Skip Navigation
This table is used for column layout.
 
Board of Selectmen Minutes 09/19/16
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Meeting Minutes                                                                 September 19, 2016
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 6:30 P.M. with the following in attendance:  Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington and residents.  First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes:

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to approve the minutes of  September 6,  2016 as written.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Present to Speak:

Christine Psathas and Suzanne Chapman, Willington Registrar of Voters were present.  Ms. Psathas stated that the ROV will be getting a new voting system for the upcoming Presidential Election that will assist handicapped voters.  It is a touch screen compter based unit that will print out the ballot that will then be placed in the tabulator. Willington will receive 3 units; one for the polling room; one for the same-day-registration area and one as a spare.  This will be at no cost to the Town.   Ms. Chapman clarified that this system will replace the old way of handling handicapped votes; where they had to be faxed.  

Resident Peter Kristoff stated that he would like to address the timber harvesting being done at Fenton Ruby Park.  First Selectman Mailhos clarified that it had been added to the agenda for discussion.

Don Berg stated that he would like to discuss the finances regarding the holiday party as a result of the last Board of Finance meeting.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to add item G under new business called:  Holiday Party Discussion
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos stated that our Building Inspector has asked to be moved up on the agenda, as he is not able to stay late this evening.  He was asked to partake in discussions regarding waiving permit fees for residents who need to replace their foundations.  

First Selectman Mailhos motioned to move item 8 A up on the agenda.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

*The discussion of 8A will remain under Old Business to keep conformity with the agenda.
Correspondence:

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

First Selectman Status Report

*Senior Housing – construction continues and the Housing Authority still projects a target date of next spring for completion.       

*Old Town Hall Electrical and Restoration – The contracts will be awarded under new business.

*Turnpike Road –Drainage work has been started.

*Repairs to Daleville School Bridge – We are seeking permitting from DEEP prior to the bid process; we need to wait 65 days per the permitting process.

*Village Hill Road Drainage Engineering –the Town Engineer is still working on the design.

*Holiday Party 2016 – Don Berg has come forward to take over the holiday party planning.  He attended the last BOF meeting, seeking funding for the party and the BOF has asked Mr. Berg to come back to the next meeting with more information.

*RRAC Fitness Station – the equipment was successfully installed last week and is open for public use.  The Athletic complex looks great.

*Senior Center Septic Re-Permitting – the RFP is almost complete and we will go out to bid shortly to find an engineer who is familiar with the septic codes.

*MS4 Consulting/Compliance – CRCOG continues to work on the bid to find a consultant for all towns to work with.

*Public Works Environmental Configuration Engineering (New Salt Shed) – the Town Engineer is working on the design and should present to the Selectmen in the fall.

*ACO new truck – the truck should be in any day.

*TOB Masonry and door replacement – the RFP will need to be worked up and then we will go out to bid.

Public Works:

Derek Reported the crew has been busy with the following:

  • Cut tree that fell into upper parking lot~at Center School~during high winds
  • Milling of key ways for paving
  • Roadside mowing
  • install driveway aprons to prevent water runoff on recently paved roads where needed
  • Pot hole repair
  • Roadside brush removal
  • Install rocks around sign at Fenton -Ruby park to prevent sign vandalism from vehicles
  • Sweep Parker Rd,Cowles Rd, Busse Rd for paving
  • Mow detention basin on Birch Meadow
  • Traffic control for paving project
  • Remove dock and lifeguard chair from Halls Pond
  • Move Desk in WYFSS office
Parker , Cowles and Busse  Roads were paved on Sept 13th and 14th.  Derek would like to thank the residents and bus drivers~that were inconvenienced during this process. Mihaliak is the~next road for this year’s paving, and should be completed within the next few weeks.

Turnpike Road construction began on Sept 6th.  Derek would to remind motorists traveling that area to drive with caution and to slow down~in the construction zone. He has been in contact with Lieutenant Rios from Troop C to periodically perform radar during construction. The fine for speeding in construction zones are doubled, Turnpike Rd will experience intermittent road closures during installation of the pipe~crossings for short periods of time, to ease in the installation of such crossings. Any closures will be posted online and on the message board on Turnpike Rd.

New Business

  • Department Update: Financial Office
Business Manager Donna Latincsics was present.  She issued a handout of a flow chart of the four employed positions in the Finance office and the tasks in which they perform on a day to day basis.  

