TOWN COUNCIL - Regular Meeting
Council Chambers - South Windsor Town Hall
Members Present: Mayor Edward Havens
Deputy Mayor John Pelkey
Councillor Deborah Fine
Councillor Judith Paquin
Councillor Elizabeth Pendleton
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Matthew Streeter
Councillor Roseann Williams
Also Present: Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan
Town Attorney Barry Guliano
Absent: Councillor Thomas Delnicki
The Regular Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m., was immediately recessed in order to continue the Work Session; and was reconvened at 8:30 p.m.
ITEM:
5. Public Input
State Representative William Aman was the first to speak; and came forward to present the Council and listening public with information on Governor Rell's proposed State Budget-which, he added, would be changed and adapted over the next several months.. However, he wished to provide some numbers to the Town Manager for the Town's budget preparation since, once again, the State Budget would not be voted upon by the Legislature until after the Town's Budget had been voted upon.
Rep. Aman said he wished to discuss, first of all, the "formula Grants." The ECS figure, he added, does not include items such as the money the Town gets back to help cover the cost of the bonds for the schools; some of the Special Education money that goes directly to the Board of Education; and some of the other items. Continuing, and referring to the ECS Grant, Rep. Aman reported that, Statewide, that total budget line item went up by 5%. Because South Windsor is classified as a "wealthy" Town, however, it got the minimum 2% increase on that line item.
ITEM:
5. (Continued)
Public Transportation, according to Rep. Aman, went up considerably, also; while most of the other items stayed the same.
$95,000 will be coming to the Town from the gambling casinos; and road Aid stayed at $128,000; and LoCIP Funds were "staying steady" at $164,000 for South Windsor. Most of the money, he pointed out was in the ECS; and South Windsor ends up with the formula grants of about $276,000 more coming to the Town of South Windsor this year than last year. The total formula grants to the Town of South Windsor, according to Rep. Aman, went up about 2.7%.
One of the reasons given by Gov. Rell for "holding everything at a 2% increase" or a straight formula increase is because she wishes to set up a "task force" to look at the "whole way education is funded within the State-from pre-kindergarten right up to our colleges."
Representative Aman said he is yet to meet anyone "happy with the ECS formula" no matter what community he or she is from.
Another item in the Governor's Budget for education, he said, is $15 million for laptops for 9th and 10th graders.
Rep. Aman said that he has a "survey" going out to many South Windsor residents; and, to date, has not received enough back to be statistically significant-about 75 back, to date. One of the questions he broached in his survey was "Do you feel traffic is worse, better, or about the same…." on Buckland Road. Very few, he reported, have said "worse;" about 60% replied "better;" and about 40% responded "about the same." He felt that this paid tribute to our Planning and Zoning Commission, and for our "traffic people."
Another question he asked was regarding "taxes." "Of the major taxes the State collects," he asked, "which one do you dislike the most?" He listed "sales tax," "gas tax," "Income Tax," and "Property Tax." Almost no one complained about either the "sales tax" or the "gasoline tax" (at present, at least). However, he added, almost 50% complained about the "property tax" and 50% about the "income tax."
ITEM:
5. (Continued)
On the "Probate Court" controversy discussed earlier in the year by Judge Lassman Fisher, Rep. Aman said he had given a copy of a letter he had received from Judge Lawlor with the most recent plan. He said he has asked the Town Manager and Judge Lassman Fisher to brief him back on it with regard to the estimated cost to the Town; and what the impact will be.
This concluded Rep. Aman's report to Council. Councillor Fine asked about a notation on a Building Permit received that stated that $0.16 on each dollar goes to the State for "education." She asked what exactly this was for. Rep. Aman explained that this money, as he understood it, went into a fund for "training building inspectors; remodelers, and builders."
Councillor Streeter, referring to Special Education funds, asked Rep. Aman to explain why these monies went directly into the Board of Education's Budget. Rep. Aman explained that "Special Education" is a line item in the Board of Education's Budget and that the Board is "reimbursed" these funds, by the State following a pre-determined formula. That money, he added, does not flow through the Town's Budget but is paid directly to the Board.
This year, he added, the Governor increased the total allocation for "Special Education" budget by 38%. The reason, he said, that he did not include it for the Town is because it especially impacts the children that have been institutionalized or are being taught in a school other than here in South Windsor.
