BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting March 17, 2014
Lower Level Conference Room 6:30 P.M.
*Minutes are not official until approved at the next regular meeting
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington and residents. First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes:
First Selectman Mailhos moved to approve the minutes of March 3, 2014 with the following correction: Page 3: Appointments: Kathleen Pacholski’s appointment; Selectman Blessington seconded the motion. Under Julia Cartabiano’s appointment was to the Conservation Commission; Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote 3 Yes (Mailhos Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
Selectman Blessington moved to approve the minutes of March 12, 2014 as written.
Fist Selectman Mailhos seconded the motion.
Vote 3 Yes (Mailhos Kowalyshyn & 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.
Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to add item I under New Business, titled Neighborhood Assistance Act.
First Selectman Mailhos seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Status Report
First Selectman Mailhos did not update the report for this meeting.
Public Works:
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we have hired a new Public Works Director. Derek Dimmock will begin next Monday, March 24th. She added that the Administrative Assistant position for Public Works is still on hold until after Mr. Dimmock starts. In the meantime, the Accounting Associate fills in an hour per day to keep the office moving along, as that was her previous position.
First Selectman Mailhos reported that the snow budget is holding steady at $51,000 over budget. The good thing is that it hasn’t changed in a few weeks. She also reported that we have salt and sand in the event that we need it.
Lastly, First Selectman Mailhos thanked the Public Works crew for hanging in over this tough winter. They went through several weeks where they were out almost every night. She also commended them for doing a great job coping with personnel changes over the past few months.
New Business
First Selectman Mailhos gave an update on the time capsule. She stated that the Town Clerk had submitted further information regarding the time capsule and found more information about the whereabouts of it: The information was read from Board of Selectmen minutes from 1999:
*On 8/ 13/99, a letter written by Joyce Smith, the Executive Director of the Community Council, was received by the Town Clerk stating that “On September 26, 1999, a time capsule, which has been prepared by Town youth who attended the Willington Summer Day Camp, will be buried in the basement of the historical Town Hall, located on Common Road, in the Town of Willington.”~ This was the letter that was given to me by the current Town Clerk.~ Attached to it was a list titled, “1999 Campers Attending Time Capsule” and also a two page list of addresses titled, “1999 Willington Summer Campers.”
*BOS meeting minutes from 8/16/99 show that Joyce Smith was in attendance.~ She reported on the success of the camp that year and the minutes say, “Future projects include a time capsule being put in the vault on September 26, 1999 – to be opened in the year 2049.~ This would be in conjunction with Connecticut Family Day and possibly an old-fashioned picnic will be held on the Town Green.”
*BOS meeting minutes from 9/7/99 show that Joyce Smith was again in attendance.~ She reported that plans for Connecticut Family Day were coming along and noted that “The time capsule will also be buried that day, they hope to have a camcorder going and have the tape buried also.”
*BOS meeting minutes from 9/20/99 show that Joyce Smith was again in attendance.~ At this meeting she reported that “it is with great disappointment that they had to cancel Connecticut Family Day on 9/26/99; there appears to be no interest in the time capsule either.”
Reference of the time capsule was never mentioned again.
First Selectman Mailhos noted that after reading the minutes, she concluded at this point that the time capsule was prepared, but never buried. She added that we have sent out numerous postings through newspapers, notifications on the Town website, letters to those who were expected to be in attendance and even through Facebook, but never received a response. We have also tried to contact Joyce Smith, to ask her what became of the time capsule, but were unsuccessful.
First Selectman Mailhos thanked Heather Lake, of the Chronicle for coming to the Old Town Hall to take pictures and submit a story about it. The reason this came about was because we are planning to pour a cement floor in the basement and were told that we might not be able to do so by the Town Clerk because of the time capsule and paperwork filed in the Clerk’s office.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to deem it safe to pour a concrete floor in the basement in the Old Town Hall.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
First Selectman Mailhos noted that last week, the Public Works crew went down to the basement to look for signs of it, and came up with nothing.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to re-appoint Tom Buccino as a regular member of the Willington Economic Development Committee, effective immediately, expiring January 1, 2019.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she has been discussing the request for sidewalk improvements with the Capital Improvement Program Committee, Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance. She thought the best thing to do is to form a Committee and appoint members who will decide how to proceed. She added that there are a lot of questions that need answering. She added that this issue was discussed back in 2000 and there are Board of Selectmen minutes that reference it as well. A sidewalk committee was formed back then, where the committee went to the sight to assess the situation and make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen, however, no determinations were made.
