AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
July 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 and Mr. Evans. Absent: Messrs: Shea and Pena.
II. PUBLIC HEARING
10/11-43 Acceptances: Transfers of Property and Easement to Town of Avon
Mrs. Samul recues herself as she previously represented the Ceceres on a personal business matter. Mrs. Samul left the meeting table.
The Town Council held the following Public Hearing:
“TOWN OF AVON
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Avon, Connecticut will hold a Public Hearing on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, Selectmen’s Chamber, 60 West Main Street, Avon, Connecticut to consider the acceptance of certain property and easements as defined and shown as:
1. Proposed 20’ Drainage Easement in favor of the Town of Avon.
2. Property to be conveyed to the Town of Avon by Nicholas & Barbara Cecere area = 1,974 +/- sq. ft., any interest property owner has or may between the proposed street line and School Street is conveyed to the Town of Avon.
3. Property to be conveyed to the Town of Avon by Cizek Incorporated area = 5,209 +/- sq. ft. any interest property owner has or may have between the proposed street line and School Street is conveyed to the Town of Avon. Street line is 50 feet from and parallel to the established southerly street line of School Street as required by the Avon Subdivision Regulations.
All as shown on a map entitled: “SUBDIVISION PLAN SCHOOL STREET PREPARED FOR CIZEK INCORPORATED 107 HUCKLEBERRY HILL ROAD, AVON, CONNECTICUT SCALE 1”=40’ DATE 6/18/09 SHEET NO. 1 OF 3 AS REVISED 6/29/08, 7/15/09, 8/11/09, 8/20/09, 9/15/09, 10/08/09 AND 11/13/09”, Denno Land Surveying & Consulting, LLC dba Nascimbeni & Jahne Surveyors, 2 Tunxis Rd., Ste 210, Tariffville, CT 06081, and a copy of which map is on file in the Town Clerk’s Office.
Dated at Avon, Connecticut this 6th day of June, 2011.
Brandon L. Robertson, Town Manager”
Chairman Zacchio closed the Public Hearing. Mrs. Samul resumed her seat at the meeting table.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council because of a lack of quorum tabled action to consider the acceptance of certain property and easements between the Town of Avon, Nicholas & Barbara Cecere, and Cizek Incorporated to the August 4, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
III. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING: June 2, 2011
On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the June 2, 2011 minutes as submitted.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
IV. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE - None
V. COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Mr. Evans reported that the Avon High School received high marks being ranked one of America’s best high schools for 2011 ranking 281st out of 500 high schools throughout the country. He reported that it is a terrific statement of the hard work of the entire Board of Education, the entire school system, and something that Council should recognize here that we are proud of our high school and all the hard work and dedication that went behind that. The Town Manager reported that the ranking came out the same day that we were preparing to finalize the budget message for FY 12 so it made for some good material for this year’s budget message between the Hartford Magazine ranking for the Town and this for the Board of Education. Chairman Zacchio reported that there were twelve high
schools in Connecticut, seven of which were above 400 and only five falling below that mark.
Mr. Evans reported that Jodi Goeler, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, is taking a job to become the Superintendent of Schools for Region 14. Mr. Evans personally wished Jodi well, thinks he will do a great job, he was an instrumental part of the growth of the Avon school system serving as Principal of the Middle School and thereafter as the Assistant Superintendent when that job was first created and later took on the job as Interim and Acting Superintendent for a number of years; he is a terrific educator, a great person, he will be missed by this town and entire district and he wishes him well.
