MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL AND WPC AUTHORITY
OCTOBER 17, 2011
A REGULAR MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, October 17, 2011.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, City Councilors Paul Samele, Gerald Zordan, Gregg Cogswell, Elinor Carbone, and Drake Waldron. Also present were Fleet Manager Emil Castro, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Brett Simmons, City Engineer Ed Fabbri and Purchasing Agent Pennie Zucco. City Councilor Marie Soliani was absent.
PRESENTATION:
Certificates of Achievement were presented to the following Torrington High School students who served as summer interns in 2011: Connie Cheng, Natalia Clark, Raneem El-Ayoub, Maggie Finn, Amanda Graham, Marisa Iannacito, Angelica Mourges, Erin Paretti, Macie Pellegren, Mackenzie Peters, Alison Reardon, Evan Reynolds, Eric Rinaldi, Molly Sczuka, Thienthanh Trinh.
Mayor Bingham said the students performed over 700 hours of volunteer work. He attributed this year's Main St. Marketplace success to the hard work of ten summer interns, for which the Mayor said he is extremely appreciative. He also thanked the interns who worked at the City Clerk's office, Mayor's Office, Elderly Nutrition, and the Board of Education. Mayor Bingham thanked Torrington High School, the Board of Education, THS Career Center's Jo-ann Cracco, THS Principal Joanne Creedon, the students and their parents.
OPEN MEETING
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.
MINUTES
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Regular Meetings held September 19, and October 3, 2011. Councilor Samele abstained from the vote regarding the September 19, 2011 meeting.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no one present who wished to speak.
OAK AVE. FIELDS DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the council voted unanimously to authorize the Mayor to award a LOCIP-funded contract to Hemlock Construction Co., Inc. of Torrington, CT, in the amount of $171,495.00, and to act on the behalf of the City regarding the execution of the contract and its administration including approval of payment applications.
Councilor Cogswell noted that this bid was much lower than the others and asked if we're confident they are providing everything we're looking for. Mr. Fabbri said Hemlock Construction has done a lot of work in Torrington, and he feels they are very qualified to do the work and that they will stand by their bid and get the job done.
COE PARK PHASE TWO DESIGN SVCS.
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to waive the bid process and award the Phase Two Design Services project to Fuss & O'Neill, Inc. of Simsbury, CT in the amount of $37,500, paid from the Coe-Godfrey Trust Fund, and approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Coe Memorial Park Advisory Committee.
Councilor Waldron asked if this is the same architect that did Phase One, and if that's why the bid process is being waived. Mr. Simmons explained that Mr. Chris Ferrero, currently of Fuss and O'Neil, did work on the master plan when he was with Ferrero and Hickson. Councilor Cogswell asked if the Parks and Recreation Commission's, and Coe Memorial Park Advisory Committee's recommendations were unanimous. Mr. Simmons said they were.
TORRINGTON BASEBALL LEASE AGREEMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Samele, the Council voted unanimously to approve the annual extension of the Fuessenich Park lease agreement with Torrington Baseball Group, LLC for the period of May 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012, as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
SNOW PLOW PURCHASE
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Purchasing Agent, Fleet Manager and the Superintendent of Streets to purchase one (1) Larochelle snow plow from Truck Builders of Ct. for $8,750.
SPREADER PURCHASE
On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Purchasing Agent, Fleet Manager and the Superintendent of Streets to purchase one (1) Spreader (Stainless Steel) from Interstate for $8,844.
BUDGET TRANSFERS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to authorize budget transfers for FY2010/2011 identified in the Comptroller's Memo dated October 12, 2011.
SMALL CITIES PAYMENTS
On a motion by Councilor Samele, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the council voted unanimously to approve the following payments:
VENDOR INV# FUND AMOUNT DESCRIPTION
Martin Laviero Contractors, Inc. MLR-18 274 Micro Fund 20,327.61 Pmt. Appl. 32
254 BLR Fund
Martin Laviero Contractors, Inc. 143-CDBGR22 282 Maiden Lane 12,601.29 Pmt. Appl. 2
City of Torrington 10-SC-18 251 Small Cities 2010 75.00 Title Search
L. Wagner & Assocs. 143-CDBGR23 282 Maiden Lane 4,725.00 Prof. Svcs.
L. Wagner & Assocs. 10-SC-19 251 Small Cities 2009 1,800.00 Prof. Svcs.
L. Wagner & Assocs. 10-SC-20 251 Small Cities 2009 3,675.00 Prof. Svcs.
MUNICIPAL RENOVATIONS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to approve a payment of $1,495.00 to Turri, Inc. from Fund #316, Municipal Renovations, for the City Hall Elevator.
BUILDING DEPT. REPORT
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to accept the Building Department Report for September 2011.
OPEN TO PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public on agenda items only. There was no one who wished to speak.
BUSINESS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS
On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Council Samele, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Mr. Simmons introduced the Titans' new general manager, Mr. Sander Stotland, who will be hosting a town hall meeting on Thursday Oct. 20th to offer an overview and recap of the Titans' last season, and give a preview of what is in store for the upcoming season.
BUSINESS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by the Mayor and members of the City Council.
Councilor Cogswell thanked the summer interns for all their help, and said he's glad to see the Titans coming back, as it was a great summer.
Mayor Bingham commended the summer interns, as well as the Mayor's Committee on Youth, saying they are comprised of some of the best and the brightest students in Torrington, our future leaders.
Councilor Waldron asked about the Fireworks Committee's progress. Mayor Bingham said an agreement was attained from vendor American Thunder to look at locations and perform initial test shoots at no charge. He said things are progressing and there is community interest.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Samele, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, and unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC , CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
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