Town of East Hampton
Town Council Regular Meeting
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Eaton E. Smith Meeting Room – Town Hall
Minutes
Present: Chairperson Melissa Engel, Vice Chairman Thomas Cordeiro and members, William Devine, Christopher Goff, Scott Minnick, John Tuttle and Susan Weintraub. Also present were Town Manager Jeffery O’Keefe, Recording Secretary Cathy Sirois, members of Boards and Commissions, citizens and members of the press.
Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance: Chairperson Engel called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. All stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Mr. Cordeiro, seconded by Mr. Goff to approve the minutes of the following meetings with one spelling correction to the Regular Meeting minutes, voted (6-0-1) Mr. Devine abstained as he was not present at the January 13th meetings:
- Town Council Special Meeting, January 13, 2009
- Town Council Regular Meeting, January 13, 2009
Student Reports:
Brandon Goff, Middle School liaison, reported that six students from Student Council went to a leadership conference in Hamden at Quinnebaug University. The basketball teams end their season February 3rd. The Pennies for Patients program has begun. The Middle School is the third highest collecting school in the state out of 180 schools. Last year they raised $1,800.00. Brandon has proposed a community service program at the Middle School for elderly and disabled citizens. The Principal will discuss the opportunity.
Eric Harper, High School liaison, reported that the High School is still in winter sports stage. On Inauguration day television screens were set up for students to be able to view the inauguration. Mid-terms ended on Monday, January 26th. The 8th grade students visited the high school on Monday for an orientation on high school life. A dance sponsored by the freshman class was held on Friday, January 23rd.
Special Presentations: Scott Ekman of Ekman Consulting presented the report on the Functional Assessment of Boards and Commissions. The report was posted to the East Hampton town website on Friday, January 23rd. Mr. Ekman noted that the findings in the reports are themes, not individual comments. He reviewed the processes that occurred to provide this report. He then walked through each section of the report. The Council discussed various aspects of the recommendations. Another council meeting will be held regarding this report before any portion of the recommendations are voted on. Several of the boards and commissions mentioned in the report will be invited before Council to give presentations.
Public Remarks:
Elizabeth Harris, 112 Middle Haddam Road and Chair of the Streetscape Steering Committee, commented that two years ago the Streetscape Committee was advised to stay out of the budget for the Streetscape grant. She also noted that the Committee was told to overdesign since the town was looking toward a multi year and multi phase plan. The construction management was clearly stated in the consultant’s contract and scope as not included in the grant budget. The Committee scrutinized invoices and the scope last week. Ms. Harris will be meeting with the Town Manager next week.
John Jordon, 11 Clearwater Lane and Vice Chair of the Lake Commission, clarified some information from the recommendations of the functional assessment of boards and commission. Mr. Jordan would like to know what other commission has provided public education programs other than the Lake Commission. He noted if anyone is to be eliminated from any board that they retain someone qualified to do the training that has been done by the Lake Commission. He commented that enforcement is non-existent. Also, in regard the Ethics Commission it should be independent of any commission.
Scott Sanicki, 102 Quiet Woods Road, had mentioned at earlier Council meetings about having the council packets available to the public. He has not seen any progress on that issue. He stated that the functional assessment of boards and commissions should have been available for the meeting. He would like to have a packet for the meeting. It was noted that the document was available on the website).
Tom Wells, North Main Street and member of the Lake Commission, reviewed past efforts of the Conservation Commission and the lake. He commented that combining the Lake Commission and Conservation Commission would result in the lake effort going to zero.
Laurie Wasilewski, Hog Hill Road, noted that she did not see the Functional Assessment of Boards and Commissions on the website. She would like to have copies at the meeting. She also commented that in other towns they are now forming the groups that the town is considering combining into one. She sees the formation of these groups as moving forward.
Mary Ann Dostaler, 56 William Drive, member of the Redevelopment Agency and past Chair of EDC, provided some historical references regarding EDC. She noted that in the past it was recommended by EDC to create the current entities due to time constraints and level of expertise needed for these Commissions. She also noted that she appreciates the work done by Ekman Consulting but is concerned as a taxpayer that the contract stated that the project would not exceed $7500 and having the consultant come back to present the report would cost extra.
John Ciriello, 30 Childs Road and Chair of the Lake Commission, commented that the report has good comments regarding communication needs. The Lake Commission has liaisons to all commissions related to the lake. He noted that the lake is impaired and takes a tremendous amount of work. He is concerned that the Conservation Commission is concerned with open space and maps and not the lake and lake watershed.
Irene Curtis, 13 Wangonk Trail and member of the Lake Commission, commented that there are some good points in the report regarding communications. She is very impressed with those that want to volunteer their time. She commented on all of the things that the Lake Commission does but does not feel it coincides with the Conservation Commission.
