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Town Council Minutes 11/15/2011
AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
November 15, 2011


I.          CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, in the Selectmen's Chamber by Chairman Zacchio.  Members present: Mrs. Samul, Messrs. Shea, Pena, and Evans.

III.       MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING:  October 6, 2011

On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the October 6, 2011 minutes as submitted.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.  Mr. Zacchio abstained not present at the October 6, 2011 meeting.

IV.       COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE

Len Del Gallo, Avon Day Committee Chairman, reported on Avon Day 2011 (The financial statement is included and made part of these minutes).  The event ran on September 24, 2011 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  The weather was overcast and may have held back some people coming.  Paul Cioffari, on behalf of the Avon Day Committee and Avon-UNICO, was very happy to report that Avon Day was a successful year again and brought in a little more money than last year and able to give money back to the charitable organizations in Town that had food booths.  He reported that based on their final accounting, in addition to the regular amount that we normally donate to the Special Needs Fund our Committee had made a resolution to give to the Special Needs Fund the excess above and beyond the $10,000 that we need to carry forward to next year.  It is hoped that when everything settles the Committee will be able to donate to the Special Needs Fund a total of $8,123.  Council extended congratulations.

Len Del Gallo reported that this is the first time that the eighty booths were full.  Also, because it was a 30th anniversary of Avon Day they had balloons for the children, anniversary cake, raffle every hour, and a REMAX balloon ride and a train ride for the children.  The Committee had a wrap-up meeting on November 19th and the following recommendations/requests were made: to continue Avon Day next year and for Avon-UNICO to continue as the sponsor for Avon Day.  He noted that Avon-UNICO also requested that he be the chairman again.  He reported that Avon-UNICO will send a letter to our Town Manager requesting both items.  He noted that the date requested for next year will be September 29, 2012, the last Saturday of September.  He reported that a special presentation will be made to the Special Needs Fund by the President of Avon-UNICO and himself by meeting with Alan Rosenberg in the near future and is a good way to highlight what Avon Day does for the Town and hopefully keep it going in the future.

Len Del Gallo extended special thanks to all of the Town departments for helping out, especially Laurie Carlson with the Public Works Department.  The Committee also wants to thank the Town Manager and Glenn Marston, Director of Recreation and Parks.  He thanked the Council for allowing us to have Avon Day every year.  Council collectively agreed that Avon Day should continue with UNICO’s support as sponsor we could not make it happen without them; the last thirty years have been a fantastic way for the Town to raise money for the Town’s Special Needs Fund.  Chairman Zacchio reported that we help more than 150 families currently with real basic needs so a donation of this size is important and glad the townspeople come out to support it every year.  He reported that certainly Len is a great chairman and hope to see him continue in that endeavor as well.  Council congratulated the Committee for doing a great job.

V.        COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL

Mr. Pena reported that this past October 16th Ernestine White passed away.  Approximately one and a half years ago Council approved a proclamation celebrating her 100th birthday.  He reported that she volunteered a lot in the Town taking residents to doctor’s offices, hospitals, and nursing homes and picking up food for residents and really went over and above the call of duty.  He reported that many times when we think about volunteers, certainly not to minimize people who belong to Boards or Commissions or other organizations, but this is an individual that did not do that; she took it upon herself and was a group of her own and believed in volunteering and giving back to the community.  He concluded that she will be missed.

VI.      OLD BUSINESS

10/11-58        Appointment: Wild & Scenic River Study Committee (D – 12/31/2011)

On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council table the appointment to the Wild & Scenic River Study Committee to the December 1, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

11/02-02        Regional Dispatch Feasibility Study Overview

Chairman Zacchio reported that given the circumstances of Storm Alfred and the work that took place with our emergency services personnel they have not had time to go through and complete the report onto us and have asked us to table this item and have a full report ready for the next Council meeting on December 1, 2011.

On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council table the Regional Dispatch Feasibility Study Overview to the December 1, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

11/12-06        FY 12/13 Budget: CIP Budget Presentations               
  • 7:00 p.m.  Recreation and Parks - a power point presentation is attached and made part of these minutes
Glenn Marston, Director of Recreation and Parks, reported that the department’s capital budget was reviewed by the Recreation and Parks Committee and has not substantially changed from last year.  He reported that one item scheduled for FY 12/13 is the work on the court repairs and resurfacing at Sycamore Hills; the facility is going on approximately twelve years, there are some small cracks which have been addressed but the court needs to be resurfaced.  He commented that what we do not want to do is have another incident like at the Avon Middle School tennis courts.  Mr. Shea commented that can never happen again.  Director of Recreation and Parks reported that he solicited three quotes on this project through a bid process.  This is consistent of that along with pool painting; they need to be done on a cycleable basis with the tennis court on an eight to ten year cycle whereas the pool is three to four years.  Mr. Shea questioned the $20,000 for pool painting and if the Director of Recreation and Parks talked to anyone or is it a budgeted number.  Director of Recreation and Parks responded that is what we paid last time to do it.  Mr. Shea asked how many years ago that was.  Director of Recreation and Parks responded that in this fiscal year that he is looking at it will be three full years of use as it was done this past spring.  He commented that we used epoxy coating on the pool and it builds up over time; we have pushed the envelope on that and are going down to the bare concrete which creates a different problem.  He reported that doing the surfacing on this we will be doing less remedial work and simply painting.  Mr. Evans asked with regards to the pool painting if that is something that can be paid out of the department’s operating budget and have you done so in the past.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded yes but it would cripple the rest of the budget based on the percentages that we have to live with.  Chairman Zacchio asked what his reserve is at now.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded that in terms of the undesignated fund balance it is substantial so a few of these items can be addressed and he will probably come before Council for the painting of the bath house from reserves; he received some quotes today and they do not meet the level of the capital budget.  Mr. Evans asked if the department has ever done the painting from the operating budget before.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded that the painting of the pool has always been a capital budget item.  He added that parts of the bath house painting could be put into the general fund budget but this might be a surplus type of appropriation so we can get it done and those are monies that were raised through fees and charges over the years.

Director of Recreation and Parks reported that the elephant in the room is the Fisher Meadows project.  We have completed the final design phase and permitting process for this, short of two items: one is a traffic study that we think the State is going to require and will not be able to do it until next spring as it will be based on use there at night and on the weekends primarily during soccer and baseball/softball season.  He reported that the money appropriated prior, $80,200, should cover the traffic study if it is necessary.  He just received updated numbers today on the construction of the project with a slight increase assuming the Town of Avon does no work on the project in-house.  Some of the issues that were incorporated into the project were conditions placed by Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning.  He reported that one of the keys in order to move on this project is going to be where the money is coming from.  The Fisher Farms project is something that we have been working on for a sustained period of time.  The Fisher Meadows lake connections, Willow Pond and Spring Lake, were at one time connected by a pipe system.  We have had this on the books for probably ten years; the opportunity to do this is probably if and when the roads are ever reconstructed for the bridge reconstruction because they will have to tear up all the way down to where those connections will be necessary.  We have it in there and carry that continuously simply because it would probably improve the health of Spring Lake.  Mr. Shea responded that it would definitely improve it and that has been on the table for twenty years minimum; Tom Daukas and Phil Schenck have called that a critical piece to the health of that area so he strongly encourages the Director of Recreation and Parks to get that done at some point whenever they do those roads; the connection is critical.

