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AVON TOWN COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
September 4, 2014
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. Maguire and Messrs: Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chairman Zacchio.
III. PUBLIC HEARING - None
IV. MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETING: August 12, 2014
Mrs. Maguire recommended the following changes:
Page 5, 3rd paragraph, 1st line, add “had” between “have two”; 3rd line, change “spent” to “spend”; 15th line, change “stream-liking” to “stream-lining”; and 2nd to last sentence, change “incoherent” to “coherent.”
Page 14, 1st paragraph, 9th line from the bottom, insert “not” between “have done.”
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council accept the minutes of the August 12, 2014 Regular Meeting as amended.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, and Evans voted in favor. Mr. Stokesbury abstained.
V. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE
Chairman Zacchio commented that many folks are probably in attendance tonight for the design presentation from the architect and the Assistant Town Manager on the proposed athletic fields. He noted that there is one item under this agenda item for our legislators, Senator Kevin Witkos and Representatives Brian Becker and Tim LeGeyt. He added that periodically they come and talk to us about the upcoming legislative session and get our input around what is important and give us some insights about what they will be talking about and what kinds of items might be on the floor. He turned the floor over to the legislators.
Senator Kevin Witkos thanked the Council for having them to provide an update on what happened during the last legislative session and what they believe is going to happen in the next legislative session in addition to hearing from Avon residents about things they want them to be on the lookout for and affecting all aspects of life not only for government reasons but for the citizens of Avon as well.
Representative Brian Becker thanked the Council for having them. He gave an overview of the State aid allocated to the Town of Avon this past year. He noted that there has been a slight uptick in the amount of money coming to Avon and in 2015 as part of the uptick and in addition to the normal grants there is going to be a last quarterly payment of a municipal revenue sharing account that should have been paid to the Town in 2013 as the Office of Policy and Management was not sure they were authorized to release those monies and not the legislature’s intention to cut that off so we made sure they understood they were authorized this past session so there will be an extra $35,000 and change coming to the Town of Avon in fiscal year 14/15 from that. He added that Avon received a $450,000 STEAP grant
for the Streetscape Project. He noted that we are ready, willing, and open to hearing from you at anytime not just when we come before you. As things come before us if you want to reach out to us, please do so either directly or through the Town Manager who has communicated to us over the years.
Representative Tim LeGeyt shared the legislation passed this past Session that affects municipalities like Avon. He highlighted four bills. The first is under Energy and Utilities with the electricity purchasing pool; the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) operates a purchasing pool to buy electricity for State operations, certain low-income households, and this new law expands the pool’s purpose and authorizes DEEP to provide grants to municipalities that join the pool. The second is under Grants & Aid with regards to Municipal Revenue Sharing Grants; the Department of Revenue Services is to deposit $12.7 million of sales and use tax payments for fiscal year 14/15 into the municipal revenue sharing account and distribute those funds to municipalities according to a
formula that is in the legislation. The third is under Municipal Properties with regards to Utilities Trees Trimming and the new law making several changes to the process for telephone communications and electrical distribution companies have to follow before conducting vegetation management activities and require the utilities to obtain written or permitted consent from the municipality before conducting that process. The fourth is under Local Option Property Tax Relief with regard to the pilot program for municipal profit based tax assessments and new law establishes an Office of Policy and Management (OPM) administered pilot program under which municipalities may offer a limited number of commercial businesses and property owners the option of paying taxes based on the businesses’ net profits instead of the property’s fair market value. He added that they can be reached with any questions about the items mentioned.
Senator Kevin Witkos commented that it is an election year so when those get re-elected or run for office and get elected you begin the first year of a two-year term which means the development of a bi-annual budget. He noted that yesterday the State Comptroller certified that he believes this current fiscal year will end with a $300,000 surplus. We are projected to a $1 billion deficit on the outlying years but those numbers are very fluid yet subject to change depending on what happens in the State of Connecticut. He noted that the Connecticut Business and Industries Association is working on a campaign called “20 by 17”; right now Connecticut is nationally ranked at the very bottom for everything to do with business and their goal is to bring our State up to the top 20 by 2017. They
are hoping to deal with the State budget, our long-term liabilities, the regulatory climate, and put a huge focus on transportation infrastructure. He commented that as far as environmental concerns go there will be an expansion for pesticides; right now we have pesticides Grades K through 8 and there is a movement to expand that to Grades 9 through 12 for athletic fields and Open Parks and Spaces. Other movements include expanding the extended product responsibility; we have a recycling program for TVs and mattresses and there is talk about adding batteries, etc.; expansion of the bottle bill to all plastic containers; possible requirement to put electric vehicle charging stations in every municipality in the State of Connecticut; and the last one which would affect condominium associations is the right to dry and prohibit them from having outside clotheslines. He added that under the Connecticut Education Association they are looking at making sure that defined
benefit plans stay as is, go over the teacher evaluation system again, couple that with common core, and universal pre-school and universal kindergarten is on their agenda. He noted that the Council of Small Towns (COST) which Avon is a member of are looking to maintain a funding at the current levels and no more mandates from the State. He commented that we have over 4,000 pieces of legislation that are introduced by various legislators at the beginning of the Session and approximately 300 end up becoming lost. He noted that 95% of the bills that they vote on are unanimous in nature; only approximately 5% out of that group is partisan divided. He commented that they will be looking forward to your input as the Legislative Session goes on and there is a web site, www.cga.ct.gov, where you can track bills and can send suggestions via e-mail to the legislators.
Chairman Zacchio commented that first and foremost on their mind is to do no harm. He noted that the unfunded mandates really hurt us from a municipality perspective. As Representative Becker articulated, the amount of tax dollars that flow out of Avon versus what flows back into Avon is miniscule to start with. He asked that whatever piece of legislation is front of you to first think about what that does to the municipality especially the Town of Avon. He noted that the motor vehicle tax process that we have gone through before looks like that might come up again. He reported that it exempts the first $20,000 of your vehicle value from a tax but in essence puts us in an approximate $4 million hole from a budget perspective; you will pay one way or another but that means an inflated tax rate
versus what we are already able to collect. He asked the legislators as that happens to think about how that affects Avon. He reported that from a projects’ perspective there is nothing that is in the shovel ready mode that we would talk about tonight. He noted that the STEAP Grants have helped us prepare the Town Center for what we hope becomes a much more pedestrian traveled town center with the idea that Ensign Bickford would like to do some development there; that has been a tremendous help in terms of getting the sidewalks and lighting installed. He noted that he travels Hopmeadow Street (Route 10) every day and from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. people are walking on the sidewalk that connects Healthtrax to the neighborhoods on Route 44. He added that the legislators have been a big part of that and we appreciate it.
The Town Manager reported that we do have a commitment from the State to fund the Design Permitting and Construction of the new bridge over the Farmington River on Old Farms Road. He noted that we are in the design stage now and we may call the legislators to keep that moving in the right direction. He reported that he had a chance to work with these legislators not only during the session but year round, you have a very responsive group, always quick to return a phone call and get into the minute details of some pending bill and how it may affect the Town of Avon.
Mr. Evans thanked the legislators for coming as well. He commented that we are very lucky to have you representing us in Hartford. Thanks for all you do to represent us here in the Town of Avon. He asked if they have heard about changes as far as taxes, whether it be conveyance taxes or the personal property excise tax; are there any serious discussions about changes on that level? Senator Witkos responded that they are not in legislative session now; the House Chair of the Finance Committee is not running for re-election so there will be a vacancy; both Governor Malloy and Tom Foley have pledged no tax increases. He added that the Governor will have his budget address in February, they will get the budget and that might be the boiler plate where they start the discussion and the legislature
determine where they are going to go with that. He has not heard anything; he knows the realtors would like to see a decrease in the conveyance taxes. He does not see any changes in lowering that.
Mr. Pena thanked the legislators for coming out tonight. He commented that with unfunded mandates, as he walks in the Town on an election year or not that is something that is very much on the minds of our residents, as well as with the Town and Board of Education. He stressed how important that plays a role; if they continue to work on reducing the amount of unfunded mandates that would be great. Representative Becker responded that last December the Speaker appointed him as Co-Chair of the Special Education Select Working Group and taking a hard look at special education throughout the State of Connecticut. He noted that it is untenable for a local Board of Education because you cannot plan who is going to move into your district or cannot plan who is going to be identified as having a special
need and cannot plan for who might have to be sent out of district to a specialized school that could cost up to $200,000 per student. He added that it is putting an incredible burden on the local districts. He noted that when the feds passed the IDDA Act back in the 1970s and said they were going to fund up to 40% of it, they have not come anywhere close. He noted that we seem to be getting less than a lot of others and the State reimburses districts for any amounts over 4 ½ times the average student but there is a cap on that as well because of the budget difficulty that the states have. He noted that they are looking at this, how the services are being delivered, see if we can do it in a more efficient manner to stretch the dollars further to maybe take some pressure off the towns but it is going to be a long process. Mr. Pena commented that at the Town’s annual budget public hearing presentations are made by the Council Chairman and new
unfunded mandates are mentioned; it is an important topic for us and residents.
