Snow removal, towing fees on Montpelier council agenda
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By Sarah Hinckley Times Argus Staff - Published: November 19, 2008
MONTPELIER – How could winter maintenance in the capital city be better this year than it was last year?
Less snow, according to Public Works Director Todd Law, who is scheduled to go before the City Council during the regular meeting on Wednesday to present the city's winter operations plan and answer questions and address concerns from the public and the council.
"Last year was hopefully not a typical year," said Law about the non-stop snowfall that kept public works employees busy all winter. "We've talked about reducing overnight hours. I don't think we're proposing anything drastic. We want the council to understand what we do."
That issue tops a number of agenda items to be taken up beginning at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.
City officials fielded complaints last winter about sidewalk and road maintenance. Purchase of a second sidewalk plowing machine was recently approved by the council. Last winter, one was out of commission and the remaining machine was responsible for clearing all 25 miles of sidewalk in the city.
"I'm hoping that we have a normal year," said Law who had to pull water/sewer employees to help with winter operations. The public works department budgeted about $64,000 for overtime hours but at least $105,000 was spent last winter. "It was not a good situation."
Also during the meeting is the first of two public hearings to consider an ordinance amendment for the storage of vehicles towed by the city. Police Chief Anthony Facos has proposed the city remove a storage fee limit not exceeding $12 per day from the city's code of ordinances.
The city sets a rate not to exceed $100 for towing a vehicle, which is based on a contract with a private towing company. But Facos is looking to take the storage fee out of the ordinance because the city does not receive revenue from storage fees and the issue of storing a towed vehicle is between the owner and the towing company, he said.
Bob's Sunoco has been awarded the city's contract for towing for the last several years, according to Facos, and the actual price of storage with Bob's Sunoco is closer to $40 per day, according to Facos.
Also under ordinance amendments, members of the city council are scheduled to discuss Vermont Compost Co. owner Karl Hammer's request from their last meeting. After speaking with Facos about steps to take to reduce the number of times police are asked to respond to the Main Street business and residence, Hammer went before the council.
Most of the calls to the city's police are from one neighbor who has filed several complaints about Hammer's dogs barking and chickens loose on their property. Hammer, his attorney and the city's attorney are undergoing litigation to reach a solution in the matter. Police have recommended fencing the property, according to Facos.
"There is a fence, but it does not completely encompass the area," he said. "We've done everything we can to work with all parties involved."
As a pre-cursor to the budget season, Kellogg-Hubbard Library Executive Director Dan Pudvah has requested a slot of time during the council meeting to provide an annual update. He is also expected to discuss the library's budget request for next fiscal year.
In the consent agenda portion of the meeting, members of the council will be asked to consider an application to the Environmental Protection Agency for $200,000 to clean up the Carr Lot. Located on Taylor Street, the lot is home to the city's Greyhound Transit terminal.
Earlier this year, soil from the site was excavated and sent away for testing. A 19-page data report of the findings has been received by city and region officials. With the results, the city will be better able to determine the future use of the site.
For a full look at the agenda, go to http://www.montpelier-vt.org/council/agenda.cfm.
Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@timesargus.com.
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