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Town of Willington
BOARD OF SELECTMEN • 40 OLD FARMS ROAD • WILLINGTON, CONNECTICUT 06279 • (860) 487-3100 • FAX (860) 487-3103
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
REGULAR MEETING OCT. 17, 2005
TOWN OFFICE BUILDING 6:30 P. M.
First Selectman Eldredge called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Blessington & Patton, L. Nicholls, K. Acimovic, L. Karpuska, J. & S. Lewis, A. St. Louis, R. Tulis,
R. Wiecenski, C. Woodworth, D. Woodworth, L. Worthington and the reporter from the Chronicle.
First Selectman Eldredge led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SELECTMAN BLESSINGTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF 10/3/05.
Selectman Patton seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
PRESENT TO SPEAK
Dave Woodworth, Chief of Willington Fire Dept. #1, commented that their department and Willington Hill Fire Dept. need to agree on the placement of the defibrillators that they will get through a grant. They agree that the Truck Stop should get one and they need to talk about a second placement. Hartford Hospital will do the training and they have certified trainers who will do a yearly re-training. They will also maintain the batteries.
CORRESPONDENCE
A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office.
PUBLIC WORKS
Lynn Nicholls commented that Karl Acimovic sat down Thursday morning and thought we were gaining on our list. Fri. night at 11:00 P.M. everything fell apart. I got a call that the waterfall on Turnpike gave way. It turned out to be the pond. I called Lou and we started to check everything out. I called Karl and asked to be first on his list. We drove around blocking off different areas. This brings up a situation that I need clarification on. I tried to get in touch with you Mike, I’m not even sure if you got my message, you have to fix your voice mail, I don’t even know if I am talking to you. I know Jeff was with you; I called him and left a message. I then call Mr. Blessington; he had to go to work and left me a work number. Finally I called Mr.
Patton. This is the second weekend in a row that I had to call Mr. Patton and I know you don’t appreciate it. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I was at Cape Cod, I got your message on my cell phone around 8:00 A.M. and immediately drove back and was here by twelve, your message went through. Lynn commented that I had no knowledge of that. This started at 11 P.M. Fri. night and by 4 A.M. we had lost 5 roads, I was standing with my hands tied wondering if I should call contractors, there is 3 of us in Town from Public Works and there is 90 miles of road to cover. This is why I called Mr. Patton, I can’t get a weedwacker fixed without your approval and yet the Town if falling apart and I needed guidance. First Selectman Eldredge asked did you call
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me at night? Lynn commented that I called you at 4 A.M. then Mr. Blessington and then Mr. Patton because by then I had no choice. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I called you at 8 A.M. Lynn commented that in the meantime I got contractors in, I got Valerie in to answer phone at Public Works, I also got a fireman to cover the transfer station so I could have one of our men from there. This Town was literally drowning and there are not enough employees at Public Works to cover all the roads. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I talked to you Sat. afternoon when I got back in Town. I went out with Karl Acimovic and we went over all the damage assessments. Lynn commented that you are not answering my question; you are getting upset with me for calling Mr. Patton.
