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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 04/02/2007CITY COUNCIL 2 APRIL 2007 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 2 April 2007, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, M. Boucher, S. Magowan Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; T. Hubbard, Recreation Department; J. Dinklage, S. Dooley, D. Wetzel, M. Emery, J. Jenkins, J. Smith, B. Smyle, L. Bresee, B. Cimonetti, T. Taylor, Mr. Lertola, S. Walsh, R. Perkett, C. Peck; A. Parent, The Other Paper 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda Items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Hafter: A Special City Council meeting will be held on 9 April for the first public hearing on the ballot petition. The Steering Committee will hold the Budget Public Hearing on Thursday, 5 April, 7 p.m. The Police Facility Committee will meet on 3 April, 4 p.m. The pre-bid meeting for the Farrel Street Stormwater Project will be held on 10 April, 2 p.m. South Burlington has won an award for the affordable housing project at City's End. The award will be presented on 17 April, 10:30 a.m. at the Statehouse, Room 11. Mr. Condos: Mr. Condos announced that he will not be running for re-election to the City Council. He cited the highlights of what has happened in the city since he served on his first committee, including road and bridge projects, property acquisition, affordable housing, and excellent financial management. He said that South Burlington is a great city to live in and to bring up a family in. 3. Continued Interviews for Appointments to the City Charter Review Committee: Mr. Smith excused himself during these interviews due to a potential conflict of interest. a. John Dinklage: Mr. Dinklage noted he had previously served on the City Charter Committee. He said he wanted to see the new sales tax to be as flexible as possible. He also said he was comfortable with citizens voting on the budget but felt there needs to be financial security as well. b. Sandra Dooley: Ms. Dooley said she is interested in governance and has a commitment to the City. She is comfortable with citizens voting on the budget. Ms. Dooley noted she was the lead person responsible for changing regulations in her previous position and also led the process for 2 changes in the State Welfare Law. She added that she hoped the process would include hearing from all citizens. c. Meaghan Emery: Ms. Emery said she holds a position at UVM and has a solid background in research and information gathering. She felt that ideally this committee would represent the City as a whole. d. Jennifer Jenkins: Ms. Jenkins is a faculty member at UVM as a Research Professor in Science. She felt that the Charter change issue is larger than just the proposed amendments. It involves how the city is governed. She cited the need to plan for a financial future and the importance of doing it right. e. Julia Smith: Ms. Smith, a SBHS student, cited experience working on committees and said she has no preconceived ideas about the Charter. f. Bernhard Smyle: Mr. Smyle said he looked forward to reviewing the whole Charter document. He noted he had served on the Board of Civil Authority for 12 years as a Justice of the Peace. He felt the Committee should continue to ask for public input. g. Dan Wetzel: Mr. Wetzel said he is concerned with the impacts of the Charter. He also saw a problem looming in terms of demographics and the switch to an older population. He felt the City won't be growing as much and felt South Burlington needs to set a model for how to deal with this. Mr. Condos then explained the selection process and thanked applicants for their interest and willingness to serve the community. 4. Further Consideration of Request for Expansion of Disabled Veterans Assessment Exemption: Mr. Condos said he had brought this situation to the attention of the Senate Finance Committee to see if there is support to have this exemption come off the Grand List of cities granting the exemption. Mr. Lertola thanked Council members for being receptive to their needs and the City Manager for going out of his way for the veterans. He noted that the original request was to go from a $10,000 to a $20,000 exemption. This would cost the individual taxpayer 32 cents. Mr. Hafter said the cost to the city would be $9,500, and as it presently stands the City would have to make up this difference. He said the item will be put on the ballot, and if voters approve it there is room in the budget to cover the amount. Members agreed to have this warned for the 9 April meeting. 