The Director of Recreation and Parks reported that the Sperry Park parking lot was a high priority while the school was still there; it still needs work but the situation is a little better because there is a lot of area there that maximizes the use of the park.  He reported that it is the only lighted facility that we have so between games we have a maximum number of people in the park.  Chairman Zacchio asked if the parking lot being referred to is the old playground area.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded that it is an expansion of the area that is paved now; we also talked numerous times about the entrance and exit pattern.  This project is needed but there are other priorities.

The Director of Recreation and Parks reported that all of the other CIP requests are listed as part of the master plan items.  There are a few other things that have come up and he will address those at another meeting at another time after the holidays in terms of Sycamore Hills and perhaps some suggestions at the Senior Center in light of what we just went through in terms of the emergency shelter at the high school.

Mrs. Samul commented that the renovations at Countryside Park are scheduled tentatively for fiscal year 2015/2016 and asked the nature of those renovations.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded that they are improvements to the structure of the building, the parking lot and a few other things; it is a number that he put out there without a real plan.  Mrs. Samul clarified that it was not the integrity of the building.  The Director of Recreation and Parks responded that a lot of those items are being addressed through the general fund budget on an ongoing basis.

The Director of Recreation and Parks reported that with regards to the Senior Center they are looking at possible options to add a room that would add to the functionality of the building.

The Director of Recreation and Parks stated, on a personal nature on Mr. Shea who is leaving the Council, and his time here Mr. Shea has been a great advocate for Recreation and Parks.  He met Mr. Shea years ago playing softball.  He commented that the Town is going to miss Mr. Shea and he knows that most of the employees in the Town Hall are going to miss him.  Mr. Shea thanked the Director of Recreation and Parks for his kind words.

  • 7:30 p.m.  General Government - a power point presentation is attached and made part of these minutes
i.  Assessor
The Town Manager reported that the Town has another revaluation coming up, every five years, dictated by the State of Connecticut.  We have had very good success in the past doing this as a joint project with Canton and looking to do that again.  The total project cost is approximately $411,000 and the Town of Avon’s piece of that is $225,000.  He reported that this revaluation will be effective on the grand list as of October 1, 2013 and will impact the fiscal year 2014/2015.  He reported that as we roll out the results of the revaluation the Assessor will hold an informational meeting, as has been done previously.  Mrs. Samul commented that with the Assessor now working part-time will he be able to handle all of this.  The Town Manager responded yes.  Chairman Zacchio clarified that a consultant does the majority of the work.  Mr. Evans commented that the $225,000 is spread over the course of three years but make a commitment for the entirety of the capital expense.  He commented that would seem to be an item for which we have almost no choice.  The Town Manager responded yes.  He added that we have pretty good modeling and a very good staff in the Assessor’s office so this could be a lot more expensive if they had to do more physical inspections, if our staff did not keep up on it like they do and becomes very helpful when it comes time to do revaluations.

ii.  Town Clerk
The Town Clerk reported that the vault expansion has been an ongoing capital request and even went to referendum and was defeated.  She reported that the existing square footage is four hundred; by law that is only for a town with a population of 2,000 to 5,000.  She hoped to build it out to a population of more than 20,000 so that would add six hundred square feet to the existing vault.  She reported that there might be four months left of putting volumes in the vault.  Their only choice at this point is to go up and if we go up there are still people that want to get to these volumes and towns have tried to do that and volumes have fallen on feet, there has been lawsuits, they would need to have ladders and step stools.  Rollaway shelving is not going to work as there is not enough room.  She spoke to the Public Records Administrator today and there are no plans to do away with hard copies.  Every day office staff is doing back file scanning and only back to the 1970s at this point but that is only used to assist with searches.  The hard copies still have to be there.  The Town Manager commented that is something that CCM and COST have brought up as well but they want the paper.  The Town Clerk reported that they are told that the hard copy is their permanent document which cannot be removed from the vault; all the extra electronic scanning is just an aid.  She can only store the back up offsite.  Mr. Pena asked if there are other towns that are in non-compliance.  The Town Clerk responded not that she is aware of.  She reported that there are 632 volumes with just land records; it does not include meeting minutes, veteran discharges, our elections, and grand list.  Mrs. Samul asked if the meeting minutes can be kept offsite.  The Town Clerk responded that she is supposed to have every committee meeting minutes stored in the vault which she only keeps Town Council, Board of Finance, and town meetings and hoping that all other committees have them stored in a safe place.  Mrs. Samul asked if there is a date after which those can be dropped.  The Town Clerk responded no.  She reported that the records that are in the vault have to be in her custody and in her sight.  They are going through approximately two volumes a month.  They are on their last drawer with the map file cabinets and there is no room to put anymore of those style cabinets.  Mr. Evans asked if everything that goes into the vault need to be within the Town Clerk’s sight.  The Town Manager responded yes.  There are requests on a daily basis for the information that is stored in the vault.  Mr. Evans commented on the vault in the vacated Probate Court space but it is not within the Town Clerk’s sight nor fire-rated.

Chairman Zacchio reported that $44,000 has already been spent on the design work prior to the Town going to referendum the first time.  The Town Clerk commented that when it went to referendum the first time the cost for the vault expansion was approximately $800,000 and then we went back and had the Director of Public Works work with state agencies and the price was more than cut in half by using different ways to build it where it would not disrupt the daily operations.  Chairman Zacchio commented that we might have to consider this over a few years or more.  Mrs. Samul asked the position the State has taken with this.  The Town Clerk responded that we were cited by the State in 2004; she has been in constant contact with the State, they have been out, they know the situation, they know that we are trying to work on it, they knew we went to referendum and it was defeated so it is no surprise to them but they want it added in to the budget.  Technically they could get a court order to say that we have to start building it tomorrow but the only way they would do that is if whatever is in that vault is not secure.  Chairman Zacchio commented that we meet regulations in terms of what we have in there today but capacity is the issue and at some point it will be exceeded.  The Town Clerk reported that there are four or five cabinets in the vault that are tax related because the Collector of Revenue shares the office with us and use those items every day.  Approximately three years ago we moved a lot of it and what remains is what needs to be there.  Mr. Evans asked if the Collector of Revenue files were removed what more time would that buy the Town Clerk.  The Town Clerk responded that she could put in two more shelving units equal to a few years of records.  Mr. Evans commented that if we put this on our capital budget for the next budget cycle the earliest that this project can start is just under one year; if we spread the project over the next few budget cycles then you are dealing with two or three years and if you are running out of space before then we have real compliance issues.  The Town Clerk commented that she does not want to displace the Collector of Revenue files as they still need to have access to them.

iii.  Social Services
The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that the Dial-A-Ride van has been on the books for a few years now.  We did switch transportation providers this year; we had a long standing provider, we went out to bid this summer, got competitive pricing from Martell out of Canton and their service has been great.  When we switched providers we took possession of the current van for the first time in a couple of years and Public Works ended up putting in a few thousand dollars into getting it back to an appropriate level and handed it over to Martell to continue using.  The Director of Social Services has been working with the Fleet Manager and at approximately 150,000 miles is when you want to consider buying a new van.  The van is currently at approximately 110,000 miles and put on approximate 25,000 miles per year which is why from a few years back they have been targeting fiscal year 2012-2013.  We could squeeze another year or two out of the existing van but a couple thousand dollars to get back on the street and at some point it does not make sense to keep pouring money into an old van.  The Town Manager reported that at least for this coming fiscal year this is an item that he would recommend putting off for a year.