What is your procedure? Not to call Mr. Patton who is also a Selectman in Town. First Selectman Eldredge commented no, but I want you to call me first, my cell phone was on, I got your message. Lynn commented that my feeling is, and I want to make it clear, I called Karl and told him what was going on, I tried you, you weren’t around. I tried Mr. Blessington, this is the second weekend in a row we had an emergency I cannot wait 4 or 5 hours for answers. If I need contractors I need them now, I can’t wait until eight o’clock when they have already gotten calls from other towns. First Selectman Eldredge commented that when I talked to you at 8 A.M. Sat. morning I said go ahead and do what you need to do start hauling materials in with the contractors. That was the first time I talked to you and I said go ahead and bring in the materials. After the evaluation Sat. I talked to you Sun. morning and concurred
with both Selectmen to bring in the contractor laborers and start fixing things. Lynn commented that Sun. morning, before I had the contractors lined up, 3 of us started at 6 A.M. I had the contractors lined up and you called me and told me not to because we didn’t have money or state funding. First Selectman Eldredge commented that you told me that you were going to stop Sonny Hipsky coming in to talk to you, I said hold off on that and that is when I concurred with both Selectmen before we brought in contractors. I called you back within 10 or 15 minutes. Lynn commented that she wants clarification, can I or can I not call another Selectman in a case of emergency and get help? Last weekend there was another emergency, I was up in Holyoke, you were not available, I left a message, I called your house, I called your daughter, and she tried you. I tried Mr. Patton because I knew somebody better take care of this. First Selectman
Eldredge asked are you talking about the emergency situation at the Transfer Station? Lynn replied yes. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I called you back when you were heading back and I was coming back into Town. You can call the other Selectmen; I have no problem with that. Lynn asked then why do you get mad when I do? First Selectman Eldredge commented because the decision has to be between you and I. Selectman Patton commented that I will tell you what I saw Sat. morning and that is part of the problem; Lynn called me at 5 A.M. I was already on the road, I went to Public Works. What I saw was 3 people, very competent, doing the job for a long time, sitting there paralyzed with indecision because they were taught not to do anything without your approval. So in a situation where they couldn’t get hold of you, and granted you were at the Cape and that is perfectly understandable, but during an emergency situation they
need to act and they are afraid to act. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I don’t agree with that. Selectman Patton commented you were not there. I saw it and I am giving you my observations. I saw 3 people sitting there paralyzed with indecision because they felt they were not authorized to do anything until they heard from you. I was looking at them and saying what is wrong with them; they have been trained not to make a decision. We are in a middle of an emergency here and my response to them was go do what you have to do, if somebody has a problem with it I’ll write the check out and I’ll pay for it. This needed to be done, this town was drowning. The Public Works Dept. was sitting there saying I don’t know what to do; I understand that you were out of town, but you created a situation where Public Works is unable to function unless they can get hold of you. That’s what I saw Sat. morning. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he does not agree with that.
Lynn commented that last week Val had 19 hours because she covered the Transfer Station because I took Red out on the road for flagging, you wrote why over 18 hours, she doesn’t get overtime. The next day she had half hour overtime because we had a storm and I asked her to please stay to answer the phone, again why over 18 hours? I put in a requisition for $8,000 for the backhoe to be fixed, you wrote see me on this I want a firm estimate; I put in $2,000 for miscellaneous maintenance for
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Stafford Mechanical to get our oil furnace up and running, see me on this. I put in sand for snow budget, you wrote please bring in state bids, we had already discussed that; I had Lou’s truck fixed, you wrote why when we are going to replace it. You have my hands tied; I’m trying to run a department. First Selectman Eldredge commented, Lynn I asked you for the bids for the sand, you never brought them in, I would like to see them. I sign off on the purchase orders; I have the right to question the time card why it is over 18 hours. Why do you think I don’t have the right to question? Lynn commented you question every time card, I have to okay time cards yet I’m not allowed to look at the payroll and see that it jives with the time card; up to last payroll I was
allowed to do that, now the payroll for my department is sealed and I was told I cannot see it. First Selectman Eldredge commented that Terry has a method where you can see the hours but not the actual check. Lynn commented that I came to the 3 Selectmen before with Lou, the crew foreman, and asked please if Public Works could be taken out of your hands and put into Mr. Blessington’s. You denied it. Now we are in a confrontation where there is a problem and here again Mike you are trying to run my department. You call me and tell me brings the guys from one place to the other, I only have a certain amount of crew and I have to use them to the best of their abilities and this is what I’m trying to do. Even today you said take the full crew up to Tinkerville to fix that hole, it is a little hard when we don’t have an excavator, don’t have a good rolling machine; I put Lou on the grader down at Lustig because the road is
