AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
JULY 1, 2004
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Chamber by Chairman Hines. Members present: Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Carlson and Woodford. Absent: Mr. Shea.
PUBLIC HEARING:
The Town Clerk presented the Call of the Public Hearing which reads as follows:
“LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of Avon, Connecticut will hold a Public Hearing on Thursday, July 1, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, Selectmen’s Chamber, 60 West Main St., to consider the following:
1. To consider and permit all interested persons to speak on the plan of the Town Council to sign on behalf of the Town of Avon a Cellular/Wireless Communications Lease Agreement between the Town of Avon and Sprint Spectrum L. P., for a proposed Sprint Cellular Communications Tower to be located at 277 Huckleberry Hill Road.
2. To consider and permit all interested persons to speak on the plan of the Town Council to accept a parcel of land designated as Emergency Access between the cul-de-sac at Far Hills Dr. and Route 44, as shown on a map entitled: “Plan of Subdivision Far Hills of Avon, owned by Susan S. Kinder, Robert R. Spencer and Ann S. Rosenblum, Avon Mountain Road and Vermillion Drive, Avon, Connecticut, scale 1”=40’, Revised July 15, 1997.
3. To consider and permit all interested persons to speak on the plan of the Town Council to release a Drainage Easement from Quinn Development LLC, as shown on a map entitled “Right of Way showing land to be acquired for Extension of Eddy Street, Dalbon Property, 1”=50’, dated September 1997, prepared by the Town of Avon Engineering Dept”.
4. To consider and permit all interested persons to speak on the plan of the Town Council to accept the Drainage Easement with Right to Surface Discharge from Quinn Development LLC, as shown on a subdivision map entitled “Nod Brook Landing, revised map prepared for SKF Builders & Developers, LLC, Eddy Street, 1”=40’, dated August 2003.
Copies of said maps referenced above are available for review in the Town Clerk’s office during normal business hours.
Dated at Avon, Connecticut this 22nd day of June, 2004.
Philip K. Schenck, Jr.
Town Manager”
(03/04-100 7:30 p.m. Acceptance of Easement: Far Hills Drive to Rte. 44
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept a parcel of land designated as Emergency Access between the cul-de-sac at Far Hills Drive and Route 44, as required by the Planning & Zoning Commission as part of the subdivision approval process.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
(03/04-101) 7:30 p.m. Granting of Easement; Sprint Antenna, Huckleberry Hill Landfill
Chairman Hines reported this is a win/win situation for us, and a great opportunity as we do not really have control over where it goes, and the Town Manager and Staff have done a wonderful job of working out a compromise here which is good for everyone.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve an agreement with Sprint for a five year easement, agreement for an Antenna to be to be constructed at the Huckleberry Hill landfill site, pending Connecticut State Siting Council approval.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
(04/05-01) 7:30 p.m. Release of Easement: Eddy Street
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the release of a Drainage Easement in the Nod Brook Landing subdivision, as required by the Planning & Zoning Commission as part of the subdivision approval process.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
(04-05-02 7:30 p.m. Granting of Easement: Eddy Street
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the drainage easement with right to surface discharge in the Nod Brook Landing subdivision, as required by the Planning & Zoning Commission as part of the subdivision approval process.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETINGS
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the May 6, 2004 minutes as amended.
Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor. Mrs. Hornaday abstained, absent from meeting.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the May 17, 2004 minutes as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the May 27, 2004 minutes as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines and Woodford voted in favor. Mr. Carlson abstained, absent from meeting.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the June 3, 2004 minutes as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the June 12, 2004 minutes as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the June 17, 2004 minutes as read.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE - None
COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Mrs. Hornaday questioned how long Deercliff is going to be closed. The Town Manager reported they have two months to do the work, it is not going to be closed the whole time during that period, it may be closed for a week and then open for a few days, it will depend upon the construction activities. We have had a number of complaints from people up there, and the Town Engineer talked with the contractor to see if we can be more definitive in terms of the homeowners as to when it is going to be open and not. He has not received any homeowner complaints within the last week or so. Mrs. Hornaday reported she received requests that when the road is reopened temporarily, the time between when it is passable that construction can start a little later, so that the time that it is closed the window is
tighter, so that people can get out to go to their jobs, then in the afternoon people can come home. The Town Manager reported that is what the Town Engineer has been working on, it was more of a problem in the morning apparently than in the evening at least according to complaints he received. But the road is narrow, and it is not conducive to stop and go. It has already been ongoing for two to three weeks and it was to be two months, so probably another six weeks to go.
