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Town Council Minutes 02/05/2004
AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 5, 2004

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Chamber by Chairman Hines.  Members in attendance:  Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Carlson and Woodford.  Absent: Mr. Shea

PUBLIC HEARINGS:  None

MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING:  January 8, 2004

On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council approve the minutes of the January 8, 2004 meeting as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE - None

COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Chairman Hines reported he attended the Capitol Workforce Partner Program, which by federal law as Chief Elected Official he automatically is part of this.  This program tries to help those who have no employment capabilities to try to become productive workers, the budget is $21,000,000 dollars for this year.  He must attend two meetings and CRCOG provides the insurance to protect him which was a big concern.  After attending and enjoying the involvement, he agreed to go on the Advisory Committee which meets four more times.  They decided to go into the prisons, where there are going to be 6,000 to 7,000 prisoners released within the next two years, we have a captive audience and if we can go in and train them before they come out and give them some jobs, they will be productive.  He is going to continue to work on this as he is very interested in it.

Chairman Hines reported at the Hartford Metro Economic Development Council meeting this week, a woman from Ireland gave a review of what they are doing, they are trying to do the same thing as Connecticut, to go high tech.  Ireland is loaded with American companies as they have the work force, less government interference problems, and less tax.  They are now getting into finance and some insurance as well.  He asked the Town Manager to make copies of all of the e-mails and attachments he received, which contain some good ideas to help improve the Metro in this area.  

Chairman Hines reported at the CRCOG meeting, two things were disturbing to him.  An outfit called Rome/Smith out of Hartford, hired Howard Dean the former First Selectman of Marlboro, the legislator reported all of the ethics bills that were discussed and defeated last year, are coming back to Committee.  All volunteers will have to disclose their full financials, and if that happens he will quit, and not continue.  The former First Selectman of Marlboro knew that, he helped us last year in that area, and will continue to help us this year, and with the Town Manager at CCM and CRCOG we will continue to do our best, but that is a real problem.       

Chairman Hines reported CCM has come out with a Legislative Program and so have CRCOG and COST, and the Town Manager, as president of CCM, has met with the Governor on this.  CRCOG has come out with a Legislative program and decided not to include changes to the binding arbitration rules.  The Town Manager believes from some of his contacts that maybe there is a chance.  What he would like to do, would be to write a letter to our three State Legislators urging them to make changes, as all we want to do is not get rid of a lot, but to give us the opportunity after a binding arbitration go back to  the negotiations rather than binding arbitration.  The State has that capability but they have never given it to the towns.  The Town Manager reported the Governor has indicated that he is in favor, and mentioned it in his State of the State speech, that he was interested in reforming the municipal binding arbitration aspects of what they call ‘MERA’, the Municipal Employees Relations Act, to conform to the same requirements that the State has, which is really providing the last best offer aspect back to the communities and taking it away from an arbitration panel.  The Council of Small Town, CCM, and all of the municipal lobbying groups support that, even the Democrats in some cases, their leadership have supported it as well as the Republican leadership of the Legislature.  Chairman Hines reported in addition to the three representatives he would like to send a copy of that to the Farmington Valley Collaborative, with Simsbury, Farmington, Granby, East Granby and Canton urging them to do similar.  It was the consensus of the Town Council to have the Town Manager send the letters.  

Chairman Hines reported at a CRCOG meeting, we passed an amendment to the TIP Amendment for Transportation, which has to do with the safety and improvement of Avon Mountain, which shows realign curve from Route 10 to West Hartford town line.  He was told that the engineering has been pretty much set, and now the next step is to approve the right-of-way phase of the previously approved project.  

Chairman Hines reported on another item from that meeting.  They had the opportunity to meet the Director of the Literacy Council. He could not understand how they came up with their numbers, they were showing that in Avon 21% of the people were illiterate.  If you look at the sources 62% of the people have a bachelors score or higher in Avon, and he spoke with our Social Services Director and Superintendent of Schools on that.  And what we found out from the Literacy Director was that these were all determined by the federal government and they have no idea why, but some of them looked  them over and said they are accurate.  What came out of it is, that they will look at the numbers and try to come up better, but his worry is that we could be misleading our government officials, in saying that the problem is a lot worse than it is.  We decided if anyone has information for the Literacy Council, to send it to the Superintendent of Schools and he has agreed to that.  

OLD BUSINESS
00/01-44        Review and Discussion: Towpath School
The Town Manager reported as requested he put together a compendium of the various reports that had been prepared over the past ten years since the Board of Education decided to relinquish the school from an education facility, although they did retain control over it for potential use in the future up through 1998, and later to 2000, then turned it over to the Town in 2001.  He developed the compendium and also tried to answer in more detail some of the questions that had been raised.  What we have found is that there is, in response to the first issue to contact those parties that showed an interest in the school property as to whether they had any further interest, the vast majority of them do have some interest, some do not, we have had a number of new faces that have indicated an interest, we have received three letters of interest which he gave out this evening, and are expecting a couple more.  There is some interest in the future use of the school property by various types of organizations, individuals and developers.  The second question that we had was to ask the Town Planner to define potential future uses for the school, that were compatible with adjacent properties, this is not an official opinion of the Planning & Zoning Commission, but strictly an analysis by the Town Planner.  We did and analysis of the use of the senior center and the projected full occupancy of that building by 2007/2008 when we feel that it will be being used to its maximum.   

Chairman Hines reported there is some room at the Senior Center location that we could expand.  The Town Manager reported we probably could but we did not build the building with the idea that it would be expanded, but we could go back in and do some expansion work and refocus it.  The fact of the matter is that we have a large number of community groups in addition to the Seniors, the seniors have expanded their activities and we will continue to see that grow both in numbers as the aging issue in all communities tends to occur, it is going to be a larger group of seniors with a much more complex and time consuming agenda of activities and events programmatically that are being done.  We started out using volunteers years ago, now we have two 1/2 time people there in different capacities working in that building.  We have heard discussions about the kitchen, and the lack of space in the kitchen, and the fact that it really was not designed to serve institutional meals to the extent that we are doing today, it is right at the point where we may need to do something with the kitchens.

