AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
April 7, 2011
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, in the Selectmen's Chamber by Chairman Zacchio. Members present: Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Shea and Pena. Absent: Evans.
II. SERVICE AWARD: HEARTSafe Community Presentation
Chief Mark Rinaldo thanked our EMS providers, the UCONN paramedic service, AMR, and the Avon Volunteer Fire Department as they do an excellent job of providing emergency medical care. He introduced Gary St. Amand from the State of Connecticut Department of Health Services. Mr. St. Amand made a speech (a handout is attached and made part of these minutes). He congratulated the Town of Avon for achieving designation as a HEARTSafe Community.
Chairman Zacchio reported that one of the things that Council always considers during their budget deliberations when they build a budget is our public safety it is always one of our number one concerns and this is a great designation and thanked Chief Mark Rinaldo along with AMR for the partnership in putting this together, along with our first responders in the Police Department, Chief Trick and the Fire Department, and of course the State of Connecticut for the designation. He reported that it is important for community safety and we are pleased that we are part of it.
III. PUBLIC HEARING - None
IV. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING : March 7, 2011
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the March 7, 2011 minutes as submitted.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
- COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
Senator Kevin Witkos made a presentation on legislative updates (a handout is attached and made part of these minutes). He reported that the Governor is going to say please come join me with my budget at $1.5 billion and he will take the heat from it which he has basically said already and we can move on and now we have a balanced budget without any smoke and mirrors. He reported that he has heard from some of the members of the Appropriations Committee who have said that they cannot make some of these cuts; some of the cuts proposed and certain bills that have to do on the legislative side of it which is really just lobbying groups and some of the special commissions they would not even combine those and are keeping them a whole. He reported that there is a constitutional deadline and all of their
business is supposed to be completed by the stroke of midnight on June 8th. He reported that Governor Malloy has said that he hopes to have a budget adopted by the legislature on May 15th; he is preparing on May 6th or May 8th to offer his second alternative budget and pushing to move the negotiations along so they can have some sense of what they can tentatively agree upon and sign off that is what they have gotten in concessions and the rest will be according to the Governor layoffs if that happens to be. He reported that the e-mails that he is getting a lot of now really are off budget topics, such as on high-capacity magazines which says you cannot put more than ten bullets in a clip and otherwise be illegal which Avon’s Police Department’s clips carry more than ten bullets so this would be an unfunded mandate on towns because there is not a carve out for law enforcement. He reported that another topic of
concern is the transgender identity bill which says that it becomes a protected class so folks cannot take any type of administrative action or sanctions on moving folks that are going through a sex change or through identifying themselves as a member of the opposite sex and dressing as such; he is at a position now not willing to support that because there is not a carve out for the schools and he thinks that is absolutely necessary to make sure that there is protection in the classroom and that that does not happen as he feels that it would be disruptive to the kids. He reported that the last topic of concern is a home care program that allows seniors to stay in their homes longer and the Governor has proposed that a premium increase go from 6% to 15%; it was at 15% last year but the legislature dropped it down to 6% and the Governor said that in this budget year we are going to move it back to 15% and that is for folks that get services at their home, i.e. bathing,
nursing, food, medicine, podiatry, and beautician. He reported that it is interesting that the budget has kind of weaned off and these are the main things being brought up. He reported that he fully expects that once the legislature adopts their budget at the end of this month the budget e-mails will start churning up again.
Mr. Pena questioned Senator Witkos’ comment regarding the proposed hotel tax increase not going anywhere. Senator Witkos responded that he does not think it will go anywhere. Mr. Pena questioned the luxury car tax. Senator Witkos responded that the Automobile Association industry has been camping out at the State Capitol and he does not see that going anywhere because then you are taxing on how it is assessed at a $50,000 or more cost of the vehicle. Mr. Pena questioned if that coincides with the trading value of a car and whether it be discounted. Senator Witkos responded that is part of the same Bill and he does not feel that it will be approved. He added that the other push is that we will tax the rich and one that he feels will be taken off the table and a push toward higher
income, maybe create another bracket.