Chairman Hines reported he met with a resident and our Assistant Town Engineer who did an excellent job explaining things clearly and had all of the answers, making a possibly difficult situation come to a smooth conclusion. It made him proud that Mr. Slessler is a member of the Staff for the Town of Avon, we appreciate it and it was a great effort.
OLD BUSINESS
03/04-09 FY04/05 Budget
Chairman Hines reported we need to authorize and sign the Rate Bill and Tax Warrant in order for the Tax Collector to collect taxes. The Town Manager reported the due date has been extended to August 15th, a notice will be sent with the bills.
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorize and sign the Rate Bill and Tax Warrant for FY 2004/2005, at a tax rate of 23.46 mills on the grand list of October 1, 2003.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-40 Ordinance #71: Restriction on Construction Activities
Chairman Hines questioned what has been changed from the original version. The Town Clerk reported the one item that was changed was the fine, it originally was not to exceed $100, and Police Chief Agnesi stated he would like it to be a specific figure so that it would not be determined that they were arbitrary, it is now to be a $90 fine. The Town Planner reported it also reflects revisions to subsection II and to section IV (a) (ii) to clarify that a resident must be working on the property where he or she resides to qualify for the exemption, the addition of a new subsection V (a) in response to the deletion of the enforcement section revised in the fine portion of it.
The Town Manager reported it is ready to be approved, everyone has signed off on it, the Town Attorney has revised it, and Chief Agnesi has reviewed and approves the changes. Chairman Hines questioned whether the Town is still receiving noise complaints. The Town Manager reported he has not received any. The Town Planner reported he receives two or three a day. The Town Clerk reported there was one today, which was referred to the Planning Department, mainly it is that they are starting too early with the noise. The Town Planner reported that is the biggest complaint, the early morning hour noises that we receive most. The Town Manager reported these types of complaints tend to obviously rise during the spring, summer and fall, when people have their windows open, it is also
construction season, and it is not always just related to construction activities, we have had it with the refuse collection people, with lawn mowing, and other home maintenance activities. Mr. Woodford reported this still gives the Police Department a great deal of latitude in dealing with specific situations. The Town Manager reported yes, but it is also confined enough, which has been part of the problem in drawing a line between how much detail you put in there, and how much flexibility that you give. Chairman Hines reported if we are still getting complaints, that probably says there still is a problem, and he does not know a weekend in the summer and fall that we do not hear some construction going on.
Diane Carney, 36 Rosewood Road, questioned if this ordinance pertains to her neighbor if he starts chain sawing at 6:30 or 7:00 on Sunday morning? The Town Manager reported not really, if he has a skill saw out there and drilling, it would be inclusive. We used to enforce all of these sorts of things under the nuisance provisions of the Statutes. The Police would receive the complaint, they would generally go out, most people do not want to sign a formal complaint about their neighbor, it has to be that the police go out and they talk to the neighbor and say, that they received some phone calls, and try to work it that way, and if they become recalcitrant and uncooperative, then the police will go ahead and utilize the nuisance provisions. Generally we have been successful, but what has ended up
happening in these particular cases is, with these large subdivisions, you have a meriod of subcontractors up there that are working for the General Contractor, who is supposed to be abiding by conditions established by the Planning & Zoning Commission, and by the time that you go to the Contractor and then to the subcontractor, then they say they never were told. This gives a lot more teeth to the whole issue.
On a motion made by Mrs. Hornaday, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve Ordinance #71, RESTRICTION ON CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, to become effective August 1, 2004, which reads as follows:
“SECTION I
PURPOSE
The people of the Town of Avon are entitled to an environment free from excessive noise and vibration that may jeopardize their health, safety or welfare or degrade the quality of their lives. This ordinance is enacted to protect, preserve and promote such health, safety, welfare and quality of life through the control and prevention of excessive noise and vibration due to Construction Activities.
SECTION II
DEFINITION OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
“Construction Activities” are defined as activities necessary or incidental to the construction, erection, assembly, installation, equipping, alteration, repair, renovation or demolition of buildings or other structures, roads, utility lines or other property. Construction Activities shall include but not be limited to land-clearing, grading, blasting, excavation, activities related to the processing of earth and rock such as screening, splitting and crushing, removal of materials, filling, paving and the operation of vehicles, tools and equipment on a construction site.
