Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Legislative Council
Held in the Board Room in the Newtown Municipal Center,
3 Primrose Street, Newtown, Connecticut
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
* Minutes are not finalized until approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Chairman Jeffrey Capeci called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm.
PRESENT: George Ferguson III, Ben Spragg, James Belden, Dan Amaral, Jan Andras, Gary Davis, Rich Woycik, James Belden, Bob Merola, Kathryn Fetchick, Mary Ann Jacob, and Chairman Jeff Capeci
ABSENT: Kevin Fitzgerald
ALSO PRESENT: First Selectman Patricia Llodra, Finance Director Bob Tait, Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) Chairman John Reed, Charter Revision Commission (CRC) members May Shilo, John Godin and Chairman Bill Lavery, 3 members of the press and 6 members of the public.
VOTER PARTICIPATION: Barbara O’Connor, 36 Little Brook Lane, said she would appreciate whoever speaks if they would lean into the microphone because if they don’t it doesn’t work.
To keep Dr. Reed of FHA and members of the CRC from waiting, Chairman Capeci moved their matters up on the agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
Progress Report by John Reed of the Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) on the Implementation of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan (FHMP) – Mr. Reed told the Council he was very grateful for his chance to be on FHA and work on the Master Plan, but said he was sorry it took a while to get together with the Council. Before beginning he made sure all members of the Council had a copy of the 26-page FHA report titled Fairfield Hills Authority Master Plan Execution Current Update – July 2010.”
Dr. Reed said one of the personal goals he had was to continue to work to renew integration of Fairfield Hills Campus with the Town structure. He said there were two models: 1) Fairfield Hills could be a Town within a Town which would lead to a different budget structure 2) Integration of Responsibility which starts with Communication.
INTEGREGATION-
According to the FHA Chairman, they made the decision to meet monthly; and he and Mrs. Llodra met with members of the Police Department (PD), Public Works, and Park and Recreation.
He said integration is a good idea and cited the example of a recent pick and drop off parking problem at Newtown Youth Academy. Dr. Reed explained that people were parking everywhere in front of the building when it was time to pick up their children. He noted that FHA asked if they could get no parking signs up on the Fairfield Hills Campus and reached out to the various agencies – the PD, Public Works, and Park and Rec.
SECURITY -
The FHA Chairman told Council members that ultimately what emanated out of their discussions was security, noting that they had abandoned buildings with a great potential for a various things to happen. He informed them that breaking and entering continues to be a problem
According to Dr. Reed, Mrs. Llodra asked Police Chief Michael Kehoe if it would be possible for the department to do a safety and security analysis. He noted that the Chief thought about it and said yes. He added that the PD did a thorough analysis.
Dr. Reed said they are looking into using solar fixtures for infrared cameras and lighting He noted that they would start using the lights first to help deter incidents from occurring, and then introduce the cameras which would provide an extra measure of security and could even broadcast images to the police department.
Private Security - Regarding security, the FHA Chairman stated that FHA’s goal was to greatly reduce reliance on private security personnel. He said they have already reduced the cost from $249,000 to $89,000.
Integration of Services – According to Dr. Reed, FHA has several ideas towards the integration of services, suggesting Fairfield Hills share a landscaping contract and snow removal budget with Park and Rec and share the budget of the monitoring of electricity with Public Works.
PD Supervising Security – Dr. Reed noted that the past leadership discussed with the PD the idea of taking a more active role supervising which would lead to a better relationship with the PD and security guards with regards to the service of the community. He informed the Council that the Engineering House on the campus would serve as a police substation.
DEVELOPMENT –
According to Dr. Reed development was a very important part of the plan. He said there have been about 12 serious inquires looking at Fairfield Hills, but he stressed that FHA didn’t want to commit any one option without looking at the whole picture.
Challenges – The FHA Chairman noted that there were several challenges that exist today in regards to development which including the economy and the cost of rehabilitating the existing structures.
Following his presentation, Dr. Reed fielded questions from the Council for the next twenty minutes.
Mr. Woycik noted that in regards to an emergency response center phase one was the Ambulance Station, phase two was the possibility of a Police Department but he asked if there was any possibility of a Fire Station. Dr. Reed noted that the Fire Department wants no part of it.
Mr. Davis thanked Dr. Reed for his informative presentation and gave him credit his restraint and the approach they are taking.
Mr. Amaral asked if any outlets looked the buildings and asked if the considered making a building like the Cochran House into apartments. Dr. Reed noted the issue of apartments had been raised and there could be a market for them; but, in summary, he suggested that residents have been divided when it comes to the issue.
Mrs. Jacob said she was confused when she heard Dr. Reed showing restraint, but heard him say he had 12 serious inquiries that vaporized. She noted for the record that turning away revenue was a waste and she said she hopes the review committee would consider that and act more quickly.
