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Board of Selectmen Minutes 01/22/2013
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes


Regular Meeting                                                                         January 22, 2013
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 Littell & Blessington, Willington Fire Department, #1, Chief Millix; Willington Hill Fire Department Chief Snyder, Members of both Fire Departments and residents.   

First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes:

Selectman Blessington  moved to approve the minutes of special meeting held on January 7, 2013 as submitted.
Selectman Littell seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington)   0 No.

Selectman Littell moved to approve the minutes of regular meeting on January 7, 2013 as submitted.
Selectman Blessington   seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington)   0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to approve the minutes of regular meeting on January 14, 2013 as submitted.
Selectman Littell   seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington)   0 No.

Present to Speak:

No one was present to speak.

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:

*Performance Contracting – the Public Hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 30th at 6:30 PM at the Willington Public Library. Details on the Energy Audit will be reviewed and discussed at the hearing.  Robin has invited members of BOF, BOE, Library, Senior Center, BOE and the EAC.

*Old Town Hall Renovations – the architect is preparing the proposal for his scope of work and we are expecting to receive it in the next few weeks.  Once we get the scope of work, the contract documents will follow.  

*Turnpike Road Construction – The will contractor is expected to finish up one last catch basin as well raising the grade of the road up once the temperatures come back up.  They will come back in the spring to complete it with asphalt.

*Town Office Building Roof – the bids could go out as early as the next few weeks with a pre bid meeting soon thereafter, but is dependent on the weather.

 
Public Works:

Lynn was excused from the meeting and First Selectman Mailhos read her report:  The crews have been spending time replacing signs around town, brush cutting, vehicle maintenance and prepping for storms and have been sanding.

New Business

  • Recording secretary procedure discussion
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she was at a recent Board of Finance meeting where a discussion was held on how the salaries and pay amounts differ among the various recording secretaries.  It was decided that Tish (Treasurer) and Donna (Business Manager) would draft a job description for the position so it is the same for all secretaries.  The job description states that the secretary will report to the Chairman of the Commission.  In some cases, the secretary is hired and in other cases, they are appointed.  The appointed positions will be for a one year period and will be reappointed by the Board of Selectmen upon the recommendation of the Board/Commission’s Chairperson or the Town Clerk.  The reasoning behind this is because the Town Clerk will know if the secretary is following state statutes when submitting the minutes.  Compensation would be set annually as well.  There would be one rate of pay for all board secretaries and there will be no benefits.   First Selectman Mailhos read the list of examples and duties:
                        
  • Organizes and distributes agendas, meeting minutes and other meeting materials to board members.
  • Coordinates and publishes meeting agendas and minutes.
  • Attends meetings and records proceedings in accordance with State Statutes.
  • Paid travel time to/from meetings is not permitted.  It is expected that the amount of time it takes to transcribe the meeting minutes will be less than double the length of the meeting, including the time taken to publish the agenda, minutes and other materials.
  • Special projects may be assigned at the pleasure of the Board.
  • Individual Boards will provide direction to the recording secretary regarding the level of detail they would like in their minutes.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we (the Board of Selectmen) like a lot of detail, but some other departments do not but that is ok because the commissions approve the minutes as they see fit.

Selectman Blessington asked First Selectman Mailhos if she has spoken with the other Boards and Commissions to see if they have any input on it.  First Selectman Mailhos said it would be a good idea to talk to them.  It will be added to a future BOS meeting and will be discussed to possibly adopt the job description and pay rate.

