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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/16/2021CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 16 February 2021, at 6:30 p.m., via Go to Meeting remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, Sen. T. Chittenden, D. Kaufman ALSO PRESENT: K. Dorn, City Manager; T. Hubbard, Deputy City Manager; A. Bolduc, City Attorney; Chief S. Burke, Police Department; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; J. Rabidoux, Public Works Director; C. Baker, CCRPC; T. Horgan, C. McNeil, D. Boyer, K. Monroe, D. Bugbee, Sgt. D. MacDonough, S. Wyman, K. McCarthy, D. Leban, R. Bryant, S Dopp, A. Chalnick, J. Weber, S. Dooley, M. Mittag, K. Vastine, R. Groenevald, J. Louisos, B. Sirvis, R. Greco, C. Frank, H. Gagne, Cpl. S. Pope, Sgt. M. Plunkett 1.Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 2.Comments and Questions from the public not related to the Agenda: No issues were raised. 3.Announcements and City Manager’s Report: Sen. Chittenden noted receipt a call from a Stonehedge resident who felt the city wasn’t towing cars enough, and it was hard to get by on their street. Mr. Rabidoux said there was a similar issue on East Terrace. He’s asked Chief Burke to do a sweep of the area. Mr. Dorn reminded residents that the Ordinance requires cars to be off the street from Midnight till 7 a.m. Ms. Riehle officially recognized the contributions of outgoing School Board members Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Martin Lalonde. There will be a formal recognition of the service at the School Board meeting tomorrow night. Ms. Riehle said that there have been comments that the city was “haphazardly” closed down and committees were asked not to meet. A community member suggested that the Planning Commission was “purposely” shut down and Interim Zoning was extended. She stressed that this was a very thoughtful process. Committee chairs were contacted and were told the challenges. Every committee except the DRB was OK with not meeting. The Planning Commission was OK with taking a break. Nobody realized this would be going on for 12 months, and meetings would still be going on electronically. Ms. Riehle also noted that the Affordable Housing Committee also met because they weren’t using city staff. CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 2 Ms. Emery noted that park maintenance has also been an issue because of fewer employees. Mr. Dorn said that furloughing employees had an effect on non-essential city services. The Fire Department and Police Department did an extraordinary job on the “essential” side. Other services were definitely affected. In addition, a few Public Works people had health issues. There is no question that the COVID response hampered the ability to maintain parks. The staff is small on a good day. Library programming was also reduced. Mr. Dorn said the “flip side” of that is that because of cutting back on some services, and with State and Federal government help, the city ended FY20 in the black. Other communities didn’t fare so well. Mr. Dorn then reported that on 31 March, the community outreach group and city council and selectboard chairs will hold a roundtable discussion regarding the sharing of services under the auspices of Charlie Baker of CCRPC. Next week there will be a round table with State Legislators to address people with mental health issues who are falling through the cracks. Communities are doing well with what is in place, but more needs to be done. On Thursday at noon, staff liaisons will meet regarding shared spaces on the website in order to be of better service to committees. One of the items on tomorrow’s School Board agenda is a discussion of impact fees. Mr. Conner will attend that meeting. The videos on the proposed budgets and the Garden Street ballot item will be on the city’s website. An employees’ town meeting was held remotely last week, and employees were told that City Hall won’t reopen before March 15th at the earliest. There are 127 residents at the Holiday Inn as of today. Funding to house these individuals is running out, and the State is working on what to do next to provide support. This has been funded by CARES Act money from the Feds. 4. Reports from Councilors on Committee Assignments: No reports were presented. Ms. Riehle noted that the Airport Commission will meet tomorrow. CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 3 5. Consent Agenda: a. Consider and Sign Disbursements b. Approve grant application for VTrans 2021 Small-scale Bicycle and Pedestrian Grants c. Approve Roadway Impact Fee In-Kind Credit request – 324 Garden Street/SP- 20-30 d. Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract for Furniture for the South Burlington Public Library Ms. Emery noted improvements for pedestrians on Kennedy Drive. She questioned the 40 mph speed limit and asked Mr. Rabidoux about the decision for a pedestrian crosswalk on a 40 mph road. Mr. Rabidoux said there could be a standard crosswalk or a “hot signal” such as the type used in Essex. A decision has not yet been made. There is also the option to direct management to conduct a speed limit re-evaluation. 