The Town Manager reported another thing that was asked about were the repairs to Towpath, he included the Superintendent of Public Works memo from several years ago of a list of major repairs that would have to be done to the building.  For the estimated market value, he asked the Assessor that with the reval whether this had changed at all in terms of the value of the building and the land, and he seemed to indicate probably not that much because of the restrictions on it, type of building, repairs and other things, and he left it pretty much the same.  He also included a copy of the draft offering brochure that we prepared several years ago to start putting something together in terms of the data on the building, pictures of the building, that could be provided to those interested parties.
The Town Planner reported he took a look at the school property in the context of the center, and current zoning and in the context of current planning.  You think of Avon center as the Town Hall complex, expanding east to west along Main Street to Old Avon Village, then north along Simsbury Road up to Riverdale Farms, and you see that Towpath School is really centrally located. When looking at the school you can see that the parcel of 8.5 acres has an triangular shaped configuration, but with a lot of frontage along Route 10, Simsbury Road, so whatever we do it would have a dramatic impact on that section of roadway.   In 1976 the Avon Center Study Plan was developed and adopted by the Planning & Zoning Commission, in the context of the overall Town Master Plan is going to be updating the Center plan as well.  Many things have been accomplished since that time, the creation of the town’s walking course, the construction of the gazebo, a new vehicular entrance at O’Neill’s Chevrolet onto Old Farms Road, closing of several driveways along Route 44 in an effort to manage traffic, control  access and increase public safety, demolition of the gas station in the center, corner of routes 10 and 44 construction of a historically appropriate building which is now Dr. Beebe’s office, numerous other aesthetic improvements in the center including landscaping, lighting and signage.  Other significant things happening includes the construction of the Marriott Residence Inn on the former movie theatre site, which will be a 100 bed extended stay facility.  These are people who will need something to do at the end of the day, they will be able to walk from this hotel into the center of Town, and take advantage of some of the activities that are available which is a very positive thing.  

There are significant properties that are to be developed in the area that will help to develop the character of the town center, in Avon Park North Ensign-Bickford has acquired a parcel, and there is a17 acre parcel and a 20 acre parcel which is for sale.  Ensign-Bickford is in the process of trying to market land to a company for a restaurant in the area of the hotel.  There will be an issue due to zoning regulations, for a liquor license they would probably have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals, there would be some debate about whether the separating distance is applicable as it is not being used as a school right now, technically it is still on the books for that purpose. The Farmington Valley Greenway provides access to Sperry Park as well as a connector through Avon Park North.  

There are many significant things happening in the center and from his prospective a lot of people who have lived in Town for a long time seem to take the center for granted in a lot of ways, and people who have not been here long really do not fully appreciate the historic significance of the center.  With all of the congestion that is on Route 44, and about 28,000 cars a day that travel through the intersection of Rte 10 and Old Farms everyday, everybody is in a rush and everyone is trying to travel to work.  We need to have some recognition for the Town center so that it looks like something different is happening, and with the right kind of planning we can do better things for the site.  Some of the ways you do that is to highlight the center dramatically perhaps by installing street lights that might be historically appropriate, similar to what Simsbury did in its center, to consider installing sidewalks in the area of Route 44 and Fisher Drive on both sides of the road, maybe some benches and landscaping.  These are all ways of getting people out on the street, resulting in more walkers.    

He reported planners of late, have been talking about neo-traditional development, which is creating viable small downtown environments that are pedestrian friendly, with buildings that are scaled appropriately, are architecturally appropriate, that their uses do not generate large volumes of traffic, but enough traffic to make it interesting and exciting to give people an alternative to the suburban strip mall and the large regional malls.  If we were going to think about those kind of concepts, one of the things to keep in mind is we need to think a little differently.  The Planning & Zoning Commission might want to consider a special zoning district where instead of setting the buildings further back from the street what we would do is to try to push the buildings closer to the road, very similar to the 19th century structures that were built along Main Street, a lot closer to Route 44 than today’s would be allowed.   One thought is that people in the 1700’s and 1800’s actually had good ideas that we have gotten away from.  In speaking with the Town Engineer he stated that the site is actually set up geographically so that we might be able to bench into the slope enough to accommodate a small building or a small series of buildings built close to the road and separated by a sidewalk or small natural strip, it would be a place for a small restaurant, an outdoor sidewalk café, a coffee shop or something else.  He reported the Town Engineer felt to promote that concept with the building close to the road there would be entrances so that would be two driveways, with circulation along the back of the buildings as well as parking.  

The Town Planner reported for the survey, if we were to think along those lines of a mixed use element as making sense, we may consider retail on the first floor, with residences on the second floor, something that we already see in Town and may fit to that sort of design concept.

Other uses for Towpath School, include a community center, relocation of the Town Library, although the Library Board has other thoughts about expanding beyond the present facility, but it certainly would be an option.  Moving the Post Office from its current location to this site would make sense, again it is a use that has a lot of positive attributes in terms of bringing people to the post office, doing their business.  That is the concept, professional offices would be another option, again in buildings that were scaled appropriately, 5,000 or 6,000 square feet each, as opposed to a 50,000 square foot single structure, smaller in scale would be appropriate.  Multifamily housing would be another option, deed restricted 55 and older communities are gaining popularity with a couple under construction in Town now and seem to be selling reasonably well.  They do not necessarily need to be deed restricted, it could be market grade housing, condominiums, rental apartments or combination of the two.  The interest in doing something like that is that people would be living there and be able to walk outside their homes onto a sidewalk and take advantage of some of the opportunities downtown.  

He reported he received a call from the Chamber of Commerce asking him to come to one of their meetings, to talk about some of the concerns that some of the Chamber members have had which is that they are continually concerned about competition, especially the smaller locally operated business owners with regard to the competition they are getting from regional and national companies.  It is not a phenomenon unique to Avon but to everyplace, especially as they are concerned about the new mall of 50,000 square feet in Canton and that competition.  On one hand they are thinking that it will increase traffic on Route 44, and it will, and as more traffic goes by their businesses may in fact be helped by it, on the other hand they know that the kinds of shoppers that are traveling to that new mall are in many ways more destination oriented, as they have specific errands and duties to accomplish.  If we were to do various things to make the Town center more vibrant and attractive, along the lines of the West Hartford center, but smaller scale, it might do good things to address some of those concerns, with more activity downtown.  Whatever the Town Council feels might be appropriate, he would recommend we think about scale, uses that would aid in redevelopment enhancement of the Town Center.  If you were ready to sell the school site, rather than just simply turning the property over to a broker and asking to solicit the best proposals in terms of the best return for the Town dollar wise, there are some uses there that would not be appropriate, if the things we have been talking about in fact are our goals, and those will be the kinds of uses that you get the most immediate interest from, and may in fact offer the highest purchase price.  Uses like larger box design retail uses, not large enough for big companies, but appropriate for laundries, restaurants, or a pharmacy of 12,000 square feet, or with retail shops and apartments on the second floor.  It might be possible to draft an RFP including certain design elements, scale and uses that we are comfortable with, and see what kinds of creative ideas we get.

