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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 06/17/2002CITY COUNCIL 17 June 2002 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 17 June 2002, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, T. Sheahan, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; Rep. A. Audette, Rep. F. Mazur, J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; N. Sugarman, J. Arbuckle, J. Desarno, C. Nardozzi, V. Kelsey, F. Blais, M. Flaherty, J. J. Hamilton, B. McEwing, J. Nadeau; A. Johnston, The Other Paper; Channel 17 1. Comments & questions from the public not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements and City Manager's report: Mr. Sheahan: Regional Planning Commission meeting, 24 June, 6 p.m. Mr. Magowan: CCTA Meeting, 19 June, 5 p.m. Mr. Condos: MPO Meeting, 19 June, 6 p.m. Mr. Hafter: GBIC Annual Meeting, 26 June, Noon, at the Radisson. VLCT Annual Fair, 26 September at Killington A call was received from Gus Selig of the Vermont Conservation Board regarding a celebration on 28 June, 6 p.m., at the Shelburne Farms Coach Barn. South Burlington will be receiving an award for affordable housing. Mr. Condos and Mr. Hafter will attend. Consideration of request from Early Childhood Connection of Chittenden County for City endorsement of Local Childhood Council as "local Council" for purposes of federal grant application: Ms. Sugarman explained that the Early Childhood Connection is applying for a federal grant to support services in Chittenden County. To apply for the grant, they need to be designated by a government group as a "legal entity." Burlington and Essex have already done this. There is no financial obligation to the city. The Early Childhood Connection funds 12 organizations in South Burlington for work with families and children. The grant money that is being sought would be used for training for childcare providers, workshops and support groups for high risk families, and coordination of agencies to create a common language for early childhood services. The grant would begin on 30 September. Rep. Audette noted that it is commendable that this is being done since the state has cut back funding for these services. Mr. Magowan asked if the city would get a report. Ms. Sugarman said absolutely. Mr. Sheahan moved to authorize the City Manager to sign and send a letter of support as requested. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Discussion of lease issue with Vermont Community Botanical Gardens: Mr. Hafter stressed that this is a project which everyone supports. He then noted that in the process of negotiating the lease, two issues arose on which he needs Council guidance: the term of the lease and the issue of default. The usual term of a city lease is 30 years. BCBG wants a 99-year lease at $1/year. The default issue concerns a tenant who has subleased from VCBG and the possibility of having that tenant in the building at $1.00 a year but not having a Botanical Gardens if VCBG were to default. Ms. Arbuckle reviewed the history of VCBG. They have already built 3 permanent gardens, a berm and the American cottage garden. This summer a "grandma and grandpa garden" will be built. There is also the Burlington Garden Club's "butterfly garden." The request for the 99-year lease is being made because potential large donors want the assurance that their money would be used for a very long term use, long after their own lifetimes. Ms. Arbuckle noted this will be the only botanical garden between Montreal and Boston and will be a major draw for tourists. It will also attract people buying homes, etc. Ms. Arbuckle said they need either a 99 year lease or an automatically renewing 30-year lease. Ms. Desarno, a South Burlington property owner, said they support the request wholeheartedly. She felt there is a need to insure perpetuity. Rep. Mazur said the gardens are an asset to the community, especially to children and the elderly. He also felt it would attract many people to the area and suggested it could be considered a piece of the city's economic development effort. Ms. Kelsey, representing National Gardening Association, the tenant in the building, said they have invested a lot of money to be in this location. She noted that NGA's plan to be in South Burlington is also long-term. Mr. Nardozzi asked the Council to view this request with the biggest vision possible. He said it will be a legacy for future generations. Mr. O'Rourke said he had no problem with the lease term portion of the request. Mr. Sheahan suggested authorizing the City Manager to continue to work on the "default" issue. Mr. Hafter said he felt that since this is a tax-payer investment, there should be discussion from time to time of what is happening on the property. Mr. Magowan suggested having a 99 year lease with conditions. Mr. O'Rourke suggested a stipulation that VCBG could sub-lease only to non-profit organizations. Mr. Hafter noted that the lease states that South Burlington residents have free admission to the gardens. Members agreed on a 99 year lease. Mr. Hafter will continue to work on the default issue. 