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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/02/2004CITY COUNCIL 2 AUGUST 2004 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday 2 August 2004, 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; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; T. Hubbard, Recreation Director; J. Nadeau, CWD; Mr. & Mrs. Wentworth, D. Wetzel, M. Bowen, V. Phan 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda items: Mr. O'Rourke called attention to two recent serious accidents at Nowland Farm Rd. & Spear St. He said speeding is the problem, and he was concerned particularly because of a bike path crossing at that intersection. Mr. Hafter said he has requested a "warrant count" there and at the Allen Rd. intersection. The results should be available in 2 weeks. The count may show the need for a "stop" sign, at least temporarily during the Shelburne Road project. Mr. O'Rourke suggested looking at the Shelburne Rd. contract to see if there is any requirement for mitigation on other streets because of the construction. Mr. Condos said the Police Dept. should also be informed that trucks are using Spear Street, which is a violation. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. O'Rourke: Stormwater Advisory Committee meeting, 18 August, 4 p.m. Mr. Condos: National Night Out, tomorrow night. The parade will begin at UMall at 6 p.m. and proceed to Dorset Park where all the activities, including fireworks, will take place. BCA meeting, Thursday, 7 p.m., to decide when to hear appeals. Public Hearing on RTA, Monday, 7 p.m., with the School Board. Mr. Hafter: Reminded members of the Necessity/Condemnation hearing re: the Kennedy Drive project, 25 August, 7:30 p.m., preceded by a site visit. 3. Reconsider Wentworth Water Appeal: Mr. Condos noted that the Wentworths say they did not get notice of the meeting 2 weeks ago. He felt it was in their interest to hear their side of the story. Mr. Wentworth said they are questioning the 36,000 cu. ft. for a quarter. Other years the usage has been much less. He said the meter was changed, and they were told the old meter was 18% off. Mrs. Wentworth said this winter the outside meter wasn't read and yet their consumption is the same as it used to be. Mr. Nadeau confirmed that nothing in the charge relates to the 18% which, in fact, was in the Wentworth's favor. He also noted that the meter has been read electronically all year. Mr. Condos noted that previous Wentworth bills were from estimates because the cards hadn't been sent in. Mr. Nadeau said the electronic meter was put in in November 2001. Mr. Hafter said the 36,000 cu. ft. comes from an aggregate of all the quarters where no cards were sent in and the usage had to be estimated. Mr. Nadeau confirmed that the 36,000 cu. ft. was a compilation from 1996 to 2001. He added that CWD gets 3 or 4 of these a year, and 36,000 cu. ft. is not unusual. The electronic meters are helping to address this problem. Mr. Sheahan felt the unfortunate thing was the cumulative affect that hit the homeowners all at once. Members agreed to take no action. Mr. Hafter stressed that the city is always more than willing to work out a payment schedule with homeowners in these situations. 4. Interviews for Appointments to City Boards and Commissions: The Council interviewed Dan Wetzel for appointment to the Natural Resources Committee and Marjorie Bowen for appointment to the Leisure Arts Committee. Mr. Wetzel said he has been a resident of the city for 11 years and now lives at Dorset Farms. He feels there should be a "reality check" every once in a while. Mr. Condos asked if there is anything in particular that Mr. Wetzel is concerned about. He noted that the city is very careful to follow its comprehensive plan and the development regulations, many of which have been in place for many years. Mr. Wetzel said he saw a lot of land "trashed" in New Jersey and would like to help find a better way. He would like to be involved in Southeast Quadrant re-zoning as he felt there are a lot of "grey areas." Mr. O'Rourke asked how Mr. Wetzel would protect resources in the SEQ. Mr. Wetzel felt it would be good to have another set of eyes to look at things. He felt the DRB is mostly concerned with applying the regulations and has a lot on their plate. Mr. Hafter noted there is a large development near Mr. Wetzel's home, and as a member of the Natural Resources Committee, he would have to view that from a different point of view. Mr. Wetzel said he would recuse himself if there were a conflict. He would participate only as a citizen. Mr. Condos said the City Attorney has said that a Board member who recuses him/herself from a hearing because of conflicting interests should not participate as a citizen. Ms. Bowen was then interviewed. She has recently moved to the city from Shelburne and would like to participate in the community. She has a friend on the Leisure Arts Committee and feels that committees contribute to the quality of life of the city. Mr. Condos explained the selection process and noted that other candidates will be interviewed and considered. 