Karen Cianci, 21 Voloski Road, questioned if this public hearing is the same thing as the communication from audience. Chairman Zacchio responded that there is no public hearing tonight. Ms. Cianci questioned what a public hearing is? Chairman Zacchio responded that a public hearing most commonly when the Town accepts property, easements, right-of-ways, and ordinances by Charter. Ms. Cianci questioned how many defibrillators do we have in Town. Chairman Zacchio responded that every police car has one, the Senior Center has one, and they are at every public school. Chairman Zacchio called upon Sgt. Adam Lazinsk for where the defibrillators are at the schools. Sgt. Adam Lazinsk responded that he believed, as this is not something that the Police Department manages but, that some of
the schools have at least one AED and as far as training involved there is no mandatory training for that as they are “cop proof” and the instructions are very self-explanatory. Ms. Cianci questioned that if she does not think the Board of Education has enough because only one person has one and she can’t be everywhere at one time, what can she do to request that in the Education budget? Chairman Zacchio responded that she would have to lobby the Board of Education for adding something. He recommended that Ms. Cianci find out first exactly how many there are and where they are. Ms. Cianci questioned if she could bring someone from the HEARTSafe Community and say they are the perfect people to talk to about it.
Ms. Cianci directed a question to Mr. Shea and asked if he has any official authority over varsity sports in the high school, specifically basketball or football. Mr. Shea responded no. Mr. Shea questioned why she asked him that question. Ms. Cianci responded that she thought Mr. Shea was the Chairperson of the Council. Mr. Shea responded that Mark Zacchio is the Chair. Ms. Cianci questioned if Mr. Shea used to be the Chair. Mr. Shea responded that he did not know what this has to do with varsity athletics and that he was never the Chair of the Town Council and he was curious as to why she was asking that question. Ms. Cianci responded that she was wondering if Mr. Shea or any other Town Council member has any official regulatory authority over sports in the high school at any
level. All other Council members responded no. Chairman Zacchio responded that we have no authority over any of the sports and the Board of Education is the sole authority.
Jordan Lazinsk, 88 Deepwood Drive, second class scout in Boy Scout Troop 274 and reported that he is here to earn a communication badge you have to visit a meeting in town, record notes and turn it in to his counselor so that is what he and another scout are doing. Council welcomed them to the meeting. Chairman Zacchio asked Jordan what kinds of other fun activities you get to do in scouting. Jordan responded that there is a lot of camping and this weekend is a campout at Alsop Meadows and at last night’s meeting they had to plan all the food. Chairman Zacchio questioned what was on the menu. Jordan responded that his patrol is having a spaghetti dish called poor man’s lobster with chicken marinated in Kool-Aid. The other scout reported that if the town has anything that
they want the boy scouts to do for community service to contact the troop and they will be happy to help. Mr. Pena questioned if the next boy scout event is the flags that they put on Route 44 on Memorial Day. Jordan responded yes, on Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and 9/11. Chairman Zacchio thanked them for being here and being involved in the boy scouts and look forward to seeing them here again.
VI. COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Mr. Pena reported that at the March Board of Education meeting which was the new Superintendent’s first meeting that he attended and he brought up some items to the Board of Education, including a recommendation about a standing committee and that he wants to have a liaison from the Board of Education to the Town Council and to the Board of Finance certainly not to tell us how to do our business and for us to tell them how to do their business but in the spirit of greater communication. Mr. Pena reported that it was a good idea on Mr. Mala’s part and he welcomes that idea and would hope that Council welcomes the idea as well. Chairman Zacchio reported that our meetings are open to all.
Mrs. Samul reported that she was fortunate yet again to represent the Town Council to the last Boy Scouts Blue and Gold Dinner which was a whole lot of fun. In addition, she wanted to recognize not only the boy scouts but also the girl scouts of all ages from the youngest to the oldest who participated in last Saturday’s Avon Clean-Up Day which they have done for a number of years now. She reported that there were seventy-five scouts in attendance and they picked up over two pick-up truck loads of things from municipal building areas, our various parks, and this was again working towards a badge and maybe eventually obtaining their eagle scout. She reported that they make a significant contribution to the Town because it is always nice to have a clean house and they are doing that for us. The
other scout’s father in the audience reported that with the Town clean-up the post office was included and he was amazed that were approximately 700-800 rubber bands on the ground; he recommended someone talking to the post office staff about placing a box outside for such.
