MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
CITY COUNCIL & WPC AUTHORITY
September 4, 2012
A REGULAR MEETING was held by the City Council & WPC Authority in the City Hall Auditorium on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.
Present were Mayor Ryan Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, City Councilors Gregg Cogswell, Paul Samele, Elinor Carbone, Gerald Zordan, Marie Soliani and Drake Waldron, Acting Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Smedick, City Engineer Ed Fabbri, Elderly Nutrition Supervisor Joel Sekorski, Director of Parks and Recreation Brett Simmons, and Personnel Director Thomas Gritt. Also present was Atty. Victor Muschell.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.
MINUTES
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting held August 6, 2012. Councilor Samele abstained.
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Special Telephonic Meeting held August 21, 2012. Councilors Carbone and Samele abstained.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
On a motion by Councilor Samele, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
Mary Bagnashi complained that the City Council, Charter Revision Commission, Board of Public Safety and Board of Ethics have done nothing to address her many emails and ADA Complaint dating back to 2003. She said she intends to pursue truth and justice for her three false arrests and to pursue her lawsuit. She said she has passed the State competency test and that there will be a Grand Jury investigation. Ms. Bagnashi said it is a shame that she was unable to attain a local solution to a local problem, but she intends to obtain answers to her questions that have gone unanswered since her accident in 2010.
AGREEMENT: Police Union Local 442 & City of Torrington
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Samele, the Council considered the agreement between the City of Torrington and the Torrington Police Union Local 442 Council 15 AFSCME for the contract period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015.
Atty. Muschell said the significance of this contract is a complete changeover in the City's medical insurance program including a new carrier, Cigna. This is a tremendous cost savings coupled with a zero wage increase, the second in four years he said. Other provisions include some increases in benefits, some changes in administrative provisions that will help the Chiefs run the Department, and some accommodation should the Charter change the disciplinary provisions with regard to the Board of Public Safety. Atty. Muschell said this tentative agreement speaks for itself, reminded the City Council that it has 30 days to act and if they do nothing, the contract becomes effective automatically in 30 days.
A vote was taken and the motion to approve this agreement was unanimously approved. The Mayor thanked Atty. Muschell and the members of the Police Union Executive Board who were in attendance.
COE MEMORIAL PARK COMMITTEE: L. Chiron
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to approve the Mayor's appointment of Lorenza B. Chiron as a member of the Coe Memorial Park Committee to complete a term to expire Dec. 31, 2014, vacated by Frank Pennington who resigned on April 23, 2012.
Mayor Bingham thanked Mr. Pennington for his many years of service, and added that he will be missed.
ALLOW PURCHASE OF CITY-OWNED LAND: 18 Norfolk Rd.
On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Soliani, the Council voted unanimously to accept the Planning & Zoning Commission's recommendation pursuant to General Statutes Section 8-24 to allow the purchase of City-owned land located at 18 Norfolk Road (rear).
Councilor Carbone asked if the property owners were paying taxes all this time. Atty. Weaver clarified that they were paying taxes on the property improvements but not on the land.
SALE OF PROPERTY: 18 Norfolk Rd.
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to approve the sale of 18 Norfolk Road (rear) in the amount of $6,000 to Albert and Carol Thebarge, and authorize the Mayor to execute a Quit Claim Deed for the conveyance.
SENIOR CENTER AIR CONDITIONING REPAIR
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council considered approval of a partial payment of $5,000 from Contingency to Air Temp Mechanical Services, Inc. of Southington, CT for the replacement/repair of two air conditioning units in Building B of the Sullivan Senior Center per the email from Nancy Hodkoski dated August 28, 2012.
Councilor Zordan questioned the contractor's second shift exclusion. Mr. Sekorski speculated that this may refer to refrigerant needing to be added after the Senior Center is closed, to avoid potential hazards.
Councilor Soliani asked if there were problems with the air conditioning in the past. Mr. Sekorski replied that they have been patching it for the past eight years.
Councilor Soliani asked why it wasn't put in the budget in the first place. Mr. Sekorski said in a tight budget, they can only maintain what they can and an assumption that something will break is never included in a budget.