SECTION III
RESTRICTIONS
Construction Activities shall be prohibited within the Town of Avon between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and Town holidays.
SECTION IV
EXCEPTIONS
The restrictions contained in this ordinance shall not apply to (i) Construction Activities engaged in by the Town or the State of Connecticut, (ii) Construction Activities engaged in by a resident of the Town who is performing such activities on residential property on which the resident resides, (iii) Construction Activities undertaken in an emergency by a public service company, or (iv) Construction Activities that do not cause noise or vibration such as painting plastering and caulking.
The Chief of Police or, in his or her absence, the Executive Officer, shall, in the event of an emergency not involving a public service company, have the power and authority to permit Construction Activities otherwise prohibited by this ordinance.
SECTION V
PENALTIES FOR OFFENSES
Any person violating or causing to be violated this ordinance, including through an agent, employee or contractor, shall be subject to a fine of ninety dollars ($90.00). Each day any such violation shall continue and each act in violation shall constitute a separate offense. Failure to pay a fine within thirty (30) days of a notice of violation shall result in the issuance of a State of Connecticut infraction as provided in Section 51-164p of the Connecticut General Statutes.
SECTION VI
EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall be effective August 1, 2004.”
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-64 Approve Contract: Architectural Services: Avon High School
Chairman Hines questioned whether the Town Attorney is happy with the revisions, and Kaestle Boos as well. The Town Clerk reported the Town Attorney indicated that he did not think that Kaestle Boos would have any problem with the supplemental language, it is just something being added it is not changing anything in the contract, but it certainly can be tabled to the next meeting. The Town Manager reported we can approve it, subject to the Town Attorney’s final approval, as we have not yet been able to contact Kaestle Boos regarding the revisions.
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve and authorize the Town Manager to sign, on behalf of the Town of Avon, the contract with Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. for Architectural Services for the Avon High School Renovation/Addition Project, subject to Town Attorney final approval of the revised contract wording.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-76 Bid Approval: Police Enforcement Vehicle: (Federal Grant)
The Town Manager reported there are conditions to the grant funds, in that the vehicle must be marked, but other than that we can use it as needed. Mr. Woodford questioned how we ended up with an Excursion vehicle. The Town Manager reported it was what they requested in the spec, to be able to put their materials they plan on carrying. Chairman Hines questioned whether this was required by the federal government. The Town Manager reported not per say, they are looking at those with sufficient capacity. Their original grant application amount was $41,590.00, the gross amount that we were awarded was $33,272, apparently there is equipment that needs to be in the vehicle and the vehicle is a larger size vehicle in order to accommodate the equipment. Chairman Hines reported the purchase
order says $29,735, does that include the equipment? The Town Manager reported that is the vehicle itself, there is additional equipment, the security system, lights, etc. It is a reimbursement grant, we have to go ahead and buy the vehicle, then we submit the paid purchase invoices, the purchase orders, back to the State and Federal Government and we get reimbursed. They will approve up to $33,272, the vehicle itself is $29,735, the difference between that is outlined in some of the other background materials, so that we can buy lights and other items. The original spec stated similar to Ford Excursion or Chevrolet Suburban.
Mr. Woodford reported he would not want down the road to have all Excursions running around Town. Mr. Carlson reported directionally this is not the direction in which we want to go. The Town Manager reported we have no need for anything that big on a normal basis. The issue of the sport utility vehicles over the Ford Crown Victoria’s, is that the officers like it because the equipment is more readily available, it is up on a higher base, there is more room, it is all heated. Whereas, when equipment is in trunk and you are taking out a face mask or something like this that you have to put it on somebody, particularly in the winter, it is cold. So there are those types of operational issues, that are associated with the SUV. Now what size SUV you get, obviously you are looking for
something that you can go ahead and accommodate the equipment, and at the same time accommodate the prisoners aspect of it, because they have to have it capable of handling multiple people. We have also found out with the SUV’s that we can generally get more years out of them, as they are built on a more rugged basis, they are more expensive however. The trade off seems to be working in terms of the number of years per cost of the vehicle to keep it, but we have not moved completely to them, because there is some value also in the Ford’s, they are less expensive, so we found from an operational standpoint to have a mixed fleet that are available, as you do not need an SUV all of the time for every single call. Mr. Woodford reported the SUV Excursions are a substantially larger vehicle than the Tahoe, and in terms of gas mileage and everything else, operationally, he would not like to have the Excursions running around town, if we do not need them.
