BOROUGH OF NEWTOWN
NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT
Minutes of the meeting of the Borough of Newtown Board of Burgesses on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at Town Hall South, Newtown. Warden Gaston called the meeting to order at 8:23 p.m.
Present: Warden James Gaston, Senior Burgess Crick, Second Senior Burgess Maher,
Zoning Officer Jean St. Jean, Treasurer and Burgess Marie Walker, Tax Collector
Jodie Enriquez, Burgess Betsy Kenyon, Burgess Anthony Baiad, Clerk and
Burgess Darlene Spencer
Absent: None
Burgess Walker made a motion to accept the April 13, 2010 meeting minutes, seconded by Burgess Kenyon and unanimously approved.
Public Participation: Bob Craybas of 26 Diamond Drive said he was told to come to this meeting to discuss the school bus situation in his neighborhood.
Zoning Officer St. Jean stated that the meeting where that will be discussed will be the Borough Zoning Commission meeting to be held Wednesday, May 12th.
Mr. Craybas further asked what kinds of things should be presented at the meeting.
Zoning Officer St. Jean said that the Borough cannot enforce anything without a regulation. Currently the Borough has adopted the Town regulations regarding parked school buses. She stated that she has visited Diamond Drive to investigate the situation that he presented at the last meeting and she understands the situation. She said the matter will be discussed at the Borough Zoning Commission meeting and, if needed, a new Borough regulation will be formed to address the matter. Borough attorney, Don Mitchell, will be at the meeting as well.
Some discussion was held regarding United Water Company’s proposal and the current water situation in Newtown.
Bob Geckle, 35 Queen Street, asked if the Sidewalks line item is specifically for repair and maintenance.
Warden Gaston stated that it is a 10 year plan for the replacement, repair and maintenance of Main Street sidewalks.
Mr. Geckle asked why that money is used specifically for Main Street.
Warden Gaston said that he really wanted to build up the Borough’s reserves in order to have enough money to complete the sidewalk on Church Hill Road to connect to Main Street. He further said that he would like to get the sidewalks started on Queen Street.
Mr. Geckle feels that the whole Queen Street issue has to be addressed in its entirety. He feels that installing sidewalks on the east or west side is only part of the solution. Mr. Geckle noted that Dan Shea of Queen Street made a valid point in that putting sidewalks on Queen Street is like putting sidewalks on I-84. Mr. Geckle said it’s a nightmare to retrieve his mail. He indicated that speed, and the intersection of Glover Avenue and Queen Street need to be addressed. He noted that there are 30 to 40 kids who live on the west side of the street and feels that putting sidewalks on the east side and have the kids cross randomly is asking for trouble. He also noted that the traffic calming devices were ridiculous. Mr.
Geckle said that there must be some way to get the traffic to slow down on Queen Street. He indicated that the average speed is 43 miles per hour.
Warden Gaston said that no one disagrees with him, but we need to get something started.
Mr. Geckle feels that the intersection has to be fixed first.
Warden Gaston said that that would be great, but it is a difficult and delicate issue.
Mr. Geckle said that for pedestrian safety there shouldn’t be a crosswalk in the middle of a street such as there is on Glover Avenue. Discussion followed.
Burgess Maher said that his experience with the installation of sidewalk involved with the “loop” project has discouraged him. He further stated that it has been many years since the residents of Queen Street came before this Board about the speed on Queen Street and the need for sidewalks and still the Town cannot find a way to slow traffic down whether by traffic bumps, police officers, etc. Discussion followed.
Mr. Geckle said that his main message is that the Queen Street project be done in its entirety including the intersection, speed calming, and sidewalks, not one or the other.
Warden’s Report: Warden Gaston said he spoke to Tom Mahoney at the Edmond Town Hall about the move from Town Hall South. The painting has been completed and Tom will ask the Board of Managers for a move-in date. Discussion followed. Warden Gaston said the Borough offices will move into the old First Selectman’s office and adjoining rooms with access to the outside through a separate entrance. Once we move our monthly meetings will be held there. Questions were raised as to our vision for the future. Warden Gaston said that eventually it would be nice to have someone in the office part time two or three days a weeks. He indicated that it would be good for the Borough as well as the Edmond Town
Hall.
Warden Gaston stated that he received a call from Francois DeBrantes of 13 Sugar Street, concerning the possible building of a new firehouse across the street from him. Mr. DeBrantes is very concerned about it and would like to have a public forum held such as the one that the Burgesses held regarding the Queen Street traffic study whereby the public can ask questions on a number of topics from several Town committees.
Zoning Officer St. Jean said that there will be public hearings once the proposal has come in and that Mr. DeBrantes can attend a Borough Zoning Commission meeting or any number of committee meetings that it will be presented to.
Warden Gaston said that Mr. DeBrantes feels that attending each individual meeting will discuss the firehouse issue in pieces and he feels it would be more beneficial to the public if it was discussed in a public forum where the Board of Selectmen, Fire Commission, Board of Burgesses, etc. were all in attendance and several issues could be discussed at one time. Warden Gaston thought that it would be a good idea. Discussion followed about when the proposal might be coming in.
Tree Warden: Tree Warden, Rob McCulloch received a few emails from the Town concerning some trees in the Borough that he will be investigating. He reminded the Board that the Town doesn’t have any money for tree removal, etc. until the beginning of the next fiscal year. Rob stated that he received two bids for the pruning of trees along Main Street.
Warden Gaston opened the bids; one from Kodiak Tree & Landscape, the other from Newtown Arbor Service. Newtown Arbor Service was the low bidder. Discussion followed.