Chairman Hines reported the Town Planner has presented very good ideas, he would assume those are the kinds of changes that will go into the updated comprehensive plan of development.  The Town Planner reported yes.  Chairman Hines reported if we were to put together an RFP, should that be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission.  The Town Planner reported he spoke with the Town Manager about this, because assuming we get the parameters of that and a product that the Town Council can review to pick the product they are most comfortable with, Planning & Zoning would have to have input.  But on the other hand they are the regulators, so further down the road, a developing company will have to submit an application to Planning & Zoning, which will mean creating a new district with a new set of regulations to approve some downtown design that will allow some additional flexibility with how the buildings are positioned and all of these other issues.  The Town Manager reported one of the things we have to consider as well, is that we do have leases on that building, which we have to give notice to, that is going to delay implementation.
Chairman Hines questioned whether the Town Council is interested in this type of design.  Mr. Carlson reported this is a great opportunity for us to put a stamp on the Town Center, as he hears often that we do not have a Town center, we have a pass through called Route 44.  In some ways you would be re-orientating the Town center to Simsbury Road, which is not all bad in this concept, but he agrees that putting any of these types of properties only there would not work, he would like to see us do something that is an extension of the Town center, that is small architecturally appropriate historically appropriate looking buildings, like we have out here now, or small architecturally appropriate homes, that would be a blend with the other surrounding homes in the area.  He favors pursuing this to the next step because it is an important parcel of land, and put more sidewalks in as we need more pedestrian traffic.  

The Town Planner reported it might be possible for some smaller scale municipal use were appropriate for the site, as a small component of an overall development, such as a 10,000 square foot community center.  It might be possible to write the RFP to ask developers to respond by including the construction of a small municipal building to be Town owned.  The Town Manager reported one of the other things we need to consider and would fit in with this, is that we do have Sperry Park there, we would want to look at how it fits in with this piece of property in terms of joint use of parking and circulation. We want to make sure we are protecting ourselves, if we end up selling or divesting ourselves of the Towpath School property we want to do it in a manner that is complimentary to the Sperry Park property as well, that has to be taken into account in terms of design aspect, zone aspect.  Chairman Hines reported the Town Planner said in 8 months they would begin working on this plan.  He would like to encourage the Commission to move that up, how much time would you need to complete the center portion?  The Town Planner reported four or five months.  Chairman Hines reported we could go out with an RFP with these ideas, if Planning & Zoning could say tentatively that looks good, that would be something that we would have to consider pretty carefully.  Mr. Woodford reported it is important for them to finish the Plan of Development first, so that we know what we are dealing with.  

The Town Manager reported assuming you have a consensus on the type and use, the issue of process comes up beyond the comprehensive plan of development, we are now in the process of preparing a scope of services for an RFP, we are soliciting proposals, we are evaluating proposals and we are coming back with a recommendation.  One of the issues that the Town Planner and he discussed, is the fact that he is a Staff Person and eminently capable of doing all of that, but he is also the Staff Person for the  Planning & Zoning Commission and you have to be careful in terms of the roles here that we do not create a situation where we are putting him in a conflict basis.  We were prepared to ask the Town Attorney, which is five months from now but the issue needs to be addressed, for an opinion on how we thread that needle so that the Town Planner is not put in the position, or do we go out and retain an independent firm to assist us in drafting the RFP, preparing it and helping us evaluate it, so that the Town Planner is not directly involved with it, there is a cost to this.  And we do have an in house expert on this, and he feels comfortable moving in that direction if we get an opinion from the Town Attorney that it does not create a conflict, if on the other hand he says it is too incestuous in terms of the people and the process, then we may need to look at hiring someone.  Chairman Hines reported we are going to complete the Comprehensive Plan of Development, and the RFP would say that we are looking at potential uses consistent with the Comprehensive Plan of Development, that should relieve the Town Planner all together.  The Town Manager reported he would think that would, but he would like to make sure that we are all set on this.  Chairman Hines reported we may need to wait a few months, until the Comprehensive Plan of Development is completed, it is not something that has to be done over night.  

It was the consensus of the Town Council that they like the ideas for the Town Center as presented by the Town Planner, that the Town Manager write a letter to the Planning & Zoning Commission urging them to move their portion of the Comprehensive Plan of Development for the center location up in priority, so the Council can review it before proceeding with the RFP process.  The Town Manager reported the Health District is very much interested in whether they can stay on the property or not.  Chairman Hines reported we could include that in the RFP, that several present uses of the property would like to remain.      

03/04-17        Set Public Hearing: 7:30 p.m. March 4, 2004; Acquisition of 10 Sunnybrook Rd. Property (adjacent to Library)    

On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council schedule a public hearing to consider the acquisition of 10 Sunnybrook Road property for March 4, 2004 at 7:30 p.m.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-50        Approve Charge and Appoint Town of Avon 175th Birthday Celebration Committee
On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council of the Town of Avon, hereby establishes a Town of Avon 175th Birthday Celebration Committee to be comprised of ten (10) citizens of the Town, serving until December 31, 2005 unless otherwise extended by the Town Council.
FURTHER RESOLVED:       That the Charge to said Committee be as follows:
To organize in an appropriate manner to carry out the functions of the committee to include a chair appointed by the Town Council and a vice-chair and secretary from among the membership to be selected by the Committee;
To undertake such activities as they may see fit, subject to Town council approval, in celebration of the Town’s 175th anniversary in 2005 of its founding in 1830;
To raise funds, and spend same, subject to Town approval;
To encourage individuals and groups to participate and donate funds, time and expertise for the design, development, operation and implementation of programs and activities of the committee in celebration of the Town’s 175th anniversary of its founding;
To coordinate activities in celebration of the town’s 175th Anniversary in 2005 with other community groups to the furthest extent possible;
To undertake those other things as may be requested from time to time by the Town Council.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council appoint the members of the 175th Birthday Celebration Committee as follows;  William L. Samul, Patrick E. Clark, James A. Martino, Jr., Herbert F. Pandiscio as Chairman, Nancy Usich, Kathy L. Thompson, Mary C. Harrop, Robert B. August, Nora Howard and John A. O’Neill, all to serve for a term to expire December 31, 2005.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

        03/04-55        Appointment:
Natural Resources (formerly 03/04-29)
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.  
Natural Resources (formerly 03/04-63)
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Natural Resources (formerly 03/04-55)
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
CRCOG – Regional Planning Comm. Alternate
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Representative to FVVNA
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Representative to Senior Citizens
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table the appointment to the March 4, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

Authorized Financial Dealers and Institutions
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council appoint authorized financial dealers and institutions to act on behalf of the Town of Avon on all transactions involving financial assets and related activity of the Town funds excluding Retirement/Pension funds and the Post-Retiree Medical Trust Fund, listed as follows:
                Fleet Bank/Bank of America
                Reich & Tang L.P.
                Municipal Investors Service Corporation
                Connecticut State Treasury’s Short-Term Investment Fund
                Simsbury Bank
                People’s Bank
                Webster Bank
                Citizen’s Bank
                First Union
                Farmington Savings Bank
                Sovereign Bank  
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines and Woodford voted in favor.  Mr. Carlson abstained.