Mr. Evans reported on an article in today’s Hartford Courant about a lawsuit having been filed with regard to the Planning & Zoning Commission, actions taken in terms of the zone change for the contemplated, new CREC School. Mr. Evans questioned if now because the Town is a party to the appeal for the actions taken by the Planning & Zoning Commission is whether we are going to start to incur legal fees having to defend the Planning & Zoning Commission’s actions in this matter. He reported that it seems to him that this is not our fight; there are some substantial benefits to the Town by the proposed CREC School and has been talked briefly at the Council level and he thinks it is something that we need to know a lot more information about to decide as a Council or individuals whether we
support it or not. He thinks that as a Council we need to get our hands around this lawsuit and what it means to the Town and its legal budget going forward and something that should be placed on the agenda for the next Council meeting. The Town Manager responded that with respect to the lawsuit, the full text of the lawsuit has been distributed to Council in their folders this evening and at a future meeting, probably in August, we will discuss it in executive session. Mr. Evans reported that the Town’s legal budget will now be implicated by these actions and he does not know what real upside there is to the townspeople unless the Town is willing to support the CREC School. Mrs. Samul reported that the Planning & Zoning Commission has rules that they have to abide by so if someone comes in for an application for anything if it falls into those regulations the Town cannot deny it so if they have approved it they are really defending the Planning
and Zoning regulations and how does the Town get around that. The Town Manager responded that he suggest, as it is a pending claim, that executive session would be most appropriate for this topic. Chairman Zacchio reported that any time there is a challenge to a decision on any Board level, the Town needs to get involved and it will certainly affect the budget if it goes outside of what contingency costs are with our lawyer.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
10/11-58 Appointment: Wild & Scenic River Study Committee (D – 12/31/2011)
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table the appointment to the Wild & Scenic River Study Committee to the August 4, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
10/11-59 Appointment: Youth Services Bureau Advisory Board
The Town Manager reported that this is a student vacancy and has been talking to the Director of Social Services about this vacant position who has been talking with the guidance department at the High School and they will be on the lookout for a good candidate come fall.
On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table the appointment to the Youth Services Bureau Advisory Board to the August 4, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
11/12-01 Contracts Award: Grounds Maintenance/Snow Removal
The Town Manager reported that this is a fairly large contract with two pieces: grounds maintenance and snow removal; it is a three-year contract for fiscal years 12, 13, and 14. He reported that everything was put out to bid as a package and the bidders had the opportunity to pick and choose the properties that they were interested in. He reported that the lowest total bid for the package we received was from a company that bid approximately $488,000 for all of the work but when we went through and pulled everything apart and assigned different contractors to different responsibilities we got the cost down to approximately $316,000 so we saved an approximate $171,000; certainly it is a little bit more complicated than managing one master contract but this is the way that we have done it with a high comfort
level with all of the people that we will be working with. He reported that one of the changes in this contract is that for the snowplowing we are going to have some more private contracting done in the Town’s parking lots so our snow plows can get out more quickly on the roads. He noted that the total value of $316,000 is well above the threshold that requires Council approval which is one-tenth of one percent of the tax levy which is around $65,000 for FY 12. He reported that there will be four contracts for ground maintenance and three contracts for snow removal and our recommendation is for Council to authorize the Town Manager to execute the contracts.
Chairman Zacchio questioned why G & S Landscape Services on the bid summary under the “Bid Response” column is marked “No” and how they became part of the process without responding to a bid. The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that they did not acknowledge one of the amendments; in the bids we asked when they submit their bid that they acknowledge the amendments to the bid; if a bidder is a low bidder and has not submitted all of the items we have requested then we have right to waive any immaterial non-compliance if it is in the best interest and in their particular case their bid was low so the recommendation from the Director of Public Works was to overlook the missing acknowledgement. Mrs. Samul reported that by using private companies to do town parking lots, etc.