Mrs. Llodra indicated that she hopes the review committee will conclude their review in a couple of months.
Chairman Capeci thanked Dr. Reed for his presentation
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Discussion and possible action on: Charter Revision Commission (CRC) Draft Report – After binders containing the CRC’s Draft Report were handed out to the entire Council, CRC Chairman Bill Lavery began explaining that the Commission was faced with three choices and chose the third choice because they thought it was best for the Town government
The three choices were as follows:
- A Bifurcated budget or not.
- Nothing
- Whether the budget was rejected because it was too high or too low
Mrs. Jacob thanked them all for their hard work. She asked if it was available to the public.
Mr. Lavery quipped that they handed in everything at 11:57 on December 15, 2010 just as they were told, getting a chuckle from the Council and those in attendance.
Mrs. Jacob asked if the report could be made electronically available.
Chairman Capeci noted that the report was quite large and he commended the Town Clerks Office for putting together the binders.
Ms. Fetchick questioned what the problems of bifurcated budget were. Mr. Lavery noted that Watertown had a bifurcated budget and it was a disaster. He added that they thought it was the worst thing in the world.
Mrs. Jacob asked if any of the Town’s thought the bifurcated budget was beneficial. Mr. Lavery said two or three wealthy larger Town’s that didn’t carry a lot controversy like Weston and Westport.
Mr. Lavery informed the Council that when he first came to Town he had to petition to get a referendum.
Mr. Ferguson believes the report should be made available with desk copies in the municipal office and the library.
Mr. Lavery said it was pleasant experience as one of the seven members of the CRC, noting that everyone respected the opinions of others and everything was done civilly
Mr. Spragg indicated that the Town currently votes on the entire budget. With this voters have the choice to vote “Yes” or to vote “No” the budget is too high or “No” the budget is too low. He added that with a referendum vote you need 15% of electorate to affirm it which is approximately 2500 voters.
Mr. Spragg asked if there was a date in mind. Mrs. Llodra that the registrars have already ID a date for the referendum. She said they worked backwards from April 26 the actual date of the budget referendum so their looking at March.
Chairman Capeci suggested a date of Wednesday, January 26, 2011, with a hearing at 7 pm and a meeting immediately following the hearing. He thanked the CRC for all their work.
APPROVAL of the MINUTES of the regular meeting December 15, 2011
Mr. Spragg moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting December 15, 2011 as corrected. Mr. Amaral seconded and the motion was carried. Mr. Belden abstained as he was not present at the meeting.
Corrections/ Amendments:
Mrs. Jacob offered the following: Page 1, under Voter Participation, 2nd paragraph, 1st sentence - should read “First, the Chairman indicated that for the second year the auditor addressed the Town side and raised questions regarding the Board of Education side. Page 1, under Voter Participation, 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence – should read, “He stressed the Board of Finance has been very vocal on the issues of transfers and noted that the BOE passed a motion to eliminate transfers.” Page 1, under Voter Participation, 3rd paragraph, item 1 – should read, “The audit report refers to last year’s budget and specifically states the BOE is in
violation of its own policy and State Statute.” Page 2, under Voter Participation, 2ndt sentence should read, “He noted that a ramification of management letter that was drafted and added that the auditors say that it is in violation of the statute and if nothing else is done it will rise to a Letter of Finding.
Chairman Capeci offered the following changes: Page 2, under First Selectman’s Report, State of the State - the figure should be $3.5 billion, not $3.5 million; and the following sentence should read, “She added that the unemployment fund is nearly insolvent Page 4, 2nd to last paragraph, 2nd sentence – should read, “He added that he wants to know why the two Council observers voted against the contract without bringing their concern to the Council earlier.” Page 5, under New Business, fifth sentence from the end beginning with “Mr. Hurley” - the last word of the sentence should be “right.”
The Chairman noted the following corrections to Mr. Ferguson’s minutes on page 1, 2nd line - “Chairman Capeci expressed concern. . .” 4th sentence – delete the word “huge”. 7th paragraph, 1st sentence – “Mr. Fitzgerald said that. . .” 8th paragraph, 1st sentence - should read, “Mr. Davis expressed his desire not to reject the contract . . .” 9thparagraph, 1st sentence – should begin with, “Mr. Ferguson”. 2nd sentence - place “leaders” to
“leader’s”. Page 2, last sentence – replace “educators” with “educator’s”. Finally, Chairman Capeci indicated that the first motion by Mr. Spragg on page 1 was approved by a vote of 6 to 4 with 1 member abstaining.
Mr. Davis offered the following changes: Page 5, third paragraph, 1st sentence - replace the word “loan’ with “lone”. 2nd sentence – replace 2% with 2.5%. Page 5, sentence beginning with Mr. Hurley – change the word “pricing” to “price”.