Ms. Latincsics stated that the Business Manager is involved with assisting various town groups with their fiscal policies, noting that she does not write the policy for each of the groups, but provides feedback and support to implement them   The policies are then issued and followed by the Superintendent of Schools/Board of Education, First Selectman/Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and Public Works.  

The Finance Department has many responsibilities, such as:

  • Payroll (includes coordinating benefits, workers comp audits, W2’s, Affordable Care Act reporting)
  • Accounts Payable (for the Town, BOE, both Fire Departments and the Hot Lunch Program as well as 1099 preparation)
  • Fixed Assets (reporting of financial statements; reports defining the municipal buildings and infrastructure)
  • Budget Preparation (Capital Budget and operating budgets for Board of Education & Town)
  • Budget Reporting – reporting is published monthly for the Board of Finance & uploaded on the website
  • Financial Statements (audit work,  pension valuations, post-employment benefits for BOE employees)
  • External Reporting (for the State Department of Education; reports of expenditures, education grant reporting)
  • Computer/Networking Coordination (support provided to end users (BOE) who use the accounting system)
  • Preparing Bids, (health insurance; capital leases, financing for various capital expenditures)
  • Assistance in Contract Negotiations (we have 4 union Contracts; 3 for the Board of Education; 1 for Town)
  • Long Range Financial Planning (CIP budget preparation for the CIP Committee)
  • Grant Tracking (FEMA reporting and education grants)
Donna then presented a fiscal update and fund balance for the town’s budget (which is attached to the minutes) and she noted instead of taking money out of the fund balance last fiscal year, we ended up adding $200,000 back into the General Fund.   First Selectman Mailhos noted that it is a very healthy fund balance at this point.  

Lastly, Donna noted that State Statute requires each school district in the State to implement a Unified Chart of Accounts; (UCOA) and the purpose is to give the state benchmarking data to compare districts and she will present the states findings once they complete the study.


Tish Ignatowicz, Town Treasurer was also present.  She stated that she is not part of the Finance Department, although she works very closely with them.  She is an elected official.

The Treasurer is responsible for reconciling all revenue coming into the Town and Board of Education, which includes both Fire Departments, Hot lunch program, school activity funds, and the Library’s accounts.  

The town’s funds are currently in forms of checking, savings; CD’s and State investment accounts.  The money is constantly being moved, depending on cash flow and rates to get the best possible investments for the town.  The more interest, the higher the revenue that comes in.    Tish added that majority of the accounts are balanced daily, but there are a few that are done weekly and or monthly.  At the end of every month, every account it fully balanced and reconciled so we know what the balance is.

In addition to revenue , Tish stated that she receives all grant money that is issued to the town and in turn is responsible for progress reports to the State for reimbursement or status updates.

The Treasurer and Business Manager have a “checks and balance” system to ensure proper accounting procedures are utilized.

The Treasurer balances payroll as an added auditing procedure and initiates all wire fund transfers, when needed.  She is required to file quarterly reporting to the State, such as building permit fees, dog fund, unemployment and tax statements.   During budget season, she again, works with the Finance Department and estimates the incoming revenue based on the various Town departments and what is happening with the state, she then works that up with the expenditures to present a balanced budget.  All financial reports are uploaded to the Towns’ website.

Tish recapped the fiscal year, with her budget projections and the actual revenue and noted that we were in good shape, receiving in over $220,000; and that includes a shortfall from the State of about $10,000.

The Selectmen thanked Ms. Latincsics and Ms. Ignatowicz for their updates.

  • Discussion – Fenton Ruby harvest – tree thinning in September
Resident, Peter Kristoff was present.  He stated that Mr. Ruby donated the land (that is now the park and wildlife preserve) to the Town with stipulations written into the deed; one being specifically noted that “no commercial development shall be permitted.”

Mr. Kristoff stated that it is his opinion that the upcoming timber harvest is considered a commercial enterprise as the forester and Town are going to make money off of it.  He does not think the Selectmen should have authorized this and is asking they go back and seek legal opinion and rescind their approval until such opinion has been made.  Mr. Kristoff added that he is doing this on behalf of Mr. Ruby, whose intent was not to pad someone’s pocket.

Mr. Kristoff then presented a copy of the deed, which states that “no commercial development is allowed on the property.”  

First Selectman Mailhos clarified that the intent of the harvesting is not to “pad anyone’s pocket” or make money for the town, but rather do the right thing for the forest.

Carlton Csiki, who was in attendance stated that he hoped he could help clarify this situation.  Mr. Csiki stated he was not only familiar with the acquisition of the land.  He was a member of the Board of Selectmen at the time, and also a very close family friend of the Ruby’s.