Diane Carney, 36 Rosewood Road, shared her appreciation to Senator Witkos for the e-mail updates that he sends out; they are very informative and keep her up on what is going on. She thinks more people should sign up for these updates.
Ilene Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, shared her appreciation to Representative LeGeyt’s for his weekly newsletters and has provided a lot of information. She commented that everyone should take advantage of this.
Martin Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, Avon Clean Energy Commission member, noted from newspapers and personal experience with people from the energy environment that Northeast Utilities and our other energy provider are considering or raising the transmission rates in the State of Connecticut. He agreed that we need industry in the area and we do not want industry to leave here, but how we can allow our State to be the highest energy cost state in the United States and what can you do about it. He noted that the DPUC is involved but what is happening; it is an area that he is very concerned about. Senator Witkos responded that there is the Public Utility Regulatory Authority which is a government agency appointed by the Governor, a 3-member panel, and any utilities (Northeast Utilities or United
Illuminating) have to make their case to them. He added that PURA will look at the evidence that is presented and determine a fair rate. He noted that if you look at the back of your utility bill there are items that increase the cost of electricity; it is a legislative policy that they have enacted for a number of years to put money toward the regional greenhouse gas initiative we fund through the monies that go to the green banks so folks can get different projects done in their homes for a less use of energy. He added that as our State has grown in the industry, population wise and businesses we are actually using less electricity in the State of Connecticut without building new power plants as appliances have become more efficient and more and more products are required to follow an energy standard. He noted that they passed in the energy bill a few years ago to look into a different purchasing method. They also have a State employee who is a
procurement manager. Representative Becker commented that the most controversial part about the rate discussion now is that they want to put it into your fixed charge as opposed to adding to the rate and giving an incentive to the folks to use less. He commented that there is a brand new energy center at UCONN where they are doing renewable energy research; right now solar and wind cannot be a base load as it does not produce electricity all the time. He noted that a UCONN professor recently got a patent on a process he developed using nanotechnology that would convert three and half times the sun’s energy into electricity as what the current panels do. Mr. Kaplan commented that Representative Becker is referring to generation; the utilities are raising the price on transmission. Representative Becker responded that if you can generate it onsite you would not have transmission. Mr. Kaplan commented that will be awhile. He noted that
businesses are going to look at the total rate before they come into Town and that is what we are worried about.
Nancy McCall, 75 Avonwood Road, commented that Senator Witkos is very responsive. She commented on the gas tax which is the highest in the country and it is her understanding that particular tax is funding the road system in Connecticut and she knows that is not happening; it is dishonest, disingenuous, and as a taxpayer she is very concerned about Connecticut because every time they say something is going somewhere we know that is not the truth. She thinks something has to be done about it because people are leaving Connecticut by the droves. Senator Witkos responded that the Finance Committee which he and Representative Becker both serve on, we had an amendment which received unanimous support that says any money that goes into the Special Transportation Fund would be used on roads and somewhere along
the line the amendment was vetoed. He noted that sometimes there is a pot of money and they are looking to close a deficit so they say they can raise taxes on an item or use a pot of money; it is not right but that is what happens. Ms. McCall commented that is not right and that is why we all go to Massachusetts to do most of our shopping, buying our gas; Connecticut is killing itself and until the legislature finally pulls itself together and is honest, it is a disaster.
Chairman Zacchio commented that the second part of this item is reserved for items not on the agenda tonight and limited to five minutes or less. He knows that there is a lot of interest in the presentation for the design aspects of the proposed project at MH Rhodes site. He asked that any comments directly related to the design can be asked during or after the presentation and that would be very helpful. He noted that this is a working meeting for the Council to understand the design aspects of the proposed project. If you have other comments on the project or anything else, “Communications from Audience” is in fact the place you should voice that opinion. He commented that everyone has an opinion and has time; the presentation is really to address the Council on that matter so
it is not a give and take in the audience. Everyone has an opportunity to speak. He opened it up to the floor under this guideline.
Brian Cutler, 4 Somerset Drive, asked if a needs analysis was performed associated with identifying the needs for the complex that we are talking about tonight. Chairman Zacchio responded yes. Mr. Cutler asked if a copy of that is available. The Town Manager responded yes, go to the Town’s web site under the Recreation Department page and it is posted there and referred to as the 2007 Recreation and Park Facilities Master Plan. Chairman Zacchio commented that we had a consultant involved, as well as the Avon High School Athletic Director, the Director of Recreation and Parks, and a few citizens; they did a reach out through the community in all of the sports organizations, had a lot of public meetings and discussion around it so as you go through it that is what culminated into that document.
Flo Stahl, 2 Sunset Trail, commented that she thinks Council wants to do the right thing, we all want to do the right thing but she has to wonder if it is a viable plan if you simply ask one segment of the community what they would like done with the Thompson Road area. She noted that the one segment asked was the youth sports community, nothing against them but that is what we are dealing with. She added that the land was purchased by all of us for municipal purposes, which means that there is nothing prohibiting you from going to the community at large which would include youth sports. She commented that the approach was a bit flawed because you asked for input and you got input from only one segment of Avon. Chairman Zacchio responded that we did not ask anybody to move forward with this; we had
some people come to us and ask if it was going to move forward and what kinds of timeframes it might. He added that what we did was go back to the Master Recreation Facilities Plan in which we spent time, money, and energy to develop, an inventory of all the space that Avon owns, what the athletic needs might have been then and in the future, and determine how best we might use those pieces of property. He noted that we had a cartoon drawing with a conception; what we are doing is asking for a real design to be developed that could give us real figures for us to consider how to move forward with, if to move forward with, and how it fits into the rest of the Plan. He commented that until you have some sort of figure to work on and some kind of design that is real no decisions can be made and that is how this is moving. Ms. Stahl commented that Chairman Zacchio is speaking past what she is saying. She is saying that if you had gone to the community and
asked for its input perhaps we would be at a different design at this point. Chairman Zacchio responded perhaps and since the design is not finished this is a great opportunity to give input.
Carlos Vieira, 5 Richards Street, reported that Arch Road was cleaned up in June 2013 and not again since then. He commented on a police car passing Arch Road over 65-75 miles per hour; there are a lot of kids in the street. He commented on a meeting twenty-five years ago for the approval of sidewalks on Arch Road but they were never installed; he would like to see one sidewalk running up to Arch Road. He commented on the Route 44 emergency ramp.
Ilene Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, commented that she has always been against the Thompson Road facility and it has always bothered me knowing that it was toxic land for a long time. She knows money was spent but she has never been comfortable for it as a place particularly for children and sports. She asked, since she does not remember ever being asked her opinion about the facility, if Council has considered Fisher Meadows which has no residential area, people would not be bothered by traffic, it’s huge and wide open, and if you need to expand the soccer that would be the place to consider. Chairman Zacchio responded that there are some conceptual fields at Fisher Meadows to expand youth soccer on both the debt service and long term capital budget where the Thompson Road property is also
represented. He noted that the problem with Fisher Meadows is that it is in a flood plain and you cannot build any kind of structures there and not conducive to an athletic turf style field, but certainly Fisher Meadows could be utilized for additional grass fields.
Keshav Rao, 88 Thompson Road, commented that he lives right across from where you are building this complex and nobody ever talked to me or people on that road that are going to be affected by this. He asked why Council is not looking at other places, for example, schools before putting in something that does not look pretty or needed there. He thinks it should be a green space and maybe a park and would serve everybody in this town, not just the sports people. Chairman Zacchio responded that without some type of design he does not know what we would have come to you with. Mr. Rao commented just to ask it. Chairman Zacchio responded that he does not think that Mr. Rao’s answer would have changed, but we do have a Master Plan that looks at Recreation and Parks and we are updating that
Plan with something real that we can make a decision from; that decision has not been made and whether we make that decision to move forward or think about it in a different space or it has issues that we cannot continue with, those decisions just have not been made yet. He added that without a design and without some dollars to put around it this body could not make a decision.
Diane Carney, 36 Rosewood Road, commented that when Chairman Zacchio said the decision, she asked who will make the decision, by a vote or referendum. Chairman Zacchio responded that we have not gotten there yet but there are a number of permitting processes this would have to go through so decisions might have to be made by other bodies than the Council. The Council would ultimately decide whether it moves forward but in what way it moves forward, whether you do permitting and traffic studies and all that goes with that in front of a referendum or behind a referendum. As you know with the Library expansion we did that permitting process after and that is typically how it is done but being this is a different use of the property we may make a decision to do it differently. We just haven’t
gotten there yet. Ms. Carney commented that it is not a done deal. Chairman Zacchio responded that we do not even have a design approved and a figure to talk about, let alone how we might finance, and what process we might go through. Ms. Carney commented that she was confused because a committee was appointed, meetings were held, designs were brought out, and the last thing she had heard was that a design had been approved. Chairman Zacchio responded that a committee was appointed by Council to meet and work with the architect on what best would fit the needs and the site; they are here tonight to give us an update as to what those meetings’ outcomes have developed from a site perspective, we will certainly have some input as this was a request of the Council to understand what went into it, what decision-making, why did you include this and not this, what kinds of input have you had, why have you made changes; ultimately a final design will be
presented to us for us to accept, then we might decide what’s the cost, how do you move forward, if we move forward. Ms. Carney commented that it seemed to be moving forward without any input from Council. Chairman Zacchio responded that one of the reasons he wanted to separate this discussion from the design presentation is we really do need the one-on-one time from a design perspective to understand the elements that he just spoke to.