5. Update on Housing Goals Task Force: Mr. Sheahan said the Task Force operates under the auspices of the Regional Planning Commission and one-third of its membership is comprised of elected representatives. The goal of the Task Force has been to try to get a handle on housing needs in Chittenden County in the period 2000-2010 and to set a goal for each community to help address those needs. The Task Force has come up with a breakdown by community of municipal housing targets. Mr. Sheahan distributed this information to members. He said some of the factors used to arrive at these targets include: population, population in economic growth areas, development capacity, employment, employment growth, etc. The next chore is to come up with an "affordable" housing target for each community. Mr. Sheahan felt this will be difficult as it will be hard to get some communities to buy into the idea that they all need to be involved in this effort. Mr. Condos cited the growth in surrounding counties that he said is a result of the housing shortage in Chittenden County. He said this trend creates traffic problems, especially "pass through" traffic. Mr. Magowan though it was great that this was being worked on, but he said that until the Regional Planning Commission has authority, he felt nothing will really happen. He added that he felt the "core" area of Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski and possibly Williston need a common plan. He added that a housing plan without a public transportation system will just cause more problems. He felt a good transportation is needed in that "core" area. Mr. O'Rourke said he liked the Task Force approach. He felt it is an opportunity for communities to plan for growth. Mr. Sheahan felt real strides have been made in getting together and working together to solve problems that are regional in nature. He hoped this was a stepping stone to getting people to think more regionally. Mr. Condos cited the cooperation between two communities on the Shelburne Rd. project. He felt people are starting to look at "corridors" instead of specific intersections. Ms. Hoover cited problems with the Regional Planning Commission regarding larger issues. 6. Public Hearing: Transportation Enhancement Grant: San Remo Drive: Mr. Condos opened the public hearing. Ms. Hoover said the grant being applied for would be for sidewalks, street trees, street lights, striping of on-street parking, and some stormwater measures. There was no public comment. Mr. Magowan moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Magowan moved to support the FY '05 Transportation Grant Application for San Remo Drive streetscape and stormwater. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Condos suggested the application stress the economic development aspect as this is the Governor's main focus. 7. Report on Recreation Department's Policies and Procedures re: background checks: Mr. Hubbard noted that State law in this area has recently been changed. The State is paying for background checks. In the case of a question regarding an applicant, the City Council would appoint a 3-person committee for any action to be taken. Mr. Magowan suggested removing the discretionary part of paragraph #4. If anything objectionable shows up in a background check, the person should just be disqualified. Mr. Magowan felt the existing language puts the city in a possibly bad position. Mr. Hafter agreed. He noted that the final paragraph does allow for correction of a mistake that might have been made. Other members agreed. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Policies and Procedures regarding background checks with modification to paragraph #4 to remove any discretion if there is any negative background check information. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Consideration of Approval of Social Services Funding Allocation for FY04-05: Mr. Hafter cited the need to expand the committee since Mr. Lambert has moved out of the city. Mr. Hafter said there are no major changes to the allocations. Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the Social Services allocations for FY04-05 as presented. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Review Development Review Board Agenda for 3 August 2004: No issues were raised. 10. Review Minutes of 19 July 2004: Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Minutes of 19 July as written. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. O'Rourke abstaining. 11. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 12. Entertainment Permit, Youth Hockey Picnic at Dorset Park: Mr. Hafter said the application is in order. He noted the picnic will be on 5 September, 1-5 p.m. and will include live music. About 100 people are expected to attend. Mr. O'Rourke moved to approve the Entertainment Permit for Youth Hockey as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Smith moved the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter presented a First Class Liquor License request from Van Phan Sports, Inc., 358 Dorset St. He noted this would be a non-smoking establishment. All inspections have been positive. Ms. Phan noted that the previous owner went out of business. The establishment will have 15 pool tables. The bar will serve mainly beer and wine with snacks. She said the business will be more upper scale and will have a dress code. She felt it would be appropriate for family activity. She would also be open to school field trips. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the first class liquor license for Van Phan Sports, Inc., as presented. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.