Councilor Soliani asked if this is considered an emergency. Mr. Sekorski replied that yes, in 80 degree weather, while exercise classes are held, it is an emergency. They run their air conditioning through late October, he said, and noted that seniors need relief from high humidity as well.
Councilor Cogswell noted that the Senior Center is also considered a shelter. Mr. Sekorski said it operated for five days during a storm, and recently served as a cooling shelter, primarily for seniors.
Councilor Cogswell said he is willing to support this motion because it is important for health reasons, but is concerned about additional charges going forward.
The motion to approve was passed on a 5 to 1 vote with Councilor Soliani opposed.
COE MEMORIAL PARK ADDITIONAL SERVICES
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to approve an additional payment of $9,900 from the Coe Godfrey Trust Fund to Fuss & O'Neill of Simsbury, CT for additional services outlined in Vice President Christopher Ferrero's letter dated August 5, 2012. Addendum 1
Mr. Simmons explained this will be funded through the Capital line in the Trust. Councilor Carbone asked what the balance is in Fund 41. Mr. Simmons replied that they feel there is enough to cover this cost plus the anticipated constructions costs.
SANITARY SEWER EXTENSION: E. Main St.
Herein acting as the Water Pollution Control Authority, on a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Director of Public Works, City Engineer and WPCA Administrator to approve the extension of the sanitary sewer system as outlined in Administrator Ray Drew's memo dated August 30, 2012 and detailed in plans "East Main Street (US Rte. 202) Sewer Extension, 2015-2119 East Main St., Torrington, CT. Addendum 2
Councilor Carbone questioned the waiver of fees. Mr. Fabbri explained that these plans do not yet include any final information about fees. This is just an approval process for the extension, he said.
SANITARY SEWER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
Acting herein as the Water Pollution Control Authority, on a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to approve the following payments from Fund #490 Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement for Capital Project D-13 New Harwinton Rd. Pump Stn. Rehabilitation:
DATE CONTRACTOR INVOICE# AMOUNT DESCRIPTION
8/17/12 Wright Pierce 84705 $ 4,982.46 New Harwinton RD PS Upgrade
7/31/12 Delray Contracting Req#7 $127,886.87 New Harwinton RD PS Upgrade
SMALL CITIES PAYMENTS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Cogswell, the Council voted unanimously to approve the following payments from Small Cities Citywide Housing Rehab Fund #251:
DATE CONTRACTOR REQUISITION# AMOUNT DESCRIPTION
7/26/12 L. Wagner & Assocs. 10-SC-48 $2,400.00 Prof. Svcs. 4/1/12 – 7/31/12, Gen'l Admin
7/26/12 L. Wagner & Assocs. 10-SC-49 $6,840.00 Prof. Svcs. 4/1/12 – 7/31/12, Program Costs
MUNICIPAL RENOVATIONS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Samele, the Council voted unanimously to approve a payment of $2,896.87 from Municipal Renovations Fund #316 to O & G for services provided through June 30, 2012.
ILDING DEPT. REPORT
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to approve the Building Dept. report for the month of July, 2012.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AGENDA ITEMS ONLY
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Carbone, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public on "agenda items" only. There was no one present who wished to speak.
BUSINESS BY DEPT. HEADS
On a motion by Councilor Waldron, seconded by Councilor Zordan, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Atty. Weaver announced her resignation effective Thursday, September 13, 2012. She thanked the Mayor, City Council and City Workers for their support over the past 6 ½ years. She said it has been very exciting, interesting, rewarding and challenging. She said she really appreciates all the support and all the things we have been able to accomplish together.
BUSINESS BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL
On a motion by Councilor Cogswell, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to consider business presented by the Mayor and members of the City Council.
All members and the Mayor said they would miss Atty. Weaver, expressed their gratitude and wished her the best of luck.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Councilor Zordan, seconded by Councilor Samele, the Council voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:58 pm.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CMC CITY CLERK
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Respectfully Submitted, Car
ol L. Anderson, CCTC Asst. City Clerk
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