Chairman Zacchio reported his compliments to the Police Department for the Tip-A-Cop program at Bertucci’s which was fantastic and Avon, Canton, and Simsbury Police Departments were there earning money for Special Olympics. He reported that tonight he came from First and Last Tavern for an Avon High School graduation fundraiser. He reported that in the past he has been to Puerto Vallarta and Cozi for fundraisers and he would encourage everyone to engage in that as it is a great way to eat out with the family and see some friends and it raises money for a lot of the organizations in Town that are trying to do some good things. Mr. Pena reported that Chairman Zacchio also attended the Avon Dollars for Scholar event which was a great event.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
10/11-01 FY 11/12 Budget Development
The Town Manager reported that he has a list that staff has been working on today and it is basically finalized and will be able to e-mail it out to Council within the next couple of days. He reported that we have the Annual Town Meeting on May 2nd and the Referendum on May 11th and in Council’s packets is a copy of the overheads that were being projected at the Board of Finance meeting last night reflecting the percentage and mill rate adjustments that are going to be required to get to the requested budget. Mr. Shea requested that information also be e-mailed to Council. The Town Manager reported with regards to the revenue side of the budget, following what Senator Witkos had to say, that there is a lot of flux in the revenue streams and a lot of potential revenue sources
are being discussed coming from the State of Connecticut. He reported that in talking with Senator Witkos and many others basically what he did and will see this when Council gets their final revenue budgets is that we created a new line item this year called Miscellaneous Intergovernmental Revenue State of Connecticut and it is basically a best guess as to what all of those potential combined revenue sources are going to be and the amount is approximately $54,000.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
10/11-43 Review, Discussion, and Set Public Hearing Date: Acceptances: Transfers
of Property and Easement to Town of Avon
Chairman Zacchio reported that Mr. Cecere was in attendance and that Chairman Zacchio and the Town Manager have had some conversation around the timing of this. The Town Manager reported that we should table this item and potentially take it up at the next meeting to schedule a public hearing. Chairman Zacchio reported that would allow Mr. Cecere some time to look at the plans and how they are going to affect his property.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table agenda item 10/11-43 Review, Discussion, and Set Public Hearing Date: Acceptances: Transfers of Property and Easement to Town of Avon to the May 5, 2011 meeting.
Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor. Mrs. Samul abstained.
Chairman Zacchio reported that Mrs. Samul did some appraisal work at that property in the past.
10/11-44 Supplemental Appropriation: Avon Education Foundation Grant,
Avon Senior Center, $1,500
The Town Manager reported that the next couple of items for approval of supplemental appropriations are based on grant awards from the Avon Education Foundation. He reported that the first one is $1,500; Jennifer Bennett at the Senior Center was very excited about getting the money for the iPads, we are getting ready to deploy them, and it should be a very successful program. Chairman Zacchio responded that was great and with the Avon Education Foundation often you think about them in terms of helping the schools and is great to see something with our seniors as well and continuing education no matter what age. Mr. Pena reported that he attended the award presentation and that was the first grant awarded to the Town by the Avon Education Foundation. Mrs. Samul reported that Jennifer Bennett did a
great job.
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council hereby recommends that the Board of Finance amend the FY 10/11 Budget by increasing:
REVENUES
Recreation Activities Fund, Other Local Revenues, Donations & Grants, Private Sources, Account #09-0360-43651 in the amount of $1,500.0 and increasing:
APPROPRIATIONS
Recreation Activities Fund, Senior Citizens, Equipment, Account #09-5301-52194 in the amount of $1,500.00 for the purpose of funding iPad purchases, which will be reimbursed through an approved Avon Education Foundation Grant.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-45 Avon Education Foundation Technology Grants to the Avon High School
($2,174), Roaring Brook School ($1,974), and Thompson Brook School
($30,172.48): $34,287.48
The Town Manager reported that there is a memo from Gary Franzi, Board of Education Director of Finance that provides a great amount of detail regarding these grants. Chairman Zacchio reported that twenty-six classrooms worth of new speakers is going to be great at Thompson Brook School.