Kathleen Davenport, 92 Somerset Drive, commented in support of Dr. Rao, she understands that when we were proposing to put lights on the Middle School tennis courts the people who lived across the street were asked whether it would bother them or not and those are just lights at a tennis court. She thinks that if the Town is going to possibly look at putting in a stadium across from her house it would have been nice to have a heads up for people who live in the area to share that the Town is considering this. She added that people need to understand that the Avon High School is really not out of the picture; it was stopped because of neighbors, a former Town Council member lived on Sudbury Way, and not just because of parking or drainage problems. She commented that she does not feel that you are safe
wherever you live if this gets put up on Thompson Road; anywhere that you live near open space or recreation fields they can put in anything that they want so do not feel that it is not going to happen to you because it could and in your haste to put in a turf field, don’t put the right thing in the wrong place. Chairman Zacchio responded that the folks around the tennis courts were notified when it was applied to the Planning and Zoning Commission; the design had already been completed so if that was the case you all would not have been notified until we were ready to go to the Planning and Zoning Commission so we were way in front of when folks around the tennis courts were notified for lighting. He added that John Carlson as Chair of the Town Council at that time had absolutely nothing to do with the entire process around the High School site when it was looked at. He asked that Ms. Davenport go back and look at the minutes of the Board of Education
meetings, it stopped for a lot of different reasons, and John Carlson was not one of them. He added that he sat on the Council at the time and Mr. Carlson had nothing to do with that situation. He agreed that the neighbors did not like it and did not like the number of events that were going to be there and that was certainly one of the reasons but to insinuate that the Chair of the Council at the time had something to do with it is disingenuous at best. Ms. Davenport commented that she said Mr. Carlson lived there, not that he had anything to do with it. Chairman Zacchio responded that she said it was stopped because of him and that is incorrect. Ms. Davenport apologized.
David Magrini, 31 Brookridge, commented that having lived in Avon for fifteen years this is not the first time that this conversation has come up so he wants to commend the Council for looking at this possibility; it really is an asset to the entire Town whether you are a 5-year old soccer player or someone who has lived in Town for fifty years and can go and enjoy what the architect is actually going to show some designs on which he is sure will be something that benefits our entire community. He added that the conversations that he keeps hearing are about the process and this process is very early and whether you are for this proposed project or against this proposed project we all have a right to say and to get input and that is where we are in the process. He noted that it is fantastic that we have
approximately eighty people here to show up for a meeting and to look at the pros and the cons and to weigh everyone’s opinion because it is about community, building the community, raising our property values, doing the right thing for all of our residents. He commented that this proposed project is being looked with everyone’s interest in mind.
Diane Carney, 36 Rosewood Road, commented that Avon for many years or more recently has gotten caught up in this status symbol; this community has it so we have to have it. She thinks that this sports complex is one of those things.
John Hagan, 35 Far Hill Drive, disagreed; it is not a status symbol; he noted Canton, Granby, Farmington, West Hartford; it is not a want, it is a need. He added that if you look around the State when families move into communities that have student athletes they make their decisions based on this kind of information.
Timothy Prete, 58 Meadow Ridge, commented that he thinks this is great as Mr. Magrini stated. His concern is that if we do not do something what happens to the property values and on top of that what happens to the taxes. He noted that if we pass through town to Simsbury and other towns that is a concern for him. He added that it should be a concern for all people in Avon when they get ready to sell their homes and move on or retire that a 5% drop in value to your home is meaningful. He noted that if communities around us are doing this it is not something that we want to do as a status symbol; we really have to keep up. He noted what the legislators said about Connecticut being last on the list; people are leaving the State, people are going to leave Avon. He commented that as a
community effort to try and make this better he thinks we are doing the right thing by at least going through the process to look and see if we can make the community better. We did it with the Library, it is a draw. He thinks people would like the sports complex with the kids; young families moving into Town are concerned about this. He spoke to some of the realtors in Town who told him that they are concerned about the values in Town as well. He noted that if we do not do something what then happens to our Town.
John Meany, 190 Cold Spring, commented that he is from Georgia and that half the towns show up on Friday nights for those games down there; the camaraderie, the way the towns come together, it keeps kids out of trouble, there is a sense of community, it is a positive thing, school systems have skyrocketed down there with scholarships. He sees potential here for the same.
Nicole Herbst, 110 Thompson, questioned with regards to the process when it will be appropriate to discuss the location regardless of it being a great plan but maybe you could piece in different places, keep something at the High School, keep something at Fisher Meadows, and something at Thompson Road. She asked if there will be a time in the process where that can be discussed. Chairman Zacchio responded absolutely however we do not know yet when that would be but before the Council makes a decision to move forward with the project they would have to have the idea of the financing and how we might attack that and we have to have a conversation about priorities around any monies that we put forward in terms of where else in Town it might be needed or if this is truly an appropriate spot once the permitting
process happens. He added that before all of that happens we would not make a decision. Ms. Herbst asked if the permitting will be before or after the referendum. Chairman Zacchio responded that we have not gotten to that stage yet. His personal opinion is we would probably do it before because this is a different use of a piece of property and not an addition to a building but we are not there yet and that will be a decision that we will have to make after designs are submitted and approved.
Martin Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, asked if this was originally supposed to be a private investment and not a Town investment. Chairman Zacchio responded that we have not had any discussions around financing; originally this would have been all a Town investment so anything that is in the Master Recreation Facilities Plan that was adopted by the Board of Education and Town Council but no single project within it was approved, we used that as a guide for the future and what we might need and what we might build. He noted that typically we fund 100% of that and there might be some fundraising effort, like the Library for instance selling bricks for the amenities and a little over a $1 million raised in private fundraising and the Town put up $7.5 million, and the State put up $1 million. He added that on
our debt service projection we probably would not have gone through this process to understand the costs which you need the design to do for three to five years because it would have been based off what our debt service curve looks like and when we have capacity to do it and stay as tax neutral as we could be. He noted that there is interest in raising money for the project and before you can start to talk about that you need to know what the project is and that is what we are doing. Mr. Pena commented that just because the Council moves a project forward does not mean that it will be built; ultimately it will be the voters. Chairman Zacchio commented that our Charter provides for 1/10 of 1% of the tax levy, that if you spend over this amount of money you automatically have to go to referendum; if you spend under this amount of money it can be a Town meeting type of environment. He noted that we will have to determine how we move forward, either way it would
be based on a vote.
Brian Cutler, 4 Somerset Drive, asked if a Council member or consultant can speak for the selection process that went through to get to the Thompson Road facility thus far and why you are focusing on this property. Chairman Zacchio responded that this was in our Master Recreation Facilities Plan for a synthetic turf field and there were two sites named within the Town’s ownership of properties that would be suitable for it; the first was the High School and the second was Thompson Road. Mr. Cutler asked if that is in the document. Chairman Zacchio responded yes. Mr. Cutler asked if the basis for the selection is described in there, including criteria, evaluation process, etc. Chairman Zacchio responded that we hired a consultant and we had the former Director of Recreation and Parks and
Jeff Sunblade, along with a few members of the Recreation and Parks Committee at the time running that process so there is a spreadsheet attached that has some figures attached to what the kids are playing in sports and what the forecasts were. He commented that if Mr. Cutler has any questions regarding the Plan the Town Manager is available or any member of Council.
Kathryn Turner, 32 Coventry Lane, commented on the Plan and asked if it deferred consideration of the High School site at this time. Chairman Zacchio responded no. Ms. Turner commented that in the Plan it states that “specific recommendations for Avon High School be deferred as a result of significant amount of money (inaudible) spent on the expansion and renovation of the High School.” Chairman Zacchio responded that the first named site was the High School. Ms. Turner asked if that site should be looked at again since it was deferred at that point. Chairman Zacchio responded that it went through that process again. He added that without a figure and a design on the Thompson Road site, we have nothing to compare it to. The Town Manager commented and referred to page
46 of the Plan with language regarding the rejection of the High School site as well as the reasons why the focus moved from the High School to the property on Thompson Road. He read, “As part of the study it was determined that a full-sized, all-purpose field would not fit within the existing track.” He noted that it goes into a lot of detail about the physical limitations of that site and that is what prompted the change in focus from the High School to the Thompson Road property.
Kathleen Davenport, 92 Somerset Drive, commented that there was a preliminary estimate done at the High School for $2.8 million. The Town Manager responded that the $2.8 million is very preliminary, as he addressed in the Q&A that was distributed at the meeting; most of the cost is associated with the extensive site work that would be required because the existing track would have to be ripped out and replaced, a baseball field would have to be moved, there is already a variance in place for the amount of parking and would need to be reconstructed; it is all of the details that would go into the site plan estimate. Ms. Davenport commented that even with a very preliminary budget of $2.8 million it could still be done at the High School. Chairman Zacchio responded that anything can be done subject to
the same approvals.