The Town Manager reported this is only for this particular vehicle, for the DUI equipment and so forth.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorize and approve the purchase of a 2005 Ford 4x4 Special Service Vehicle Excursion in amount not to exceed $41,500, with $33,272 reimbursed by grant funds.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-86 Appointment: Board Of Assessment Appeals
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council appoint Samuel D. Chester to serve on the Board Of Assessment Appeals for a term to expire December 31, 2005.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-93 Review and Approval: Buckingham Field Bids
The Recreation Director reported since most of the bids we received were higher than expected, we broke down the bids into sections, to be able to award a particular portion to the lowest qualified bidder. Three landscape or building contractors submitted bids, the lowest bid came from a landscaper who is very qualified to do the work on the infield with sod and stone dust pathways. We are putting off installation of the warning track until such time as the outfield and periphery fencing is re-bid, we have decided to replace the post and cable fencing with a post and beam design, which should cut the cost in half, as the cost of steel has accelerated much more than wood. He would recommend accepting the low bidder for the landscape portion of the project at this time, then re-bid the fencing
portion of the project, in order to have the opening of the area by early spring.
Mr. Carlson reported yes we will save some money by going to a post and beam rather than cable, but what will it do from a maintenance standpoint? The Director reported we have had a post and rail fence at Sperry Park since the park was rebuilt in 1986, it shows little signs of deterioration above the ground, but the posts seem to be very much in tact, the difference in cost is about $10,000 less to install than steel.
Mr. Carlson reported splitting the bid, will make the Town the contractor, it must be checked during construction activities to make sure one area is not damaged when another part is being completed. The Director reported we wanted to do the whole project from a general contractor, and not in pieces, but this will save money in certain areas and will allow us to complete the whole project. The Director reported he is most concerned about the landscaping portion of the infield area, and the stone dust pathways because those are labor intensive, but the fencing companies do their work pretty quickly and the fencing bid will be changed to a much smaller scale reducing the cost significantly.
The Town Manager reported we have already run up quite a bit of architectural and engineering costs in putting all of the bids together. We have done other fencing jobs with fencing contractors, and would feel comfortable, while not the most desirable, but would feel comfortable if we went ahead and got this part of the project completed, as it is related and in close proximity, physically to one another, in terms of what they are doing, then work on the fencing bid and come back in August with that. He further reported in the Recreation Fees account, once all of last year’s bills are paid and then audited, there will be funds turned back of approximately $12,000.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council award the bid to the apparent low bidder True North Enterprises, Inc. in amount not to exceed $77,972 for installation of the infield with sod and the stone dust walkways in the Buckingham Field area.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
03/04-103 Appointment: Planning & Zoning Commission
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mrs. Hornaday, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table this item to the August 5, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
VII NEW BUSINESS
04/05-03 Approval of CMED Contract for FY04/05
The Town Manager reported the Police Chiefs reviewed the Central Medical Emergency Direction Contract, the communications system that links the ambulances to the hospitals and directs the ambulances to which house they should go to, then to which hospital either of the patients choice or to the hospital best able to address the patient’s issues. It also works in times of a mass casualty, such as an airplane crash, as this system was set up after the 1979 tornado in Windsor, when all of the ambulances seemed to be heading to St. Francis, and they were going to be overloaded and Hartford Hospital had room. It is a regional medical emergency dispatching system, they are located at the Oak Hill School for The Blind, operating 24 hours a day, with virtually all towns in the Capital Region participating and
even some communities serviced by Bay State up into Springfield, such as Long Meadow. It is the link between ambulances and hospitals, and a very important part.
The Town has had alternative payment arrangements with this, when we contracted with the ambulance providers, depending upon which one we were with, when our contract was with MedStar now with AMR, which is a joint contract with Farmington and Avon which is ambulance service for our EMS provider which sometimes they have paramedics on board and sometimes not, therefore we have paramedic service with UCONN Health Center, a joint contract also with Farmington, Avon, Burlington, Canton and Simsbury, which is the next item on the agenda.
