Minutes from the Regular Meeting of the Legislative Council held in the Municipal Board Room in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, Connecticut, on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. In the absence of Chairman Rodgers who was in Washington, D.C., Vice-Chairman Francis Pennarola called the meeting to order at 7:36 pm.
PRESENT: John Aurelia, Sr., Francis Pennarola, Joseph DiCandido, Patricia Llodra, Po Murray, Daniel Amaral, Jan Brookes, Jeffery Capeci, and Gary Davis.
ABSENT: Joseph Hemingway and Chairman William Rodgers
ALSO PRESENT: First Selectman Joe Borst and Finance Director Bob Tait, 13 members of the public and newly elected council members, and 1 member of the press.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: none
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of November 4, 2009: Mr. Capeci moved to accept the minutes of the regular meeting, November 4, 2009. Mr. DiCandido seconded and the motion was approved.
COMMUNICATIONS: Mr. Pennarola informed the council that a letter was received from John Kortze, Board of Finance Chairman, indicating that the Board of Finance would like to give the CIP to the new council by December 2009 and asked that the councils’ comments be submitted to them January 2010.
Mr. Pennarola told the council a letter was received from the Chairman of the Conservation Commission to the council as well as the Board of Selectman urging the town to resist the expansion of the railroad as aggressively as possible.
Mr. Pennarola told the council that Chairman Rodgers wrote a letter to the DEP per the council’s request regarding the railroad expansion. According to Mr. Pennarola, the DEP said thank you and indicated they would retain the letter and follow the procedures that need to be done.
Furthermore, Mr. Pennarola informed members of the council that Chairman Rodgers had successfully the negations and conclusion of the teachers’ contract. The only action by council would be to reject it. However, the conclusion was that the council was in favor of it.
Finally, Mr. Pennarola passed out copies of a letter from Chairman Rodgers expressing his disappointment for not being able to attend the council’s meeting that evening.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Ordinance Committee – Mr. Pennarola announced that the legislative council had adopted the noise ordinance and sent it on to the DEP. After not hearing back from the DEP, Mr. Pennarola sent a follow-up email. According to Mr. Pennarola, DEP replied back and apologized and said they sent it up the chain and should expect to hear back from them soon.
Communications Committee – According to Mrs. Llodra, Mr. Capeci, Mr. Davis and she will be meeting on Friday, November 20, with Dr. Linda Gejda, assistant superintendent of the school system, and Jason Hiruo, assistant principal at the high school, to draft regulations around using the new facility (Municipal Board Room) for broadcasting over Channel 17.
Mrs. Llodra noted that some of the technology in the facility was being used that evening such as the newly installed screen, but indicated that not all the equipment was there yet including the projector.
FIRST SELECTMAN’S REPORT: Mr. Borst thanked members of the Legislative Council and said he enjoyed working with them over the past two years.
He finished commending the council and noting that by working together the town was able to pass the last two budgets for the first time.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Ad-Hoc Facilities Subcommittee – Before Mr. Lundquist spoke, Mr. Pennarola commented that this was essentially the end of the committee as constituted.
In a 33 minute presentation utilizing his own computer and projector, Mr. Lundquist enlightened members of the council, the public (which included incoming council members) and the press with the exhaustive work the committee had undertaken.
He noted that the project gave the committee a chance to take a look “under the hood” at the detailed mechanics of the functions of the town and the Board Of Education. He said the results were very positive and very evolving, and showed that facilities management takes up 20% of the overall budget.
Members on the committee included council members Mrs. Llodra, Mrs. Brookes, Mr. Amaral, and Mr. Lundquist, as well as Jim Gaston of the Board of Finance, LeRein Frampton, and Robert Merola.
Mr. Lundquist said the committee conducted detailed interviews throughout the town and met 16 times since last March. He said the committee’s first focus was to merge the maintenance departments which would lead to a greater cost savings, but they found that there was already a great collaboration across the group in regards to use of resources. He cautioned that this culture of collaboration is reliant on individuals with a similar mindset.
In addition, Mr. Lundquist touched on several areas of the committee’s focus which included centralizing the software, centralized purchasing, and maintenance tracking. He also noted in the appendix of their report that the committee suggests that the town undertake a municipal facilities assessment, do an analysis of the grant writing, focus on the future use of the Edmond Town Hall since it no longer houses the town offices, and review the status of the council’s Ad-Hoc Facilities Committee, as there is more work to be done. The committee recommended that the Ad-Hoc committee become a permanent committee within the council and should even have a paid clerk. In addition they recommended that a new facilities committee under the Board of Selectman be created.
According to Mrs. Llodra, it was the sub-committee’s intention that the council accepted the report with the intention of passing it on to the next council.
First Selectman Joe Borst thanked the Ad-Hoc subcommittee for doing an excellent job.
Mr. DiCandido also commended the subcommittee on doing an excellent job, but raised concerns about how items make it to the CIP citing an example the subcommittee uncovered that saved the town over $80,000.
Mr. Pennarola entertained the motion to accept the report of the Ad-Hoc facilities Committee and recommend the successors in December carefully review with an eye towards enacting and implementing its recommendations as they deem appropriate. Mr. Capeci moved to accept the motion. Ms. Murray seconded and the motion was unanimously approved following a brief discussion.
Mr. Davis recommended that the committee put the entire report together with all supporting documents and minutes of the meetings be placed in a binder for every member of the council.
Mr. Lundquist indicated that all the minutes were posted, but that he would put all 80 pages of the report into binders as requested.
Discussion of CIP, budget and other legislative functions- Mr. DiCandido said that he had an effective meeting on Nov. 11, 2009 whether CIP recommendations proposed by Mr. Davis and Ms. Murray should be forwarded to the council.
According to Mr. DiCandido, they determined that some were already implemented and some valid items should be moved over to the new council.
He added that at their meeting Ms. Murray made a motion the CIP be considered by the new council and the motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Davis added that what was in the document came out of discussions they had since the summer.
Ms. Murray moved that the council accept their recommendation as presented. Mr. Aurelia seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.
Regarding the Ad-Hoc Facilities Subcommittee - Ms. Murray suggested that the new council review the facilities subcommittee and all the work it can do.
Ms. Brookes noted that many of the other subcommittees aren’t as active because they lack the determination
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: none
ANNOUNCEMENTS: none
POSSIBLE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LEGAL MATTERS, LAND,
PURCHASES, EMPLOYEE MATTERS: none
ADJOURNMENT: Having no further business, Vice-Chairman Pennarola asked for a motion to adjourn.
Mrs. Llodra moved to adjourn the meeting at 9 pm. Mr. Pennarola seconded and the motion was unanimously carried.
(Note members of the Legislative Council beginning in December will be as follows: Jan Andras, George Ferguson III, John Aurelia Sr., Kevin Fitzgerald, Chris LaRocque, Richard Woycik, Mary Ann Jacob, Gary Davis, Jeffrey Capeci, Benjamin Spragg, Daniel Amaral and James Scott Belden.)
Ted Swigart, Clerk
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