iv.  Town Manager’s Office (Bldg #1 Renovations)
The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that in 1988 when the town hall campus study was done most of those buildings have now been renovated.  The last major renovation to building #1 was in 1968 when we took ownership from Ensign Bickford and turned it into a town hall; there have been painting, carpeting, and things of that nature since then.  We previously had it in the budget to start with design in fiscal year 2014 and construction in 2015; this year we have moved it forward to propose the design work for fiscal year 2013 and construction in 2014.  A number of reasons for that are that we have minor catastrophes in the building in the past year and a half: raccoon infestation, a plumbing disaster in the Avon Room from the handicap stall above with approximately $6,000 in damage and most was covered by insurance, Public Works is sending their staff to our building more and more often for work orders (thermostats, a locksmith to fix the locks repeatedly).  In addition, there is a dirt floor in the basement.  There is an energy plan that the Avon Clean Energy Commission is working on and we know based on preliminary analysis that Building #1 and Building #2 are approximately 25% less efficient than the ones across the foot bridge that were redone a few years back.  He reported that we have a three-quarter basement under Building #1 and storage space is an ongoing issue and if this building were to be renovated we would like to scoop out the rest of the basement and create more space.  The $1 million hold for this is $100,000 for design and $900,000 for construction is based on cost per square foot that we used to renovate Buildings 5/6/7 and more recently we looked at what we were using on the renovation side of the Library to get a sense of whether that is the right number.  The Director of Public Works is pretty comfortable with that.  The Assistant to the Town Manager talked to the Building Official who is comfortable with that.  The next step would be to sit down with the two and look at the ADA items, the best example would be that we hold public meetings in the Avon Room but if a handicap individual needed to use the restroom they have to leave at the rear of the building and come all the way around to the sidewalk between Building #1 and Building #2.  We are under no obligation to fix that as this building is grandfathered in but it is not good.  He noted that we have the design work and the construction documents done for the Town Clerk’s office and if we had the design work done for Building #1 it would probably make sense to consider doing both buildings at the same time.  The Building Official talks a lot about putting a foyer between the two buildings and there are other interesting things you can do with this end of the campus.  It has been accelerated so now we are done talking about it as a future project and instead now in the upcoming fiscal year.

Mr. Shea commented that architecturally there are a lot of different things you can try to accomplish and 8% is a reasonable number for whatever your contracted price would be for an architectural fee; there will be some other fees as well.  He thinks the design phase number and the square footage number might be a little high; he does not know what the plan is but he would urge as we talk to the architectural firms and try to build in all the other soft costs and as you go out to competitive bid you might get some better pricing.  The Town Manager reported that he has a plan B as we have approximately 420 square feet in the Town Manager’s office that is non-productive given Probate Court has moved to Simsbury and maybe budget $25,000 to $30,000 to do some interior reconfiguring on that side of the building to make it more practical and productive.  Mrs. Samul asked if that would take care of the structural issues that the building has.  The Town Manager responded no.  Mrs. Samul asked if those are the real things that we should be addressing.  The Town Manager responded yes.  Mrs. Samul also agreed that the $220 per square foot is high.  Mr. Shea commented that the architect will provide a lot of creative solutions and matching up Building #1 and Building #2 projects is going to help with the price.  Mr. Evans asked if there is an estimate just on the issue of the plumbing with a non-working proper bathroom in the building as the project is going to take years.  The Assistant to the Town Manager responded we do not have an estimate but he can ask the Director of Public Works for such.  Mr. Pena asked about the storage space in the basement.  The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that it has been noted that in general there is a shortage of storage space and it would make sense to expand the basement space.  Mr. Pena asked if we have marked our area at the library what we will be utilizing.  The Assistant to the Town Manager responded that no one has marked any areas there.  Mrs. Samul commented to be at the front of the line for storage space there.

11/12-19        Request for a Supplemental Appropriation-Board of Education

Chairman Zacchio reported that this supplemental appropriation request is in regard to the roof top units at Roaring Brook School.  The Board of Education has already replaced those roof top units out at their current year operating budget.

On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council table the Request for a Supplemental Appropriation – Board of Education to the December 1, 2011 meeting.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Evans, and Pena voted in favor.

11/12-20        Solid Waste/Recycling Contract Recommendation

Chairman Zacchio reported that the recommendation put before Council is similar to what other communities are bidding in for CRRA as well as the 15-year contract.  The Town Manager reported that this is the process that led to the creation of the Central Connecticut Solid Waste Authority (CCSWA) which consisted of twenty-nine towns that collectively put all of this tonnage out to bid on the market.  We had a consultant out of Florida that was contracted through CRCOG which served as staff throughout this process.  He reported that there was a CCSWA Policy Committee and four very dedicated employees from different towns that served on a working committee to structure the request for proposals, document the process, and vet the responses to make sure that they were like comparisons.  He reported that as a result CRCOG provided all of the towns with baseline information; all of the towns that fall within Avon’s category (size and type of waste) have come to the same conclusion with respect to the contract.  Almost every town that has acted on it so far, including Glastonbury who we have been working with as we are in a similar situation, Canton, Farmington, and Granby, have gone with the Tier 1 15-year agreement with CRRA.  He reported that 15 years seems like a long time but we are also coming off a 15-year agreement with CRRA and before that a 7-year agreement; for the types of contracts that we enter into this is a long one but there is precedent for it.

The Town Manager reported that the Town of Avon did spend approximately $10,000 to offset CRCOG’s personnel, administrative, and legal costs for running the request for proposals.  He added that one good thing to happen as a result is that CRRA came back with a reduction in the forecasted tipping fee and equates to a savings of approximately $8,500 per year.  CRRA will not give firm tipping fees going forward but based on due diligence the numbers are pretty good.  He reported that we have a guarantee that we will get a recycling rebate.  We have an ordinance in place that means we have private operators in Town, including All Waste and Paine’s, which means they have to bring their recyclables and solid waste to CRRA and the Town gets a piece of that recycling value back as a rebate at the end of the year and fluctuates from $9,000 to $11,000.  He reported that it is a good contract, we put a lot of time into it, it was a good investment because we did due diligence; if it was one community doing this alone this would have been a lot of money and we do not have the expertise on staff whereas in Glastonbury this is all they do is manage solid waste and the landfill operation.

The Town Manager reported that our Town Attorney has been involved throughout the process and there have been times when he has spoken directly with CCSWA’s counsel to deal with specific contract language issues.  He reported that the contracts will not go into effect until November 2012.  The reason we are doing this so far in advance is so CRRA can lock in their electricity contracts and finance their operating going forward.  He reported that there was another vendor in this process called Murphy Road which has a site next door to CRRA.  Murphy Road made an offer with both recycling and solid waste.  The issue with their bid is while they are permitted for recycling they are not permitted for solid waste; they have a permit application that is pending at DEEP and some communities were concerned about that given the fact that CRRA has imposed a deadline of mid-December for making a decision.  We are not seeing any communities going with Murphy Road for solid waste; there are a few that have split off and done CRRA with solid waste and Murphy Road for recycling but for us it does not save any money to do that and it becomes more complicated co-mingling the vendors.