Senior Burgess Crick made a motion to make a special appropriation of $7,260.00 for the acceptance of the bid for the pruning of trees on the west side of Main Street by Alan Potter of Newtown Arbor Service, seconded by Burgess Kenyon and unanimously approved.
Rob indicated that The Newtown Bee will publish an article about the pruning of the Main Street trees two weeks prior to the event. He will also prepare a flyer to be mailed to the residents of Main Street informing them of the work to be done and indicated that if there are questions they can contact him.
Burgess Baiad made a motion to accept the second half of the bid from Alan Potter of Newtown Arbor Service in the amount of $9,240.00 for the pruning of the trees on the east side of Main Street which will be done in July or August of the 2010-11 fiscal year, seconded by Burgess Spencer and unanimously approved.
Tax Collector's Report: Tax Collector Enriquez reported the following for the month of May: Total Taxes Due for the List of 2008: $159,253.03. Current Taxes $165,449.33; Back Taxes $1,631.93; Interest $1,135.03; Lien Fees $192.00; Return of Overpayments ($11,653.91). Total Submitted to Treasurer to Date $156,000.00. Current Taxes Collected 96.6%.
Burgess Kenyon made a motion to accept the Tax Collector’s Report, seconded by Burgess Baiad and unanimously approved.
Tax Collector Enriquez asked whether the Borough should have a credit card for the ordering of office supplies, etc. online. Discussion followed and it was decided that it would be difficult to reconcile.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Walker reported the following: A deposit of $2,000.00 was made from Tax Collector Enriquez making a total of $156,000.00 as of April 4, 2010. Also, a deposit of $1,220.00 was made from Zoning Officer St. Jean. A transfer of $4,000.00 was made on May 11, 2010 to cover this month’s invoicing leaving a total of $236,038.83 in the NSBMM Account. Another deposit of $10,000.00 will be made on May 12, 2010 to cover invoices submitted at the meeting leaving a total of $226,038.83 in the NSBMM Account. Capital Reserve is $1,890.78 as of May 2, 2010.
Senior Burgess Crick made a motion to transfer $4,000.00 from Tree and Tree Maintenance to Legal, seconded by Burgess Baiad and unanimously approved.
Burgess Baiad made a motion to transfer $1,808.00 from Contingency to Legal, seconded by Burgess Kenyon and unanimously approved.
Burgess Kenyon reported that Burgess Maher received verbal approval from the State to go ahead with the installation of the entering the Borough of Newtown signs. A Sign Depot would like a deposit before they begin installation. Discussion followed.
Burgess Maher made a motion to transfer $2,000.00 from Auxiliary Help to Historic District, seconded by Burgess Kenyon and unanimously approved.
Burgess Kenyon made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Burgess Spencer and unanimously approved.
Zoning Officer’s Report: Zoning Officer St. Jean reported that Newtown Hook & Ladder came in for a preliminary meeting to go over their new plans. They are redoing the plans so they don’t require a variance. They will go before the Police Commission and will have to do a traffic report. She said that she isn’t sure whether they will wait for Town money or get funding another way.
Zoning Officer St. Jean noted that she went to a meeting of Historic Districts which was held in Southbury. It was for people interested in obtaining grants for historic buildings. She learned that there are grants available and that it is important to become a certified local government or CLG. She distributed information regarding it. There are forms to fill out which get filed with the State of Connecticut Department of Culture and Tourism. The Town and the Borough can each become CLG. She indicated that once the forms are filed, the Borough can become qualified and eligible for matching grants and federal grants. Zoning Officer St. Jean said that a workshop/informational meeting will be held on June 17th in which she and the First Selectman will
be attending. Zoning Officer St. Jean recommended that someone from the Historic District Commission attend as well.
Zoning Officer St. Jean said that tomorrow night’s meeting of the Borough Zoning Commission will focus on the problem of school buses parking on Diamond Drive and residents keeping Pods on their front yard for several years. The other item on the agenda concerns the property at 27 Church Hill Road concerning an easement.
She updated the Board regarding Lexington Gardens, some drainage issues on the property near Ace Hardware, and the installation of stantions so that pedestrians can regulate the traffic light at My Place in order to cross the street.
Burgess Maher mentioned that there is a billboard on the side of My Place Restaurant advertising an architect.
Zoning Officer St. Jean said that when the work was bring done, signs can be posted. Now that the work has been completed, it should come down. She said that she will investigate it.
Burgess Maher also said that there is a small camper parked on the side of Currituck Road. It is a safety hazard.
Zoning Officer St. Jean said she will inform the police since it is in the Town’s right of way.
Zoning Officer St. Jean informed the Board that from June 11th-17th signs will be posted concerning underage drinking at 3 Main Street (Town Hall South), 17 Church Hill Road (Youth Services), and 11 Queen Street (Middle School). Also, a banner is hanging over Queen Street to remind people to vote on the Town’s budget.
Historic District: Burgess Kenyon reported that a public hearing was held for two applications. The Historic District Commission approved Newtown Savings Bank’s plans subject to some modifications to the exterior. They will be meeting with their architect to get a new drawing. The application from 59 Main Street was approved with a slight modification.
Sidewalks: Burgess Maher had nothing new to report.
Streets & Parks: Burgess Maher had nothing new to report.
Old Business: Discussion was held regarding the budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Burgess Baiad made a motion to set the mill rate for the 2010-11 fiscal year at 0.61 mills, seconded by Burgess Kenyon and unanimously approved.
New Business: none
Public Participation: None
The regular meeting of the Borough of Newtown Board of Burgesses will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Borough Office at Town Hall South.
There being no further business, Burgess Walker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 p.m., seconded by Burgess Baiad and unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Darlene M. Spencer
Borough Clerk
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