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Board of Selectmen Minutes 07/06/2015
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes                                                                         July 6, 2015
Common 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 6:30 P.M. with the following in attendance:  Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington, Attorney Mark Branse and residents.  First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes:

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to approve the minutes of June 15, 2015 with the following edit:  
2nd page (Status report); VCI: “larger public meeting”.
First Selectman Mailhos seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to approve the minutes of June 22, 2015.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to approve the minutes of June 24, 2015.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Present to Speak:

Carol Jordan (member of the Conservation Commision) requested to speak under item C in new business; the request to purchase town land.  

Correspondence:

A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office.  

First Selectman Mailhos noted that we received a letter of opposition in regards to the proposed Firearms Training Facility from resident Maureen Parizek.  Attached to the letter was a petition with approximately 300 signatures.  First Selectman Maihos noted that the letter did not request action from the board of Selectmen, it was just informational.  

First Selectman Mailhos also noted that she received two emails from residents, who would not be able to attend tonight’s meeting.  Both residents requested the selectmen to allocate the funding needed to fight the proposed range.

First Selectman Status Report

First Selectman Mailhos went over the report:

*Turnpike Road- Phase 3 / 4- we received paperwork from the state, who is requesting further permitting (which has been sent back for processing).  In the meantime, we have the funding in place to pave.  Derek anticipates paving in mid-August.

*Village Hill Drainage Engineering – The funding was appropriated last month.  The Town Engineer will finalize the bid documents.

*Public Works Garage Improvements – The project was awarded and the contractor will begin work shortly.

*Old Town Hall Painting – the project has been advertised. Bids are due back on July 15th.   

*Lease New Backhoe &  Lease New Holder Mower – the BOS will call a public hearing later this month.

*VCI – The Consultant held a charette on June 25th through the 27th.  The consultant will continue to meet with the surrounding residents and hopes to submit a draft report in September.  

*EDC Study – the contract has been signed and the contractor has begun work on the study.  

Public Works:

Derek reported that the crew has been busy with the following:

  • Roadside mowing
  • Install under drain on Turnpike Road
  • Dig out detention basin behind Center School
  • Spread mulch at Center School
  • Dig out drainage ditches
  • Cut brush behind Boy Scout Hall
  • Mow leach field area at Willington Woods
  • Install apron at second entrance  Center School ( to keep water from running into parking lot from Old Farms and onto 27 Willington Hill property
  • Striping parking lots at T.O.B, Library
  • Vehicle/equipment  maintenance
  • Patch roof at T.O.B
  • Mow Halls Pond
  • Replace rotted storm grates
  • Mow Public Works, Dog Pound, Transfer Station
New Business

  • Tax Deferral request
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we received a request from a taxpayer; who is a former business owner in town.  The property owners were present.  They stated that the business closed a few years ago, and is no longer generating income; therefore it has become very hard to keep up with the taxes on the property.  The taxpayer added that they have been paying taxes since 1939 and will repay the tax lien upon sale of the property.   

First Selectman Mailhos moved to allow the deferral of taxes at 25 Mihiliak Road in Willington per affidavit from taxpayer’s lawyer requesting said deferral.  The deferral will be renewed each fiscal year until the property is sold.   
Selectman seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Littell & Blessington) 0 No.

  • Rehab Lien – request for forgiveness
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we received a letter from a property owner who has made the request.  Resident, Diane Olsen was present.  She stated that she purchased her home in 1989 and took the loans out to do home improvements about 20 years ago and they are still unpaid liens.  Ms. Olsen, is a single parent of a disabled adult, who lives with her.   

She added that she had found that part of the roof that had been replaced during one of the rehab projects was done incorrectly, and was caving in.  She had to add a second lien to fix the improper roofing job that was done.   She also noted that her chimney had been done as part of the rehab, only to find that it was not capped properly, and it has rotted over the years, leaving her to fix it again a few weeks ago.    

Ms. Olsen stated that the reason she is asking for the forgiveness is because the value of her home is not what she had expected it to be at this point in time.  Her hope was to put the money from the sale of the home into a trust for her son, to help him after she is gone.  She added that the value is nowhere near what she has put into it over the years.   Ms. Olsen stated that the house stands out on Route 74 and has had people stop to tell her how nice it is.  She is asking if the town can revisit the lien and assist in relieving her of the lein or even part of it.   She is considering selling the property as she has to move her son as soon as possible.  

First Selectman Mailhos noted that the town has had requests like this in the past and the general response is that they are usually denied.  The reason why is because the town does use the money that comes back for ADA projects.  An example is that we were able to use some of the money towards the recent restroom renovations at the Old Town Hall; where they are now ADA accessible.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that she would like to table this until she can research the building records to see if the work was signed off on.  She would also like to research the value of the home before making any decisions.  