theoretically we might be saving on overtime for the Public Works Department. The Town Manager responded yes, this does not capture any of those savings. He reported that our Public Works contract, and it has been tested several times, has very strong contracting out language so we do not anticipate any problems on that end. Chairman Zacchio questioned who manages all of the vendors in this case. The Town Manager responded that the front office handles the initial contracting documents but after that Public Works will be contract managers. Mrs. Samul questioned whether they have sufficient staff for that. The Town Manager responded yes.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorizes the Town Manager to sign contracts with Aztec Landscaping of Hartford, CT, Action Jackson of Windsor, CT, Stabnick Landscape & Design of West Hartford, CT, Butler Company of Windsor, CT, Dependable Lawn Care & Landscaping of Harwinton, CT, and G & S Landscape Services of Suffield, CT for grounds maintenance and snow removal services at various locations in the Town of Avon from FY 2011/2012 through FY 2013/2014.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
11/12-02 Contract Award: Regional Dispatch Feasibility Study
The Town Manager reported that this is the next step in the most recent iteration which was the Canton/Simsbury/Avon grouping. He reported that a few years back when he was in Simsbury he was on the Steering Committee as Simsbury’s staff and went through a process and came up with a project charter for thinking through what a regional dispatch facility with three communities would look like but what they quickly came to the conclusion of was that we really needed some consulting to help us think through some of these issues. He reported that it sounds simple but it is not as it is very technical, you need consulting to make sure the radio systems are going to work well together, you want to get a consultant in who has done this in other areas of the country who really has some experience consolidating
these functions together. He reported that at the time that Avon’s former Assistant Town Manager was successful in working through Senator Dodd’s office to get a grant in the amount of $75,000 from the Federal Department of Justice. He reported that there was a lot of turnover between the communities with the Assistant Town Manager and former Town Manager leaving, changes in Simsbury and Canton and about one year went by when the new Chief in Canton came on board and the three Chiefs sat down with the Assistant to the Town Manager and developed an RFP for consultant services, put it out to bid, got sixteen responses and after a fairly thorough vetting process have identified the consultant that they would like to move forward with.
The Town Manager noted that the consultant contract is $56,000; the grant amount is $75,000 so we are not using the entire amount of the grant but once we get into this we might need to use that additional money to explore some more aspects of this consolidation. He reported that we are recommending that Avon will be the lead town in the contracting and move forward with the proposed consultant; it is fully funded by the grant and with the three Chiefs will move forward and get through the feasibility study. Chairman Zacchio questioned if the Chiefs have a vision of one central site all the time or on a rotating basis as one time we talked about that rotating basis versus Avon as it centralized. The Town Manager responded that we have gone through this and it is not going to be feasible to do it on a
rotating basis and there will have to be a home office; there had been some discussion in the past about having a facility in another community that could run parallel in the event of a disaster but in some community there is going to be a “dark station” during some hours and we discussed a lot previously about the technology that can be used to overcome that with a LCD monitor on the wall with a Skype camera to the live dispatch center to see someone on site but for the community that has the “dark station” culturally that may be an issue for them. He reported that one of the things they want the consultant to take a careful look at is what technology can be used to sway those fears and where has it been successful and how has it worked. Chairman Zacchio questioned if there were any concerns from labor in the past and how that affects their night shift. The Town Manager responded that you are taking three different collective bargaining
agreements that have varying levels of benefits and work rules, and you have to get it into a master agreement at some point; luckily all of the dispatchers are represented by the same union so that is a good thing but contracts are all different so that is another area where it will be complicated to standardize.
Mrs. Samul questioned that the grant is to Town and not the three towns. The Town Manager responded that the grantee is the Town of Avon. Mrs. Samul questioned if the remaining balance of $19,000, not designated for specific use yet, would remain for a continuation of this project. The Town Manager responded yes. Mrs. Samul questioned if there is a time limit that the grant money needs to be returned. The Town Manager responded not that he knows of and the grant has already been outstanding for approximately two and a half years. The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that the deadline is sometime late 2013/early 2014. Mrs. Samul questioned if the $19,000 can be used for anything other than this project. The Town Manager responded that we have not had those discussions
about re-programming; it was initially awarded for this specific project scope and if we had something in mind we could always have the conversation. Mrs. Samul responded that she does not and would not. Chairman Zacchio agreed. The Town Manager reported that this is kind of an exciting process; it will be interesting to see what they come up with, for the people who know the questions to ask and who have done this before this should be a fairly straight forward exercise.
