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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/20/2006CITY COUNCIL 20 NOVEMBER 2006 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 20 November 2006, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, M. Boucher, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; L. Murphy, Community Library; L. Bresee, J. Dinklage, B. Smyle, M. Ostwe, M. Brigham, N. Simpson, J. Zaetz 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to agenda items: Mr. Zaetz asked whether the Council will support the Charter change at the Legislature. Mr. Condos asked that this question be held until a later agenda item. 2. Announcements/City Manager's Report: Mr. O'Rourke: The Police State Committee has formed several sub-committees, which will meet next Monday. Mr. O'Rourke also suggested an agenda items regarding proposed repeal of Act 68. He asked staff to prepare a resolution to this affect for a future agenda. Mr. Condos recognized the Council's Secretary, Sue Alenick for 25 years of service to the city. Mr. Hafter: There are 2 finalists for the position of Superintendent of Schools. Both will be returning to South Burlington on 11 December for public meetings in the school auditorium. Attendees will be asked to fill out "reaction" forms. City staff will meet with the candidates between 3 and 4 p.m. on that date as well. Mr. Hafter advised that the city has received 2 grants and a national honor. The Recreation Department received a $4250 grant to replace the backstop at Farrell Park. The Planning Department received a $15,000 to update the Comprehensive Plan. The South Burlington Recreation Department Internet Page won first place in a national contest. The Steering Committee will meet on Thursday, 30 November, 7:30 p.m. Mr. Hafter distributed copies of the agenda to Council members. The agenda includes discussion of the use of impact fees for athletic field lighting, discussion regarding a possible wood chip burning facility, a City Charter update committee, and a Library governance committee. 3. Interview with Nancy Simson for Appointment to the Library Board of Trustees: Ms. Simson said she has been a long-time resident of the city. Her children went through the S. B. school system. She has recently retired and would like to help serve the community. Her family uses the Library and she feels it is a real focus for the community. Mr. Condos explained the appointment process. 4. Discussion of Proposed Comprehensive City Charter Update Committee: Mr. Zaetz asked whether the City Council will support the Charter Change amendments in Montpelier. He noted that all 4 legislators have agreed to support it. He also noted that there will be a meeting with people who have worked on this effort to see how the process will work. This meeting will take place on 12 December at City Hall. Mr. Condos explained the process that will now take place in the Legislature. He noted there is a 30-day window to allow for appeals before the Legislature can begin to consider the amendments. Following that 30-day period, the city will forward to the Secretary of State's office all information pertinent to the amendment (including the wording, evidence of warnings, etc.). If the Secretary of State's office finds that everything is in order, the City Attorney will then draft the language of legislation. Mr. Condos felt that the legislation would probably start in the House. Based on past experience, he said the process could then take 2 months to 2 years. Mr. Zaetz said he felt the Council owed it to the voters to support the legislation. Mr. Condos said if it comes to the Committee which he chairs, he would probably step out of the room at the time it is heard. Ms. Ostwe said she felt there needs to be more public information as many people are confused about some aspects of the proposed Charter change. Mr. Dinklage said he hoped the City Council and School Board would not miss the opportunity to educate the Legislature regarding governance issues. He encouraged the city to communicate to the Legislature that there are serious governance concerns which he felt could lead to the possible trashing of the school system. Mr. Zaetz said there was plenty of opportunity for people to attend meetings and understand the Charter amendment. Mr. Boucher cited the low number of people who participated in the public process (no more than 400) compared to the number of people who voted in the election (7000). Mr. Magowan said that although 61% of those who voted approved the amendment, a huge number of people chose not to vote on that issue at all. He felt it was not wise to try to interpret what people did or did not understand. Mr. Condos said he would like to convene a committee to look at the whole City Charter. There are some short term and some long-term concerns such as possibly moving the voting date from May to March. Mr. Smith agreed. He felt the change of voting date was necessary in order to have time for 2 possible voting dates before a budget has to be firmed up. Mr. Boucher said he feared that what the city has lost is the cap on education spending. He didn't want to have any special interests ruling the community. Mr. Magowan felt there should be a Committee but that it should all be "long term." He felt the thrust should be "what are good practices for a city the size of South Burlington." He questioned how City Councilors are elected. He also felt there should be discussion with neighboring communities so that community governances all work together and services can be shared where it makes sense to do so. Mr. Condos said he would like to form this committee by the end of the year. Mr. Hafter said he would come back with a charge for the committee. Mr. Smith said there also has to be discussion with the Legislature about the whole issue of educational funding. Ms. Ostwe suggested contacting the PTO presidents for community membership for the committee. Mr. Dinklage suggested that before the voting date is changed from May to March, people should understand what May was chosen in the first place. Mr. Bresee said the reason for the existence of the City Charter Committee is to provide continuous review of the Charter in light of what is happening around us. He felt that opens the door all the way. He didn't want to see the broad aspects of the Charter ignored. 5. Consideration of Appointment of Committee Members to Library Advisory Board: Mr. Hafter cited the importance of having a governance agreement, as the Library will probably be in that building for a long time. Ms. Murphy said it is important to work on cooperation between the community and school aspects of the Library, including planning and conflict resolution. Mr. Hafter felt it was important to separate this committee from the Library Board of Trustees. He also felt there should be input from the Steering Committee, since the community and school aspects of the Library are trying to meet different needs. Mr. Magowan felt such an effort was doomed to failure and that what is proposed should be the work of the Library Board. He said that if Louise and Patrick can't sit down and resolve issues, it would happen in a committee. Mr. O'Rourke felt the committee was a mechanism to make this a priority and to resolve existing issues. He noted that with competing interests, it is not always easy to resolve issues. Mr. Smith felt it was important to resolve these issues so the 2 functions can work together. Ms. Murphy said the majority of the Library Board feels the 2 functions should be separated. She suggested that before this committee is created there should be a focus on just getting a governance agreement with the school. She felt nothing would succeed without such an agreement. Mr. Condos suggested looking at governance agreement of other libraries. Mr. O'Rourke felt this committee might be the body to draft a governance agreement. Mr. Magowan agreed to represent the Council on the committee. 6. Consideration of Refunding Note for Capital Equipment for the Fire Department Ambulance Service: Mr. Hafter said the note is at a 3.4% fixed interest rate. The funds are in this year's budget. Mr. Smith moved to approve the refunding note as presented. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Review Agenda for Planning Commission Meeting of 21 November 2006: No issues were raised. 8. Review Agenda for Development Review Board Meeting of 21 November 2006: No issues were raised. 9. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 10. Consider entering Executive Session to discuss land acquisition, personnel issue and appointment to Boards & Commissions: Mr. Boucher moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss land acquisition, personnel, and appointments to Boards & Committees and to resume regular session only for the purpose of making appointments and/or adjournment. He further moved that Eric Farrell be invited to attend the executive session. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 11. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Mr. Smith moved the appointment of Nancy Simson to the Library Board of Trustees for a three-year term ending in 2009. Mr. Boucher seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Magowan moved adjournment. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.