BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting March 7, 2011
Town Office Building- Lower Level Conference Room 6:30 P.M.
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Millix & Blessington, Lynn Nicholls and residents.
First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes:
Selectman Blessington motioned to approve the minutes of February 22, 2011 as written.
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
Selectman Blessington motioned to approve the minutes of March 2, 2011 as written.
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
Present to Speak:
No one.
Correspondence:
A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office.
First Selectman Status Report
First Selectman Mailhos went over the updated report:
*Center School Water Project – The final hook up was planned for this week; however there was a permit issue that is currently being dealt with. We are expecting to have it finalized and connected soon.
*EECBG Grant – The project is out to bid and we have extended the due date to March 15th resulting from the walk through and addendum being issued. The EAC will then make recommendations to the BOS.
*Knowlton Property – We now officially own the property. The easement documentation has been sent to the Attorney, who will forward with the deed to DEP.
Public Works:
Lynn said that we will receive FEMA Funds (75% reimbursement) from Storm Benedict, which is good news. The bad news is that we will most likely end up spending that money repairing or replacing the dirt roads around Town. She has asked for people to stay off of the dirt roads as much as possible to avoid further damage. First Selectman Mailhos said that Burma Road is a problem. It was badly damaged from the heavy rain last night and is impassable. Lynn said there is only one house at the top of the road, and there is no one staying there right now, which helps the situation.
Old business
- Town Services Survey discussion
First Selectman Mailhos said the Town Attorney suggested redacting the comments made regarding employee’s personal lives and also suggested to put a disclaimer stating these are not the opinions of the Board of Selectmen or any other board; they are the opinion of the survey respondents on the documents. The Board noted that there are many misconceptions stated in the comments and things are not what they always seem. She said after reviewing the comments, the subject that stood out and had the most remarks were people asking why we have two Fire Departments, and asking for consideration in combining the two. Could this save the Town money if we only had one? The other big topic reflected that the library is not open enough hours. The comments state that people want to maintain what we have; or improve certain
areas. The other aspect is that these things will end up costing more money and people were clear that they do not want to have their taxes raised. In order to maintain what we have we will need to increase our revenues somehow or be more efficient.
Selectman Blessington said the Fire Department is considered as the third rail of politics in Willington; everybody knows we should discuss it, but are afraid to. Maybe the time has come to look into it. First Selectman Mailhos suggested forming a study committee to see what we find and asked the other Selectmen to come up with a list of general ideas of types of people who should be appointed to the Committee. She would like to have representation of the three political parties involved. Selectman Millix suggested having at least two representatives from both Fire Departments. First Selectman Mailhos stated that we do not have the luxury of not knowing if it is what is best for the Town and thinks it would be a good starting point.
Selectman Blessington said after reading the comments he saw two kinds of people who responded: The ones who are comfortable and have extra money to spend on taxes and the others who are broke. What do we do, and who do we listen to? First Selectman Mailhos said we should try to listen to everyone. She said if the other Selectmen find specific comments they feel should be redacted to notify Robin to do so. Mr. Wiecienski suggested publicizing the comments in the Willington Word to inform the residents.
First Selectman Mailhos presented the budget at the Board of Finance meeting last Thursday. The Board of Finance asked many questions. As of right now we are estimated at a .8mil increase, including all of the proposed cuts, revenue projections and Region 19’s budget. The next BOF meeting will be held on Thursday March 10 and they will discuss what mil increase, if any, they will be comfortable with going to Referendum with. They could perhaps come back and ask for more cuts.
New Business:
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $1769.98 to Robert Sutton; Willington, CT 06279 for a refund of excess payment.
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $107.16 to Jay Holbrook; East Hartford, CT 06118 for a refund credit for a sold vehicle.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund DCFS Trust; Westlake, TX 76262 in the amount of $23.36 for a refund credit for a sold vehicle.
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos said Fifth grade junior Girl Scout Troop 65014 were going to come tonight to ask for permission to hold a Town Wide Clean Up Day, however some members and a few leaders have come down with strep throat, and were not able to make the meeting. They will hopefully come to the next regular meeting. The event will be held April 23, in honor of Earth Day and the Scouts will also earn a Bronze Award. They will be looking for volunteers to adopt roads to clean up through Town. Those who volunteer will earn tickets for a free ice cream at Willington Day.
Good & Welfare:
First Selectman Mailhos said she had some good news to share. The generous family who sponsored the library “matching funds” fundraiser has offered to do it again this year with a donation of $10,000. She thinks that is awesome and will work on a press release to get the word out. Suzanne Chapman said last year the bulk of the money was raised in less than five weeks.
Congratulations to the Purple Pear by Tina, (a Willington resident) whose caramel pecan cream topping won top honors in a statewide competition.
The Hidden Dragon Karate Studio just won the 2011 National Kempo School of the Year award from the U.S.A. Martial Hall of Fame. This award goes to both the Willington and Vernon studio locations. First Selectman Mailhos said that is a great local business that has massively grown over the past few years. Sense Dan has become an important part of our community and she sends congratulations to him and his studio.
Thank you to the Residents who sent in a $35.00 donation to the dog fund in memory of Mr. Les Merhoff. First Selectman Mailhos said there will be a Non-native Invasive Species commemorative Walk for Mr. Merhoff, who passed away in December, on Saturday, June 4th at 2PM. The walk will begin at the Eagleville Dam parking lot off of Route 275.
Selectman Millix motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:26 P.M.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant
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