Mr. Evans questioned the type of cost savings this may result in long-term if this is successful. The Town Manager responded that he does not know because there are so many variables, keeping out the capital and the capital savings is going to be long-term down the road when it comes time for replacement, but just looking at the operational expenses it is going to be in the personnel. Chairman Zacchio reported that there are twenty-three or twenty-four full-time dispatchers between the three communities so clearly a “dark station” in probably two of those communities seven days a week will result in some savings. The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that certainly is a key piece of what the consultant is going to be asked to look at. Chairman Zacchio reported that it will be based
on call volume. The Town Manager reported that the good thing is that we have good data to work with and it becomes a mathematical exercise. Mr. Evans questioned if there are timelines expected, when do you expect to be able to look at something? The Town Manager responded that the next thing we are going to do, once he is approved to enter into an agreement, is to work out the details and convert the RFP document into a contract for services and in that we will work with the consultant to identify deliverable dates. Chairman Zacchio reported that year-end was noted as a date that we would expect to see a final report with recommendations. The Town Manager responded that seems a little ambitious given what is involved. The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that the proposal from Intertech, once they were given the green light, had a five to seven month window for what they anticipated to get through all of the steps. Chairman Zacchio
reported that they have to look at the facilities, the contracts, the call volumes, and where it is best suited. The Town Manager added they have to get an inventory of all the equipment on site. Chairman Zacchio reported that you have to deal with the police unions in terms of having a “dark station” and that could, in terms of looking at how we cover our districts, change the way we have to district because theoretically if your station is Simsbury, as an example, and you have a DWI that you have contract a prisoner to Simsbury and do your paperwork there it is that much more time out of the district so the Chief has an equation in terms of miles covered for each person in each district and that might change that dynamic as well. The Town Manager reported that there are different court systems for the towns as well. He reported that from this point forward Council will see it come up under Manager’s Report every meeting with an update.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council authorizes the Town Manager to execute a contract with Intertech Associates of Freehold, New Jersey in the amount of $56,000 to study the feasibility of consolidating the individual dispatch functions in Avon, Canton, and Simsbury into a regional dispatch center.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
11/12-03 Contract Award: Dump Truck
The Town Manager reported that this is a truck that was budgeted at $190,000 in the FY 11 CIP budget and is replacing a truck that is 1991 vintage. He recalled that there was a lot of discussions about this, the frame is rotted out and is worth approximately $2,500 of scrap at this point so we would be selling it off for what we can get for it and take that approximate $2,500 and put it back into that capital fund. Chairman Zacchio reported that we used to be on a fifteen year cycle, some of our trucks extend out even further and we need to look to get back on that fifteen year cycle especially the ones that are of the larger persuasion in terms of safety alone for employees and the residents. The Town Manager reported that there was a committee that worked together to develop and review the spec for the
truck. Chairman Zacchio questioned if we have other Freightliners in the fleet. The Town Manager responded that he thought we did and have a good reputation. Chairman Zacchio questioned if it is clean idle certified which jumped our price up a few years ago when state regulation came out on that. Mr. Evans questioned the amount being appropriated of $185,166 versus the actual cost of the truck of $178,638 plus options of a two-way radio and town logo and if these are the options being referred to or what are the other options. The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that the options are the $4,100 electric hydraulic controls for the bed of the truck which is an upgrade from the air controls that tend to have moisture problems; there were twenty-one options on the bid form that the Director of Public Works and Deputy Director of Public Works were looking for numbers on and they selected a handful of those. He reported that the radios and decal
for the truck will come out of the balance of the $185,166. Chairman Zacchio reported that we have upgraded the controls in the past to make sure we have the hydraulic units for more longevity.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council awards the contract to Freightliner of Hartford, Inc. of East Hartford, CT in an amount not to exceed $185,166 to purchase a new dump truck for the Department of Public Works.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
11/12-04 Review, Discussion, Set Date for Public Hearing: Acceptance: Sewer Easement
On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council set a public hearing date to consider the acceptance of a sewer easement between 64 Avonwood Road Associates LLC and the Town of Avon to be held at the August 4, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
11/12-05 Authorization to Sign: Historic Documents Preservation Grant, $3,500
On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That Brandon Robertson, Town Manager, is empowered to execute and deliver in the name and on behalf of this municipality a contract with the Connecticut State Library for a Historic Documents Preservation Grant.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
VIII. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
Misc. A: Purchasing Update: The Town Manager reported that the Library Building Committee has approved the bids for the shelving and associated furniture, technology infrastructure, and at this point for the library the only package that is left to be bid out is the second phase of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment. He reported that the first phase of the shelving and associated furniture bid came in much lower than anticipated with an approximate $90,000 savings which was slightly offset by the technology infrastructures bid which was approximately $5,000 higher. He reported that net/net when you look at where we are at with all of the bid activity for the library things are coming in pretty positive. He reported that major future bid activities is
limited to the second phase of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
The Town Manager reported that Avon Day equipment rental is coming up and the event is scheduled for September 24th this year.