Flo Stahl, 2 Sunset Trail, commented that some of us, maybe many of us, in the community are not clear about how we got to this point. Her interpretation from her research and reading is that we have this land, 15.25 acres at Thompson Brook that was cleaned up and was given the green light by a State agency that it was not toxic anymore. She noted that you keep referring to the Master Plan which was generated by the Parks and Recreation Department of this Town; perfectly fine however, what if the Garden Club, what if the Land Trust, what if the Senior Center, what if the Veterans, the Fire Department, they did not make a proposal for Thompson Road land but the Parks and Recreation did; they got there first, they asked the youth sports what they would like there so it became concentrated in that one area
but that does not mean that all of these other organizations don’t have a right to use that land as well. She commented that it could have been a Master Plan by another department, it just wasn’t. Chairman Zacchio responded sure, conceivably. Ms. Stahl commented that is why we are; Parks and Recreation concentrated on youth sports which is their right to do and you are here as the Town Council who appropriated money for an architect and kind of ran with it. She does not blame them for doing that. She thinks there are other interests in the Town as well. Chairman Zacchio responded that it is not the Parks and Recreation Plan; it is the Town’s Plan. He noted that the Plan was developed by Parks and Recreation at the request of the Town so you can compartmentalize the Fire Department, Parks and Recreation, Public Works into what their needs might be. For instance, the Fire Department has a need for a west side fire
station; they do not have a need for a fire station at Thompson Road. He added that when we asked the Parks and Recreation to develop a Master Recreation Facilities Plan it was in a sense for us to say what are our future needs, what are the inventories of properties that could satisfy those future needs, and ask them to put together a Plan for us that conceivably could be acted on in the future. He commented that if the Senior Center conceivably needed another Senior Center we would be having that conversation. He does not think that anyone forecasts right now that we need another Senior Center; we do have a forecast for a Fire Department that may need another fire station on the west side of Town because geography is important to them. He added that without a design and some costs to go with that design no decision will ever be made because how could it. The Town Manager commented that in terms of the documentation and the history of the proposal,
the Recreation Master Plan was completed and approved by the Town Council in 2007. He noted that the Town does a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP); the first year of the CIP is what we refer to as the capital budget; if you look at the CIP from fiscal year 2007/2008 which is the first year following the completion of that Master Plan and every year thereafter there is always a description of this project along with a fiscal note. He added that the fiscal note varies, some years it includes monies for architectural fees, some years there is an estimate of the total project cost but it is there consistently beginning fiscal year 2007/2008 through the adopted CIP which is part of the overall budget planning document through fiscal year 2014/2015. He noted that it has consistently been in the CIP. Chairman Zacchio commented that to Ms. Stahl’s point, which is a good one, if there are other needs in Town all of those organizations need to do is step forward. He noted that one thing
that we are not going to grow anymore of in Town is land so what we have is what we have right now and those pieces of property will be utilized in some way over time, how is going to be the decision making we will have to make but without those figures we cannot intelligently think about how to move forward.
Carman Propiescus, 685 Lovely Street, a lifelong resident in Avon, commented that it is exciting that this many people come out to talk about this project. She commented on the issues of multi-faceted, paying attention to different needs of the communities and this format here is just a platform to begin the process; the thought was talked about a long time ago and now it actually involves emotion so talking about what we did not know before wasn’t at that stage and here we are now addressing these needs.
Adam Lazinsk, 88 Deepwood Drive, commented that this is a great civics lesson for those of you who are just here for the first time ever. He has been attending Council meetings for years because it is a great way to learn about what is going on and what the Town is thinking about. He remembers hearing about this Recreation Master Plan years ago and discussions about redoing the football field at the High School years ago and how it wasn’t really feasible from its sizing, drainage, etc. He remembers a talk about a group of individuals who wanted to propose a multi-purpose playing field of a synthetic nature perhaps being built at Thompson Road. He added that all of those groups started talking amongst themselves and a handful of citizens took it upon themselves to bring those groups together
and they are here tonight, it is Todd Donovan, David Magrini, and Tim Prete; they approached the Town Council about the idea of this multi-purpose playing field, he was here, he remembers those meetings, it was not done under the radar or snuck in under some back room conversation. He noted that he has children in the school system, neither one of them may have the opportunity to play on this multi-purpose playing field but it is worth the discussion. He added that it is also worth hearing the views of those members of this community who may be adamantly opposed just on the face of it because they do not want to spend the money or maybe because they are of a different age and on a limited budget and cannot afford it or maybe they just do not see the need; to those people also he would say this was not snuck in, come to the meetings and listen. He commented that there has been a whole history of this going on and he does not know if a multi-purpose playing field is
the right way to go. The Town Council put forth $50,000; in the grand scheme of things not a huge amount of money in a Town budget to determine whether or not things should move forward. He commented that it is very early on in the process and does not think that anyone has their mind made up one way or the other. He has heard the phrase “stadium” but does not think that they want to build a stadium rather a multi-purpose playing field with some bleachers on either side and maybe some bathrooms; he does not think they are looking to build a palace. He also respects the concerns of those people who live on Thompson Road and Somerset who may have to listen to a noisy crowd on a Friday night or the light pollution from bright lights. He asked if that will be part of the process. Chairman Zacchio responded yes. Mr. Lazinsk asked if at some point there will be a process whereby the Town is going to speak to those residents of
Thompson Road, Somerset, and Coventry and our voices are going to be heard and we are very preliminary. Chairman Zacchio responded of course. He closed by commenting to let the architect have this presentation and let’s move on.
Nicole Herbst, 110 Thompson Road, commented that there is a lot of hurt feelings and misinformation going around. She asked if there is a way to stop this us versus them and actually come up with a solution and have a project and have it benefit everyone. She commented that this is going to get heated really quick. Chairman Zacchio responded that is a great suggestion.
Alison Folkwein, 44 Buttonwood Hill Road, commented that she has lived in Avon for six years and she is very excited about the possibility of this project happening. She has three children, they all play sports; if they did not play sports she would still be excited about this. She does not think that tonight is the night for heated discussion and hope that it never becomes that way. She hopes that after these architects present this project you will see that this is not just for kids to play sports, this is going to be a community project that everyone will be able to use whether or not you are 5 or 55. She thinks it is worth it to take a look at what is going on, to be open to the idea of saying here is something that we are considering, nothing is getting voted on this evening, no decisions are
being made but it is time to be open and look because without being open and looking at what the possibilities are and what the needs are of our overall Town including the people that disagree we will not know how to go forward. She commented on the definition of a stadium and this is not anything close to what is being proposed for Thompson Road. She thinks many will look at it and say that is a lot different than what they had envisioned.
Marty Lisevick, 129 Carriage Drive, commented that he is a father of three daughters and has been the Athletic Director at Staples High School for the Town of Westport for the last fifteen years; they have put in four of these artificial turf fields, everything went fine. He noted that the biggest lightning bolt they faced was when they tried to light the stadium. He commented on very similar concerns from their neighbors as there is a road that goes right behind the stadium with 64 residents on that street. He noted that it was a five-year process to get approval for lights on that stadium field but what they did right was to form a committee with three neighbors on the road along with the High School Athletic Director, the Director of Parks and Recreation, Town Attorney, and others; the neighbors
helped them frame the usage policy for that stadium including seating capacity, who will use that, and as a result they have had the lights for three years and had two meetings a year on this and they have his cell phone number so if something happens they call him right away. He noted that the only concern now is that occasionally they play their pre-game music too loud and that has pretty much been it. He commented that it was the neighbors who helped us frame the policy that governs our usage of their stadium. He also thanked the Council for considering this as it is something that the kids at Avon High School as well as the kids in youth sports, thousands of them will benefit from it over the next several years. Chairman Zacchio responded that it is a good suggestion; something that Ms. Stahl has brought up a number of times, what are the operating costs ongoing and we need to know those ahead of time and part of that drives you to have to figure out how
you are going to operate it and as we go forward that would be something that we would have to consider if we do move it forward.
Martin Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, asked if there is still an opportunity to look at the use of that property for the benefit of the Town in other areas. Chairman Zacchio responded that no decision has been made on the use of the property. Mr. Kaplan asked if one of the Town committees came up with a use for that property that would benefit the entire Town would it be looked at. Chairman Zacchio responded that to be fair there are other uses that had been considered for that piece of property including an elementary school at one time. He added that no decision has been made on how to use it; no one had a decision to talk about until it was remediated from a pollution standpoint because we did not know if it was going to clear. Mr. Kaplan asked about the idea of a solar farm which would not
cost us a cent. Chairman Zacchio responded good.
Chairman Zacchio appreciated everyone’s opinions and input. He agrees with Mr. Lazinsk; this is how some small town decisions get made and we would like to see more people at our meetings. He commented that Council does not take it lightly and as we get into this process this is an important aspect of what we do. We thank you for your willingness to speak up.