        03/04-64        Review and Discussion: Avon High School Facility Needs Study
Chairman Hines reported the Town Manager has given us a draft charge for the building committee which is in steps.  The first thing is to hire an architect to find out whether we can do everything they have asked for on this site, with or without the school administration, then if that is the case, then the building committee can proceed to come up with preliminary costs that are good enough that we could go to a referendum.  Mr. Woodford reported one other step, if in fact the report shows that we cannot do that at the high school, then we say what can we accomplish the Middle School.  Mr. Carlson reported then you turn it back to the Board of Education, and say to them that we have now been told that you cannot do this.  Chairman Hines reported it should go back to the Board of Education, they have to make the decision, as to whether they take the 8th grade out of the Middle School or how to split them, then another possibility is whether they add on to Thompson Brook, they must decide.  The Architect will need those type of decisions made.  The Town Manager reported he put time limits into the Charge draft, as to the reports, when different steps should be completed.  Chairman Hines questioned if this is the case, do we then want to set up a building committee of maybe seven members, then decide on the members at the next meeting in March.  The Town Manager reported that was his scheduling intent, if the Charge is approved tonight, to move ahead and have a committee appointed at the next meeting.
The Town Manager reported at some point after that, we will need a financial package and we will need something fairly soon, the Town Clerk has agreed to be the staff person, and we will have a clerical person as well.  Chairman Hines reported the Town Clerk has done enough of these projects that she can come up with a financial package that we are going to need.  The other question to get resolved tonight has to do with a letter from an architect who is very knowledgeable on the facility, and has shown his interest.  The Town Manager reported it was Chuck Boos of Kaestle Boos Corporation. Chairman Hines reported we should give some guidance to the Building Committee, as to whether we are willing to have them go directly to that architect, and not go out for bids.  It was the consensus of the Town Council to go out for  bids.

Mrs. Hornaday reported there is something she must have misunderstood, when we talked about feasibility, one of the things we talked about was very schematic just to determine whether there is even enough land there, or the building would allow itself to be reconfigured in such a way that it can be done on that property.  Chairman Hines reported there is no doubt that could be done, it is a question of how much parking and whether it is efficient.  Mrs. Hornaday reported she felt this feasibility study was going to be very general.  Chairman Hines reported it is, but enough to determine yes we can do that which is the first phase, and then enough to get preliminary costs, the second phase.  

The Town Manager reported the way he constructed it was we need to get to a point of saying, yes we can use that site and that facility to accomplish what the Board of Education has outlined in their study of 31,000 square feet, and can we add the central offices into that or not.  Once they have done that and we get that report back, then we can say okay now move ahead to do schematics, cost estimates and the normal things of a building committee.  Chairman Hines reported the proposal will be to determine costs for two phases, as the first phase may be all we contract for, and we will only go to the second phase if the first phase comes out on a positive basis, and not only positive to the architect but to the Town Council, the Board of Education and School Administration.  Chairman Hines reported he spoke with Mr. Jeter, former Council member, and he stated if you do the preliminary with one architect and get preliminary costs, do not come back with a new architect because it could be substantially different, and he understands those concerns, because each architect might have a different concept.  

Dr. Kisiel reported the intention in our study was whether we could do what we wanted to do on that site, but beyond that for preliminary costs it will have to go with preliminary designs and that is when your design architect comes in.  Mr. Carlson reported for preliminary costs, we need the Educational Specifications, which you did not have or need, what you used was something containing how many classrooms.   Dr. Kisiel reported exactly, it was a local needs assessment.  Mr. Carlson reported we need those specs, the building committee will need to hone in on their educational specs, to get to a cost point.  He does agree with Dr. Kisiel, but the question at hand is ‘can you do it there’, because from that everything else branches out.  


The Town Manager reported we can delineate a couple of things, you can delineate the phases more in the charge, secondly you may not have to have a building committee do the first stage, but then the Council would have to do it, and staff would have to prepare the RFP, and the Town Council would be doing the interviewing, the soliciting and everything else, they would be working with the architect, like we did with the Sycamore Pool project.  Then the Council would charge the Building Committee to go into the second part of this.  What he did was to combine them together, but create multiple steps.  Chairman Hines reported he likes the way it was done in the draft charge.  

Mrs. Hornaday reported part of her concern is that consistently the last couple of times we did renovations and additions at the high school, there is always a question of the acreage, and how much land we have available to us to put additions on.  She does not want us to go too far with this, and pay a whole lot of money and then have someone say ‘really you do not have enough land there to do what you want to do’.   She wants them to just look at the basics, do we have enough land, she remembers there was a lot of talk about the parking lot out back, and then see if and explore options that maybe some people will not love, but is there any part of that building that can be three stories?  Chairman Hines reported we can do that in phase one, with it having an (a) and (b) part, (a) very preliminary review that says we think it can be done on the land, then in (b) define that a little more so that at the end of that phase, you have a pretty good ideas as to what can be done, and then if it looks like it is attractive enough to the Council and the Board of Education, the we go into phase 2 where they come up with some preliminary costs with more defined detailed plans.  Dr. Kisiel reported in order to do detailed costs, the educational specification would need to be completed.  Chairman Hines reported yes, we would give you time to do that, and the architect would understand there may be some time delay between phase 1 and 2, but if the architect could give us a pretty good idea on half way through phase 1 that this looks possible, then he continues into the second half of phase 1 to develop more definite plans to confirm what he wants, then if we like it enough, at that time we have a go or no go decision to make as to making us more detailed for cost.  

