Minutes of the regular meeting of the Legislative Council held on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 in the Meeting Room of the C. H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown, CT. Chairman Rodgers called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT: William Rodgers, Francis Pennarola, John Aurelia, Jan Brookes, Jeffrey Capeci, Gary Davis, Joseph DiCandido, Joseph Hemingway, Patricia Llodra, Christopher Lyddy, Po Murray. ABSENT: Daniel Amaral.
ALSO PRESENT: First Selectman Joseph Borst, Selectman Paul Mangiafico, Finance Director Robert Tait, Deputy Director of Land Use Robert Sibley, Conservation Commission member George Ferguson, Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle, members of Lyme Disease Task Force, approximately fifteen members of public, one member of press.
VOTER PARTICIPATION. Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill Road, is concerned about the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and the Fairfield Hills Authority process (Attachment A to original minutes).
Bob Geckle, 35 Queen Street, spoke on behalf of the Fairfield Hills Authority. He said that the Authority does not set, alter and implement policy but implements the Master Plan as approved by the Board of Selectmen. He feels that the members should remain appointed and not be elected because they are not politicians and do not wish to be elected officials. The Board of Finance and Legislative Council do review the Fairfield Hills Authority budget. Auction and sealed bid for real estate will not work for commercial projects; also the developer could purchase property and not develop it. He said that if the Authority is to report to other Boards, they should also report to the Authority.
Bruce Walczak, 12 Glover Avenue, said that the Fairfield Hills Authority Ordinance may be periodically reviewed and feels that this may be the time to review it. He feels that this should be referred to the Ordinance Committee.
Giannine Crowell, Canterbury Lane, supports sending the Fairfield Hills Authority Ordinance to the Ordinance Committee and that the Authority should be compliant with the Charter.
MINUTES. Ms. Brookes moved to accept the minutes of September 17, 2008. Second by Mrs. Llodra. Mr. Davis noted that he did support Mr. Capeci’s motion. Mr. Davis feels that coverage in the minutes is not balanced. Mrs. Murray agreed and felt it important to list the rationale for why we vote as we do. Mr. DiCandido asked that two of his comments be added to the minutes. The minutes were unanimously accepted as amended.
COMMUNICATIONS. Mr. Lyddy received a request from the Newtown Youth and Family Services Director who is chair of the Newtown Prevention Council to be on the next agenda to discuss decreasing the drinking age to eighteen.
Mrs. Murray received a communication from a constituent requesting that those residents without children in the schools not pay taxes relative to the schools. Mr. Rodgers noted that under State Statutes we cannot differentiate between those with children in the schools and those without. He noted that the Legislative Council reviews annually the tax programs in the Town.
COMMITTEE REPORTS. None noted.
FIRST SELECTMAN’S REPORT. Mr. Borst noted that the Tax Collector and Tax Assessor are reviewing the tax programs concerning seniors. Mr. Borst said that on September 18 a meeting was held concerning the status of the infrastructure at Fairfield Hills. He noted that bids to remove the tunnels have been sent out. Letters of intent have been signed for Bridgeport Hall. On October 16 the Board of Selectmen will review the Capital Improvement Plan. Mrs. Murray would like the costs of the exclusions and information about the Hawley lease extension. Mr. Aurelia asked when the parking lot and demolition of Greenwich Hall will be completed. Mr. DiCandido asked if this review of the Town Hall is being done of the High School. Mr. Davis would like a report on where we are with Fairfield Hills and he would like the
additional costs quantified. Mr. Davis will contact the appropriate Town officials offline.
NEW BUSINESS.
Presentation by Lyme Disease Task Force (Attachment B to original minutes). Dr. Thomas Draper discussed tick born diseases and noted that we must manage the deer population. Maggie Shaw is Co-Chairman of the Lyme Disease Task Force. She asked the Legislative Council to develop a public health plan. She discussed Lyme and other tick born diseases. She suggested that Newtown form a town wide task force agency to help address this issue. Dave Shugarts, 19 Wendover Road, discussed managing the deer problem. Dr. Robert Grossman is Chairman of the Newtown Health District and supports a deer management program. Kim Harrison, 35 Taunton Hill Road, said that 80% of families in Newtown have had members who were bitten by deer ticks. Russ Cornelius, Brookfield Rotary, said
that Brookfield has educated the public and has sprayed for ticks. He said that HVCEO picked up Brookfield’s model. He said that the Brookfield Task Force implemented this policy with the tacit approval of the Board of Selectmen who had a public hearing. He said that the Conservation Commission has the power to administer this program in Brookfield. Ms. Shaw said Ridgefield had a referendum. Mr. Rodgers noted that the first step of the Legislative Council will be to obtain a report from the Director of Health. He asked First Selectman Borst to report to the Legislative Council after the Director of Health reports to the Board of Selectmen.
