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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/17/2007CITY COUNCIL 17 DECEMBER 2007 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 17 December 2007, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; S. Dooley, M. Boucher, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hinds, Director of Planning & Zoning; L. Murphy, B. Gardner, N. Simpson, M. Tremblay, Community Library; L. Ventriss, H. Goldberg, J. Jewett 1. Executive Session: Mr. Boucher moved the Council meet in executive session to discuss Real Property Acquisition. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Hafter: The Steering Committee meeting, which was cancelled due to weather, will be rescheduled for either January 17 or January 31. Either date was OK with Council members. The City Council Retreat will be held on 14 January. Mr. Hafter distributed a summary of what the Council decided regarding upcoming ballot items. The first Legislative Breakfast will be on 3 January, 7:30 a.m., in the Library. Subsequent breakfasts will be on 4 February and 3 March. Mr. Hafter will attend the preliminary budget session for Chittenden County entities, 18 December, at Noon. The City Charter Review Committee will meet on 9 January, 6:30 p.m., in Room 177 of the Tuttle Middle School. The meeting will include a joint session with the School Board. The next City Council meeting (7 January 2008) will include a final presentation on the Airport Parkway Treatment Plant project and a presentation from Channel 17. 3. Interview with Applicants for Dog Park Committee: The Council interviewed Lisa Ventriss and Howard Goldberg for appointment to the Dog Park Committee. Ms. Ventriss said she has been a city resident for more than 30 years and a dog owner as long. She noted there is no convenient place to exercise dogs, so she has been shuttling her pets to the Burlington Dog Park. She has previously been involved with public policy, governance, etc. Mr. Goldberg moved to South Burlington 5 years ago. He is a certified dog trainer and dog behaviorist. He felt this was a good way to get involved. Mr. Hafter explained the appointment process. 4. Review and Discussion of Data from Visioning Town Meeting of 29 November 2007: Ms. Hinds presented the data on city issues. She noted there were 152 survey responses, which represents about 1% of the city populations. Age ranges of respondents: 18-29 3% 30-39 11% 40-49 24% 50+62% Years of residence in South Burlington: 6-9 14% 10-19 23% 20-29 24% 30+19% 3% of respondents had never lived anywhere but South Burlington. 44% have lived elsewhere in Chittenden County. 85% of respondents have used the Library in the past year. 82% have attended at least 1 public meeting. 73% have been involved in a Recreation Dept. program 70% have received a public notice. One person in 5 had never attended a public meeting prior to this occasion. 20% of respondents have been involved in senior programs. 50% have had no contact with senior programs. A significant majority of respondents felt Dorset Park, other city parks and the Fire Stations were adequate to serve the city's needs. A majority felt that the Community Library, City Hall, Senior Center Meeting Area, and the Police Station were not adequate to meet the city's needs. Respondents assigned the highest priority to projects to address the Police Station and City Hall. They assigned the lowest priority to Senior Citizens/Community Center, playing fields and an outdoor pool. 94% of respondents felt Police services in the city were good to excellent. 91% felt fire protection in the city was good to excellent. Only 20% felt services to seniors were good to excellent. Half of the respondents felt the Community Library should be separated from the School Library. 22% had no opinion. Mr. Boucher said people don't understand that having the Library in the school saves taxpayers money under Act 68. With regard to the site of a new police station, 35% of respondents indicated they would not support use of the Calkins property for this purpose. 51% said they would "listen to other factors." Ms. Hinds felt this was not a definitive "yes" or "no." 71% of respondents felt the City and School District should take steps to combine and consolidate offices and administrative functions. Ms. Hinds said she would try to get the school data and prepare a similar presentation. Members of the audience asked what comes next. Mr. Smith said the Council will prioritize and create time lines for the projects that need to be addressed the soonest. Mr. O'Rourke suggested a similar event with cost figures assigned to the concepts so that people can see what future tax burdens might be. Ms. Hinds felt there will have to be a lot of consensus building. 