Chairman Hines reported we need a building committee.  Mrs. Hornaday reported if we tell the Building Committee, and people understand that, we first need to determine can we do what needs to be done at that site, if it cannot then we are into a whole new discussion.  Chairman Hines reported from comments from Chuck Boos in the past he remembers there being room for additional expansion, but does not remember the square footage.  Mr. Woodford reported if we were going to change architects after the first phase, he would say we call Mr. Boos and ask him to do it, and not go out for another RFP, then for the second phase he would recommend the RFP process.  Chairman Hines reported he likes that idea as well, but he does not like the idea of changing architects during the project, once we start out we should stick with that person or you do not know what you are going to get the second time, they will have different ideas.  Mr. Carlson reported he is not comfortable with not going to bid.  Mr. Woodford reported for the first phase?  Mr. Carlson reported the first phase could be a very substantial amount of money.  Chairman Hines reported $20,000 to $25,000 perhaps.  Mr. Carlson reported he will go along with the Council’s decision.  We should get some professional advice, state here is what we are faced with and here are the educational theories before we go any further.  They might say, do not separate it, just hire someone and go the whole route.  Mr. Woodford reported he is not in favor of switching architects, we should go out for an architect, go out for phase 1.  Mr. Carlson reported whomever does phase 1 must be qualified to be able to do phase 2.  Mrs. Hornaday reported that is what she is saying, if we are going to have a building committee, it is a lot of work and it is good to get other people involved, have the building committee but have them understand that step 1 of what they are to do is to have a feasibility study with the architect’s understanding that even though they are being hired, that they are to do nothing beyond the feasibility study.  Chairman Hines reported we need to get costs for both phases, and we need some time in there for the Board of Education to come up with their specifications.  Dr. Kisiel reported he will be done by June, the Board of Education’s plan is feasible, we have begun to work on them already.  

The Town Manager reported in summary the Charge needs to be revised to delineate the step process,  (a) and (b).  The second thing is although the rest of it conceptual and it is okay to move ahead, so we need to adopt the revised charge at the next meeting.  Chairman Hines reported a seven member committee sounds good, and questioned whether the Town Council should select the Chairman.  The Town Clerk reported the Council did select the chairman for the Thompson Brook School Building Committee.  Mr. Woodford questioned whether the charge could be ready for approval at our Saturday budget meeting.  The Town Manager reported he will put that on the agenda for the 14th meeting.  Mr. Carlson reported the committee should be directed that they are being asked to serve not only for phase 1, but for the overall project should it go forward.    
                     
NEW BUSINESS
03/04-65        Review and Discussion: Nomination of Avon Center for National Register of Historic Places
The Town Manager reported the background material primarily consists of two letters, one from the Chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission dated December 5 containing reservations with regard to this issue, and a one dated December 31st from one of the residents in the neighborhood, and also included a copy of a public hearing notice, scheduled for later this month on this application to create an historic district in the center of Avon, and detailed descriptions of the properties, boundaries and process that are included with this.  The Town Planner can give some background as to how we ended up at this particular point, what the Council’s role could be, because this is somewhat of an independent process, that the Town does not have full control over.  Chairman Hines reported we received confirmation today from the Historical Society endorsing this plan.  

The Town Planner reported the Planning & Zoning Commission was approached by a resident to see if we were interested in hiring an Architectural Historian to inventory and map historic properties in the center of Town, and to do it in a way so that the report that would be prepared could be used to nominate those properties on a national register of historic places which is a program run through the National Park Service.  The Planning & Zoning Commission agreed that it would be valuable information to have, especially in the context of the Comprehensive Plan, as they always have had interest in recognizing the importance of the Center.  We had Consultant Jan Cunningham, highly recommended by the State Historic Commission, do a report, in which she identified 215 properties in the center of historic significance.  She presented that report to the Planning & Zoning Commission in December.  The Consultant proceeded to describe the program and presented a fact sheet of what the national register does and does not do, and described that there was a significant difference between a national register and a historic district.  An historic district is what people are most commonly familiar with, and is a much more restrictive, and regulatory system, whereby people feel they can no longer decide what color to paint their homes or whether they can have an addition.  This does none of that, it is an honorary designation, it is an effort to create pride in the neighborhood, there also apparently are certain grant programs that may be available to property owners  with respect to certain renovations.  The Planning & Zoning Commission however, was very concerned about one aspect of the program, that is an unusual provision in the Connecticut Law, being the only state in the nation that has this additional provision in addition to the normal provisions that the National Park Service promotes, which allows one property owner to bring a court action against another property owner if you were to propose to demolish a major structure that is included in the district.  He further stated that there are 48,000 properties in the State of Connecticut.  As the State has limited resources, and they choose very carefully those properties that they even chose to get involved with and the handful of cases where one property owner has challenged another property owners right to tear down a structure.  He reported the State just allows for a property owner to challenge the demolition and it just brings up kind of a stay for discussion, and the only time it has been tried in Connecticut has been for major buildings, where the demolition of one of them, was because it was inhabitable and it was taken down, but the others ended up not coming down, but it would have to be a major structure like a church versus a garage.  It has not been a law that has been tried a lot, only a handful, so that it has not been tested a lot, and the law has been on the books for 12 years.  The Town Planner reported the Planning & Zoning Commission, because of that law, even though the likelihood of it being an issue seemed to be slim, that it could be significant if someone were to take advantage of it, and the Commission’s thought was that if they were to advance to the next step which is to ask the National Park Service to make the designation, now that we have this information, that we the Town notify each of the individual property owners that would be included in the district and the Planning & Zoning Commission suggested conducting a public hearing to give all of those property owners an opportunity to learn more about the law and the program, and to use that as a basis to see whether we want to proceed.  

Apparently the National Park Service, through the State Historic Commission Office, have their own rules about whether or not the district is established or not based on the public hearing that the State has scheduled for February 26th, and that is if at that hearing, or prior to that hearing, the State receives either a petition or letters from  property owners representing 51% of the property owners involved in the district or more they will not approve the district.  They apparently take the information and keep the file.  If less than 51% of the property owners respond negatively, say 10% respond negatively they will proceed. Chairman Hines questioned whether people can choose not be a part of it.  The Town Planner reported it has to be all or nothing, none of the property owners have been notified at this point, which is of real concern to the Commission.  He reported the public notice was in the newspaper, 30 days prior to the hearing, but Connecticut requires a second notice to be followed 7 days later and that has been done, that hearing will be held by the State Historic Commission in Hartford, at the South Congregational Church on Main Street. The Town  Planner reported the Town Clerk spoke with the Staff Person at the State Historic Commission, and there is an option available where you can write to the State and ask them to table the hearing and be heard at a different date.  The Town Clerk reported she indicated to them when she received a copy of this notice, that it had not come before the Town Council as yet, and asked they delay publishing this notice, and he indicated it was on track and that was what they would continue to do, they would not pull the ad, even though she called before it was in the newspaper, but they did say the Council would have the opportunity to comment or request it to be tabled until you had the chance to further study the issue.  Chairman Hines reported that is what we did on January 26th.  The Town Clerk reported that is correct, because when she saw the hearing notice, there were a great number of houses that we had not talked about at earlier meetings.  The Town Manager reported there is a map included in the background material.                

