The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting on February 2, 2004 in the meeting room at the C. H. Booth Library, Main Street, Newtown, CT. First Selectman Rosenthal called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
PRESENT: First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, Selectman Joseph Bojnowski, Selectman William Brimmer
ALSO PRESENT: Finance Director Ben Spragg, Town Engineer Ron Bolmer, Council member Joseph Hemingway, 7 members of public, one member of press, one member of WLAD ratio
VOTER PARTICIPATION: Barbara O’Connor, 36 Littlebrook Lane – sat in on previous budget meetings and had comments - “just because other towns pay certain salaries doesn’t mean we have to”. Feels town employees should contribute more to health insurance. We should try to keep the old voting machines, not buy new ones. Consider extending recycling pickup to every two weeks. The Library Board increase requested was too much.
Mr. Rosenthal responded that the voting machine issue is still up in the air as to what the State will do as part of a federal mandate whereby all machines have to have a printing capability.
Ms. Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill Road, feels that a poll for the Fairfield Hills Master Plan should include aspects of the Plan rather than the Plan in full.
Mr. John Neuhoff, 63 Lakeview Terrace, built a new house and had the driveway apron measured from the center of road however due to curve of road, the driveway apron is slightly short. He cannot get a contractor to come back out for such a tiny extension of the asphalt. He would like to request that the Board of Selectmen release his bond. This will be taken up later in the agenda.
Mr. Doug Ross, 114 Underhill Road, asked about further budget meetings. First Selectman Rosenthal advised that the Board of Finance will hold a public hearing on the second Wednesday in March, as per Town Charter. For capital projects in the budget, there are public hearings or Town Meetings depending on whether Planning & Zoning approval is needed. Capital projects over $150,000 need Town Meeting approval which gives the public another opportunity to speak and to vote. Mr. Ross asked about the money being spent for beautification of Sandy Hook Center? Mr. Rosenthal replied that the project is in the Capital Improvement Plan and we expect to receive $475,000 in state funding to cover engineering and the beginning of construction. We
are also requesting $600,000 in Federal grant money. At some point, the town’s share will be $150,000 but that is not in the current budget. Mr. Ross wants to propose a waterline to his neighborhood to serve 55 homes on less than ½ acre.
COMMUNICATIONS: None
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: Upon motion by Selectman Brimmer, the minutes of the 1/20/04 and the 1/26/04 meetings were accepted as presented.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Maintenance Bond Release, Mountain Manor Road, Resubdivision of High Meadow Farm Associates, Mountain Manor Estates, Resubdivision of Portion of Lot 10, four lots, 11.464 acres
Town Engineer Ron Bolmer advised that he was unable to determine costs for this road due to weather conditions. This will be on next agenda.
2004/2005 Budget – Amos House
Ms. Gladys McFarland was present from Amos House. This account was tabled during a previous budget deliberation meeting in order to receive financial statements which are now available. Ms. McFarland explained that after 9/11, donations dropped off and they had to tap into their reserve account. This will be taken up later in the meeting during the budget deliberations.
Fairfield Hills Master Plan
First Selectman Rosenthal advised that this is being kept on the agenda for every meeting until the Board of Selectmen come up with the final changes to the Plan. For the past two weeks, the Selectmen have been working on the budget. This will be on the next agenda.
Road Bond Reduction, Winton Farm Road and Short Hill Road, “Winton Farms, Phase III” Subdivision
Selectman Bojnowski moved to approve Road Bond Reduction, Winton Farm Road and Short Hill Road, “Winton Farms, Phase III” Subdivision from $464,000 to $150,000, upon recommendation of Town Engineer. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Driveway Bond Releases/Extensions
Selectman Bojnowski moved to approve driveway bonds as outlined on Attachment A. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Selectman Bojnowski moved to approve one six-month driveway extension as outlined on Attachment A. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Acceptance of property from State of Connecticut
First Selectman Rosenthal advised that the Board of Selectmen have not yet formally accepted the property being offered by the State of Connecticut, in addition to the Fairfield Hills property which the town is purchasing.
Selectman Brimmer moved to accept from the State of Connecticut - 21 acres along Deep Brook, 37.5 acres on Commerce Road, 4 acres on Oakview Road and five houses on Mile Hill Road South, as part of the negotiations to purchase Fairfield Hills and subject to an 8-24 Mandatory Referral to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Appointments/Reappointments
Selectman Brimmer moved reappointment as outlined on Attachment B. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
January Tax Refunds
Selectman Brimmer moved to approve January Tax Refunds in the amount of $11,985.46. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
2004/2005 Budget
Account 105 Selectmen Other
Selectman Brimmer moved Account 105 Selectmen Other in the amount of $1,021,732. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
As a result of discussions during the previous meetings, several items have been removed from the non-recurring line item, decreasing the amount from $620,924 to $313,798. Selectmen Rosenthal advised removing another $16,456 from the Emergency Communications requests and applying for LoCIP grant money to cover.