Presentation by Deputy Land Use Director for Conservation concerning the financial impact of open space purchases by the Town of Newtown (Attachment C to original minutes). Mr. Sibley noted that a requirement of the 2005 bonding resolution is that a review of the open space bond be presented to the Legislative Council periodically. He discussed open space that has been purchased and is under contract and the financial impact on the Town.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
Discussion concerning the Fairfield Hills Authority Ordinance. Mr. Davis said that a review of the Ordinance is requested to see if this is the right way to continue. Mrs. Murray said that we have taken the people out of the equation. Mr. Pennarola does not feel that we can modify the ordinance to have the members elected rather than appointed. He noted that the Charter Revision Commission elected not to bring the Fairfield Hills Authority into the Charter. Mr. Lyddy feels that the ordinance should be sent to the Ordinance Committee for review. Mrs. Llodra has no inclination to send this to the Ordinance Committee unless she knows if this is for review or change. Mr. Hemingway is not inclined to send it to Ordinance and does not want to make the Authority political. Mr. Capeci feels that the Fairfield Hills
Authority is about executing the Master Plan and is not the body to address financial issues. He does not support sending it to the Ordinance Committee. Mr. Aurelia feels that electing the Fairfield Hills Authority will create partisanship and that the Authority has no agenda now. Mrs. Brookes feels that there is no compelling reason to send this to Ordinance. Mr. DiCandido has heard criticism but no solutions. Mr. Rodgers said that the special act of the State Legislature circumvented the Charter intentionally.
Mr. Rodgers asked for a show of hands of those in favor of sending the proposed amendment to the Fairfield Hills Authority Ordinance to the Ordinance Committee. Three replied in the affirmative: Mrs. Murray, Mr. Davis and Mr. Lyddy. The proposed amendment was not referred to the Ordinance Committee.
Discussion concerning budget and Capital Improvement Plan processes will be tabled.
Discussion concerning expenses for maintenance of municipal and school facilities will be tabled.
VOTER PARTICIPATION.
Rob Sibley, Deputy Director of Land Use, said that there was a lot of misinformation from the Lyme Disease Task Force and much of their information was erroneous. He said that Newtown pulled its support from the Alliance.
Discussion and Possible Action: To amend the 2008/2009 CIP as such: A request from the Edmond Town Hall Managers to add $90,000 to 2008/2009 CIP for capital improvements to the kitchen to be funded from LoCIP grants. Mr. Pennarola moved to amend the 2008/2009 CIP as such: A request from the Edmond Town Hall Managers to add $90,000 to 2008/2009 CIP for capital improvements to the kitchen to be funded from LOCIP grants. Second by Mr. Capeci. Mr. Tait explained that in order to apply for state grants, the project must be in the CIP and in the future he will commit these grants in the CIP. He said that the kitchen project will be
fully funded by this grant. Motion unanimously carried.
Discussion and Possible Action: General Fund, Unreserved Fund Balance Policy will be tabled for presentation along with a debt management plan to be developed by Mr. Tait.
Discussion: Capital Improvement Plan. This item will be tabled as the Boards of Selectmen and Finance are still discussing the CIP.
VOTER PARTICIPATION. Paul Mangiafico, 15 Kent Road, said that the evidence presented by the Lyme Disease Task Force appears to be compelling and something that we need to address, but how? Concerning Mr. Sibley’s open space presentation, if the only question is should we buy or let the land be developed, we should buy. He feels that the figure of 1.5 per household is conservative. He feels that the town should not purchase property that will not be developed anyway, such as that zoned for elderly housing. He felt that Mr. Sibley’s presentation was exceptional.
Bob Geckle, 35 Queen Street, said that the Fairfield Hills Authority would like to improve communications and presents budget information at every meeting. He has met with Mr. Tait who will provide these documents to the Board of Selectmen also.
ANNOUNCEMENTS. None noted.
EXECUTIVE SESSION. Mr. DiCandido moved to executive session at 11:12 p.m. to discuss a legal matter and to invite Mr. Tait to attend. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. Executive session was exited at 11:16 p.m.
Mr. Pennarola moved to authorize the Board of Selectmen and the Zoning Enforcement Officer to institute action against John Neuhoff dba Lake Zoar Restoration LLC for zoning violations at 35 Lakeview Terrace. Second by Mrs. Murray and unanimously carried.
ADJOURNMENT. The meeting adjourned at 11:19 p.m.
Ann M. Mazur, Clerk
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