The Town Planner reported he was hoping to hear from the State Historic Commission office tonight to answer questions for us.  He noticed there are a number of industries located there and homes on Columbus Circle, East Main St., Eddy Street, Enford Street, Ensign Drive, Farmington Valley Greenway, Mountain View Avenue, Old Farms Road, Simsbury Road, West Main

St., and Woodford Avenue.  The Town Manager reported it includes all of the old Ensign-Bickford Company housing, the Town Hall complex, and the Town green as well.  Chairman Hines questioned whether there would be any potential problems to that, as to what we can do and cannot do.  The Town Planner reported that was the provision that the Planning & Zoning Commission was concerned about.  Theoretically it sets up the possibility that someone can challenge the Town’s right to demolish one of these buildings.  He would suggest if we did not want do that we could provide the public with a public notice, we could have a public hearing, get all of the residents to come to the hearing and express their thoughts.  He further reported as he understands the law it would be the chief elected body that needs to advance the designation process.  Chairman Hines reported every property owner in this area should be at least notified that it is going to happen.  It was the consensus of the Town Council that they were in agreement.  

Mrs. Hornaday reported she noticed on the map that the Towpath School building and the Annex are listed as contributing buildings.  She reported then based on what we were just told and what we have been talking about, that could be a major issue for us.  The Town Planner reported while not exaggerating the problem, the Planning & Zoning Commission was very concerned about it, the law does not prohibit demolition of structures, and from our Consultant we learned that the number of cases that have been filed on this law are very small, but it is possible.  Chairman Hines questioned whether all of the Town property could be taken out of the proposal.  The Town Planner reported maybe.  Mr. Woodford questioned how this process could be stopped, by who and when.  The Town Planner reported he believes the Town Council can stop it.  Chairman Hines reported if there is a possibility that we can go ahead with this but pull out the Town property.  We may be trying to sell the property at Towpath School, and not understanding all of the implications, we do not want to go ahead on that basis.  Mr. Woodford reported we are not clear as to what could happen, we need some answers.  Chairman Hines reported he is not ready to go ahead tonight with an approval, there are just too many questions unanswered at this point.  The Town Planner reported the Commission shares your same opinions also.  The Town Manager reported we need some direction in the sense of 1)do you want to set up and hold a public hearing and have us notify all of the residents, and have it at one of the schools?  And have the State also, both between now and then, have the Town Planner contact the State Historic Commission or whoever is responsible for proceeding, we can ask for a tabling or delay in the process until we have had enough time to notify everyone, hold a public hearing, then make a decision whether we want to move ahead or not.  We can also have the Town Planner contact them on a technical basis to provide us with answers to the questions that the Council have asked.  The Town Manager reported we have multiple roles, one, is as a property owner concerning our own property, two, we have the general role as a Council with the community, where you have a broader audience which is the public hearing notification role, we can get both of those answered.  The issue is that we have this impending event date of February 26th, which we need to somehow delay.  Chairman Hines reported we need to table that hearing date, get answers to some of these technical questions.  The Town Manager reported and those questions are both individual property owner questions as well which would serve to answer the same questions at the public hearing for people, but also the broader role of what the process is.  Chairman Hines  reported we are still trying to finish the buildings at Town Hall, supposing we decide not to rebuild it and demolish it, is that going to cause some problems if we are in this new district?  We need some better answers here.

Terri Wilson, Mountain View Avenue, reported we spent $3,500 on the survey, we should not just waste that.  Mr. Carlson questioned if we go through with this public hearing on February 26th in Hartford, what is the outcome of that hearing?  Mrs. Wilson reported one of two things, they either going to accept it and move it on for recognition and requesting that the National Park Service recognize it as a designated site, or it will send it off to National Park Service with the objections that will be stated, requesting they make a determination one way or the other.  The National Park Service, from her understanding of it, if they do receive one like they did with the town of Bozrah, who did this and went through the exact process, and enough opposition was sent to the National Park Service and they in effect name it but not designated it, in other words it did not become official.  It is lying dormant, until the town should want to revive it.  

Mr. Carlson reported his concern is that if we send it off to Washington, the further it gets away from us, the less chance we have to influence and control it, and he agrees we spent money, and you have spent a tremendous amount of time, but the things he has learned tonight make him somewhat concerned about putting into Washington’s hands after the 26th.   Until he hears a clear definition of what a substantial property is and who  has the right to sue.  All of that makes him a little uneasy, even taking Towpath out of it, he is thinking of friends on Old Farms Road.

The Town Manager reported it should be made clear that the original intent of the study was to do the inventory, not to apply for the district necessarily.  That was a follow-on decision that could be made depending upon what the study showed, in some aspects the Consultant went a step further without getting the approvals to move in that direction.  We got the study completed that showed yes, there is some value here historically.  The next question is what do we do to preserve it or protect it, or maybe we do not want to do any of that.  The process is moving along, now we are forced to put on the brakes on something that escaped our review earlier on.  The $3,500 has been well spent in documenting what we have, so that even if we do not proceed with the district issue, as individual applications come in from time to time it is an excellent tool for the Commission to have to look at.  

Mr. Woodford questioned how can we possibly go to a hearing on the 26th, without every property owner being notified, how can that possibly take place?  Mrs. Wilson reported federal law requires a federal notice.  Mr. Woodford reported that is not the point, he is speaking of the Town of Avon and he does not know how that could take place without notifying every possible owner.  The Town Clerk reported she can clarify that she spoke to Mr. Loether, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, who indicated that we could at this level ask that it be tabled.

Chairman Hines reported we are still interested in pursuing some kind of an overall district here, but we have to get some questions answered here.  It was the consensus of the Town Council to move in that direction and get an opinion on the process from the Town Attorney.  

On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council table this item.  
Mrs. Hornaday, and Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-66        Bid Awards:
Chairman Hines reported we received the various bids, but he questioned what is actually being spent for these services.  We need to know what we are getting for the amount of money being spent for the tree program, and the brush collection program.  The Superintendent of Public Works reported we discontinued the fees at the Landfill last year for brush drop off, so that all of the brush going into the landfill now costs us.  Chairman Hines reported an area town discontinued their brush program, then after two years of complaints, the re instituted it, as the problems were terrible.  If you talk to our seniors they think the brush collection program is tremendous.  They look at all of the taxes they pay for education and recreation that they do not use, and look at the brush collection as a big item.  The Christmas tree pickup is probably not so big, but some people do like that.  The catch basin cleaning they do not even know about unless they have a water stream, and then he can say that the work they have done on the catch basins has helped.  The Town Manager spoke to him about a new storm water regulation that is going into effect, and that is going to cost us.  The Town Manager reported one of the things that we are going to be dealing with is mandatory cleaning of all catch basins every year, in the past we alternate sometimes, half one year, the rest the next, and a few we do every year.  Mr. Woodford questioned how many towns will do it, and secondly what would happen if it were not done.  The Town Manager reported it is another required program, and we would probably get fined.  The Superintendent of Public Works reported the same for street sweeping, every time he comes before the Town Council we talk about the sweeper, and the sweeping contracts, but we have to report to the State on an annual basis, and they take most of it at face value, as the State DEP has cut back on its manpower so dramatically that there is fewer enforcement people out there.  Mr. Woodford reported with regard to the brush collection, people have three acres of land and two of it are woods, and they have a pile of wood out there.  But at some point when we are getting capped on our budgets and so forth, $60,000 becomes a big number, and when certain groups in Town are screaming to cut budgets and cut spending, that is a big number.  

