BOROUGH OF NEWTOWN NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT
Minutes of the meeting of the Borough of Newtown Board of Burgesses on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at Edmond Town Hall, Newtown, CT. Warden Gaston called the meeting to order at 7:41 p.m.
Present: Warden James Gaston, Senior Burgess Joan Crick, Second Senior Burgess Jay Maher, Zoning Officer Jean St. Jean, Tax Collector Jodie Enriquez, Burgess Anthony Baiad, Clerk Ann Benore, Treasurer and Burgess Marie Walker, Tree Warden Rob McCulloch
Also Present: Auditor Glenn Nanavaty
Absent: Burgess Betsy Kenyon
Burgess Marie Walker made a motion to accept the November 9, 2010 meeting minutes, seconded by Burgess Maher and unanimously approved.
Public Participation: LeReine Frampton, 6 Pebble Road, Democratic Registrar of Voters, spoke regarding the Borough’s upcoming May election and its cost to the Borough. She made a suggestion that if the polling place were to be in the Registrar’s Office at the Municipal Center the need for poll workers could be eliminated. Therefore, a savings of approximately $2,120 would be realized. Because the Borough has less than 1,500 voters, the polling place can be located outside of the Borough according to the Secretary of State. The Registrar’s Office also has fireproof cabinets that can be used for ballots. Jim Gaston extended a “thank you” to Ms. Frampton for her suggestion and decided that the Board will talk to residents and amongst themselves and make a decision on the
suggestion at the Borough’s January 2011 meeting.
Warden’s Report: Warden Gaston reported that~the water company meeting with the DPUC will be held tomorrow in Brookfield, which may be the final meeting to decide which project will be implemented. He also spoke about the anti-blight ordinance question that was proposed at last month’s meeting. He will draft a letter addressing the issue after he speaks with town officials regarding what ordinance they have in place with respect to blight. The Town Zoning Commission chair was out from surgery and not available for consultation. Finally, on a social services level, Warden Gaston proposed that the Borough make a $250 donation to our troops in Afghanistan. He suggested the topic be brought up during New Business.
Tree Warden: ~Rob McCulloch reported that the tree on the Geckle property on Queen Street was taken down. A tree fell on the island at Glover Avenue/Queen Street which was also taken down. The following trees were evaluated to go out to bid: 36 Queen Street & West Street (2 maples); 10 Hall Lane (1 ash); 1 Glover Avenue (1 maple). Pruning will also take place on the hickory trees in Ram’s Pasture.
Tax Collector's Report: ~Tax Collector Enriquez reported the following: Total Taxes Due for the List of 2009: $168,497.50. Current Taxes $162,859.37; Back Taxes $3,422.59; Interest $1,963.54; Lien Fees $408.00; Return of Overpayments ($3,014.88). Total Submitted to Treasurer to Date $164,000.00. Current Taxes Collected 94.9%.
Burgess Baiad made a motion to accept Tax Collector’s Report, seconded by Burgess Walker and unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Walker reported the following: A deposit of $3,000.00 was made from Tax Collector Jodie Enriquez on November 16, 2010, making a total of $164,000.00 to date. ~ A transfer of $10,000.00 was made to cover this month’s invoicing. The total in the NSBMM account is $281,300.86 to date. Capital Reserve is $1,895.36 as of November 30, 2010.
Second Senior Burgess Maher made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Senior Burgess Crick and unanimously approved.
Burgess Anthony Baiad made a motion to take the audit report out of order on the agenda, seconded by Senior Burgess Crick and unanimously approved.
Auditor’s Report: Glenn Nanavaty presented the audit in draft form to all board members. It was completed a month and a half ago. Mr. Nanavaty reported that we are in the range of 6 to 12 months in reserve. Mr. Nanavaty cautioned about further decreases in the reserve from the present dollar figure as it has dropped over the past years and the economy remains trying. The Tax Collector’s Report is 95% which is very much in line with other tax districts. There were no problems reporting the information. Warden Gaston made an observation that there has only been a 1.6% increase in tax levy over the past 10 years which is less than the cost of living increase. Burgess Baiad made a motion to accept the draft of the 2010 Auditor’s Report, seconded by Treasurer and Burgess Walker and unanimously approved.
Zoning Officer’s Report: Zoning Officer St. Jean reported that the firehouse application was denied at the meeting before Inland Wetlands which was discussed at the borough Zoning special meeting last night. They have 65 days to make a decision. Burgerittoville presented a proposal that they would like to expand. Dr. Beck finalized his project to take his building on Queen Street. Toro’s will be opening their second floor in February.
Historic District: Due to the absence of Burgess Kenyon, Warden Gaston was able to report the application from United Water to put in a pumping station and extra hydrant to be located next to Town Hall South was approved by the Historic District. ~~
Sidewalks: ~Second Senior Burgess Maher reported that the Rohmer sidewalk project was completed and came in $1,000 under budget. The work that was done looks great.
Streets & Parks: Second Senior Burgess Maher reported that the lighting on Monument Island is bad and is being restored.
Old Business: ~None.
New Business: ~Warden Gaston reported that because the Borough uses the Town’s Fire Inspectors and Dog Warden, these two positions should be formally removed from the List of Offices presented to the Secretary of State for the upcoming May election.
Second Senior Burgess Maher made a motion to remove the offices of Fire Inspectors and Dog Warden from the List of Offices, seconded by Burgess Walker and unanimously approved.
Warden Gaston spoke again about contributing to the needs of the soldiers in Afghanistan and asked that Tax Collector Enriquez coordinate the $250 project with Tara Gaston.
Burgess Baiad made a motion to approve the use of $250 for the soldier’s project to be administered by Tax Collector Enriquez, seconded by Senior Burgess Crick and unanimously approved.
Treasurer and Burgess Walker made a motion to transfer $250 from Contingency to Social Services to cover the cost of the project, seconded by Second Senior Burgess Maher and unanimously approved.
Warden Gaston also revisited Democratic Registrar Lereine Frampton’s proposal. He thought the idea was great and will call The Newtown Bee to publicize the proposal and the Board will vote on the matter at next month’s meeting.
Senior Burgess Crick noted that the Borough Zoning Commission was having trouble reserving a room large enough to accommodate their meetings at Edmond Town Hall. Due to the firehouse application, the meetings are expected to be large in the coming months. Clerk Benore will check with the Board of Managers to determine what rooms might be available. It may be that the Wednesday night meeting schedule be changed to a different day of the week. Another option would be to continue meetings at Town Hall South while the firehouse application is being discussed.
Warden Gaston presented the dates for regular meetings of the Board of Burgesses for 2011.
Senior Burgess Crick made a motion to accept the 2011 schedule of meetings, seconded by Burgess Marie Walker and unanimously approved.
Public Participation: George Schmidt of 12 Old Castle Drive questioned the $24,000 Miscellaneous line item in the auditor’s report listed under General Revenues. Zoning Officer St. Jean said that many fees that are collected from various zoning applications, DEP items, etc. are reported under the Miscellaneous category. A large portion, $19,000, was from a court case that we had won.
A regular meeting of the Borough of Newtown Board of Burgesses will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Borough Office at Edmond Town Hall.
There being no further business, Burgess Walker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:36 p.m., seconded by Burgess Baiad and unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann M. Benore Borough Clerk
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