Mr. Evans commented that several of the Council members have been quiet tonight and taking this all in and Chairman Zacchio has been pretty good under fire answering all of your questions to the best of his ability and he commends the Chairman for doing a good job. He noted, on behalf of Council, that we all agree on one thing which is eventually this is for the Town voters to decide and it will go to a referendum; it will be fully vetted; this will not be the first meeting, it almost feels like a Town meeting, but there will be a Town meeting. He added that we cannot have a Town meeting until the Council does its due diligence; we take in information from our architects, decide on a design, get cost estimates, run through issues about traffic, lights, the best location, drainage, everything that needs to be
done so we present this to the voters as a package to say that we have explored everything and we can answer your questions. He noted that tonight many of the questions you might have asked we cannot answer because this is the infancy of the project; at the end of the whole thing we are hopefully in a better position to answer your questions, have meaningful debate, it does not have to be contentious debate and ultimately where you decide is at the referendum. From his perspective as a member of the Town Council we have a duty to move this forward; for them to say it is not a good idea, the five of them do not like it that is not our jobs; we are stewards of the Town, we owe an obligation to bring this forward to you so you can decide so we are going to do our homework, we are going to listen to the architects tonight, work on design, we are not even going to decide on design and you will be hearing from us some number of months in the future. Thanks for coming.
VI. COMMUNICATION FROM COUNCIL
Mr. Pena reported that the Library had their Farmer’s Market and he attended a few times and it was very successful. He commended Glenn Grube, Library Director and staff for their hard work. He urged those residents who attended the Farmer’s Market at any time to complete the survey.
Mr. Stokesbury reported that he and Mrs. Maguire attended a very large Eagle Scout Court of Honor earlier in August for eight new Eagle Scouts out of Troop 274. He noted that each of those Eagle Scouts should be proud of their achievement and was well addressed at Council’s last meeting; that honor will stay with them for the rest of their lives. He recognized and commended Scout Master Bill Roell and his entire adult team for leading a phenomenal Troop of very successful, enthusiastic young men. He noted that few Troops in the country can boast the record of success our Troop has in building future leaders of our country and we should commend them for their public service.
Chairman Zacchio reported that the Department of Public Works deserves a lot of credit for the speed in which they got Country Club Road from West Avon Road to Lovely Street paved. He noted that our staff raised all of the basins and sewer grates and then we contracted someone to come in and grind and pave. He added that it happened to fall on the Republican Primary and there were some snags in terms of the road being closed but unfortunately we did not have control over when the contractor comes. He noted the quick turnaround by our staff was partly due to the new backhoe and they understood the time crunch. He asked the Town Manager to commend the Public Works staff on Council’s behalf. He then asked when this area of road was going to be striped. The Town Manager responded
September 7th.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
13/14-48 Presentation: Thompson Road Athletic Complex
Chairman Zacchio reported that Council asked for the preliminary design that will be presented tonight and discussion thereof so they could have meaningful input and understand how it was developed.
Luke McCoy, Manager of Landscape Architecture with BSC Group, gave a presentation (a copy of which is attached and made part of these meeting minutes). He reported that he is here tonight to present a recap of where we have been over the last few months with this project since we have been hired. He reported that they have completed the project kick-off meeting which was their introduction to the sub-committee that was formed here; they have begun the site evaluation process which is not only the site but evaluating the building that is currently onsite, the condition of it; the Town has 95% completed the site survey, the wetlands that are onsite are being flagged this week; they have been out to the site a number of times to walk it and get familiar with it. He reported that they have completed project
programming, reviewing the original Master Plan that was done in 2007, re-addressing that with things that have changed in the Town and community since then, some of the needs and desires have shifted based on programs since then, they are currently in the schematic design phase which is developing a number of concepts to ultimately come down to one Master Plan based on the meetings which meets the overall needs and desires that came out of the programming for the project. They have also began the local permitting process with the initial phase of meeting with staff members here to discuss the process that would have to be gone through for a project of this type as well as things that they need to be cautious of or look at and meet as part of the local regulations in order to avoid designing something that would not be able to pass through permitting.
Mr. McCoy showed an illustration of the existing Thompson Road site location including the building, an existing trail and partial parking lot that connects to the trail. He showed an illustration from the original 2007 Master Plan which is very conceptual in nature, talks about what the program was back then, and had a design firm very preliminary put some drawings together for that. He noted that they have taken that and developed a new Statement of Needs based on what the Town feels is needed throughout and again it is not just athletics but also recreation as part of this. He added that the intent is to be a full recreation complex; we have heard a lot of talk about fields and he is going to talk about the other pieces of this project as well. He noted that the largest portion of the site is
the all-purpose field and would be used for football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, community and adult groups that want to use it; for basically all sports except for baseball or softball; athletic field lighting, field utilities which would mean water, power, etc.
Keith Zelazny, 25 Brookridge Drive, commented that both fields should be turf.
Flo Stahl, 2 Sunset Trail, inquired about sewer hook-up for this site/project.
Nicole Herbst, 110 Thompson Road, commented about scoreboards for the game fields.
Adam Lazinsk, 88 Deepwood Drive, commented on the site grade and all-purpose turf fields.
Margaret Bratton, 15 Old Mill Road, questioned if the traffic impact will be looked at with this complex. Mr. McCoy responded that part of their process will be conducting a new traffic study later on; there has already been a traffic study on Thompson Road for the permitting for the school and the road was found to be adequate for the heavy traffic at the times of drop off and pick-up with that facility. He added that based on the number of parking and the use type we will fall at a threshold less than the school so by assumption the road should be able to handle this complex because it has already been reviewed, approved to handle the school but they will re-review that as part of their process with a traffic engineer if we get to that stage in the process. Mrs. Bratton commented that the reason she
asked is that it is also at a different time of day which would potentially affect more people, nighttime versus day, not always just rush hour. Mr. McCoy responded that they will look at the times of days; typically rush hour is the one that is focused on in a traffic study because it is the highest amount; you have the morning which for the school usually conflicts but afternoons for the school don’t because most people are not out that early from work. He noted that in the evening it would be because that is when you may be picking up if there is a school practice or a youth program and may coincide with drop-offs for practice at a rush hour; that will be reviewed if they get to that stage of the process. Mrs. Bratton commented that if it is not just a practice but rather a game in the evening where people are saying that the whole Town might come together she is a little concerned that might be even worse than a rush hour. Mr. McCoy responded that
is what will have to be reviewed with worst case scenarios and a series of formulas run based on the event type, the parking that is allowed onsite, etc. Chairman Zacchio commented that it is a question in terms of the some of the things that they are going to have to work through if we move forward with this in terms of the permitting process and studies that go along with it.
Keshav Rao, 88 Thompson Road, commented that right off Thompson Road is a private road and he is quite sure that people will be parking on the private road for ease of getting out and there are a lot of driveways there which you cannot really see and with that much traffic is something to consider. Chairman Zacchio responded that may go to the design of where it comes out and one should not park in your driveway.
Marty Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, commented that there is a lot of talk about concussions when young football players hit the ground and asked if there have been any studies done with regards to synthetic turf on a concrete slab versus natural grass. Mr. McCoy responded that is a two-fold question; the first one is that the new fields are not built on a concrete or asphalt slab which was back with the previous system which was referred to as Astroturf. He added that the newer systems are done on a series of stone base which is allowed to drain or a drain mat and over a stabilized base, not asphalt. He responded yes, there is a significant amount of testing. He noted that with all synthetic fields you have to have a test done on it as is done on all playground surfacing prior to it being signed for
fall height that leads directly to concussions. He added that the synthetic turf field for the life of its warranty has to fall within this range and it has been proven and regulations were just lowered from 200 to 165 because they found through studies that 165 and less is less likely to lead to a concussion. He commented that whereas a natural grass field there is no testing on it; it is cut, fertilized, the divots are fixed if it is in the budget but not tested for that. He added that the NFL recently had a very large lawsuit due to that and has trickled down to the college and high school sports. He noted that they as a design firm right now have the only three fields, two in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts, that have been tested to meet that new NFL performance standards which does well beyond just that test but also tests the tension, fall roll, how the cleat grabs, the knee problems, etc. Mr. Kaplan questioned the life of the warranty.
Mr. McCoy responded that the warranty is an eight years standard in the industry; they are seeing typical replacement on a well designed field of ten or eleven years ago is ten or eleven years; again that is ten or eleven year old technology. He noted that they are seeing some that are going twelve years; they are projecting that the fields that are going in now, if you maintain them correctly, it should be a minimum of twelve years. They are seeing some in Europe that are going fifteen to twenty years. Mr. Kaplan commented that the warranty is only eight years so what if something happens in the ninth year? Mr. McCoy responded that if something is going to happen you will know within the first eight years, it will start to fail, you will start to see signs, the fibers will start to split, color change, then you can get that warranty before then.
Brian Stoll, 116 Northgate, questioned the design where the parking is split and where the access from the front parking to the back parking is. Mr. McCoy responded that there is no connection between the two; there is a delivery area into the building but were not able to connect the two because there are some slopes that they would not be able to connect the two so they would have separate driveways.
