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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/17/2011CITY COUNCIL 17 OCTOBER 2011 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 17 October 2011, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Councilors Present: S. Dooley, Chair; M. Emery, J. Knapp, P. Engels, R. Greco Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Assistant City Manager; D. Kinville, City Clerk; K. Murphy, City Manager’s Staff; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; Chief T. Whipple, Police Department; J. Rabidoux, Public Works Director; M. Young, T. Barritt, G. Quimby, M. Beaudin, R. Kay, D. Coriell, B. Bull, K. Statzen, J. Pasakow, E. Milizia, L. Brand, J. Curtis, B. Stuono, B. & E. Schuele, J. Zaetz, P. Taylor, M. Boucher 1. Executive Session: Mr. Knapp moved that the Council meet in Executive Session to discuss personnel, contract negotiations, and litigation. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: Mr. Knapp moved that the Council exit executive session. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 1. Agenda Review: Mr. Miller said there is a possibility of an agreement in principle between the City of South Burlington and the City of Burlington regarding the Airport. 2. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda items: Mr. Pasakow, representing the South Burlington Rotary, thanked the City Council for its support of the benches that have been placed along the Rec Path. There are 21 benches and 5 signs which have received a wonderful response from the public. It was noted that the bushes in Overlook Park have grown so high they are blocking some of the view. Mr. Rabidoux said he would look into that. 3. Announcements & City Manager’s Report: Ms. Emery: The Channel 17 Board will meet on Thursday. Mr. Engels will also attend as alternate. A citizen has expressed concern to her about the amount of dead wood in Red Rocks Park and the potential fire hazard. Mr. Rabidoux said he would ask the Fire Department to look into this. Mr. Engels: Attended a Pension Advisory Committee meeting. They are making good progress. The company that manages the pension plan will be making a presentation to the Committee. Ms. Greco: Attended Jim Condos’ presentation on open records. Mr. Condos did acknowledge the error of not providing adequate minutes when the Council made decisions after an executive session. A question was raised as to whether the Council may be going into executive sessions when they don’t have to. Ms. Dooley: Noted this is Kelly Murphy’s last meeting. Met with Tony Cairns on 11 October. There was a leak at the skating facility that caused substantial damage (over $300,000), and there is a question of who is responsible for the damage. They also discussed the value of the rink for insurance purposes, a Recreation Department/rink management collaboration, and city representation on the Skating Association Board. Attended the Town Fair in Killington including a workshop on social media in the workplace. Mr. Miller: There will be a presentation by the independent auditor and actuary on 7 November. They are required to meet with the Council at least once a year. There will be a presentation on “complete streets” on 21 November. Pension advisors will meet on 5 November. Mr. Miller & Mr. Rusten will attend the VCTMA conference in Ludlow. The VLCT Health Trust has provided quotes on health insurance. Costs for the 2012 calendar year may go down about 3%. There is a resignation from the Library Board. 4. Presentation of Awards for Years of Service on Council, Boards, Commissions & Committees: Awards were presented to: Mark Boucher - 6 years on the City Council Frank Murray - service on the City Council Tim Barritt - 15 years on the Corrections Liaison Committee and 6 years on the Library Board (he is now on the DRB) Marcel Beaudin - 14 years on the Planning Commission, 6 years as Regional Planning Commission representative (now on the Design Review Committee and alternate to the Regional Planning Commission) Randall Kay - 12 years on the Planning Commission Gayle Quimby - 12 years on the DRB, 4 years on the Planning Commission Ethel Scheele - 38 years on the Red Rocks Park Committee Bill Wessel - 27 years as representative to the Chittenden County Transportation Board of Commissioners (still serving as alternate) Rosemary Perkett - 14 years on the Recreation/Leisure Arts Committee Bill Cimonetti - 8 years on the Recreation /Leisure Arts Committee John Dinklage - 15 years on the DRB 5. Public Hearing on Amendments to the City Charter, Amend Sections 13-1304(c) & 13-1309, Delete Section 13-1903; second reading of same: Mr. Knapp moved to open the public hearing and to waive reading of the amendments. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Miller briefly explained the amendments. There was no public comment. Mr. Knapp moved to close the public hearing. