BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting September 6, 2011
Town Office Building- Selectmen’s 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 a resident. First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes:
Selectman Blessington motioned to approve the minutes of August 15, 2011 as written.
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix, Blessington) 0 No.
Present to Speak:
Mr. Wiecenski thanked First Selectman Mailhos for her hard work last week at the Emergency Operation Center.
Correspondence:
A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office.
First Selectman Status Report
First Selectman Mailhos said because she was working out of the EOC last week, she regrets that she has not had time to update the report, however she reviewed a few of the items that have had progress:
*EECBG Grant – the project is completed, the paperwork is the last thing to be done. We are waiting for the finalization submittal from the contractor.
*Turnpike Road Extension – part of the culvert has been delivered on Friday. They are hoping to order more parts this week.
*Potter School Road – Lynn is waiting for a formal letter to come in regarding the fish ladder that needs to be installed from DEP.
*Water Main Extension for Town Office Building – we should be getting the actual proposal from Anchor Engineering and a change order from Gerber Construction by Friday. A final decision will then be made.
First Selectman Mailhos received an email from Doug Roberts who was checking on the status of his request to remove trees along Michalec Road. The trees interfere with the safe passage of walkers. First Selectman Mailhos said she had checked with the Finance Department and was told that we could access the funds and Lynn was to get approval from the Zoning agent prior to cutting the trees. Selectman Blessington said he is getting tired of waiting for approval - this is a safety issue and needs to be done. Selectman Millix said this was brought up quite a while ago. It should have been done prior to the start of school. Lynn said she will submit the form and in the meantime go out to bid to have the trees taken down, pull the stumps and fill with gravel. If we don’t get approval before the
bids are received, she will move forward. She does not need to get a permit just to cut the trees. Selectman Blessington said his point is when it comes to dealing with planning and zoning, the process gets delayed.
First Selectman Mailhos has asked the Conservation Commission if they were interested in the property on Moose Meadow, as it is going up for tax sale. They sent a letter with their findings. They performed a thorough evaluation and found that the property is not identified as a high priority area for conservation. They would like to wait for a larger parcel or on one that is adjacent to an existing parcel owned by the Town. First Selectman Mailhos thanked them for taking the time to evaluate the property.
Public Works:
Lynn said the crew is brush cutting, shimming and chip sealing. They are still cleaning up after the Tropical Storm Irene. A partial delivery of mulch was dropped off at the new playscape at Center School, and the crew spread what they got today.
During the storm, they put out over 100 cones, and only got 30 back. She asked those who may have taken the cones to please return them to Public Works as they are Town property. The crew is now facing repairs from the heavy rains today. She thanked everyone who lowered their dams prior to Irene. We did not have any real flooding during the storm.
Lastly, the new dump truck has arrived. Lynn would like to put the old one out for sale. Snow Plow bids will also go out. Selectman Millix would like to have a disclaimer put on the bids stating any property damage will be the responsibility of the contractor and will be deducted from their payment.
New Business:
- Tropical Storm Irene situation update.
First Selectman recapped the week. In the week leading up to the hurricane, conference calls were held to make storm preparations. Saturday morning, a meeting was held at the Fire Department to prepare for the upcoming storm. In attendance were Emergency Management Director, Stuart Cobb, Willington F.D. #1 Fire Chief, Tyler Millix and fire fighters; Willington Hill Fire Chief, Tom Snyder and fire fighters, Willington Schools IT Director, Brian Andle, Superintendent David Harding, Town Engineer, Karl Acimovic, Director of Public Works, Lynn Nicholls, District Head Custodian, Ron Strong and Robin Campbell. The Emergency Operation Center officially opened at 9PM that night. The phones started to ring around 5AM on Sunday morning. For every phone call received, a form was filled out to document the
matter, whether it be trees down. If the call involved a downed tree, Public Works would go out and tape the area off. They also had a map that marked where roads were closed. As the day moved on, detour information was then determined in roads that Public Works was able to clean up quickly.
By the end of the storm, we had a total of 28 road closures (not including downed trees). A spreadsheet was made up of the closures, and a priority list was made for CL&P as well as a map. The priority was to clear places where emergency vehicles could not get in or out as well as main roads (Routes 320 and 44). 85% of Willington was out of power.
Monday morning CL&P sent us a liaison; Christy Bradway to work at the EOC with Town Officials. She worked in Willington every day for an entire week. She would take the list of priorities, contact CL&P and direct them where to go. First Selectman Mailhos said there were times when things were hard for her to understand what CL&P was doing as it appeared that they would go off track, but they would need to fix outer circuits prior to fixing the ones on the priority list. They would also sometimes run into problems, or find that they needed parts, which then took extra time or caused crews to be re-routed.
On Monday, another meeting was held and found how bad the situation was in other towns as well. We also were told how long it would take for the power to be restored and open up the roads, it was determined it would be best to delay the opening of school. The two Fire Departments did a nice job handling those who they thought would need extra care and found that we did not need to open a shelter, but rather open up the resource center for those who needed to shower, charge cell phones and get water. Village Springs donated water. FEMA donated water and food. By Sunday night (7 full days later) everyone was back on line.
First Selectman Mailhos also said we fared pretty well and that our neighboring towns had similar issues , if not worse. People were frustrated in the beginning because they could not get the full story (without having power) of how bad the situation in the State was. Once people became aware of the situation, they were very understanding. She said she was proud of how everyone (Fire Departments, Public Works, Town Office Building and school staff) worked together. Lynn and Robin thanked First Selectman Mailhos for staying on top of the situation and staying at the EOC for the entire week.
Selectman Blessington said he thought things went very smooth; First Selectman Mailhos did an excellent job and he thanked her. First Selectman Mailhos said we have the right people in the right place. Selectman Millix noted that she camped out in the middle of the bays of the Fire House.
Selectman Millix also thanked Ralph Tulis for printing out some new maps and watching the water situation.
At this point we are watching compromised trees and loose branches. When we have a strong wind there is a good chance they can come down. She warned people to use caution. CL&P has been made aware as well.
First Selectman Mailhos has asked Stu Cobb to schedule a debriefing meeting to review what went well and what we can improve on in the future.
Good & Welfare:
A remembrance service will be held on Sunday in honor of the September 11th 10 year anniversary. We will work out the details.
Lynn thanked Mr. Philippi and the CL&P worker for fixing the rope at the top of the pole on the town green. The rope was stuck, and we could not get the flag down, as a result, it got damaged in the storm.
Lynn thanked the volunteers who worked on the landscaping around the parking lot at Center School. It looks great. She also wanted to recognize Carol Noyes and Teri Gareau for painting the hallway and other areas at the Town Office Building. They painted on their own time and they did a nice job.
Selectman Blessington motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 PM
Selectman Millix seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Millix & Blessington) 0 No.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
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