Mr. Spragg offered the following correction to the last motion on page 6 indicating it should read, “Mrs. Jacob made a motion to refer to the Finance Committee the Newtown Comprehensive Annual Fiscal Report for the Year Ending June 30, 2010. Mr. Ferguson seconded and the motion was unanimously carried.”
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Education Committee – Ms. Fetchick announced there would be a meeting held the following day at 4pm in Conference Room 1 of the Municipal Center. The larger budget issues would be discussed
Finance Committee – Mr. Spragg reported that the Finance Committee had met that evening and noted that their original meeting scheduled for December 27, 2010 was cancelled due to the storm. He informed everyone that their next meeting would be held next Tuesday, January 11, 2011, at the Town Hall on Main Street. Mr. Spragg indicated that they would meet with Rob Sibley, Deputy Director of Planning and Land-Use, about Open Space because there was money in the CIP for Open Space.
FIRST SELECTMAN’S REPORT:
Storm - Mrs. Llodra began by reporting the breakdown of the costs involved in the latest snow storm. She added that out of the five winter events that have occurred so far this last one was the most significant. She warned the Council that the Town needs to watch this very carefully. She informed the Council that in this last storm it cost the Town $25,291.82 in overtime with a total cost of $60,630.85.
Mrs. Llodra explained that they plan for OT in the winter budget and added that the Town is ok but not great.
Permits – The First Selectman indicated that the Town is heading in a positive direction. She added that the pattern continues to be in the right direction and noted that in terms of value we received $600,000 more than last year and $1.3 million over 2008.
EDC – Mrs. Llodra reported that the EDC recently did a comprehensive business survey and will be meeting with the Board of Selectmen on January 18, 2011 and want to meet with the Council right after that.
United Water – The First Selectman informed Council members that the Town still continues to meet with United Water and reminded them that the DPUC held its final hearing. She added that DPUC will be making a Draft Decision that is subject to discussion and further appeal.
Commissioner Woycik asked the First Selectman how likely it was that the local Brookfield solution will not be approved by DPUC. Mrs. Llodra responded that she thinks it’s not acceptable to DPUC due to time it would take to execute.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (continued):
Discussion and possible action on: Newtown Comprehensive Annual Fiscal Report for Year Ending June 30, 2010 – tabled
NEW BUSINESS (continued:
Recommendation for the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) – Mr. Davis moved the Legislative Council accept the recommendations of the Administrative Committee entitled “Recommendation for Plan of Conservation and Development” to then be forwarded upon their approval to the Planning Commission and First Selectmen for their consideration. Mr. Belden seconded.
According to Mr. Davis, one of their goals as members of the Committee and Legislative Council was to find out what they could do to encourage further Long Range Planning.
Ms. Fetchick, who served on the Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) and furnished its report to the Town in 2008 (See LRPC Report attached with these minutes.), enlightened the Council on their history. She noted that the LRPC addressed a lot of similar things to the POCD and always felt the LRPC report could be used as a jumping off point. Ms. Fetchick said they found some Departments typically took the plan and put it on the shelf and that it wasn’t an active document. She explained to Council members that the Sandy hook Streetscape project was in the plan of development years ago. Additionally, she noted school was not actively participating with the plan of development and somehow they needed to meld the schools strategic plan with the Plan of Conservation and Development,
which is really a land use document and not so much a planning tool for the Town.
Ms. Fetchick outlined the ideal plan of development. She suggested they look at the document that is written up and tie the financial data to the plans they want to start; put someone in charge which is responsible for it; establishing timelines, adding personnel requirements and tie it to the CIP. Additionally, Mrs. Fetchick suggested they make it more goal oriented and she suggested, after talking to a lot of other towns, they need to address the need to divide resources to move everybody along.
Mrs. Llodra indicated that the Board of selectman is trying to develop an implementation plan. She reminded Council members that the roll of the Legislative Council is as the final arbiter of the CIP.
She added that the Town’s Development in all its aspects is how it uses its land and said she thinks Planning and Zoning will find POCD useful.
Chairman Capeci called for a vote and the motion was unanimously approved.
VOTER PARTICIPATION: none
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
First, Chairman Capeci announced that at their next meeting they would hold hearing before the meeting at 7 pm on the Health Insurance and Fire Lanes ordinances. He asked everyone who could attend to please do so as they need a quorum.
Second, he announced that Mrs. Jacobs was unanimously voted to be Chair of the Ordinance Committee at the Committees’ meeting earlier that evening.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mrs. Jacob made the motion to adjourn at 9:53 pm. Mr. Ferguson seconded and the motion was unanimously carried.
Ted Swigart, Clerk
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