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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Charter Committee - 04/12/2023CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE 12 APRIL 2023 The South Burlington City Charter Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 12 April 2023, at 4:00 p.m., in Conference Room 201, City Hall, 180 Market Street. MEMBERS PRESENT: P. Taylor, Chair; A. Lalonde, D. Kinville, P. Engels, C. Higgins, K. Bailey, C. Hafter, ALSO PRESENT: J. Baker, City Manager, C. McNeil, City Attorney; M. Emery, D. Albrecht 1. Welcome and Introductions: Mr. Taylor welcomed members who introduced themselves. 2. Agenda Review No changes were made to the agenda. 3. Comments & Questions from the public not related to the Agenda: No issues were raised. 4. Approve Minutes from the 8 March 2023 meeting: Ms. Lalonde moved to approve the Minutes of 8 March 2023 as written. Ms. Kinville seconded. Motion passed with all present voting in favor. 5. Discuss one possible item to consider for addition to advantages and disadvantages: Mr. Engels said the option would be to have City Councilors elected by legislative districts, regardless of the number of members on the Council. He noted in the most recent election, both Councilors were elected from the Southeast Quadrant, and they were the ones who spent the most money. Another possible option would be to elect one or 2 from each district (5 or 10-member Council). The negative would be having voters confused by having some members “at large.” Members were OK with adding those 2 options. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE 12 APRIL 2023 PAGE 2 6. Discuss and finalize the Committee’s community outreach and engagement process: a. Events between 12 April and 10 May (or beyond) b. Key stakeholder groups c. Forums with a facilitator and a note taker April 24 and 27 d. Approve website and survey Mr. Taylor noted that the Rotary gave him a date of 18 May, which moves the events further out. Mr. Taylor noted that the Committee will be presenting its findings to the City Council in September after a City Charter Committee public hearing. The Council will then hold its own public hearing leading to a public vote in March, 2024. If a Charter amendment is approve by the voters, it will then go to the State Legislature. If they approve, it goes to the Governor for signature. If the Legislature does not take up the change, it could languish there. Mr. Higgins said he had met with the Chairs of school departments as to how to encourage student feedback. Teachers felt the first week in May would be best to coordinate with what they are teaching. Ms. Bailey said the Orchard School PTO is meeting tonight, and the Principal will be presenting the Committee’s request. She added it would be good to have a few Charter Committee members there. The Marcotte PTO will meet on 9 May. Ms. Bailey said he will attend that meeting. She had not yet heard back from Chamberlin School. Ms. Baker said it would be good to have 2 Charter Committee members at each of the stakeholder meetings. Ms. Lalonde said she had spoken with Julie Beatty of SBBA about speaking at their quarterly meeting. Ms. Lalonde will write something up for Ms. Beatty to send out via email. Ms. Kinville noted that City Hall Auditorium is available on 24 April. Ms. Baker suggested using 10 May for both a forum and the next Charter Committee meeting date. Forums will be held in the Auditorium from 7 to 9 on May 10th and May 25th. Mr. Albrecht suggested using more than the usual postings to make the public aware of this process. One of his suggestions was sandwich boards and signs in front of apartment buildings. Members agreed to 7-9 p.m. for the events. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE 12 APRIL 2023 PAGE 3 Ms. Baker said she will put out information to all City committees. Ms. Albrecht asked about reaching disadvantaged residents. Ms. Baker said she would be happy to reach out to groups. Mr. Hafter suggested senior housing groups. Mr. Taylor said there will be a notice in The Other Paper and on the City’s Newsletter. He added that he would like to see the Committee’s “pros and cons” printed in The Other Paper which most residents get to see. Ms. Lalonde asked how much the Committee is bound by what it hears from the community Mr. Taylor said they would need to tell the City Council what they heard from the community. Regarding the survey, Mr. Taylor suggested that questions 9-12 of the proposed survey be at the beginning. He also wanted to have some way of knowing where responders live and also possibly their age bracket. Members were concerned that voters would not understand the alignment with “voting districts” and suggested putting the word “wards” in parenthesis after “voting districts.” Members expressed concern that responders would not understand the reason for the survey and suggested a paragraph at the top indicating that the Committee has been reviewing the structure of city government and has prepared a “pros and cons” statement for various versions of government. People could be encouraged to read the pros and cons before responding. Ms. Baker indicated that she had prepared something around a question and answer structure, similar to a “frequently asked questions” format. Mr. Hafter suggested adding that the City Manager reports to the City Council and is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the city. Ms. Emery suggested asking if respondents have a child in school or are still attending school. 7. Other Business: Mr. Taylor said he cannot be present at the scheduled Committee meeting on 14 June. Ms. Baker said she will send out a doodle poll to see what dates will work for members who may be planning vacations. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE 12 APRIL 2023 PAGE 4 As there was no further business to come before the Committee, Ms. Lalonde moved to adjourn. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:29 p.m.