HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - Steering Committee - 04/22/2019STEERING COMMITTEE 22 APRIL 2019
The South Burlington Steering Commi ee held a mee ng on Monday, 22 April 2019, at 6:30 p.m., in theConference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street.
MEMBERS PRESENT: City Council: H. Riehle, Steering Commi ee Chair; M. Emery, T. Barri , T. Chi enden, D.Kaufman; K. Dorn, City Manager; School Board: E. Fitzgerald, M. Lalonde, A. Henry, B. Burkhardt; D. Young,Superintendent of Schools
ALSO PRESENT: Andrew Bolduc, City A orney; J. Murray, Librarian; H. Rees, Recrea on Department; J.Kochman, S. Dooley, P. Taylor, M. Mitag, M. Ostby, P. Leduc, D. Bugbee, F. Burkhardt, other members of the
public
1. Agenda Review:
No changes were made to the agenda.
2. Direc ons on how to leave the building in case of an emergency:
Mr. Dorn provided direc ons on leaving the building in an emergency.
3. Comments & Ques ons from the public not related to the agenda:
There were no comments or ques ons.
4. Communica ons and trust between the City and the School District:a. Issues of trust between the Council and School Board
b. Communica ons channels and their appropriate usesc. Timingd. General protocolse. Changing of structure of Steering Commi ee
Ms. Riehle noted that the City Council had asked for this mee ng because of communica ons issues betweenthe Council and School Board and also because of the stormwater issue at 180 Market Street. She said that
both boards are working on enormous issues that take a lot of me and energy, and miscommunica ons andmisinforma on have pulled the boards in separate direc ons. She suggested that the first hour of the mee ngbe devoted to confron ng the communica on problem and iden fying a process moving forward. The secondhour would address the stormwater issue and possible solu ons.
To begin the discussion, Ms. Riehle asked what people needed for the conversa on to go well.
Mr. Kaufman: Cited the need to remember that “we are all on the same team.” He also cited the need to work
together and to focus on the future.
Mr. Lalonde: Agreed with Mr. Kaufman.
STEERING COMMITTEE
22 APRIL 2019PAGE 2 Ms. Emery: Assumed all members come with good inten ons and all have the op on to correct may have
been said.
Ms. Fitzgerald: Had a disagreement on the scope of the agenda and hoped that can be agreed on.
Mr. Barri : Felt this would be the forum for “blunt honesty.” Also cited the need to work jointly.
Mr. Burkhardt: Expressed the need for the community not to be “confused.”
Mr. Chi enden: To iden fy op on and move forward.
Mr. Henry: Agreed with what everyone else said then added that Central School has a special place in his heartand he didn’t like it “being toyed around with.” Also spoke of a need for “consistency and clarity” with regard
to requests.
Ms. Riehle then asked members about issues on how the 2 boards are working together that need to be talkedabout.
Ms. Fitzgerald: She said she appreciated the scope of what the Council does and noted the School Board’smission is to provide the best educa on for students. She felt that some of the challenges involve differentpriori es and different me-lines. She also saw a lack of clarity on human and economic resources.
Ms. Riehle acknowledged that the boards have special areas to respond to but that stressed that they
some mes overlap.
Mr. Kaufman: felt the boards are “joined at the hip but with ‘special es.’” He also noted that all other boards
of the city are under the City Council. Because the School Board is not, there needs to be communica on.
Ms. Burkhardt: expressed concern that mee ngs get cancelled, and people who are expected to be at mee ngs
aren’t there. She also felt the boards get together only rarely, then each goes its separate way. She cited theneed for communica on between mee ngs. She also felt there is a different understand about what is“confiden al.”
Mr. Chi enden: felt joint mee ngs are “polished with restraint.”
Ms. Fitzgerald: said people don’t come prepared regarding what the issue or challenge is because informa on
is not shared in advance.
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22 APRIL 2019
PAGE 3 Ms. Riehle ques oned whether this is the result of the senior leadership mee ngs not achieving their intent.
Mr. Barri : noted that the City Council works hard to get the school budget passed. Mr. Henry agreed.
Ms. Emery: said the city has never experienced any kind of collabora on in the past like what is happening nowwith City Center. There has been a strain because of 2 different policy areas. She cited an instance at a joint
mee ng where Council members asked a ques on and there was only silence in response which the Council did
not know how to interpret. City Center is a unique situa on which requires careful discussion, and she thoughtthat had happened and was surprised to hear that it wasn’t perceived that way.
Ms. Burkhardt: said she felt the School Board was being asked to be excited about City Center, and she wasn’t. She felt the School Board did its best to nego ate an agreement. She also felt that if she spoke out, she wouldbe seen as “non-suppor ve.”
Ms. Fitzgerald: said the School Board had come to that par cular mee ng with the intent to nail down an
agreement but was surprised that there s ll no costs done.
Ms. Riehle then asked what steps could be taken to improve communica on, coopera on, and mutual support.
Ms. Burkhardt: said the City gets the community excited about a project that involves school property before
there is communica on with the School Board regarding that project. She felt the City should come to theSchool Board earlier in the process.
Ms. Riehle responded that that should work both ways.
Ms. Fitzgerald: suggested more frequent Steering Commi ee mee ngs with adequate prepara on, also thepossibility of sub-commi ees that can report back. She noted the frequency of mee ngs between the BoardChairs, City Manager and School Superintendent should increase.
Mr. Chi enden: felt the two boards should be expanded to 7 members so there are more people to address thechallenges.
Ms. Burkhardt: suggested a member from each board should a end the other board’s mee ngs.
Members then addressed the issue of use of social media.