still impassable, I put Jeff in his truck hauling materials to Lou; Brian is over on Blair with Mihaliak, I have Knights up on Liska and the waterfalls bridge, I have Sonny with his equipment on Tinkerville and Turnpike. I know what I have to do, I know who has the equipment to do and yet you are telling me take all the crew and put them over here. First Selectman Eldredge commented remember a conversation where we decided where we would use the contractors and we were going to take our own people and start on Lustig Road Monday, do you remember that conversation? Lynn replied that was until we started going around again and saw that it was more than the ability of Public Works to handle that stuff. Karl and John Patton, thank God for them, were with us all weekend long giving their advice, even getting out on Turnpike Road to check on pipes, they are not adequate. We discovered a lot of things in the last 2 days that we didn’t realize were going
on. If it wasn’t for these gentlemen helping us out this weekend, we would probably still be in bad shape. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he has no doubt about that, I spent Sat. afternoon with him and then he was kind enough to come back Sun. morning to do evaluation on everything that got flooded that we were safe to run vehicles and buses. Lynn commented that what Karl and I were looking at how to fix things properly without putting band-aids on. First Selectman Eldredge commented I agree and when I talked to these gentlemen Sun. I called you immediately and told you bring in the contractors and start putting everything back together. The water receded sometime between Sat. & Sun. but we couldn’t do anything on Polster. Lynn commented that Polster was not the only road we had Ketches, Tinkerville, Turnpike, Turnpike Extension, Lustig. First Selectman Eldredge commented that’s right and Sun. morning we
brought in the contractors and concurred with both of these gentlemen before we made that commitment. Lynn commented that basically the contractors were brought in by Mr. John Patton and myself on Sat. to start hauling materials so if it stopped raining Sat. afternoon like it was supposed to we could have started, but it did not. First Selectman Eldredge commented didn’t I tell you to go ahead and do that when I talked to you on the phone Sat. morning? Lynn commented that at that time you told me it was a state emergency, I had the power to do so but up until that point I could not fix a weedwacker without your approval. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I do sign off on the purchase orders and I do have the responsibility to the Town to question anything and yes I’m going to. Lynn commented you question everything, not anything. First Selectman Eldredge commented no I don’t, I have the right to ask you a question on a
purchase order. Selectman Patton commented that he is going to go back, you are absolutely correct, you can run it any way you want; the problem is you have created a department that is unable to function unless they cannot get hold of you during an emergency. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he doesn’t agree with that, when she called me on the weekend before she asked me who is in authority? I said Lynn you are in authority in an emergency up at the Transfer Station so you need to go there. Selectman Patton commented that Lynn was out
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of town. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I was out of town too. I called her and said you need to go up there. Selectman Patton commented that you can listen to me or not listen to me, I am telling you that you created a department that is incapable of operating unless they can contact you. I understand they couldn’t contact you, when I got contacted at 4:45 A.M. I was already on the road, I changed all my plans to go back and meet with them and go round town and check the situation because they were incapable of making any decision; part of the problem was personnel, I told them to get one of the guys from the Transfer Station and they looked at me as if I was telling them to go kill somebody, they said they can’t do that we need to have 2 people up there at all times. I think this is an emergency what’s the problem with that? I understand that you called at your earliest time but what you created is a department that is unable to function unless they contact you.
There are times of emergencies, unless you are truly available 24/7, there is going to be issues and problems like there was this weekend. I saw it, to tell you the truth it was one of the most disturbing sights I’ve seen, these 3 grown people sitting there saying we don’t know what to do, we are not supposed to make any decisions. First Selectman Eldredge commented that’s not true, I disagree with that entirely. Selectman Patton commented you weren’t there, I was there, I saw it. First Selectman Eldredge commented that the first call I got was 7:30/8:00 A.M. it was on my machine. Lynn commented, lets back up, you don’t think I have a brain in my head, you don’t think I know what I’m doing, and this is the problem. I have a brain in my head and I have common sense and every time I feel like a little puppet I have to go to you and said can we get this fixed? This is what you make me feel like.