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Special Election December 6, 2011 - Ballot/Warning Actual Language (to be finalized): Mr. Miller explained that Articles 1 & 2 relate to the Charter change. He asked Mr. Conner to explain the third article. Mr. Conner explained that in recent years, the city has been engaged in on-going litigation with regard to a master plan. The Court has put this on hold. This year, the city attempted to get a settlement. The proposed settlement involves an exchange of land which will meet the primary goal of preserving a section of open space/wildlife corridor. The city will give the developer 6.91 acres and .34 acres from the southwest corner of Wheeler Park. The city will get in exchange 21.27 acres adjacent to Wheeler Park. The developer will also give the city $10,000 for trails and revegetation. In addition, the city will require that the entire Wheeler Nature Park be conveyed to a third party as conservation easement. This will provide a higher level of protection. Ms. Milizia, representing the Natural Resources Committee, said the city will be giving up the part of the park that is the least environmentally viable and will preserve the wildlife corridor. Members of the Committee cautioned the city to avoid situations such as this in the future. Ms. Dooley noted this legislation has been going on for a number of years, and there are now more specific regulations in place to prevent this from happening again. She added that this agreement will benefit everyone and is the kind of creative settlement that a court could not impose. Mr. Young asked whether a “third party” would benefit. Mr. Miller said it would not. Mr. Barritt asked if the developer can build on the land they get. Ms. Dooley said they can. Mr. Miller noted the city is not legally required to bring this to the voters; however it was decided to do so because of the previous vote on the Wheeler property. If it is not approved by the voters, it will be back in the courts. It was noted that the Natural Resources Committee will be hosting walks in that park area. Ms. Greco asked how many houses the developer can build. Mr. Conner said the city will work in good faith to allow for appropriate housing. Housing is not now allowed on that property. He suggested that on the .35 acre piece, about 2 homes could be allowed, and up to 32 units on the 6.9 acre piece. He noted that 41 units were proposed on the piece that will go to the city. Ms. Emery moved to approve the language for the ballot items, including the authority to adjust and correct the acronym. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Consider approval of a Municipal Planning Grant FY2012: Mr. Conner said the city would be applying for $15,000 to update the capital budget program and TIF potential. A $3500 match is required and is in the FY12 budget. Ms. Emery moved to approve application for a Municipal Planning Grant as presented. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. First Reading of Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, Section 25, addition of a 3-way stop at Farrell & Eastwood Drive: Mr. Rabidoux noted that currently there is only a stop for southbound traffic. The public hearing would be on 7 November. Mr. Rabidoux noted this is a very “non­standard” intersection. Mr. Barritt expressed concern that it will add more gas and pollution to that intersection and more noise from people accelerating. He felt it works well now. Another audience member thanked the city for this initiative and for trying to calm traffic in East Woods. He felt the need is to weigh in on the side of public safety. Mr. Knapp moved to waive the first reading and set a public hearing for 7 November 2011. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Discuss Proposed Draft Motor Vehicle Ordinances Changes and Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions Ordinance to Get Sense from Council Whether to Pursue: Chief Whipple said the Department wants to know if they are going in the right direction. The revisions would include a “don’t block the box” regulation for 2 troublesome intersections and a cleaning up of all parking prohibitions. He noted that if a city has specific regulations, it receives a portion of collected fines. He also cited the need to hold people accountable and to provide a deterrent. Mr. Engels asked about jurisdiction where one side of a road is in Burlington and the other in South Burlington. Chief Whipple said it depends on where an incident occurs. The cities do have rights on both sides. When Burlington or another municipality writes a ticket for a South Burlington event, South Burlington gets the money, and vice versa. The Chief then explained that there are also proposed new ordinances as follows: 1. Regarding loud exhaust systems and other excessive noise from vehicles 2. & 3. Unlawful trespass and disorderly conduct: will become a ticketable offense in certain instances 4. Underage drinking (will be dealt with as a city law) 5. Tobacco use (regarding age) 6. Shoplifting 7. Prohibition against putting notices, etc., under windshield wipers 8. Nuisance behaviors (aggressive panhandling, hitchhiking, etc.) Mr. Rusten suggested adding a level of appeal. Ms. Emery noted complaints about noise from the Airport. Chief Whipple said the Department has no authority there. Members generally supported the updating of the ordinances and liked the idea of including the fees/fines. 