a. Acceptance of Gifts
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That in accordance with Town Charter, Section 4.3.2(1), the Town Council hereby accepts the following gifts: Avon Education Foundation Technology Grants to the Avon High School $2,174, Roaring Brook School $1,974, and Thompson Brook School $30,172.48.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
b. Supplemental Appropriation: $34,287.48
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council hereby recommends that the Board of Finance amend the FY 10/11 Budget by increasing:
REVENUES
State and Federal Education Grants Fund, Other Local Revenues, Donations & Grants, Private Sources, Account #13-0360-43651 in the amount of $34,287.48
and increasing
APPROPRIATIONS
State and Federal Education Grants Fund, Board of Education, AEF Grant Program, Account #13-9401-59203 in the amount of $34,287.48 for the purpose of recording grants received from the Avon Education Foundation for Avon High School, Thompson Brook School and Roaring Brook School for purchasing technology equipment.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
Chairman Zacchio expressed thanks to the Avon Education Foundation for the grants to both the Senior Center and the schools; they provide a very valuable service.
10/11-46 Contact Award: Dial-A-Ride Services Program, $171,363.12
The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that there were two responses to the bid, the current vendor and Martel Transportation. He reported that Martel’s bid was much lower, approximately $5,500, than our current contract. He reported that in addition to being pleased with the savings that he and Alan Rosenberg, Director of Social Services called other towns that had or currently use their services and both spoke highly of Martel. The Town Manager reported that he had a lot of experience with this group in Simsbury as they serviced Simsbury’s Dial-A-Ride needs for years and they are very reliable with very good reviews. He reported that Council will see a portion of this reduction on the cut list when he circulates it that was applied to the operating budget reduction.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council awards the contract to Martel Transportation of Canton, CT based on their low bid in an amount not to exceed $171,363.12 for Dial-A-Ride services.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-47 Approve Resolution: Explanatory Text for Annual Town Meeting, May 2, 2011
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk be, and she hereby is, authorized and directed to prepare and distribute an explanatory text with respect to the proposed budget for the Town for the fiscal year July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, as recommended to the Town by the Board of Finance, in accordance with the requirements of the Charter of the Town and Section 9-369b of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-48 Set Poll Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Town Meeting Referenda
May 11, 2011, June 1, 2011 (if necessary), June 22, 2011 (if necessary)
On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approve the extension of the Polling Hours of the Town Referendum from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 11, 2011, June 1, 2011 (if necessary), and June 22, 2011 (if necessary).
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-49 Authorization to apply for FY 2010/2011 LOCIP Grant
The Town Manager reported that the LoCIP money is used for mill and overlay projects. He reported that we use Town Aid Road money to purchase treated salt. He reported that it is a formality and it is for FY 10/11 as we apply half way through the current fiscal year.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to apply for LoCIP grant in the amount of $105,627.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, and Shea voted in favor.
10/11-50 Resignation: Wild & Scenic River Study Committee (D – 12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept with regret the resignation of Lisa Levin from the Wild & Scenic River Study Committee.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-51 Resignation: Planning & Zoning Commission (D – 12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept with regret the resignation of Ned Whalen from the Planning & Zoning Commission.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council adds an item to the agenda – 10/11-53 Appointment: Planning & Zoning Commission.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-52 Resignations: Youth Services Advisory Board
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept with regret the resignations of James Pappa and Nickolas Stanczyc from the Youth Services Advisory Board.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
10/11-53 Appointment: Planning & Zoning Commission (D – 12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council appoint Peter Mahoney to the Planning & Zoning Commission with a term to expire on December 31, 2011.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
IX. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
Misc. A: Purchasing Update: The Town Manager reported that approximately for one year we had a grant through former Senator Dodd’s office of approximately $76,000 to retain a consultant to look at regionalizing the dispatch function between Canton, Simsbury, and Avon. He reported that it took awhile to draft an RFP, a lot of collaboration between the Chiefs and their designees, put it out to bid and we were very surprised at the amount of interest in the project as sixteen responses were received. He reported that we have disseminated those responses to the Chiefs and their designees and they have a panel that will be reviewing them and coming up with a short list. He reported that last year we did include a dump truck replacement in CIP and we did get
the bid spec together for that and the packages are in the final stages of development, putting out to bid shortly, and are hopeful that we will get some competitive responses back. He reported that field irrigation will be a joint Town and Board of Education bid, putting that out together, and will get a review panel including Peter Gaski, Glenn Marston, and Bruce Williams to look over the results, and make a recommendation.
