BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting January 03, 2012
Town Office Building- Selectmen’s Conference Room* 6:30 P.M.
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 6:34 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Littell & Blessington, Lynn Nicholls and a resident. *The meeting was moved to the Selectmen’s Conference Room due to lack of public attendance which eliminated the need to heat the Common Room.
First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes:
Selectman Blessington motioned to approve the minutes of December 19, 2011 as submitted.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos motioned to add two items under New Business: C: WINCOG RPIP Resolution and Item D: CIP Request.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington).
Present to Speak:
Willington Fire Department #1 Chief, Millix asked if members would be appointed to the Fire Services Efficiency Committee. First Selectman Mailhos said four people will be appointed to that Committee tonight. A meeting will be called with the first four members to come to an agreement of appointing additional members to the committee.
Correspondence:
A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office. First Selectman Mailhos noted a letter sent from Chairman Schoppmann and the Board of Finance. Lynn said she hasn’t received a copy of the letter directly, and has requested one be sent to her as well. The letter requests zero based budgeting and line items will be reviewed closely. Anything titled miscellaneous will also be looked at. First Selectman Mailhos also noted that the first Budget Workshop will be held next Monday and she has asked the Business Manager to prepare a flat budget with no salary increases for next year to start with.
Public Works:
Lynn reported that the crews are still working on brush clean up. They have also taken the backhoe around to clean out culverts that have been clogged with debris of trees and branches caused from storms. Last Friday, they replaced signs around Town.
- LoCIP appropriation for the Replacement of the Fuel Island at Public Works ~ ~
First Selectman Mailhos explained that although the replacement of the Fuel Island was approved ($5,000 at the 2010-2011 budget referendum and $10,000 of LOCIP through CIP), and the work has already been done; our Town Ordinance states that a Town Meeting must be held to transfer the LOCIP funds back to the Public Works budget.
Selectman Blessington moved to authorize the First Selectman to ask the Board of Finance to request the Board of Selectmen to call a Town Meeting.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington).
First Selectman Mailhos clarified that it is necessary to go through all of these steps (ie: Town Meeting) after CIP Approval; because we do not know the exact costs of the projects until they have been bid out and priced or completed. It would be more efficient to hold one Town Meeting for all of the projects at the beginning of the fiscal year, but it is not possible, due to the unknown costs. Lynn requested to have the Business Manager to list out the projects that need to go to Town Meeting on a yearly basis to plan ahead.
First Selectman Status Report
First Selectman Mailhos went over the updated report:
*Knowlton Property – we have received the final $10,000 check from Connecticut Forest and Parks Association for the easement. An email has been sent to the Attorney to get confirmation that the land transaction is complete and the final invoices are in to complete the project.
*Burma Road Repair – the project has been completed. First Selectman Mailhos said it looks very nice up there.
*EECBG Grant funds - $3,700 remains from the grant after the window installation. We will go out to bid for a new energy efficient front door as well as light sensors for the restrooms to use the remainder of the Grant money.
*Senior Van – The Seniors are in need of a new handicapped accessible van. It is currently on the CIP Plan in the next five years. However, there are grants available, which may pay up to 80% of the cost. First Selectman Mailhos will look into the process.
New Business:
First Selectman Mailhos moved to re-appoint Heather Dionne as an alternate member of the Willington Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Commission; effective immediately, expiring September 19, 2014.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to re-appoint Greg Suchy as a regular member of the Willington Parks and Recreation Commission effective December 15, 2011, expiring December 15, 2014.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to re-appoint Bill Bilyak and Mike Kozyra as regular members of the Willington Parks and Recreation Commission effective December 15, 2011, expiring December 15, 2014.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to appoint Mike Makuch as a regular member of the Emergency Services Efficiency Committee; effective immediately; expiring once the charge of the committee has been completed.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that Mike Makuch and Gerry Chartier are the names that have been put forth to represent the Willington Hill Fire Department by Chief Snyder. She does not know why the Chief has decided not to be involved.
Vote: 2 Yes (Mailhos& Blessington) 0 No. 1 Abstain (Littell)
Selectman Littell added that he feels that neither one of the nominees hold any merit for that department.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to Appoint Gerry Chartier as a regular member of the Emergency Services Efficiency Committee; effective immediately; expiring once the charge of the committee has been completed.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Selectman Blessington clarified that these people were put forth by the Fire Department. First Selectman Mailhos stated that she had requested to have a Chief and another Executive Board / Board of Directors member to be nominated for the committee from each Department. Selectman Littell said without having the Chief or President involved from the get go, it impairs the effectiveness of the Committee. Selectman Blessington said if the members get overwhelmed by the other department that is their problem. Selectman Littell stated he would like to see a cooperative effort to get something accomplished.
Vote: 2 Yes (Mailhos & Blessington) 0 No. 1 Abstain (Littell)
First Selectman Mailhos moved to Appoint Tyler Millix and Ron Gantick as a regular member of the Emergency Services Efficiency Committee; effective immediately; expiring once the charge of the committee has been completed.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
First Selectman Mailhos clarified that Tyler Millix is the Chief and Ron Gantick is the President of Willington Fire Department #1.