5. Consideration of reimbursement to Fred Blais and Alfred Calcagni for provision of a sewer line: Mr. Hafter explained that when an agreement was signed in 1976, it was assumed that Messrs. Blais and Calcagni would be reimbursed by people hooking onto the line. The Supreme Court later ruled this was illegal. There is $8200 remaining in the contract amount, and Mr. Hafter felt the City should reimburse Messrs. Blais and Calcagni. Mr. Blais said the line in question is on Farrell Street and serves the East Woods section of the city. Mr. Magowan moved to authorize the City Manager to reimburse $8200.15 for the O'Dell housing project sewer line. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Public Hearing on Amendments to Zoning Regulations, Zoning Map and Subdivision Regulations: 1. Section 22.90, allow expansion of pre-existing residential structure in Spear Street-Ridge View Overlay district: Mr. O'Rourke stepped down during discussion of this item due to a conflict of interest. Ms. Hoover reviewed this history of this amendment and what it will allow homeowners in that district to do to expand their structures. Mr. O'Rourke rejoined the Council. 2. Section 9.20, allow elementary and secondary schools as a conditional use in R-4 district: Ms. Hoover said elementary and secondary schools would be a conditional use in the R-4 District. The only school this currently applies to is Rice High School 3. New Section 25.119, required buffers for elementary and secondary schools: Ms. Hoover said this amendment would allow elementary and secondary schools to have a 5 foot setback for accessory structures only. Other structures must meet the setbacks for the district. 4. Section 3.50, allow encroachment into C-O District to provide safe access: Ms. Hoover said this would address situation such as the Human Society where safe access to the property is only possible with a few feet of encroachment into the C-O District. 5. Section 401.1(k) to prohibit waiver of public streets for more than three residential lots or single family units: Ms. Hoover said that because of discrepancy between zoning and subdivision regulations, the Court found that the DRB didn't have the authority to waive the requirement for public streets. The City Council asked that the zoning regs and subdivision regs both deny the DRB the ability to waive the public street requirement. 6. and 7. Zoning Map to rezone parcels on Shamrock Road and Airport Drive from R-4 to Airport: There is a regulation that within 65 ft. of the boundary of a residential district no new structures can be built. 15 of those 65 ft. must have a dense landscape buffer. Mr. Flaherty of the Airport Commission, said that about 5 or 6 times a year the Airport has a parking problem which necessitates use of this area. They would like something less restrictive if they can use this area for overflow parking. Mr. Condos replied that if the city wanted to put a road in there, the Airport might object on the grounds that they are making money from the parking use, and it would cost the city more to get a road built. He asked if the Airport is planning to take down the houses in that area. Mr. Hamilton said they are. He added they will put in shrubbery if the city wants. Mr. Condos said he can foresee a future problem with the entrance into that area. Mr. Hamilton suggested meeting with the city the second week in July to discuss concerns. Mr. Condos was also concerned with the impact to adjacent properties. Mr. Condos noted that there is no money for road planning in the new state budget. The Kennedy Drive project is effectively shut down on 1 July and will probably not be rebuilt until 2005. This will necessitate serious discussion with the Airport because Airport expansion is tied to the Kennedy Road upgrade. Mr. Condos said the city will have to see how it can find money to complete the Kennedy Drive planning studies. He stressed that the city wants the Airport to be successful, but this can't be at the expense of having the roads choked. He also stressed the need to protect the residential neighborhood and to improve access. Mr. Hamilton agreed that there needs to be a total partnership with the community. Mr. O'Rourke noted the city has a policy of zoning out residential uses so they're not incompatible with the Airport. What the Airport is doing, however, is encroaching into residential neighborhoods. He asked if anyone on Dumont was consulted about the prospect of having parking behind them. Ms. Hoover said they were notified by Certified Letter of the Planning Commission hearing. No one responded. Mr. Sheahan moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Smith moved to approve the amendment to Section 22.90 as presented. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. O'Rourke recusing. Mr. Sheahan then moved to approve the balance of the proposed amendments as presented in the memorandum from the Director of Planning and Zoning. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Consideration of approval of Amendment #3 to cooperative agreement for SB NH121-1(1) Kennedy Drive improvement; discussion of future of project: Mr. Hafter said that signing the amendment means that when the project is opened again, there is an agreement in place. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve and sign the documents as presented. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Consideration of purchase of automatic meter reading system for South Burlington Water System; approval of capital funding note and related documents for same: Mr. Nadeau said the Water Department has tried units from 5 vendors and asked staff for their preferences prior to opening the bids. The lowest bid was from Toll Whitney which is the unit staff is most comfortable with. Mr. Nadeau proposed taking $59,800 from capital reserve and funding the balance from the annual budgets. He said they have been down one employee for 13 months and believe he will not be returning. The plan is not to replace him and to use the time freed up from meter reading in that position. Mr. Hafter noted the Water Department had gotten a guaranteed rate of 3.5% for four years. He then called the Chittenden Bank and reminded them that this must be done on an annual basis. The bank representative did give a "handshake agreement" on the 3.5% rate for 4 years. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the request for automatic meter reading system and to sign the loan documents as presented. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Consideration of contract with VLCT Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund (PACIF) for city's property, liability, and workers' compensation insurance: Mr. Hafter said the city put the insurance out to bid again this year. The current carrier is charging $254,000 this year. The agent said this would be increased to at least $500,000 for the coming year. The cost for PACIF insurance will be $280,000. Mr. Hafter recommended making the change. Mr. O'Rourke moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with VLCT and PACIF and to authorize the Chair to sign the appropriate documents. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Consideration of approval of social service funding allocation for 2002-3 FY: Mr. Condos thanked committee members Roz Saunders and Hank Lambert for their continued work. Mr. Hafter said the city received application for funding from many organization. The total budgeted amount is $45,000. The decision was made to fund all agencies that had been funded last year and not to fund any new requests. Some allocations were increased. Mr. Hafter recommended that any balance in the City Manager's discretionary fund be allocated to the Family Center. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the social services funding allocation as presented. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Appointment of City Representative to Burlington Airport Commission: Mr. Flaherty said he has served in this position for 12 years and is anxious to continue. He noted there are a lot of concerns to be addressed in the coming years. Mr. Sheahan moved to appoint Mr. Flaherty as representative to the Airport Commission for a term of 2002-2006. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Consideration of appointment of representatives to Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO): Mr. Magowan moved to appoint Sonny Audette as representative to the TAC for a period of 2002-2004 with Mr. Hafter to serve as alternate. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Consideration of approval of O'Dell (Market Place) Grant Agreement 0072/001G(06); approval of resolution and authorization of City Manager to sign contracts: Mr. Hafter explained that this action will allow the city to accept $750,000. The closing is tomorrow. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Agreement and authorize the city Manager to sign contracts on behalf of the city. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 15. Consideration of approval of Special Event Permit for National Night Out, August 5-6, 2002, Dorset Park: Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Special Event permit for National Night Out as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Review agenda for DRB meeting, 18 June 2002: Mr. Hafter noted that Item #11 will be discussed in executive session. 17. Review and approve minutes from organizational and regular City Council meetings held on 3 June 2002: Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the minutes of the two meeting of 3 June 2002 as written. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 18. Sign disbursement orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 19. Executive Session: Mr. Smith moved the Council enter Executive Session for the purpose of discussing litigation and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 20. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Mr. Smith moved adjournment. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.