The Fairfield Hills Authority held a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 in the meeting room of the Town Hall South, Main Street, Newtown, CT. Bob Geckle called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Present: Bob Geckle, Andy Willie, Kathy Furey, Walt Motyka, John Madzula, John Reed, Don Studley and Mike Holmes.
Absent: None
Also Present: Maria DeMarco (DeMarco Management Corp).
Public Participation: None
Acceptance of Minutes: Andy Willie made a motion to accept the minutes from the October 21, 2009 meeting. Don Studley seconded the motion.
John Reed wanted added into the minutes the update he gave at the October 21, 2009 meeting regarding the delayed funding of grant money that is being sought through the office of the Deputy Director of Planning and Land Use was not included in the minutes from the meeting. Mr. Reed stated that he had not heard from the Deputy Director about the status of the funds and would be following up with him.
The motion was made to accept the minutes as amended.
All in attendance voted unanimously.
Finance: Don Studley gave an overview of the Financial Statement for the Fairfield Hills Campus expenses. (See Attached).
Mr. Studley stated that the Newtown Youth Academy Common Area Charges payments are up to date.
Mr. Studley also gave an update to the encumbered funds from fiscal year 2008/2009. To date there is an unused balance of $29,272.00. Mr. Studley will work with Ms. DeMarco to close out these balances.
Maria DeMarco (DeMarco Management) stated that she is requesting that the landscaping company change their billing procedures to a monthly billing statement so that the practice of sending one large bill quarterly does not happen again. The landscape company will be taking on the task of snow removal for certain parts of the campus, i.e. walkways and doorways at the Newtown Youth Academy and the Newtown Municipal Center which will add an additional cost to their monthly bill.
Ms. DeMarco stated that she will be doing a detailed analysis of expenses because of all of the new activities and costs on the Fairfield Hills Campus.
John Reed requested that a breakdown of cost percentages attributed to the Newtown Youth Academy and the Newtown Municipal Center be tracked separately.
At this time of the finance discussion Bob Geckle gave an overview of the Capital Improvement Plan presentation that was given to the Board of Finance by Bob, Walt Motyka and Don Studley. Mr. Geckle stated that the Board of Finance was very appreciative the work that the Authority did to prepare for their presentation and that they had a much greater understanding of what the future plans for the Fairfield Hills Campus are.
Operations: At this time Maria DeMarco (DeMarco Management) gave an update of her monthly operating report.
Ms. DeMarco stated that two major events happened on the campus without any problems. First, Halloween came and went without any problems. The second event on the campus was the move of town employees into the new Municipal Center. The move was completed without any complications. There are still a few minor adjustments that need to be made to the building – key fobs, maintenance of the building. Ms. DeMarco stated that the Board of Education has elected to go through DeMarco Management for their minor maintenance issues. The town offices are going through the Department of Public Works.
John Reed asked why the Board of Education was going through DeMarco Management when they have an entire maintenance staff that could be doing the minor maintenance jobs they need done. Ms. DeMarco stated that the Board of Education did not hire anyone new to do maintenance in the in their new offices and that because the building is still under warranty with O&G for the big repair items, DeMarco will handle the small items such as picture hanging and shelf installation until a new maintenance protocol is put in place.
Ms. DeMarco also stated that the punch list for the building will go through DeMarco Management so she can decide what can actually be repaired under the warranty and passed onto O&G or what needs to be handled through DeMarco and the Department of Public Works.
Bob Geckle asked Maria is there were any plans on illuminating the Fairfield Hills Campus sign on the corner of Wasserman Way and Trades Lane. Walt Motyka suggested possibly using solar lights. Ms. DeMarco was going to look into it and get pricing.
Bob Geckle updated the Authority on the new light fixtures that have been used on the campus. This issue was discussed at the Board of Selectman’s meeting on Monday night. The light fixtures around the Newtown Municipal Center are going to be changed to the design standard that match the originals on the campus. There are also 22 old lights that can be used. The new smaller lights will be installed at other projects in the future. These changes should be done within the next 2 years.
Mr. Geckle then informed the Authority that there were 4 to 6 Newtown School Buses parked outside the Newtown Municipal Center. Ms. DeMarco stated that these were replacement buses in case of an emergency. The Authority members strongly agreed that the buses needed to find another place for parking.
Mr. Geckle then discussed the Center Green project and why there was fencing at the entrance of the green. Mr. Geckle suggested that possibly a grading of the road surrounding the green could be done so that the green could still be enjoyed and it would be more presentable to potential commercial uses..
Andy Willie stated that he would discuss this matter with the Director of Public Works and would report to the Authority at the next meeting.
John Madzula asked if anything had been done on the electrical box on the Center Green. Ms. DeMarco stated that at this point nothing has been done.
A member of the Authority suggested that a completion letter listing all of the items that needed to be done around the Fairfield Hills Campus be written to the First Selectman Elect once she takes office. Bob Geckle stated that he would compose the letter.
Mr. Geckle asked Ms. DeMarco what plans were made for landscaping around the Newtown Municipal Center. Ms. DeMarco stated that there were no plans for any new landscaping at this time.
Planning: Bob Geckle informed everyone that he had attended a meeting with Kathy Fury, John Madzula, Bob Barclay and Mike Struna to discuss the future marketing of the Fairfield Hills Campus. Mr. Struna is a local Commercial Real Estate Brokers.
Kathy Furey stated that the meeting was very informative. She stated that that they were going to review the suggestions made by the brokers and present them to the Authority to see which items would work well in the future.
Andy Willie made the suggestion that not requiring full payment up-front would help possible developers get financing a little easier.
Bob Geckle stated that he thinks it is appropriate to re-look at the lease agreements to see what can be done to help get the development of the campus further along.
Kathy Furey then asked the Authority what their opinion was about the possible development of the Aerial Forest Park. Several members stated reasons why this was not a good fit for the Fairfield Hills Campus so the Authority agreed to reject the plan.
Motion: Andy Willie made a motion to adjourn. Don Studley seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 9:08 p.m.
| 
