Work Session
September 24, 2007
Present at the meeting were: Mayor Danderson, Councilors Lafleur, Cusson, Boucher, Donovan, Grenier, Nelson, Bigelow, and Poulin. Staff members present were: Ernie Allain, Chief Randall Trull, Patrick MacQueen; media and public also attended.
Councilor Bigelow asked to add an agenda item regarding adding a question about the mill site to the ballot for the upcoming election. He wanted to know what the average voter thinks.
Councilor Grenier commented that there is a regulatory process necessary for a new business to begin operation at the site and it does not come to the City Council. Only if zoning were changed would the issue come to the Council. Councilor Boucher reasoned that there is a lot of misinformation that could be clarified. Mayor Danderson made the point that people are making statements that say we can do a lot of things and we cant.
Councilor Lafleur stated that there is not information from all sides to make a determination. Councilor Cusson encouraged candidates for the several seats that will be available on the Council to make their positions known and if the people dont agree, and then they vote for someone else. NADC has a right to develop the land it owns and to make a buck.
Councilor Grenier suggested that before using scare tactics such as pictures of telephone poles with power lines, the citizens' group should take their money and do a study of the soils on the mill site to see what can be developed.
Mr. MacQueen suggested that it may be time to have another public forum. The issue is less about the mill site than about the Council not listening. The Council can attend and ask questions like how is the city going to implement the suggestions of the group?
Councilor Donovan noted that we had the opportunity to have forums with the Tillotson grant and he does not support this effort. He suggested calling another ward meeting at Bartlett School and letting the citizens have their say. The average citizen does not want to see another stack in Berlin; however if they are reminded that it could bring in $1.5 to $2million of new tax revenue, it is more palatable. There is a Superfund site on the land. There is not time to educate people in five weeks before a referendum would go on the ballot.
Mayor Danderson reported that he called Laidlaw and encouraged to them to promote themselves to the papers so that the public would better understand what they are all about. It is the Council's job not to spend money foolishly. There is a chain of custody when dealing with environmental issues and Berlin does not need to take on the mill site to get on that chain. The Council has a difficult job but we have to have the fortitude to stand up for the city.
Councilor Nelson moved to hold a forum to hear what people have to say about the mill property; Councilor Bigelow seconded and in the vote that followed, the motion passed with Councilors Bigelow, Nelson, Poulin, Boucher and Mayor Danderson voting in the affirmative and Councilors Donovan, Lafleur, Cusson, and Grenier voting against. Laidlaw and their engineer will be invited. Mr. MacQueen indicated that the ideas from the forum will be summarized and given to the owners.
Hiring Freeze Committee
Chief Trull joined the meeting. Councilor Lafleur moved to enter into the Hiring Freeze Committee; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion passed with Councilor Donovan voting against and the remaining Council members voting in the affirmative. Chief Trull asked if a position being created by the retirement of Roland Cloutier in December could be filled in October. The Chief noted that new hires need to go through a rigorous training before coming on full time. Councilor Grenier moved to give the Fire Chief the latitude to hire beginning October 1; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion carried.
Councilor Grenier moved to come out of the Hiring Freeze Committee; Councilor Lafleur seconded and the motion carried. Councilor Donovan voted against.
Sewer Abatement
With regard to a request for abatement on a sewer bill of $46,907 from Great Lakes Hydro for the balance due on a land transfer, the Council had asked for further information.
Ernie Allain reported that when a land transfer occurs, the realtor usually goes out and gets the information on the amounts owed at closing. In the case of Fraser, information was obtained from Water Works but not from the city. There was a water break that occurred and we dont know where the water went. Councilor Grenier maintained that the Sewer Abatement Committee has been consistent about not abating for plumbing problems. Councilor Bigelow acknowledged that this is an internal accounting issue for the company.
Councilor Bigelow moved to deny the abatement request; Councilor Donovan seconded and the motion carried.
Fire Department Response to Fires
Mr. MacQueen indicated that the Fire Chief has a presentation dealing with the Fire Department's response to a fire.
Chief Trull gave an overview and showed pictures of the fire department's response to a fire at two multi family dwellings on Main Street. The initial response was to a call at ISSI and two engines were en route. Upon learning of the structure fire with entrapment, the ladder truck was diverted to Main Street. Procedure for entering a building is to have protection lines in place. The firefighter who entered the building did not have a line or back up line. Within 8 minutes on the initial call there were 14 firefighters at the scene. Mayor Danderson confirmed that there is no rule about firefighters having to live close by; mutual aid takes about 25 minutes to arrive. Incident command is taken away because the commander is actually involved in fighting the fire.
Council members discussed adding an ordinance to make sprinkler systems mandatory.
Chief Trull went on to explain some of the circumstances of the fire at 30 Main Street. When the first engine arrived there were 4 firefighters to begin dousing the fire and conducting a search of the buildings. In years past there have been four or five structure fires per year but this year, there has already been 12. One of the buildings involved had been shut down by the inspection team and had no occupants.
Mr. MacQueen clarified that the purpose of making this presentation was to give the Council a better understanding of what goes on at the fire. Councilor Cusson asked if there is a tendency for the staff to hesitate. Chief Trull responded that a critical care team comes in to help the firefighters deal with the trauma. Councilor Cusson confirmed that responders are kept informed through the PD.
Chief Trull made the point that the initial pull up needs additional personnel. Any positions added could be evaluated yearly and if they are not needed, through attrition, they could be removed. Mr. MacQueen added that no one should think that adding people would take care of all the issues.
Council members agreed that sprinklers would prevent fires; however mandating them is not an option that can be done quickly. Chief Trull confirmed that there are four retirements expected within the next five years at the fire department. Councilor Donovan commented that if personnel were added, the retirements could be used to level the staff in the coming years.
Municipal Trash Collection/Recycle
Councilor Grenier indicated that he asked for this item on the agenda but he did not come in with a method for solving a complex problem. Citizen recycling is not where it should be and the problem is not with people who have single family homes. The multi-family units are the problem. How do we get them to recycle without affecting the good landlords?
Councilor Lafleur added that it costs the community tonnage for the recyclable that ends up in the regular trash and loss revenue for credit that would be received if the item had been recycled. Therefore, it costs us twice.
There was some discussion about pay as you throw, charging commercial properties, and using clear bags. A method by which multi-family buildings would be given three strikes and charged once three infractions were confirmed was also discussed. At the Council's request, the issue will be placed on an agenda again in a few weeks.
Councilor Grenier moved to adjourn; Councilor Poulin seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The meeting ended a 9:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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