Flo Stahl, 2 Sunset Trail, commented that it is almost useless at this point to talk about turf; it is so popular and so many other communities have put it in like Granby, Canton, and Farmington. She is old enough to remember asbestos. She noted that all of you have to do is go online; the jury is still out but it is so popular, you cannot reign it in anymore. She commented that she certainly does not want to say that parents in Farmington or Canton care less about their kids, but the jury is still out on this. She noted that there are pros and cons; there is a study done by Yale University, it is very famous which said this is the worst thing you could put in for your kids. She added that it has become such a popular thing that you cannot fight it anymore, but it is not that safe and
although there are not off gases anymore there are little pellets that when you fall on it, those pellets spring up. She asked when there is going to be a cost. Mr. McCoy responded once they get to a determined Master Plan that is felt meets the needs the best then they will move forward and develop a cost for that Plan.
Kathryn Turner, 32 Coventry Lane, commented that it was stated that none of the plans encroach on the wetlands, but she questioned the run off impact of the different plans on the wetlands. Mr. McCoy responded that these will be designed to meet State and local requirements which means they cannot increase the peak run off during rainfall. He noted that as he talked about bio swales, retention, etc. will be incorporated which will capture the water and make sure that it gets back to the wetlands so they are not depleting the wetlands and also not over impacting them by increasing it. He noted that they are not at the point of design where they know specifically how they are going to do that, it may be a combination of things, but the fields will detain itself under the field and be allowed to recharge
back into the wetlands at a designed and calculated rate. He added that the goal is to collect it, treat it, and allow it to infiltrate in as it does naturally at the same or better rate so that with major rainstorms it is not getting flooded through down there.
Marty Kaplan, 22 Cottonwood Drive, commented that you are going to have to pull some power lines for events. He asked if the kind of lighting has been considered, regardless of what the configuration is. Mr. McCoy responded that they have not gotten that far but that is part of what they will talk about. He noted that for the parking lot/walkway lighting they would like to look towards potential solar or LED; for the sports fields there is LED lighting now that has just come on the market with a thirty to forty percent mark-up in price because it is so new. They are seeing each year that price different is dropping approximately ten percent. He noted that they have not gone there but that will be the next step and to start weighing the cost and the difference between them which will calculate
how much power they need to pull in and set our transformer. Mr. Kaplan questioned if a self-contained solar system with battery back-up can be looked into. Mr. McCoy responded that they can certainly look at it, there is quite a bit of it out there.
Mr. Stokesbury referred to Concepts M and N and asked Mr. McCoy to review again the more passive recreational uses on the site, in particular talking about a walking path or stone track. Mr. McCoy responded that these are conceptual; they were looking at two levels of that, perimeter walkways that would focus around the basic part of the facility so if part of the family was at a game others could take advantage and walk around the field and exercise. He noted that they also looked at a secondary piece that would go down into the buffer area towards the wetlands and take advantage of a nature trail and give more distance. He added that the goal is to continue to the bike path. They are looking at a series of different walkways so you can pick your length, direction, how much time you have there,
change up each time you are there, and give a different experience as you take them. He noted that it would be developed a little bit further once they figure out grades, etc. He added that their goal when the concepts were created was to clear as minimal as possible and work with the terrain out there; there are potential areas as you walk through that are already somewhat clear that they could allocate for that and keep it as natural through an area, work through some open space, etc.
Keshav Rao, 88 Thompson Road, asked if they have done any studies of the noise and light pollution that is going to happen from all of this. Mr. McCoy responded that they will as part of zoning but they have not gotten that far yet. He noted that they would be looking at it and have begun to start talking about; for the sports field lighting would be shields in full cut-off meaning they would cut off at the edge of the field and go black behind it and would have a shield on the front which stops the glare from looking at it or across the way; for vehicular or circulation they are looking at down lighting low with bulb heights to provide safety for people going through the parking lot but not over light it and develop standards that would be approved as to how late they are on, if they are not on when there are
no events; walkway concourse type lighting is decorative, waist high and only light down where you are trying to walk. He noted that is the conceptual design that they are thinking about right now but they welcome feedback; they have not gotten that detailed into it yet.
Nicole Herbst, 110 Thompson Road, thanked Mr. McCoy for what he has done with the conceptual plans; he received a lot of feedback through all of the meetings that have been happening. She added that Mr. McCoy has done a fantastic job implementing a lot of this.
Allison Folkwein, 44 Buttonwood Hill, asked how long a project like this takes to complete. Mr. McCoy responded that they are looking at a two season time period, like spring and summer; it would all depend on the construction season they are able to take advantage of. He noted that spring can be tough; if it is dry they can go right through with the site work but if it is wet it can impact the timeframe. He added that depending on the size and how it works out, they are looking at a four to six month construction window tentatively right now; they will know more as they move forward.
Leslie Mathers, 141 Reverknolls, thanked all of the citizens that have put time and effort into this. She noted that this design is building a healthy community. She shared that she has visited her mother-in-law in Florida and they have paths and fitness things with all ages out there and she is envisioning the Senior Center being able to use it and doing Tai Chi for seniors somewhere in this vicinity. She loves the fact that our community can unplug and go on these nature walks and support our Town this way. She thanked everybody for putting this forward. She thinks the current Thompson Road site is an eye sore and this brings some beauty to that area and it has a lot of benefit. She loves the nature path.
Mr. Pena questioned, in Mr. McCoy’s opinion, if putting two fields, parking for 250, a playground area, trails is too much on that property. Mr. McCoy responded that he does not necessarily think so. He added that their design intent was to listen to the needs and try and meet as many of those needs on this one site to maximize the site. He noted that they have tried as far as they can to keep not only out of the wetlands but also keep some of the pockets with the buffers to keep green space as well and as they move forward they will continue to do that. He reported that you are going to have a mix of both between the two to gain the full use of the site you have. He noted that the other way, if they take some of it away, you may lose some of the benefit that you have for a site that
you own by leaving it completely natural. He noted that a comment was brought up here and at other meetings that your space is limited and anybody who has reviewed the full Master Plan would see that it shows there are very limited spaces so they were trying to benefit and meet as many of the needs on one site without over developing. He added that they could have blown out the buffer and tried to look at plans where they pay the Army Corps of Engineers to fix part of a larger wetland elsewhere but they try to stay away from that to balance it. Mr. Pena commented that he was not trying to say that it was too much on the site. He likes the multi-purpose as it will attract more people into the area. He added that if there are other things that they could utilize it for instead of, for example, a playground then it might be even more multi-purpose. Mr. McCoy commented that one thing you saw in the older schemes was trying to fit a track in there but
they felt that once they put that on, it was too much and was not going to make it work.
Mr. Evans commented that at some point we will rest on a specific design and then we will go to pricing. He asked if we will be able to see pricing on a line item basis or is it an all in number. Mr. McCoy responded that at this stage they do not get as detailed with breaking it down to specific things like linear foot of drainage which will be general unit cost but they will break it down for cost for the main synthetic field, the bleachers, the press box, the lights, overall parking and potentially present a range that talks about site lighting if you do conventional or LED with solar. Mr. Evans responded that was great as that is what he would personally be looking for eventually and to have some options to say we might want to reduce the scale a little bit or add to the scale in some areas to try and
bring it in at a cost that we think is reasonable and consistent with our vision of the project.
David Magrini, 31 Brookridge, commented that the design committee and the BSC Group has done a fantastic job of bringing concepts that are very community minded for the potential use of this space. He added that he attended all three or four of the design committee meeting at 7:30 a.m. so he has been able to see these designs come to life. He would encourage everybody in this room and anyone that has any interest in this project either pro or con, is to take these designs and walk the 15 acres. He noted that it is a tremendous piece of property; the natural beauty and the buffers that have been designed into this are going to take what he would also agree is a bit of an eye sore in Town, the empty lot and the rusting building in the back and really create an asset to the community. He added that he
spends a lot of time on that trail running and there must have been 300 people on that trail today he can envision for himself being able to take advantage of the space as well. He commented that if you walk the property you will be surprised at what your mind allows you to see.
Brian Cutler, 4 Somerset Drive, commented on offsite improvement for traffic and asked that when you do start talking about costs and that you actually get some positive feedback with regard to traffic. He added that this will be major traffic generator and the State Traffic Commission will want to weigh in on it in terms of impacts of Route 167; they will look at the contribution of this and the Middle School and the possibility of the signalization of that intersection that is $150,000 which is a significant impact on your overall budget. He noted that when you start looking at cost you should consider all potential offsite improvements as well. Chairman Zacchio agreed.
