The Fairfield Hills Authority held a special meeting on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 in the meeting room at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, Newtown, CT. First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.
PRESENT: John Reed, Robert Geckle, Richard Sturdevant, William Lavery, Moira Rodgers, Andrew Willie, Donald Studley, Julia Wasserman ABSENT: Amy Dent
ALSO PRESENT: Herbert Rosenthal (First Selectman), Maria DeMarco (DeMarco, Miles & Murphy), Jeff Cugno (O&G), Scott Bailey (O&G), Ed Marks (Parks and Rec Commission), Nancy Gould (Master Gardener), William Brimmer (Selectman), one member of press, one member of public
The First Selectman opened the meeting by thanking everyone for their service to the Ad Hoc Committee and their commitment to continue to serve on the Authority. The First Selectman clarified that the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council supercede the Authority in how the Master Plan is interpreted (attached to original). The language may need to be modified by the Council because there are documents that are not in sync.
Nomination and Election of Chairperson: John Reed nominated Robert Geckle as chairperson. William Lavery moved to elect Robert Geckle chairperson. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
At this point Mr. Geckle took over as chair of the meeting.
William Lavery moved to appoint Julia Wasserman as an ex-officio member of the Fairfield Hills Authority. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Nomination and Election of Vice-Chairperson: Mr. Geckle moved to table the election of the vice-chairperson until all members of the Authority are present. Motion was seconded and unanimously carried.
Appointment of Clerk: William Lavery moved Janice Andras be appointed as clerk. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Acceptance of Minutes: Upon motion of William Lavery, the minutes of the 7/19/05 meeting were unanimously accepted as presented.
Facilities Manager’s Report: A copy of the report (attached to original) was distributed to members of the Authority prior to the meeting. This report outlines projects that have been completed, projects that are on-going and items that need action taken by the committee tonight. Ms. DeMarco reported that the Tercenntenial event was very successful with no problems. The Library Book Sale preparations are going well.
Ms. DeMarco received a request from the Boy Scouts for a sleep over on the campus for September 2, 2005. Mr. Lavery moved to allow the Boy Scouts to have a sleep over on the campus and that security will be taken care of by the management. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Installation of the driveway is still pending. Evaluation of the mothballing of the buildings in under way. Assessment for adaptive re-use of the buildings was discussed. First Selectman Rosenthal informed the Authority that there is an RFP for a real estate firm to advise on marketing the buildings.
Ms. DeMarco stated the need for a dog leash policy on the campus. Mr. Reed moved to establish a leash law for the campus. The motion was seconded and unanimously carried. The effective date will be set at the next meeting.
Project Manager: Mr. Jeff Cugno and Mr. Scott Bailey were present from O&G Industries. The final approved management contract between O&G and the Town will be signed upon approval of the Town Attorney. Task Order #1 is the work done to date. Task Order #2 (attached to original) includes the construction management for soil remediation and management of utilities. Soil remediation will begin on September 19, 2005. Utility funding will come from the Water and Sewer Authority. April is the target date for completion of the soil remediation. Task Order #3 O&G will facilitate the hiring of firms for implementation. If the planned ball fields need to be moved because of increased costs, Mr. Harrall stated that Park and Rec can work with the Master Plan to relocate them. There is $5 million of borrowing covered by the debt service approved in this year’s operating budget. $3 million has been designated for abatement. $2 million will be used for the design of the projects outlined
on attachment.
By-Laws – Mr. Lavery will abandon the Ad Hoc by-laws and revise new ones according to the ordinance. They will be presented at the next meeting.
Financial Report – Mr. Studley presented the financial report (attached to original). The balance of available bonding funds is $15,557,807 (plus proceeds from sale of homes (1.6M). Mr. Reed asked that the 04-05 operating budget be included in future reports to reflect the cuts that have been taken out of the budget already. Financial Director, Benjamin Spragg will be asked to attend a meeting to help with the budget time line for the next fiscal year.
Officers Report – None
First Selectman –First Rosenthal thanked Mr. Reed for chairmanship of the Ad Hoc Committee and for going above and beyond the call of duty. He again thanked the rest of the committee for their time and efforts.
Committee Reports
Security – Mr. Sturdevant reported that the Tercenntenial went very well with no incidents.
Master Gardener – Ms. Gould presented some changes in the plantings. All plant material will be obtained from Planter’s Choice. The volunteers must complete their phase of the work by the end of September or alternative workers may need to be added. Mr. Reed moved to approve the planting list as described not to exceed $4,000. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. Mr. Studley moved to approve the beaumonite walkway not to exceed $5,000. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Public Participation: Edward Marks suggested if there is a designated area for dogs it be marked with signs for clean up.
OLD BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Reed proposed the design of the recreation trail be a priority. Parks and Rec would like to be involved. Mr. Reed will pursue a dialogue with Parks and Rec to get this under way.
Mr. Geckle will set up three subcommittees within the Authority (Planning Committee, Operating Committee and Finance Committee). He would like members to contact him before the next meeting as to which committee they would like to serve on.
Meetings will be held the third Tuesdays of the month.
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
Mary Kelley, Clerk Pro Tem
Attachment A: Facilities Manager Report
Attachment B: Project Management Report
Attachment C: Financial Report
| 
