Charter Revision Commission
REGULAR MEETING
of
Thursday, June 22, 2006
7:00 P.M.
East Windsor Town Hall, 11 Rye Street, Broad Brook
MINUTES
I. Call Meeting to Order
Mr. Leborious called the meeting to order at 7:25 at the East Windsor Town Hall, 11 Rye Street, Broad Brook
II. Attendance
Present: Richard Leborious, Chairman, Edward Filipone, Noreen Farmer, Kathy Bilodeau, John Parda
Unable to attend: Cliff Nelson, Edward Filipone, Joseph Roberts, Ralph Saunders
III. Approval of Minutes:
Regular Meeting April 27, 2006
MOTION: To approve the regular meeting minutes of April 27, 2006
Made by Ms. Bilodeau, seconded by Mr. Parda
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED
Public Hearing May 31, 2006
MOTION: To approve the public hearing minutes of May 31, 2006
Made by Ms. Bilodeau, seconded by Mr. Parda
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED
IV. Added Agenda Items - None
V. Public Participation
Elizabeth Burns, 2 Bridge Street
Ms. Burns stated the Commission did a fabulous job and worked hard for the community. She is pleased to have been present for the meetings and equally pleased they were presented on Cox Cable.
VI. Written Communications
a. May 31, 2006 Memo from Laurie Whitten, Director of Planning and Development: “Omission of Building Official/Department in proposed Charter”
To be addressed when making final revisions to Charter.
VII. Discussion: May 31, 2006 Public Hearing
Extensive discussion took place among the members regarding the negative opinions voiced at the public hearings, but in general the Commissions discussions reflected that they stood firm with most of the decisions it had made to date, with discussion taking place on specific items addressed – those items are outlined in motions set forth herein. The decision to present the concept of a Town Administrator was a decision to Board stood by. The Justice of the Peace is currently appointed by each party and not an elected position, it will not be a part of the Charter.
MOTION: To consider the Planning and Zoning Commission be elected.
Made by Mr. Filipone, seconded by Mr. Parda
DISCUSSION
The consensus of the Commission was this should not be an elected position. The PZC fulfills the law and does not break the rules – the ZBA is elected and that provides for checks and balances.
Motion withdrawn by Filipone, Second withdrawn by Parda
MOTION WITHDRAWN
MOTION: To stay with the Town Administrator form of government in the proposed Charter.
Made by Mr. Filipone, seconded by Ms. Bilodeau
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION: To change the proposed Charter to reflect a requirement of 100 signatures or Town Meeting
DISCUSSION: Extensive discussion ensued about how difficult it is to get 200 signatures and that it should require an effort to promote an idea before Town Meeting – if there is enough substance to bring forth an objective there needs to be a backing for it. If someone has a serious issue, 200 signatures should not be difficult to acquire. 200 signatures gets the Town involved and makes people aware of an issue.
ALL MEMBERS OPPOSED. MOTION DEFEATED
MOTION: To keep the proposal of 200 signatures for Town Meeting.
Made by Mr. Filipone, seconded by Ms. Bilodeau.
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION: To keep the 25% requirement, as proposed.
Made by Mr. Filipone, seconded by Mr. Leborious
DISCUSSION: This concept was discussed at length, it was put in place to avoid repeated referendums. Also if the elected officials have proposed a budget, a significant amount of voters should be present to overturn it. This is a new concept and will have to be explained, it will make it so the a larger contingent of the population is part of a vote that denies a budget.
AMENDMENT TO MOTION: To reduce the number to 20%
Made by Filipone, seconded by Leborious
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR OF AMENDED MOTION. AMENDED MOTION CARRIED
MOTION: To add language that the Building Inspector shall be under the supervision of the Director of Planning and Development.
Made by Mr. Parda, seconded by Mr. Filipone
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION: To allow the Chairman and the secretary to make clerical error corrections.
Made by Ms. Bilodeau, seconded by Ms. Farmer
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION: To forward the proposed Charter to the Board of Selectmen, as revised at this meeting.
Made by Ms. Bilodeau, seconded by Mr. Parda
DISCUSSION: If recommendations are received by the Town Attorney they will be incorporated into the draft. To date, in spite of several requests, the Town Attorney has not provided an opinion.
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
The procedure once the Commission presents it recommendation is: the Board of Selectmen will review the proposed Charter, hold a public hearing and possibly send it back to the Charter Revision Commission, or disregard the proposed revision or send it to referendum.
The Chairman thanked the members for all their hard work If additional meetings are necessary they will be scheduled as Special Meetings and the secretary will notify the members. The members are urged to attend the presentation of the draft to the Board of Selectmen.
VIII. Adjournment
MOTION: To adjourn at 8:20 p.m.
Made by Ms. Bilodeau, seconded by Mr. Parda
ALL MEMBERS IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia D. Croxford
Recording Secretary.
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