TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION
COUNCIL CHAMBERS November 21, 2005
SOUTH WINDSOR TOWN HALL Time: 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Streeter called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Mayor Matthew Streeter
Deputy Mayor Thomas Delnicki
Councillor Edward Havens
Councillor Kevin McCann
Councillor Tim Moriarty
Councillor John Pelkey
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Keith Yagaloff
Members Absent: Councillor Deborah Fine
Also Present: Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan
(No Town Attorney Present)
3. Public Participation None
5. Town Manager’s Report
Stating that former Deputy Mayor John Pelkey had, at the last meeting, raised a question about “training;” Town Manager Matthew Galligan informed Council that another meeting has been held on the NIMS Program, and by the end of 2005, “all management people will be trained at their appropriate levels” as far as NIMS is concerned. Following this, he added, all “rank and file” employees should be finished up by February of 2006.
Mr. Fred Shaw, he added, is working with the various agencies and in-house departments to see that this training is completed. Mr. Galligan said that everyone felt it had acquired “a lot of information” and there should be no problems with this program.
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 2
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
On another matter, the Town Manager pointed out that, on this evening’s Agenda, was a Resolution for a Public Hearing to approve funds for reconstructing three (3) roofs at Police Headquarters. The main roof, he added, has already been done; however, it has now become necessary to replace the three metal roofs at an estimated cost of $17,000.
Mr. Galligan reminded Council that it had appointed an “Interim Town Attorney”—namely, Robinson & Cole (the Town’s Bond Counsel); and the Town is now looking at what is referred to as a “blended rate” of $195.00 per hour. Robinson & Cole, he added, said they would give the Town a 15% discount on other litigation items; and also, in other areas where a “full fledged attorney” would not be needed, they may be using “associates and paralegals.”
After having spoken to other Towns such as Glastonbury and others with fulltime attorneys, he was informed that some of them were running about $200 to $210 per hour. However, in some cases, the fees were running about $180/hour; however, in those cases, the firms are contracted for two years and have varying fees for litigation—depending upon the size of the case being litigated.
Continuing, Mr. Galligan said that staff members of Robinson & Cole have been in Town Hall for the last three or four days; have removed a lot of records, prioritized them; and put them in place to move forward. And, as of tomorrow, pre-trail conferences were commencing. He felt that, to date, Robinson & Cole have done a good job putting things in order. The firm also felt that any attorneys already working on Town business (such as Atty. Steve Penney and Atty. Fahey) should continue to work on those things they had already begun. The Town Manager agreed; and cited those cases on which each attorney was presently engaged as the Town’s legal representative.
Referring to a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting, Mr. Galligan said there was a good deal of concern about “signage.” “It seems to be a big issue with the Chamber,” he opinioned, and they had decided to have a “First Friday Forum” on December 2 at which “signage” would be discussed.
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 3
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
On December 5, he added, Director of Planning Marcia Banach will meet with the Chamber committee and, basically, provide information on what you “can” and “cannot” do with the present signage. After this, according to the Town Manager, the Chamber will try to develop a list of new regulations that may be more palatable to the business community; and then present it to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mr. Galligan next reported that the Town’s Ordinances are “now on the Town’s website.”
Councillor McCann questioned the life of the roofs on the Police facility. He asked if there was a particular problem with those roofs. Mr. Galligan said that, according to his staff people in that facility, those roofs “haven’t been correct for the past 15 years.” Whether it was due to their design, or installation, it was never clearly defined.
Deputy Mayor Pelkey, also referring to the roofs at the Police facility, asked what has been done to prevent further damage—covered with tarps, or what—Mr. Galligan said that, presently, as they await the needed repair, and in certain areas, they have been seal-coated with a “spray.” However, he added, this is a temporary measure and permanent repair should be done before snow can be allowed to accumulate on those roofs.
Councillor. Pelkey asked if it is possible, under the operating costs of the Police Department, to just “go ahead and get the roofs fixed and then have the Public Hearing to receive the allocation from Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditure Account and put it back into the “Operating Costs” of the Police Department. The Councillor felt that, this way, time was not lost before those roofs were repaired prior to winter’s snow and ice.
Mr. Galligan said it is possible to do that; however, you run the risk of spending money that might possibly not be approved by Council.
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 4
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
Councillor Pelkey then asked about the method that “legal matters” will be run through the Interim Town Attorney—esp. the stipulation that any requests for legal information, opinions, etc. from Councillors be run through the Mayor prior to Robinson & Cole receiving them. He asked the Town Manager if this was the “usual procedure.” Mr. Galligan said this was a procedure he had set up, for staff, at the request of Robinson & Cole.
Staff members, he explained, would make their requests for legal assistance through the Town Manager; and, legal assistance requested by the “entire” Town Council, through approval of a Resolution, etc. would be directed to Robinson & Cole through the Mayor. Mr. Galligan went on to explain that what was feared was that “even Councillors just calling up for certain opinions which may be inappropriate at the time without the rest of the Council knowing that somebody is looking for that opinion.”
Councillor Pelkey asked Mayor Streeter if this was something the Mayor had agreed to with the Town Manager. Mayor Streeter replied that this was what was agreed to when he met with Robinson & Cole. He went on to say that “Rules of the Council” already required that requests of the Town Attorney be in writing. “I will not be a ‘dam’ to prevent these from going to the Town Attorney; it will merely mean that the requests will come to the Council, through the Mayor, who will then forward them along to the Interim Town Attorney.
