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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/02/2023 CITY COUNCIL 2 October 2023 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 2 October 2023, at 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium, 180 Market Street, and by Go to Meeting remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, T. Barnes, A. Chalnick ALSO PRESENT:J. Baker, City Manager; Chief S. Locke, Deputy City Manager and Acting City Manager; M. Machar, Finance Director;T. DiPietro, Public Works Director; E. Quallen, Deputy Public Works Director for Capital Projects; K. Bailey, School Board;T. Jarvis, B. Sirvis, D. Peters, T. Stuessy, L. Williams, E. Fitzgerald, S. Conley, C. McQuillen, C.Trombly, D. Senly 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency and review of technology option: Chief Locke provided instructions on emergency exit from the building and reviewed technology options. It was noted that the City Manager was attending a City Manager's Conference in Texas and was attending this meeting remotely. In her absence, Chief Locke has been serving as Acting City Manager. 2. Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 3. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda: Mr. Trombly, Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, said that at the Committee's September meeting, members discussed options to expand the scope of the Trust Fund. They have engaged a member of the Trust Fund group to be a member of the sub—committee looking into this. Ms. Senly said that a letter containing 30 signatures from the Bartlett Bay area has been sent to the City Manager outlining their concerns with the Airbnb's that have sprung up in their neighborhood. She noted that one house has already been booked for a graduation party in May. She asked when the Council will review a second draft of the rental housing ordinance. Chief Locke said the plan is to bring the ordinance to the Council in early November. It will be available to the public the Friday before that meeting. CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 2 4. Announcements, Reports on Committee Assignments, and City Manager's Report: Council members reported on meetings and events they had attended including the Energy Fair and the Beta Open House. Ms. Baker: The new IT Director joined the staff today. Staff is in the final steps of recruiting the next Recreation/Parks Director. Thanked Mr. Barritt for attending the Town Fair. The new Public Safety Computer Dispatch has gone "live" with new technology. 5. Consent Agenda: a. Approve and Sign Disbursements b. Approve Minutes of 18 September 2023 City Council meeting Ms. Emery moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Receive the Transportation Implementation Plan for the Climate Action Plan and provide direction to staff: Ms. Baker provided a historical perspective and also voiced appreciation to VHB and to Ms. Quallen. Ms. Quallen then reviewed the goals of the Transportation Implementation Plan including: a. Looking at high impact actions and developing a step by step plan. b. Providing a memorandum of land use practices and recommendations for encouraging high-density mixed-use development c. Engaging with key stakeholders d. Creating an implementation plan including costs. Ms. Quallen noted that a questionnaire received 269 responses from people who live and/or work in South Burlington. More than half of the respondents are interested in having an electric vehicle. 13% already have. CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 3 There were also 2 focus groups, one involving seniors and the second retail service workers. Ms. Quallen noted it was good to hear from the seniors who have different mobility needs. The retail service group had limited participation. Ms. Quallen showed a list of the questions that were asked of these groups. Ms. Quallen then showed a sample of an Implementation Plan. Its elements include: a. Information from principle CAP b. Lead city organizations and implementation partners c. Timelines d. Funding e. Level of effort f. Key implementation steps g. Opportunities for innovation h. Focus on equity i. Implementation considerations j. Resources and case studies Ms. Quallen showed a Supporting Action Matrix which includes things the School District is taking on. Staffing requirements fall into 2 categories: Scoping, Planning, Funding and Design; and Bids, Procurement, Construction and Maintenance. Ms. Quallen showed the staffing requirements for each of these categories including personnel for enforcement. In total, 4.4 new people would be needed by 2028 at a cost of$506,000. Ms. Quallen stressed that this figure is just for transportation and land use. The "non-people" budget estimates were then shown. Ms. Quallen noted these figures do not include what a developer would have to pay, only the city costs. Various project costs range from $1,500,000 to $14,000,000. These figures include park-and-rides, EV charging, CATMA membership, land reductions, parking management, etc. They do not include any grants the city might receive. Most grants would have a 20%city match. Ms. Quallen noted that some of the projects are already in the city's CIP. Ms. Baker stressed that this plan does not replace core municipal services. Mr. Barnes asked whether ARPA funds can be used for any of this. Ms. Baker said because the city took ARPA CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 4 funds as "lost revenue,"those funds can be used for any"usual municipal use." She stressed that there will be ongoing FTE which will not be funded by ARPA money. Ms. Quallen then reviewed the next steps including a public meeting on 12 October. Mr. Chalnick said it would help him to have more data such as an "effectiveness cost" (how much bang for the buck the city gets from each action). He thought there might be easy, quick wins. Ms. Quallen said there have been "effectiveness" discussions. One result was a 42% emission reduction by switching to EVs. Ms. Emery noted the importance of EV chargers and said if you can't plug in, you have to use fuel, and the heavier engines in EV cars require even more fuel to run. Ms. Quallen noted there will also have to be LDR amendments to achieve some of the goals. Mr. Barritt noted that if there are apartment buildings without chargers, there is no incentive for people to have EVs. Also, people