10. Consider approval of Return Check Policy: Ms. Kinville said the policy would involve the following: 1. No automatic re-deposit of a returned check 2. Setting of a limit to keep calling on bad checks 3. Addition of a $10.00 fee. 4. For checks over $50.00, the city can initiate a recovery process Mr. Knapp suggested checking to see if anything here would violate the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act as there are significant penalties for violation. Ms. Kinville said she will have the City Attorney check the language. Members agreed to wait until the next meeting for approval so the language can be checked. 11. Consider Approval of Attendance Policy for Boards, Commissions and Committees: Ms. Greco said anything less than requiring 75% attendance is unacceptable to her. Mr. Stuono said it is hard to get things done at the DRB with only 5 members present. He also suggested looking at alternates. Ms. Emery suggested leaving out a number as often work done outside a meeting is just as important as work at a meeting. Mr. Knapp said the city appoints adults to its boards and they don’t have to be told about attendance. He suggested providing an orientation for all new board members. Ms. Milizia said she thought it would be good to have committee orientations coming from the Council so people know what meeting protocols are. Ms. Greco said that the 50% should be replaced with 75% with the expectation that it be 100%. On p. 3, #6, it was suggested that a person’s attendance be for a full term, instead of only 24 months. Ms. Dooley suggested requesting city staff assisting as an option. Mr. Miller said he didn’t feel city staff should be assessing committee members’ performance. Ms. Emery suggested a new #6 on page 6 as follows: Each member is expected to respect and promote the smooth functioning of the entity through open communication, civil discourse and recognition of the public purpose of the entity. Ms. Greco moved to approve the committee attendance policy as drafted and amended above. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Consider Approval of an Entertainment Permit: Higher Ground: Mr. Miller explained that the event will be on 30 October, 5-9 p.m. and will be a Comedy Central Show. One security person will be provided for every 75 attendees. Mr. Statzer said the event will include a carnival and music. It is being done for 12 college towns and is free to the public. Events such as these have raised $1,500,000 for flood victims. Ms. Emery moved to approve the Entertainment Permit for Higher Ground as presented. Ms. Greco seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Minutes of 26 September and 3 October 2011: On page 3 of the 26 September Minutes, Ms. Dooley noted there had been 2 former City Counselors, not 3, who remembered approval of the long term care plan. On page 4, paragraph 2, under item #6, the date is through 2001. Ms. Emery moved to approve the Minutes of 26 September and 3 October 2011 as written and amended. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 15. Liquor Control Board: Mr. Knapp moved that the Council adjourn and reconvene as Liquor Control Board. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Miller noted the request is for a Liquor License for the new owners of The Outback. The application is in order. Mr. Knapp moved to approve the Liquor License for The Outback as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Knapp moved to return to regular City Council session. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Other Business: Ms. Dooley noted the city has been asked for input as to what they would want to see in a new UVM president. This will be on a future agenda. An audience member asked when the city will deal with the skating arena. Ms. Dooley said this will be discussed in executive session. 17. Executive Session: Mr. Knapp moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel, potential litigation and contract negotiations and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 18. Resume Regular Session: Council returned to regular session. As there was no further business Mr. Knapp moved for Council adjournment. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Council adjourned. _________________________ Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.