STEERING COMMITTEE22 APRIL 2019PAGE 4
Ms. Emery: cited the issue of a city-wide vote in which 74% of voters approved the new Library-City Hall-SeniorCenter building and there then appeared comments on social media that the process should “start over.” Although the School Board has a policy that members not use social media, Ms. Emery said some School Boardmembers used “closely related proxies” to say something false regarding financing and to try to sabotage that
City Center project. Mr. Dorn noted that he and Superintendent Young talk very o en and have no reluctance to call each other. Hefelt the key is leadership mee ngs and finding a day that is convenient for all of them.
Ms. Riehle suggested members review the mee ng minutes and notes and pick the top threeissues/sugges ons to work on and submit these to Mr. Dorn or Supt. Young who will collate the responses.
5. 180 Market Street – update and discussion of pending issues: Ms. Fitzgerald said the School Board feels that any addi onal land required from the School District should bevoted on.
Mr. Dorn noted that there are 4 issues involving stormwater:1. The City’s building, which will be served by a new stormwater pond behind Pier One2. The easement, which will all be handled on site and will cost the taxpayers $100,000 for an
underground system3. The school parking lot for which the School Board has the authority to design a system whichthe City will build4. The school building
Ms. Fitzgerald said that at prior mee ng, one specific benefit to the school district was that stormwater wouldbe treated on the easement.
Mr. Dorn read from the Memorandum of Understanding that the city was not responsible for designing theSchool District’s stormwater facility but was responsible to pay for its construc on. There would be no loss ofparking spaces at Marco e School. He also read from the ballot item approved by the voters. He stressed thatif something is not in the MOU, it does not exist. He also stressed that the highest authority is the vote of the
public. STEERING COMMITTEE22 APRIL 2019
PAGE 5 Ms. Emery also noted that the city will maintain the school’s stormwater treatment facility which, Mr. Dornnoted, needs to be cleaned out periodically.
Ms. Fitzgerald said the School Board will discuss that with their legal counsel and at their next mee ng on 1May.
Mr. Dorn said that both en es should be doing their best to clean up the city’s 4 waterways and LakeChamplain. He reiterated that the city will build and pay for the school’s stormwater treatment facility. Ms. Burkhardt said the School Board was shown a map with 9 parking spaces and a stormwater facility on the
easement. They were told there would be parking for the city building offsite. The map in January showed 30parking spaces and no stormwater treatment on the easement.
Mr. Dorn said the agreement was that there will be no net loss of parking for the school, 131 spaces. Engineershave now determined how much stormwater treatment is needed.
Ms. Emery said that what may have been on the page in June was in no way what was on the final design. That
is no longer a concept. The building has now been designed. The agreement clearly says the city will pay forthe School District’s stormwater. Trea ng the stormwater is state law.
Mr. Dorn stressed that the city does not need to own the 4/10 of an acre on which the stormwater facility
would be located. That would remain the property of the School District. Ms. Burkhardt said that 4/10 of an acre is used for sports and might be needed if there is a re-arrangement of
students from Chamberlin School. It is a school asset. Ms. Riehle responded that it would be an improved
asset as a stormwater treatment facility because the School District is no piping impaired water into animpaired brook and into an impaired Lake.
Mr. Kaufman asked about the possibility of moving the stormwater facility elsewhere on school property. Mr.
Dorn said that could happen. Ms. Riehle noted that the city how has an agreement for off-site parking for the City Center building. She felt it
would be good for the School Board to go over the agreement with their legal counsel. There is a media on
process if there is s ll disagreement. STEERING COMMITTEE
22 APRIL 2019
PAGE 6 Mr. Kaufman noted even if the city were not building a building, the School district would s ll have to solve the
stormwater issue. Now the city is going to pay for it. He asked how that can be a bad deal. He added that all
the money comes from the taxpayers’ pockets. Mr. Lalonde said they thought the stormwater would be treated on the easement, and that would be different.
Ms. Fitzgerald noted that many school districts are facing the same issue, and there has been no discussionregarding funding. She said this would have to be imbedded in their Master Plan. Ms. Riehle cited thepossibility of some state funding. Mr. Dorn noted the Chamberlin stormwater issues may have been addressed
with the facility the City built behind Price Chopper.
Superintendent Young said that when the project was laid out, he did not provide the School Board with anymen on of addi onal property. He felt he should have asked about that, but he didn’t, and he took
responsibility for that.
Ms. Burkhardt said if the current pipe is going to be shut off when Market St. is finished, that is different fromhaving 4 years to deal with the issue.
Mr. Kaufman encouraged the School Board to meet with their engineers regarding op ons so the City buildingcan move forward this year. He hoped issues could be solved in the next few weeks with a good compromise.
6. Create and set date for next Steering Commi ee mee ng:
Ms. Riehle suggested possibly having a stormwater engineer present at that mee ng. Members agreedtenta vely to meet on 8 May, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Ms. Riehle then asked for public comment regarding be er collabora on. Ms. Kochman: Suggested that at the end of mee ngs there be a summary of what has gone on at the mee ng.
She very much wants to see City Center built.
Ms. Ostby: Suggested pu ng more informa on into the agendas, including where the public can finddocuments.
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22 APRIL 2019PAGE 7
Shannon: Wasn’t sure people would have voted for the ballot item if they knew more land would be needed for
stormwater. Candace: At the pre-vote mee ng, it was said parking was 100% handled and it was all set up for stormwater.
Needs to be more clarity on wording, more transparency.
Mr. Burkhardt: It is a surprise that more land needs to be used. He asked if the School Board could find adifferent piece of land to pipe stormwater to. Mr. Dorn said yes, if it works.
Mr. Kaufman stressed that people are as transparent as they can be with the knowledge that is available at the me. There is no intent to misdirect or misinform.
As there was no further business to come before the Boards, the mee ng was adjourned by common consent
at 9:25 p.m.
___________________________________
Clerk