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Chairperson Janice Snyder called the meeting to order at 4:36 p.m.
Members Present
Dr. Saud Anwar, Town Council (arrived at approximately 5:00 p.m.)
Dr. Kate Carter, Superintendent of Schools, Board of Education
Carol Driscoll, Board of Education (Vice-chairperson)
Matthew Galligan, Town Manager (arrived at approximately 5:00 p.m.)
Michael Gantick, Director of Public Works
Patrick Hankard, Director of Facility Services, Board of Education
Cary Prague, Town Council (arrived at approximately 5:00 p.m.)
Janice Snyder, Town Council (Chairperson)
Members Absent
Chris Chemerka, Director of Finance and Operations, Board of Education
Richard Stahr, Board of Education
Guests Present
George Caye, Park and Recreation Commissioner
Jeffrey Doolittle, Town Engineer (arrived at approximately 4:40 p.m.)
Raymond Favreau, Director of Parks and Recreation
Scott Roberts, Director of Information Technology
Walter Summers, Fire Marshal
3. Approval of Minutes Previous Meetings
Ms. Carol Driscoll made a motion to approve the October 24, 2012 Minutes; Mr. Michael Gantick seconded that motion; and it was approved unanimously.
4. Discussion Items
Strategy for Questions That Did Not Pass
Chairperson Snyder started a discussion on the three referendum items that did not pass: Recreation, Town Buildings, and Information Technology. Ms. Carol Driscoll said that the need is still there for those items, and the Committee needs to give thought to funding these projects. Mr. Michael Gantick said that putting $1.3 million each year into the Capital Projects Budget would fund those three items after three years. Mr. Patrick Hankard mentioned he was troubled that the generator for the High School did not pass because it was in the Town Building Referendum. The fuel cell is due to come offline in February 2013. Chairperson Snyder said the Committee needs to regroup and prioritize the breakdown of items from the three failed referendum questions, such as the generators. A two year plan
for those failed items would help to get them funded and prioritized.
Mr. Scott Roberts asked if the failed referendums would need to meet the new policy and the $100,000 criteria. Chairperson Snyder discussed with Mr. Roberts the ways to nail down the Information Technology projects and their funding. Mr. Walter Summers asked if there are projects that can be funded through capital leasing so it would not have to be incorporated into the Capital Projects Budget. Chairperson Snyder said it was possible.
Chairperson Snyder said everybody needs a two-part strategy. The failed referendum projects need to be reprioritized, and alternative funding sources need to be explored. Ms. Driscoll asked if the Committee is assuming that the Town Council will keep funding Capital Projects. Chairperson Snyder said that if the Committee puts forth a logical strategy to the Town Council, there is a good chance to get funding. Councilor Cary Prague said that there is no money, and Capital Projects gets cut because they are in control of it. Chairperson Snyder and Councilor Prague discussed Capital Projects funding and voting patterns. Ms. Driscoll asked Councilor Prague to clarify his remark about no money and said that safety issues are a priority. The Town Council would be serving the residents by making a
hard decision to raise revenues or looking into grants for funding safety items, and not having money should not stop the Committee’s momentum.
Dr. Saud Anwar suggested that packaging the failed safety items from the referendum differently would raise the rate of approval, and there should be some protected funds reserved for Capital Projects. Discussion pursued over taxes and the revaluation.
Ms. Driscoll brought the Committee discussion back to the committed funding of Capital Projects by the Town Council to preserve the infrastructure of the Town. The Committee discussed zero tax increases versus maintaining infrastructure. Town Manager Matthew Galligan said that the Town Council has to decide what an acceptable tax increase is because it will be unavoidable with the debts that are coming into the next budget for 2013-2014, and it will need to be a 9-0 decision. Chairperson Snyder said that the Capital Projects Budget should be just as important as the Town and Board of Education Budgets.
Chairperson Snyder discussed a plan to bring forward the critical items from the failed referendums to the Town Council while helping to provide funding. Town Manager Galligan said that the new Tolland Budget format that the Council voted on would show S&P and Moody’s the drop in the Capital Budget, and there would need to be answers for that drop. Councilor Prague discussed the revaluation and the tax abatements that would be ending in the future that would bring in revenue. Ms. Driscoll emphasized that the Council received a good plan from Chairperson Snyder back in July that had financing unrelated to taxes, and the Committee needs a commitment from the Council or an alternate plan with valid reasons.
Town Manager Galligan expressed his frustration with the Council’s cuts to certain budgets while other more expensive projects are proposed. Chairperson Snyder said she is frustrated that the Staff and Committee do so much work to present a logical strategy only to be rejected.
Dr. Anwar said there should be a resolution of intent to fund Capital Projects in order to get the ball rolling and put a dollar amount in a new future resolution when it has been decided. Town Manager Galligan discussed the goals and objectives for the new budget format and the fiscal cliff impacts in the future.
Chairperson Snyder charged Mr. Scott Roberts, Mr. Michael Gantick, Mr. Jeff Doolittle, and Mr. Raymond Favreau with getting her their new, prioritized lists so she can put together a plan to give to the Town Council. She continued by saying the Committee deserves to have the entire Capital Budget shown to them every quarter with the money spent, money left, and list of projects. The most important thing for the Committee to do is to keep up the momentum.
Chairperson Snyder asked Mr. Favreau if any projects on his list could be funded through the Operating Budget or if the entire list would be brought back to the Committee. Mr. Favreau said his list was a five-year list, and he could look at it again to see what needs to be accomplished in the next two years instead. The Committee decided to only keep projects that were on the failed referendums on the new project list to keep focus.
Mr. Favreau asked what the current impact of the spending freeze is. Town Manager Galligan clarified that the spending freeze is only for the Operating Budgets. Chairperson Snyder asked if Mr. Doolittle had a timetable for getting his projects out to bid. Mr. Doolittle has been working on a schedule that will break up the projects over the next three years. Mr. Gantick presented a Pavement Management Update from October 12, 2012 (Exhibit A) to the Committee.
Five-Year Plan Moving Forward
Chairperson Snyder said that the Committee should focus on getting the next two years in focus before moving on to an official Five-Year Plan.
5. New Business
Chairperson Snyder said she would like the Public Building Commission to have a seat on the Capital Projects Committee. Town Manager Galligan disagreed and said he would send a memorandum with updates instead. Mr. Gantick said that they have their own agenda and only deal with new buildings, not renovations. Mr. Patrick Hankard said that they would slow projects down, and a change in the resolution would need to be made if they would be a voting member of the Committee.
Chairperson Snyder presented correspondence from Matthew Davis (Exhibit B) from 12 Manor Lane. Town Manager Galligan agreed with the content in Mr. Davis’s letter regarding the road conditions at Avery Heights. Chairperson Snyder said that the Avery Heights area should be implemented in the Five-Year Plan when it is put together.
The Committee decided to start future Capital Projects meetings at 5:00 p.m.
6. Old Business
Mr. Patrick Hankard has almost completed the revised Individual Project Proposal Form electronically. Administrators who are working on the referendum items that did not pass should fill out the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program Individual Project Proposal when it is available from Mr. Hankard.
7. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Patrick Hankard at approximately 5:45 p.m.; the motion was seconded by Town Manager Matthew Galligan; and all were in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
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Ashley Summers
Recording Secretary
Attachments:
Exhibit A Pavement Management Update (10/12/2012)
Exhibit B Letter from Matthew J. Davis from 12 Manor Lane (11/27/2012)
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