Mr. Evans appreciated that a lot of work has gone into this, Town staff and the leaders of other municipalities who are joining in for this program and ultimately he will defer and accept the recommendation if the Town Manager thinks it is the right thing to do.  He commented that while it is a 15-year contract there is no commitment to pricing and so we are locking ourselves in as a municipality to continue with the CRRA Tier 1 for fifteen years but there is no corollary  commitment from them as far as how much they will charge us to accept our solid waste disposable.  He asked if there is any out in the contract.  The Town Manager responded yes with respect to the recycling but to the solid waste piece there is not as we will be locked in.  He added that there was a lot of discussion about that and even for the contract that we are in now they do not make any guarantees and this is why a lot of the towns became very disenchanted with CRRA.  This is why the communities felt it was necessary to do the due diligence process which interestingly yields a result where we get a tipping fee that is lower than where we have been at.  Mr. Evans responded that is nice for temporarily but do not know where it goes in the future.  The Town Manager responded that we will continue to hold CRRA accountable through the governing board which there is municipal representation; CRRA has a quasi public-private and basis in statue and the communities have a voice and another reason we were not crazy about the Murphy Road proposal as in this there is a political process.  Chairman Zacchio asked what choice do we have, any other providers out there, or have your own landfill which we do not have and will not have.  The Town Manager responded that the only other option would be to take your chances with Murphy Road getting permitted and if that did not work out, rolling the dice with CRRA but they have made it very clear to us that we would lose “most favored nation” status.  Mr. Shea commented that the Murphy Road entity is going to come up with the same kind of contract that CRRA is coming up with because of the difficulty to project costs out over time so waiting for them while honorable is not really going to benefit us in his opinion.

On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute the Tier 1 Long Term MSA with CRRA for the disposal of both refuse and recycling for a term ending June 30, 2027.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

VII.     NEW BUSINESS

11/12-26        Approve Resolution and Discuss Debris Removal on Private Roads:
                Storm Debris Removal

Chairman Zacchio reported that there has been discussion around the removal of debris from the private roads in Town.  At the meeting where Council met to discuss debris removal from the storm recovery was focused on what was covered by FEMA.  We received a declaration near the end of the storm week from the federal government to say FEMA most likely would be covering this as a disaster event as we declared it a disaster here in Town the State did as well and now we have federal recognition.  He reported that gives the Town 75% reimbursement rate against all costs in the first 72 hours for staffing and beyond that from a debris removal perspective.  He reported that the Governor is now asking for a Category “A” FEMA designation which would give us beyond the 72 hours in terms of the overtime spent both from the shelter, our Public Works Department, and our emergency officials.  He reported that when we met to talk about that we did recognize that because FEMA does not recognize private roads or associations or tax districts as part of the Town in terms of clean-up that we would have to address that and consider how we would approach that, not from a long-term perspective but from the perspective of this particular disaster, certainly the first time in Avon’s history that we have had FEMA designation for a natural disaster and one that we need to look into.  He reported that we asked our Town Manager to spend time taking a lay of the land in terms of the private roads and associations and to come up with some options for Council, whether the Town could support clean-up of those areas or there is opportunities for individual tax districts to apply to FEMA as we did or even if there was some room within the Northeast Utilities $10 million fund for alternate funding for some of that clean-up.

The Town Manager reported that Council asked him to look into this issue from the perspective of logistics, legalities, and reimbursement.  He was pleased to report that the trucks for the company that was hired started rolling on Monday.  He reported that with regard to the town-wide brush collection that had been done in prior years about 3,800 cubic yards of brush was collected by Town crews during the entire process.  He reported that in the last two days alone the Town’s contractor has collected 10,000 cubic yards of brush and this does not include any work that is being on State roads.  The State of Connecticut is solely responsible for that portion of brush pick-up.  He noted how closely they are watching this process.  We have monitors, compliance personnel that are assisting us in reconciling the amount of brush that is delivered every day so we know within a few hours at the close of business how the day went in terms of collection as the cumulative total is.  He reported that we want to watch that very carefully because the contract amount that Council authorized was predicated on a 100,000 cubic yards of brush collection and we want to give Council as much notice as we possibly can if it looks like we are potentially going to exceed that.  We have a few weeks to go in the process but 10,000 cubic yards in two days is really something.

Chairman Zacchio reported that planning wise we were going to start picking up in the most heavily devastated areas and asked if that is going to plan and do we have a feeling that the experience we have had in the first week in terms of collection may not be consistent across the entire endeavor.  The Town Manager responded that we prioritized the pick-up by getting to the most devastated areas first because they tend to be the most wooded areas and get into public safety issues with respect to sight lines and visibilities.  He added that as we hit those areas it is possible that we will see things taper off over time.  He reported that we have gotten a number of calls with respect to the work being done on State roads and he emphasized that the State of Connecticut is responsible for the work that they are doing in their right-of-way; we passed our concerns onto the State and will continue to monitor it.  He reported that the equipment that the State is using is not well suited to this task as the equipment that our contractor is using.  Mr. Shea asked if we are able to communicate to the best of our ability through the web site or any means we have what the Town Manager just stated because it is an important fact and does not have a lot of confidence in the State especially based on the past few weeks and his concerns are that residents will be calling town hall and maybe thinking that we are responsible for whatever has happened.  He commented that the more we try to get the message out through the media, town web site, signs, at the library or senior center, it would be helpful because he does think it will be an ongoing problem for the next couple of weeks.  The Town Manager responded that he would make sure that happens.

The Town Manager reported that with this kind of a pick-up it is a moral hazard, the potential for abuse always exists.  He reported that he sent out a notice yesterday because we noticed a few areas in Town where it looked like people had gone through and cleared a lot and it is tough to say whether it is storm related debris or just taking advantage of a subsidized tree removal service.  He reported that we have been talking to the various contractors that are working throughout Town to let them know it is not acceptable.  Chairman Zacchio reported that the faster we pick this up and move it out those tree companies will go back to the states they came from.  The Town Manager reported that as we go through and do a clean sweep of the streets we will be monitoring that, videoing and taking pictures so we will know when the streets are cleaned.  Chairman Zacchio reported that we have good control over that since all of the compliance monitoring is being done by our own staff.  The Town Manager reported that in terms of the compliance monitoring, we have kept all of that work local with approximately eleven people, many volunteer firefighters who are doing it on an hourly basis and really know the Town.  He has heard some good stories about being very particular about the loads coming in and really scrutinizing things.

The Town Manager reported that if you go out to MH Rhodes you will see the huge brush pile and the scaffold for the monitor to measure the debris in the trucks.  Mr. Evans asked where it all goes after MH Rhodes.  The Town Manager responded that at first Dunning Sand and Gravel said they would take it free of charge but changed their mind when they realized how much is out there.  He reported that we are looking at a few options and would require DEEP approval and already had some preliminary conversations about this, we could spread it at MH Rhodes with the idea that it would compost and degrade and over a couple of years enrich the soil that is there or as time goes on and the market clears out some of this material it may be an opportunity to do an RFP and to sell it off to a company or for the Town to retain it, treat it, and keep it for our own use or sell it to residents.  He reported that part is very much a work in progress and as time goes on we will have some options for you.

The Town Manager reported that with respect to the private roads issue, both associations and tax districts and we also have stand alone private roads.  He reported that Public Works went through and surveyed these areas and that with respect to a lot of these areas, like Pond Place, Farmington Woods, Hunter’s Run, Buckingham, the associations have already gone forward and done their work.  He noted that with these associations, some are tax districts which means they have independent taxing authority and some are associations, the Town of Avon does not provide any services to these communities other than emergency services and education.