6. Update and discussion on the Chittenden Country Regional Planning Commission Interstate 89 Corridor Study: Mr. Baker said CCRPC is looking for feedback over the next few weeks. He then provided demographic forecasts through 2050. These include: a. A 14% increase in population b. A 35% increase in employment c. A 25% increase in households He noted that with more jobs, there will be more “employee importing.” Mr. Baker stressed that the plan is designed to meet the State’s energy and climate goals for the State. He then indicated on a map the areas where the system is now at 90-100% of capacity. Ms. Riehle asked what “severe congestion” means. Mr. Baker said it would be like gridlock. He added that even with investments to get people to use other modes of travel, they system is still heading to capacity and over. The aim of the project is to see what can be done. He also stressed that this focus on interchanges is just one of seven tasks. CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 4 There are three kinds of recommendations being presented: a. Minor capital investments (e.g., shared use paths, crosswalks, etc.) b. Operational investments (e.g., transit services, transportation demand management, etc.) c. Major investments (e.g., interchange or 189 projects, which would require federal involvement The goals of the project are: a. Safety b. Livable healthy communities c. Mobility/efficiency d. Environmental stewardship/resilience e. Economic access and vitality f. System preservation Mr. Baker said there will be 2 rounds of interchange evaluation. They are now down to 3 interchanges which are being evaluated, all of which are in South Burlington. He indicated each of these on a map as follows: a. Exit 12B – Mr. Baker showed the option which would work best and noted that Hinesburg Road (Rt. 116) would probably have to be 4 lanes wide b. Exit 13 – a “hybrid” plan which would convert the partial interchange to allow full movement via a U-turn ramp. Vehicles could get onto I-89 northbound from Kennedy Drive via a new ramp. A second plan would replace Exit 13 with a single point diamond interchange. This would eliminate the need for a southern leg of I-189. It would include a shared use path. There would be fewer bridges and culverts than now. c. Exit 14 – Option 1 would be a diverging diamond plan (as in Colchester). This would have a tighter footprint. It would have less capacity than what exists now by a few per cents. It works well when there are left turning conflicts. Option 2 would be an enhanced cloverleaf. It would tighten up to bring ramps in and signalize them. The safety benefit would be a “distribution lane” instead of merge conflicts. It would have a little more capacity than the diamond but still less than now. CITY COUNCI9L 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 5 Ms. Emery asked if they shouldn’t be increasing capacity. Mr. Baker said the goal is safety and making the area work better. Mr. Kaufman asked if this plan considers the potential of the bridge over the Interstate. Mr. Baker said none of the options would preclude that happening. He did note that the Exit 13 hybrid plan does not include a bike/ped element. Mr. Baker added that the bridge might be better to do soon and the interchange later. Sen. Chittenden said the notion of decertifying I-189 is fascinating and asked whether the feds would allow it. He also asked how all of this would fit with the planned Champlain Parkway which is a few years away. Mr. Baker said the feds have been involved with these plans. There is no issue with downgrading an interstate. There is a movement to do that around the country. Mr. Baker also noted that he had heard that I-189 is the shortest spurt of interstate in the country. There are a number of metrics to evaluate the options and goals, and CCRPC is looking to know if any of these should be changed and how they should be scored. Mr. Baker then showed a chart of goals with existing scores. He noted that CCRPC is looking to know which 2 interchanged to take to the next stage and continue to investigate. Ms. Riehle said she finds this challenging and is trying to think of the best way to proceed and how to engage the public as well. She noted there are a lot of competing interests. Mr. Baker said he would be happy to speak with any group or person to clarify any of this. Mr. Kaufman said that in order to make a decision, the Council will have to site down for a long workshop session some afternoon with maps in front of them. Mr. Dorn asked when Exit 13 and 14 bridges will need to be replaced. Mr. Baker said that could be 20-30 years away. Mr. Dorn said the state does 2 or 3 a year, and if they had a time schedule it would be good to do any other work then. Ms. Frank said the Bike/Ped Committee is willing to pitch in and help. Mr. Barritt liked all the designs but was concerned with cost and timing. CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 6 7. Update on the status of the PUD/Natural Resources work of the Planning Commission: Ms. Louisos said the Commission has done a thorough review of Article 10 (flood plains, etc.) and Article 12 (environmental protection). With the help of CCRPC, they have tightened language, added protection for the 500-year flood plain, reviewed and updated