First Selectman Eldredge commented I’m sorry you feel that way but there are established guidelines. Lynn commented this is the truth. First Selectman Eldredge commented that is not the truth of anything, you work for me. Lynn commented that I work for the Town of Willington. First Selectman Eldredge commented that you report to the First Selectman. Why don’t we sit down and talk about this tomorrow. Lynn commented no I don’t think so; I would rather talk about this now. Every time you & I sit down its close the door and Lynn gets her butt kicked. First Selectman Eldredge commented Lynn never got her butt kicked, you never have and I never downgraded you but I have the right to question purchase orders, I want to know price and if we got competitive bids. I have that right and it is my responsibility to the Town. There are certain hours delegated for employees and I have the right to ask you if
they go over. Lynn commented even last week when we were asphalting on Turnpike you called me and asked are you asphalting today, I said no you said why, I said we had nobody to flag. You said you should have called in Dave and Red to flag on overtime. I can’t let Brian use the mower for a $1.00/hr. more but now you tell me bring these 2 guys in for overtime to flag. We still have other priorities in town that we have to take care of. I want to get Turnpike done just as much as anyone else. Karl & I went over the list and put priorities on it. Selectman Blessington commented that you say you can’t tell if you have his voice mail, what number is that? Lynn commented do you want to listen to it? I’ll be glad to dial it. Selectman Blessington asked what number is it. Lynn commented that it is his cell number, it’s gargled, I don’t even know if it is him or not. That’s why
last weekend I did not leave a message on it. Selectman Blessington asked did you leave a message on the emergency? Lynn commented that this weekend I did and I left a message on Jeff Semmelrock’s phone at the Cape. Selectman Blessington asked what time did you call Mike? Lynn commented that she thinks it was about 4 A.M. then I called you. Selectman Blessington commented that he didn’t think he was called until 5:30 A.M. Lynn commented that I called you before I called Mr. Patton. Selectman Blessington commented that I think you told me you called Patton already. Lynn commented no I did not. Selectman Blessington asked Mike; did you have a message on your phone? First Selectman Eldredge commented yes I did and as soon as I realized it was there I called her and that’s when I told her go ahead do whatever you have to do, bring in the stuff, I believe it was still pouring at that time.
Lynn commented that at the time you called I was in a vehicle with Mr. Patton and Karl driving around looking at the damages and priority of work start. First Selectman Eldredge commented and that’s what Karl & I did when I got back around 12:00. I called Karl around 12:30 or 1:00 and we went through the same thing, the priority that I had. I got a phone call that the dam at the campground was overflowing, I met with Stuart Cobb and asked if we were overlooking something, are we
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doing everything we should be doing? Because I got that phone call, I got Karl and we looked at the dam to make sure we didn’t have a catastrophic situation coming down. Lynn commented that no one ever mentioned the dam to her. It is on private property. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he got a phone call at my house; if it was you could have a catastrophic situation, that’s why we went up there. Lynn commented Mike we had a situation we had Polster Road that was 2’ under water and a car already stuck in there. First Selectman Eldredge asked what are you saying? Lynn commented that all I am saying is that this is the second week in a row that I couldn’t get hold of you, I got hold of Mr. Patton and you got very upset about it. I don’t
understand, my feeling is that you 3 gentlemen work for the Town of Willington and I work for the Town of Willington. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he likes to be contacted first. Selectman Blessington commented okay, okay this is not the forum. First Selectman Eldredge commented this is going nowhere. Selectman Blessington commented we are not accomplishing anything. Selectman Patton commented that you have an employee that is frustrated and has been up since Friday night with intermitted sleep and working all weekend. First Selectman Eldredge commented that’s why I think we should sit down and talk about it. Selectman Patton commented that he does have some other questions. First Selectman Eldredge asked Lynn to give a report as to where we are now, before the questions. Lynn commented that right now all roads are passable, we still have issues of wash outs along the sides of roads, we still have wash outs that
are major that Hipsky or Knights are going to have to take care of. We have drainage areas that we have to look at, we have areas that we thought were not so bad until we looked at them today, like the drainage on Turnpike, the dam on Turnpike was not the Town’s responsibility but we have to talk to the homeowner because that dam is in bad shape. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I know the other side of the Polster Bridge was fixed by the Knights; we also had a very bad wash out on Polster where Mihaliak 2 comes over. Have we addressed any of that issue? Lynn commented that Polster is open, where it came across and washed out Mihaliak 2 is not, what I did for there is going down to the library site and ask them for some of the big rocks, they said we could have it. I talked to Robin Knight they will put it on their truck and haul it to some of these areas where we can put it down the embankment and build it back up. We also do that
up on Turnpike by the falls are between the dam and the road. Karl Acimovic commented this must be done because if the erosion continues it will affect the road. First Selectman Eldredge asked if they have started any repairs on the down side of that? Lynn commented that repairs are started up there. We will have to take up the asphalt because we noticed sink holes on either side. Karl & I went there today to make sure there is no structural damage under the asphalt. First Selectman Eldredge asked how about the one going down Turnpike? Lynn commented going down Turnpike we will have to use the big stones to hold back the embankment and rebuild in that area. As you cross over Turnpike & Fermier coming back up the hill that’s where we discussed digging out a spill way on the right hand side but we found out today that there is actually piping in there but it is inadequate. In the meantime we filled it in with process
to patch it until we can talk about finances. First Selectman Eldredge asked have we addressed the issue on Liska Road? Lynn commented that Liska Road is all set at the moment, it has all been rip rap in; what we are going to do is later pour concrete slurry to hold it in place. Right now it is stable. We are going to have to get into some of these culverts and check them out to make sure there is no damage inside. First Selectman Eldredge asked did we address any of the issues on Lustig Road? Karl you and I discussed that if we did have another weather condition, there is only one way in and out of there and it was imperative that we work on that. Lynn commented that Lustig, Liska, Tinkerville they are all done except for asphalt. Since Mr. Hispky has the equipment to do asphalting, get them all fixed to the asphalt point and then he can take a day and do them. Selectman Patton asked what was the reason for the overlay on
Turnpike Road?