First Selectman Mailhos noted that she would like to form a committee that has 5 members; one each from the CIP, BOS and BOF; with perhaps 2 members at large.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to form a Sidewalk Committee with the charge of assessing the situation of the sidewalk along Route 32 and make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen. The Committee will consist of five people; one seat from each of BOS, BOF and CIP Committee and 2 members at large.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
Discussion was held. Selectman Blessington asked First Selectman Mailhos if she has any recommendations of who should be appointed to the Committee. First Selectman Mailhos stated that she will send letters to the BOF and CIP asking for recommendations. Robert Shabot suggested asking the Minister or a member of the church to sit on the committee as well.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to appoint John Blessington to fill the seat for the Board of Selectmen on the Sidewalk Committee.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos will draft letters and send them to the BOF and CIP. She also has the documentation from the meetings held back in 2000 and will see if people involved at the time would like to be on the committee as well.
- Building Official Contract with the Town of Bolton
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we have received a final draft of the agreement from the Town of Bolton. She added that she has been working on this with the Town Manager in Bolton and the agreement is based off of the old agreement we had (a few years back) with the Town of Mansfield. The Town Attorney has reviewed it and made a small change. The agreement will allow us to communicate with our Building Inspector during the work week, instead of only after business hours in Bolton. The agreement will equate to paying him $35 per hour but will no longer be an employee of Willington. First Selectman Mailhos noted that she believes that the Building Inspector will be happy with the new contract and our residents will be happy also, as his availability will be more flexible.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to authorize the First Selectman to execute the Building Official Agreement with the Town of Bolton Business Manager.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Selectman Blessington stated he is cautious about this, but will go along with it since it is only valid until June 30, 2015; noting that it is very expensive.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
- Sign release of HUD lien agreement
The Selectmen received the release and signed the HUD lien agreement.
- Section 8 housing discussion
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we received a letter stating that the Section 8 housing program in Mansfield is in financial trouble. They have been managing Willington’s Section 8 housing clients since the late 1980’s. Because the Federal Government has cut back with support of this program, the Mansfield Housing Authority needs to fill funding gaps. Mansfield H.A. added that they are only asking for financial support for this year, as they are hopeful they will get Federal support next year. First Selectman Mailhos clarified that Mansfield is looking for $2,900 from Willington for FY 14/15 to support the program. She added that it is bad timing because the request came in after our budget has been submitted.
She added that we currently have 13 families in Willington who are part of this program. Bob Wiecenski asked why our Director of Youth Family & Social Services cannot just take it over; as we would be compensated for it First Selectman Mailhos noted that our Director is already stretched thin; this project takes up a lot of time and monitoring; she works full time and we cannot add any more hours to her schedule as it is.
The Mansfield Housing Authority has been running on reserve since 2003. Selectman Kowalyshyn asked why have they waited so long to ask for financial help? She added that they should have known about this and notified us earlier. First Selectman Mailhos stated that representatives from Mansfield have offered to come to one of our meetings to discuss the situation and answer our questions. Selectman Blessington asked why we have never heard about this before. First Selectman Mailhos noted that we have run into cases where we were receiving programs that we had never paid for before, or make minimal payments such as WRTD (dial a ride service) came to us a few years ago and asked us to pay our share. She added that has requested a financial report and has discussed this with our WYFSS Director. The
Mansfield Housing Authority has offered to have a representative come to a future meeting to discuss this further. She also noted that they also support other towns, such as Ashford, Coventry, Chaplin and Mansfield and is not sure what the other Towns are planning to do. Selectman Blessington suggested inviting the BOF to be in attendance as well. He said another option would be to invite them to a BOF meeting and have the BOS be in attendance at that meeting.
Jim Bulick, Chairman of the CIP Committee was present (with other members of CIP) and presented the final CIP Plan. He clarified that the plan consists of what was approved last year and the out year projects, which were discussed at their meetings. He referenced some of the items that were put in the plan as deemed urgent, such as the Center School sidewalk repair, a needs assessment for the Town Office Building and an Economic Development Study, to name a few. First Selectman Mailhos clarified that last year’s plan was already approved; and the BOS have also incorporated the CIP number into our budget, which will go to referendum.