  • Fire Department Consolidation
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she sent out an email today and it is based on the suggestion of Selectman Blessington, that this be added as an agenda item and discussed on a regular basis.    First Selectman Mailhos referenced the email  and said she sent it to both Fire Departments, as well as the Selectmen, Board of Finance and Capital Improvement Program Committee Board Chairs.    She wanted to keep everyone on the same page with what we are talking about. Once the word consolidation is uttered, there are a lot of different ideas of what it means.   She thought it would be a good idea to start from the beginning and she has listed out six ways of how the consolidation could be done, all of which were suggested to her from different people around town and is just a baseline.  She asked to begin the thought process of each of the models presented on the list, telling the members in attendance to consider what it would mean for current members as well as the ability to attract new volunteers and who would appoint the Chief or Chiefs for that matter.  Other things to consider would be what happens to the assets of each department (stations, private funding), the service contracts, collective bargaining agreements and the administration of Fund 17. ~Most importantly, identify what the likelihood is that one of these models could be achieved voluntarily or what powers the town has to force implementation if that is what it came to.  She went on to say whatever the members are thinking the best way to do it might be different than what is actually done.

She stated that she did not put “keeping the two departments they way they are” on this list and the reason is simply because she believes it is not working.  She added that this is what she heard from both departments at the meeting last week and she is glad that they are all here to continue the discussion.  

WHFD member Dickie Claus asked what happened at the meeting last week, as he was not there, nor did he read the minutes.  First Selectman Mailhos recapped the past few BOS meetings.  She also said it has been discussed at the last BOF and CIP meetings.  Selectman Blessington asked First Selectman Mailhos to read down the list of suggestions that have been given to her regarding the consolidation.  First Selectman read the following:  

  • WHFD & WFD#1 voluntarily merge and create the “Willington Fire Department”
  • WHFD members join WFD#1, WHFD is dissolved~
  • WFD#1 members join WHFD, WFD#1 is dissolved
  • WFD#1 provides ambulance service only/WHFD provides fire service only ~
  • The Town creates a Municipal Fire Department & WFD#1 and WHFD are dissolved~ ~
  • The Town creates a Fire Commission (as an alternative to consolidation)

Selectman Blessington said this list is a good start and suggested adding it to the website to get the ideas out there and see if any more come in.  He added that this isn’t going to happen over night but at least it will give the public something to think about.  First Selectman Mailhos added that she would like to prepare a grid that would list the pros and the cons of all of the possibilities and so we can see what the best options would be for the Town as well as the Fire Departments.  She said another suggestion would be to go to each of the fire departments to talk to them and get a feel for what they are thinking as well.

Chief Snyder asked to add “leaving the departments as they are” on the list if she is going to post it on line.~ He added that WHFD is not dead set against consolidation and added that most of the members are in favor of looking into it.~ The biggest concern that he has heard from his members is that they want to conserve volunteerism which is driven by finances.  First Selectman Mailhos stated that she would keep that in mind when making up the grid and how we would retain the current level volunteerism that we have and how to increase it. She added that she thinks both departments are losing volunteers now because they just don’t want to deal with the garbage that goes on – she has heard it first hand.

First Selectman Mailhos stated she wants to be able to encourage volunteers and perhaps look into tax abatement incentives – which could be a possibility for the Town to offer.  We need to start thinking about that.  

Selectman Littell said one idea that was brought up a few meetings ago would be to have each organization remain their own entity but the administrative part goes under one central administration.  This would prevent duplicating efforts.  First Selectman Mailhos asked if it is different than a Fire Commission?  Selectman Littell said he isn’t sure, but it was discussed a few weeks ago and it could be an option, so each organization could remain independent.

WHFD Chief Snyder asked if the Town’s concern is stemming from the CIP requests.  First Selectman Mailhos said yes, when we see $2 million requests for new equipment, additions and apparatus, we have to ask the question, do we really need all this stuff?  Both departments will tell us that we need it for their department.  She said what we don’t hear is, “we (both departments) sat down together and discussed what the town needs for the next five years and this is our plan.”  She added that it is no one person’s fault – it has been that way for a very long time but  we have come to the point that we cannot afford it any longer.  She went on to say that the CIP plan is scary.  Fund 17 that was funding the apparatus is no longer going to be sustainable; we are going to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. At some point (in the next two years) we will need to start taking the money out of the general fund to cover the costs.  

First Selectman Mailhos reiterated that she finds it illogical that you don’t train together or have keys to each other’s departments and said for example if there is a fire during the middle of the day and nobody is around from WHFD and there is a fire right down the street, WFD#1 members can’t just jump in your truck and go to the fire.