Lynn commented that there are so many potholes up there that instead of filling all the potholes just a quick overlay until we get the finances to correct it. On a lot of areas it did get washed out but the one area it did save us is by the dry hydrant; there were so many potholes there it probably would have washed it out. Selectman Patton asked Karl about the grant application for the Ketches Road Bridge, how far along are you on it? Karl commented that he got a new package the other day. Selectman Patton asked when is the package due? Karl
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commented next spring. The bridge has been on the list for the last few years so the state will fund it. Selectman Patton asked why did we miss last year? Karl commented that he is not sure why the deadline past, I thought we had to make a decision with respect to what type of funding we were going to go for, state or federal. State funding you can get right away; federal funding is a 5-year deal. The reimbursement for state funding is less, 30% funding and the rest is a loan, the federal is financed. Selectman Patton commented that I thought we decided 6 months ago to apply for federal funding. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he doesn’t know how long ago but we did decide to go with federal funding. Karl commented that we did do temporary repairs on the
part the state was concerned with. First Selectman Eldredge asked Karl were there any real problems when you looked at the Ketches Road Bridge on Sunday? Karl replied no and we checked it again today, there was a small amount of wash out on the down stream side, really minor, Lynn & I talked about it. Ralph Tulis commented that just as an observation, from where I sit on this whole thing, I ran into just about every member of the town crew over the weekend, I had concerns about Roaring Brook, Mike I don’t know what your management style is but if I were sitting in your shoes the first words out of my mouth would have been to tell Public Works you did a good job over the weekend with what you had. I am disappointed at that but I think Lynn and her crew did a great job this weekend. I think they deserve some thanks. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I agree with you Ralph, I think they did an excellent job for what they had to work
with and what they fixed. Mr. Tulis commented I think you have some intelligent people there, I think you ought to let them go a little bit and make their own decisions, if they have line items in the budget and they are spending money out of those line items in the budget, that’s what it is there for; they are smart enough to know how to spend that money. First Selectman Eldredge commented that’s correct Ralph but I am also responsible for the budget and for signing off on purchase orders. I don’t think I restrict them from doing things but I would certainly like to know when I have a question, why this or why that. I think I have the right to ask that and I think it is part of my job to ask those questions. Mr. Tulis commented that I hear that you micromanage a tad too much. First Selectman Eldredge commented that is an opinion I don’t agree with, I don’t think I do. Mr. Tulis commented no you wouldn’t. First Selectman Eldredge commented no I don’t think I micromanage.
