CITY HALL

BURLINGTON, VERMONT

MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING

March 11, 2019

                                                                                                APPROVED – 5/13/19

                                                  MEMBERS PRESENT:      Mayor Miro Weinberger

                                                                                                 Karen Paul

                                                            Sharon Bushor

                                                Kurt Wright

                                                Jane Knodell [arrived 5:19 PM]

OTHERS PRESENT:          Beth Anderson, CAO

                                                Rich Goodwin, DFO

                                                Olivia Lavechin, Mayor’s Office

                                                Jordan Redell, Mayor’s Office

                                                Richard Haesler, Assistant City Attorney

                                                Ralphene O’Rourke, Outside Counsel

                                                Stephanie Reed, HR

                                                Ben Pacy, HR

                                                Chapin Spencer, DPW

                                                Rob Green, DPW

                                                Martha Keenan, DPW

                                                Susan Molzon, DPW

                                                Mary Danko, Fletcher Free Library

                                                Adam Roof, City Council

1.0       CALL TO ORDER and AGENDA

Mayor Weinberger called the meeting to order at 5:10 PM on March 11, 2019.

1.01 Agenda

MOTION by Council President Wright, SECOND by Councilor Bushor, to approve the agenda as presented. VOTING: unanimous [Councilors Paul and Knodell not present for vote]; motion carried.

2.0       PUBLIC FORUM

There were no comments from the public.

3.0       MINUTES

3.01 December 10, 2018

MOTION by Councilor Bushor, SECOND by Council President Wright, to adopt the 12/10/18 minutes as presented. VOTING: unanimous [Councilor Knodell not present for vote]; motion carried.

3.02 December 17, 2018

MOTION by Councilor Bushor, SECOND by Council President Wright, to approve the 12/17/18 minutes with the correction to the motion in Item 3 (land donation) to show Council President Wright as making the second. VOTING: unanimous [Councilor Knodell not present for vote]; motion carried.

4.0       APPROVE AND RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL

4.01 Reclassify Cash & Banking Accountant Position – C/T

MOTION by Councilor Bushor, SECOND by Council President Wright, to approve and recommend to City Council the reclassification of the Cash & Banking Accountant position from Regular, full time, union, non-exempt, Grade 16 to Cash & Banking Accountant II, Regular, full time, union, non-exempt, Grade 17, and note that the incumbent will be placed in range in the new paygrade. VOTING: unanimous [Councilor Knodell not present for vote]; motion carried.

4.02 Reclassify/Retitle Acquisitions Supervisor Position - Library

MOTION by Council President Wright, SECOND by Councilor Bushor, to approve and recommend to City Council to adopt the resolution on the reclassification/retitle of the Acquisitions Supervisor position at Fletcher Free Library.

DISCUSSION:

• Councilor Bushor asked if the responsibilities of more than one individual are incorporated into one. Library Director Danko said the position will be managing the digital content at the library along with other responsibilities.

VOTING: unanimous [Councilor Knodell not present for vote]; motion carried.

4.03 Sidewalk Tractor Vehicle Purchase - DPW

DPW Assistant Director Green explained the existing sidewalk tractors are old and requiring more maintenance. The public is demanding clear sidewalks. New equipment is needed.

MOTION by Councilor Bushor, SECOND by Council President Wright, to approve and recommend to City Council the authorization of the DPW Director to execute a contract to purchase a sidewalk tractor from Howard P. Fairfield, LLC for a total cost of $126,086 subject to approval by the City Attorney.

            DISCUSSION:

• Councilor Bushor mentioned residents want to be able to get out of their houses and move around so plowing the sidewalks is important.

VOTING: unanimous; motion carried.

4.04 North Avenue Unsignalized Pedestrian Crosswalks – DPW

MOTION by Council President Wright, SECOND by Councilor Knodell, to approve and recommend to City Council for approval the authorization of the DPW Director to execute a construction contract with Don Weston Excavating, Inc. for $213,575 to complete the north Avenue Unsignalized Pedestrian Crosswalks Project subject to City Attorney approval, and further, to authorize the use of an additional $16,425 in contingency funds (8%) for a total of $230,000 all of which is subject to and included in the FY20 budget.