5. Update on Community Library Activities: Ms. Murphy said she felt the visioning meeting was excellent and was consistent with what she hears from people who want the Community Library out of the school vs. those who like it the way it is. Ms. Murphy cited a tremendous growth in the Library since she arrived -- from 30,000 to 50,000 volumes (a 61% growth). There is also a 90% increase in those who attend programs at the Library (over 10,000 people last year). There is a 50% increase in circulation and an 84% increase in computer log-on sessions. Ms. Murphy cited the benefits of the Freeman Fund 3-year grant. She said that what they need now is staff. Staff has increased only 18% in the same time frame as all the other huge increases. She has asked the school for help in the after-school program, but has not gotten any (the school actually cut some staff). Ms. Murphy said the volunteers are great, but it takes a lot of staff time to train them, and they come and go. Ms. Murphy then showed slides of Library activities and special programs. She then introduced 3 members of the Library Board of Trustees. Ms. Gardner urged the City Council to think of the Community Library as a separate asset that happens to be located in the school. She said the Board is committed to working for a new Library and wants to be part of the solution, not the problem. The goal this year is to educate people on how good the Library could be. Ms. Simpson added that statistics indicted that there is feeling for having a community Library in the City Center. Ms. Tremblay added that the Library is a meeting place, and a cultural center for the city. Ms. Simpson then updated the Council on the Library Governance Committee. She said there was a lack of commitment and interest which led to things falling apart. They did draft an agreement but got no feedback. The Committee needs a chairperson, someone not associated with the school or community Library, a mediator, and at this point that hasn't happened and the issues are still there. She did not feel the issues were overwhelming. Ms. Murphy noted they have revised their computer use police to allow only South Burlington residents to use all but one "guest" computer. They are also charging for paper now. Council members urged Ms. Murphy and the Board to be patient and assured them they are "on the radar screen." Mr. Smith noted he has been meeting with all Department Heads to hear their concerns and to assure them that the City Council cares. 6. Update on Regional Planning Commission: Ms. Hinds noted there are issues which are of concern to the Planning Commission, among them the recent draft resolution opposing the Circ Highway. She said there is feeling that the city is not getting much in the way of services, certainly not of the quality that they are getting from the MPO. Regional Planning has done a fine job with regional stormwater issues, but there is an extra cost for these services. Of major concern is that the Regional Planning Commission is not allowing communities to participate in discussions. South Burlington will need the RPC for the "growth center" discussion, and there is concern with this. She felt it could be beneficial for the City Council to be in direct communication with the RPC Director. Mr. Smith noted the Council has been hearing of RPC problems for many years. He felt the time had come to get a dialog going. 7. Discussion of City Legislative Priorities 2008 Legislative Session: Mr. Hafter said the list will be used to begin discussion at legislative breakfasts. Mr. Boucher stressed the need to deal with cost containment, not just the shifting from one tax to another. Ms. Dooley felt it was appropriate to be fiscally prudent, but they also have to realize that good services cost money. Mr. Smith noted that Vermont is a small state with huge needs and not much in the way of revenue sources. It is also a state that has a "love affair" with local control. Ms. Hinds noted there is a move to reopen the Champlain TMDL. She urged the Council not to go there. 8. Consideration for Capital Equipment Notes for the Department of Public Works: Mr. Hafter presented funding notes for the 7-yard dump truck, highway loader, and sidewalk machine. The loan is at 3.75% for the first year. Money is in the budget for these items. Mr. O'Rourke moved to approve the capital equipment notes and accompanying resolutions as presented. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Report on Late Tax Payment Penalties Waived in tax year 2007-08: Mr. Hafter presented the required report to members. 10. Review Minutes of 3 December 2007: The Minutes of 3 December were not available for review. 11. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 12. Liquor Control Board: Ms. Dooley moved the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter presented the transfer of a Second Class Beverage License for Healthy Living from 4 Market Street to 222 Dorset Street. He noted the approval should be contingent on receipt of a final Certificate of Occupancy. Mr. O'Rourke moved to approve the transfer of a Second Class Beverage License for Healthy Living to 222 Dorset Street, contingent upon receipt of a final Certificate of Occupancy. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter noted that he had received notification that the Liquor License for Hooters (Williston Road) has been suspended from 20 January to 7 February for violations including serving underage patrons and having employees drinking while on duty. 13. Executive Session: Ms. Dooley moved the Board adjourn and reconvene as City Council in Executive Session to discuss appointments to Committees and resume regular session only to make appointments and/or adjourn. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: Mr. O'Rourke moved to appoint Howard Goldberg and Lisa Ventriss to the Dog Park Committee. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.