Mr. Tulis commented it is another point of view and I think you do, it is a difference of opinion. First Selectman Eldredge commented that is fine. Selectman Patton commented that Sunday he got called out again to go look at some of the situations I was told you weren’t available to meet because you were busy and then I found out you were putting out political flyers. First Selectman Eldredge commented that he never got any call that he was unavailable to meet, I’m sorry but that did not happen. Selectman Patton commented the town is drowning, I am getting called to go out to sites and you are putting out flyers. I question the priorities, I have issues, I have property that I have to take care of but the town comes first. I could be going door to door this weekend, I could be putting flyers out but we had an emergency, you don’t do that. I have to tell you I am not shocked, but amazed that your priorities are to
stuff political flyers for election instead of monitoring the activities of the town when your Public Works employees, contractors and businesses are staying open on Sunday to put this town back together. First Selectman Eldredge commented John I handled the situation on Sunday, I even talked to you Sunday morning. Karl was doing the evaluations and I talked to Karl and Lynn. Whoever told you that they called me and I was unavailable to meet is an untruth that never happened. Selectman Patton commented but you were putting out political flyers. First Selectman Eldredge replied yes.
Karl Acimovic commented that on the problem areas that showed up over this past weekend are really indicative of long term problems of many of these sites; at some point we really do have to sit down and prioritize repairs for the future. First Selectman Eldredge commented that I think my first priority is to get everything back, as well stabilized as we can. Karl commented that for safety sake everything is stable at this point. From this point on if we sit down with that list that we talked about a while back a lot of these spots that had the problem need to be addressed for long-term solutions, Tinkerville, Lustig and Turnpike Roads and the Polster Road area. These were problem areas before and they will continue to be problems in the future. First Selectman Eldredge asked Karl if he had a
chance to look at any of the repairs that were made, are they
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satisfactory? Karl replied yes. First Selectman Eldredge commented that was a primary concern of mine, everything we went over Saturday, they certainly were a danger to everyone. Karl commented that there were a couple of spots where the drainage swails along the edge of Turnpike Road, we talked about before; there was some piping underneath and rather than put on a semi-permanent solution to that we decided to put process aggregate for now because that drainage has to be completely refilled. Selectman Patton asked S. Cobb how they made out with the 3 or 4 houses that were hit so badly. Chief Woodworth commented that the Jensen’s house had about 7’ of water in the basement, the Pierce house had a good 6’ of water and the Cobb house had about 4.5’, the old Queen Ann
Station had about 4 ‘of water. Right now they all are without heat and water and the Pierce house has no electricity. Another house on Baxter Rd. had about 6’ in their basement. First Selectman Eldredge commented that you pumped out a lot of basements. Stuart commented that we were only doing the ones that were really deep. Willington Hill Fire Dept. was also out. Stuart commented that he called the Red Cross and they said they only help if it gets on to the first floor. Stuart will clarify what they do and don’t do. Jack Lewis asked does the Salvation Army get involved in that? Stuart commented that he does not but that is something they will be looking into. Selectman Patton asked what was Public Works doing before the floods? Lynn commented they were working on Turnpike, working on drainage areas, getting dirt roads ready for winter and working on snowplow equipment. Selectman Patton
commented that he talked to Sen. Tony Guglielmo, the Governor is trying to get FEMA money. First Selectman Eldredge commented that we did get a letter on that; we have to get estimated costs from the contractors and the houses that were badly damaged. Stuart commented that he had 2 forms to fill out for short-term emergency expenses and long term permanent restoration. It remains to be seen whether that results in money. Selectman Patton asked did the Governor declare a state of emergency? First Selectman Eldredge commented not yet, once they get all the estimated costs from around the state, and that is due in by the 20th. the Dept. of Emergency Management will ask the Governor to call for a Presidential Disaster Declaration. Charlie Woodworth asked does the Town of Willington use the inmate program? First Selectman Eldredge commented that we used to. Mr. Woodworth commented that the D.O.T. uses it. First Selectman
Eldredge commented that we can consider using them. You must have one person with them all the time. I would support going with that program. Selectman Patton asked what is stopping us? Dave Woodworth asked for future reference, if we do not hear from you within a half hour can we call the second Selectman? First Selectman Eldredge commented yes, there has to be some logic to it to not hold up an emergency situation. Al St. Louis commented that we use emergency beepers; can’t the Board of Selectman have an emergency beeper and rotate it on weekends? Cell phones have dead spots and beepers do not. First Selectman Eldredge commented that we could certainly talk about it.
