MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL AND WPC AUTHORITY
NOVEMBER 21, 2011
A REGULAR MEETING of the City Council & WPC Authority was held in the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, November 21, 2011.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, City Councilors Gregg Cogswell, Paul Samele, Elinor Carbone, Marie Soliani and Drake Waldron, City Engineer Ed Fabbri, Senators Kevin Witkos and Andrew Roraback, and Representatives Michelle Cook and Roberta Willis. City Councilor Gerald Zordan was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no one who wished to speak.
PRESENTATION: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Senator Witkos said, as the ranking senator on the Energy & Technology Committee, he is working on the problems with Tropical Storm Irene and Storm Alfred. They have written a letter to the Public Utility Regulatory Authority to conduct a contested case asking for measures to be investigated, such as staffing levels, response levels, appropriate manpower staffing, what they consider appropriate times, storm assessment, and communications. Their report has to be concluded by Feb 1, 2012, so they can act on it.
Representative Cook said she sits on the Education Committee, the Human Services Committee, and the the Committee on Aging. She requested the City Council send her an agenda next time, to help prepare her legislative update. She said Education is a huge thing that we struggle with in Torrington and keeping Oliver Wolcott Tech open was a passion of hers. There is a task force doing hearings around the State and the State Board of Education is analyzing the technical school system as a whole. Rep. Cook said it's important to know they have been doing the research and holding hearings, attended by people from Oliver Wolcott Tech and the alumni association who express the significant importance of that school.
Rep. Cook said the Human Services Committee covers the Dept. of Social Services, Dept. of Developmental Services and Dept. of Children and Families – three huge financial burdens to the State. They are in the middle of changing the insurance companies for the State of CT Husky program which will become the CT Health Network instead of Aetna starting January 1, 2012. Rep. Cook said it’s a great change, a not-for-profit company taking over the insurance with the State having direct oversight.
Regarding the Committee on Aging, Rep. Cook noted that the Northwest Corner is the most rapidly aging part of Connecticut. They hope to change laws for nursing homes, with a goal of keeping patients at home. She is advocating background checks to make sure the people taking care of our elderly are well-checked and are the right people for the job.
Representative Willis thanked the City Council for inviting her here tonight. She said the resent storm was an issue for people in Torrington, but she thought Torrington did a very good job staying on top of it with our Operations Center. She noted that a couple of miles from her home, Massachusetts and New York State had power. She said we need to seriously look at the Massachusetts law and to hold CL&P accountable. Rep. Willis said a gentleman died in Sharon, a friend's house burned down, eight people died in Connecticut, hundreds were treated everyday for carbon monoxide poisoning, people were out of work and schools were closed. She said we need to do something to ensure we have maintenance, line crews and maybe fines that apparently light a fire under the electric company so they know what
will happen if they don't respond quickly.
Being chair of the Higher Education Committee, Rep. Willis reported on her work towards preparing our students for the thousands of unfilled high tech manufacturing jobs in Connecticut. Torrington is well positioned, she said, because of NWCC and Oliver Wolcott School, and hopes to maximize that potential.
Rep. Willis reported on State aid to Torrington for Education, saying they've been able to maintain level funding. There has been a loss, she said, but it hasn't been in education. Over the years, the legislature and both governors have been steadfast in their commitment to ensure that Educational cost sharing grants stay constant. She cautioned that they are expecting a very difficult session again this year, but the legislature and the governor are committed to keeping our municipalities whole as best we can, and added that the governor did say recently that there are no promises about what's going to happen. She said all of us will try to work very hard to ensure that our towns and cities get the funding that they need.
Senator Roraback reported that he didn't receive a single call for eight days during the recent storm. One thing that he will be working on in the upcoming legislative session is to impose a requirement that when cell towers are built, they have backup generators as standard equipment. In today's world it's not a luxury, he said, it's a matter of life and death.
Sen. Roraback said he is apprehensive about the state budget that was passed in June, which contained an assumption that the new health program for State employees will save 47 million dollars this year. At the end of October this was corrected to 3 million dollars, he said, so between June and October an assumption that we would save 47 million dollars turned into the reality that we were only going to save 3 million dollars. Sen. Roraback said there were other assumptions in that budget which are equally problematic, such as the assumption that 600 million dollars would be saved over the next two years by finding savings not found so far. He said we have no idea where the administration is going to come up with 600 million dollars in savings and that he is fearful that we may be facing some challenging
budgets going forward.
