TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION
COUNCIL CHAMBERS JULY 17, 2006
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
Absent: Councillor Deborah Fine
Town Manager Matthew Galligan
Also Present: Asst. to the Town Manager Judith Hall
3. Public Participation - None
4. Communications - None
5. Town Manager’s Report - None
6. Items for Discussion
A. Lawrence Road Park (Park & Recreation Commission)
Park and Recreation Commission Member Al Larson was spokesperson for the Commission. He said the Commission’s reason for being present this evening was to request that the Town Council authorize an official “go-ahead” with the Lawrence Road Park project.
6. A. (Continued)
Councillor McCann, in an effort to clarify the Commission’s intent, asked if the proposal this evening was to go-ahead with the improvements without the basketball and tennis courts; and, in particular, was the Commission recommending that these courts be eliminated from the Master Plan, or that they just not be a part of what was being proposed at the present time.
Mr. Larson replied that, based on the Survey, the courts were not “strong items” to be looked at right now.
Councillor Prague asked (1) if there was, at present, any Plan available as to what the park is going to look like; or would there be a “long involved process” in creating a Plan. The Councillor’s second question was—if there is a Plan, is there any idea of the “cost;” and are there any available funds to finance what was being proposed this evening?
Mr. Larson said that what was presently being looked at was “engineering” and “maybe some clearing (depending upon the outcome of the lawsuit).” Addressing the Councillor’s second question regarding the “funding,” Mr. Larson said that the cost has now risen from what would have been requested in an ‘06/’07 item in the budget—the cost now being up to approximately $170,000 without the basketball court. When questioned by Councillor Prague as to what the $170,000 would fund, Mr. Larson said that everything that was being proposed this evening—including the walking trails, the playground, and the open space field.
Councillor Yagaloff wanted to make it clear that he “supported the recommendations of the Park and Recreation Commission”—including going ahead this time around without the basketball court. However, the Councillor felt that the opinions included in the Survey regarding basketball courts was “sort of split”—with a strong local group not wanting the courts, compared with a “majority of people outside of that area” that would like the courts. He asked Mr. Larson if that was a fair statement. Mr. Larson agreed; and clarified further by saying that “overall the survey was slightly in favor of both basketball and tennis courts; but not overwhelming by any means.”
Councillor Yagaloff then raised the issue of the pending lawsuit associated with Lawrence Road Park, and informed those listening that a “request for a one year extension” had apparently been filed by the Petitioner in that suit which, if granted, would mean that it would be September of 2007 before any kind of Hearing was held.
6. A. (Continued)
With this in mind, Councillor Yagaloff asked Mr. Larson if the Commission had any proposal for an alternative to remove the brush and the trees so that the Town can get started on this project. Or, he asked, was it Mr. Larson’s feeling that the Town would have to wait until the lawsuit is resolved before the Town can move ahead?
Mr. Larson replied said he was not certain if the lawsuit had to be settled before any kind of clearing could be done; but added that the Park and Recreation Commission’s recommendation is to “move on the project as soon as ‘legally’ feasible.” And, in answer to Councillor Yagaloff’s further questions replied in the affirmative that the “legal feasibility” would be determined by the Town Attorney.
Councillor Moriarty stated that he was happy that this time around the basketball courts were not a part of the current plan. He felt it would take a little while for those living close to the park to get use to the changes; but that, eventually, the majority of those residents would. He stated that he was pleased that “more weight was being given to the opinion of the abutters” with regard to the basketball courts.
Councillor Pelkey, referring also to the pending lawsuit which, he said, was “based mainly on the use of chemicals” to get rid of brush, etc., asked if the Commission had estimated what the cost would be to go into the area and, either manually or mechanically, remove the brush, etc. through the trail area just to get this project started.
Mr. Larson said that at the present time the Commission had no alternate position because the original plan had been based on “concept drawings.” At present, he added, the Commission’s goal would be to do it as legally and logistically feasible, and as soon as possible.
Councillor Pelkey recommended that the Council ask the Town Attorney by what other means the Town may remove the trees and brush in the particular areas that it wished to work in at the present time. He also requested that the Park and Recreation Commission, working through the Recreation Department and Town staff determine what the “cost” would be to do an alternate method within that localized area of the Park.
6. A. (Continued)
Councillor Yagaloff said he wished to formally request that the Town Attorney provide (1) options, in terms of removing materials on that property without using the chemicals and herbicides; and (2) what is their plan for “timing” on the lawsuit, and what is there plan for “filing briefs;” and what is the cost estimate going to be for that lawsuit? The Councillor pointed out that, to his knowledge, Council has received no “update” from any attorney, as yet, with regard to the Lawrence Road litigation; and, again, this would serve as his formal request for that information.
Mayor Streeter said that the consensus of the Council seemed to be to “get moving on this;” and suggested that the first thing to do would be to get with the Town Attorney and determine what “the Town can and cannot do; and was hopeful that there was some money set aside in this year’s budget—either in the Park and Recreation budget or the Recreation Department’s special Revenue Fund that would enable to the Town to start moving on this project.
On behalf of the new Town Council Members, Mayor Streeter asked if it was possible to get extra copies of the Master Plan for this field. He concluded that it would be prudent to provide a new copy to all the Town Council Members and was told that this would be done.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki, on another matter, asked the Town Manager if there had been any feedback on the trash collection that has recently been resumed in Town parks; or if there had been any problems. Director of Recreation Ray Favreau said he had received “nothing but positive responses from the public,” and all were appreciative that this service was again being provided. Still to be “ironed out,” he added, were small problems—such as the “location” of the receptacles. He said, also, that “there is still trash in the park, though not as bad” as it once was.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki then asked about the issue with regard to the “porto-potties”—also located in the parks. Mr. Favreau remarked that that, so far, that has not continued to be a problem. The Town had secured a “new vendor,” he added; and, to date, no complaints from the vendor have been received.
Mayor Streeter then thanked Mr. Larson and Mr. Favreau for their input this evening.
6. Items for Discussion (Continued)
B. Update on “Mass Dispensing Clinic” and the Need for Volunteers (Judy Hall, Assistant to the Town Manager to report)
Ms. Hall said that in addition to being the Assistant to the Town Manager she was also a “Volunteer Coordinator for the Mass Dispensing Clinic.” She added that she shared this responsibility with South Windsor’s Town Clerk Gretchen Bickford.
Providing a short background on this program, Ms. Hall said that following “9-11” the Federal Government mandated that the States create plans for vaccinating and distributing medications to their populations if an emergency—such as pandemic flu; anthrax, an outbreak of smallpox—should occur. The States, in turn, mandated that “municipalities” within their borders do likewise.
Continuing, Ms. Hall said that the Town of South Windsor has been “grouped” with the Town of Windsor and the combination is known as “Mass Dispensing Area Number 31.” Resident volunteers are sought by towns, she added, to help staff these Mass Dispensing Clinics; and, for the past three years, she and Ms. Bickford have approached PTO’s, Churches, Civic Groups, etc. looking for volunteers.
Should an emergency such as an outbreak of smallpox arise, Area #31 would have to have approximately 1,000 medical and non-medical volunteers to assist in the process of vaccinating our residents according to Ms. Hall. The worst vaccination scenario, she said, is smallpox because the current timeframe for an individual to walk through the dispensing area would be “over one hour.”
With regard to logistics, Ms. Hall informed those listening that the “Clinic” would be held at South Windsor High School; and the Federal mandate is for it to be “operational” for 10 days—and, combined with the Town of Windsor’s residents, the Clinic would be vaccinating “5,000 people per day.” Approximately 500 volunteers have signed on to date. Ms. Hall informed the public that “volunteering” is easy and only requires a commitment of 2 to 4 hours per year to attend an “informational and training seminar” which is held several times a year—unless, of course, there was a need to open a clinic.
Volunteers also receive a monthly Newsletter—either by e-mail or regular mail. Non-medical volunteers’ duties may include “registering people who come into the Clinic;” “data entry;” “running a VCR or a DVD;” medical records, food service, child care for the volunteers who are serving; and volunteer sign-in and check-out; translators; and floaters.
6. B. (Continued)
Ms. Hall felt it was important that our residents know that there are “plans in place” for such an emergency. She and the other Coordinators are part of a main committee, including a “Regional Clinic Coordinator;” a “Clinic Manager;” a “Clinic Communications Coordinator;” “Vaccine, Medical, and Supply Coordinators,” and “Data, Security, Transport and Facility Coordinator,” who meet, almost monthly, developing and updating “response plans.”
Volunteer “sign-up” information, according to Ms. Hall, is located on the Town’s website, including a form that may be filled out on-line, and returned to the Town. Also, a prospective volunteer can call the “Clinic Volunteer Line” at 285-1964. Ms. Hall then completed her report and said that she or Ms. Bickford would be happy to answer any questions.
Councillor Moriarty asked Ms. Hall if the original policy to vaccinate all volunteers and their families, first, was reinstated. At the last meeting of the volunteers, the Councillor had understood that this policy was in question; and asked if it had been reinstated. Ms. Hall said that she thought this policy was still being reviewed.
Councillor McCann first thanked Ms. Hall and Ms. Bickford for their volunteer involvement in this “very important project.” He then asked, with respect to the actual operation of the Clinic and the direction of the volunteers—how much autonomy does the Town have to make things run smoothly? Ms. Hall said she felt the Town had quite a bit of autonomy.
Councillor McCann then asked if Ms. Hall and Ms. Bickford “felt comfortable in reassuring the people of South Windsor that we are ready to put into place the necessary structure that we need in order to deliver the vaccines that may be necessary in case of such an outbreak.” Both women said they felt very comfortable with that—particularly in light of the fact that a majority of the volunteers are South Windsor residents. Another fortunate aspect of the entire program, according to Ms. Hall, was that South Windsor was paired with Windsor; and, because of this, Windsor’s Dr. Charles Petrillo is Regional Coordinator for both Towns. Ms. Hall and Ms. Bickford agreed that Dr. Petrillo has proven to be “outstanding;” and was one of the first Regional Coordinators
to get his region’s plan into the State, and is consistently “on top” of everything.
6. B. (Continued)
Councillor Pelkey, referring to the orientation for volunteers, said that at that meeting, the subject of how people would be contacted to come into the Clinic for an inoculation (or whatever) was discussed. He then asked Ms. Hall if this question has been resolved; and, upon observing her shaking her head “No” went on to express his concern that, after a year’s time, such a “simple decision” had not yet, been resolved. He asked what would happen if there were “an emergency tomorrow—how would the Clinic go about doing that?”
Ms. Hall, stated that this question has not been resolved by the State; but as a committee (or group) the local volunteers would probably “do some type of alphabetical order with random first letters of the last name.” She went on to state that, again, “smallpox (which is being discussed this evening) is the worst case scenario,” Involving countless hours to prepare each person for the vaccination; and this particular emergency would involve the combined efforts of both Windsor and South Windsor. In other emergencies, i.e., pandemic flu, South Windsor would most likely handle the dispensing of medication on its own.
Councillor Pelkey said that another concern is the “lack of volunteers on the other side of the river, in Windsor.” He suggested that Mayor Streeter send a letter to Windsor’s Mayor requesting that Windsor put forth a concerted effort to get volunteers for their own Town. He asked if South Windsor was planning on doing a “local test,” as was recently done at Pratt & Whitney, to see how the Town could disseminate the program. Ms. Hall said that, presently, she was not aware of something of this nature being planned at this time.
