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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/21/2020CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 21 January 2020, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, T. Chittenden, D. Kaufman Also Present: K. Dorn, City Manager; T. Hubbard, Deputy City Manager; A. Bolduc, City Attorney; I. Blanchard, Project Manager; S. Dory, P. Taylor, R. Smith, J. Quinn, P. Blizzard, E. Schait, S. Dopp, R. Greco, M. Cota, P. O’Brien, E. Langfeldt, N. Anderson, A. Strong,, L. Murphy, A. Hart, J. Nick, L. Waters, L. Smith, other members of the pubic 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency: Mr. Dorn provided instructions on emergency evacuation of the building. 2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 3. Comments and Questions from the public not related to the agenda: No issues were raised. 4. Announcements and City Manager’s Report: Council members reported on meetings and events they had attended in recent weeks. Mr. Dorn: The Steering Committee will meet on 22 January at 6:00 p.m. in the Middle School Library. Following that meeting, the City Council will hold a special meeting at 7:15 p.m. in the small conference room at City Hall. The Senate Finance Committee is meeting on Thursday regarding TIF amendments. Staff is working with Dr. Schwartz regarding parking issues on Brookwood Rd and Sherry Rd. Work is progressing on the Williston Road streetscape. 5. Possible executive session to receive confidential attorney-client communications related to the pending appeal of City of Burlington Zoning Permits #20-0493CA and #20-0514CA: Members discussed who would attend the executive session. Mr. Bolduc noted that in this particular case, the Council has broad discretion. Mr. Chittenden said he would like as much of this issue as possible to be heard in public. Ms. Waters and Mr. L. Smith noted they had information to share with the Council which they would not make public and asked to do this in CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 2 executive session. Ms. Emery said she would like to invite those residents to the executive session to hear their strategy. Mr. Barritt moved that the Council make a specific finding that premature general public knowledge of: 1) confidential attorney-client communications made for the purpose of providing professional legal services to the Council, and 2) legal strategy related to the city appeal of the City of Burlington Zoning Permits #20-0514CA and #20-0493CA would clearly place the City at a substantial disadvantage. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Barritt then moved that having so found, the Council enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing the matter identified in the previous motion and to invite in Messrs. Dorn, Hubbard and McNeill and Laura Waters and Laurie Smith. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The Council entered executive session at 6:48 p.m. and returned to open session at 7:35 p.m. 6. Consider and possibly approve action related to the pending appeals of City of Burlington Zoning Permits #20-0493CA and #20-0514CA: Mr. Barritt moved to direct Attorney NcNeil to change the contract to the wording agreed upon in executive session for presentation to the Burlington lawyers on 22 January and upon both attorneys’ agreement, then withdraw the appeal. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. FY19 Audit Presentation: Mr. Smith referred to the study done by Ethan Allen Institute of the financial health of communities in Vermont. He noted that the study focused on the General Fund balance which is why South Burlington placed as low as it did. The study did not take into account such assets as impact fees, reserve accounts, Enterprise Funds, TIF funding, etc., which, in South Burlington, amounts to about $8,000,000. Mr. Smith said South Burlington is at least “average” when those assets are figured in. Mr. Smith noted that South Burlington’s financial condition improved remarkably in FY2019. Instead of having only 10 days emergency reserve, the city now has 20 days. Revenues were also higher than expected, and there is $15,000,000 in equity in the TIF fund. CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 3 The city still has an unfunded pension obligation which on 30 June was $7,800,000. This is probably average compared to other municipalities. Mr. Smith suggested the City have a plan to reduce that obligation. Mr. Hubbard said the city has taken some steps and he feels is doing OK with the pension plan. Ms. Riehle noted the School District is proposing a bond issue for $210,000,000. She asked if there is too large a debt for a community of South Burlington’s size. Mr. Smith said that the City would be allowed to borrow up to $3,000,000,000 (10% of the Grand List). The problem is when you borrow a huge amount, the city is looked at very carefully. Mr. Smith felt the Bond Bank would not be an option for so large a debt and he questioned whether such a large loan would even be doable. He suggested that the city could have a “debt policy” so it could look at things before an outsider does. Mr. Smith said he would reach out to the auditor who works with the School District. 8. Annual Report from Pension Fund Manager: Mr. Blizzard noted that the annual return in an election year is about 11%. He then reviewed the performance overview and noted that every asset class last year was positive though longer maturities did better. Technology, communications and financials all did well; energy did not. Some emerging regions in Europe also did very well. There are still trade and tariff wars ahead which hurts the market though Mr. Blizzard believes a recession is a long way off. South Burlington was up 19.5% for the calendar year 2019. It was up 7.9% for the first 6 months of the fiscal year. There was about $1,000,000 in disbursements, but even with that there was a positive of 6%. Ms. Riehle asked about investing in “sustainable companies.” Mr. Blizzard said that is an area for growth in the future, and there are managers going out for those companies. 