The Town Manager reported that an RFP will be going out our online recreation registration. He reported that the town has been with the current vendor now for online recreation registration for a couple of years and the Director of Recreation and Parks was not seeing quite the activity that he would have anticipated seeing, comparing our hits and online registration numbers with Simsbury who uses a different vendor and we found that our numbers were way off. He reported that we took a look at the software and decided to do an RFP and perhaps switch vendors to something that was a little more user friendly and for next year should help with enrollments and activity.
The Town Manager reported that the master contract list is a great summary of all of the outstanding contracts that the Town has, listed by the department that is responsible for managing the contract, it is a very good tool when these contracts are coming up for renewal, whether or not we have to do an RFP or RFQ process, and keeps us on task with everything. Mrs. Samul reported that with regards to the bids the Superintendent of Schools has done a reverse auction; the State has its approved contractor for an item and the Superintendent of Schools put it out there to see if anybody could beat the State approved contractor and required legislation be passed but it was and this is what the Superintendent of Schools uses. She questioned if we are legally able to do that type of scenario also. The Town
Manager responded that he is not familiar with that process and will talk to the Superintendent of Schools to learn about how he did it. Chairman Zacchio reported that instead of using a state-approved price for purchasing equipment, which is different than what we do because we do sealed bid, as a methodology the Superintendent of Schools has the option to do this reverse auction process which saved a lot of money on computers for the school system. He reported that we should talk with the Superintendent of Schools about how that works and look for opportunities where we can take advantage of that. The Town Manager reported the only thing that is at all similar on the Town side is the way that we purchase our electricity through CCM.
Misc. B: Construction Update: The Town Manager reported that we have spent approximately twenty-four percent of the total Library Project budget and only approximately seventeen percent of its contingency budget at this point. He reported that everything is going along very well and we are continuing our on-site safety visits and CIRMA continues to stop in and make unannounced walkthroughs and provides written reports of any findings that they have and always have good suggestions. He reported that the existing roof sheathing is in poor condition and the Construction Manager, Town staff, and Architect concurs that it does not make any sense at all to affix the new roofing to the existing deteriorating sheathing. He reported that the suggestion being made is
to replace the existing sheathing on an as needed basis. He reported that this is a change order that could equate to approximately $48,000 and everybody concurs that this is the right thing to do; the Library Building Committee is going to continue to work on this with the Construction Manager and the Architect. He reported that we are in the stage now, especially with the roofing where if there are going to be surprises this is where they are going to happen and this is a bit of a surprise but we are carrying sufficient contingency where we can handle it. Chairman Zacchio questioned if we are re-roofing the entire Library. The Town Manager responded yes. Mr. Evans questioned the wording of approved potential change order and who approves the change order. The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that change orders above $10,000 go to the Library Building Committee on behalf of the Town Council which is the way the Construction of Public
Buildings works. Mr. Evans questioned at what point does it go above the Committee level and come before the Town Council. Chairman Zacchio reported that early on a change order under $10,000 Council was comfortable with the Library Building Committee and a change order over $10,000 was to come back through Council to be part of the approval process and to make sure that is happening. Mr. Evans questioned that the roof sheathing change order being $48,000 which sounds very reasonable to him and makes 100% sense and he would support that but that dollars of that magnitude should come before Council at some point. Chairman Zacchio reported that Council had the discussion early on with the Library Project and asked the Town Manager to send Council a memo with confirmation of previous discussion. The Town Manager reported that if we can get consensus from Council that they are comfortable with the approval of such change order, we will look back at the
minutes and establish that we had the discussion and he will send out a memo with such details. Mrs. Samul added so that in the future when the Library Building Committee has something in excess of $10,000 they will not move forward with it until it is discussed at Council. Chairman Zacchio reported that Council can even hold a Special Meeting to approve such items but we certainly need to be in the loop on this.
