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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/20/2004THE COUNCIL 20 DECEMBER 2004 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 20 December 2004, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; B. Hoar, Public Works Director; B. Carris, C. Cole, L. Bresee, D. Jacobowitz, Mr. Datillio, C. Ford, G. Kaplan, G. Edwards; A. Johnston, The Other Paper; Channel 17 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Hafter: Distributed the budget calendar. The City Council annual retreat will be held on 24 January, from 5:30 p.m. The Market Street kickoff meeting will be held on 21 December. The first Legislative breakfast will be on 3 January, 7:30 a.m., at the Community Library. 3. Interviews with Applicants to City Boards & Commissions: a. Robert McDonald for the Planning Commission: Mr. McDonald said he has lived in the city for 13 years and works for the USDA as Rural Housing Director. He wants to give something back to the community and feels he has something to offer the Planning Commission because of his experience. He would have no conflict with his job as Rural Housing does not serve South Burlington. b. Mark Smith for the Design Review Committee: Mr. Smith is a South Burlington native who has recently returned to the city. He has a keen interest in design and has been in municipal planning for 15 years. Mr. Condos explained that the Council will wait until all members are present before deliberating on these appointments. 4. Consideration of Capital Equipment Refunding Note: Mr. Hafter explained this is the second year of a 2-year note for a pickup truck. Mr. O'Rourke moved to approve the Capital Equipment Note and accompanying documents as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Review of Tax Penalty Waivers, August & November, 2004, per City Charter: Mr. Hafter explained there is an 8% penalty on late tax payments plus 1% interest per month. The City Manager can waive the penalty, but can't waive the interest unless there has been an error on the city's part. A penalty can be waived for circumstances beyond a taxpayer's control. 6. Presentation of Shelburne Road/Queen City Park Road Crossing Scoping Report: Mr. Edwards explained the purpose of the project is to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The area involved is in both Burlington and South Burlington, from Flynn Avenue to Imperial Drive. The Queen City Park crossing is in the middle of the area. The consultants realized there were 4 quadrants of bike paths separated by Route 7 and I-189. Queen City Park Road seemed to be the logical connecting point for these systems. In order to do this, there have to be improvements in access, signage, etc.. There is also concern for the number of movements at that intersection. The Home Ave. intersection is pretty well equipped for a crossing, but Home Ave. itself needs improvements. There is no room to widen the road of add sidewalks. The best fit would be bike lanes, but that would eliminate some on-street parking. The City of Burlington will continue to look at this. There is a bike path that parallels QCP Road. The path user has to cross Route 7 and then go on a 5 ft. sidewalk before reaching Lindenwood Drive and the bike path. This is a circuitous route. The proposal is to replace that route with a more direct one, by directly crossing Route 7, widening the sidewalk to 8 ft. down to Lindenwood. They would also add some textured surface on a non-raised island to identify it. One driveway would be shifted to the north. The signal would stay as it is with the addition of a pedestrian crossing cycle activated by a button. Left turns out of Datillio's driveway would be eliminated to avoid conflicts. There was talk about signalizing the approach, but it would require its own phase, and this would take away green time from Route 7 where it is needed. Mr. Bresee was concerned with the placement of signs, particularly one behind stop bars. He felt this is not where eyes are looking. Mr. Datillio said his gas station won't be there if these changes are made. He said he has been at that intersection for 40 years, and there have been only 2 accidents there...and those happened before the vehicles reached the intersection. Mr. Datillio added that gas sales are now half of what they used to be. Most of his patrons come from the south. If they can't turn left, they can't go home again. Mr. Condos said he doesn't feel the north cross-walk is the best way. A Shelburne resident asked if there was consideration to going along the west side of Shelburne road and then crossing. Mr. Edwards said that would result in a number of uncontrolled driveways. The Shelburne resident suggested a light at Lindenwood. Mr. Jacobowitz said there is no ideal solution to this. What is needed is a good compromise. Mr. Edwards said he would talk more with VTRANS and Mr. Datillio to see if there is another alternative. Mr. Bresee said any answer is better than what is there today. It is very dangerous. Mr. Datillio noted that the 2 people who were hit were crossing diagonally when it was dark and they couldn't be seen. The Council agreed to continue the discussion in January. 7. Presentation of CCTA 2006 FY Budget: Mr. Cole said that to make the budget work, they will need a fare increase of 25 cents, making the fare $1.25. They are assuming rides will increase by about 1000. They also assume a 3% increase in fixed rate service, so the assessment to the city will go up 3%. Highlights of the budget include: a 10% payroll increase, the assumption that they will not be providing service to Williston, a slight in legal fees and accounting fees, a decrease in planning fees, a $90,000 increase in workman's compensation but a decrease in general liability insurance, a 35% increase in fuel costs. Mr. Condos asked if the city has to pay for buses that sit at the end of South Burlington because Shelburne no longer has them going there all the time. Mr. Cole said that cost is paid for by South Burlington. Mr. Condos asked if anything is being done from a marketing standpoint to convince people to use the bus instead of SSTA. It was noted that people don't like giving up something once they have it. SSTA use has gone from $47,000 to $80,000 in 3 years. Mr. Cole said they are trying to find a way to remove the "bubble" so you don't get one-year spikes. Mr. Hafter noted that the CCTA increase will be balanced by a decrease in the assessment for the County budget. 8. Review Development Review Board Agenda for 21 December 2004: No issues were raised. 9. Review City Council Minutes for 6 December 2004: Mr. Smith moved to approve the Minutes of 6 December as written. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.