The Fairfield Hills Authority held a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 in the meeting room at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, Newtown, CT. Chairman Robert Geckle called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT: Robert Geckle, Andrew Willie, Amy Dent, John Reed, Moira Rodgers, Walter Motyka, ABSENT: William Lavery, Donald Studley
ALSO PRESENT: Richard Sturdevant, Maria DeMarco, Scott Baillie (O&G), representatives of Tai Soo Kim Partners, Ed Marks (Parks & Rec. Commission), three members of public, one member of press
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: Upon motion of Amy Dent, the minutes of the 2/21/06 meeting were unanimously accepted with the following correction: page 2, last sentence should read – “North American Realty has been asked to provide background information in order to provide an RFP for a master developer”.
Public Participation: Ms. Cindy Miller, Parmalee Hill Road, distributed information regarding the Volunteer Horse Patrol which patrols state forests and parks. They are willing to patrol and report to whoever oversees Fairfield Hills. They would be able to report things such as how many hikers have been on the property, how many dogs without leashes, necessary repairs. They would also be able to give in formation to those they meet on how to use a multi-use trail.
Mr. Ray Shaw, Eden Hill Road, was present representing the Vintage Baseball League. They are looking for any additional available fields at Fairfield Hills that they could use. They would only require a flat field. They are looking at the east meadow and at the corner of Wasserman Way and Mile Hill South. They would get volunteers to help develop the field for their use. Chairman Geckle has spoken with Mr. Shaw previously on the phone and advised him that the Master Plan does not designate either of those areas for playing fields. There is also an issue of fields that are leased to farms for haying. Mr. Shaw advised that they would be willing to reimburse the farmers for hay which they figure would be $750 to $900 per season.
Ms. Ruby Johnson, Chestnut Hill Road, read minutes of May 2001 Legislative Council meeting where fields were discussed. She does not feel that this Authority should be held to the Master Plan for seven ball fields.
Finance Committee:
Copies of the Operating Expenses Report prepared by Mr. Studley were received by all members. There is $15.5 million left in bonding plus $1.6 million from the proceeds from the auction of the houses on Mile Hill South. Ms. DeMarco reported that she has looked at the budget actuals as of February and projected through the end of the fiscal year to find any possible savings. We should be able to cut expenses by $5,000. The numbers still include the three months of landscaping expense that took place in the previous fiscal year. She met with Mr. Studley and they are discussing opportunities to further decrease costs to operate the campus. They will report at the next meeting.
Mr. Geckle reported that a meeting was held with himself, Mr. Motyka, Mr. Baillie, Finance Director Ben Spragg and First Selectman Rosenthal to try to reconcile costs of the Master Plan, which is still ongoing.
Operating Committee:
Public Works Director Fred Hurley had submitted a Utility Update with a timetable for the electrical. As of the end of July, he feels that the Town will be able to separate all Town and State electrical uses.
Russell Bartley submitted an update on the remediation which is now complete at Kent, Canaan, Greenwich, Bridgewater, Cochran and Shelton. Mr. Baillie advised that the contractor has done the excavation around the perimeter of Bridgeport Hall and exposed the entire foundation. It was felt that it would be a good idea to take advantage of the open trenches to install the drainage and waterproof the foundation.
Mr. Whit Iglehart and Mr. Jerry Waters of Tai Soo Kim Partners then gave an overview of Scheme A and Scheme B for the town hall layout at Bridgeport Hall which was discussed. The overall town hall project is on schedule. The mothballing is approximately six weeks behind schedule but they hope to be able to make up some portion of that time. Vollmer Associates is moving ahead with the design development for Scheme 1A as directed by the Authority.
Ms. DeMarco advised that Parks & Recreation is looking for a temporary (one month) storage area for baseball uniforms. It was decided to give Ms. DeMarco the authority to use her judgement as to the best space for this.
Ms. DeMarco distributed copies of the route for the upcoming Rooster Run race through the property. She spoke with Police Chief Kehoe who feels that last year when runners were not allowed to run through the campus, there were problems with closing other streets, such as Queen Street.
Planning Committee:
Ms. Dent reported that they have met with North American Realty to put together an RFP. They are still looking at alternative funding opportunities. Copies of the proposed policy for use of the campus were distributed. All members should get back to Ms. Rodgers or Ms. Dent with their comments. This will be on the next agenda.
A letter has been received from the Town Hall Board of Managers asking for permission to schedule a visit for them to canvass the buildings being demolished for any possible replacement parts for Edmond Town Hall, i.e. doorknobs, etc. This will be scheduled through Ms. DeMarco.
A letter was received from the Board of Education asking about availability of land at Fairfield Hills for educational purposes.
Mr. Ed Marks of the Parks & Recreation Commission advised that they have not been considered to be part of the Town Hall on the campus. It was suggested that they speak to the First Selectman.
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Jan Andras, Clerk
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