Mayor Havens asked the State Representative the status of the "conveyance tax." Mr. Aman said he felt it was going to stay pretty much as it was. Mayor Havens thanked Rep. Aman for coming before Council this evening to update the Members on the Governor's Proposed Budget.
6. Environmental Health & Safety Message - None
7. Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meetings
Motion to accept the Minutes of the following Town Council meetings: Regular Meeting of January 18, 2005; Special Joint Work Session with the Board of Education of January 24, 2005; Work Session of February 7, 2005; and Public Hearing of February 7, 2005 (re. Proposed Ordinance Creating a "Town of South Windsor Medical Insurance Fund").
(Resolution Continued on Next Page)
ITEM:
7. Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meetings (Continued)
Was made by: Councillor Williams
Seconded by: Councillor Pendleton
The Motion was: Approved, unanimously
8. Public Petitions - None
9. Communications from Officers and Boards Directly Responsible to Council - None
10. Communications and Reports from Town Manager
Town Manager Matthew Galligan pointed out that a there is a Resolution on this evening's Agenda regarding the "Small Towns Economic Assistance" program. He asked that they recall that there were two (2) Grants the Town did receive in the amount of $500,000 each; and DECD has been working on that Grant to do "environmental work" under the "Connecticut Environmental Protection Act."
Mr. Galligan said that the Town did submit a new Budget, including the $1 million; and what they wished Council to do this evening, he added, was pass a Resolution to put the $1 million all "under one umbrella." This is what the Resolution proposes, he said.
On another matter, Mr. Galligan said that the Mayor has asked him to "talk about the Pension Committee a little bit. This Committee he stated was started in 1997 in order to manage the pension funds of the Town. Up to this time, and using the documents on hand, it was not possible to determine "who was the administrator of the pension fund."
The Town Manager said that since its inception, the Pension Committee has done very well-i.e., the total income derived from the Committee's investments is $1.15 million (investments from dividends, earnings, revenues, etc.) At the same time, he added, "we've had over $4.2 million in gains." The program, he informed Council has grown from a $9.2 million fund to a $14 million fund. (Mr. Galligan then explained in greater detail.)l
ITEM:
10. (Continued)
Noting that the annual "Audit Report" was attached, Mr. Galligan went on to highlight a few key areas in the Report for the Town Council. The Auditor's "Management Letter" would be forthcoming, soon, according to the Town Manager; and what he wished to do when this occurred was get the Audit Committee back together to go over this Management Letter, and then return to Council with their findings.
Mr. Galligan also reminded Council that he would be again attending the "International Council of Shopping Centers" meeting in Las Vegas the week of May 20 to May 27th.
In answer to queries by Councillor Pendleton, Mr. Galligan touched on the subjects of "Farm Building Exemptions"-to date, 11 applications have been received, of which 10 met the guidelines; and which resulted in approximately $1,909 of taxes that were reduced.
Also, he continued, the option for "Low Income Veterans' Exemptions." The total loss in taxes in this category, he said, was about $21,713. The current exemption maximum will result in, at least for these qualified cases, about $312 per case.
Councillor Pendleton asked for a copy of the Assessor's memorandum to the Town Manager; and reminded Mr. Galligan that the Assessor was to have done a study and returned to Council six months later to give some indication on how many would be applying for that exemption and/or how much it would total in terms of tax reductions. Following this interim report, Council was going to review the findings to determine if adjustments in amount of exemption were called for. She asked that an update on the program be brought before Council by June of this year.
Deputy Mayor Pelkey reported that there were a number of Capital Projects funded over the last few years that are now completed, and where there is some "left-over dollars" in those accounts. Primarily, he added, they are Board of Education Capital Projects.
ITEM:
10. (Continued)
What the Capital Projects Committee is requesting, according to the Deputy Mayor, is that those dollars be "reallocated" and added to the dollars in the Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditure Fund in order to provide monies for those "under-fund" project from last year's Capital Projects-windows in Wapping School; and some additional work required on the "High School Boiler Project."
One of the things discussed in the last several Capital Projects meetings, the Deputy Mayor said, were the number of projects that have "sat out there for 10 or 15 years" and that the Committee was now beginning to address. One of those
things would be the addition of a new "line item" that would set aside monies for the services of a (i.e.) "mechanical engineer" or "expert in a particular field" to provide advice on a particular Capital Project being considered by the Town.