Councillor Pelkey said he had a problem with this method; that the Mayor was “changing the Charter, itself.” He continued by saying that the Charter states that “the duties of the Town Attorney is to be ‘legal advisor’ to the Council; and there is nothing in the Charter that states that other Councillors have to go through the Mayor to get that legal opinion—or, for that matter, ask for Council on working out Ordinances, or what have you.”
Councillor Pelkey concluded his remarks by reiterating that he would still like to know who he would contact if he needed legal guidance in working up an Ordinance, etc.
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 5
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
Mayor Streeter said that, at this juncture, he did not anticipate having direct contact with the associates (from R&C) at this point. He again stated that the representatives from Robinson & Cole had actually broached the subject themselves—that they wanted the restrictions on access from the Council. He said it was obvious that these procedures can be discussed further. And if Councillor Pelkey wished to meet with these associates, it could certainly be arranged.
Councillor Pelkey said he would have to object to this, also—that as a Councillor, and by Charter, he had the right and the obligation and duty to take issues…..Mayor Streeter interrupted and said he did not; that the Council ‘as a whole’ …..that one Councillor does not, individually, have the right to the Town Attorney.
Further exchange continued regarding this issue between the Mayor and Councillor Pelkey.
Mr. Galligan interjected that, at this point, he and the Mayor and representatives from Robinson & Cole were “just trying to set up a procedure so that we don’t have a tremendous amount of ‘billing’ that’s going to go on regarding issues that are not important to the entire Council. Directing his remarks to Councillor Pelkey, the Town Manager said, if it was an Ordinance the Councillor was working on, they (Robinson & Cole) will be here on Thursdays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to go over legal issues, etc. with Town staff. At that time, he added, a meeting could be set up between Councillor Pelkey and the Interim Town Attorney.
Again stating he was concerned, as a manager, about the “billable hours,” Mr. Galligan reminded Council that with the former Town Attorney, Barry Guliano, “he was here. He was a fixed cost and you could call him anytime you wanted.”
Councillor Pelkey said that, for the record, he would “have to take exception to the procedure, as stated.” He said one of the things he may be asking for is a “legal opinion as to whether or not I have to follow that procedure. I’ll think about that as we discuss this.”
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 6
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
On another subject, Deputy Mayor Delnicki asked for more details about the replacement of the roofs at the Police Headquarters facility; and asked if the “damage” to these roofs was still going on. Mr. Galligan said it was; and rather than continue to try to “plug up the leaks,” the Town should replace these roofs soon. Councillor Delnicki agreed that they should be done in a timely fashion.
Mayor Streeter asked, as a matter of consensus, if there was anyone strongly opposed to this project. There was no one.
Referring to “signage” in Town, Councillor Yagaloff questioned if the Chamber would submit a “Position Statement” on this, as previously implied, because its past philosophy did not allow it to do so since it would be necessary to poll its entire membership. He asked if this were the case; and Mr. Galligan replied that, from what he understood, they would be polling their membership on the issue of signage.
Mr. Galligan added that he understood that the membership would be asked to respond by E-mail, phone call, etc. by December 2, 2005. Although unusual for the Chamber to do this, form Chamber President, Bill Keohane, has been working on an Ordinance addressing “signage” for some time and feels there are enough business people in Town who would like to see a solution to the sign problem.
Councillor Yagaloff referring to the Town Manager’s “summary” for the Budget, asked approximately what percentage of the year are we presently in on our Budget. Mr. Galligan responded that the percentages varied because some budget items are “seasonal;” and it would depend upon the Department.
The Councilor then referred to the Board of Education’s recent letter citing a “very large deficit” and their concerns about that. With that in mind, Councillor Yagaloff again asked if the General Government Budget, to date, was running “ahead” or “behind.” Mr. Galligan replied that the largest deficit in that Budget was in the “fuel” account; and that was about $52,000.”
The two largest items that are unpredictable, according to the Town Manager, are “snow removal,” and “Police – Overtime.”
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Work Session – Town Council
Page 7
November 21, 2005
5. Town Manager’s Report (Continued)
Councillor Yagaloff then referred to “access to the Town Attorney.” He said he noticed there was no attorney present at the Work Session; but assumed there would be one present at the Regular Meeting. The Councillor was informed that there would not be; and Mr. Galligan said this was something he had wanted to ask Council about—whether it felt it needed an Attorney present at all of its meetings.
Councillor Yagaloff reiterated his understanding of the hourly cost to Robinson & Cole, and the fact that this was certainly a consideration; however, he felt that an attorney should be present at Town Council meetings. As far as “access to the Attorney,” he reiterated Councillor Pelkey’s statement that the Town Charter states that “any Town Councillor would have access to the Town Attorney for the creation of Resolutions or Ordinances.” He felt that the wording in the Charter was explicit; and had nothing to do with “majority or minority” issues.
Councillor Yagaloff also pointed out that Article XV in the Town Council’s Rules and Procedures states that “any Council person may request a legal opinion from the Town Attorney, in writing.”
At 7:30 p.m. Mayor Streeter recessed the Work Session in order to call a Public Hearing.
Following the Public Hearing, there was more objections to the practice of having to go through the Mayor for access to the Interim Town Attorney. Further discussion ensued.
Following a Public Hearing at 7:45 p.m.,a Motion to Adjourn was made at 7:55 p.m.; duly seconded, and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia R. Brown
Clerk of the Council
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