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 several students from Stonington High School, members of the public, and a member 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. Mr. Brown asked the students to identify themselves and they did so.
(2) Interviews for boards/commissions
The Board interviewed John “Jack” Gorby, an applicant for the Water Pollution Control Authority. No action was taken, as there is one more interview to conduct before the Board makes the appointment.
(3) Comments from the Public
Fran O’Neil, Pawcatuck, spoke about her concerns with regard to “the way the Town treats Pawcatuck”.
Steve Singer inquired about the date and time for the next public meeting regarding the proposed Town Hall addition. Mr. Brown responded that the meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 1, 2006, 7:00 p.m. at the Stonington High School auditorium.
Ben Tamsky, Mystic, inquired about the status of the Amtrak Quiet Zones in Mystic. Mr. Brown commented his request for quiet zones is on hold, pending the outcome of the investigative report regarding the fatal accident that occurred in Waterford.
Bill Sternberg, Stonington, commented that the “Meeting Calendar” on the Town’s web site isn’t working properly. When he tried to get information about tonight’s meeting (time and place) the information came up for January 11th instead of February 8th. Mr. Brown commented he will have this looked into.
Fran O’Neil commented that she will be taking pictures of Pawcatuck for use on the Town’s web site, and she hopes someone will make sure that pictures of Mystic and Old Mystic are provided as well.
(4) Bid Awards / Letters of Agreement
a. Town Dock Electrical Project: recommendation to reject bids
A memo dated February 6, 2006 was received from Joseph Bragaw, Town Engineer, regarding the bids received on January 10, 2006 for the Town Dock electrical project. All of the bids exceeded the $99,000 amount that the Town had budgeted for the project. Mr. Bragaw will be looking into ways to value engineer this project to reduce costs and will also look into additional funding opportunities. However, after speaking with the Town Attorney, it is Mr. Bragaw’s recommendation that the Board of Selectmen reject all of the bids due to the fact that we do not have funds in place at this time to go forward with the project.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to accept Mr. Bragaw’s recommendation and reject the bids received on January 10, 2006 for the Town Dock electrical project
(5) 9-1-1 Street Numbering - None.
(6) Correspondence
a. Mystic May Day Parade
A letter dated February 1, 2006, addressed to Police Chief David Erskine from the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, was received. The letter requests permission from the Town of Stonington for the Chamber’s annual May Day Parade scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 2006. The parade will begin forming at 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Mystic Art Association on Water Street, and will proceed down Water Street onto West Main Street at 1:30 p.m. It will then continue over the downtown bridge and down East Main Street, turning right onto Cottrell Street. The 10th annual May Day Bed Race will follow the parade.
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to grant permission to the Mystic Chamber of Commerce to conduct their May Day Parade and Bed Race on Saturday, May 6, 2006.
(7) Re/Appointments Boards and Commissions
Commission on Aging
There are two vacancies on the Commission. An application for appointment was received from Lisa Ryan, 8 Bay St., Mystic (U).
A motion was made by Mr. Balestracci, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted to appoint Lisa Ryan to the Commission on Aging, filling a vacant position that will expire 12/31/07.
Housing Authority
There is one vacancy on the Authority. An application for appointment was received from James Dodd, 14 Hill Ave., Stonington (U).
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to appoint James Dodd to the Housing Authority, filling a vacant position that will expire 11/30/10.
Recreation Commission
There is one vacancy on the Commission. Applications for appointment were received from two individuals.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette and seconded by Mr. Brown to appoint Mark LoPresto to the Recreation Commission, filling a vacant position that will expire 6/30/06. The vote was two in favor, 1 abstention (Mr. Balestracci); therefore, the motion passes.
Shellfish Commission
Alan Banister’s term expired 1/31/05. Chairman Don Murphy highly recommends Mr. Banister’s re-appointment, and Mr. Banister is willing to continue serving.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to re-appoint Alan Banister to the Shellfish Commission for a 5-year term that will expire 01/31/11.
Water Pollution Control Authority
There is one vacancy on the Authority. Applications for appointment were received from three individuals. One individual was previously interviewed, one was interviewed at tonight’s meeting, and arrangements will be made for the third candidate’s interview, after which the Board will make an appointment.
Affordable Housing Committee
Letters of resignation have been received from Gary Bennett and Karen Sears. Letters of thanks will be forwarded to them.
(8) Old Business - None.
(9) New Business
a. Assessor’s request to provide internet access to assessing database
A letter dated January 25, 2006 was received from Marsha L. Standish, Assessor, requesting that the Board of Selectmen reconsider allowing the Assessor’s Office to provide public access of the assessing database through the Internet. Positive aspects of Internet access include the following: 1) the information is public; 2) access would be available 24 hours a day; (3) enhanced public relations; (4) provides a quality control tool; (5) less staff time needed for assisting the public; (6) less requests for copies and information; (7) ability to suppress names upon request; (8) modify information to suit Town and public’s needs; (9) public’s ability to download information; (10) no waiting in line for information; (11) assist in streamlining the appeal process; and (12)
public’s ability to compare by neighborhood to see if they are undervalued, overvalued or within the range of others.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette and seconded by Mr. Balestracci to accept the recommendation of Marsha Standish, Assessor, and grant permission to allow Internet access to the Stonington Assessor’s Database.
Discussion ensued, during which time Mr. Bessette stated he would want to see some public comment before voting on this matter, as it has caused consternation amongst the citizens in the past. Mr. Balestracci commented he is opposed to allowing Internet access to the database, as he feels it is an invasion of people’s privacy.
There being no further discussion, the vote on the motion was 0 in favor, 3 opposed; therefore, the motion fails.
b. Executive Session
Mr. Brown stated there is one further item to bring in under New Business, and it requires an Executive Session.
A motion was made by Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Bessette and unanimously voted that the members of the Board enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy and/or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining. This action is taken without prejudice to the Board’s right to discuss such matters in a private meeting pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 1-200(2).
The room was vacated by everyone except Mr. Brown, Mr. Bessette and Mr. Balestracci and the Board entered Executive Session at 7:24 p.m.
The Board came out of executive session at 7:29 p.m.
A motion was made by Mr. Bessette, seconded by Mr. Balestracci and unanimously voted to ratify the Memorandum of Agreement Between The Town of Stonington And Connecticut Organization for Public Safety Employees/Connecticut Organization for Government Employees (C.O.P.S. Local 137) for a successor collective bargaining agreement covering the period of 7/1/05 through 6/30/06.
(10) Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Board, the regular meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy A. Kent
Recording Secretary
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