Mr. Carlson reported he keeps getting asked by parents about the Board of Education budget, and asked everyone the same question, whether they are willing to pay higher taxes for it, and can they please give him a number.  He is starting to do that with a lot of people on issues, because frankly he finds it irritating when some people call him to ‘beat him up’ when their taxes are going up.  He has a bit of a deaf ear when they speak about not have children in schools and that the taxes are going up, and this is the one thing that they use is the brush cleaning.  You do not get to pick and choose, he has to pay for things that he does not use, he does not use brush pickup because he puts it to the rear of his property.  Yet, he pays for that, you cannot choose to withhold that from your taxes.  We are getting to the point where these items that are large enough, we have to say people have to contribute something, to offset some of these costs, and as long as it is ‘free’, you are going to see people out there with huge piles.  Chairman Hines reported we tried to help the situation by removing the fees at the landfill this year, but he would like to see fewer people use it each year, but a lot of people use it and if we remove it you would hear a lot about it.  People have even requested once a year to have bulky waste removal, like several towns do, although several towns are now charging large fees to do that, and people have requested we pick up leaves as well which we do not do, and would not want us to do.  Mr. Woodford reported if this number keeps going up 30% a year, at some point we will be deciding between a truck or whether we pick up the brush.  Mrs. Hornaday questioned if after budget hearing we need to cut brush collection, what would happen, are they contingent on passage of the budget.  The Town Manager reported these bids are in the current budget, if you want to cut it out of the budget for 2004/2005 that is fine.  The Superintendent reported the bid process for this is a unusual, street sweeping and brush collection will be done in the 2003/2004 budget, but catch basin cleaning is done after July 1st.   Mrs. Hornaday reported brush collection is a lot of money but for so many residents these are the services that feel like a gift, and they are paying a whole lot of money for education, and other things, they are paying for the plowing and good schools, and property value and the rest but if we could just hold on to it, and just see what happens, she wants us to do it.  The people who bring their brush to the landfill anyway, usually do not stack it up because they bring small loads.  Mr. Carlson reported they have a lawn service, or they hire a contractor.  Chairman Hines reported usually with the Town survey you find overwhelming interest in this.  Mr. Woodford reported it is going to stay in the budget, but someday – it is a big number.
Street Sweeping
On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council award the bid to the low bidder DeSantis Inc. in amount $318/road mile for street sweeping, as recommended by the Superintendent of Public Works.   
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Catch Basin Cleaning
On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council award the bid to the apparent low bidder Pye, Inc. in amount $18.50/basin for catch basin cleaning, as recommended by the Superintendent of Public Works.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Brush Collection
On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council award the bid with exceptions to the apparent low bidder Supreme Industries in amount $60,000 for brush collection, as recommended by the Superintendent of Public Works.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.  

03/04-67        Approve MDC Hazardous Waste Collection Day Contract
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to sign on behalf of the Town of Avon, the MDC Hazardous Waste Collection Day Contract in amount $1,250 for the 2004 program, plus a cost of $42 per household for participation by Avon residents.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-68        Review, Discussion and Approval: Three Year Agreement with AON
Consulting for Remarketing of Health Insurance
The Human Resources Director reported it has been at least four years since we remarketed our health insurance program and our premiums have been skyrocketing, along with that we have not had ongoing   consultant services to help us with our renewals and things of that nature.  In December we went out to bid for these services, received 9 respondents, and put together a selection committee consisting of the Town Manager, Human Resources Director, Town Director of Finance and Board of Education Finance Director.  We narrowed them down to four candidates, interviewed them, and unanimously we recommended AON who has been in the business for many years and represents over 26 municipalities in the State of Connecticut.  Mr. Carlson reported AON is actually a spin off from Arthur Anderson Consulting, they have been around for years and are a very strong firm.  The Director reported their senior level people will be working with us, and a meeting is scheduled with them.  Mr. Woodford reported he assumes the Board of Education is included in this, and questioned whether they looked into the policies and tried to find what might be saved by changing certain items.  The Town Manager reported absolutely, that is exactly part of the reason why we have them.  One of the things they will probably recommend is that we split the prescription drug rider out and bid that separately, one of the reasons for having a firm like this is to help frame those types of things with regard to negotiations as well. The first thing we will do is remarketing of the insurance, they will help develop the RFP, and evaluate them, we hope to get it all done, so that we can have proposals ready by May or June.

On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council award the contract in amount $25,000 per year to AON Consulting to provide Health/Dental Benefit Consultant Services to the Town of Avon for the purposes of remarketing health/dental insurance as well as for ongoing consulting services.  
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs:  Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-69        Acceptance of Greenway Bench: Lee & Terri Wilson
Chairman Hines reported we received a letter on this gift, they were very kind to offer this bench.

On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept on behalf of the Town of Avon the gift of a bench to be located along the Greenway.  
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.  

03/04-70        Road Acceptance
The Town Engineer reported the developer of Bridgewater Estates has requested acceptance of five roads by the Town of Avon, Bridgewater Drive, Hawks Ridge, Northington Drive and Quail Ridge Drive.  The Engineering Department has inspected these roads during all phases of construction and found them to be constructed in accordance with Town of Avon standards for road construction.  All the necessary legal instruments to convey title to the roads and storm drainage have been submitted and reviewed by the Town Attorney, therefore he would recommend acceptance of the five roads consisting of 2.20 miles.
Bridgewater Drive
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept Bridgewater Drive into the Town of Avon Roadway System, as recommended by the Town Engineer.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Hawks Ridge
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept Hawks Ridge into the Town of Avon Roadway System, as recommended by the Town Engineer.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
Northington Drive
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept Northington Drive into the Town of Avon Roadway System, as recommended by the Town Engineer.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson, Woodford voted in favor.
Quail Ridge Drive
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept Quail Ridge Drive into the Town of Avon Roadway System, as recommended by the Town Engineer.       
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson, Woodford voted in favor.
Buckingham Road
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept Buckingham Road into the Town of Avon Roadway System, as recommended by the Town Engineer.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-71        Tax Refund:  Washington Mutual Home Loans, Inc. $1,221.85
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council approve a tax refund in amount $1,221.85 to Washington Mutual Home Loans, Inc. as recommended by the Collector of Revenue.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.

