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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 09/21/2009CITY COUNCIL 21 SEPTEMBER 2009 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 21 September 2009, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: M. Boucher, Chair; S. Dooley, M. Emery, J. Knapp, F. Murray Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; Chief T. Whipple and other members of Police Department; Rep. H. Head, T. Hubbard, Recreation Department; L. Murphy, Community Library; A. Clift, M. Young, M. Lawrence, R. McEwing, L. Ventriss, B. Stuono, B. Worthen 1. Comments & Questions from the Public not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Murray: Congratulated the City on the Police Station vote. Ms. Dooley: Neighbors have reported losing sleep because of a "sound machine" the University has installed to keep birds off the artificial turf. When she spoke to people at UVM, they said the machine should be on only in the daytime but was erroneously put on a 24-hour cycle. They said it would be fixed. Mr. Knapp: Advised that in his new law firm, one of the attorneys works for City unions. Mr. Knapp said he would therefore not vote on union contracts or grievances. He gave members information and an opinion that there is no conflict of interest involved. (Copy of Opinion is attached to these minutes) Mr. Hafter presented the resignation of Peter Jacob as Commissioner of the CWD, a position he has held for many years. Mr. Murray moved to accept the resignation of Peter Jacob as CWD Commissioner and to send a letter of gratitude for his service. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter noted that under the Charter, Bill Szymanski will serve as Commissioner until the next election. Mr. Hafter volunteered to serve as alternate. Ms. Emery moved to appoint Bill Szymanski as interim CWD Commissioner and Mr. Hafter as alternate. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Hafter advised that he will attend H1N1 training. Vaccines will be available mid to late October. There have been discussions as to how to function if a large number of people are sick. New England Shrine Days will be held this weekend and will include a Saturday parade on Dorset St. Mr. Hafter asked for a Councilor to work with the Social Responsibility Committee. Ms. Dooley volunteered. Mr. Hafter then asked Ms. Murphy to provide an update on the Bookmobile. Ms. Murphy gave members photos of the Bookmobile and reviewed the history of the Rotary donation that made it possible. The Bookmobile was in service from the end of the past school year to the beginning of this school year and in that time made 137 stops. Mary Rutherford, a former school principal, was the driver, and there were 3 high school volunteers who worked with her. There were 1247 visitors to the Bookmobile. Total costs to date for the use of the Bookmobile (including fuel, service, etc.) are $2,185. The Library received a grant for books, and the Rotary will be donating money for future operating costs. Ms. Murphy said the Bookmobile will go out a bit this fall and will serve the School's Out program at Orchard School. Ms. Murphy felt they had reached a significant portion of the population, some of whom had never heard of the Library and some who did not know that library use is free. They also reached those who do not have transportation to get to the Library. Many people commented that the Bookmobile brought back the "small town feeling." Ms. Murphy said that next year they will include some books for adult readers and may add "story times." Mr. Hafter then asked Mr. Hubbard to report of Recreation Department activities. Mr. Hubbard said the band shell, also a gift from the Rotary, has also done wonders for the community. In spite of the unusually bad summer weather, they got most of the band-shell programs in. The Recreation Dept. served 4,580 households this year, some with multiple family members involved in programs. There were 46 different summer camps and 36 other programs. One youngster from the track and field program qualified for a national event and took 6th place. The numbers at the 2 playground programs were down a bit. The Red Rocks program was reduced from 9 to 7 weeks, but revenues were equal to last year. 119 season passes were sold and 849 daily passes. Revenue was about $5000. Financial aid was provided for 28 families, some of this through donations. Mr. Hubbard noted that there were 22 full-time and 27 part-time people employed in Recreation Dept. summer programs as well as 16 contracted personnel. There is a new Community Chorus direction, and rehearsals will begin on 13 October. The Department is continuing to partner for swimming and skating programs. 28 ballfield areas were in use for a total of over 10,000 hours, most of which was at Dorset Park. There were 17 other events at Dorset Park, one of which drew over 1000 participants. Mr. Hubbard showed members the brochure which was distributed to households through the Other Paper. Mr. Hafter then as Chief Whipple to report on the next steps for the Police Station: Chief Whipple thanked the Council and the community for the vote. He noted that for a special election there was a very good turnout. Mr. Miller has said he thinks it will be a very quick project to get the building ready for police occupancy. Architects are continuing to fine tune the plans and should have an end product within 2 weeks. There are also talks with Black River Design which has done several police stations. They will come up for a walk-thru next week and will advice on the functioning of the building. Mr. Miller will take care of all permitting. The final action on the zoning change should take place on 5 October. The architects will be looking at some sites that have features similar to what is planned for Gregory Drive (e.g., sally ports, dispatch functions, etc.). A number of specialty equipment needs will have to be costed out (lockers, security systems, video monitoring, phone recording, etc.). They are talking with vendors and comparing prices. 