Misc. C: Tree Planting at the Town Green & 2012 STEAP Application: The Town Manager reported that we have about $577 leftover from Phase I STEAP Grant and we are proposing to use that money to purchase three trees and plant them on the town green; it is in accordance with the 2005 Avon Town Green Master Plan. Mr. Evans questioned if the purchase of these trees uses the remaining Phase I STEAP Grant balance of $577. The Town Manager responded yes. The Town Manager reported that we submitted another grant application for the 2012 STEAP in the amount of $500,000 and we have two projects in mind with this application. He reported that the first project would be to complete the Town Center lighting and sidewalk project that we have been working on for
the last couple of years and the balance of the funds would be used to extend the Rails to Trails. He reported that the grant proposes to bring the trail across Arch Road, extend it across the street and bring it up behind RR Donnelley via an easement the Town has and have a crosswalk to connect to the other side of Security Drive where we have just completed paving the new section and now we are working our way up Darling Drive. He reported that there has been discussion about it in the past as he is told that is the original reason that the Town acquired the easement behind RR Donnelley. He reported that he would like to be optimistic but he is not optimistic that we will get funding to the trail extension but will get STEAP money to complete the town streetscape program. Mrs. Samul questioned if there has been any investigation of residue from the function as railroad tracks on that overpass. The Town Manager responded nothing that he is aware of. He reported that there is
a State Bureau of Railroad Right-of-Ways in New Haven that is responsible for all of that and easy enough to find but he does not think there is much left. A member of the audience asked what the anticipated cost is for the portion of the STEAP grant being submitted for the proposed trail extension. The Town Manager responded approximately $300,000. She asked if the town does not get the grant is that something that potentially could be a project we could all shoot for in the future. The Town Manager responded potentially but it has to go through the capital improvement program (CIP) with that dollar threshold and it is not on the CIP now. Chairman Zacchio reported that we have three, five, and ten-year plan on the CIP from an infrastructure standpoint and that is not one of them because normally we try to get grant money to incorporate those but it could be. He reported that we leave some room within that whole budget process for the unknown.
Misc. D: Fisher Meadows Field Development: The Town Manager reported that this item came before Council in November 2010 for an appropriation from the Fisher Meadows Funds to move forward to get this project shovel ready where we can develop bid and construction documents. He reported that last week he signed the request for review by the Inland Wetlands Commission for the plans that the consultants have been working on. He reported that we will revisit this again when it comes time to look at the overall long-term capital plan because the Fisher Meadows fields are on the horizon in FY 13 for $1 million, a number that is a placeholder at this point subject to revision but it makes sense to move forward and get a solid number.
Misc. E: AMS Tennis Court Project: The Town Manager reported he submitted a letter on behalf of the USTA grant. He reported that last fall the Town and the Board of Education (BOE) appropriated a combined $25,000 to contribute towards this project; staff from both the Town and the BOE have continued to work with Laura Young and Wendy Howard to refine the project costs and to assist in preparing a grant application that was submitted to USTA on June 24, 2011. He reported that in the letter it is noted that the Town is prepared to contribute in-kind services with a value in excess of $45,000; a fairly involved process on the ground for the town crews and there is a very specific way that we calculate the value of that in-kind service time by using FEMA rates and
apply very nicely to this project so there is good math that ties out to the number that we are submitting to the granting agency that supports the value of the in-kind services. He reported that he has had many conversations with the Superintendent of Schools and they are prepared to recommend to the Boards that each Board contribute an additional $20,000 to offset the cost of the project, a combined $40,000. He reported that he is not sure what the Superintendent of Schools will recommend as his funding source but his recommendation is going to be that we take a portion of the equity from the police communications center capital project to contribute; there is an approximate $92,000 balance after completion of all invoicing.