WATER SYSTEM
First Selectman Eldredge asked Karl Acimovic to give an update on the water system for senior housing. Karl commented that all tests are back, I contacted the DPUC and they sent the application form. We must sit down and do it because they’re financial and managerial questions there. When that is done we will send in the well reports and water quality testing and the yield test results to the DPUC and the Health Dept. When that is approved then we will go out for an RFP for the system. Selectman Patton asked Karl if he would explain the mystery to me of what the RFP was when we asked for a design proposal before, we met, talked about design, we asked them to do the design; we did all that right? Karl commented we did, the only that we discussed is that we didn’t have a
set number of line items which the engineers had to address so they assumed what they might have to do and from that they inferred the amount of work and the amount of money that would be involved. Selectman Patton asked would it be your assumption that when we selected Birmingham Utilities, since we asked them for engineering, they would be doing engineering? Karl commented that his assumption was that we asked them for qualifications for managerial and for engineering capabilities. They all came in with separate engineers; the management of the system was pretty straightforward and that was to be the main thing that we were after, the engineering while it came in with the managerial companies was not strictly
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defined so should they use the same engineers, I don’t know. There was a wide variation of the assumption of what they were supposed to do. First Selectman Eldredge asked how we not just asked them for a rough order of magnitude pricing so we could get some idea. Karl commented that wasn’t defined, I’m not sure what we were aiming for but when the prices came from $25,000 to $100,000 to me it was clear that we hadn’t defined definitely what they were supposed to do in terms of engineering. First Selectman Eldredge commented wasn’t one of the reasons was we didn’t have the testing back and you couldn’t define like we would in the forthcoming RFP for the engineering system. Karl commented that certainly part of what the engineering has to address, with
the yield test results and the water quality samples coming back, then they know what they have to design. Selectman Patton asked could explain the mystery of the 5 items we asked them to do, when we selected Birmingham Utilities to do what the proposal said, out of those 5 items what is Birmingham Utilities actual doing. Karl commented they will manage the system and not only manage the financial part but also the operational part of the system. First Selectman Eldredge asked and is that not the qualifications we were looking for? Karl commented that we were looking for more than that, we did ask for engineering, there is no question we asked for engineering. When the engineering came back and it was relatively undefined as to what need to be designed for they were unclear and I was certainly unclear until we got the results back as to what the water system treatments were. First Selectman Eldredge commented and now will we actually define what
the whole design criteria will be when we put out the RFP? Karl commented that we have the yield test results, the water quality tests results and the well drilling reports so we have the 3 items that they need. First Selectman Eldredge commented that also would include the input from Hank as far as the capacity that has to be met for the building. Karl commented that at that point the engineer would have to work with Gardner Peterson and the architects and mechanical engineers to determine exactly what the exact water supply needs are going to be. They will also have to work with Stuart’s group to determine the fire needs for the complex. First Selectman Eldredge asked when DPUC receives the water reports will they determine if we need treatment or will it be a joint determination with the Health Dept.? We talked about some elevated levels in the water, which are not health problems. Karl commented that they are items you treat for. One solution is blending the wells and
the other solution is to add certain chemicals to filter. Selectman Patton asked is one of the wells bad? Karl commented that one well is good, one well is on the borderline and one well definitely has to be treated. It is possible that you might be able to blend some of these but given the fact that we will be using this for a long time probably the best approach is to design for filtration because you are going to be drawing in a lot more water and most likely that problem will continue to show up in the future. Selectman Patton commented you are going to do the application. Karl replied the Phase 1B and I need to meet with either one of you or three of you to go over the items for financial and managerial issues; how the relationship between the Town and the management company is going to work in the future, etc. The Board agreed to schedule a special meeting. Karl gave the Board copies of the application. Selectman Patton
commented as far as the engineering proposal we are going out for, if I understand correctly, we went out for engineering, didn’t like the answer so we said we are not going to use that and we will go out again. We did ask for an engineer proposal didn’t we? Karl commented that we asked for request for qualifications and request for proposal but the way they came back we obviously noticed that we didn’t have it strictly defined as to what the engineer was supposed to do. Given the price range of $25,000 to $100,000 everybody interpreted it differently. Selectman Patton asked when did you notice that and make a decision. Karl commented that I think I was here at one of the meetings when you guys discussed that. Selectman Patton commented that I was told that we never went out for an engineer proposal. Karl commented that it said request for proposals. Selectman Patton commented that I realize we did; now I want to
