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 members of the press.
(1) Call to Order
Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
(2) Interview candidates for Boards/Commissions
The Board interviewed Barbara Tacy, a candidate for the Water Pollution Control Authority, and John Prue, a candidate for the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(3) Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co. parade (Stonington Borough)
A letter was received on September 1, 2005 from the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 of the Stonington Borough Fire Department. They are celebrating their 125th anniversary with a parade on Sunday, October 2, 2005 to commemorate the occasion. The parade will start near the Town Hall, proceed down Elm Street to Cutler Street, cross the Frank Turek Memorial Bridge and proceed down Water Street into the Borough.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to grant permission to the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 of the Stonington Borough Fire Department to conduct their parade on October 2, 2005 as outlined in their letter.
(4) Town Clerk – Historic Document Preservation Grant Application
Mr. Brown stated that the Town Clerk requests that the Board of Selectmen take action to allow the Town to apply for and receive the Historic Documents Preservation Grant for FY 2006 by adopting the following resolution:
“RESOLVED: That William S. Brown, First Selectman, or the Town Clerk as his designee is empowered to execute and deliver in the name of and on behalf of this municipality, an application and contract with the State Library for an Historic Document Preservation Grant.”
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to adopt the resolution as read.
(5) Bid Awards / Letters of Agreement
a. Highway Dept: sidewalk repair and new sidewalks
A letter dated August 23, 2005 was received from William Stewart, Superintendent of Highways, recommending that the Board of Selectmen award the bid for sidewalk repair and new sidewalk installation to low bidder Concrete Slabs by Drab LLC, as outlined in his correspondence.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to accept Mr. Stewart’s recommendation and award the bid for sidewalk repair and new sidewalk installation to low bidder Concrete Slabs by Drab LLC, as outlined in Mr. Stewart’s 8/23/05 correspondence.
b. Roll-Off haul vehicle for Solid Waste
A letter dated August 25, 2005 was received from John Phetteplace, Solid Waste Manager, recommending that the Board of Selectmen award the bid for a Roll-Off Haul Vehicle to the low bidder, Freightliner of Southeastern Connecticut, as outlined in his correspondence.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to accept Mr. Phetteplace’s recommendation and award the bid for a Roll-Off Haul Vehicle to the low bidder, Freightliner of Southeastern Connecticut, as outlined in Mr. Phetteplace’s 8/25/05 correspondence.
c. Highway Dept: sand for snow and ice control
A letter dated September 14, 2005 was received from William Stewart, Superintendent of Highways, recommending that the Board of Selectmen award the bid for sand for snow and ice control to the low bidder, Lombardi Gravel & Excavation LLC of Waterford, as outlined in his correspondence.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept Mr. Stewart’s recommendation and award the bid for sand for snow and ice control to the low bidder, Lombardi Gravel & Excavation LLC of Waterford, as outlined in Mr. Stewart’s 9/14/05 correspondence.
(6) 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 |
106 |
2 |
34D |
44 Shawondassee Drive, Stonington, CT 06378 |
106 |
2 |
34E |
42 Shawondassee Drive, Stonington, CT 06378 |
73 |
2 |
6 |
30 Barnes Road, Stonington, CT 06378 |
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.
(7) Correspondence – None.
(8) Re/Appointments Boards and Commissions
Consensus of the Board was to consider the applications received, the applicants interviewed, and the current vacancies on boards and commissions and postpone making any appointments this evening.
(9) Old Business
a. Fee waiver requests – referred to Town Attorney
Consensus of the Board was to postpone action on this item until a response is received from the Town Attorney.
(10) New Business
a. Request for refund of Planning and Zoning fee
A letter dated September 8, 2005 was received from Attorney Paul Aparo, on behalf of his client Girouard Associates, Inc., with regard to the Maple Breeze Park Zoning Application. Also received was a memo dated September 14, 2005 from Jason Vincent, AICP, Director of Planning, explaining that the applicant failed to recognize that the proposed activity also required permitting from the Stonington Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission (IWWC), under CGS Section 8-3(g). This law requires that any application to the Planning and Zoning Commission involving activities regulated by the IWWC cannot be submitted prior to the submission of an application to the IWWC. The applicant missed this requirement and subsequently had to withdraw his PZC application. The applicant is requesting a reimbursement because he had to re-file the application and had to pay the fee again ($5,000.00). The Department of Planning has not expended any funds to publish notice of the application.
The only hard costs to the Town are from the State of Connecticut land use application surcharge, which is $30.00. Mr. Vincent recommends that any reimbursement offer to this applicant exclude $30.00 to cover the transactional expenses associated with the state requirement.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to reimburse the applicant, Girouard Associates, Inc., in the amount of $4,970.00
(11) Comments from the Public
June Dennett commented that she sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen after a meeting of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, voicing her displeasure regarding the Commission’s procedures. The public was not allowed to speak regarding a particular application and she feels this is wrong. The rules of conduct for public hearings should be published and handed out at public hearings. Mr. Brown commented that the public comment period is not applicable to every application and every circumstance, and he stands by the decision of the Chairman of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission.
Gail Shea agreed with Ms. Dennett regarding the incident at the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission. She distributed copies of letters to the editor of the Sun written by her and by Dora Hill, and a copy of an editorial written by the editor of the Sun, regarding the Planning and Zoning commission’s recent public hearing and approval of an application to create a new “floating zone” called the “Under-utilized Neighborhood Redevelopment District”. She expressed concerns regarding what she perceives as a “serious due process problem”. She stated that residents who have been denied due process shouldn’t have to resort to spending money on attorneys and court appeals, but they have no other option. She requested that the Board of
Selectmen contact the Town Attorney to
discuss what she perceives as the Planning and Zoning Commission’s procedural defects and to discuss rescinding the decision to create the new zone. She would like to have the public hearing re-opened to allow the public to speak on the amended application. She also would like the Planning and Zoning Commission to place “Comments from the Public” on their agenda for each meeting.
Vincent Faulise inquired about openings on the WPCA, and also inquired about the bid award for sand for snow and ice control.
Dora Hill spoke regarding the Planning and Zoning issue and the procedural problems associated with not letting the public speak on the amended application. She stated that in the past, when something new like congregate living, open space, or attached housing was being proposed, the PZC would hold workshops to invite public participation and inform the residents on what was happening. There were no workshops about this new zone.
Ed Hart agreed with Gail Shea and Dora Hill; having an “attitude” and shutting out the public is not healthy. He recommended the town attorney be contacted to review the matter.
Vincent Faulise commented on the Planning & Zoning issue, agreeing with the other speakers at tonight’s meeting.
John Prue commented that if the public hearing was based on an application that ws different from the application advertised in the legal notice, this might be a legal problem.
Dora Hill, Gail Shea, Ed Hart, and Vincent Faulise reiterated their concerns about the way this application was handled by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mr. Brown commented that he will contact Attorney Londregan to discuss this matter further.
(12) Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Board, the regular meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy A. Kent
Recording Secretary
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