5. Update on Projects from the Rec. Path Committee: Mr. Bresee showed maps of how far the rec path has come since its inception in 1989. He also showed some "gaps" which the Committee is proposing to close as soon as possible. These include Dorset Street, Tilley Drive, South Village, and the Farrell development off Spear Street (path from Vail Drive through to Swift). Mr. Bresee noted that the Committee meets monthly and also meets quarterly with Public Works Director Bruce Hoar. He added that several years ago Public Works began plowing the paths. There has been no adverse reaction to this. There will be a meeting to bring together representatives from Chittenden County towns to discuss rec path connections between towns. There would have to be an agreement between South Burlington and Williston to allow for a crossing of Muddy Brook. The MPO can fund another step in the design process, but only if there is such an agreement. Mr. Bresee introduced Todd Taylor from Loco-Motion, which has gotten MPO sponsorship to put all the trails in Chittenden County on the web. Mr. Taylor said they will have all hiking, biking, in-line skating, routes on-line. These can be searched by text. He showed an example of the text and visual data. Mr. Dinklage, a Board member of Loco-Motion, suggested this project as one use for the new sales tax. Mr. Hafter suggested a 5 and 10 year vision for the Rec Path. It was noted that with GPS data on all South Burlington trails, better maintenance is possible. Mr. Bresee noted that residents on the other side of the Airport have begged for a connection. The Committee will be thinking about that in the near future. Ms. Emery said the north side of Williston Road is also in need of Rec Paths. 6. Report from Dorset Park Bandshell Committee regarding Policy for Use of Bandshell: Mr. Hafter suggested that in places in the policy where it reads "City Council," it should read "City Manager." Mr. Hubbard introduced Bandshell Committee members Sandy Walsh, Rosemary Perkett and Craig Peck. Other members not present are Louise Murphy, Dave Rippo, and Rev. Rick Newton. Mr. Hafter stressed that the Policy does not supersede the need for an Entertainment Permit for use of the Bandshell. Mr. Smith moved to approve the Bandshell Use Policy as amended above. Mr. Boucher seconded the motion passed unanimously. 7. Approval of Form MP-1, Municipal Policies and Codes for Community Development Housing Rehabilitation Grant: Mr. Hafter said the City already has this policy in place. Mr. Boucher moved to approve Form MP-1 as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Review and Approve Minutes of 20 February and 19 March 2007: Mr. Boucher moved to approve the Minutes of 20 February 2007 as written. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed 3-0 with Mr. Smith abstaining. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Minutes of 19 March 2007 as written. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed 3-0 with Mr. Condos abstaining. 9. Entertainment License Applications: Mr. Hafter presented Entertainment License Applications from the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center (live music) and The Windjammer (live jazz trios and blues duets). He said the applications were in order. Mr. Smith moved to approve the Entertainment License Applications as presented. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 11. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Smith moved that the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter presented 2007-2008 Liquor License renewals from the following establishments: Bourne's Service Center 760 Shelburne Rd. Champlain School apartments 1068 Williston Rd. Cheese Traders 1186 Williston Rd. Chittenden Cider Mill 1580 Dorset St. Dorset Street Beverage 340 Dorset St. Doubletree Hotel Burlington 1117 Williston Rd. Gracey's Liquor Store 26 Hinesburg Rd. GU Markets of VT 41 Hinesburg Rd. Hannaford's Food 217 Dorset Street and 218 Hannaford Drive Jiffy Mart 110 Kennedy Drive Jolley Store #146 1110 Shelburne Rd. Kinney Drugs 1653 Williston Rd. Koto Japanese 792 Shelburne Rd. Mama Mia's Pizzeria, LLC 516 Shelburne Rd. One Flight Up 1200 Airport Drive The Rotisserie 1355 Williston Rd. Shaws #7517 570 Shelburne Rd. Sheraton VT Corp 870 Williston Rd. Silver Palace 1216 Williston Rd. U SAVE Beverage 1302 Williston Rd. Van Phan Sports, Inc.55 San Remo Drive VT National Country Club 1227 Dorset St. Windjammer Restaurant 1076 Williston Rd. Zachary's Pizza 1250 Williston Rd. Spillanes Magic Hat Brewery Pauline's Restaurant Shelburne Rd. Mr. Hafter said all the applications were in order. Mr. Boucher moved to approve the Liquor License renewals as presented. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Executive Session: Mr. Smith moved that the Board adjourn and reconvene as City Council in Executive Session to discuss appointments to Boards and Committees and to resume regular session only to make such appointments and/or adjourn. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Mr. Magowan moved adjournment. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:15pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.