Mr. Pelkey gave as an example the "windows at Wapping School. The Capital Projects Committee had identified and approved the dollar number attached to this project; however, once the Board of Education's Facilities Director had an architect had looked at the project, and engineering studies had been conducted, it was discovered that many different issues had to be dealt with, and the estimated cost escalated greatly.
In the case of the boilers in the High School, enough money had been allocated for the boilers themselves; however, when the "boiler experts" went in, they suggested that for fuel efficiency the Town ought to replumb the way the plumbing is in the school. This actually "doubled" the cost of this project, according to Deputy Mayor Pelkey. However, he said, it was determined that the "payback" to the Town proved to be worth the additional funds for this project.
Mr. Galligan added that the current problem is that if you leave it in the Budget for next year, then the projects would not be done during this Summer school break. It was then felt that if the underexpended items were taken and adjusted by the use of Capital and Nonrecurring Expenditure funds the Town could start going out to bid now; getting the bids back; awarding the bid; and getting the work started as soon as school is out for the Summer.
ITEM:
10. (Continued)
Some discussion continued regarding the window replacement project at Wapping School-including the need; the future possible use of the school; etc. It was generally felt by those members of the Capital Projects Committee that the building would probably always be used by a Town agency; and no matter who was in the school, the windows were needed.
11. Reports from Standing Committees - None
12. Reports of Temporary Committees - None
13. Communications and Petitions from Council
Councillor Williams conveyed a message to Mayor Havens from a resident who expressed to the Councillor how pleased she was with the Members of the Town Council-particularly Mayor Havens-and how the Town was being run.
Councillor Streeter reported to Council that he had received some "good feedback" on his proposal that the Town go to Referendum next November for monies to be able to purchase more Open Space. There was a general favorable impression that this was a discussion that we wanted to have. He felt that the next step was to have SWALPAC and the Open Space Task Force involved.
Councillor Fine used this time to thank the Councillors, her friends and family, and the people in Town for the thoughts and prayers they sent her way during her recent illness.
14. Public Participation - None
15. Consent Agenda
Motion to accept Agenda Items 16. A. and B. and 17. A. and B. as the Consent Agenda. Please read the dark headings, only, on the Consent Agenda Items.
Was made by: Councillor Prague
Seconded by: Deputy Mayor Pelkey
The Motion was: Approved, unanimously
ITEM:
16. Unfinished Business
*A Resolution Appointing Louise Evans (R) an Alternate to Planning and Zoning Commission
BE IT RES0LVED that the South Windsor Town Council appoints Louise Evans an Alternate to the Planning and Zoning Commission to fill the unexpired term of Gary Bazzano for a term ending November 30, 2005.
(APPROVED BY CONSENT AGENDA)
*B. Resolution Reappointing M. Terri Kyc (D) to the Economic Development Commission
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council reappoints M. Terri Kyc to the Economic Development Commission for a term ending November 30, 2008.
(APPROVED BY CONSENT AGENDA)
17. New Business
*A. Resolution Reappointing Mark A. Lillis (R) to the Building Code Board of Appeals, and the Tabling of Same
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council reappoints Mark A. Lillis to the Building Code Board of Appeals for a term ending January 1, 2010, and hereby tables the same.
(APPROVED BY CONSENT AGENDA)
*B. Resolution Appointing Frank Ferrero (R) to the Board of Assessment Appeals, and the Tabling of Same
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council appoints Frank Ferrero to the Board of Assessment Appeals for a term ending November 30, 2005, to fill the unexpired term of Cary Prague, and hereby tables the same.
(APPROVED BY CONSENT AGENDA)
ITEM:
17. New Business (Continued)
C. Resolution Approving the Closing of a Portion of Bidwell Road
WHEREAS, the J. E. Shepard Company has requested that the portion of Bidwell Road where it enters the property of J. E. Shepard Company be discontinued; and
WHEREAS, the J. E. Shepard Company has agreed to maintain this portion of roadway if it is discontinued by the Town; and
WHEREAS, the South Windsor Traffic Commission has found that the discontinuance of this portion of roadway will not create traffic or safety problems; and
WHEREAS, the plan to discontinue a portion of the roadway was submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a report pursuant to Section 8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes; and
WHEREAS, it was the consensus of the South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission that abandonment of the road stub off of Bidwell Road would be in the best interest of the Town and applicant
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council hereby approves the closing of that portion of Bidwell Road in South Windsor where it enters the property of J. E. Shepard Company.
