The Fairfield Hills Authority held a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 in the meeting room at Town Hall South, Main Street, Newtown, CT. Bob Geckle called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Present: Bob Geckle, Andy Willie, Michael Holmes, Don Studley, Amy Dent, John Reed and John Madzula.
Absent: Walt Motyka and Julia Wasserman.
Also Present: Maria DeMarco, DeMarco Management, Amy Mangold, (Director of Parks & Rec), Ed Marks, Park & Rec., Debbie Aurelia, Town Clerk and one member of the press.
Public Participation: Amy Mangold, Director of Newtown’s Department of Parks and Recreation used this time to present to the Authority a proposed construction of a gazebo on the Fairfield Hills Campus for future “concert series and art shows”. This was in the preliminary stages but Ms. Mangold stated that this was an area that Parks and Rec. wanted to develop more to give broader family based activities for everyone in the Town to enjoy. Ms. Mangold stated that the Parks & Recreation commission was completely behind this idea. The Fairfield Hills Authority was very enthusiastic about this concept. Bob Geckle suggested that a possible salvaged cupola from one of the buildings slated for demolition could be used in the construction of the gazebo. Ms. Mangold
is going to work with the Parks & Rec. commission to create a more specific design and will try to find an area on the campus suitable for this project.
Acceptance of Minutes: A motion was made by Amy Dent to approve the minutes from the September 16, 2008 meeting. The motion was seconded by John Madzula.
Mike Holmes noted that in the section discussing the future skate park, the minutes read that the Authority gave permission for additional fundraising until the year 2010. The actual timeline ends in 2009.
John Reed made a motion to accept the minutes, as amended, from the September 16, 2008 Authority meeting. The motion was seconded by Mike Holmes. All in attendance voted unanimously.
Financial: Don Studley gave an update to the expenditures of the Fairfield Hills Campus. (See Attached).
Bob Geckle informed the Authority that he and Don Studley met with Bob Tait, the Director of Finance for the Town of Newtown and explained that in the future there will be newly formatted reports included with the information packets every month.
Mr. Studley also explained the Infrastructure sheet that was also included. (See Attached).
Mr. Geckle also pointed out that Maria DeMarco’s financial report will remain the same and will also be included every month.
John Reed stated that the Fairfield Hills Authority and the town itself was very fortunate to have Don Studley working so diligently on these monthly reports.
Bob Geckle asked Ms. DeMarco if there was any major change with her financial information from last month. Ms. DeMarco stated that there was no major charges at this time but that the landscaping company will be presenting its bill next month and that expenditure will be reflected in next months financial report.
Ms. DeMarco also informed the Authority that the electrical billing system for the Fairfield Hills Campus and the Horse Guard has been separated in to two bills by the Director of Public Works, Fred Hurley, and that funds in the amount of $15,800 should be allocated back to the Town of Newtown.
Don Studley gave the date of November 21, 2008 that the budget for 2009 has to be finalized. Bob Geckle suggested that he, Don Studley and Maria DeMarco have a meeting to discuss the proposed operating budget. This meeting will be scheduled within the next three weeks.
Operating: Maria DeMarco (DeMarco Management) gave an overview of her Property Management Report. (See Attached).
Ms. DeMarco informed the Authority that she attended a follow-up security meeting that morning and she was told by the Director of Public Works that the roads throughout the Fairfield Hills Campus are now “Town Roads” so they can no longer be closed off by the gate at the entrance of the campus. This gate will now be moved to the trails area.
Ms. DeMarco also informed the Authority that she spoke with the new Project Manager from O&G (Ram Parasuram) and they discussed what fencing would be required for the Municipal Building project. Ms. DeMarco requested that O&G put up temporary fencing around Bridgeport Hall to help secure the construction site.
At this time John Reed gave an overview of the security meeting mentioned by Ms. DeMarco. Mr. Reed stated that he was very pleased with all of the cooperation from the Security Company, the Newtown Police and the dispatch department. The security guards did receive some training with the Police department to help increase communications between them. The tree trimming around the campus was done through the department of Public Works to help give a clearer view into the buildings.
Mr. Reed also stated that the radios being used by the security staff are going to be upgraded with GPS so the police department has better tracking system if something should happen to the guard on duty and they cannot be reached by radio or cell phone.
Don Studley asked if there were incidents during the day that required security or would it be possible to cut back this shift now that campus traffic and activity is increasing.
Maria DeMarco said that this will be possible in the future but that it was not prudent at this time because of all of the changes happening on the campus. John Reed interjected that the un-occupied buildings need to be visibly inspected throughout the day to insure that a record of all vandalism and broken doors can be kept so the police are not summoned to the campus for duplicate problems.
John Reed went on to give an update on the Trails on the campus. Mr. Reed said that the base coat has been put down on the trails and that the drainage has been installed. Mr. Reed explained that the cover coat will not be put on until the coming spring to allow for settling. Mr. Reed said that the trails can still be open and are fine for public use.
Plannning Committee:
Bob Geckle proposed to the Fairfield Hills Authority a change to date of the monthly Authority meetings. The proposed date is the second Wednesday of every month instead of the current third Tuesday of every month. All of the members stated that the change would not be a problem. The November 2008 meeting will be the first meeting to be changed to the new day.
Municipal Building: Bob Geckle gave an update on the “new” Municipal Office Building. O&G is mobilizing. Mr. Geckle said that the tentative completion date is August, 2009.
Mr. Geckle also said that he is copied on all of the work orders for the Town Hall.
Mr. Geckle brought to the attention of the Authority the request from the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) for a change in hours of operation. The NYA would like the campus to be open from 5:00 a.m. to midnight.
Mr. Geckle made a motion to extend the hours of operation for individuals using or working at the Newtown Youth Academy. Andy Willie seconded the motion.
Amy Dent asked if campus roads are not able to be closed then why would it be necessary to have operating hours. To this point Ms. DeMarco stated that the Newtown Police Department suggested that there be some time guidelines so that they would be able to enforce the no trespassing ordinance.
John Reed made the suggestion that the new signs that are going to be posted specify that only people working or attending a function at the Newtown Youth Academy are allowed on the campus before dawn and after sundown.
The Authority then went on to vote. All in attendance voted unanimously.
Andy Will introduced pictures of the temporary signs that are being proposed by the Newtown Youth Academy for directing traffic to their building. This is necessary while the construction of the “new” Town Hall might re-route traffic. Mr. Willie said that these temporary signs will be similar to real estate signs.
John Reed made a motion to accept the temporary signs and their proposed locations.
All in attendance voted unanimously.
Fairfield Hills Website: Amy Dent informed everyone that the website work has progressed and that the links to different departments and information has been incorporated. Ms. Dent asked the Authority if it was necessary to have a picture and biography of every member of the Fairfield Hills Authority on the website. All of the Authority agreed that it was not necessary and that the name and contact information would be sufficient for the information section of the website.
Campus Green: John Madzula introduced his drawings of the proposed “Center Green” for the Fairfield Hills Campus. The green is planned for area between the Newtown Hall and Woodbury Hall. Mr. Madzula informed the Authority that the Rotary Club of Newtown has proposed that this green be their Spring 2009 Project.
Mr. Madzula will get a rendering of the drawing to be posted on the website. Bob Geckle stated that he would like to thank Mr. Eugene Reelick from Holandia for his help with this project.
At this time John Reed made a motion to adjourn. Andy Willie seconded the motion.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
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