Mr. Csiki went on to say that the Board of Selectmen at the time had asked him to go and meet with Clark and Margaret Ruby on behalf of the Selectmen because of his personal relationship with them, to make the land acquisition easier on everyone involved at the time.  They had several conversations regarding the property; what Mr. and Mrs. Ruby wanted as well as the provision restricting commercial development.  Mr. Csiki stated the provision is exactly what is says; noting there is no intent to restrict this sort of undertaking on that property.  

Mr. Csiki cautioned that he is not here to speak on behalf of Clark or Margaret Ruby, however he is positive; that they would believe this is a wise and prudent stewardship of the Fenton Ruby Property, as long as it is done in a judicious manner with due respect to the land and he feels this way because of his very close relationship with them.  The thinning of the forest would be perfectly acceptable to the Ruby’s.  

The Selectmen thanked Mr. Csiki for clarifying this.

Carol Jordan, who is a member of the Conservation Commission, stated that she was a member of the committee who put together the management plan for the park about 20 years ago.  As part of the plan, there were goals for management for natural resources, wildlife habitat, grasslands and forestry.  The plan went into effect shortly after the Town acquired the property.  She added if a forest is not properly maintained in a healthy condition, it will lose value and will lose enhancement of wildlife habitat.  She then went on to clarify that this is not a commercial timber harvest; the amount being paid to the town will end up paying the foresters who drafted the plan; and the town is not going to see a profit from this.   Ms. Jordan then added that the management policies that were laid out in the plan was accepted by Town Meeting 20 years ago – it’s not like we just decided to do this off the cuff.

Kathy Demers, Vice Chairman of the Conservation Commission thanked Mr. Kristoff for his concern.  The Conservation Commission welcomes input with what happens in the park.  She added that the Conservation Commission has been managing the park since 1995. They spend a lot of their time reviewing the park management plan and it is always on their agenda.    This timber harvest has been an ongoing discussion for about 2 years.  

The Commission had Natural Resource Consultants do a study in the proposed area, which is about 300 acres with no trails currently going through that area.  After reviewing the area, they recommended a “shelterwood harvest” (timber thinning) because there were a lot of trees that are over-crowded; the overhead canopy had a poor understory and found lack of generation; which increases the risk of disease and insect infestation.   She added they want to remove some of the trees that are at their maximum age, and this will enhance the life of the younger trees that are there.  The only way to pay for the forestry services (that will make sure the harvest is done properly) is to have this harvest done.  The remainder of the funds (which is not a lot) from this harvest will go in the open space fund.  

Mr. Kristoff said that is incorrect– the timber that comes off of the property is worth something and will  be turned into firewood and lumber and he (the forester) is going to make money on it.  He said you are taking the wood from an old growth forest – if you want to go in and thin it out; it’s already in that stage.  Mr. Kristoff added that he has never seen anywhere where a man’s hand would improve something better than nature.

Ms. Demers clarified that the Conservation Commission is trying to make sure that the forest is maintained in a healthy condition and the wildlife habitat is preserved as well as continue to enhance passive recreation, where the public will also benefit.

Mr. Kristoff said passive recreation is already happening and he doesn’t see where the harvest is going to enhance that whatsoever.  He added it seems to him that you want to cut off the lot to regenerate; grow it again and cut it off again; just to start another forestry project.

Marilyn Schreiber said that is not the case and clarified that we have several mature trees that are in decline and shading and stunting the new growth that is trying to grow.  She added that the foresters are making sure they are not taking down the good trees.  They explained to the Conservation Commission how the trees were chosen and why they were selected.  The process was done with a scientific, systematic decision.  She noted it was not done based on the size of cord-wood that would come out of it; but rather the health of the tree.

Carol Jordan added that if we do not do this, we would not be maintaining the park in a healthy manner.   Marilyn Schreiber stated that this is not a clear-cut.  Vice-Chairman Demers added that 60% of the State of Connecticut is made up of forest; a reverse of 100 years ago when it was mostly agricultural land.  The forest ended up growing at the same time and is all of the same age.  That is the problem we have in the forests, the young trees and grasslands are vital habitats to our wildlife as well as endangered species; they require habitats to thrive; and so the residents can benefit from it as well.

Mr. Kristoff stated it is his opinion that Mr. Ruby left the land to the town as open property, and when there are restrictions on it, they are there for a reason.  He is not going to give any land to the Town because they would ignore whatever he puts down as a restriction and he does not see how you can legally do this.  