know when we changed our minds. Karl commented that I’m not sure when you changed your minds, but to me it became clear that the engineers didn’t have all the information they needed. Selectman Patton commented that we discussed that before the interview process, that hopefully by July when we interview them we would have it. Karl commented that the information we were looking for did not come until way after that. Selectman Patton commented that he wanted to be sure he read what he thought he read. Karl commented that
REGULAR MEETING -9- OCT. 17, 2005
if they had the information that we have now then they could have more closely defined what they had to do. Selectman Patton commented that at some time we said we were not going to take that engineering proposal, when we decided that is undefined, but I understand it was not your decision, just trying to make sure I understand it all. Karl commented that when you want do want a specific price proposal you do have to give everyone the same letters to give a price. Selectman Patton commented you will not get a dispute on that from me; so Lenard Engineering could end up actually doing the engineering. First Selectman Eldredge commented absolutely. Karl commented that the Health Dept. wants a copy of the DPUC application along with their application. Once there is approval by both
departments that everything is all set to go then you go to the Phase II part of it, the final design for the entire water system. First Selectman Eldredge commented and that’s when we go out for the RFP. Karl commented that at this point we have all the data for that. Selectman Patton asked is it to late to look at adding the Town Office Building, Center School and the Fire Department? Karl commented not at all. Selectman Patton asked when should we do it? Karl commented that during the Phase II portion the system should be so designed that these areas can be added in without having to reconstruct. It is an excellent solution; we have 4 wells that are providing a substantial amount of water and certainly enough for this building the Fire Dept. and the school. Selectman Patton commented that his concern was the school and if we have to do some kind of water modifications there. Karl commented that this would answer the
problems up there. Selectman Patton commented that is what I wanted to know. First Selectman Eldredge commented that the initial design would be so that what ever we do for the 32 units could be expanded, is that correct? Karl commented that is correct. First Selectman Eldredge commented you have 2 phases, the second phase is the cottages and the final phase would to be able to supply water up here. Karl commented that’s right, it is similar to what has been done with the septic system, a portion was built for the senior center, a portion is going to be built for the beginning of the housing project and land has been set aside suitable enough to deal with the remaining septic system and the water system should be the same. The footprint of the building should be sufficient enough to add treatments and pumping systems so that when you add on additional buildings you don’t have to reconstruct. First Selectman Eldredge commented
that is an interim cost which right now would be increasing the size of the building, the actual pumping unit. Karl replied correct. Selectman Patton commented that you might want to put in a little bigger pump. Karl commented yes the head differentials would be fairly substantial. In terms of pumping systems you will have to alternate pumps so you could leave room for a third pump that could have a higher head that could eventually pump up to these locations. You don’t have to put that third pump in just leave room for it and then you would have a large capacity pump and 2 small capacity pumps that would alternate during peak demand times. Selectman Patton commented like a booster pump. Karl commented exactly. Selectman Patton thanked Karl for being here.
JOB DESCRIPTION – BUSINESS MANAGER
SELECTMAN PATTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THE BUSINESS MANAGER.
First Selectman Eldredge seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
FIRST SELECTMAN ELDREDGE MOVED TO ADD TAX REFUNDS TO THE AGENDA.
Selectman Patton seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
APPOINTMENTS
FIRST SELECTMAN ELDREDGE MOVED TO APPOINT DAVID WOODWORTH TO THE LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE.
REGULAR MEETING -10- OCT. 17, 2005
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
GOOD & WELFARE
Lynn Nicholls commented that over the weekend Merritt and Robin Knight’s sister drowned. A special thanks should go to them. Selectman Patton commented that they went right to work for the Town. Jack Lewis commented that he watched Public Works all weekend, we really have a terrific crew and they need an attaboy!
TAX REFUNDS
FIRST SELECTMAN ELDREDGE MOVED TO APPROVE A TAX REFUND OF $35.46 TO LINDA MINER.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
SELECTMAN PATTON MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:49 P.M.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
VOTE: 3 YES (ELDREDGE, BLESSINGTON & PATTON) 0 NO
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Bowen
Mary Bowen
Secretary
Board of Selectmen
860-487-3100
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