MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY
APRIL 16, 2007
A REGULAR MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held on Monday, April 16, 2007 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, City Councilors James F. McKenna, Rick E. Dalla Valle, Marie P. Soliani, and Drake L. Waldron, Corp. Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Public Works Director Gerald Rollett, City Engineer Edward Fabbri, Purchasing Agent Charlene Antonelli, WPC Administrator Raymond Drew, Parks & Recreation Director Mark Lavoie, Police Chief Robert Milano, and Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo. Councilors Thomas C. Jerram and Andrew J. Slaiby were absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
MINUTES #015
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Dalla Valle, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the special meeting held March 26, 2007 on budgets, and the minutes of the regular meeting held April 2, 2007.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #025
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Dalla Valle, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
BUDGET TRANSFERS #040
On a motion by Councilor McKenna, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the board voted unanimously to accept budget transfers from 1/1/07 through 3/31/07 and refer them to the Board of Finance.
RESCIND VOTE: BULLET PROOF VESTS #050
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor Soliani, a discussion took place in regard to the request to rescind the Council’s vote of 3/19/2007 “To authorize the use of UP TO $21,000.00 from Contingency to purchase bullet proof vests,” and go out for a formal bid.
It was noted that Councilors Jerram and Slaiby would have to rescind their original vote. Because they were not present, the Council voted to table the matter; however, the bidding process could still move forward.
MOTION TO TABLE #070
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to table the request to rescind the Council’s vote of 3/19/2007 “To authorize the use of UP TO $21,000.00 from Contingency to purchase bullet proof vests.”
RJB CONTRACTING, INC. #100
On a motion by Councilor Soliani, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation from the City Engineer and the Purchasing Agent, to award a unit price contract “Not to Exceed $500,000.00" to RJB Contracting, Inc. of Torrington, for the Neighborhood Sidewalk & Pedestrian Safety Improvements.”
City Engineer Edward Fabbri explained that they added work to the project so the bids came in higher than before.
IRRIGATION INSTALLATION AT COE PARK #155
On a motion by Councilor Soliani, seconded by Councilor Dalla Valle, the board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation from the Parks & Recreation Commission to waive the bid process and award the contract for Irrigation Installation at Coe Park to Artistic Irrigation in the amount of $43,000.00.
The superintendent of Parks & Recreation, Mark Lavoie, explained that Coe Park is funded by the Coe Trust, which carries funds for the Master Plan as well as for maintenance of the park. Monies earmarked for this project will come from the Master Plan Account, as designed in 2002. This work will complete the project to allow for the total irrigation of trees, plant beds and lawns. The Coe Park Sub Committee is in favor of this motion and Mr. Lavoie’s recommendation is to waive the bid process on this project
APPOINTMENT: THOMAS SCOVILLE TO BOF #240
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the board voted unanimously to appoint Thomas Scoville to the Board of Finance to fill a vacancy because of the resignation of Joseph Nader, for a term that will expire in December of 2009.
PROCLAMATION #260
On a motion by Councilor McKenna, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the board voted unanimously to accept the Proclamation entitled “Older Americans Month” - May 2007.
SMALL CITIES: LAVOZ HISPANA DE CT. #270
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to authorize the payment of $377.00 from Small Cities Fund #279 to LaVoz Hispana De Connecticut for an Invitation to Bid ad in regard to the Neighborhood Sidewalk & Pedestrian Safety Improvements Project.
SMALL CITIES: NORTHEAST MINORITY NEWS #270
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the board voted unanimously to authorize the payment of $492.00 from Small Cities Fund #279 to Northeast Minority News, Inc. for an Invitation to Bid ad in regard to the Neighborhood Sidewalk & Pedestrian Safety Improvements Project.
REFUND: HOUSING AUTH #280
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the board voted unanimously to authorize a refund of $1,769.72 from the current year’s Building Revenue #1312 to Vincent Capasso who applied for a building permit for repair work to be performed at the Torrington Towers, and alleges that the fee should be waived and that repairs do not warrant a town building inspector to perform inspections on this project.
Councilor Dalla Valle indicated that this matter was brought before the Council during his past tenure as Councilman, and projects that are done by the Housing Authority are worth waiving fees for, and that it is usually “any and all fees” associated with the project that have to do with the city. He stated that there should not be any issues with these matters, because the Housing Authority is a city entity.
Claudia Sweeney, Executive Director of the Housing Authority, asked if she was expected to appear before the Council each and every time they start a project. She pointed out that minutes from 2003 say that fees have been waived forever.
Councilor Dalla Valle suggested she bring a copy of those minutes to the Building Department and any other department that would levy fees, to use as reference.
PUBLIC HEARING: SEWER USE #350
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing date of May 7, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. to set the Sewer User Fee.
RECOMMENDATIONS: ST. LIGHT COMM. #365
Councilor Waldron made a motion to (1) Remove street lights on pole #1801 on East Albert Street, and pole #195 on Pilgrim Road, (2) Defer a decision to remove a light on pole #1112 on Lincoln Avenue until further review, and (3) Reinstall the street light that was knocked down on pole #H4104 on Dogwood Drive. Councilor Soliani seconded the motion. Unanimous.
Councilor Dalla Valle requested that a list of street lights to be discussed be submitted to the Council prior to their vote.
RE-OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #460
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Dalla Valle, the board voted unanimously to reopen the meeting to the public for “Agenda Items” only.
Mayor Bingham informed Bill Connole, from Connole Construction, that his letter has been forwarded to the Board of Public Safety, who has established a sub committee to address his concerns. A response will be available during their next scheduled meeting of May 9th.
BUS: DEPT. HEADS #575
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo informed the board that the fire department has been responding to citizens’ calls for help in the wake of the enormous amount of rain we had. He reported nothing catastrophic in terms of homes, but major issues resulted with roads, etc.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #620
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Bingham and members of the City Council.
Councilor Waldron recognized the passing of a fine person and civic leader, Alan Silano.
Councilor Soliani commended the city employees, especially the Torrington Fire Department, for their diligence in dealing with the heavy rains over the last 12 to 14 hours.
Councilor Dalla Valle recognized the passing of another wonderful person this week, Roberta Ohotnicky.
Mayor Bingham explained that Bill Connole has taken offense to city employees doing work on public buildings that don’t go out to bid. As stated earlier, a sub committee of the Board of Safety was established to address his issues in regard to the renovation work performed at the North End Station.
Mayor Bingham stated that a partial emergency operations center was opened at the Police Department with a representation from Public Works, the Police and Fire Departments, and Campion Ambulance, who gathered information and addressed any concerns in regard to flooding. The city experienced extensive damage to our roads, our drainage, etc., and we’ll be applying for any kind of disaster relief possible. He reported that Torrington’s levy system worked magnificently.
ADJOURNMENT #815
On a motion by Councilor Dalla Valle, seconded by Councilor McKenna, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:58 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC
CITY CLERK
| 