            DISCUSSION:

• Councilor Bushor commented positively on the completeness of the information packet, and asked if the committee looked at cost, investment, and ways to change the timeline to be more responsive. Mayor Weinberger said any ideas on how to shorten the timeline with federally funded projects is welcomed. DPW Director Spencer said federal funding is complicated to use and requires extra steps. The project has been advancing and will get to construction.
• Council President Wright asked if the project could have been done without federal funds. DPW Engineer Molzon said construction cost is $230,000 and the project budget is $330,000. The city might have saved on design cost by using just city funds, but construction cost would have been the same. The federal and state funds are 80% match on a grant of $220,000.
• Councilor Bushor asked about getting loan money in anticipation of the grant. DPW Director Spencer said this can be investigated. There are formulated steps with VTrans and Federal Highway that require using outside design firms. DPW Engineer Molzon said the delay is not in getting paid because the city will be reimbursed.
• Council President Wright asked if the repair of the number of potholes in the city impacts the project. DPW Engineer Molzon said this is mostly sidewalk work and striping crosswalks.

VOTING: unanimous; motion carried.

4.05 Construction Contract for Calendar Year 2019 Sidewalk Program - DPW

MOTION by Councilor Bushor, SECOND by Council President Wright, to approve and recommend to City Council for approval the authorization of the DPW Director to execute a construction contract with SD Ireland Brothers Corporation (SDI) for $1,206,401 for the Calendar Year 2019 Sidewalk Program subject to approval by the City Attorney, and to authorize the DPW Director to increase the authorized amount if needed for the Calendar Year 2019 Sidewalk Program to $1,306,000 through the use of $99,599 in contingency funds (8.3%), and to execute the necessary contract amendments up to the contingency limit subject to approval by the City Attorney. VOTING: unanimous; motion carried.

4.06 Contract for Calendar Year 2019 Sidewalk Program Inspection Services - DPW

MOTION by Council President Wright, SECOND by Councilor Knodell, to approve and recommend to City Council for approval the authorization of the DPW Director to execute a contract with Staff Sterling Management, LLC in the amount of $103,345 for inspection services for the Calendar Year 2019 Sidewalk Program subject to the prior approval of the City Attorney and approval of the FY20 CIP Budget. VOTING: unanimous; motion carried.

4.07 Execute Closing Documents for Sale of Burlington Telecom to Champlain Broadband, LLC – BT

It was noted there will be an Executive Session with the full city council on this matter. There was discussion of the service competition agreements and provisions for paying fees in a dispute. There was also discussion of easements. Councilor Bushor expressed concern about what appears to be a lack of balance in the language and was assured by the Assistant City Attorney that the language is not uncommon.

Councilor Knodell asked why there are three parties noted in the Asset Purchase Agreement (Bluewater, the city, Schurz). It was noted intellectual property transfers except domain names. BT is transferring to Champlain Broadband.

5.0       EXECUTIVE SESSION

5.01 Fire Grievance Settlement

Removed from agenda.

6.0       COMMUNICATION

6.01 January Financials – C/T

CAO Anderson reported:

• Building permit revenues are better than previously reported.
• Planning & Zoning is ahead of last year.
• General Fund is on target to budget.
• There is some staff attrition, but not a significant impact.
• Health insurance is trending well, but not as good as last year (still ahead of budget).
• Workers Comp is worse than last year due to payouts on older claims.
• Budget adjustments may be made for the FY2020 budget.

7.0 ADJOURNMENT

MOTION by Councilor Knodell, SECOND by Councilor Bushor, to suspend the Board of Finance meeting. VOTING: unanimous; motion carried.

The meeting was suspended at 5:53 PM.

RScty: MERiordan