He reported that with respect to Secret Lake and Lakeview there is somewhat of a connection because since the 1930s or 1950s the Town has provided an annual payment to those communities and it is intended to offset their costs and use that to contract for various services and the Town has a role in managing those contracts.  He reported that for the other associations and tax districts there is no service relationship with respect to public works.  It looks like a lot of these areas have been taken care of already and the logistics of it are difficult because these are communities that do not meet our zoning requirements as when they were built they are high density and the roads do not conform to our standards and not accepted by the Town, it does not conform to our regular zoning patterns and with huge trucks on these roads there would be cracked aprons and be on people’s yards.  He reported that it is all possible and he talked to legal counsel about it; you would want to have releases and memorandum of understanding with the associations just to make it clear that if there were any damage that we would not take responsibility for it because we cannot assure that there would not be.

Chairman Zacchio asked to take associations and tax districts off the table for a moment and move to the last item of private roads, the 14.8 miles, do we understand the cubic yardage currently sitting within those areas and can we get an idea around costs associated to pick up there.  He commented that clearly it is not covered by FEMA and would be 100% born of the Town of Avon’s costs but without a baseline it is hard to understand what we are talking about if we have to commit dollars to this.  Mr. Shea reported that at the last meeting a week ago there was a potential of FEMA participating and asked if the Town Manager pursued that.  The Town Manager responded that he did and we are 99.99% sure that it would not be included and coming directly from FEMA and we also had Town’s legal counsel review the regulations and weigh in on it.  He reported that there is going to be a FEMA conference call tomorrow that we will participate in and ask the question again, to see if tax districts acting on their own because they are quasi municipal in nature can apply directly for the reimbursement.  Chairman Zacchio also asked the Town Manager to ask the question about private roads.  Mr. Shea asked who will be on the conference call.  The Town Manager responded that it is a FEMA sponsored call and from the town side he heard about it from our Emergency Management Director and either he or the Assistant to the Manager will sit in.  Mr. Shea commented that he is very interested in how Simsbury, Farmington, Canton, or any other community are responding or if they have creative solutions.  The Town Manager responded that Simsbury has not made a decision on it yet, we thought at first that Farmington was going to do Farmington Woods but it appears that they are not because Farmington Woods is doing their own clean-up and with Devonwood on those side private roads the homeowners are responsible for their own debris but Farmington owns the main road so if they can get it to the public right-of-way they will pick it up.  Mr. Pena asked if the Town Manager pursued grants regarding Northeast Utilities.  The Town Manager responded that there is money out there from Northeast Utilities but we have not spent any time on that yet.

Chairman Zacchio reported that the immediate need is to understand whether or not we can pick it up in those areas and without the baseline of understanding what the costs are it is going to be difficult for the Council to make a commitment for an appropriation as they need to understand what that commitment is and what those roads look like, especially on the 14.8 miles of private roads.  He reported that the crew today cannot do that as the size of the trucks is prohibitive, whether or not we can contract privately with a smaller service or handle it in house over a period of time or team up with another community for the smaller pieces, first and foremost we need to understand the baseline of what we are talking about.  The Town Manager responded that if Council can consider it a work in progress we can do a visual inspection of those areas.  He commented that to do Secret Lake and Lakeview based on the Public Works Department’s visual inspection they were assuming it would be a $50,000 job to clean-up those associations.  He reported that with the 14.8 miles we can drive them, see what they look like, and get back to Council.

Jean Dellamarggio, Town Council Representative for Secret Lake Association, spoke on behalf of the Association to ask the Council to expand the scope of this project and include Secret Lake Association.  She reported that the Association in the past had a relationship with the Town whereby debris collection was always provided to the Association.  They have combed their records and do not see that as an allocation on their operating budget.  Their operating budget over the last few years has diminished in part and parcel because the Town has picked up some of the services that were otherwise allocated through that budget.  She commented that hearing the amount of $50,000 does not seem like a lot to some but to the Association and its budget it would be extraordinary.  Chairman Zacchio commented that it is a lot to us as well.  Ms. Dellamarggio commented that at a time when we are all having to pay more taxes to everybody to anticipate getting the approval of the special assessment for this type of a project she does not think they would get it.  She commented that leaving it to the individual homeowners would mean that debris is going to stay put during snow; their streets are already narrow.  The residents did go through the exercise of bringing their debris to the street and have adhered to those guidelines that have been announced.  She thanked the Council for the opportunity to make these comments and urge the Council to expand the scope of this project to include the Secret Lake Association.

Joyce Nelson, Ellsworth Place (Buckingham resident), commented that to her knowledge their association has not done anything as far as brush clean-up; they are waiting on the Town Council.  The Village which has landscaping included in the scope of their development has started doing their brush clean-up.  She noted the comment made about not a lot of debris in Buckingham, perhaps a pick-up truck load.  She reported that she has a pick-up truck, a dump pass, and probably has fifteen pick-up truck loads in her yard.  She would be happy to bring her debris to the dump and would be happy to pay once but not every time.  She suggested that if Council is going to allow them to go to the dump, maybe a one-time brush pass.  She could leave it there perhaps if Council was going to decide that the Town of Avon pick-up trucks could pick up debris much like they pick up our Christmas trees in January.  She reported that it would be much easier to bring brush to the dump on a Saturday than to wait several weeks for the Town to come.  Chairman Zacchio responded that it is a nice compromise and something that Council should think about.  Ms. Nelson reported that a neighbor did not want to wait, had his brush chipped, and it is gone but not everybody can do that.  She commented on the remarks made about moving debris to the public right-of-way and asked if she can take the debris off of her private road and move it to a public right-of-way where it will be picked up.  The Town Manager responded yes.  She reported that she lives in a cul-de-sac and because she had so much brush and did not want their grass to die she moved her brush to the island in the center of the cul-de-sac and had permission from her association to do that until this item could get figured out.  Mrs. Samul asked if we want to be careful about residents moving this storm only related brush to a public right-of-way but do not put it on someone else’s property without their permission.  Chairman Zacchio responded that it would be best to figure out a way to solve this without having to drag brush around.

Fred Lombard, Bolleswood Lane, commented that we are dealing with this as a public versus private road or association issue.  He asked if this would not fall under emergency services because of the emergency aspect of the storm and why it is being dealt with based on a road situation versus based on a taxpayer of a town situation.  Chairman Zacchio responded that we use emergency services in terms of police, fire, and ambulance and that is the limit of it.  He added that the reason we are having the discussion in those terms is because what started this process is the declaration from FEMA in order to reimburse us at 75% rate for storm related clean-up.  He reported that FEMA drives the public versus private road discussion; when we met we knew two things: 1) we wanted to act quickly in order to get a contractor on the hook and get our RFP out and get bids in to move forward and 2) to try to curb the appetite for both the people clearing lots and need to get it off the roads as quickly as possible as you all do because the real winter is coming in four weeks if we are lucky and it would be a disaster so the snow shelf is not available if we have heavy snow.  He reported that what drove the conversation of public versus private was generally that sense from FEMA and quickly realized that there is a bigger picture in terms of what the residents are feeling and the Council weighed in quickly during that meeting to say this is a disaster situation and in no way should set precedent in the future but we need to consider those other sections of Town and how they are going to address their needs.  He commented that many of the associations have already taken care of it because some are a tax district and they have their own general fund and act as a small municipality.  Mr. Lombard asked if they are included in the 14.8 road miles.  Chairman Zacchio responded they are not; it is just private roads.  Mr. Lombard commented that if FEMA reimburses at 75% that will leave the Town responsible for 25% of the public roads and as a taxpayer there is still an outlay for 25% of the public roads and he realizes that he gets no services and that is part of buying into a private road but wanted to emphasize that this is an exceptional situation and it will put a lot of undo stress on everybody (Town and individuals) and any help would be appreciated.  He reported that they have a situation where the Town mandated that a fire gate be built and connect Bolleswood Lane and Diane Drive and they are also told that they have to maintain the opening for that.  He commented that they are not a quasi public road by any stretch of the imagination but the Town has obligated us to do that at our expense.  He commented that the dump issue was a great issue.  He cannot believe that 1) you have to have a permit to go and dump this brush and 2) you have to pay a fee on top of that.

