The Fairfield Hills Authority held a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 in the meeting room at Town Hall South, Main Street, Newtown, CT. Bob Geckle called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Present: Bob Geckle, Andy Willie, Michael Holmes, Walt Motyka, Amy Dent and Moira Rodgers.
Absent: Don Studley, John Reed and Julia Wasserman.
Also Present: Joe Borst, First Selectman, Maria DeMarco, DeMarco Management, Dave Cravanzola, O&G, Dave Grograns, Attorney for the Town of Newtown, one Member of the public and one member of the press.
Public Participation: No Public Participation.
Acceptance of Minutes: A motion was made by Moira Rodgers to accept the minutes from the February 19, 2008 meeting. Michael Holmes seconded the motion. All in attendance voted unanimously.
Discussion and Re-Vote of actions taken at Fairfield Hills Meetings held from August 1, 2007 to November 18, 2007:
On August 15, 2007 the Fairfield Hills Authority made the following motions:
· A motion was made that “authorization of a range of $1.60 to $2.00 per square foot for common charges be offered.
· A motion to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Regular Meeting on July 17, 2007was made.
A motion to re-ratify these motions was made by Andy Willie and was seconded by Walt Motyka. All in attendance voted unanimously.
On September 19, 2007 the Fairfield Hills Authority made the following motions:
· A motion was made to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Special Meeting held on August 15, 2007.
· A motion was made to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Regular Meeting held on August 29, 2007.
A motion to re-ratify these motions was made by Walt Motyka and was seconded by Andy Willie. All in attendance voted unanimously.
On September 26, 2007 the Fairfield Hills Authority made the following motions:
· A motion was made that it is resolved that the Fairfield Hills Authority recommend that the Letter of Intent to Lease be presented to the Board of Selectmen for the following Fairfield Hills properties: Buildings numbered 63 and 58.
· A motion was made that it is Resolved that the Fairfield Hills Authority recommend that the Letter of Intent to Lease be presented to the Board of Selectmen for the following Fairfield Hills properties: Buildings numbered 61, 59 and 50.
A motion to re-ratify these motions was made by Amy Dent and was seconded by Andy Willie. All in attendance voted unanimously.
On October 17, 2007 the Fairfield Hills Authority made the following motions:
· A motion was made to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Regular Meeting on September 19, 2007.
· A motion was made to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Special Meeting on September 26, 2007.
· A motion was made to approve the minutes from the Fairfield Hills Authority Special Meeting on October 11, 2007.
· A motion was made to accept the new logo for the Fairfield Hills Authority.
· A motion was made that the Fairfield Hills Authority recommend that the Board of Selectmen approve the Letter of Intent to Lease Stratford Hall” as presented at this meeting.
A motion to re-ratify all of these motions was made by Walt Motyka and seconded by Andy Willie. All in attendance voted unanimously.
On August 29, 2007 the Fairfield Hills Authority made the following motions:
· A motion was made that it is resolved that the Fairfield Hills Authority recommend to the Board of Selectmen that the town enter into a Ground Lease with the Newtown Youth Academy in accordance with the Summary of Lease attached, subject to the final terms being reviewed and approved by the town attorney.
· A motion was made stating that it is “resolved that the Authority recommend to the Board of Selectmen that the Master Plan be amended to add the Newtown Youth Academy building, amend the parking plan and add a designated area for Newtown’s Parks and Recreation to be located next to the Newtown Youth Academy”.
A motion to re-ratify all of these motions was made by Mike Holmes and seconded by Amy Dent.
Financial Report: Don Studley was not in attendance so Bob Geckle and Maria DeMarco gave an overview of the monthly financial report (See Attached).
Maria DeMarco, DeMarco Management, also presented her monthly financial report and stated that the monthly expenses are approximately $4,000.00 under budget and are expected to remain that way until the end of the fiscal year.
Operating: Maria DeMarco gave an overview of her monthly Operating Report. (See Attached).
Ms. DeMarco stated that the Pet Ordinance Signs will be delivered at the end of this week and will be installed as soon as possible.
Bob Geckle asked if the Buildings on the campus have been re-secured and Ms. DeMarco assured that this was done with the Public Works Department.
Ms. DeMarco stated that she is working closely with the Newtown Police Department K9 Unit to help coordinate the use of Canaan Building for training purposes.