3. Update on Progress of Dog Park Committee: Ms. Ventriss reviewed the history to date. Work was done on capping and burning off methane gases, but emissions have increased, so the site has now been deemed not viable. To make it viable would be very expensive, and so the plans for this site have been abandoned. Other possible sites include Airport land where homes have recently been taken down. Mr. Hubbard noted that the Airport is receptive to having that discussion. The Council was OK with proceeding along that line. 4. Update on Burlington International Airport Project: Mr. Worthen said the Airport is excited about the possibility of hosting the Dog Park. He then reviewed plans for the garage expansion. There continues to be inadequate parking, and 2 solutions are possible: expanding the garage and looking for other sites. The proposed expansion would add 1400 new parking spaces. The project would include a "green roof" which would be open to the public during the non-snow seasons. Mr. Worthen noted that airport numbers are down a bit but are still ahead of 2 years ago. It is felt that this lull is a good time to build the addition. It will be built in 2 phases with the footprint remaining the same throughout. Mr. Hafter noted that there is more and more "circling" car traffic and asked if it is possible to have a "cell phone lot." Mr. Worthen said they are working on a plan for that and have moved it up on the priority list. Ms. Dooley asked if there has been consideration given to shuttle services near the border since there are so many Canadians using the airport. Mr. Worthen said there are now negotiations going on with 2 carriers. They have also identified 6 potential "park and ride" sites. Mr. Worthen noted that the unusually wet summer delayed work on the "living wall" project, but they now have DRB approval to go ahead with it. The Environmental Commission has said that an Act 250 permit will be needed. The hope is to have it in before winter, but they are now not sure this is possible. There will be ground noise monitoring prior to the erection of the wall and while the wall is up. Monitoring devices will be protected when in use. Ms. Emery asked who would maintain the wall. Mr. Worthen said the Airport. Mr. McEwing reported that there are contracts for the purchase of 10 homes, 8 of which have already been purchased. Of the 2010 proposed purchases, there are contracts for 4 of the 6. The average appraisal value of the homes is $260,000. Mr. Lindberg asked if the 2010 program still includes homes on Patrick St. Mr. McEwing said he would check on that. Mr. Boucher said the Council appreciates the effort to keep the city updated. 5. Presentation and Public Commend on Proposed Use of Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) of $13,849.00 for Patrol Rifle Program: Chief Whipple reviewed the history and noted that the Department was awarded $13,849 this year. The money can be used for functions, equipment, etc. that the Department should have but otherwise wouldn't have funds for. He noted there has been a continuing request from officers for patrol rifles. South Burlington is the only department that does not have this capability. They would be used in an armed encounter, for instant neutralization of a situation (especially with school violence and high risk facilities). The rifle has a longer range than a hand gun, which makes it more suitable for long corridors in a school, mall, etc. Three rifles would be purchased, one per shift. Officers would be trained and certified for their use. Members indicted their support for the use of the funds with the hope that the rifles would never have to be used. 6. First Reading of Ordinance to Amend South Burlington Impact Fee Ordinance to Eliminate School Facilities Impact Fee; Schedule Public Hearing: Mr. Hafter advised that the impact fees are being eliminated at the request of the School District. Mr. Murray moved to waive the first reading of the amendment. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Murray moved to schedule the public hearing for 19 October 2009. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Review Development Review Board Agenda for Meeting of 23 September 2009: Ms. Emery noted there has been a lot of concern from neighbors about the proposed Whole Foods project. Mr. Hafter said the DRB shares those concerns. 8. Review and Approve Minutes of 24 July and 8 August 2009: Ms. Dooley moved to approve the Minutes of 24 July as written. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 3-0 with Mr. Murray and Mr. Boucher abstaining. Mr. Murray moved to approve the Minutes of 8 September 2009 as written. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Ms. Dooley abstaining. 9. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 10. Executive Session: Mr. Knapp moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel issues and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Ms. Emery moved adjournment. Mr. Murray seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.