9. FY19 Pension Valuation: Mr. Schait, the Actuary for the Pension Plan, said the city is not in bad shape compared to everyone else. Mr. Hubbard noted that all new employees are in a new plan which is more consistent with what other communities are doing. CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 4 The city’s recommended contribution is $1,300,000, which is down from $1,800,000. A little less than half of that goes to the unfunded liability. At the Entry Age Normal liability, the city is 85.29% funded (the average plan is 73% funded, VMERS is 80.5% funded). The city’s actual return was 4.97% vs. the assumed 7.25%. The plan’s overall experience was more favorable than expected. Mr. Schait reviewed the mortality assumptions for both public safety and non-public safety personnel. The assumed retirement age for public safety is 53 and for non-public safety 65. It will be another year or 2 before these calculations are reviewed again. 10. FY 19 Tax Increment Financing District Annual Report: Ms. Blanchard noted that from 2012 to April 2018, the overall growth of the Grand List in the TIF district was up $84,000. $162,000 was paid on interest on the debt (Market Street and City Center Park). This is being serviced from the reserve fund. Ms. Blanchard confirmed that that $5,000,000 for the community building will come from TIF funds. Ms. Blanchard noted that if the city can’t get land for an urban park, it will come out of the plan. Also, if stormwater mitigation is not being done, that will come out of the plan as well. Mr. Chittenden noted that there is only a year and half left in which to incur TIF eligible debt. Ms. Blanchard said the projects that will be moving forward include Dumont Park, City Center Park, Garden Street (which is in design and would be 100% TIF eligible), the pedestrian bridge over I89 (which has been scoped and is 50% TIF eligible) and the City Hall/Library/Senior Center building (under construction). TIF revenue this year was $104,000 which came close to meeting the debt payment. Next year this figure will include more subdivisions and new construction. Another Garden Street project of 130 units will be on the list in 2021. The city can collect funds from new buildings until 2030. Regarding employment opportunities, there were 5 total jobs created (3 moved from other parts of the city, 1 was created, 1 was to service Allard Square. $5,000,000 was paid for work done by Vermont companies. CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 5 11. Consider and Possibly Approve a resolution related to establishing “no parking” along the north side of White Street to enable the creation of a bike lane: Mr. Anderson reviewed the history. He noted that parking is now permitted on the north side of White Street, but part of the Chamberlin Neighborhood Plan was to include a bike lane on White Street (also one on Airport Drive). The proposed plan would create bike lanes on both sides of the street. Travel lanes would be reduced. A long-term plan would include a sidewalk on the north side as well. Mr. Anderson showed a plan of which this would look like. Benefits of the proposal include slowing traffic, providing a safer route to Chamberlin School, and providing a safer route to the Post Office and to Williston Road. Mr. Barritt moved to approve the resolution establishing “no parking” along the north side of White Street to enable creation of a bike lane. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Council discussion and possible approval of the Warning of a public hearing related to the status of Interim Zoning in the City of South Burlington: Mr. Dorn suggested a special meeting on 11 February at which time the Council would hear from all of the Interim Zoning committees. Mr. Kaufman moved to set a special meeting on 11 February, 6:30 p.m., related to the status of interim zoning. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Report of the Interim Zoning Committee on Open Space: Mr. Strong noted that staff is putting together the full report on the city’s web site. Mr. Strong then reviewed the committee’s charge which, in addition to previous reports, was the focus of their work. He noted they used two tools for assessment: The South Burlington Natural Resources Inventory Map and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources BioFinder. The committee began with 189 properties of more than 4 acres and with less than 10% impervious surface. They also overlaid the highest priority areas in BioFinder. They then CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 6 looked at parcels in 5 categories: water (riparian, connectivity, etc.), wildlife, forest, aesthetics (viewsheds), and agricultural. Each had different criteria. They used a parcel-based approach and a presence/absence approach and tried to be as objective as possible. Mr. Strong then showed a map of the 189 properties. Of the 189, 133 were in the BioFinder priority areas. Of those 133, 94 had resource attributes in at least 3 categories. Of those 94, 72 were not already conserved. Those 72 were then reduced to 25 using criteria such as small parcel size, properties already slated for development, properties in industrial areas, the Golf Course, and properties within the Winooski River floodplain. Mr. Strong then showed a map of the 25 high-priority areas. 