The Town Manager questioned when we will hear back from USTA. Laura Young responded that USTA is reviewing it today. Chairman Zacchio reported that in all, the Town’s portion is near fifty percent of the project cost, including private fundraising that a whole host of people have been involved with including Wendy Howard, Laura Young, and others. The Town Manager reported that the entire project cost is in the range of $130,000. Chairman Zacchio reported that when we first started talking about this the change in price is based on our borings and we found that the surface/subsurface really needs to be rebuilt to the extent that the extra $30,000 to $35,000 is what really goes to that; it is the second time that court has cracked in the same spot so it is not a matter of maintenance but of
what is under it. He reported that he thinks it is a great project and looks forward to hearing more about it and supporting that when it comes forward. He reported that he did talk with a few members of the Board of Finance and this is not the preferred method of us funding something because normally you do not have these kinds of dollars left in a capital project so we happen to have enough in that capital project to fund this and still put some in the general surplus. He reported that what we are trying to avoid is when you put all of it in a surplus and then take back out of surplus you actually churn the account and from an audit perspective that may be cleaner but from Moody’s and Standard & Poors, and rating agencies and they do not like to see the outs but like to see the ins so while this is not the preferred method, there will be a lot of transparency and that Council will have to discuss it and decide to recommend an appropriation and of
course the Board of Finance would have to approve it and move forward. He reported that the essence of time is what in his mind triggers that we should be doing this and would be very well supported as it is for the Town and the schools. Chairman Zacchio reported that we will hope to see this item on the Council’s August meeting agenda and noted that Mr. Shea and Mr. Pena also support this project as well. Laura Young reported that the Town Engineer did a cool geological study where they went down four feet to study underneath the courts and the really good news is that there was no running water or wetlands underneath the tennis courts; what needs to be done is drainage and water that needs to flow away from the courts and also there was no sub-base, it is asphalt on top of dirt so the issue really is the quality of what goes right underneath the asphalt to keep any water that comes near there would have a layer between the dirt and the asphalt to prevent
any cracking. She reported that current rules would allow you to build tennis courts if they were really on top of wetlands. Chairman Zacchio reported that there are wetlands that run behind the Middle School and parking lot area.
Misc. F: Police Captain Recruitment: The Town Manager reported that this is an important position in the Police Department as they all are but this in particular being in effect the second in command. He reported that there is a return date for applications on July 13, 2011. Chairman Zacchio questioned if we are getting a lot of action. The Town Manager responded that there has; we have been really aggressive regarding the recruiting process, contacted just about all of the area Chiefs, have gone through the Police Chiefs Association, and we have a handful of applications so far but it is still early in the process. Chairman Zacchio questioned the qualifications as the two years of supervisory experience struck him as awfully light for a senior level
position. The Town Manager responded that he had the same reaction; once we knew that this position was going to be coming vacant we created a matrix; the Human Resources Department polled all of the area police departments and departments that are of similar size to Avon and created a matrix of what the requirements and the job description are for all of the second in commands. He reported that not every community has a Police Captain maybe they have a Deputy Chief or Lieutenant and it is not uncommon to have that kind of requirement. Mrs. Samul questioned if the requirements this time were different from the one before. The Town Manager responded no, they are the same. Chairman Zacchio reported that he thought they were light last time. The Town Manager reported that the reason we created the matrix was to look at how we compare to the other communities and it is really in the ballpark so no change was necessary. Mr. Evans questioned who
is fulfilling the Captain’s responsibilities right now. The Town Manager responded that it is splitting out three ways: primarily the Chief but also delegating responsibilities to Lt. Barrow and Lt. Walsh. He reported that the Police Captain’s position has a lot of administrative responsibility and at least eighty percent of that at this point is falling on the Chief. Mrs. Samul questioned the timeline for filling the position. The Town Manager responded that applications are due on the July 13th and will really be as quick as possible; structurally this is not a position that he would want to delay. He reported that we are using the same process as last time, going to an Assessment Center, and the very best case scenario is going to be a September 1st start date.
The Town Manager reported that Jamie DiPace, Emergency Management Director, was invited to Thompson Brook School for the last day of school to receive recognition for a STEP program that he had implemented from FEMA; there were representatives in attendance from both Federal and State Department of Homeland and Security with a nice presentation and good recognition from the Town.
IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION
A. Pending Claim / Litigation – High School Boiler
B. Personnel
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 8:37 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
The Town Manager, the Assistant to the Town Manager, and the Clerk attended the session.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 9:00 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio and Evans voted in favor.
XI. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Attest:
Caroline B. LaMonica
Clerk
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