Bob Dial, 20 Bolleswood Lane, commented that he heard on the radio that Dunning was taking debris on Friday and Saturday for free so he took four loads in his pick-up truck to Dunning and they started charging $10 on Monday.  He reported that the following Saturday they were not open so he went to the Town dump as a permit holder and was charged $15 for the same load.  He commented that this did not seem right and he heard that other towns are waiving it totally during this period, Canton is one town.  Chairman Zacchio responded that he cannot speak to Dunning’s pricing structure.  He added that our landfill still today with the permit sales as well as the costs to residents to bring in large debris items, electronic recycling, and brush, we still are operating at a huge loss every year and in order to keep the landfill open we are actually subsidizing the cost of the landfill with taxpayer dollars outside those who use it so that is why there is a charge there.  He commented that the second problem is we would have loved to open the landfill at a free basis but we have approximately 25,000 cubic yards of space left and then we are full so quickly we are going to run out of space and then at a cost of approximately $2 million have to cap it.  He reported that we are being very careful in terms of what we bring up there and how quickly we open it up because as you have heard we have an estimate of 100,000 cubic yards of material and quickly will fill the 25,000 cubic yards and have no space left; that is not a problem that we are trying to solve here but just trying to answer Mr. Dial’s question.

Mr. Lombard asked that instead of the dump could individuals bring debris at no charge to the MH Rhodes site.  Chairman Zacchio responded that the problem is with FEMA there has to be a monitoring system and if you co-mingle that work we will not get the 75% reimbursement at all and which is why we had to hire compliance monitors.  Mr. Lombard asked when the debris clean-up for public roads will be done.  Chairman Zacchio responded that November 21st is the potential last date that we recommended for residents to bring brush to the curb.  The Town Manager commented that the operative document is the FEMA Guide to Debris Management, it is posted to the Town’s web site and goes into detail about the handling procedures for all of this and that is what is driving our approach to this.  Chairman Zacchio reported that the Town owns a tub grinder although it is probably on its last leg and the cost associated to keep it running are expensive but was one of the first thoughts was to have a staging area, start moving it and when we contract with someone we are getting it off the roads quickly and that is when we learned all about the FEMA issue.

Rocky Filaoro, 34 Bolleswood Lane, questioned the size of the tree trucks and noted that the utility crews are cutting hangers over utility wires with some pretty good size equipment.  Chairman Zacchio responded that the utility trucks are small in comparison; the tree trucks are eighteen wheeler cabs with eighteen wheeler truck loads on the back with huge dumpsters and some have another eighteen wheeler trailer behind them.  Mr. Filaoro requested that the Council keep pursuing and trying to find something to help out the private roads because it is the correct thing to do.

Leanne Digiuseppe, 25 Diane Drive, reported that a utility truck came down her street and took down trees and huge branches on her yard.  She asked who is going to pick them up.  She reported that a house on the corner of Sarah Drive and Diane Drive abuts hers and they had a huge tree go through their deck and into their house so all of their debris is on her property line.  She commented that now she has a bunch of her neighbor’s debris with hers.  Chairman Zacchio responded that we would look into that.  The Town Manager commented that it was probably a CL&P contractor.  The residents in that area responded that it was not as they identified themselves as working for the Town of Avon.

Marc Leduc, 11 Hillcrest Drive (Secret Lake Association), reported that three or four years ago the Town would pick up their brush as well and used the same equipment that he saw around Town so it was not any different than the equipment normally used.  Chairman Zacchio responded that when we picked up brush we used our equipment or hired a small contractor; the contractor that is picking up the larger debris is not using those small pieces of equipment.

Suzie Downey, 37 Diane Drive, reported that she is the other third on this street with four homes and one has been unoccupied for over four years.  She commented that they are not part of an association, it is their families working together to get their Town services done.  They pay full taxes and the same mill rate as the people two houses away from us on Sarah Drive and they receive all of the Town services.  They pay on their own for snow plowing, street lights, and the Town does not provide any school bus services to their street.  Her appeal to Council is to please come to Diane Drive and evaluate the quantity of brush that is there and realize that it is not going to be as tremendous as the overall Town did but their street did sustain substantial damage, large trees that blocked her house from getting out of their house and had to work together with their neighbors to try and remove these.  She asked Council to approve expanding the scope of storm debris removal that you do offer.

Bobby Hunnicutt, 4 Whalers Walk (Sconsett Point), reported that they had significant damage.  She commented that in the communication that the Town sent out it stated that the contractor would be available to do private areas at a favorable price and now you are saying the trucks are too big.  Chairman Zacchio responded that the trucks they have in Town today are too big and we did have discussion with them that if we were to go into private roads and private sections if they could supply smaller equipment and the contractor said he would bring them up from Tennessee.  He added that we may go to bid if we had to do that.  Ms. Hunnicutt commented that maybe that is a solution for all of the private areas.  Chairman Zacchio responded that is why he has asked the Town Manager to assess how many cubic yards there are collectively in these areas so we have an idea of what it may cost and how we may approach it.  Ms. Hunnicutt asked if the Town owns the fire hydrants.  Chairman Zacchio responded that Avon Water Company owns the fire hydrants.  Ms. Hunnicutt reported that there is at least one fire hydrant that is in significant danger of being decapitated by trees; everything is still hanging and it is very dangerous.  Chairman Zacchio commented that there is quite a load of debris in the front of Sconsett Point.  Ms. Hunnicutt reported that they were pretty decimated, are concerned about that and trying to find bids but no one is returning phone calls which is why she is interested in the Town’s contractor but also not returning phone calls.  Chairman Zacchio asked the Town Manager to follow-up on that.  He responded that when we initially talking with the contractor on the FEMA piece this came up and we started discussing it and the contractor stood up out of the crowd and said that if you do something like that he could probably bring up some smaller trucks and would be separate and distinct of the FEMA piece.  He commented that we have local contractors with typical small equipment that could handle those jobs as well.  The Town Manager reported that he would follow up with Bob Wesneski with Avon Water Company to have them take a look at the hydrants.