Kyle Dostaler, 56 William Drive, commented that there are some points that should be implemented in the report. He commented on the number of boards, commissions and agencies indicating that if the task forces and committees and were pared down the town would be down to 18. He also commented that the major part of the work and expense of the Ethics Commission has been completed. Going forward there most likely won’t be increases in cost unless there is a case. Mr. Dostaler also commented on the statement on page 9 regarding distrust and conspiracy theories noting that if the Ethics Commission the distrust in town will most likely grow. In regard to not getting rid of people, this will happen if boards are combined since not everyone would continue on the boards. Lastly, the Lake Commission was
created for a specific purpose and the only sunset date for the Lake Commission is when the lake is cleaned up.
Kimberley Fontaine, 4 Railroad Avenue and member of the Economic Development Commission, commented that the office of legislative research reported that municipalities may adopt a code of ethics or create a board. Ms. Fontaine referred to the FOI requirements for minutes and noted Brownfields should be required to post minutes. Regarding the Design Review Board, she asked if the consultant had access to the Plan of Conservation and Development. The POCD recommended forming a Design Review Board. She commented on lake associations and groups of this kind. She noted that Redevelopment Agencies can obtain different grants and funding that other groups cannot obtain. Also, as a member of EDC, she commented on the volume of work that would be created if the groups were combined. She agrees that changes
need to be made and looks forward to a structure being created where the groups work in tandem as the groups do not work for the community as they are structured now.
Tom Wells, North Main Street, commented on the Columbia Lake Commission. He noted that the commissions should use their ordinance as a means to see what work is in their purview.
Kimberley Fontaine, 4 Railroad Avenue, thanked Mr. O’Keefe for beginning this process of review the boards and commissions and feels it is absolutely necessary.
The Council broke for a 5 minute recess at this point in the meeting.
Chairperson Engel read portions of a letter from the Chair of the Ethics Commission, James Scroggins.
New Business:
Introduction of New Director of Public Works: Mr. O’Keefe introduced Keith Hayden as the new Director of Public Works who will begin work on February 9th. Mr. O’Keefe provided a review of Mr. Hayden’s background which includes being a registered civil engineer. Mr. Hayden thanked the group and noted that he is excited to begin work. He also commented that he is impressed with the quality of the town staff and the professionalism of the individuals he met during his interviews.
Old (Continued) Business:
Senior Tax Initiative: Mr. Goff reviewed the two senior tax options that were presented for approval to the Board of Finance. One program was not recommended by the Board of Finance and cannot be voted on by Town Council. This program was a line item of $10,000 that would have been distributed proportionally amongst eligible seniors. The program that was approved by the Board of Finance is a property tax freeze program. Qualifying senior homeowners can elect to have their taxes deferred, the program is voluntary. The deferred taxes will be repaid to the Town in full with 0% interest when the property is sold or the estate is settled. Deferred taxes can be repaid at any time without a penalty. A motion was made by Mr. Tuttle, seconded by Mr. Minnick, to send the property tax freeze ordinance to a
public hearing. Voted (5-2) Mr. Cordeiro and Ms. Engel against.
Proposed Supplemental Appropriations Ordinance Change: The Council reviewed the proposed changes to the “Additional Appropriations” ordinance 45-3 and the “Exemptions” ordinance 117.4 as recommended and approved by the Board of Finance. The Board of Finance brought this change to Council to revisit the wording as there were questions with the word “recommendation”. A motion was made by Mr. Minnick, seconded by Mr. Devine, to table this item to the February 10, 2009 Town Council meeting. Voted (5-2) Ms. Engel and Mr. Cordeiro against.
Report of the Town Manager:
Water Tower Property: Mr. Minnick questioned what else the funds from the grant for the water tower property can be used for such as construction? Mr. O’Keefe provided a chronology of the Small Cities Grant and a Small Cities Monitoring Review. The grant funds must be used by April, 2009. Mr. Grzyb will be putting the additional work out to bid for this project so the project can be completed by April.
Appointments: On behalf of the Appointments Sub Committee, Mr. Cordeiro proposed the following appointments:
Parks & Recreation Advisory Board
- Tim Csere – reappointment through December 2011
- Mark Vickery – reappointment through December 2011
- Leonard Herous – appointment through December 2011
- Daniel Roy – appointment through December 2011
Lake Commission
- Jack Solomon – reappointment through December 2012
- Mark Habedank – appointment through December 2012
Planning & Zoning Commission
- Ray Zatorski – reappointment through December 2013
- Mark Philhower – reappointment through December 2013
- Richard Gosselin – appointment from alternate to full member through December 2013
Conservation Commission
- Mark Niosi – appointment through June 2009
A motion was made by Mr. Devine, seconded by Mr. Tuttle, to approve the appointments listed above. Voted (7-0).