buffers, consolidate river corridor & buffer standards. These articles will be released for public comment. The Commission also has a working draft of LDR changes. They have reviewed PUD general standards and Traditional Neighborhood Development standards and provided feedback on Conservation PUDs. At the next meeting, they will review how all changed would relate to the current system of density. The Commission is moving toward a new “housing type” system instead of a density calculation. They are pushing to wrap this up by early spring. Ms. Louisos noted that in December the Council had asked whether some of the work could be adopted ahead of other work. She said the Commission is reluctant to separate out Articles 10 and 12 because it would create a “messiness” and confusion for the public. Ms. Emery asked what vetting has been done. Ms. Louisos said some pieces have gone to committees and some are with the consultant. Mr. Conner noted he has met with the Affordable Housing Committee and will be meeting with the Recreation/Parks Committee and Natural Resources Committee. Ms. Riehle asked whether the Affordable Housing Committee has been a good way to vet some of these things with the development community. Mr. Conner said there is an active developer on the Affordable Housing Committee, and staff has been in discussion with various developers as to where things are at so they are in the loop as much as they want to be. Mr. Barritt stressed getting this done by May 13, the Interim Zoning date. Ms. Emery said that 9 months seemed doable, and asked what it wasn’t. Ms. Louisos said they talked about the PUD project, they weren’t envisioning so much work on the environmental aspect. Then there was the large break at the beginning of COVID. It also took a while to warm to the idea of virtual meetings. CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 7 8. Consider and approve a one-year collective bargaining agreement with the Police Officers Association: Mr. Bolduc said there is not yet a ratified version, but substantial issues are agreed upon. He noted they went into this with a “step” and “COLA” approach. That doesn’t quite work perfectly with the Police, so the total increase is the same as others that have been negotiated, but they upped the “step” to 2% and decreased the COLA to .6%. Civilian staff got a 1.5 step increase and 1.1 COLA. Corporal and dispatch language was amended to come in line with Act 56 (regarding how internal investigations are handled). Extra duty work was increased from $45 per hour to $47 per hour. Mr. Boyer said if everything is as discussed, there should be a deal. Sen. Chittenden then moved to approve the one-year collective bargaining agreement with the Police Officers Association as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously via a rollcall vote. Ms. Riehle thanked members of the Police Department for their service to the city. 9. Conduct interviews and possibly appoint members to South Burlington Boards, Commissions and Committees: The Council interviewed Stephanie Marie Wyman for appointment to the Development Review board. 10. January Financials: Mr. Hubbard reported that 58% through the fiscal year, revenue is at 64% of projections and expenses are at 50%. There is still a budget freeze. The Fire Department received FEMA money for furniture for the upgrade to Fire Station #2. 75% of property taxes are in. The City Clerk’s recording fees have been amazing and will help with other shortfalls (e.g., building and sign permits, road openings, and investment interest). $169,000 was received for the local option Rooms & Meals tax from November to February 8th. Mr. Hubbard noted that the figure for August to November was $175,000. The local option CITY COUNCIL 16 FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 8 sales tax fared better with $852,000 received from November to February 8th up from $723,000 for August to November. There is still at $500,000 to $600,000 shortfall from what was predicted for the fiscal year. 11.Possible executive session to hear matters related to personnel and to receive advice from Legal Counsel and to discuss appointments to City of South Burlington Committees, Boards and Commissions: Mr. Barritt moved that the Council make a specific finding that premature general public knowledge of the grievance hearings and the information presented therein would clearly place the City and the grievants 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 hearing a grievance, inviting into the session Colin McNeil, Andrew Bolduc, Kevin Dorn, Chief Shawn Burke, Tom Horgan, Sgt. Dave MacDonough, Sgt. Matthew Plunkett, and Corporal Sean Pope, and further to consider appointments to city committees, boards and commissions. Ms. Emery seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The Council entered executive session at 8:56 p.m. and resumed open session at 10:20 p.m. 12.Discuss and possibly make appointments to City of South Burlington Committees, Boards and Commissions: Mr. Barritt moved to appoint Stephanie Marie Wyman to fill the unexpired term on the Development Review Board. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13.Ms. Emery moved to adjourn. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.