Jenna Ryan, 38 Westridge Drive, reported that the FEMA debris truck rolled through their neighborhood bright and early yesterday morning and they are not small vehicles.  She commented on people calling about the lack of care for the State roads but the FEMA debris truck in Town is doing the same thing.  She commented to be patient with these people and know that it is not going to be a quick fix and it is not going to look pretty.  She commented that she knows that the Town has a chipper and a chip truck and knows that the chipper is currently broken because the guys do not really know how to use it and the arm is bent off the top of it.  She asked why the Town does not spend $500 to get a new arm and take care of these poor 14.8 miles of residents.  She reported that if Dunning will not take 14.8 miles of chips for free, then Flamig Farm will and Flamig Farm only charges $5 per load to bring them brush.  The Town Manager responded that with respect to the Town’s contractor it is not FEMA that is doing the work, it is a FEMA qualified contractor.  Ms. Ryan clarified that it is Michael’s from Tennessee.  The Town Manager commented that for the Town’s contractor that we can control and if any resident has a concern with respect to the work that is being done, if they leave your lawn in a mess, he asked them to call Public Works or the Town Manager’s office as he wants to know about it.  He commented that we have not had any calls about the Town’s contractor but have had calls about the State contractor which we have passed on to the State.  Chairman Zacchio commented that we also expect our contractor to be coming through twice.  Ms. Ryan reported that the Town contractor has broken curbs, taken out three wooden balusters that line the street, digging up front lawns, it is not pretty.  The Town Manager asked the Assistant to the Town Manager to talk to Ms. Ryan, get the details, and we will follow up.

Leanne Digiuseppe asked the Town Manager what she tells her neighbor whose debris is piled high on Diane Drive but his property is on Sarah Drive; he is a public road but all of his debris from where his tree fell is on a private road.  The Town Manager responded that if it is in the public right-of-way we will pick it up and we will look at the other miles of road and report back.  Chairman Zacchio reported that we will have someone take a look.

A resident reported that he spoke to a guy on the FEMA truck today and spoke to a guy who identified himself as a supervisor with the Town reporting that this is the FEMA guys that are coming in and cutting all of the overhead limbs and they landed on Ms. Digiuseppe’s property and they left.  He asked what is going to happen with that.  Chairman Zacchio repeated that we would send someone out to take a look and figure out who was out there cutting and address it.  He added that the Town Manager will follow-up with the neighbor’s pile of debris on Diane Drive.

Al Miller, General Manager at Farmington Woods, reported that they have 400 acres and 9 miles of roadway and while they are making progress in the clean-up it is a daunting process and sure would appreciate any consideration the Town would give in picking up some of the debris, even if it was from a separately staged location.  He added that they have a fire gate that is adjacent to a Town road and they can stage the debris there for pick up.
Mr. Lombard reported that he lives off West Avon Road and the State has come through already to pick up debris.  He asked if they were to move their debris from a private road to a public road are they going to come back through again.  Chairman Zacchio responded that he does not know what the State’s schedule is but we could find out.  The Assistant to the Town Manager reported that the State announced that they would be making sweeps through towns until December 15th.

Mr. Leduc commented that three or four years ago when the Town did brush pick-up they paid for all of it for everybody.  Now FEMA is going to pay 75% of the public roads and that leaves the Town with 25%.  He asked how Council feels about when the Town did public roads and Secret Lake about three years ago and why would the Town not come back through again the same.  Chairman Zacchio responded that the brush removal program that we had was approximately $40,000 annually and collected 3,800 cubic yards of material; we do not have the capacity or the equipment in Town to handle 100,000 cubic yards between now and this time next year.  He commented that he would not confuse the town brush pick-up as part of our annual budget process with the disaster recovery from the storm because they are two very separate things.  He reported that we removed that since from the budget because of budget constraints however it was a much smaller scale than what we are dealing with.  He added that we have to get a good basis for what the material is out there today so we can have an understanding of what the costs are and determine how we can handle it whether that means going out to RFP and collecting bids from private contractors or working with the contractor today that we have from Tennessee to handle those roads.

Mr. Shea asked if there should be a smaller sub-committee to work on this with all creative solutions available.  The Town Manager responded that if there is going to be a sub-committee of the Council to work on this so that we can expedite the process we are not going to have a quorum so we will not have a meeting per se but once we come to a conclusion we can send it out based on all of the other avenues (internet, press releases, and town web site) that we have been using lately with the exception of Everbridge as that is only for emergencies.  Ms. Stahl clarified that it will not be communicated via telephone.  Chairman Zacchio responded that we can only use Everbridge for emergencies.  The Assistant to the Town Manager commented that we can ask the School about possibly using their phone notification system.  Ms. Stahl commented that the Town staff has been wonderful.  She asked if a decision will be made within the next ten days or so.  Chairman Zacchio responded that we need to make a decision fairly quickly in order to start moving before snow falls and if we make a decision that we cannot do anything the associations need to act on their own behalf.

Joe Fazzalaro, 30 Lovely Street (President of the Lakeview Association), asked the Town Manager how long it took him to prepare the FEMA application.  He took a look at it and they would need a team of lawyers to do it for them.  He reported that if their share is $15,000, given Lakeview is about one-third the size of Secret Lake, which is three mills on their tax bill and they do not have those reserves now and would have to tax immediately and collect the money to pay for it.  That is the tax burdens that the associations suffer with this.  Chairman Zacchio responded that they understand.

Jeremy with C&S Landscaping & Excavation, contractor for Secret Lake and Lakeview for snow plowing, commented that if we get a snow storm there will not be much room for the snow.  He offered to the Town or the associations, whoever ends up paying for it, his services for chipping and brush removal and can get in there fast with minimal damage with smaller trucks.
The Town Manager reported that there is a housekeeping item to put the total appropriation into the proper format for Council to approve and recommend the Board of Finance approve the same.

On a motion made by Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council recommends to the Board of Finance an additional appropriation for Storm Debris Removal in the amount of $1,476,190, to be funded from available unappropriated General Fund Resources, per Charter Sections 9.5.1 (e) and (g).
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

11/12-27        Approve Resolution: $500,000 Contribution to Avon Library Project

Mary Suter, Library Board President, reported that the Board is very happy pleased to turn over this money to the Town tonight in accordance with their commitment of $500,000 towards the costs of the library project, including internal finish work, fixtures, furniture, carpeting, and lighting.  She acknowledged and thanked the people who have been involved and their years of hard work and planning to make this possible: the Avon Library Board, the Friends of the Avon Library, and the Capital Campaign Committee.  She also thanked the hundreds of donors who have contributed to their campaign; these are individuals, corporations, foundations, and trusts, all of whom understand the important and vital role the library has played.  Chairman Zacchio extended congratulations on hitting the fundraising goal; it was not an easy job but they had great support from the community and we appreciate your efforts.  Ms. Suter commented that they are still working on it.  Chairman Zacchio commented that they are going to deliver a beautiful building.

On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
WHEREAS, on the 22nd of October 2009, the residents of Avon voted at referendum to approve the Avon Free Public Library Addition and Renovation Project,

WHEREAS, the project budget approved at referendum included a pledge of $500,000 to be privately fundraised and contributed to the project by the Avon Library Board of Directors,

WHEREAS, during the summer of 2011, the Campaign Committee, an Ad Hoc Committee of the Library Board, met and surpassed the original pledge of $500,000,

WHEREAS, the $500,000 pledge to the project from the Board of Directors consists of a gift of $100,000 from the Avon Library Board, a gift of $100,000 from the Friends of Avon Library, and a gift of $300,000 from the Avon Library Expansion Fund,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, on this 15th day of November 2011, by virtue of the authority vested with the Town Council per Town Charter, that the Avon Town Council formally accept this unprecedented gift of $500,000 in support of the project and thank the Avon Library Campaign Committee, the Library Board, the Friends of Avon Library, and the many individual and corporate donors for their hard work and generosity.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

11/12-28        Supplemental Appropriation: State of CT Department of Education
                Youth Services Bureau Grants, $20,250

On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council hereby recommends that the Board of Finance amend the FY 11/12 Budget by increasing:
REVENUES
General Fund, Intergovernmental, Youth Services Bureau Grant, Account #01-0330-43383 in the amount of $20,250.00
and increasing
APPROPRIATIONS
General Fund, Human Services, Service & Consultant, Account #01-4203-52184 in the amount of $20,250.00 for the purpose of funding expenditures, which will be reimbursed through approved State of Connecticut Department of Education Youth Services Bureau Grants.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Shea, Pena, and Evans voted in favor.