Liaison Reports:
Clean Energy Task Force: Mr. Tuttle reported that the next meeting is February 12th. There will be a presentation at that meeting on wind turbines. The 20% by 2010 initiative has 85.5 signed up for the clean energy option. There is an event on March 21st at St Clements Castle. St Clements foundation is hosting residents from East Hampton and Portland in conjunction with the Portland Clean Energy Task Force. A number of companies have been invited to attend. Lastly from the Clean Energy Task Force, Dan Olsen will be a guest speaker on February 11th at the PACE (People’s Action on Clean Energy) meeting at Flemig Farm in West Simsbury at 7:30pm.
Mr. Minnick submitted a request from Andy Bauer of the Portland Clean Energy Task Force that the Clean Energy Task Forces in East Hampton and Portland join forces. Mr. Tuttle noted that he will discuss this at the next Clean Energy Task Force meeting.
Mr. Tuttle reported that the Board of Education met on Monday, January 26th where Friar Associates had a facilities workshop to discuss the facilities progress. Also, the Board of Education approved a football program. In 2010 students will play with the students from Vinal Tech. The program will be funded by the boosters. The Board of Education will be having a budget workshop on February 2nd and 3rd at the Middle School at 5:30pm. Copies of the budget will be put into the council member’s mailboxes.
Mr. Goff reported on the Economic Development Commission meeting. He noted that during the construction of the Main Street bridge a couple of businesses have closed. EDC discussed any options that the town could do in terms of compensation.
Mr. Goff has had discussions with Eileen Daily. She would like to be invited to the next Tri Board Meeting.
Regarding the Main Street Bridge, Mr. O’Keefe reported that the pile of dirt will be removed. CLA Engineers will be setting up a meeting regarding passable traffic dates.
Ms. Weintraub reported that the Housing Authority has gotten approval from CHFA to stratify their rent for vacant units. They were at $125 per month, it will go to $250 per month. This will not affect those currently paying $125 per month. There are 3 on the waiting list.
Ms. Engel reported that the Water Development Task Force has met in Executive Session to discuss possible property options for the water project
Resolutions/Ordinances/Policies/Proclamations: None
Financial Transactions: None
Tax Refunds:
A motion was made by Mr. Goff, seconded by Mr. Cordeiro, to approve tax refunds in the amount of $1,676.34. Voted (7-0).
Bids and Contracts: None
Communications and Announcements: None
Public Remarks:
Laurie Wasilewski, Hog Hill Road, commented that several months ago she discussed a stray dog issue and asked about the additional animal control officer position. She related another incident that occurred on Christmas Day at Food Bag regarding a dog running loose in the road. The staff at Food Bag was told there was no animal control officer on duty. She is concerned and asked why there is no coverage. Mr. O’Keefe noted that part of the issue may be a dispatch not following proper protocol. The police chief is looking into this issue. The town does have two part time positions filled. Ms. Engel asked Mr. O’Keefe to look into the possibility of three part time animal control officers. Ms. Wasilewski also commented on the fabulous staff at the library. In speaking with the
staff they noted that when budget time comes around they are concerned their budget may get cut. Lastly, Ms. Wasilewski commented that she would like to see the Water Development Task Force and Facilities Implementation Task Force meetings held in the evening so more public can attend.
Ted Hintz, Chair of the Board of Finance, noted that the he does not believe the Library budget has not been cut for three years.
Scott Bristol, Chair of the Redevelopment Agency and member of the Brownfields Steering Committee, commented that he strongly disagrees with Brownfields, Redevelopment and Design Review Board being rolled into EDC. Regarding minutes for Brownfields, the group does not take votes. He noted that in 1976 there was legislative ruling that they do not need minutes. He also asked if the Town has taken title to the Water Tower property and the possibility of issues related to the Transfer Act. This will be discussed with Mr. O’Keefe.
Patience Anderson, 17 Anderson Way, asked how the recommendations from Ekman Consulting will be handled. Ms. Engel noted there will be additional meetings prior to decisions being made.
Mary Ann Dostaler, 56 William Drive, would like to be informed of the total amount expended for Ekman Consulting. She asked if it is expected to exceed $7,500. Mr. O’Keefe noted that the funds are coming from the Town Manager’s budget.
Bunny Simko, Long Hill Road, asked if the five benchmark towns reviewed by the consulting firm have the same form of government as East Hampton. The Council noted that not all have Manager/Council form of government. She has a concern that some of the communication issues arise because of the change in power every two years.
Reserved: None
Adjournment:
A motion was made by Mr. Devine, seconded by Mr. Cordeiro, to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 p.m. Voted (7-0).
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy Sirois
Recording Secretary
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