This item will be tabled until the next meeting.  

  • Discussion – request to purchase Town land
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we have received a request from a resident on Luchon Road, asking to purchase the land (approximately 3 acres) which is town property and abuts his.  She added that she had asked for input from the Planning and Zoning and Conservation Commission as the land is zoned as “open space”.  Carol Jordan stated that the Conservation Commission met on June 2nd and voted against the sale of the property.  The particular parcel was deeded to the town as open space and a recreation area; which was set forth as a condition of the approval of the Birch Wood subdivision back in 1974.  Ms. Jordan added that the Conservation Commission would like to respect the deed as it stands; adding it would set a bad precedent going forward.  

Ron Courchesne was present.  He asked if the town would consider subdividing the lot and sell him a portion of it; instead of the entire lot.   Robert Shabot clarified that it would not be possible, because the town would have to revisit the entire subdivision; and all of the properties would be affected.  

Mr. Courchesne stated that he does not want to do anything to the property, other than enhance his acreage of his; adding value to his property.  First Selectman Mailhos noted that his property is already enhanced, by virtue of the fact that it abuts the town property; as that property is protected.   

Attorney Mark Branse was present.  He clarified that any alteration regarding the land would have to go before the planning and zoning commission for re-subdivision as per state law.  He added that if the Town were going to consider selling the property, he would suggest adding a conservation easement to protect the land from being built on or cleared.  Attorney Branse added that the developer conveys property to the town by easement or open space to enhance the property values.  

Selectman Blessington said his opinion is that the town shouldn’t own the parcel in the first place.  Once it has been done, the property was taken as open space and the town has designated it as open space.   The only moral way would be to sell it at market value and give it back to the developer.  He added he cannot endorse selling the property at all.  

  • Tax refund
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $112.42 to   Ford Credit for a sold vehicle.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

  • Update – town office building water damage
First Selectman Mailhos stated that last Tuesday, which was the end of our fiscal year at 12:45 pm   a large amount of water burst through the ceiling over the office servers.  The walls, ceiling, floors and servers were damaged.   The worst part is that the servers were damaged, and every department has been affected because of the loss of the servers.  Our IT staff has overnighted the server data to be recovered and we are hopeful that it will be restored and sent back by the middle to the end of this week.  In the meantime, the finance office and the tax office are working off-line.  The finance office has made arrangements with the bank to get payroll through and the tax office will manually receive payments.  

First Selectman Mailhos noted that we have not had an off-site back-up, and that is something that our IT specialist has recommended numerous times.  The issue is that off-site back up service is expensive, but since we are in a new fiscal year, our Superintendent is looking at a Barracuda system.  

The water had come in from a hole in the roof.  The water had been accumulating in the insulation over an amount of unknown time.  The liner underneath ripped open and ended up gushing water through the ceiling.  

Our Public Works Director patched the hole in the roof and the good news is that insurance will cover the cost of the replacement server as well as the other items that were damaged.  

Old Business

  • Proposed State Police Firearms Training Facility Discussion
First Selectman Mailhos introduced Attorney Mark Branse, who is the Planning and Zoning attorney.  First Selectman Mailhos and Attorney Branse  have been talking about our options of what we can to to take a stand against the State.   She added that she sees  three distinct phases of the EIE process:  We are currently in phase 1; which is we are preparing for the EIE to come back from the State.  Phase 2 will be to deal with the findings; and phase 3 will be if the state plans on coming to Willington.   

Attorney Branse stated that he hadn’t’ heard that much about this other than reading newspaper articles, until First Selectman Mailhos called him last week.  Since then, he has been trying to review the information that is available, and he added that there seems to be very little.  He then added that he finds it hard to believe that the state has an appropriation of $100,000 to perform an Environmental Impact Evaluation on a parcel of land in which they do not have a contract.  Selectman Kowalyshyn clarified that there are two parcels of land (including East Windsor).  Attorney Branse added that he finds it hard to believe that there is no contractual agreement; The Eldredge Mills Road property owner withdrew his offer to the state; there is no guarantee the property owner on Ruby Road won’t do the same.  If the state is spending that kind of money with no assurance that the land owner would be willing to sell it – that is very irresponsible.   

Attorney Branse then added that there is no site plan to identify which of the 30 acres will be affected on the property for the facility.   The scoping document also states not including “auxiliary infrastructure improvements that may be necessary for the project.  He clarified that is very vague, and can mean a lot of things – such as a septic system, a parking lot, or an access road.    He added that he considers parking lots and access roads as development; and would actually enhance the area to more than 30 acres.   