First Selectman Mailhos suggested that his interpretation of commercial may be different than how the town sees it.   The Town’s interpretation of commercial development would be to build something and this is not the case.  

Ralph Tulis stated there is no commercial development being proposed on this property; it’s just  maintenance of a forest.  Yes someone will make money but he believes Clark or Margaret will not get upset over it.  Just get it done.   Carol Jordan added that she reviewed the forest management plan with Mr. and Mrs. Ruby and they were most likely aware of it.  

Selectman Blessington said he has heard two different stories of what Mr. Ruby would have wanted.  He is going to side with the Conservation Commission as they do a nice job maintaining the property and are doing the best practices – they know what they are doing; they have been given the responsibility and there is no reason to change our decision.

Mr. Kristoff asked Mr. Blessington if he read the stipulations?  Selectman Blessington said yes, and agrees with what Mr. Tulis said.

Carol Jordan said there is going to be a walk-through at the site to answer any other questions on Saturday, September 24th from 10AM – 12PM. The forester will present the program and residents will be able to walk the parcel as well.

First Selectman Mailhos thanked everyone for coming and said she appreciates the input and also the concern about this.

  • Award Old Town Hall Restoration Painting and Electrical contracts
First Selectman Mailhos said we had our Town Meeting last week and the money was appropriated.   

First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the Old Town Hall Electrical Restoration contract to Millennium Electrical, LLC as per their bid of $4,750.00
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the Old Town Hall painting Restoration contract to Scholar Painting for $5,775 in the vestibule and $3,320 for stage restoration.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

  • Award Public Works Garage Improvements contract
First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the garage door resealing contract to Overhead Door Company of Hartford per the state bid of $1,420.00
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the lighting upgrades to Bailey Electrical in Willington per their bid of $3,100.00
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to award the mini-split installation contract for office and break room to D’Amico Electric as per their bid of $4,720
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

  • Tax Refunds
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $21.21 to Robin Boyce, 15 Highland Oak Drive, Ellington, CT for an overpayment.   
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $131.27 to Peter Hyjek, 405 Crystal Downs Court, Sun City Center, FL on a certificate of correction.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $6.71 to Niroj Chimire  70 Pinney Hill Road, Willington, CT  on a certificate of correction.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $105.23 to Derek Hagenow, C23 Mill Pond Road; Broad Brook, CT on a certificate of correction.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

First Selectman Mailhos moved to refund $194.03 to Zheng Xu; 11 Cottage Street; Cambridge, MA on a certificate of correction.
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

  • Call Town Meeting
TOWN OF WILLINGTON
NOTICE AND WARNING
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING

    The electors of the Town of Willington and all persons who are entitled to vote in Town Meeting on the matters mentioned in the following warning are hereby warned and notified to meet in Town Meeting at the Willington Old Town Hall; 11 Common Road, Willington, at 7:00 P.M. Tuesday, October  12, 2016 for the following purpose:

ITEM I

To see if the townspeople, based on the recommendation of the Board of Finance will authorize the expenditure from the Capital Reserve Fund of an amount not to exceed $45,000 to update the Plan of Conservation and Development, as required by state statute.  

Dated at Willington,
This 19th day of September, 2016
Willington Board of Selectmen
Selectman Blessington seconded the motion
Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

  •  Holiday Party Discussion
Don Berg said that he had attended the Board of Finance meeting last week; asking them to consider funding the holiday party for the volunteer boards.  The BOF agreed that it would be a good gesture; however they did not agree to fund the entire thing.  First Selectman Mailhos clarified that the funding was also suggested to come out of the Selectmen’s budget.  

Robin Campbell clarified that only about half of the people who attend the holiday party are board members; the rest are spouses and children and that they need to take that into consideration when figuring out a number.  The other thing to consider is if it is funded, you may get a false number because people will say they are going to go, but then don’t show up.  

Mr. Berg said that he thinks the total bill could come to about $1,400 and the BOF may be willing to cover a portion of the funds and make it more affordable for everyone. Robin Campbell cautioned that our Miscellaneous line item (where the funding would come from) has a budget of around $2,500, however some money has been spent out of there already; there are other items are earmarked to come out; so realistically, there is probably $800 in there that we could take.  Mr. Berg said that is about probably what we would spend.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn suggested possibly covering $5 or $10 per person.   

Mr. Berg stated that there were issues where the food came out early, and then after a little while it was gone – if you came in late, you did not get anything. He will work on that as well.