The ambulance delivery service is controlled by the Department of Public Utility Control, a regulated activity, they determine the fees that can be charged for ambulance service. AMR will bill the insurance company a set fee for a particular event that happens. The second five year contract that we had beginning in the year 1999/2000, the towns agreed to pick up this particular cost, but we had a five year declining contract, for the first three years we were paying AMR for ambulance service in the Town of Avon, the last two years up until yesterday we have not been paying for any ambulance service. In fact if they had been late for any particular ambulance calls, they would be fined in some particular provisions under our existing contract. Therefore for the past five years we have been
paying this CMED fee, it is part of the budget, a per capita cost that is charged based upon the number of ambulance communications calls from ambulances to the hospitals in the medical community, they record them all. He has copies of their annual report, and he served for many years on the Board of Directors of the North Central Connecticut Emergency Medical Services Council, the CMED operation is one of three subcommittees of that Council, and that deals with the radio communications out on the street. One of the other committees is the Emergency Medicine Community, the hospitals, each hospital that has an emergency medicine department, they have a subcommittee. The third subcommittee is the Training and Education Committee, which determines the standards for training for the paramedics and EMT’s and what not, and where that changes as to how many hours of what they have. There are three committees and Police Chief Agnesi is our representative
on the North Central EMS Council, and he and Captain Rinaldo sit on the CMED subcommittee. This is a very important, integrated, fairly complex system with different parties in place.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve and authorize the Town Manager to sign on behalf of the Town of Avon the Regional Emergency Medical Services Communications System Agreement with CMED as contractor, for a term of July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson, Shea and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-04 Approval of UCONN Health Center 5 year Contract
The Town Manager reported this is a renewal of our contract with the University of Connecticut Health Center, a five year contract equaling almost $250,000, which does provide us with paramedic service, they do not transport patients, they only provide the Paramedic service. Initially they were providing EMT level services to us, but not any longer, they are three levels of service, basic which is ambulance, EMT which is intermediate, then paramedic which is mobile intensive care, and some services have been merged, but paramedics are allowed to provide certain services that others are not. What ended up happening with the ambulance service, as with MedStar which started out as EMT level, they then found out that they could recruit trained paramedics and charge a higher rate through the DPUC for the service
that they were providing so they moved to an all paramedic basic service. Mrs. Carney questioned whether it was stated that AMR had no paramedics? The Town Manager reported no, they may have some paramedics but the contract that we have with them now, is an EMT level contract. No we had a paramedic contract with MedStar then when AMR purchased them, they decided to go back to an EMT level service, so we felt more comfortable having the paramedics service available as a guarantee and we have discussed in the past, of canceling the UCONN contractor, but now since our ambulance provider does not provide paramedic services we decided to keep the UCONN contract and that we continue with it, Farmington is conjointly done with Avon, so that we are both using it. The service has been good, we have not heard and significant complaints about either service, he has had some concerns periodically about the ambulance service, not the paramedic service, in terms of
timeliness. We have a contract that is a performance based contract that they are to respond to 90% of all of their calls within 8 minutes and 59 seconds, monitored by both Farmington and Avon, through the dispatch centers, we can clock it without any problem at all. We have quarterly meetings that include a peer review type of meeting, that includes ambulance personnel, police and doctors from the Emergency Medicine Department at UCONN, and they go over issues that they come up with in terms of these emergency medical services. Mr. Woodford reported the best thing we have going is our Police Department as first responders. The Town Manager reported all of our officers are MRT (medical response technician), all of our Sergeants are EMT trained, or in the process of being EMT trained once they make the rank of Sergeant. We will always have somebody on there, they are our first responders and we all agree that they have done a good job. The contract with
UCONN is a flat rate no matter how many calls they have to respond to.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That Philip K. Schenck, Jr., Town Manager is hereby authorized to make, execute and approve on behalf of this company, any and all contracts and to execute and approve on behalf of this company, other instruments, a part of or incident to such contracts; effective until otherwise ordered by the Board of Directors.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-05 Participation in CCM’s Street Light Proceeding
Chairman Hines reported this item is for participation in CCM’s street light proceedings, and questioned whether we should participate. The Town Manager reported we should at least agree to send in and get an idea of how much it would be. Mr. Carlson reported this does not obligate us to participate. The Town Manager reported that is correct, but generally these have been successful in the past.