The concern is that the EIE will be published in October; and the 45 day comment period is dreadfully short.  Attorney Branse stated that we need to be gearing up now and prepared with our own data.   First Selectman Mailhos has contacted the property owner to ask about access to the property, but her calls have not been returned.   After speaking with a representative from the Department of Administrative Services, she got the feeling that access will not be granted, as the town would use the information against the state.   

Attorney Branse   stated as of today, he has learned that the state has been overwhelmed with comments, and they feel they will need extra time to process the input.  He added that the state has also found the funding is inaquedate.  It could go back to the State Bond Commission meeting to request supplemental funding in addition to the $100,000 to perform the evaluation of the site.   The next State Bond Commission meeting will be held on July 31st.  

If the State submits the EIE in October, that is not the best time to assess the vernal pools; botany and endangered species, as we could have a frost by then.   He added that the State knows better and will submit the report when everything is dead for the winter season and we need to go in there before then.  Attorney Branse stated he believes we can get access now, and suggested the Selectmen pass a resolution at the meeting to do so.  He then added that we can build a team of professionals (most of who already work with the Town of Willington and have no conflicts); as well as get some residents who in their professional capacity can work with the town.   He has contacted an Engineering Firm; an Acoustic Researcher and a wildlife biologist; they are all prepared to work with us and none have conflicts of interest.   Attorney Branse added that he has been in contact with Attorney Tim Hollister, who is being retained by a group of residents in Willington as well.   We will also need an expert to research the soil science and a botanist; and he believes that we have one of each, who live in town and might donate their research to the town to keep some of the costs down.  

The State Bond Commission meeting will be on July 31st.  Attorney Branse suggested that the residents make a strong statement.  The message we want the commission members to hear is that they are already over budget because this is a difficult site.   We need to focus our efforts on a factual presentation other than “we don’t want it”.  We have to focus our effort on why this site is not appropriate.  
Attorney Branse then stated that the State has budgeted $100,000 and found that it is not enough.  If the State has appropriated $100,000 then Willington needs to match it and appropriate $100,000 as well.  He then noted that we are lining up several professionals and how much we end up spending depends on how far we go, but we need to show them we are willing to fight.  

Attorney Branse then asked why the state wants to put all of their eggs in one basket?  There is no reason why they can’t keep the two outdoor ranges in Simsbury; put two ranges in East Windsor and the indoor facility in Willington.  He then argued that Willington is 2 ½ hours from Fairfield County.  They want to put the entire training facility in the north-east corner of Connecticut; but it would be farthest from its largest police departments (Bridgeport; Danbury & New Haven; for example).  

First Selectman Mailhos stated that Jeff Bolton came in to the Town Office Building today and she was able to talk to him.  One of the things she found out is that the state will be creating a preliminary site plan; but she believes that we will not see it until the report is filed.  She was then told that we can expect to hear that the state will be pushing out the date of the EIE until sometime in 2016.   This is partly because they don’t have enough money and they need to research further.  

Attorney Branse then read the resolution.   First Selectman Mailhos cautioned that she is not sure we can adopt the resolution until we have secured the funding.   

Selectman Blessington stated that the State Police command and the State Police Union officials have a dog in this fight; do they have a feeling on this?   Attorney Branse stated that they want the facility and he isn’t sure if they want it all the way out here.   He urges caution about the “not in my back yard” ; they don’t want to hear that it shouldn’t go anywhere.    Steph Summers who is part of the “Unwillington resident group” stated that they have reached out to the State Police Union and have been having conversations with them.  We should not assume they want to come here.  The “Unwillington group” has secured funds and retained an attorney and are holding fundraisers as well.  

Greg Saros stated the approach of the website (unwillington.com) was to point out that it is not appropriate to present a vague proposal in a residential area; and there might be a better location, such as the 2,000 acres that the state already owns.   Attorney Branse clarified that the message should be that there is not enough information to know what it is and it shouldn’t go anywhere until you know what it is going to be.  First Selectman Mailhos noted that Senator Guglielmo has submitted an FOI request for the plans and still has not received anything yet.  

Richard Muller asked if it is possible that the pressure is coming from outside of Connecticut.   Attorney Branse stated that he believes the state would like to use it in the future as a bargaining chip for future grant money, or to barter with other federal departments.  

David Tharp showed a replica of what a 50 caliber bullet would look like – he stated when something this size goes off, the entire town is going to hear it.   Diana Shain stated that the State Police presented the proposed facility to be the same as Simsbury is today - however there was no indication that they would be using five ranges (all at the same time) during the day during their presentation at the public hearing.  Currently Simsbury can only use one range at a time.  

Selectman Blessington mentioned the Memorandum of Understanding that might exist between the State and the property owner.  He then asked, if one were to file a Freedom of Information Request, what would the State do?   Attorney Branse stated that they could do three things:   1) respond that it does not exist; or 2) it exists, but is confidential because it is a negotiating tool for acquiring a property.  (If it is classified as confidential; there is a possibility to appeal for an exemption); or 3) they could produce the document.  

Attorney Branse stated that he also represents developers and they always welcome a site walk because he wants to communicate that he has nothing to hide from the public.   Why isn’t the state playing that way?

Geoffrey Ecker stated he started out with an open mind, but the more information he has found; it is not good.   He added that we need to marshal all of our resources now to protect our property values.  He added that he encourages the Selectmen to marshal the resources as soon as possible.   We can round up the resources, and we don’t have to spend it all.  Carolyn Saros warned that we need to hire the experts before they are taken.  

Robin Campbell warned the residents that the Selectmen must go to the Board of Finance first; before they can commit to anything.   First Selectman Mailhos stated that she has requested the Board of Finance not to cancel their meeting in July.  They will be meeting next Thursday, July 16th.   She cautioned that although the BOF might understand the situation, they usually reduce the amounts that we request.  She then asked Attorney Branse if he would be available.  Unfortunately, he stated he will not be, but he will request for one of his partners to attend.   

First Selectman Mailhos went through the process of appropriating funding.  First the Selectmen must approach the Board of Finance and they would vote and make a recommendation.  The Selectmen will then call a town meeting.   A town meeting would be held approximately 2 weeks later, unless a petition is rallied to hold a referendum.  

Richard Muller asked how soon we would be able to enter the property.   First Selectman Mailhos said it could be as early as the middle of August, as long as funding goes through.  

Geoffrey Ecker asked if the town could authorize a volunteer to go on the property under the resolution, or would that only pertain to the paid professionals?  Attorney Branse stated that the volunteers would be covered under the resolution and it pertains to all of the professionals involved - paid or volunteer.  He added that it would be beneficial to get the botanist out there as soon as possible.  

Attorney Branse added that he will notify the property owner, as a courtesy to let him know about this.   

Selectman Blessington suggested that the residents attend next week’s BOF meeting.   First Selectman Mailhos said that she gets into disagreements with the Board of Finance about funding different projects and she believes it is their job to tell us if we have the money, and it is up to the people to decide how we should spend it.   Selectman Kowalyshn clarified that the Board of Finance has a tough job as they need to be fiscally responsible with our money.  

First Selectman Mailhos moved to Resolve that the Willington Board of Selectmen authorize its attorney and its consultants to enter onto the property identified by the State of Connecticut as Parcel ID 33/019-00, located on the east side of Ruby Road, north of Cosgrove Road,  consisting of approximately 315.99 acres and Parcel ID 33/017-00 approximately 10.59 acres for the purpose of making surveys and mapping in connection with the public  improvement identified as the Connecticut State Police Firearms Training Facility Relocation.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
First Selectman Mailhos clarified that this is pending funding to pay for some of it, but what can be done at no cost of the town at this point, will be authorized.  
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to go to the Board of Finance to request $100,000 for the professional services related to the opposition of the Connecticut State Police Firearms Training Facility Relocation.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.  

Good & Welfare

First Selectman Mailhos said we had sent a letter to the state a while ago regarding complaints of speeding tractor trailer trucks along Route 320.  We received a response from the State as they are looking into it and will be adding signage (No thru truck traffic) along Route 320

We also received a response from the State Department of Transportation in regards to a request for a change in the speed limit along Route 32, which was sent a few months ago in anticipation of the new Dunkin Donuts.   The State said at this time, a change is not warranted; however, the curve along Route 32 cannot comfortably be driven at the posted speed limit.  The State will install 35 mph speed plaques in both directions to alert drivers of the curvature of the roadway.  The new signage will be installed by DOT and may take a bit of time.  

The Library will hold a meet and greet on Saturday, July 11th.  Military, State Police and Fire Department personnel will be there.  The Library Director has invited First Selectman Mailhos, but unfortunately, she is unable to attend.  Selectman Blessington said he will attend on behalf of the Selectmen.  

We received a letter from WRTD (Windham Region Transit District) which is requesting additional funding this year.  First Selectman Mailhos forwarded this down to the Youth Family & Social Services Director and to our Business Manager to make them aware.  

Christine Psathas thanked her husband Robert Shabot for painting the Registrar's Office on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  She welcomed everyone to visit and check out their office.

Robert Shabot mentioned that the CT Trust for Historic Preservation has $4million for restoration of historic homes.  The requirements are that that home must be listed on the state or national register to get on the program.  Mr. Shabot mentioned that all of the homes along the town green would be eligible.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:37 P.M.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.  

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant


Board of Selectmen
860-487-3100

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