Margaret Bratton, 15 Old Mill Road, commented that there are approximately 250 parking spaces but the potential seating could be close to 1,000 people. She questioned with this design if there are State rules, as quite a few kids for a whole year who have a license cannot have anyone else in the car, or anything different that can be done with the parking to avoid spilling out on the road, etc. She commented that if only 500 people show up she worries that the 250 parking spaces for one event on a Friday evening might be really blown out of the water really quickly. She questioned what other options there are. Mr. McCoy responded that they have begun discussing that as part of the Sub-committee as it is a concern at any high school or any place where you put in fields like this, you can never build
enough parking no matter how much you put in. He added that as far as the on street parking that involves working with the Town and enforcement of that, setting the tone that there is no parking there for events, ticketing so people get it. He noted that they talked about the school and the parking out there, working with and having shuttles potentially back and forth or some sort of connection if it is possible or feasible for a pedestrian connection between the two. He added that they are looking at that, understanding that in a large event if you get to States for soccer and know those bring a larger crowd they would want to anticipate that. He noted that they have started this discussion but does not have definite answers yet; it is a programming procedural thing that will happen at the Town level with some insight from them. Mrs. Bratton questioned where the drop off is. Mr. McCoy pointed out the drop off location on the design plan.
Mrs. Bratton asked if it is a one-way drop off. Mr. McCoy responded that they do not know yet and will be determined based on the traffic study and site lines; they have not gotten that far yet in the review of the design. He noted that they have looked at turning radiuses for buses and have deliveries at the storage building that the Town currently uses for materials so we do not affect what they currently do.
Don Droppo, 8 Pembroke, commented on the design in terms from the perspective of roads and egress getting out of the parking lot and questioned if there is any thought of taking the top field and turning it 90 degrees and having all of the parking along Thompson Brook. Mr. McCoy responded that they looked at it but there are two concerns: one is it will not fit in that area and would have to be right along the edge and the second is now we have turned it so north/south is no longer this way but instead the fields play east/west which affects late afternoon sun especially for field goals with lacrosse. He added that they tried to stay true to the direction of the fields based on those cons.
Chairman Zacchio commented that hopefully we have answered as many questions as you have. He added that there will be more design meetings in the future which are posted in the Recreation and Parks web page for those who are interested in going. He noted that if you have any questions beyond this, please feel free to e-mail us directly through the Town web site, more appropriately through the Town Manager who will get them to us. He noted that we do owe at least one item which is a list of similar sites especially ones that BSC Group has been involved with that Ms. Stahl requested and we will funnel that through the Town Manager who can distribute as he feels is the most appropriate way to do so.
The Assistant Town Manager reported that the next Sub-committee meeting is next Tuesday, September 9th at 7:30 a.m. at Town Hall in the Avon Room. Chairman Zacchio thanked everyone. The Town Manager introduced Ruth Checko, Director of Recreation and Parks, to the Town Council.
13/14-76 Appointment: T.C. Representative for Lakeview Association (12/31/2015)
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Stokesbury, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table agenda item 13/14-76 Appointment: T.C. Representative for Lakeview Association (12/31/2015) to the October 2, 2014 meeting.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Stokesbury, and Evans voted in favor.
13/14-78 Appointment: Building Code Board of Appeals (R – 12/31/2015)
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Stokesbury, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table agenda item 13/14-78 Appointment: Building Code Board of Appeals (R – 12/31/2015) to the October 2, 2014 meeting.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Stokesbury, and Evans voted in favor.
14/15-07 Appointment: Zoning Board of Appeals – Alternate (R – 12/31/2015)
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table agenda item 14/15-07 Appointment: Zoning Board of Appeals – Alternate (R – 12/31/2015) to the October 2, 2014 meeting.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Stokesbury, and Pena voted in favor.
14/15-13 Appointment: Planning and Zoning Commission – Alternate (R – 12/31/2015)
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council appoint Audrey Vicino as an alternate member on the Planning and Zoning Commission with a term to expire on December 31, 2015.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Stokesbury, and Pena voted in favor.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
14/15-14 Contract Recommendation: Avon Volunteer Fire Department Apparatus
Chairman Zacchio reported that we have accumulated approximately $1 million in the capital budget to replace fire department apparatus and made an agreement that we will order two pieces of apparatus at once and going to subsidize the remaining amount of approximately $250,000 in this coming capital budget so we have a place marker in there to be able to complete that. He noted that we go through a process of building these apparatus which take approximately fourteen months. He added the Fire Department has done a lot of work around designing what they need to move forward. He noted that Assistant Chief Bruce Appell has done a tremendous amount of work with the Town on the specifications around the apparatus. He commented that tonight we will be asked to authorize the Town Manager to enter into the
contract and move forward with the ordering process. The Town Manager reported that right now there is delta $243,000 going into fiscal year 2015/2016 however if we have to draw down, which he expects we will, $200,000 from the appropriation for apparatus then the delta going into next fiscal year becomes $443,000; a commitment that we will have to keep for next year’s capital budget.
Assistant Chief Bruce Appell reported that the goal was always to buy two similar trucks; it has been a long process and has been working on it for almost three years now. He noted that the Council has funded “x” amount of dollars every year. He added that as the specifications were put together the apparatus industry has changed, their standards changed, and once they assessed the pool they were looking at one truck initially and then with funding it was viable to potentially replace two trucks and started looking at that concept, the infrastructure of the buildings of where the apparatus could be housed and ended up with two different designs. He reported that the specifications were put together, it was put out to bid, and the numbers came back from two vendors.
The Town Manager commented that we spent a great deal of time developing the specifications to make sure that we would have an open bidding process so any vendors could meet those specifications and submit a bid. He noted that we went through a very open process with all of the steps that we would typically take and these are the competitive bids we have received. He added that the Committee vetted the bids and find that the Gowans-Knight bid is the low responsive bid. He noted that Gowans-Knight also bid on both trucks where Rosenbauer only bid on replacement of Engine 7. He added that the Fire Department has a lot of experience with Gowans-Knight and have good apparatus and recommend moving forward with an agreement for the construction of the two trucks. He noted that one interesting issue
for fire apparatus is the lead time; you go out fourteen months and a lot can happen and as we go through, assuming Council approves this, and prepare the purchase agreement we will work with the Town Attorney to include language that protects the Town. He noted that the worst case scenario is that you make a series of these progress payments and for whatever reason they cannot deliver the truck; likelihood is low but the risk is always there so there will be language around that to make sure that we are protected whether it involves requiring a bond or other language to mitigate against that. He added that the reason it is coming before Council is because of the size of the appropriation even though it is in the capital budget and there is an account that has accrued a balance over the last three or four years; it is in excess of 1/10 of 1% of the current tax levy which means that by default it comes to the Town Council for final approval.
Mr. Pena commented on the progress payments and questioned how other towns handle it. The Town Manager responded that purchasing fire trucks comes up so rarely and specifically he has never been involved at this level in terms of buying the trucks. He thinks it happens a couple of ways; if you are not bonding for it because of the length of time there really is no other option and would have to do this way in terms of progress payments, start a truck and finish the funding in the next fiscal year unless you go into it with 100% of the funding. Mr. Pena questioned if the vendor would be familiar with it if we decided to do a bond. The Town Manager responded that he does not know that is something that is customary, rather a negotiating point in the contract and will have to talk about that.
Chairman Zacchio commented that work within the contract will be done to assure we are safe as we possibly can be from a risk perspective.
Mr. Stokesbury commented that the second alternative to the bonding side might be a security interest in favor of the Town in those pieces of apparatus where we might have a higher claim to the unfinished truck than other creditors of the organization. He questioned that as the Fire Department develops specifications how much State or Federal oversight is there in your process. Assistant Chief Appell responded that the design of the truck has to meet the National Fire Protection (NFPA) standards and the vendor will not build anything that does not meet the national standards. He added that the majority of the truck and a reason for costs being driven up are for items that they do not have any control over. He noted that on the bond issue when they went out to bid they got bid prices for performance
bonds. He added that progress payments are based on tangible items; the main thing is a cab and chassis being manufactured by Spartan Motors, the first payment is when the chassis is delivered in the approximately $300,000 range so once the title comes through for the chassis we own it and the progress payments thereafter are once the body is made and put on, once it gets painted, and then the final payment at delivery. He added that they are frequently down there at Gowans-Knight to see the progress. Mr. Pena commented that we are paying for something that we already have access to. Assistant Chief Appell responded that the chassis is delivered from Spartan Motors to Gowans-Knight and they build the body on it but the Town would take title to it once that progress payment is made. Chairman Zacchio commented that he would be comfortable leaving the risk mitigation portion of this to the Town Manager and the Fire Department on the progress payment
piece; this being a little bit bigger than it would normally be because we are ordering two trucks. He noted that we have made a commitment to the Fire Department with the last installment on the capital budget that if they needed a portion of that money to help fund the Training Facility which is vitally important to them that we would be willing to do that. He added that we have made a commitment on the fire trucks and we are making a commitment to the capital budget to make sure that there is coverage there and the figures that the Town Manager talked about.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council awards a contract to Gowans-Knight Co., Inc. of Watertown, CT for the design, build, and purchase of two fire rescue-pumpers, based on their low bid in an amount not to exceed $1,292,752.88.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Pena, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
14/15-15 Country Club Sidewalk Estimates (Lovely Street/West Avon Rd)
Chairman Zacchio reported that we had discussion in June around the potential for sidewalks on Country Club Road; there is an interest in some fundraising around that. He noted that we had it in a sidewalk plan at one time but did not have any real estimates. He added that we did some in-house engineering and design.
