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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 06/02/2008 (2)CITY COUNCIL 2 JUNE 2008 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 2 June 2008, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: C. Smith, Chair; M. Boucher, S. Dooley, M. Emery, S. Magowan Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. Simson, D. Kleppinter, B. Smyle, B. Cimonetti, D. McBee, Maj. A. Gates, members of South Burlington Police Department 1. Comments & Questions from the Audience not Related to Agenda Items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Magowan: Attended the CCTA meeting last week. Information from this meeting will be a later agenda item. Ms. Dooley: Met with 2 Library Trustees last week at their initiative. They discussed the inadequacy of the facility and the strength of the program. They asked to be included in future decisions. Mr. Smith: Attended the most recent School Board meeting at which the Board unanimously requested that the Council consider changing the voting date from May to March. Mr. Gravelin: Reported on concerns with the quality of the building that were raised by the Police Union as follows: 1. Roof: A quote was received from A.C. Hathorne for the flat roof on the north side of the building, the biggest trouble spot. $16,577. 2. Main Roof: This would probably be put out to bid. An early estimate is $10 a square foot for a total of approximately $124,000. 3. Interior: A quote was received including redoing insulation, ceiling tiles, areas under the flat roof, the hallway between the Police & Fire Departments. $23,000. 4. Air Quality: A test was done on 14 May for the whole building. There were no significant issues identified. Testers did note mildew in some areas and water damage in the entryways and conference room. 5. Contract for Cleaning Services: This will be put out to bid. Mr. Gravelin said staff's recommendation is to fix the flat roof immediately (the contractor would provide a 15-year warranty), then do the interior work and finally the main roof. Mr. Hafter felt the work could be funded from the local option Rooms & Meals tax. The City has $300,000 in that account. Members questioned whether this should go to the voters. Mr. Hafter will check on the original ballot item. Officer Bliss of the Police Department said they are being forced to work in a "disgusting environment" and that the work needs to be done. Mr. Boucher suggested this could be discussed at the 2 July special meeting. Mr. Gravelin: Reported that the commercial property reappraisal has gotten good data on properties. The information did not trigger a whole property class revaluation. There are some exceptions, including some remodels. Mr. Hater said it is good to have this validation, but unfortunately the Grand List won't go up. Mr. Gravelin also noted that it appears some high end residential properties are being sold for less than their appraised value. Mr. Hafter: Annual GBIC meeting will be 17 June, Noon-1:30 p.m. at the Double Tree. The MPO 25th anniversary celebration will take place at ECHO on 18 June, 5:45 p.m. All City Council meetings are now on-line through Channel 17 in a format that allows viewers to click onto a specific item of interest. Mr. Hafter will be attending an out-of-town meeting from 8-12 June. The next Council agenda will include a report from the Dog Park Committee, a report on the cost estimate for the Police Station, a proposal from the School Board to change the City voting date from May to March, and concerns with the Scott property and use of conservation funds. 3. Adoption of Resolution of Appreciation for U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Christopher Dodd for their Assistance with the SAFER Grant: Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Resolution as presented. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Update on Partnership for Youth & Community Empowerment: Mr. McBee reviewed the history of the Partnership which began with the CASA movement and a federal drug prevention grant. He noted that this is the only non-profit which requires that 50% of its Board of Directors be under the age of 18. Mr. McBee cited the success of the "Reach for the Stars" mentoring program which encompasses the whole South Burlington School System. Most mentors stay 3-4 years. A new program would aim to provide mentoring for children whose parent(s) are incarcerated. Major Gates, Family Director for the National Guard, explained how the Partnership has been working on programs for Guard families. He specifically cited the "holiday party," and an annual outdoor event, each of which draw over 1200 people. Major Gates said Mr. McBee's group has done phenomenal things for the Guard families. Mr. McBee said that to date, the Partnership has done 21 events as well as a "family day" each September and an annual community dinner for Guard families. The family day program is recognized as one of the top 5 programs in the country. Mr. McBee said the annual budget for the Partnership is $80,000 of which $14,000 is for rental of space. Mr. Smith asked what the Council can do for the group. Mr. McBee said they can participate, either as mentors or as Board members. 5. Review of Final Report to the City Council on Comprehensive Review of the City Charter: Mr. Simson, Chair of the Charter Review Committee, said the 2 issues on which the Committee spent the most time were the form of city government and the question of "at large" election of Council and School Board members. In both instances, the Committee eventually came to the decision to retain the current practices. There was clear consensus on the Committee that there is a need for a better vehicle for communication with the public. To address this the Committee is recommending that the Council meet periodically in the elementary schools and provide adequate warning for those meetings and that "neighborhood forums" be formed and empowered to raise issues and discuss them. Members discussed the form that "neighborhood forums" would take, whether they would be formed by the Council or arise spontaneously in the communities, etc. Mr. Simson said the process would be evolutionary. If people want to meet on a regular basis, that would be fine. He noted that the existing level of public participation suggests that won't happen at the start. Mr. Simson said there was public concern that when people go to meetings they never get feedback from the Council on the issues that were raised. The revised Charter would contain language that would allow the Council to set the annual City meeting any time it chooses. There is also language to allow for reserve funds for a variety of purposes. A suggestion was made for a public survey. Mr. Kleppinger said this should be done in a scientific, controlled way. Mr. Hafter observed that "participation" is a culture. He added that suburban communities tend to see local government as a "utility." As long as everything is working, they are OK with it. He felt it would take time to change that mind set. Ms. Dooley noted that if the election date is changed from May to March, there will be a changing of term lengths by 2 months. Mr. Hafter said the Charter document will now go to the City Attorney for drafting of final language. Ms. Dooley moved to accept the report of the City Charter Review Committee and to commend Committee members for their efforts. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. CCTA Downtown Transit Center: Mr. Magowan reported that the City of Burlington had received a grant to build a multimodal transportation center near the waterfront. This effort fell through, but Burlington still has the money. CCTA is now proposing to take over that money and build a downtown station where people can wait inside for buses. South Burlington representatives have said they would not support this until they know the local share involved. CCTA is looking at a site on Pearl Street. 7. Consideration of Capital Equipment Refunding Notes for Public Works and Police Department: Mr. Hafter presented notes as follows: 3rd year of 5 for Street Sweeper New borrowing for Police cruiser The notes are at 2.75%. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the Capital Equipment Refunding Notes and accompanying documents as presented. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Review the Agenda for Development Review Board meeting being held June 3, 2008: No issues were raised. 9. Review and Approve Minutes of Regular City Council Meeting held on 19 May 2008: Ms. Dooley noted that on p. 6, Mr. Hafter had agreed to let the Planning Department know of the Council's concerns regarding changes to the South Village development plan. Ms. Dooley moved to approve the Minutes of 19 May 2008 as amended above Mr. Boucher seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Ms. Emery abstaining. 10. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 11. Executive Session: Ms. Dooley moved that the Council adjourn and reconvene in executive session to discuss pending litigation and to resume regular session only for the purpose of authorizing a settlement and/or adjourning. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Mr. Magowan moved to authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to negotiate a settlement as described in attorney Fletcher's correspondence to the Council. Ms. Dooley seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Magowan moved adjournment. Mr. Boucher seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the City Council adjourned at 10 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.