Ms. DeMarco also reported that she has contacted Transend Wireless regarding the installation of a Cellular Tower on the Fairfield Hills Campus. The company informed her that they should have a definitive answer within a month if they are moving forward on this project or not.
The Chiller Plan Rehabilitation Project is underway and should be completed by the end of the Summer of 2008.
Bob Geckle stated that the Authority would need to see any external changes planned for this project and asked Ms. DeMarco to coordinate with the representatives to attend the next Authority meeting so they could give a presentation of their designs.
O&G: Dave Cravanzola gave an overview of his monthly report. (See Attached).
Mr. Cravanzola also stated that the first utility (Yankee Gas) will be installed at the end of April/beginning of May, 2008. Andy Willie asked if this was going to cause a disruption of traffic throughout the campus. Mr. Cravanzola stated that there will always be a way to drive through the campus but at times some of the roads will have to be closed.
Mr. Cravanzola informed the Authority that the new playing field had weathered well through the winter months and that the proposed schedule of opening in Fall of 2008 is still the expected time frame.
Mr. Cravanzola also discussed the importance of the State Traffic Commission application and that it is being completed and will be submitted to the State Traffic Commission and is slated to make the April 15, 2008 hearing.
Mr. Cravanzola made suggestions regarding the mothballing of Woodbury Hall. The overall building is in relatively good shape but the basement is in need of the most work and should be done as quickly as possible. He stated that there are items still left in the basement that need to be removed. Maria DeMarco stated that nothing in the basement was salvageable and it all needed to be removed and disposed of.
Walt Motyka asked if there was a possible way to get a “menu” of the possible costs for the mothballing project. Bob Geckle suggested that a sub-committee be put together to work with Dave Cravanzola to determine the scope of the project. Walt Motyka, Andy Willy and Dave Cravanzola will work together on this sub-committee along with Amy Dent with regards to Grant updates. The suggestion was made that Elizabeth Stocker (Director, Planning & Community Development) be asked to assist with this project. Dave Cravanzola said he would discuss this with her.
A quick update was given regarding the Trails on the Fairfield Hills Campus. Mr. Cravanzola stated that he met with John Reed, Fred Hurley (Public Works), and Carl Samuelson (Parks & Recreation) regarding Grant money and to set up a time frame for completion. Dave stated that some clearing has started.
Dave Cravanzola along with Amy Dent presented the proposed signage options for the Fairfield Hills Campus.
The Authority discussed the different varieties of the signs along with the materials that will be used to produce the signs. Amy Dent stated that all of the samples fell within the Landscape Guidelines. All were in agreement that each sign would be suitable for use but must be presented to the Authority and approved by the Authority. Ms. Dent stated that this was already a requirement within the guidelines. Amy Dent also agreed that she would delete from the Master Plan all signage that does not fall within the new signage guidelines specified by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The question was asked if the signs had to be numbered or would the name of the building suffice. Maria DeMarco informed the Authority that the Post Office requires the signs to be numbered. Dave Cravanzola also informed the Authority that the 911 Service will not install services unless each building is numbered and that the town needs to adopt the roadways and officially name them so that these services can be started right away. Andy Willie and Maria DeMarco are going to meet with the Post Master so the project can be reviewed and the street naming and building numbering can be decided upon. The request was made that the streets that do need to be named or renamed be given something of historical significance and that Dan Cruson , the Town Historian, would be a good person to consult with. Dave Grograns asked that he be kept informed of the progress.
A motion was made by Walt Motyka that the Fairfield Hills Authority are in agreement that all of the sign options were acceptable for use by developers on the Fairfield Hills Campus and that they should be incorporated in the Landscape Guidelines. The motion was seconded by Moira Rodgers. All in attendance voted unanimously.
A second motion was made by Walt Motyka that any signage selected by developers must be presented to and approved by the Fairfield Hills Authority. The motion was seconded by Amy Dent. All in attendance voted unanimously.
Economic Development:
Bob Geckle gave an overview of the potential Lease Agreements that are still a work in progress. The “Restaurant” project is still on-going and the timetable has been extended.
The Duplexes have some new interested parties. An update may be given on this project at the Authority Meeting in April.
Amy Dent informed the Authority that Art Bogen and Dick Eigen are looking into Federal Grant money and that a Steep Grant for parking was filed two weeks ago.
Adjournment: Moira Rodgers made a motion to adjourn. Amy Dent seconded the motion.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
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