Larry Baril, Town Engineer, reported that per the Town Manager’s request the Engineering Department did a “windshield” survey of the conditions that would involve installation of a sidewalk along Country Club Road; they looked at north and south sides of the street wanting to keep the sidewalk on one side of the street for the reason of wanting to keep pedestrians on one side of the street with fast traffic on that street, some curbs, and vertical alignment issues. He noted that their ultimate recommendation would be to stay on the north side of the street; that does not necessarily make it simple. He added that there are many things that impact the design on either side of the street; in particular are vertical grade change both up and down, off the shoulder; we want to have the sidewalk be
relatively consistent in width with a five foot wide sidewalk, keep it within the Town’s right of way which is not consistent along Country Club Road, have minimal impact on residents that own property along that street, there are trees, guardrails, box culverts that we have to contend with so it is not a simple project. He reported that in order for them to give a true design they will have to survey the whole side of the street, doing a topographical survey and also have to understand what the property ownership requirements are; this is a big project to do this from West Avon Road to Lovely Street. He added that they took a slow drive and noted where guardrails are, significant grade changes, obvious signs of ledge which would have a big impact on construction costs, and the width of the roadway. He noted that they have come up with an estimate utilizing Public Works to do the majority of the earth work of approximately $425,000 if you add a 10%
contingency which may be high (as referred to in Table A) or approximately $900,000 (as referred to in Table B). He noted the lengths from intersection to intersection thinking those would be likeable stopping points in terms of projects if you want to split this over several phases. The Town Manager questioned the Town Engineer’s sense of Stage Coach to West Avon Road in terms of cost. Chairman Zacchio responded that it would be the first natural stage and connects a lot of the neighborhoods from Brookridge all the way through and come out on Stage Coach and safely get from Stage Coach to the corner. The Town Engineer responded that it is 2,900 linear feet over the total of 8,300 linear feet. Chairman Zacchio commented that it has a set of circumstances that are different than the set of circumstances on the bridge and that might be the next logical progression, looking for guidance from the Town Manager.
Chairman Zacchio asked if we could get an estimate from West Avon Road to Stage Coach; we do not have $1 million for this project so taking the Secret Lake paving approach that we have recently taken with the capital budget we are able to make some progress in stages if we choose to move forward in that way. He added that we need some figures to talk about where that is. The Town Manager commented that we have it all, preliminary as it is, so we will break it down another level and get Stage Coach to West Avon Road. Mrs. Maguire commented on a three season, gravel type walkway and if that could be done in that area. The Town Engineer responded that it could but in his opinion there is a danger in doing it that way; he would be more inclined to do asphalt because it requires more maintenance to
eliminate a slip/trip hazard. He added that a hard surface has a less likelihood of someone getting hurt on it than on a walking path that has the potential for tripping hazards. He noted that they have been focusing on concrete because it has the greatest longevity but there are places that we have done asphalt which is certainly less expensive but the site prep work is not a lot less expensive. Mr. Pena commented that when you have gravel people with wheelchairs have an issue. Chairman Zacchio commented that they need a breakdown of costs and a breakdown of process and what might need to be done to achieve that with easements and policy to go through the properties that are there.
The Town Manager commented that ultimately this is a prime candidate for a capital project and could be loaded into your capital improvement plan. He noted that there will be an operating impact; the Town or the abutter can be responsible for maintaining the sidewalk and if the Town were to take it on we would have to look at that on a linear foot basis and see what the impact is. He added that he gets a lot of phone calls about the state of the sidewalk on West Avon Road and over the last couple of years the Director of Public Works has been very good about asking for money for that and money for sidewalk renovations in general but he has not been very good about passing that on to all of you because of the focus on paving management and the other priorities. He added that there is other infrastructure
out there that does need attention that is not getting it. Mr. Evans commented that all is being taken into consideration. Mr. Stokesbury commented on the section from Stage Coach to West Avon Road which has a steep drop off. He questioned if there are regulatory guidelines that you would have to follow for the drop on the sidewalk itself. The Town Engineer responded that if you are trying to be ADA compliant that will be very difficult to do in that spot; ADA has maximum grades and when you exceed certain thresholds of grade then you are required to put in switchbacks or areas of refuge. He noted that corridor is not as wide as one thinks. He added that with the Route 10 sidewalks there was an opportunity at one point to save a little bit of money by scooting towards Route 10 and he strongly oppose that idea because as a parent you do not want your kids on a sidewalk that are going to be within two or three feet of someone driving 50 MPH.
He reported that it will be a real challenge to make that are fully ADA compliant as the grade on that hill are pretty significant in some places. Mr. Pena questioned if it is not ADA can we still get state or federal funding. The Town Manager is not aware of any such funding that would work with this; the STEAP might be a stretch for this type of project. He noted that from time to time there are Surface Transportation Funds that become available. He added that a few years ago we did submit an application through CRCOG for STP funds to fund the installation of sidewalks and based on their criteria it came in at the bottom of their list. Mr. Pena questioned even on the State DOT on the federal side. The Town Engineer, member of the CRCOG Transportation Committee, responded that there is some percentage of funding available. The Town Manager commented that we will take a look at the Stage Coach to West Avon Road section, see what is
involved with it, come back at the next meeting and give Council a preliminary cost. He added that he is reluctant to have staff spend too much time on this because it is a huge undertaking but we can at least get a ball park estimate. He noted that we are also going into the capital budget cycle as last week he sent out directions to department heads for the development of the capital improvement program (CIP). He noted this is a good time of the year to have a cost estimate done and can consider it in the framework of all of our other priorities. Chairman Zacchio commented that in addition to an estimate he would like to have a process for the next meeting. He thanked the Town Engineer for his work on this.
14/15-16 Presentation: Emergency Medical Services
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council table agenda item 14/15-16 Presentation: Emergency Medical Services to the October 2, 2014 meeting.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Stokesbury, and Pena voted in favor.
14/15-17 Approval of Real Estate Tax Refunds, $11,778.73
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approves real estate tax refunds to the following: John T. & Rise Cappadona $1,740.41; Mark L. Phillips $3,242.64; Toll CT Limited Partnership $2,725.80 and $2,737.70; and Lereta $1,332.18.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
14/15-18 Review, Discussion, Set Public Hearing Date: Road Acceptances for West Hills Drive, Wellesley Court, & Knoll Lane
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mr. Evans, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council set a public hearing date to be held at their October 2, 2014 meeting to consider the following:
1. To accept the title of roads and all appurtenances thereof as designated as “West Hills Drive and Wellesley Court” on a certain map entitled “West Hills” Plan of Re-Subdivision Owner/Developer Sunlight Construction West Hills Drive Avon, Connecticut Scale 1”= 40’ Date: December 12, 2006 Sheets 1, 2 and 3 of 3, which maps are on file in the Avon Town Clerk’s Office as Map Nos. 07/61, 07/62 and 07/63.
2. To accept the title of road and all appurtenances thereof as designated as “Knoll Lane” on a map entitled “Re-Subdivision Plan of Knoll Lane Subdivision Prepared for Sunlight Construction Inc. Owned by William A. & Pamela W. Ferrigno and the Avon Land Trust #191 and #193 Haynes Road Avon, Connecticut Scale 1”= 40’ July 20, 2010 Rev: 12-16-10 (right of way data)”, which map is on file in the Avon Land Records as Map# 11/06.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
IX. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT/MISCELLANEOUS
Misc. A: Purchasing Update: The Town Manager did not report on any items at the meeting.
Misc. B: Construction Update: The Town Manager reported that road work is continuing, most recently on Secret Lake Road and the stripe going in on Country Club Road. He noted that Old Farms Road is in tough shape and he asked the Director of Public Works to take the paving box down there and do what can be done to hold it together. Mr. Stokesbury questioned what sections of Old Farms Road. The Town Manager responded it would be the section between the intersection of Thompson Road and Tillotson Road. The Town Manager reported that underground storage tanks at the Department of Public Works are out. He added that ADA compliance at the High School is being wrapped up and track resurfacing is complete. He noted that there is a kick-off meeting on the
solar panel project next week.
Misc. C: Staff Recognition by International Code Council: The Town Manager reported that the building codes are issued by the International Code Council and they recognize when all of the regulatory staff is certified which is very rare since in most communities the secretarial staff are not certified. He noted that our secretarial staff just received their certification and we are now of three towns in the State that are 100% certified by ICC. Council extended congratulations to the Building Department.
X. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pending Claims/Litigation
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council go into Executive Session at 10:50 p.m.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
The Town Manager, the Assistant Town Manager, and Town Clerk attended the session.
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council come out of Executive Session at 10:59 p.m.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
XI. ADJOURN
On a motion made by Mr. Pena, seconded by Mrs. Maguire, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council adjourn the meeting at 10:59 p.m.
Mrs. Maguire, Messrs: Zacchio, Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury voted in favor.
Attest:
Ann L. Dearstyne, Town Clerk
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