Misc. B: Construction Update: The Town Manager reported that the Library Project is really going along wonderfully, erecting the steel, even with all of the terrible weather we had this past winter we are only fourteen days behind schedule which is great. He reported that the bid packages are being finalized for the IT and furnishings; He reported that one of the very specialized items a lot of time being spent talking about is the circulation desk that will go in the middle of the traffic pattern; a specialized item has to basically be handmade so they want to make sure they get it right. He reported that they are really moving forward on their fundraising; they have a street map posted at the library and putting pins on all of the streets where they get
donations. He reported that the Police Communication Center upgrade came up briefly at the Board of Finance meeting the other night; there is going to be a balance remaining in that project probably in the range of $50,000 to $75,000; they are still going through the punch list and reconciling final invoices. He reported that there have been discussions and will bring this back to Council, the majority of that money will close to Fund Balance but there is an opportunity to extend a fiber connection between the Police Department and Public Works that if we fund through some of those remaining monies that will allow us to no longer have to pay a monthly DSL charge. Chairman Zacchio questioned how soon the pavement plants open up. The Town Manager responded that weather permitting it should be anytime. He reported that there were two applications that were on the agenda before Inland Wetlands the other night and they have to do with water pipe replacement
projects. He reported that one application was from the Avon Water Company to put in new water mains on Haynes Road and the second application was from Connecticut Water to change the water pipes from Unionville into Countryside Park. He reported that Inland Wetlands approved both of these applications; it is to take out the old asbestos piping and put in the ductile iron piping to bring it up to current standards and hopefully eliminate a lot of that seepage. He reported that especially on Haynes Road we will be coordinating that closely with road maintenance projects.
Misc. C: Hydro Electric Project Update: The Town Manager reported that there is a meeting coming up on April 21st in Canton at the Community Center at 7:00 p.m. He reported that this meeting will be GZA’s presentation to the three towns that have been involved in this hydro electric due diligence study and GZA is going to present their pre-feasibility report. He reported that the actual lengthy report is available to review in the Town Manager’s office. He reported that he met with Adam Lazinsk and Marty Kaplan, both appointed by Council to be involved and stay in the loop on what’s happening there, and he shares a lot of the concerns that Adam and Marty voiced about this project. He reported that there are a lot of
unanswered questions, some legislative issues that need to be resolved to get this even into the realm of some kind of a potential payback period that even at that is highly leveraged with grant funding. He reported that you will hear a lot about a term of art at this presentation called Virtual Net Metering which is absolutely critical to making this project even in the realm of feasible and as of right now it is not permitted under Connecticut General Statutes and there is a bill that is pending to authorize this kind of metering but it is running into a lot of opposition in the legislature. He reported that if this bill does not pass then it really is going to bring the whole thing into question; there are some other issues that are outstanding about Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses and a whole lot of moving parts and unanswered questions. He reported that it will be a fascinating presentation and you will hear about FERC licenses, fish
ladders, kind of a neat project but there are a lot of unanswered questions. He reported that if the majority of Council cannot attend the presentation we can always have GZA come out to perhaps the next Council meeting and get the same presentation. He reported that the next steps in this process would like to have Council hear from GZA, on a future Council agenda include Adam and Marty to provide their thoughts and he can go into more background about what my thoughts are about it, and see what everybody’s thinking is.
