which was postponed due to a snowstorm.) The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 12 March 2001, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; M. Picard, City Clerk/Treasurer; L. Bresee, A. Johnston 1. Comments & questions from the audience not related to Agenda items: Mr. Bresee said that several months ago the idea was raised for a bike path from Charlotte to Burlington along the railroad. The idea is progressions, and the MPO is doing a feasibility study. Charlotte and Shelburne have approved the idea. Mr. Bresee also reported that the 2 sections of the bridge have arrived. 2. Announcements and City Manager's report: Mr. Smith: Attended the first meeting of the Regional Technical Center Committee. The plan is to have a product by the end of June. There are huge issues to be addressed. Mr. Smith said he would give a more detailed report at the Steering Committee meeting. Mr. Condos: Tomorrow "Women Build" housing project will break ground. Mr. Condos: Received a letter from the South Burlington Lions regarding their programs for children in the city. They are meeting with police officers in an effort to keep children out of trouble. Mr. Hafter: The Steering Committee will meet on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for a presentation of the city and school proposed 2001-2 budgets. Tonight at 7 p.m., there is a meeting on the aquatic/community center. Mr. Hafter gave members the results of a public survey regarding the center. There will be a report to the City Council on 16 April. The 19 March agenda will include a report on the east-west road analysis recently done. Mr. Hafter gave members a copy of comments from VNRC regarding the city's discharge permit. He noted that none of the organizations in question have ever been to the city's wastewater plant. The comments are "generic." There will be a hearing on 11 April at 3 p.m. Mr. Hafter did not anticipate any problems. 3. Interviews with applicants for city boards: The Council interviewed Jerry Proulx for the opening on the Development Review Board. Mr. Proulx said he was born in South Burlington and is serving as a volunteer member on the MPO Scoping Commission for the airport. He felt the growth of the airport would impact all the county. He was also concerned that the city's neighborhoods not be destroyed. Mr. O'Rourke asked how Mr. Proulx would feel about a project that met all the regulations but was one he didn't personally like. Mr. Proulx said he would rather see buildings restored and would also prefer to see mass transit rather than more parking lots. He would also want to work with neighborhoods and would try to make projects more aesthetically pleasing. The Council then interviewed Kim Greenwood for the opening on the Natural Resources Committee. Ms. Greenwood said she wanted to get involved in local government and her background made this a good choice. She is a water quality engineer and does Act 250 reviews for water quality. Mr. Condos asked if there might be any conflicts between her work and the Committee's work. Ms. Greenwood said if there were, she would step aside on that issue. Mr. Condos then explained the appointment process and thanked the candidates for their interest. 4. First reading of amendment to Sanitary Sewer Use Ordinance to require grease traps in commercial businesses; scheduling of public hearing: Mr. Hafter said the ordinance was written in 1968 and is now being rewritten. As part of the rewrite, the city wants to get a handle on grease build-up in the sewer lines and wants to deal with this issue quickly as problems are increasing. Mr. Hafter said enforcement of the ordinance would be through civil penalties administered by the Code Officer and the Wastewater Superintendent. All those in the city who have grease traps will be notified and will be given a certain number of days to get a permit. There is no grandfathering on health issues, and this is a health issue as sewers are backing up into people's homes. Mr. Hafter stressed that the city is not asking people to do anything they shouldn't already be doing. Mr. Smith moved to approve the first reading of the amendment and to schedule a public hearing for 16 April 2001. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. First reading of ordinance to amend zoning ordinance overlay districts map: Mr. Hafter explained that this will consolidate all of the city's overlay districts in a very readable map. It will replace the existing maps. Mr. Smith moved to approve the first reading of the ordinance and to schedule a public hearing of 16 April 2001. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Consideration of amendment to City Charter to have the City Clerk position be appointed by the City Council; schedule public hearing: Mr. Condos expressed sadness that the City Clerk will be retiring after 24 years of service to the City. He noted that citizens have said the office staff is very professional and is a pleasure to do business with. Mr. Hafter noted that although Ms. Picard is retiring in July, 2001, her term goes to 2002. The City Council has two options: they can call a special election for someone to fill the position until 2002 or they can appoint a replacement until the 2002 election. The City Council could also amend the City Charter to make the City Clerk's position an appointed position. This would be an annual appointment similar to other appointments made by the Council. In a discussion with the City Charter Committee, 4 of the 5 members approved of making this an appointed position. The other member has been out of town. Mr. Hafter said South Burlington is a large city now and he felt it was important to have the office run professionally and not have the position filled by someone who might not be qualified. Ms. Picard spoke against having this be an appointed position. She felt the citizens want an elected official in City Hall. She would also not want someone who is not a South Burlington resident to have the position. She noted that the job changes almost daily with new computers, new regulations, etc. She also stressed that the Treasurer's job should also be appointed. This is a very busy job with 62 accounts to manage. Mr. Condos said he was concerned about having a situation such as occurred in a neighboring town where an elected person who is not doing the job cannot be removed from the position. Ms. Picard asked if the Council made it an appointed position could they specify the person appointed be a South Burlington resident. Members said they would favor that. Mr. O'Rourke said it is not an easy decision for him. He didn't feel there was the same accountability with an appointed position. Ms. Picard said she had called the Secretary of State's office and they told her there are 7 appointed City Clerks in the state including those in Burlington, Winooski, Brattleboro and Rutland. Mr. Hafter gave members a time-line for making this an appointed position. The first hearing on a Charter change would be 2 April and the second on 9 April (special meeting). Mr. Magowan moved to approve the proposed Charter change to make the City Clerk's position an appointed position, with the amendment that the appointee must reside in the City of South Burlington, and to warn public hearings for 2 April and 9 April 2001. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Review of 10-year capital asset additions and operating budget additions for 2002 budget book: Mr. Hafter stressed that these are all projections and are not cast in stone. He noted that completed projects have been removed from the list. Mr. Hafter then reviewed changes made to the list including: I-89 Dorset St. ramp moved back to 2003, I-89 Hinesburg Rd. intersection moved to 2008, city hall repair moved to 2004, Kennedy Drive construction set at 2002-3, Hinesburg Rd. project from Williston Rd. to Kennedy Drive moved to 2007, and the Aquatic/Community Center scheduled for 2003. The Government House is scheduled for 2004. There are not a lot of changes in the 10-year projections. A new parks employee is indicated for 2002-3 and 2 full-time City Hall employees over the next 10 years. There are also additional police and fire-fighting personnel. This information will be part of the Budget Book. 8. Consideration of approval of amendment to cooperative agreement with VTrans for Kennedy Drive improvement design work: Mr. Hafter noted the bid came in higher than thought. This amendment revises the costs. The City pays 10%. Mr. Smith moved to approve the amendment as presented. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Review minutes of community forum of 8 February 2001: No issues were raised. 10. Review City Council minutes of 12 February, 20 February and 22 February: Mr. O'Rourke moved to approve the minutes of 12, 20 and 22 February as presented. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. Executive session: Mr. Magowan moved the Council adjourn and reconvene in Executive Session to discuss appointments and litigation and to resume regular session only to make appointments and possibly approve a settlement of litigation with the Department of Corrections and/or adjourn. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular session: The City Council returned to regular session. Steve Magowan moved the appointment of Kim Greenwood to an unexpired three-year term on the Natural Resources Committee (2003). Dan O'Rourke seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Chris Smith moved approval of a settlement agreement with the State of Vermont Department of Corrections. The agreement confirms that the Correctional Center population is capped at 197. Dan O'Rourke seconded. The motion authorized Steve Stitzel to sign the settlement on behalf of the city. The motion passed unanimously. Steve Magowan moved adjournment. Chris Smith 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.