CIP Chairman Bulick noted that the out years consist of larger projects, such as a salt shed and Turnpike Road paving projects; totaling $1.6 million which will require bonding. The CIP Committee ran this through the Business Manager, who agreed that it is manageable. He added that the Committee received several submissions (many from Public Works); and the Committee had to cut many of the projects out. Several of the Public Works requests have been pushed out for the new Public Works Director to evaluate. Chairman Bulick added that many of the requests from Public Works included road alignments; but there was no data to support the requests, such as accident reports, so they were taken out. He added that this reasoning (along with others that were decided not to fund) was also included as part of the
narrative in the Plan. First Selectman Mailhos asked why the Route 32 sidewalk project was removed? CIP Chairman Bulick replied that it was pushed out to FY 16/17 until a decision has been made. In the meantime, it was suggested that minor repairs be made.
First Selectman Mailhos thanked Chairman Bulick and the CIP Committee for their hard work and stated it was pleasant to work with him this year.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to approve the CIP plan for Fiscal Years 2015 to 2019 as presented by CIP Chairman Bulick.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
- Freedom of Information Compliance discussion
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she had sent out a letter to all of the Willington Board & Commission Chairpersons and their recording secretaries. The letter is a friendly reminder about the procedures of posting agendas and minutes as well as the meeting recordings. She added as a result, the Board of Finance is now going to download their recordings to the Town server after each meeting is held. She clarified that recording is not required, however if a recording is being kept on a town owned device, then it is subject to the Freedom of Information act.
First Selectman Mailhos noted that the reason this came about was because of a recent discussion at a Board of Finance meeting, where a question came up that needed clarification (the clarification was discussed at last year’s budget discussion). They tried to refer to the minutes from last year’s meeting, but the minutes did not have enough information. It was then requested to go back and listen to the recording from that meeting (from last year), but it was then realized that the recording was not available.
Selectman Blessington stated that these recorders are a great tool to have, that way there is always a record of what happened at the meetings. He added that the BOF has had a problem with saving their recordings in the past and was at the recent meeting where it was decided that the recordings would be downloaded after each meeting to avoid getting lost; however the last BOF minutes that came out state that the recordings would be downloaded “whenever possible.” He clarified that “whenever possible” seems too lax and he is not happy with the way it is written. He then asked First Selectman Mailhos to follow up on it as she has authority. First Selectman Mailhos noted that the BOF approved the minutes the way they were written. She added that she will be in attendance at Thursday’s BOF meeting, and will reiterate that it is not a discretionary issue. Christine Psathas suggested having the Board members attend FOI training after every election. First Selectman Mailhos noted
that Tom Hennick from the Freedom of Information Act will be here late spring to hold another session, as he has done in the past.
- Neighborhood Assistance Act
Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that we received a letter from the State regarding a Neighborhood Assistance Act. The Act is to support businesses who want to donate money to non-profits in our Town. The Business will then receive a federal tax credit. In order to move forward, the Town will need to fill out paperwork and hold public hearings about it. She added that it seems like it would be geared towards larger businesses, noting that we really do not have any that fall under that category and it seems like a lot of work for something that will most likely not happen. Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that she will forward it on to the EDC to look into. Selectman Blessington suggested to keep it in the file for future reference.
Old Business
- Schedule Personnel Policy Workshop
A workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 19th at 7PM in the Selectmen’s conference room.
Good & Welfare
First Selectman Mailhos expressed condolences to the family of Bob Marquis, who passed away last week. He was the Commander of the VFW as well as the Parade Marshal over the past few years. She stated he will be missed.
The recent presentation on the lost mill sites held at the library was a large success. Christine Psathas stated that the parking lot was full; people came from all around Robert Shabot stated that another presentation will be held in the fall; after Mr. Symonds’ book has been published over the summer.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that there was a nice article in the Chronicle last week about Wilbur Gangaway and the work he does at the Senior Center.
Lastly, First Selectman Mailhos noted that we have received a new letter format from Troop C regarding monthly service calls in Willington. The new format is easier to understand than those sent to us before. She plans to send a letter to Lt. Labbe to thank him.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she attended her first CRCOG policy meeting; she stated it is bigger than WINCOG and interesting to see how it works.
First Selectman Mailhos added that she has recently been recommended and appointed to the NECASA (North East Communities Against Substance Abuse) Board. She added that our Town’s Prevention Council is ahead of other towns and is glad to be a part of it and she wants to support their efforts.
Christine Psathas thanked Heather Lake for covering Willington in the Chronicle. It is nice to have coverage in our Town and to read all of her stories. She added that she has also heard many compliments on the stories in the Chronicle.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant
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