Torrington Blue Ribbon Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Torrington City Hall, 5 PM Office of the Mayor
Members Present: Mayor Bingham, Elinor Carbone, Ken Traub, Lorel Purcell, Mike Clark, and Doug O’Connell; also present: advisors School Superintendent Chris Leone, and Mayoral Aide Stephen Nocera.
1) The meeting was opened at 5 PM on a motion by Ms. Carbone, seconded by Mr. Clark.
2) Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of 05.10.11 was made on a motion by Ms. Carbone, seconded by Mr. Clark, and unanimously approved by the commission with one abstention by Mayor Bingham due to his not being at 5.10.11 meeting.
3) Ms. Purcell reviewed/ updated the BRC task list and schedule:
• BOE Offices will remain at 555 Migeon Avenue
• Civilianization of the Police Records Unit will be tabled for six months.
• Bid/Purchasing lists from the City and BOE have been completed; the next step is to overlay/merge them and find common areas of purchasing and comparison of costs for same. Ms. Purcell stated that a meeting of that task group would be held prior to the next BRC meeting.
• Analysis leading to cooperative purchasing among the four City fire departments continues with a recommendation presentation in the area of 10/1/11 per Mr. Traub.
• Landlord fees and Citywide MSW revision analysis were deemed by Mayor Bingham as being too involved for one task group to cover. The tasks were separated into two separate groups chaired by Mr. Traub on landlord fees, and Mr. Clark on MSW services. Mr. Clark stated that there was too much overlap in the two tasks and it was likely that duplication of effort would result. Mayor Bingham said he would have a meeting with the two chairpersons next week to develop a path forward.
• Mr. Traub stated that his review of City equipment revealed a redundancy of equipment among City and BOE departments and stated that he was putting together a recommendation to consolidate/reassign some pieces of equipment and dispose of others.
• Mayor Bingham stated that the Engineering and Public Works departments were developing a recommendation for a more energy efficient street light program with an anticipated mid-July presentation to the BRC
4) Mayor Bingham stated that the City budget was still under negotiation to cover an $80,000 shortfall, and that he is working with the City Police department towards closing the gap. The Mayor stated that the State budget is still uncertain.
5) Mayor Bingham stated there is no change in the mission of the BRC.
6) Under “Other Business”, Mr. Traub requested consideration for a hold on pending vehicle purchases until his equipment review is completed. He sited that his opinion was that the City had too many trucks presently and new ones were not necessary. The mayor stated that City Council had approved the pending purchases and that their impact was included with current budget compilation.
7) The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM on a motion by Mr. Traub, seconded by Ms. Carbone and approved by the commission.
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