The Stonington Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting on this date at 7:00 p.m. at the Stonington Police Station. Present were First Selectman William S. Brown, Selectman Stephen E. Bessette and Selectman Peter L. Balestracci. Also present were members of the public and Stonington High School students Alyssa Christian, Ben Geer, and Kim Daniels.
(1) Call to Order
Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
(2) Ratification of Highway Labor Contract
A memo dated June 7, 2005 was received from George R. Sylvestre, Director of Administrative Services, requesting ratification of the Highway Department Labor Union contract. In summary, the substantive issues resulting from this agreement include cost of living increases of 3% per year for three years beginning July 1, 2004 and increases in the employee share of health care costs from 6% to 7% beginning 7/1/05 and 8% beginning 7/1/06.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept Mr. Sylvestre’s recommendation and ratify the Agreement Between the Town of Stonington and Local Union 9411 of the United Steel Workers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC, for the Stonington Highway Department, July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2007.
(3) Pawcatuck Farmers Market
A letter dated May 23, 2005 was received from Vicki Anderson, Executive Director of the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center (PNC). As the sponsoring agency for the Pawcatuck Farmer’s Market, the PNC requests permission for use of Pawcatuck Park for the Farmer’s Market beginning Thursday, June 9, 2005 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and every Thursday thereafter, concluding on October 27, 2005.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to approve the use of the Pawcatuck Park for the Pawcatuck Farmer’s Market as requested in Ms. Anderson’s correspondence.
(4) 2005 CDBG Small Cities Project
A memo dated June 1, 2005 was received from Jason Vincent, Director of Planning, recommending priorities to be set by the Board of Selectmen regarding the 2005 CDBG Small Cities Projects.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of the Director of Planning and set the project priorities as outlined in Mr. Vincent’s memo.
(5) Resolution to authorize execution of Office of Policy & Management (OPM) grant award
Mr. Brown introduced a Resolution authorizing him to sign a grant award document for the Youth and Police Working Together Program, OPM Grant #04JJ438005X, in the amount of $9,980.00.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to adopt the Resolution authorizing Mr. Brown to sign the grant award document.
(6) Proclamation: Westerly Adult Day Services 25th Anniversary
Mr. Brown commented that Beth-Ann Stewart, Director of Human Services, will be attending an event in honor of the Westerly Adult Day Services 25th Anniversary. She has requested that the Board of Selectmen issue a proclamation to be presented at this event.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to issue a Proclamation in honor of the Westerly Adult Day Services 25th Anniversary.
(7) Bid Awards / Letters of Agreement
a. Town Vehicles
A letter dated June 6, 2005 was received from Maryanna Stevens, Director of Finance, regarding bids for three new Town of Stonington vehicles. She recommends award of the bids to the low bidders.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to accept Ms. Stevens recommendations and award the bid for the 2005 Ford Taurus to Valenti Ford of Mystic and award the bid for the two 2005 Ford Ranger 4x4 Pickup Trucks to Ford of Branford.
(8) 9-1-1 Street Numbering
The Planning and Zoning Department forwarded the following recommendations for assigning street numbers in accordance with the Street Naming and Numbering (Emergency
9-1-1) Ordinance. The Assessor concurs with these recommendations.
Map |
Block |
Lot |
Address |
148 |
2 |
3 |
6 Prentice Williams Road, Stonington, CT 06378 |
151 |
3 |
17 |
168 Hewitt Road, Mystic, CT 06355 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
35 Sunrise Avenue, Pawcatuck, CT 06379 |
Also, the Zoning Official forwarded a request for the Board of Selectmen to take action to correct a mistake made in assigning the address of 21 Glasgo Road, Pawcatuck, to Map 16, Block 7, Lot 6. The correct location for 21 Glasgo Road is as follows:
Map |
Block |
Lot |
Address |
16 |
6 |
7 |
21 Glasgo Road, Pawcatuck, CT 06379 |
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to assign these street numbers as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Department.
(9) Correspondence
a. Save the Sound / Sound Alliance
A letter was received from the Director of Legislative and Legal Affairs, Save the Sound, requesting the Town of Stonington join Sound Alliance and pass a town resolution to oppose the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in Long Island Sound. Brief discussion was held, during which time Mr. Bessette expressed a desire for more time to review the information accompanying the letter.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to table this matter.
(10) Re/Appointments Boards and Commissions
Plan of Development Implementation Committee
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept, with regret, the resignation of Sara Lathrop from the Plan of Development Implementation Committee.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to appoint Sheila Lyons to fill the term vacated by Sara Lathrop on the Plan of Development Implementation Committee.
Commission on Aging
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to appoint Stacy Cassata to the Commission on Aging.
(11) Old Business – None.
(12) New Business
Mr. Brown spoke with regard to replacing the Town Hall cupola that was destroyed in the 1938 hurricane. He has been in contact with a company in Texas that replaced a cupola in Rhode Island and found out it will cost approximately $50,000. This cost will be covered completely by fund-raising efforts; no Town money will be used to pay for it.
Mr. Brown spoke briefly about the history of the cupola and the weathervane that sat on top of it. After the cupola was destroyed, the weathervane ended up being stored in the basement of Town Hall. Eventually it was scheduled for disposal and Mr. Maurice LaGrua asked if he could take it. The Town granted him permission and he put it in his store, where it remained for many years. It is now in the possession of his widow, Winifred LaGrua, who has agreed to return it to the Town to be placed atop the new cupola.
Mr. Brown requested that the Board of Selectmen create a small committee, to be called the Cupola Committee, and appoint him along with former First Selectman James Spellman and Mrs. Winifred LaGrua.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to appoint William S. Brown, James Spellman, and Winifred LaGrua to the Cupola Committee.
12) New Business (cont’d.)
Mr. Bessette mentioned the recent incident involving a man who was hit by lightning, pronounced dead by the Stonington Ambulance EMTs, and subsequently found to be alive. He inquired about being kept “in the loop” regarding the investigation into this incident, and Mr. Brown stated that the Town will be kept informed.
Mr. Balestracci inquired about the timing for the cupola project, to which Mr. Brown responded he hopes the fund raising will be complete by the end of summer. Discussion was held regarding the possibility of putting a cellular tower inside the cupola, which would help pay for the project.
(13) Comments from the Public
Vincent Faulise, Pawcatuck, spoke regarding several issues. He mentioned that the Westerly Sun has not been publishing a list of municipal meeting dates and times. Mr. Brown commented that he will speak to them about this. Mr. Faulise inquired about the wording of the question(s) on the ballot regarding the Charter Revision Commission’s recommendations. Mr. Brown commented that the Board has not talked about that yet, so it hasn’t been decided. Mr. Faulise inquired as to the amount of money left at the end of the fiscal year, to which Mr. Brown responded that we don’t have that figure yet.
(14) Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Board, the regular meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy A. Kent
Recording Secretary
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