have to be able to afford and EV which can run up to $70,000, which is not what the average apartment dweller can afford. People aren't going to put out that much money for a car. Mr. Chalnick noted there are tax credits if the cars are leased. Mr. Barritt said it is not the history of car dealers to be fair to customers and to advise them of the most economical way to finance a car. Mr. Barnes said that if a family is already struggling to put food on the table, these cars are not affordable. Ms. Baker noted that staff is now putting together the FY25 budget and asked the Council to advise them of anything they want to add to that budget. Mr. Chalnick said 2 FTEs should be the baseline. Ms. Riehle agreed and said that without people, you can't get grants done. Ms. Quallen asked if the Council wants 2 FTEs in the budget for grant writing. Chief Locke said staff will bring to the Council what these people will be used for. Ms. Riehle asked if the Council can get a sense from Mr. Conner as to what LDRs are being worked on and what can be dovetailed. Ms. Baker said staff will bring that to the Council. Mr. Barnes said he didn't want to make it more difficult/costly to build new/affordable housing. He asked what the city is hearing from the development community. CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 5 7. Consider and possibly approve a School Board request to fund Traffic Monitors at School properties: Ms. Bailey said the School Board discussed school safety and the fact that schools are located on some of the busiest streets, so that children don't walk/bike to school. It is hard for parents to give up the safety of driving their children to school. They are requesting that the City budget fund crossing guards at all 4 campuses. Ms. Riehle said that would by 6 guards at $10,000, or a total of$60,000 for the coming year. Mr. Chalnick asked to whom these guards would report, who would hire/fire them, etc. Ms. Baker said the School District would oversee, and the money would be given to them in a lump sum. There would have to be a legal agreement for the long term. Mr. Barritt said he understands the request, but he does not favor funding it, except in the case where city construction is going on (e.g., Market Street). Ms. Emery agreed and said it would set a precedent. She suggested discussing this at the dinner the Council and School Board will be having. Mr. Barnes disagreed and said it is important to keep children safe. If the city is encouraging walking and biking, the city should be sure the children can do this safely. Ms. Bailey said they see this as "traffic control and public safety. She asked to expand the guards to the other 2 elementary schools for the coming year and then discuss more. Ms. Riehle said she is reluctant for the City to pay for this. She noted seeing a school bus drops off 10 children just 2 blocks from the school. Mr. Chalnick said it was clear to him. If the schools hire, fire, evaluate, etc., they pay for the guards. If it is a Public Works person acting as guard, the city pays. Ms. Emery said the money ultimately comes from the same pocket. When she questioned why children can't ride the city buses, she was told by the school district: "we are responsible to get kids to school safely." CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 6 Ms. Riehle said she agrees with the City funding the guard for Marcotte School this year because of the on-going construction. She noted it is more of an expense for the City to fund the guards than for the State Education Fund. Ms. Bailey said the request is in direct response to development happening in the city, especially at Marcotte. They had no objection to the guards being city staff members, like Police. She said the school district is not anxious to have this responsibility. Mr. Barritt moved to fund $10,212.00 for a crossing guard for Marcotte School for FY24, related to construction in the area. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Chief Locke said this will be put in the FY25 budget, if necessary. 8. Other Business: Mr. Barritt cautioned the public against "free flash drives" as once they are plugged in, everything on that device can be monitored. He said people should not plug anything into their computers that they didn't buy from a reputable source. 9. Consider entering into executive session for the purposes of: A. Discussing contracts and the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase or lease options B. Discussing contracts and the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase or lease options C. Discussing pending litigation to which the City is a party D. Discussing labor relations with employees and specifically those related to the City's contract with AFSCME Mr. Barritt moved that the Council make a specific finding that premature general public knowledge of the Council's discussion of: a. Contracts and Negotiating or Securing of Real Estate Purchase or Lease Options b. Contracts and Negotiating or Securing of Real Estate Purchase or Lease Options c. Pending Civil Litigation to which the City is a party d. Labor Relations Agreements with Employees CITY COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2023 PAGE 7 would clearly put the public body at a substantial disadvantage. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Barritt then moved that the City Council enter into Executive Session under 1 V.S.A. Section 313(a)(1)(A),(B), and €and V.S.A. Section 212(a)(2) for the purpose of discussing: a. Contracts and Negotiating or Securing of Real Estate Purchase or Lease Options b. Contracts and Negotiating or Securing of Real Estate Purchase or Lease Options c. Pending Civil Litigation to which the City is a party d. Labor Relations agreement with employees Inviting Ms. Baker, Chief Locke, Mr. Conner, Mr. McNeil, and Tom and Janet Bellevance into the session for discussion of the first topic; inviting Ms. Baker, Chief Locke, Mr. Conner, Mr. McNeil and Carol McQuillen into the discussion of the second topic; and inviting Ms. Baker, Chief Locke, and Mr. McNeil into the third and fourth topics. Ms. Emery seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The Council entered Executive Session at 8:45 p.m. Following the Executive Session,as there was no further business to come before the Council Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at p.m. (f3k777___ssN Clerk