Mr. Claus clarified that once the tones go off, the doors to the Hill station automatically unlock   First Selectman Mailhos then asked if the members from WFD#1 have been trained to use the new truck.  WHFD Chief Snyder stated it is his opinion but he feels they would have no problem because a fire truck is a fire truck –they are all the same and gave an example that any firefighter would be able to jump in a truck from Mansfield and be able to operate it– they are all the same.   Kelly Trueb said in year’s past the department used to train together every Tuesday night, but it was many years ago.

Mr. Claus said he does not see a service problem as both departments respond to all calls in town. He added there haven’t been any incidents where both apparatus haven’t shown up.  First Selectman Mailhos said it isn’t about nobody showing up; it is about when everyone shows up and you both are not following the same Standard operating procedures.  She knows they are not because both departments have different SOP’s and neither of them train on them.  Mr. Claus said we are running our apparatus and they are running their apparatus.  He added that the trucks are the real specialty and gave an example of WHFD’s Forestry truck.  He said it is a complicated piece of equipment.  If anybody thinks they can jump in it and run it they are sadly mistaken. He added that their ladder truck is the same thing.  

First Selectman Mailhos said that is her point.  We have a fleet of trucks and we have people who know how to use half of them and have a whole group of people could use both if they were only trained.  She added but that doesn’t seem to be that big of an issue with any of you.  Mr. Claus reiterated what Chief Snyder said earlier;  a pump is a pump is a pump.  

Selectman Blessington said there is a perception in the Town that if one department gets something, like a truck, the other department thinks they should get one too, but better.  There is a lot of duplication in town that can be avoided.  He added apparatus is expensive and that is driving the talk of consolidation.   

WFD#1 Chief Millix clarified that is how the Towns Administration has historically dealt with the two departments in the past.  He added it was a way that the politicians made sure everyone was happy and that there wasn’t an appearance that one department got something and the other didn’t. First Selectman Mailhos said that happened until a few years ago, when you guys didn’t get your truck and you still don’t have it – and it looks like it is getting cut again this year- we can’t afford it.  

WHFD Chief Snyder added that the perception is not correct; he doesn’t base his department’s needs on what the other department got; and he doesn’t think WFD#1 does either.  They both base it on their coverage area’s need.  First Selectman Mailhos clarified that there is no coverage area; the coverage area is ultimately the same; as you both go to the same calls.  Technically you have different districts and she believes we need trucks in both places, but do we need two rescue trucks or do we need as many engine tanks as we have?  Mr. Claus said you need to take the water with you, so the engine tanker is needed.   First Selectman Mailhos clarified that is where mutual aid would come in; noting that we get assistance from Stafford, Mansfield, Ashford and Tolland.  She said we need you guys to work together to answer the question rather than tell us that one department needs this and the other department needs that. It should be like putting two pieces of a puzzle together.  

Mr. Claus stated he thinks the reason why the fire commission failed in 2003 was because the people who were going to sit on the commission “don’t play the game” and they don’t get up at 3:00 in the morning like we do, yet they were going to tell us what piece of apparatus you are going to get.  He added there are reasons why we do what we do.  First Selectman Mailhos said what you guys do is great, and she thinks it gets done well; it is unbelievable that we have people that get up at 3AM to do these things. Her only critique is what is not getting done, and that is the meeting of the minds from the top levels and that everyone is not trained together or getting along.  She said it needs to come from the top.  She added that his point was very well taken.  

Bob Wiecenski asked what the Town would think about a paid fire department and the First Selectman be in charge?  First Selectman Mailhos said she doesn’t think our Town would go for that and she doesn’t want to be in charge of a fire department, nor does she think it is the First Selectman’s (anyone who fills the seat) job.  

Selectman Blessington said simply what is driving this now is the cost of the fire department(s).  Costs are exploding and having two departments that have their own apparatus raises those costs.  A paid fire department would be expensive; do we need a paid fire department to cover a town of 6,000 people?  He added,  hopefully we can keep the volunteers.  