Ms. Bickford interjected that Manchester had recently had a test run with the Town of Glastonbury, at which South Windsor’s Director of Planning, Marcia Banach, was present. Also, she added, she, Judy Hall, and Marcia Banach had, earlier, attended such a dry run in the Town of Mansfield.
Councillor Pelkey remarked that he was sure that both Ms. Hall and Ms Bickford “are on top of it;” but again expressed concern that Windsor be drawn into the process more than at the present time. When he asked how many volunteers Windsor actually had, Ms. Bickford said she did not know what the breakdown was. She did emphasize that “all the key volunteers for IT, the Police Department, and other staffing is filled for both Towns.” But noted that it was the “non-medical volunteers” that were needed.
6. B. (Continued)
Deputy Mayor Delnicki asked how quickly the smallpox vaccine would be available to our Clinic from the State and Federal authorities if there were a situation outbreak of some nature. Ms. Hall responded “within 24 hours”— the clinics would be open following the declaration of a State of Emergency and Health Department notification. Continuing, Ms. Hall said that within the last three or four months there had been a “dry run” of picking up and stockpiling the vaccines. She assured everyone that there are “plenty of vaccines.”
The Deputy Mayor then went on to ask about pandemic flu—what would be available to our residents in that area? Ms. Bickford said she believed the State and Federal Governments would have adequate supplies; however, she added, her information on that particular epidemic is as limited as the Deputy Mayor’s.
“Family Awareness Day,” suggested Deputy Mayor Delnicki, because of the large number of people usually in attendance, would be a good day and another way to get this information out to the public.
Councillor Havens asked Ms. Hall if all of these volunteers “covered by all of our insurance policies, and is it necessary?” He suggested that some volunteers may feel that lack of sufficient coverage would be an impediment and they might be sued in some way. He asked if this subject has every come up. Ms. Hall said it has not. She added that the volunteers “wouldn’t really be working for the Town.” That is what she had been told. She offered to check this out for the Councillor. Councillor Havens also thought it important to make certain that the volunteers “had no problems” with the evident lack of insurance coverage.
Councillor Yagaloff asked to pose a hypothetical question, such as in the case of a pandemic influenza or smallpox outbreak, where there’s a risk because people are in contact with one another—who ultimately makes the decision, he asked, as to whether there will be mass dispensing; what’s the best way to do it; what’s the best way to bring people together or keep them in their homes (possibly under quarantine)—and, again, who ultimately makes the decision when there is a crisis and conflicting decisions are forthcoming from various people in authority (i.e., the Governor, a Town Mayor, the Clinic medical personnel, etc.)?
6. B. (Continued)
Ms. Hall said her understanding was that “it would be a Federal decision, which would then go to the State; and then to the municipalities.” Ms. Hall also added that, as with the smallpox vaccination, no one is obligated to be vaccinated; however, those persons choosing not to receive the vaccine would be quarantined. This would also apply to the pandemic flu, she said.
Councillor Yagaloff felt that this was information that should, if possible, be acquired before the next update on the Mass Dispensing operation—Who, ultimately, makes the decision to put the call out for mass dispensing and all that is associated with it—the Federal Government, the Governor, the Mayor of the Town, a medical agency, etc. This information would be essential to have, particularly in a case where these authorities were not in agreement. Ms. Hall said this is a question she could bring back to the main committee.
Mayor Streeter, commenting that this was obviously a critical issue that could not be prefaced with “what if,” but rather, “when,” if history repeated itself. The Mayor then stressed that there was, obviously, a need for more volunteers; and noted members of the “Press” in this evening’s audience and urged them to help in this call. He added that he was proud of the response to the call for volunteers by South Windsor residents to date. He asked for more updates; thanked Ms. Hall and Ms. Bickford for tonight’s report; and applauded them for taking on this responsibility.
7. Executive Session - None
8. Motion to Adjourn
At 7:45 p.m., Councillor Pelkey moved to adjourn the Work Session. The Motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Delnicki; and approved, unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia R. Brown
Clerk of the Council
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