Selectman Blessington said that we always talk about having difficulty getting people to serve on the boards/commissions, this could be one perk.  First Selectman Mailhos said she may offer to subsidize up to $750 out of our “miscellaneous budget” as it is tracking favorably and then perhaps we could charge the board members and employees $5 to offset the costs.   

First Selectman Mailhos said she might be comfortable with subsidizing $750; but cautioned that she may have to go to the Board of Finance if we run out of money after covering this.  She thinks with the offset of charging people it will balance out.   Selectman Kowalyshyn suggested having Mr. Berg negotiate with the restaurant to see if they can come up with a good amount of food.  Perhaps suggest have them bring the food out every ½ hour or 45 minutes.  Tax and gratuity should also be included.

8.  Old Business

(Note: this conversation took place at the beginning of the meeting before new business)

  • Crumbling Foundation Update
  • Discussion of Building Permit process
First Selectman Mailhos stated that we have been discussing the permit fees but wanted to have our Building Inspector involved in the discussions as well.  She added that she found out today that the Governor stated he is willing to consider waiving the State building fees as long as the towns are on board too.    

First Selectman Mailhos noted that she has been talking about this topic with other towns and they all seem to be on the fence as there are different ways to look at it.  The main object is to make sure that we are saving the property owners the money if we waive the fees, rather than have the contractors benefit from this.  

Jim Rupert, Willington’s Building Inspector stated right now, there are only a few contractors who are doing the work (replacing foundations) and because there is no real competition; there is no way to see if they are gouging their prices.  Mr. Rupert added that he has only seen 2 or 3 different installers in Willington and Bolton (where he is also the Building Inspector), leaving him to believe that no other contractors are familiar with the process.   He added that he personally has nothing to gain or lose whether the town decides to waive the fees.

Mr. Rupert added that the Town of Stafford is the only town that has expressed an opinion regarding the fees; and they are choosing not to waive them.  The reason being it is not a simple administrative decision - in most cases the inspector can be called out multiple (6 or more) times per project to inspect.  He clarified in addition to the Building Inspectors time to go out to the site, there is also administrative/office work that goes with it.  In addition, Stafford is also concerned that they cannot guarantee that the savings will be passed along to the consumer and waiving the fees may create issues in the future.  Mr. Rupert noted that Bolton’s Board of Selectmen voted to waive the fees last week at their last meeting.

Selectman Kowalyshyn stated at one of the last meetings we asked if it would be possible for the homeowner to pull the permit, so they know they are getting the waiver and saving the money. Mr. Rupert stated that is a possibility; and we could also make the contractor file an affidavit of construction cost to be a requirement when pulling the permits so the homeowner is aware of the costs up front.  He cautioned that the typical homeowner may not know how to decipher overhead costs and permit fees if they are worked into the bottom line cost.
Selectman Blessington stated that he is uncomfortable with requiring the resident to pull the permits; stating that the professionals will know better which permits need to be pulled.  Mr. Rupert clarified that he doesn’t think we can require the residents to pull the permits, adding that when a permit is pulled (from a contractor) the license  and comp information is logged, and are required by law – to protect the resident.   If a resident pulls the permit, it is most likely they won’t have that information at the time and that is one of the advantages of having the contractors pulling the permits.  

Mr. Rupert added that this is not an easy decision; noting that although Bolton voted to waive the fees, the Town Manager was opposed to it for several reasons - the biggest being that it isn’t fair to those who did pay fees to have the work done already and others who have had to pay the fees for calamities; such as a burned house, or a tree falling and causing damage, etc.   First Selectman Mailhos clarified that most of those cases mentioned, most likely had insurance cover those costs though.  First Selectman Mailhos said she heard that Legislator are working on a bill to require towns to waive the fees.  Mr. Rupert added that the other towns are all over the place right now because they don’t really know how big of a problem it is going to be.  He added he feels the Governor may have a hard time waiving the .26 cents per thousand fee because that money (although doesn’t seem like a lot) is locked in to cover the yearly education fees for inspectors, which is a state requirement.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked what the current fees (for Willington) are.

Mr. Rupert said right now the fees are $10 per $1,000 and he noted that our fees are much lower than surrounding towns.   Selectman Kowalyshyn asked if it would be possible to lower them.  Mr. Rupert said he has nothing to gain or lose personally; and that it is totally up to the Selectmen.  

Selectman Blessington clarified when you are looking at a $100,000 project; $1,000 is pretty minimal in the scheme of things.   Mr. Rupert suggested that the Selectmen could look into setting a flat fee, instead of waiving them entirely.  