Vote: 2 Yes (Mailhos & Blessington) 0 No. 1 Abstain (Littell)
- Award 2012 -2013 Mowing contract
Robin Campbell reported that we were expecting to get an email with the recommendation from the Willington Parks and Recreation Department; however we did not receive it. First Selectman Mailhos stated that she has received verbal confirmation from the Parks and Recreation Director. There were some concerns on how some of the submissions were bid. Lynn Nicholls stated that next year, the bid process will be different, and will have a pre-bid meeting to walk through each site. She added that our current vendor does not necessarily mow every week, (if we have a dry spell) which saves us money. He is fair, and also flexible, mows prior to events on short notice and does a good job. Lynn recommends that we stay with our current vendor. Lastly, she added that there was some confusion on one of the submissions as the
unit price and total costs were the same. First Selectman Mailhos said she is comfortable awarding the contract to our current vendor.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the mowing contract to Greg Peck.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
- WINCOG RPIP (Regional Performance Incentive Program) Resolution.
WINCOG is applying for two Regional Incentive Grants and needs approval from the Board of Selectmen of the member towns before submitting the final application. This Resolution is for Regional Collaboration, which is provided by the State, passing through the COGs. By adopting this resolution, the Town is not accepting the grant; we are just in agreement in WINCOG in the application process. The first Grant is for Risk Management Brokerage Services, where member Towns would be able to use the grant money to hire a consultant to review all of our contracts and see where the Town is at risk. Selectman Blessington said we have a good Town Attorney, and that is what we have them for. Selectman Blessington then said he does not like it, especially since the details have not been worked out.
Selectman Littell is in agreement; and is questioning the commitment if none of the details have been worked out. Lynn clarified that it is similar to the emergency grant funding, which goes to the Towns who need it. First Selectman Mailhos said she feels it is a good idea, and is not committing the Town.
First Selectman Mailhos read the following resolution:
WINCOG
Regional Performance Incentive Program
Risk Management/Brokerage Services Analysis
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: The State of Connecticut is making available regional service sharing funds through Section 5 of Public Act 11-61 (An Act Concerning Responsible Growth) which encourages regional collaboration;
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED: that the Town of Willington hereby agrees to participate in the WINCOG Regional Performance Incentive Program:
Risk Management/Brokerage Services Analysis
The Risk Management / Brokerage Analysis project will involve reviewing and making recommendations for cost savings across a wide spectrum of Risk Management and Brokerage services currently undertaken by our member towns.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to adopt the Resolution.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 2 Yes (Mailhos & Littell) 1 No (Blessington)
First Selectman Mailhos read and moved to adopt the following Resolution:
WINCOG
Regional Performance Incentive Program
GIS & Cadastral Data Center Expansion
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: The State of Connecticut is making available regional service sharing funds through Section 5 of Public Act 11-61 (An Act Concerning Responsible Growth) which encourages regional collaboration;
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED: that the Town of Willington hereby agrees to participate in the WINCOG Regional Performance Incentive Program:
Windham Region GIS & Cadastral Data Center Expansion.
The Geographic Information Systems project will expand on the current Windham Region Council of Governments (WINCOG) Cadastral Data Center and provide additional GIS services to the member towns.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that this grant will enhance the Windham Region GIS & Cadastral Data Center Expansion by integrating more technology into the GIS system.. This would enable the public to view updated regional parcel datasets, regional land use and trail layers as well as possible cost savings to our Planning and Zoning Commission and Assessor Department. Incident management during storms and outages will also be able to be implemented, which would be helpful to the public. This could bring our Town up to date.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she originally wanted submit this new CIP submission, but had missed the deadline. However at the CIP meeting last night, they bent the rules and accepted a late submission, and told her that they would also accept her submission.
The additional request is for two phases: Phase I will be a needs analysis to determine what the Town Office Building space needs are and analyze ways to renovate the existing space (at 40 Old Farms Road); Phase II will be the design and construction for both short and long term needs. This would solve many safety and service issues that we currently have in this building. One of the CIP Members suggested looking at if the Town Offices are going to stay where they currently are, or should we build another building. First Selectman Mailhos said we should try to get everyone who interacts with the public on one floor; which would also increase communication between the departments and make it easier for the residents as well. A Committee was formed years ago, when the Senior Center moved down the road; and
there seemed to be some controversy. It would be helpful to hold programs in the lower level (Parks and Rec as well as WYFSS); while the offices are held in the upper level. First Selectman Mailhos said there are so many things that are wrong with the way the layout is in this building now. She would like to submit the request with support from the Board.
Selectman Blessington moved to have the Board of Selectmen endorse the First Selectman’s Capital Improvement Program Request.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
Good & Welfare:
Lynn would like to thank Jack and Shirley Lewis for donating the flags on the Town Green.
First Selectman Mailhos would like to have the Board talk about goals for the next two years (BOS term) at a future BOS meeting.
First Selectman Mailhos wanted to follow up on the Fire Department Union issue that Peter Latincsics had. The Attorney had forwarded the email that she had sent to Mr. Latincsics; his concerns had been addressed. It sounded like he was finally satisfied with the answers.
Lastly, First Selectman Mailhos has been asked by several people how Mr. Latincsics was able to start an email exchange with the Town Attorney to request the information on the union contract and the costs that were incurred. The reason was that the Attorney handed out business cards at the Board of Finance meeting that she attended and Mr. Latincsics asked her some questions via email, which led to more questions. The Attorney did say it took between three and five hours in all to research and respond to him, but she agreed no to charge the Town for the time as a professional courtesy. Selectman Blessington added that because Mr. Latincsics is on the Board of Finance, his time could be justified. Selectman Littell was concerned that he was not representing the Board of Finance.
Selectman Blessington noted that the CIP minutes have improved. He wished to recognize the people who are keeping minutes; they are doing an excellent job.
First Selectman Mailhos mentioned the recent passing of Betty Marks this past weekend.
Lastly, First Selectman Mailhos wished everyone a Happy New Year.
Selectman Blessington motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 P.M.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen
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