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Minutes 10/05/2009


MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY
October 5, 2009
A   REGULAR  MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held in the Senior Center Main Room on Monday, October 05, 2009.
Present were Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, City Councilors Michael Colangelo, Elinor Carbone, Richard Dalla Valle, Thomas Jerram and
Drake Waldron, Interim Superintendent of Schools Ed Arum, Police Sergeant Mark Cattey, Police Sergeant Vincenzo Calabrese, Director of Elderly Services Nancy Hodkoski, LHNW Elderly Nutrition Program Supervisor Joel Sekorski, City Planner Martin Connor, WPC Administrator Ray Drew, Personnel Director Thomas Gritt,  Administrative Assistant to the Mayor Stephen Nocera, Director of Public Works Gerald Rollett, and Atty. Victor Muschell.
City Councilor Marie Soliani was absent.

Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
MINUTES #32
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Colangelo, the Council  voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting held September    30, 2009.         
 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #39
On a motion by Councilor Jerram, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council        voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. No one wished to speak.
THS SUMMER INTERN APPRECIATION: #48
Mayor Bingham expressed the City's gratitude for the assistance of the following eight Torrington High School Summer Interns: Jonathan Foster, Ryan Fredriksson, Peter Ganem, John Linnick, Alexis LoCicero, Sydney Ormsby, Breeanna Sullivan, and Kimberly Whipple.
CONSERVATION COMM.-DAVID WAUGH: #470
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Colangelo, the Council voted unanimously to appoint David Waugh as a member of the Conservation Commission filling the vacancy left by Lorraine Tipaldi.
CHANGES TO PENSION AGREEMENT-LOCAL 818: #
On a motion by Councilor Jerram, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to approve changes to Local 818, Council 4, AFSCME City Supervisors pension agreement per letter dated October 1, 2009 from Atty. Victor Muschell.
Atty. Muschell explained that Local 818 has agreed to a defined contribution plan that will be a huge step forward for the City, saving a lot of money. He added that four employee groups have agreed to this, with three remaining.
MUNICIPAL RENOVATIONS: #613
On a motion by Councilor Jerram, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to approve the following payments from the Municipal Renovations Fund #0316:  
$3,174.00 to Special Testing Laboratories for Invoice #23987, Inspections and
$8.98 to CL & P for Invoice #91109 for a Final Electric Bill.
PURCHASE TWO SNOW PLOWS: #660
Councilor Dalla Valle made a motion to table the recommendation of Fleet Manager Emil Castro and Purchasing Agent Pennie Zucco to purchase two Larochelle Snow Plows from Truck Builders of CT of Terryville, CT in the amount of $15,410.00.
Councilor Colangelo seconded, and the motion to table was unanimously approved.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AGENDA ITEMS ONLY #668
On a motion by Councilor Colangelo, seconded by Councilor Dalla Valle, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public on "agenda items" only. No one wished to speak.
BUSINESS BY DEPT HEADS #677
On a motion by Councilor Colangelo, seconded by Councilor Jerram, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.

Public Works Director Rollett explained his memo regarding the formation of a Regional Solid Waste Authority, to be considered in the October 19, 2009 City Council & WPCA Meeting.  
BUSINESS BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL #840
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Jerram, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by the Mayor and members of City Council.

Councilor Colangelo inquired about the clerical error in the Police overtime budget and about how Brownfields are determined.
Mayor Bingham explained the procedure. He said we are currently operating two of three different grants which are assessment grants to determine whether or not the sites are contaminated.  They are not site specific and site priorities were determined last year.
Mayor Bingham further explained that Phase 1 is a historical look at what a Brownfield is and Phase 2 is comprised of actual borings, testing pits, wells, and soil samples to determine what the land consists of. Phase 3 is similar to Phase 2, but more in depth, and includes a Remedial Action Plan which determines the cost of cleanup depending on the building use.  
He said the cleanup grant started October 1st , that RFPs will go out for environmental consultants, a marketing plan will be created to attract developers, and we will ultimately use the grant money as a revolving loan similar to the housing rehab fund.
Mayor Bingham explained that a Brownfield is a parcel of property with any number of buildings on it that is potentially contaminated and ready for development.  A local and regional list of potential Brownfields is being developed through the NW CT Economic Development Corporation.

Councilor Jerram thanked the unions for agreeing to the defined contribution plan.
ADJOURNMENT #1094
On a motion by Councilor Colangelo, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:12 p.m.

ATTEST: CAROL L. ANDERSON, CCTC
              ASST. CITY CLERK