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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/07/2008CITY COUNCIL 7 JANUARY 2008 The South Burlington City Council held regular meeting on Monday, 7 January 2008, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; S. Dooley, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke, M. Boucher Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hinds, Director of Planning & Zoning; B. Hoar, Public Works Department; G. Mott, G. Brown, CCRPC; G. Forbes J. Jewett, A. Clift, L. G. Dividian 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Magowan: Members are trying to set up the first meeting of the Dog Park Committee. Mr. Hafter: The first hearing on the proposed amendment to the City Charter will be held on Wednesday, 9:30 a.m., in Room 11 of the State House. The City Charter Review Committee will meet on Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Room 177 of the Tuttle Middle School. The City Council Retreat will be held on 14 January, 5:30 p.m. The Steering Committee will meet on 17 January, 7 p.m. at City Hall. The Planning & Zoning Department has received a $12,000 Planning Grant to do growth center planning and public outreach. The next City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, 22 January due to the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday. 3. Discussion of Expanding Access to Local Government: On Demand Municipal Meeting & Clickable Meeting Agenda: Ms. Dividian said most people don't want to sit through a whole meeting to hear the part they are interested in, so an Internet option is being worked on which will allow people to watch meetings "agenda item by agenda item." From March to July, this service will be provided to member communities free of charge. In July, communities will be asked to provide support. The cost is estimated at $5000/year (about $85/meeting). Ms. Dividian asked the Council to consider this as a line item in the upcoming budget. She stressed the need to show there is more than cable TV money to support this concept. Mr. Magowan asked what the quality of reception is like. Ms. Dividian said the audio is very good. The picture is small. Mr. Boucher said he could foresee an option of searching by topic for the history of an item. Ms. Dividian agreed that innovations are happening very quickly. Mr. Magowan felt it was very worthwhile as it helped promote accountability. 4. First Reading of Proposed Amendments to Zoning Map and Southeast Quadrant Zoning Map (1) UVM Patchen Road Property (2) Central School Property (3) Boundary Corrections, C2-IO Boundary (Community Drive and Potash Brook) (4) South East Quadrant: Neighborhood Residential-Transition (WR-T) and Natural Resource Protection Districts (Autumn Hill Rd & Dorset Street), scheduling of Public Hearing for same: a. Central School: Ms. Hinds explained that there has been discussion with the School Board and Superintendent to rezone Central School from Municipal to Central District-1 (CD-1). With the potential future use of that property, the Planning Commission felt a Municipal designation was not helpful. Ms. Hinds stressed that this in no way changes the operation of the school and does not affect setbacks, parking, use, etc. b. Boundary Correction: Ms. Hinds said the change corrects a technical error to the C2-IO boundary in the area of Community Drive and Potash Brook. c. UVM Patchen Rd. Property (current "dog park"): Ms. Hinds noted this is the only piece of property not owned by the city that is currently zoned "Parks and Recreation." Everything around this property is owned by UVM and is zoned Institutional & Agricultural North. That designation does not allow the use of the property as a park at this time. Ms. Hinds noted that to accommodate UVM's plans for that property will require a text amendment to the IANorth District. d. Southeast Quadrant Zoning Map: Ms. Hinds reviewed the sub-districts in the Southeast Quadrant. She noted that in response to a request from landowners, the Planning Commission has been working on appropriate boundary designation between the NR-T and Natural Resource Protection subdistrict. The Commission looked at many issues, including protective buffers for the Scott property. The boundary being proposed is roughly the mature woods line. It will allow for more flexibility for development on the front of several lots and will probably result in a dozen more units. The number of development rights remains the same. Mr. Magowan moved to waive the first reading and schedule a public hearing of 4 February 2008. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Update from Regional Planning Commission: Mr. Mott indicated that he wanted the chance to correct things that were said at a recent Council meeting relative to the Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Mott indicated that the RPC never "put out" a resolution opposing the Circ Highway. Such a resolution was discussed. It addressed different alternatives and whether they complied or didn't comply with the Regional Plan. Mr. Mott noted it was also said that RPC staff hasn't gone through planning documents to "boil them down" to a digestible form. He felt this is not true and cited a detailed memo outlining the steps of the EIS process. Regarding South Burlington's "growth center" application, Mr. Mott said the RPC has tried to help South Burlington with that. The Executive Director worked with the Legislature to remove 2 requirements from the State's New Town Center Program that impeded South Burlington's ability to apply for growth center designation. Mr. Mott said he was bothered by the implication that the RPC doesn't want to be bothered by South Burlington's "tricky" issues. He said they would love to be helpful to South Burlington. Regarding the Substantial Regional Impact Task Force, Mr. Mott said this is a complex process and they are trying to put together a definition that does not create extra burdens on communities. He noted that South Burlington voiced a strong objection to the original definition, which is why the task force was put together. Mr. Hafter said staff would like the chance to review the letter outlining these concerns. Mr. Smith added that there needs to be a way to make this work. 6. Presentation of Final Information on Airport Parkway Treatment Facility Upgrade; schedule public presentation and environmental information meeting for 22 January 2008: Mr. Forbes reviewed the history of the plant operation. He noted that 28% of the capacity is dedicated to serving Colchester's needs. The reasons for the proposed upgrade include: a. upgrading of aging equipment b. reduction of chemical usage and biological nutrient removal c. energy efficiency d. co-generation savings e. environmental quality (cutting phosphorus concentration in half) f. updating lab for quality testing The existing capacity at the plant is 2.3MM gpd, less than 4% of which is uncommitted at this time. The upgrade will increase capacity to 3.3MM gpd. The total cost estimate is $25,000,000 (including a 15% contingency). This cost will be paid by user fees, hook-up fees, reserve fund, grants, Colchester's share. No property taxes will be used. Voters will be asked to approve a $21,800,000 bond of which Colchester's share will be $6,800,000. There is an opportunity for savings via grants. Mr. Forbes then reviewed the current and proposed rate structure: Currently, the average home pays about $53.41 per quarter, which is very low compared to other communities. Hook-up fees are also very low. The proposed rate structure would increase the user fee 2.75% annually for all users. The hook up fee would be increased to $9.20 per gpd in 2008 and 9 and to $12.75 in 2011-12. The quarterly cost to the average home would be $54.87 and would still be very competitive. The bond vote would be held on 4 March or alternatively on 20 May. It is hoped to have the upgraded plant on line in 2010. Ms. Hinds explained the basis for an appeal that has been filed against the project. 7. Consideration of Language to Warn for 4 March 2008 Ballot: Use of Open-Space Funding and Bonding for Airport Parkway Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade: Mr. Hafter read the language for both items. Members had no issues. 8. Consideration of Request from CCRPC for Reaffirmation of Council Support for Lake Champlain Byway; Discussion of Appointment of 2 Representatives to Planning & Implementation Committee: Ms. Dooley moved to approve the reaffirmation of support for Lake Champlain Byway as presented. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Review DRB Agenda for 8 January 2008: No issues were raised. 10. Accept Letter of Resignation from Design Review Committee: Mr. Magowan moved to accept the resignation of Frank Clark from the Design Review Committee. Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Review Minutes of 3 December 2007: The Minutes of 3 December were not available. 12. Review Minutes of 17 December 2007: Mr. Boucher moved to approve the Minutes of 17 December as written. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. Magowan abstaining. 13. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.