VIII.     TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS

Misc. A:   Moody’s-Change in Status:  The Town Manager reported that Moody’s has officially changed our status from negative outlook to stable.  This happened back when a bunch of other communities were upgraded; there was a recalibration in the market and noted that Farmington, Simsbury, and Glastonbury moved up to AAA.  Chairman Zacchio commented that the negative outlook was based off the economy at the time as well.  The Town Manager responded it was that and also fund balance and there has been some improvement there.  Mr. Shea commented that there will also be positive movement in the next couple of weeks.

Misc. B:   Administrative Services Study Committee:  The Town Manager reported that the next and last scheduled meeting is December 13th.  The Committee expired in July 2011; they have been meeting on a fairly consistent basis since that time and there has been some discussion with the Committee about the need to continue to meet in the future.  There is at least one Committee member who feels that it would continue to be useful and those who would rather not continue to meet and leave it up to the administrators to carry on with the work.  At the last Board of Finance meeting, Mr. Gugliotti who is also a Committee member, raised it as an issue with the Board and asked for some consensus.  The Board of Finance was happy to go along with Mr. Gugliotti’s recommendation that it not be continued.  This is something that may come up on Council’s agenda in the future and think about possible options with respect to how to approach this; for the work that the Committee has been doing the low hanging fruit has been picked and there are some big policy issues out there, i.e. combining finance options between the Town and the Board of Education, but those are issues that he is not sure at this point are ripe for decision given everything that is happening.  He noted that he met the Board of Education’s new Interim Business Manager today so there are a lot of moving parts.  He commented that Council might want to repackage the Committee or convert into something where the Boards can meet on a quarterly or semi-annual basis to check in.  Mr. Evans reported that he attended the last two meetings; the last one was when Mr. Gugliotti had raised the idea about whether the Committee really needs to meet anymore and perhaps in December the Committee can have further discussion about going forward.  Mr. Evans commented that his personal view is not to disband the Committee in its entirety and maybe put on Council’s next meeting agenda to have further discussion about it.  He noted that meeting less frequently is an idea but the idea of completely eliminating it after all of the good work that had been done and the conditioning of the report and the fact that it is getting more difficult in things to save for cost savings is all the more reason to keep the Committee intact and not to disband it.  Chairman Zacchio reported that the Committee serves at the appointment of the Council so it should be on the agenda for us to consider whether we continue on with just looking at the Matrix study or other combination of services and shared services model we thought of or maybe as a representation of a tri-board meeting to compare notes on agenda items discussed.  Mr. Evans commented that it is good for the Town to continue to move in that direction for anything that we can do for cost savings initiatives.  The Town Manager reported that we can continue to talk about this and at some point Council should take some action if it is to continue because now it is technically expired and perhaps that is the point at which a revised charge is adopted.

Misc. C:   Auditor:  The Town Manager reported that this item was discussed at the last Board of Finance meeting as Blum Shapiro is on a year-to-year basis and whether or not the Board felt strongly about going out for an RFP.  The Board did not feel strongly about it and staff recommended that we continue with the current auditors.  The Board agreed to that however they asked that we approach Blum Shapiro to see if they would be interested in doing a 3-year engagement to see if we can leverage some cost savings rather than year-to-year.

Misc. D:   Health Insurance Sub-Committee:  The Town Manager reported that the Health Insurance Sub-Committee meeting needs to be rescheduled due to Storm Alfred.

Misc. E:   Old Farms Road Projects Update:  The Town Manager reported that there was a meeting with the DOT Commissioner on these projects last week with representatives from the Town including Bill Shea, Ken Larocque from Avon Old Farms School, and a CRCOG representative.  He commented that the take away from the meeting is that the Commissioner hears us and has put it on his short list of projects to continue to watch.  He reported that the next real step is that we are going to bring it back, to where he thinks it has been a few times in the past, to one of these interdisciplinary, interdepartmental stage agency environmental meetings where they talk about it in very fine detail and figure out all of the environmental issues there are prior to approving permitting.  He reported that we really want to get these projects shovel ready because if money becomes available and you are not then you do not get the money.  He commented that we will continue to push it; it is good to know that the Commissioner is watching it but he did not walk away with a really optimistic feeling and we will see what comes of these meetings.

Misc. F:   Economic Development – Web Site and Brochure:  The Town Manager reported that this item is ongoing and will be ready soon.

Misc. G:   Investment Portfolio Overview:  The Town Manager reported that Council had indicated an interest in having Chris Kachmar from Fiduciary Investment Advisors come in and provide a quick run down of investments that compromise both OPEB and the pension plans.  We will try to arrange that for Council’s December 1st meeting.

Misc. H:   Administrator’s Contract:  The Town Manager reported that the contract was filed in the Town Clerk’s office on October 20, 2011.  He reported that the statutory language is that unless the Town’s legislative body takes action to reject a contract within thirty days then it automatically goes into effect.  He reported that today he received a summary prepared by the Superintendent of Schools which gives you a very high level overview of the terms of the contract and for the three fiscal years there will be a two percent general wage increase each year and the employee contribution for medical and dental benefits topping out at the end of the life of the contract at twenty percent.  He reported that also told to him by the Superintendent of Schools is that they also negotiated changes in the co-pays in the actual insurance plan design which will also result in savings.  Chairman Zacchio commented that the summary reflects a 2% general wage increase in the first year, 1.5% in the second year, and 1.58% in the third year; the big driver is that not only is the wage increase pretty fair at 2% but you have a rise on the healthcare that remains consistent at 18% co-payment in the first year but jumps up to 19% in the second year and 20% in the third year; if you compare that to other municipalities we are light years ahead of most in terms of getting co-pays back in line or approaching the private sector.  The Town Manager reported that 20% is where it tops out; anything beyond are changes in the plan design.  He added that he has talked with the Superintendent of Schools regarding the benefit side and coordinating on that as well.  Chairman Zacchio asked if there is any sentiment on the Council of considering a conversation of rejecting the Administrator’s Contract.  The Administrator’s Contract was not rejected.

Misc. I:   Grant from the USTA:  The Town Manager reported that we have received notice that the USTA grant has come through in the amount of $36,000.  He added that this will come back to Council as a more formal report once we get timelines and everything together.  He reported that there was some interest in trying to get this project done this year; that is not going to happen and that message has been delivered and we will get on it in spring.  Mrs. Samul asked if the fundraising committee is going to continue to try and raise funds.  Chairman Zacchio responded that he thought they stopped as his understanding was that they hit their goal.  Mrs. Samul commented that they hit their goal with the Town’s help and the Board of Education’s help so he did not know if they were going to try and reduce our contribution.  The Town Manager will make the inquiry to the committee and report back to Council.

IX.       EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pending Claims / Litigation including High School Boiler

On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Samul, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 9:20 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Shea, 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 Mrs. Samul, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED:  That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 9:35 p.m.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Shea, and Evans voted in favor.

XI.      ADJOURN

The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Attest:  


Caroline B. LaMonica
Clerk