Sen. Roraback said it's been a great disappointment of his to be unable to make some structural changes to our State government particularly that of new hires receiving the same rich package of pension benefits and health care benefits that we may not be able to afford going forward.
Lastly, Sen. Roraback reported that $250,000 has been approved to rewire the Timken Excelsior building on Field St. because the future courthouse needs its own electrical feed. He said the Governor declared he is committed to getting this (courthouse) done. Sen. Roraback said they are hoping the RFP will go out in January, and ideally we'd be breaking ground sometime this summer.
Councilor Soliani asked if the legislature will be able to work together, unlike what we're seeing in Washington. Rep. Willis replied that Connecticut should be held up as a standard for our US Congress. The Jobs Bill is a perfect example of how we came together, she said; We're all very proud of that and we do a pretty good job of trying to work together.
Sen. Witkos noted that if they vote for or against a bill, they may oppose each other here as the Torrington delegation, but it doesn't mean that they don't get along. We're always ready to explain why we voted one way or another, he said. Sen. Witkos said he voted against the Jobs bill for the cost factor, as he didn't think the State could afford a billion dollars in taxpayers money to do something that does not have any immediate effect. He said when you're involved from the beginning, that's when true bipartisanship is made.
Rep. Cook added that there is another factor in that there are different constituencies throughout the state and issues that burden one town may not burden those in another.
Senator Roraback said they've always been able to work in a bipartisan way in the State of CT. He noted that the budget process this year was a big disappointment to Republicans, who were excluded from any of the negotiations in connection with the budget as the Governor didn't need their votes. He said they were witnessing one party rule in the State of CT, with the ability to exclude a large segment of both the State Senate and the State House of Representatives from the process. This process left a third of Connecticut citizens without a voice, he said.
Rep. Willis commended the Mayor for doing a fantastic job with communication.
Mayor Bingham said that generally speaking, constituent issues tend to blend local issues with state issues, and our representatives are all willing to help Torrington as a whole.
Councilor Cogswell asked for redistricting information as soon as it becomes available, and requested the four Representatives return after the session is over next year.
CONSERVATION COMMISSION – Tara J. Holmberg
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Samele, the Council voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Tara J. Holmberg to the Conservation Commission, after the resignation of Linda Beyus.
SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING
On an amended motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing on December 5, 2011 to consider the discontinuance of Devaux Road and Guerdat Road as referenced on a map dated 9/13/2011 prepared by the City Engineering Department.
Councilor Soliani thanked Mr. Fabbri for his work on the other part of Devaux Road as the constituents there were very happy.
MUNICIPAL RENOVATIONS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to approve the following payments from Municipal Renovations Fund:
VENDOR |
INV# |
AMOUNT |
DESCRIPTION |
MB Handyman Services LLC |
110711 |
695.00 |
wall repair |
West State Mechanical |
18544 |
3,645.00 |
storm drains |
Councilor Soliani asked about the end of Municipal Renovations and the storm drains. She wondered if they are referring to storm drains that were put in while renovations were going on or if there are new storm drains. Mayor Bingham said most of the payments are complete, but a few are outstanding. There is an issue with HVAC system that will probably take longer to conclude, he said, and he will get the information to Councilor Soliani.
OPEN TO PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Soliani, 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 Waldron, seconded by Council Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Mr. Fabbri suggested that Council Members take a ride up to Devaux Road to see it.
BUSINESS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by the Mayor and members of the City Council.
Mayor Bingham asked Mr. Fabbri what can be expected in tomorrow's bid for Green Waste Clean-Up.
Mr. Fabbri replied that some local companies have expressed interest and picked up plans.
Councilor Carbone wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Mayor Bingham reported on a meeting of the CT Leadership Team and a recently completed "UConn Study", with a focus on arts and arts tourism as an economic driver. He suggested the Council start thinking about taking some of those suggestions and implementing them over time.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Carbone, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, and unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC ,
CITY CLERK
Respectfully Submitted
Carol L. Anderson, CCTC
Asst. City Clerk
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