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve of CCM’s participation in the Street Light Proceedings, but with no monetary commitment at this time.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-06 CRCOG Telecommunications Audit Results: Approve Three Year Contract: SBC Telephone Service
Chairman Hines reported our Director of Finance looked over the contract, and believes this is the direction in which we should go. The Finance Director gave a review of the contract. She reported we worked with the Capitol Region Council of Governments, they are the ones who hired the vendor that performed well. They came in and looked at our invoices, including land lines, wireless, pagers, and came back with the recommendation. We actually have been with SBC for local through SNET, for years, but AT&T was our toll provider, so we would be switching everything to SBC. We pretty much came back with a recommendation with the contracts that we have in place, as we have such low rates and they have been told that we are grandfathered in, and are not recommending a change. The only
thing that may change is in the Public Works area, they presently use a pager, separate from the cell phone, and now with Nextel and Horizon offering those services, they are suggesting that they look into having that with just one unit instead of two. We will be able to recognize some savings which we have incorporated into the 04/05 budgets, in anticipation of this.
Mr. Woodford questioned whether this can be done on a continuing basis, such as for five years until audited. The Finance Director reported it is a CRCOG program. The Town Manager reported it is not a program that is set up, per se, to do that, but most of the municipalities, every few years we get together and last year we had them update a survey they did on fees and charges, whatever everybody is charging for different permits and everything in the region so that we can get an idea. The Purchasing Council is always looking at this, so probably he would say if it is not done in a couple of years, probably the municipalities would get together and ask for it to be done. The Finance Director reported if we report back to them and give positive feedback and say that we would be interested in pursuing it on a
cyclical basis if the same towns show a substantial cost savings then. Mr. Carlson reported certainly with the over capacity in tele communications market in the past and as it continues today, there is some savings to be found out there, so every couple of years we ought to be out there doing this. He applauds the Finance Director that there is $12,000 worth of savings. The Town Manager reported that is one of the reductions that we put into the revised budget.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve and authorize the Town Manager to sign on behalf of the Town of Avon the Telecommunications Contract with SBC for FY2004/2005, as recommended by the Director of Finance.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-07 Approve Lease Contract: Postage Meter
The Finance Director reported she participated in this project, as it was believed that the present provider was the only company providing postage meters and we learned quite a bit as a result. There is another vendor, Hasler/New England Mailing System, that is active, and in fact are pretty aggressive in their pricing as they are looking to gain some of the market that is being held by our present company. When we did the municipal reference check and also non municipal reference check, we found that quite a few businesses were switching to Hasler because of the cost and also because they are very happy with the service, although we did have good service with our present company, so it is really a cost issue.
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve and authorize the Town Manager to sign on behalf of the Town of Avon the lease contract with Hasler/New England Mailing System for a postage machine system for FY2004/2005, as recommended by the Director of Finance.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-08 Resignation: Board of Finance
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept with regret the resignation of Stephen J. McGuff from the Board of Finance.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
04/05-09 Appointment: Board of Finance
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table the appointment to the August 5, 2004 meeting.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
TOWN MANGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
The Town Manager reported we did close on the Rendell property, on Sunnybrook, that is now owned by the Town. There is a copy of the ‘Request for Statement of Preliminary Interest’ concerning the purchase of the building. The notice has been in the newspaper legal ads area and on the website. The Library Director reported the newspaper will be printing a separate story on the property as well. This will be an opportunity to sell the buildings, but obviously we have increased security there and a number of other things.
The Town Manager reported we are working with Mrs. Foster on the Foster property on Waterville Road, which was donated to the Town, but with life use by the owners. She has almost completely vacated, but wants access to the house for another two to three weeks, which we have agreed to. We will then be moving ahead, probably at the August meeting we will be having the Town Assessor and Public Works Superintendent come in with a draft of an offering circular, to sell the house and the property, the property is two acres. Chairman Hines questioned will the money from that sale will go into the open space fund? The Town Manager reported that is correct.
The Town Manager reported with regard to the Rhodes property, the Environmental Consultant is proceeding ahead but we are doing it very slowly and methodically, and testing the area. Mrs. Hornaday reported DEP has a specific time period between each testing. The consultant is very conscientious, but we are sensitive to the fact that it is taking a long time, and would like it to move along faster. We were hoping that by this time or at least by summer to have it all graded and re-seeded, but it looks like it is going to be late fall before we can get any of it done.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Litigation/Negotiation
On a motion made by Mr. Woodford, seconded by Mr. Carlson, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 8:40 p.m.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Carlson, seconded by Mr. Woodford, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 9:55 p.m.
Mrs. Hornaday, Messrs: Hines, Carlson and Woodford voted in favor.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m.
Attest:
Caroline B. LaMonica
Town Clerk
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