Selectman Bojnowski moved to AMEND by decreasing line item 01105-2013 Non-recurring from $620,924 to $290,982. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED ($691,790) UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED
Account 230 Town Hall Board of Managers
Selectman Brimmer moved to reduce Account 230 Town Hall Board of Managers from $150,000 to $125,000. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 310 Police Department
First Selectman Rosenthal recommends removing the AS-400 Upgrade ($55,600) and applying for LoCIP funds.
Selectman Brimmer moved to reduce line item 01310-5080 Capital to $8,960. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Selectman Bojnowski moved to reduce line item 01310-5002 Patrol Cars to $78,800. Motion seconded and carried: 2 YES (Brimmer, Bojnowski) – 1 NO (Rosenthal) This eliminates one patrol car from the request for three.
Selectman Brimmer moved total Account 310 Police Department in the amount of $3,157,372. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 170 Town Clerk
It was decided not to approve the request for an increase in hours for part-time help.
Selectman Brimmer moved to decrease line item 01170-1002 Assistant Town Clerks to $109,713.00. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Selectman Brimmer moved total Account 170 Town Clerk in the amount of $244,268. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 330 Emergency Management/Dive Team
Selectman Brimmer moved to recommend to Board of Finance to remove $8,000 from line item 01330-2031 Education if it is found that the town will not be reimbursed for town-wide training exercise. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Selectman Bojnowski moved to decrease line item 01330-5080 Capital to $2,915. Motion seconded and carried: 2 YES (Brimmer, Bojnowski) – 1 NO (Rosenthal) This eliminates the request for two extenda-lites, brackets and dry suits.
Selectman Brimmer moved total Account 330 Emergency Management/Dive Team in the amount of $25,283. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 580 Debt Service
First Selectman Rosenthal advised that this debt service amount includes $300,000 for the $4 million borrowing for Board of Education climate control engineering; $21,750 for the $290,000 Board of Education Hawley School climate control project; $75,000 for $1 million in open space; $75,000 for $1 million borrowing for the Commerce Road Technology Park; and $525,000 for the second installment of $7 million for Fairfield Hills. He suggests reducing the Fairfield Hills borrowing from $7 million to $3 million during the upcoming fiscal year for demolition and remediation and not borrowing for the Commerce Road Technology Park since it will not be ready during the fiscal year. This would reduce the debt service by $375,000. He then suggests adding $40,000 in debt service to borrow $200,000 for the Parks
& Recreation maintenance building and to borrow $320,000 for the pumper truck then remove the purchase of these items from the budget.
Selectman Bojnowski moved to reduce Account 580 Debt Service by $335,000 (to$8,055,057). Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 320 Fire Departments
Selectman Brimmer moved to reduce line item 01320-5080 Capital by $320,000. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. (This removes the request for a new pumper)
Selectman Brimmer moved total Account 320 Fire Department in the amount of $893,820. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 550 Parks & Recreation
Selectman Bojnowski moved to reduce line item 01550-5080 Capital by $200,000. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. (This removes the $200,000 for a maintenance building that was put into borrowing).
Selectman Bojnowski moved total Account 550 Parks & Recreation in the amount of $1,438,206. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 435 Amos House
Selectman Brimmer moved to take motion from table to approve Account 435 Amos House in the amount of $3,300. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Account 505 State Aid Roads
Selectman Brimmer moved to reduce Account 505 State Aid Roads to –0-. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
This item is being removed from the budget because it is a “wash item” that shows up under expenses and under revenue. It is only a “guess” as to how much money we will receive each year from the state.
Account 300 Communications
Selectman Brimmer moved to increase line item 01300-4034 Equipment Rental by $1,440. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. (This includes cell phone service for phones approved in the non-recurring account).
Account 500 Highway
Selectman Bojnowski moved to decrease line 01500-5081 Capital Roads by $30,000 ($1,820,000). Motion seconded and carried: 2 YES (Brimmer, Bojnowski) – 1 NO (Rosenthal)
Selectman Brimmer moved total Account 500 Highway in the amount of $5,448,599. Motion seconded and carried: 2 YES (Brimmer, Bojnowski) – 1 NO (Rosenthal)
Total Budget
Selectman Brimmer moved a Total 2004/2005 Selectmen’s Budget in the amount of $31,811,790. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
This represents an increase of $1,781,775 or 5.9% over the current fiscal year Selectmen’s budget.
Legal Matters
Selectman Brimmer moved to enter executive session to discuss legal matters and to invite the Finance Director and clerk to attend. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Meeting entered executive session at 10:00 pm and returned to open session at 10:05 pm.
Selectman Brimmer moved to authorize legal action against Mr. Christopher Mocarski, Birch Hill Road for enforcement of zoning regulations. Motion seconded and unanimously carried.
Adjournment: Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:07 pm.
Jan Andras, Clerk
Attachment A: Driveway Bond Releases/Extensions
Attachment B: Appointments/Reappointments
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