WFD#1 Chief Millix said perhaps we should sit down and figure out some goals and look at a SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.  It would be an opportunity to identify the picture of what the public wants. He added it is important to get intel from the public as they are the ones who are paying the bills.  He then said the leaders of both departments are not going to vent the real problems in a public forum, but you need to have the honest discussions where these things can be brought out.  He added it will be uncomfortable and unpleasant.   The discussions that happen on a daily basis in the fire house is the thing that harms the efficiencies of the service.  It doesn’t happen during an accident - the discussions happen after the fact when we get back to the fire house.   He added it happens whenever you have more than one department in any town. Generally they are misconceptions or misunderstandings.  He then stated that we have only been talking about this for a few weeks and already you have public mudslinging of elected officials sitting on the BOF taking pot shots at people for no reason whatsoever.  They are uneducated they don’t know what they are talking about, which is making it worse.

Selectman Blessington said we went through the public hearing for the fire commission ten years ago and we had our efficiency committee for the last couple of years and these things have not been brought out; now it is being discussed.  He is hopeful that if we continue with these discussions maybe we can get somewhere.  WFD#1 Chief Millix said there are also the two studies that have been done which are sitting on a shelf.  First Selectman Mailhos said she just came up with eight ways of how to do it but if it were easy, it would have already been done.  She added she was told “men better than her have tried this and failed miserably.” Bob Wiecenski said it is what you have to do, either the BOF needs to do it or you have to do it.  

First Selectman Mailhos said whatever gets done; nobody wants it to be ugly or unpleasant.  She added that there is an opportunity here for everyone to be better and get more out of it and there is an opportunity for our Town to have something better than we have now.  There isn’t a single thing on this list that cannot happen without the cooperation of both departments, Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen.  

WFD#1 Chief Millix said you need to get honest input from the stakeholders,  BOS, BOF, both Fire Departments and the taxpayers.  It is about the efficient delivery of service for what we are utilizing the tax money for.  Selectman Blessington reiterated service isn’t the problem, it is the finances.  

BOF Chairman Schoppmann said we’ve had this discussion for several years.  Operationally there isn’t a huge gain to be had keeping multiple stations open and the real question is with the equipment.  He suggested having an inventory done on the equipment in both departments; bring it back to the BOS or CIP and ask what equipment do we really need and how do we utilize it?  Do we really need 5 engine tankers and do we need to keep refurbishing them?  It all comes to bear when the CIP requests are at $16 million which is being funded by the emergency services fund at $140,000 with $400,000 that we put in the Selectmen’s budget; at that rate we will never catch up.

Mr. Claus suggested that the Selectmen go to each of the stations to look over each department’s equipment. He added there isn’t as much duplication as one might think.  

First Selectman Mailhos stated she is going to begin working on a chart and will have it ready to discuss at the next regular meeting.  The BOS will also plan a trip to each department to meet with the memberships to discuss the options.  She added that the public is welcome at all the meetings.

Selectman Littell suggested to have the members go back to their individual departments to get the general consensus of the entire department and see where they want to go.  He added it is important to add the entire membership.  He also said a strategic plan should be made for the town. The plan needs to be on paper and be used as a guideline so the town can plan for it five years out.

First Selectman Mailhos thanked the members of both departments for coming to the meeting.

  • Budget Discussion
First Selectman Mailhos stated we just had a budget meeting before this meeting.  It looks like each department is requesting increases of additional $2,000 to $5,000 more. In addition, we have added across the board salary increases for non union employees and some insurance increases as well as the CIP request.   Right now we are looking at a $400,000 increase.  First Selectman Mailhos stated we are going to have to do some cutting. The next budget meeting will be Monday, January 28th at 5:30 PM.  The CIP meeting has also been pushed out to Monday the 28th at 7:00 PM.

Good & Welfare

First Selectman Mailhos referenced a recent news article, which was written by resident, Paul Weigold;  the article was about Willington resident, Julia Town Warren, who was the victim of Willington’s first murder victim in 1855.  She stated it is an interesting story.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:02 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen