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 press and the public.
(1) Call to Order
Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
(2) Charter Revision ballot question
A letter dated July 20, 2005 was received from Town Attorney Thomas Londregan. Attorney Londregan’s recommended language for the ballot question is as follows: “Should the Charter of the Town of Stonington be amended to provide for a Town Manager form of government with five Selectmen?”
A letter dated July 19, 2005 was received from Raymond T. Trebisacci, Chairman, Stonington Democratic Town Committee, stating that the Democratic Town Committee recommends providing for two referenda questions, one for Town Manager and one for expanding the Board of Selectmen to five members.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Brown and unanimously voted to word the ballot question for proposed Charter revisions as follows: “Should the Charter of the Town of Stonington be amended to provide for a Town Manager form of government with five Selectmen?”
Vincent Faulise, Pawcatuck, commented that the Board should definitely separate the two questions. He stated he had attended many meetings of the Charter Revision Commission, as well as the public hearings held by the Charter Revision Commission and the Board of Selectmen, and he feels that many of the townspeople are in favor of increasing the Board of Selectmen to five members but are opposed to changing to a Town Manager form of government. He wanted the Board to give the townspeople the opportunity to vote separately on the two issues. Mr. Brown, Mr. Bessette, and Mr. Balestracci stated that the Charter Revision Commission put forth the recommendation of changing to a Town Manager and an expanded, five member Board of Selectmen. The question is
being worded in accordance with that recommendation. Further discussion took place back and forth between the Board and Mr. Faulise.
(3) Jerry Browne Road - official name
Mr. Brown read a letter from Mr. Dexter Anderson, a resident of StoneRidge, who states that in the course of a recent search of Town records, two different spellings “Jerry Browne Road” and Jerry Brown Road” were found for the same street in the Town of Stonington. He found the gravestone of the man after whom the street is named, and the name on the stone is Jerry H. Browne. He also states that an obituary in the January 20, 1916 issue of the Stonington Mirror reads “Death of Jerry H. Browne” with an accompanying story. Mr. Anderson requests that the Town records be changed so that the spelling “Browne” is used consistently. Mr. Brown then read his response letter to Mr. Anderson, stating that the permanent
legal records that have been recorded in the Town Clerk’s Office may not be altered. However, the Town will correct the street name on any street signs that are incorrect.
Brief discussion took place regarding a request by Marsha Standish, Assessor, to have the Board of Selectmen take action on this matter.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to have the official name of the road be “Jerry Browne Road”.
(4) Acceptance of Conservation Easement
A memo dated July 20, 2005 was received from Jason Vincent, Director of Planning, requesting a signature from the First Selectman on Conservation Easement documents for a two-lot subdivision plan that was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission on March 15, 2005. In accordance with the Town’s Ordinance entitled “Acceptance of Streets, Roads, & Easements,” the Conservation Easement needs to be accepted by the Board of Selectmen prior to the First Selectman’s signature on the document.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept the Conservation Easement from Gregory J. Zujus and Stacy Ann Zujus, Grantors, to the Town of Stonington, Grantee, shown as 15% Open Space on a plan entitled “Subdivision Map of #243 North Stonington Road, Stonington, Connecticut, Prepared for Greg & Stacy Zujus, Scale: 1” = 30’, December 22, 2004 and revised April 1, 2005, J. Dempsey Associates, LLC, Professional Land Surveyors.”
(5) Resolution for Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption System Equipment Agreement
a. A State of Connecticut Cost Sharing Agreement for Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption System Equipment at Route 1 and Route 27 was received. A Resolution must be adopted by the Board of Selectmen prior to execution of the document by the First Selectman.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to adopt the following Resolution:
“BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that William S. Brown, First Selectman, is authorized to execute an Agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Town of Stonington for the installation of Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption system equipment at the intersection of Route 1 at Route 27 in the Town of Stonington.”
b. A State of Connecticut Cost Sharing Agreement for Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption System Equipment at Route 1 at Route 234 and Edwards Street was received. A Resolution must be adopted by the Board of Selectmen prior to execution of the document by the First Selectman.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to adopt the following Resolution:
“BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that William S. Brown, First Selectman, is authorized to execute an Agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Town of Stonington for the installation of Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption system equipment at the intersection of Route 1 at Route 234 and Edwards Street in the Town of Stonington.”
(6) Request for use of Pawcatuck Park for Youth Rally
Letters dated July 14, 2005, July 16, 2005, and July 18, 2005 were received from Rev. David W. Reusch, New Song Assembly of God, Pawcatuck. Rev. Reusch requests permission to use Pawcatuck Park the evenings of August 2nd and 3rd, from 6pm to 8pm,
for a youth-oriented religious service. The “youth rally” as they are calling it, will involve live music. They expect at least 50 people to attend the rally, at least 30 will be dropped off by bus, the remaining will utilize on street parking or live within walking distance of the park; no food will be served; there will be prizes given away but no raffle. He provided a certificate of insurance.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to approve the use of Pawcatuck Park for the New Song Assembly of God’s Youth Rally on August 2nd and 3rd, 2005 from 6pm to 8pm.
(7) Request(s) for waiver of fees
a. A letter dated July 15, 2005 was received from Attorney Timothy D. Bates, Robinson & Cole, LLP, requesting a waiver of Planning & Zoning fees paid by the Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. for a zone change, a site plan, and two coastal site plans. The total amount of fees paid is $3,830.00. The Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci and seconded by Mr. Bessette to waive fees as requested. Further discussion took place regarding the number of fee waiver requests being received and the need to revisit the issue of fee waivers. Mr. Brown stated that he has spoken with leaders of other communities and some of them waive fees for town agencies only. Consensus of the Board was to look into how the fee waiver process was handled by the Board when the Edmonites at St. Enders Island requested a fee waiver and perhaps apply the same process to the Seaport’s request.
Mr. Balestracci withdrew his motion, Mr. Bessette withdrew his second, and the matter was tabled.
b. A letter dated July 22, 2005 was received from Peter E. Arnold, Chairman, Board of Trustees, First United Methodist Church in Mystic, requesting a waiver of Planning & Zoning fees paid by the Church for a sign permit in Mystic. The total amount of fees paid was $80.00.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to waive the fee as requested.
c. A letter dated July 26, 2005 was received from Pastor Ray Jones, Jr., Lighthouse Community Baptist Church in Pawcatuck, requesting a waiver of zoning fees associated with the Church’s application for a special use permit. There was no dollar amount associated with the request.
Brief discussion was held and the matter was tabled pending the receipt of information regarding the fee amount.
d. A letter dated July 27, 2005 was received from John Kennedy, Vice President, Mystic Flag Committee in Mystic, requesting a waiver of zoning fees associated with the Committee’s application for a fund-raising sign. There was no dollar amount associated with the request.
Brief discussion was held and the matter was tabled pending the receipt of information regarding the fee amount.
(8) Bid Awards / Letters of Agreement – None.
(9) 9-1-1 Street Numbering
The Planning and Zoning Department forwarded the following recommendation for assigning a street number in accordance with the Street Naming and Numbering (Emergency 9-1-1) Ordinance. The Assessor concurs with this recommendation.
Map |
Block |
Lot |
Address |
146 |
1 |
10A |
247 North Stonington Road, Mystic, CT 06355 |
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to assign this street number as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Department.
(10) Westerly Water Ban
A copy of a notice dated July 25, 2005 was received from Paul Corina, Superintendent of Utilities, Westerly Water Department, stating that the Westerly Water System is asking everyone to voluntarily discontinue the watering of lawns, the filling of swimming pools, the washing of exterior siding of housing, the washing of motor vehicles, the washing of sidewalks, the washing of boats or vessels, and similar water use in order to help alleviate the strain on the wells and pumping equipment. The Town of Westerly has ordered all municipal facilities to begin water conservation immediately. These recommendations shall not apply to commercial users but only to the extent that the use of water is a necessary product for the delivery of its service or commercial product.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to mirror the request for Stonington customers of Westerly Water.
(11) Correspondence – None.
(12) Re/Appointments Boards and Commissions – None.
(13) Old Business – None.
(14) New Business – None.
(15) Comments from the Public
Vincent Faulise, Pawcatuck, reiterated his earlier comments regarding the Charter Revision ballot question, stating that he feels that the response of the taxpayers is that they don’t want a Town Manager but they do want a five member Board of Selectmen.
(16) Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Board, the regular meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy A. Kent
Recording Secretary
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