03/04-72        Acceptance of Gifts: Avon Little League
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council accept on behalf of the Town of Avon gifts from the Avon Little League of a 2nd Scoreboard for the Minor League Field and to build a combination storage space/scorers booth for behind the backstop of the Major League Field at Sperry Park.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.     

03/04-73        Appropriation from Contingency: Senior Center Painting
The Town Manager reported the Senior Center was closed down for the replacement of the sprinkler system, the painting is scheduled to be completed before it reopens.  The Recreation Director reported we also took the opportunity to do a full cleaning of the building as well.  The Town Manager reported the money will be taken from Contingency.    

On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED:       That the Town Council authorize an appropriation in amount not to exceed $3,000 out of Contingency, for painting of the Senior Center/Community Room, by Connecticut Valley Painting, LLC.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.  

TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
The Town Manager in the letter from the School’s Finance Director regarding the bus contract, we may lose $24,000 of tax revenue on that, it mentioned that it exempts new busses only.  He is not sure how that works, as to whether new busses would be exempted this year or permanently.  The Town Manager reported he will check with the Assessor in terms of what it means.

The Town Manager reported the February 14th Agenda is included in the folders, he will develop a revised one to include the high school renovation revised charge.  It will be a long day, there will be some very short power point presentations, with 5 or 6 slides each.  Chairman Hines reported we have  been requested to limit our budget to 5.5 %, and he would like to try to do that.  On the capital items, we should be able to do that, but on the operating we need the Town Manager’s extensive help and he has agreed to put a list together for us as to how to reduce it, he also has a list how we have to go further, as the Board of Finance wants more.  At the last Board of Finance meeting they discussed cutting the Town Council to 4% and the Board of Education to 6%, so we are going to be cut, we always are.  

Mr. Woodford reported the $50,000 in the budget for the Old Farms Road project, that just goes on and on year after year, we should take it out.  Chairman Hines reported most of what has been spent has not been much Town money fortunately, but if you do not do the homework you will not have much chance of getting the federal money.  The Town Manager reported we can add up how much money has been spent since 1983 when they solicited proposals and we submitted the proposal. It is time we put a history of it together, but it would be better to have the Town Engineer come in to explain the process and where we are.    

The Town Manager reported the Town Clerk will give an update on gymnasium floor at Thompson Brook School.  The Town Clerk reported as of this afternoon it was determined that it is fixable.  Going back to last spring and summer when we noticed there was a problem there with cupping, and we called in the manufacturer, the installer, the building contractor, the Town Attorney and had everyone involved right down on the floor,  and it was determined at that time there were seven areas that needed to be redone and the contractor agreed to do them, he buffed the floor and did two coats of urethane.  That went along fine and we had members of the Building Committee checking the floor, comparing it with Farmington and came back and said that ours was in better shape than Farmington, and we finished our schools just about the same time.  In November it started again, where the shrinkage was occurring, so we called a meeting and decided through the Town Attorney that we should have a consultant look at it.  We hired the consultant for $4,800, his report came down and said that the School was not controlling the temperature properly, in the summer they had the air conditioning going too high, then in the winter they had the heat too high, it was running at 75 degrees which was making that area almost like a desert and that was his quote.  The school said they would control the heat better, then it got so bad during the  January cold spell, where the heat was on and the dry air, and it was definitely showing distinct marks and they were taping them so that they could continue to use the floor.  We had a meeting this Monday morning, but did not have a quorum, but we did have the  Board of Education Chairman Peggy Roell and member David Shopis and Dr. Kisiel.  Mr. Shopis indicated to the Committee that they had not taken the proper step, and that it should have gone into litigation.  In the summer, we entered into what they call a tolling agreement, with both parties the Town of Avon and the Contractor, and agreed that we would not bring litigation, we would bring in this consultant and do all of the steps that we thought would fix this problem.  So immediately we got into this, because when the consultants report came out it indicated again that very fairly, that it was the temperature control.  So we called him back into the scene this past Monday and he indicated, unbeknown to us, that our Committee Chairman while checking that school floor that he had run into the consultant, indicated that it was the temperature controls and that the school department was not addressing that issue.  So now the consultant is refining his report which we expect any day now, indicating again that that floor has to have controlled environmentally by temperature controls.  Chairman Hines questioned whether the humidity was also an issue.  The Town Clerk reported that was another issue, the Architect felt strongly that there was not enough humidity in the gymnasium, but the consultant has come back and said no, if you control mechanicals you will not have that problem.  David Shopis and Dr. Kisiel made such a case Monday, that she called off the humidifiers that she had ordered based on what the Architect and Committee Chairman thought we should put in there.  The Consultant does not think we should be putting humidity into there, it is just a matter of controls.  She has not seen any report, and until a report comes down what we are going to try to do is to is to extend that tolling agreement through next winter.  The contractor is not aware of what this new report from the consultant is going to be, which is not blaming the installation at all, and that is what the architect at first thought that it was installed improperly, and apparently this consultant who is a real professional, and the architect has been in touch with the consultant and he is quite impressed with the fact the consultant is very knowledgeable.  The consultant was not chosen by the Town, we turned it over to the Town Attorney and they selected the professional, they had RFP’s, and they made the choice, and made a recommendation to the Committee.   So that is where it is now, but she would like to say that Hank Frey, our Committee Chairman, knows more about that floor than the building department over there, because he inspects it every day and on top of it, he has been a wonderful Chairman, he gives a lot of his personal time to the project.  

Mrs. Hornaday questioned whether they recommended a temperature for the gymnasium.  The Town Clerk reported yes, they recommended 65 degrees during the day when it is used and 60 degrees when  it is unoccupied.  The Committee Chairman now has been very insistent with those in charge of the gymnasium to keep that temperature at what has been recommended, although in the summer no, as a matter of fact that was another problem they were running the air conditioning much too high.  The Town Manager reported he wanted the Council to get an update because of the aggressiveness of the Board of Education member and their Chairman supporting him and Dr. Kisiel, about ripping the floor up and suing and what not.  A Building Committee member, who is an attorney, is very methodically putting all of this information together, and saying that we do not have the evidence and we do not have the reports or anything else to go to litigation and we are in a very weak position to do anything like that.   

The Town Manager reported the last thing was to let you know that we have initiated bargaining with the Police Union, our first meeting when we will be changing proposals will be on the 26th of February, and he will have more information at the March 4th meeting.  

EXECUTIVE SESSION:  Litigation/Negotiation – None

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m.

Attest:



Caroline B. LaMonica
Town Clerk