20 of these are in private ownership, 5 are owned by UVM. The committee suggests conversations between the city and UVM as to their plans for those properties. A public forum on the committee’s report is scheduled for next week in the High School cafeteria. The full report contains write-ups on each of the 25 identified parcels. Mr. Barritt asked whether the property owners have been contacted. Mr. Strong said they have not. Mr. Chittenden said he has heard from some of those owners that they are afraid their property values are being reduced and potential buyers are being scared away. He said that if this map is used as an official map, it has direct consequences to property owners. Mr. Strong said he understands the concern. He said the committee hoped this would not be seen as a “taking.” He added that in the best of all worlds, someone would buy the whole parcel for conservation. Mr. Kaufman said that what happens next is a very good question, and the committee may get public input that influences them. Mr. Strong said if development is to go on any one the 25 properties, it is important for there to be careful planning to protect the natural resources. Mr. Murphy, representing the O’Connells who own the Windjammer property, was disappointed that this presentation was being made prior to the public presentation next week. The owner he represents will be severely impacted by this proposed action, and designating the property in this manner will make the properties totally undevelopable. The biggest issue the identifying of the entire parcel. His client’s property is 56 acres, 8 of which are already CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 7 developed. The remainder is open, and 10-15% of that is undevelopable. The other 80% would also now become undevelopable. This devalues the entire 48 acres of the property. Mr. Barritt said none of this law. The city can have the possibility of purchasing properties if they come up for development. He also noted that 3 of the identified properties are in front of the DRB now. Mr. Murphy said they will be asking the committee to reconsider its approach to naming the entire parcel. Mr. Strong noted that a number of the identified properties in the 2002 report have been developed. Mr. Hart, representing Pizzagalli Properties at the Mountain View Office Park, said they are trying to understand what this means. He agreed with Mr. Murphy. If this is just an “inventory of properties,” they are OK with that. But it feels like something more than that and will have an impact on landowners and the investment they have made in their properties. Mr. Langfeldt, representing O’Brien Brothers, said they should be forgiven their anxiety. He felt an equitable approach should not identify an entire parcel when only a sliver of it contains a riparian area. He also felt that property owners were given no warning of this. Ms. Emery said there is another committee looking at some of the 25 parcels for affordable housing. She felt that one of the goals of the process was to have this conversation. She also noted that the city does not have the money to purchase all of the identified parcels. Mr. Kahn, representing Dorset Meadows, said he has read the final TDR report which says those 25 parcels should become sending areas. He felt that a coordination with the TDR report may be the way to go. Mr. Nick, representing Hill Farm, said that 20 of the property’s 100 acres should be on the map. He questioned how that map will be viewed over time and felt that a potential buyer looking at that map would “leave town.” Mr. Barritt cited all the work being done both in South Burlington and in Shelburne, to conserve property around Shelburne Pond. Ms. Emery added that natural resources make it appealing to people to move to South Burlington. Ms. Riehle thanked the committee for the incredible amount of work. CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2020 PAGE 8 14. Consider and possibly approve warning the 2020 annual city meeting ballot to include articles on the FY21 City budget and the election of City Officers and City Councilors: Mr. Chittenden moved to approve the warning for the 2020 Annual City Meeting. Mr. Kaufman seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 15. Consent Agenda: A. Approve and Sign Disbursement B. Authorize granting of easement deeds to and execution of an agreement with Allard Square related to the development of 180 Market Street C. Authorize the City Manager to grant easement deeds to Green Mountain Power related to the development of 180 Market Street Mr. Kaufman moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Reports on Committee Assignments: Ms. Riehle: Airport Master Planning is coming up and will be open to the public on 12 February, 5-7 pm on the second floor of the Airport. Mr. Chittenden asked if the expansion of the Airport Commission is on the Burlington ballot. Ms. Riehle said it is not. 17. Other Business: Mr. Dorn noted receipt of a letter from Tim Hess resigning from the Natural Resources Committee. That leaves only 4 members of that committee, and there have been no responses to requests for more members. Ms. Riehle suggested recreating a committee for both Open Space and Natural Resources. Members agreed to try to do some outreach and then hold a discussion in February. Mr. Dorn also noted the city has been invited to present its budget on Vermont Public Television, Wednesday 29 January, 5:25 p.m. Mr. Barritt agreed to represent the city. As there was no further business to come before the Council, Mr. Kaufman moved to adjourn. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:52p.m.