HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - Steering Committee - 06/18/2018STEERING COMMITTEE 18 JUNE 2019
The South Burlington Steering Commi ee held a mee ng on Tuesday, 18 June 2019 in the 2nd Floor
Conference Room of the Police Sta on, 19 Gregory Drive. MEMBERS PRESENT: City Council: H. Riehle, Steering Commi ee Chair; T. Barri , M. Emery, D. Kaufman; K.Dorn, City Manager; School Board: E. Fitzgerald, A. Henry, B. Burkhardt, B. Minier, A. McHenry; David Young,
Superintendent of Schools 1. Direc ons on How to Leave the Building in Case of an Emergency:
Mr. Dorn provided direc ons on how to proceed in case of an emergency. 2. Agenda Review: Addi ons, dele ons or changes in order of agenda items:
No changes were made to the Agenda. 3. Comments & Ques ons from the public not related to the Agenda:
There were no public comments and ques ons. 4. Minutes of 8 May 2019:
Ms. Emery moved to approve the minutes or 8 May 2019 as wri en. Mr. Barri seconded. Mo on passedunanimously. 5. Market Street Update:
Mr. Dorn said that engineering is con nuing. It is expected that stormwater and parking lot design work will becompleted by the end of this week or next. Design work on the building is almost complete, and bids from sub-contractors are in. The plans are in the subdivision process now. Both the subdivision and site plan will have an
administra ve review process. The city will be applying at the same me for the stormwater permits from theState. Mr. Dorn advised that the School District will have to sign off on about half a dozen documents including the
stormwater design. It will be good to get those documents signed by mid-July. Supt. Young noted that the only
School Board mee ng in July is on the 10th, but, if needed, a special mee ng could be convened.
Mr. Kaufman asked what would be next for the School Board a er that. Supt. Young said con nuing access andsafety concerns. Ms. Fitzgerald said they would also like to see aSTEERING COMMITTEE18 JUNE 2019
PAGE 2 schedule. Mr. Dorn then provided a sequencing as follows: access to the school (the new road will get roughedin), access to Allard Square underground parking, the City Hall/Library/Senior Center building, parking lot and
stormwater (a er school is out). The hope is to be in the ground in November. Supt. Young cited the need to be sensi ve to parents’ concerns although they know it will be be er in the end. Mr. Dorn noted that once the contract is signed with the contractor, it is their show. There will be a Clerk of the
Works. Ms. Riehle said that person will have to know whom to contact at the school. Mr. Kaufman addedthere will also have to be communica on with the Market St. contractor. Mr. Dorn said there are weeklyconstruc on mee ngs. Ms. Fitzgerald was concerned that there may not be enough informa on at thosemee ngs. Ms. Riehle said the city will try to impress “flexibility” on the contractor. Mr. Dorn said that if ground
isn’t broken by November, Market St. will be done, and the road will be passable by then with just theameni es to be completed (e.g., trees, sidewalk, etc.).
6. Master Planning & Visioning:
Supt. Young noted that at the 6 June School Board mee ng, members voted to go with “op on 8” which
includes the building of a new High School and Middle School. A more defined plan is being put together, andthe School District will keep the city informed as the plans develop.
The projects will have to go to the voters, and the thought is to have a bonding vote in March. Supt. Young
noted there is no state aid for construc on in Vermont (Massachuse s and New York provide 80%). The cost isborne in the school’s opera ng budget. Supt. Young added that Vermont is going to see more and moreproblems around school infrastructure.
Ms. Riehle asked about the process for ge ng feedback from the public. Supt. Young said communica on willbe very important. They are now in the process of laying out the needs. He also noted that the stewardshipplan will con nue with the elementary schools.
The loca on of the new buildings has not yet been decided, but there will be a connec on between them. Theexis ng buildings will come down. Ms. Burkhardt said if the public doesn’t support a new Middle School, thereare some other op ons, par cularly in the way of infrastructure.
Ms. Riehle asked if there is a budget figure. Supt. Young said op on 8 was in the vicinity of over $100,000,000. Ms. Fitzgerald cited the cost of maintaining buildings that are over 60 years old.STEERING COMMITTEE
18 JUNE 2019
PAGE 3 Mr. Kaufman asked how many years they can bond for. Supt. Young said 30 years. He added that only about
30% of the South Burlington households have children in the schools. Mr. Kaufman said there may also be
many households where the children have already gone through the schools. Supt. Young cited the exit polldone at the recent elec on, par cularly why people chose to live in South Burlington.
Ms. Emery noted the city has a new web site called “Consensus” which can do surveys and inform people of
op ons, etc. Ms. Fitzgerald suggested that the Council may be interested in a tour of the schools. She noted a concern withthe level of supervision due to the configura on of the buildings.
Mr. Kaufman strongly recommended that the School Board build its case before giving people the cost. Mr. Barri stressed the importance of the Grand List in this. New housing starts will help.
Supt. Young noted they will be having one of the largest High School classes entering this coming year. Ms.Burkhardt added that they are already over capacity there. Supt. Young said that renova ons will not addressthe issues.
7. Follow up on Communica ons and Transparency Between Council and Board: Ms. Riehle noted that the Council had some brief discussions. Ms. Fitzgerald said the School Board has cited
the need for mely communica on of issues. She expressed concern that the School Board was not invited tomee ngs where there might be School District interest. She added that Councilor a endance at 2 recentSchool Board mee ngs was appreciated.
Ms. Emery said she would prefer to work out issues at Steering Commi ee mee ngs. She noted one requestfrom Supt. Young to be on the Council agenda (re: “Black Lives Ma er”) and felt that should be a model as itwas very effec ve and respec ve each board’s me.
It was suggested that at the end of mee ngs each board consider any things the other board may need toknow.
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8. Council proposal for a forum(s) on domes c violence and sexual assault: Ms. Riehle said the Council had reached out to Gar Smith to join a group that has go en together following the
domes c violence murder last May. The group cited the need to have some outreach in the community. Anevent related to domes c violence is being scheduled for October and a second event related to sexual assaultin April. Ms. Emery added they are looking for allies in the community to develop a system of support to letteenagers know there are people who care.
Supt. Young said the schools have added layers of complexity to instruc on (e.g. drug-related, etc.) This, too, isimportant, but they have to be careful of stretching resources. Ms. Fitzgerlad noted they had leveraged somestudent leadership around “healthy rela onships.”
Ms. Emery asked if the school auditorium can be used for the events. Supt. Young said they are happy to talkabout it.
9. Future Agenda Topics: Ms. Fitzgerald suggests “Poten al Ballot Items.”
Ms. Riehle suggested what each board recommends for restructuring communica ons. 10. Confirm Next Mee ng Date:
Members agreed to meet again on 28 August, at 6:30 p.m. Loca on to be determined. 11. Other Business:
No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Commi ee, Mr. McHenry moved to adjourn. Mr. Barri seconded. Mo on passed unanimously. The mee ng was adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
______________________________________, Clerk