In the interest of time, and upon the advice of the Town Attorney that this Resolution be Tabled, Deputy Mayor Pelkey read only the Motion as it appeared on the Agenda, itself, rather than the entire Resolution. Immediately following this, Councillor Fine "Moved to Table" the Motion; it was seconded by Councillor Streeter; and approved, unanimously.
ITEM:
17. New Business (Continued)
D. Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to File an Application For and Execute an Assistance Agreement with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
WHEREAS, pursuant to the "Small Towns Economic Assistance Act," the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development is authorized to extend financial assistance for economic development projects; and
WHEREAS, it is desirable and in the public interest that the Town of South Windsor make an application to the State of Connecticut for $500,000 in order to undertake the I-291 Corridor Municipal Development Project and to execute an Assistance Agreement
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council is: (1) Cognizant of the conditions and prerequisites for the State Assistance imposed by the "Small Towns Economic Assistance Act;" and (2) that the filing of an application for State financial assistance by the Town of South Windsor in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 is hereby approved; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan is directed to execute and file such application with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; to provide such additional information, to execute such other documents as may be required; to execute an Assistance Agreement with the State of Connecticut for State financial assistance if such an agreement is offered; to execute any amendments, decisions, and revisions thereto; and to act as the authorized representative of the Town of South Windsor.
Was made by: Councillor Streeter
Seconded by: Deputy Mayor Pelkey
The Motion was: Approved, unanimously
ITEM:
17. New Business (Continued)
E. Resolution Approving a Refund of Property Taxes to Sixteen (16) South Windsor Taxpayers
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council approves a refund of property taxes to sixteen (16) South Windsor taxpayers, the total of said refunds being $14,652.86 and as shown on attached Exhibit A.
Was made by: Councillor Paquin
Seconded by: Deputy Mayor Pelkey
The Motion was: Approved, unanimously
F. Resolution Setting a Time and Place for a Public Hearing to Receive Citizen Input on the Transfer of $75,000 from the Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditures Account to the Capital Projects Account
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council hereby sets Monday, March 7, 2005, at 7:45 p.m., in the Council Chambers of the South Windsor Town Hall, 1540 Sullivan Avenue, South Windsor, Connecticut as the time and place for a Public Hearing to receive citizen input on the transfer of $75,000 from the Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditures Account to the Capital Projects Account, as follows:
$30,000 - for boilers at the High School
$45,000 - to replace windows at Wapping Elementary School
Was made by: Councillor Pendleton
Seconded by: Deputy Mayor Pelkey
The Motion was: Approved, unanimously
ITEM:
18. Passage of Ordinance
A. Resolution Adopting Ordinance Creating a "Town of South Windsor Medical Insurance Fund."
BE IT RESOLVED that the South Windsor Town Council hereby adopts An Ordinance Creating a "Town of South Windsor Medical Insurance Fund" as shown on attached Exhibit B, a copy of which Ordinance is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.
Was made by: Councillor Paquin
Seconded by: Deputy Mayor Pelkey
Town Attorney Barry Guliano interrupted to remind the Councillors that he has been contacted several times by the Board of Education's attorneys in an effort to "resolve all of the questions, clarifications, and issues" associated with this proposed Ordinance; However, he was suggesting this evening that this Resolution be "Tabled" until such time as a "final agreement" has been reached with the Board of Education, and their attorney.
Deputy Mayor Pelkey then moved to Table the Resolution; the Motion was seconded by Councillor Fine; and approved, unanimously.
19. Communications and Petitions from Council (Continued) - None
20. Executive Session - To discuss pending claims and litigation.
Councillor Paquin moved to go into Executive Session to discuss pending claims and litigation. The Motion was seconded by Councillor Fine. Atty. Guliano explained that the reason for the Executive Session was to inform the Council of a case recently discussed at a Freedom of Information Hearing - namely, Gerlt vs. the Town Council.
ITEM:
21. Motion to Adjourn
Immediately following the conclusion of the Executive Session at 9:45 p.m., a Motion to Adjourn was made by Councillor Paquin; duly seconded; and approved, unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia R. Brown
Clerk of the Council
Attmts. (Exhibits A. and B.)
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