Misc. D: Green Efforts Update: The Town Manager reported that in terms of our energy plan we are working closely with Peregrine Consulting and paying for their services through the regional grant with West Hartford, Simsbury, Canton, and Bloomfield. He reported that just today Peregrine was out to provide their initial thoughts to the Assistant to the Town Manger, Deputy Director of Public Works, and Peter Gaski, Board of Education Director of Facilities and we will keep moving forward on that front and eventually the Avon Clean Energy Commission will review the results and see where we end up.
Misc. E: Central Connecticut Solid Waste Authority Update: The Town Manager reported that this has been ongoing for several months now; the Central Connecticut Solid Waste Authority (CCSWA) did put an RFQ out for waste disposal services and a number of firms responded. He reported that the RFQ sub-committee, without all the details as this is subject to executive session because of the bidding process, has defined vendors that can meet the towns’ individual and collective needs. He reported that the next step in this process is that the RFQ sub-committee of the CCSWA is going to report out to the full CCSWA and make a recommendation with respect to a vendor(s) and eventually what he will bring back to the Council with are two things: one is for
Council’s review of a master contract between the CCSWA and a vendor(s) for solid waste disposal services from disposal coming out of the landfill which is a much smaller scope for Avon than for Farmington which has a contract with a hauler which covers all residential trash collection in the town; the second is a contract under the master contract between each municipality and a vendor(s). He reported that CCSWA is really CRCOG and CRCOG staff is running this and putting it together and CRCOG’s legal counsel is advising on the contract language and he has been working closely with our Town Attorney on all of this and he will be very involved in terms of looking at the contract language. Mr. Shea questioned that we will not be looking at the contract unless the Town Attorney sees it first. The Town Manager responded yes.
Misc. F: Planning Updates: The Town Manager reported that the village center zone has been under discussion for quite awhile now; this is the project that we had our outside consultants involved from Milone & MacBroom advising us and giving us their best thinking and the Cecile Group was involved as well. He reported that there is regulatory language that has been drafted, Planning & Zoning Commission feels comfortable enough with it to subject it to a public hearing which will be held on May 17, 2011. He reported that it deals with the regulatory scheme for Avon Park North but the other thing that it does is it includes on a town-wide basis recommendations on the low-impact development (LID) density piece of the equation and that LID regulatory language
would be included in the subdivision regulations and the zoning regulations. He reported that depending on what the public hearing provides it may be approved that night or they may continue it for additional discussion.
The Town Manager reported that the parcel in Avon Park North did not work out for CREC so they have identified a property on Waterville Road known as the Dr. Beebe property across the street from Evolution Benefits Women’s Health and that is the property that they would like to move forward with. He reported that CREC has appraisals and we expect to get a site plan; there are number of regulatory steps that they will have to go through with the zone change and subdivision approval, special permit which will require a public hearing and it should be happening shortly. Mr. Shea questioned if they have taken into account the traffic patterns. The Town Manager responded yes; it may also require a permit from the State Traffic Commission and the traffic impact there will be a real concern. Mr.
Pena questioned if Planning & Zoning can request a traffic study. The Town Manager responded yes, that approximately one year ago the Town Council adopted an ordinance that can require the applicant to pay for those studies.
Misc. G: Old Farms Road Project: The Town Manager reported that tomorrow is the Field Walk meeting; it has gained a lot of steam with participants from the Federal Highway Administration, Town staff, and representatives from Avon Old Farms School including the Headmaster among others. He reported that the purpose of the walkthrough is to give the regulatory agencies a very quick briefing in the morning with some of the background on the project and the key is to show them the proposed preferred new alignment between the Town and the Board of Education with a debrief at Avon Old Farms School afterwards. Chairman Zacchio questioned if anyone from the public can attend the Field Walk. The Town Manager responded yes.
X. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Litigation/Negotiation
A. Pending Claim/Litigation – Avon High School Boiler
B. Discussion of strategy with respect to pending claims by the Police Union
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 8:40 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
The Town Manager, the Assistant to the Town Manager, and the Clerk attended the session.
On a motion made by Mr. Shea, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 9:00 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
XI. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Attest:
Caroline B. LaMonica
Clerk
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