First Selectman Mailhos said we, as a town, want to do whatever we can to support the residents who want to fix their homes as it only benefits the town in the long run for them to do so.  The Town is a large stake holder and must invest in its residents – it is worth thinking about.   Resident Randy Belair stated that every dollar counts (to those affected) and urges the Selectmen to consider making changes to the building fees.

Selectman Kowalyshyn said that she might be in favor of setting a flat fee.  Mr. Belair cautioned that it may not end up being fair to everyone – if someone has a small job, may not benefit from a flat fee.  Selectman Kowalyshyn said she was thinking of a lower rate flat fee.    Don Berg suggested that no matter the size of the job, would still end up having multiple visits from the inspector.   Ralph Tulis disagreed and said it is all in the scope of the work.  The number of visits may depend on how many other facets require permits – such as the electrical permit; sanitary permit etc.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn said she wasn’t aware that other permits would be involved.   Jim Rupert clarified in some cases, electrical, septic, well, etc. would need to be severed and re-connected; thus permits must need to be pulled.  He then clarified that sometimes there are situations where portions of the foundation are replaced, and the connections are left intact, needing less permits/inspections.   In general, the electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are $35 for the first $1,000 and an additional $10 per $1,000.

Selectman Kowalyshyn then asked if we could waive the minimum fee?  

Mr. Rupert stated that it is a tough call –how do you help everyone, and those who have already paid the fees.  Some paid in different fiscal years.  First Selectman Mailhos clarified that there were some (from years ago) that were covered by insurance as well.  Mr. Rupert added that we have been dealing with this here in Willington for years – no one realized how big of an issue it was until someone spoke out and brought the issue forward.  He then stated that the State still isn’t sure how many cases we really have because residents are not coming forward as they do not want their information to become public and have their rates go up.  There are approximately 1,000 homes potentially identified being built in the specified timeframe.  He then asked how many do you think are affected – 10 to 50%?  We just don’t know yet.

Mr. Rupert cautioned that we could have houses that are affected that are not showing any signs yet.  Starting October 1st, we will be required to record where the concrete comes from; but feels that it probably won’t resolve anything at this point.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked if there is a test that can be done to see if a home is affected.   Mr. Rupert said there is a testing procedure out there, but it is quite destructive and cautioned that you are only testing that one spot and in many cases, they have found that only portions of foundations are affected and others are not  This is because sometimes foundations are poured in multiple batches.    In addition to that, it is quite expensive.  Selectman Blessington warned that there is no test that will predict whether or not a resident can end up with the problem.  Ralph Tulis stated that he can perform a test to see if pyrrhotite is present (in the core that he samples), but cannot predict if it is going to pose a problem in the future.  

Selectman Blessington stated that he would like to come up with a way for people to know if it is going to happen to them in the future – there has got to be a way to protect them if they end up with a problem 20 years from now.  Mr. Tulis agreed adding that there is also no way to tell how bad the problem is going to get for those who are beginning to show symptoms.  He stated just because cracks are beginning to show does not mean that the foundation is going to fall apart - it may or it may not.  Mr. Rupert clarified that the building code criteria for a structure to be deemed “unsafe” is only if it is in imminent danger of collapse and he is yet to see one in that state; but he elucidated that could only be a matter of time.

Selectman Kowalyshyn then asked Mr. Rupert how many inspections he would have to do on an average house/foundation replacement.  Mr. Rupert stated it all depends on the job, but an average could be 5-6 times and up to as many as 10 per project.  

Discussion was held on assessment values and as of October 1st the state is going to have a procedure in place on assessing values.  Ralph Tulis stated that he believes Assessors are not being very generous with the decreased assessments because if you can still live in the house, it still has value – cracked foundation or not.  First Selectman Mailhos stated that they are still trying to work out a formula and are working on a tiered system to reduce percentages off for imminent collapse, all the way to help those who think they may have a problem.  Ralph Tulis cautioned that it all is associated with a test.

Selectman Blessington asked if there are any cases where residents are asked to move out of their home, other than the one in Stafford from a few months ago?  Jim Rupert stated that he has not seen any.  Ralph Tulis stated neither has he; most of the homes he has seen are still structurally stable.  Selectman Blessington then asked if there are any that they feel will have to move within the next 5 years?  Mr. Rupert said not that he knows of – but warned that those are only the ones that have requested him to look at them; he cautioned that he doesn’t know how many are out there that he is not aware of.

Marilyn Schreiber (of the Conservation Commission) stated that no one is going to not fix their house because of the cost of a building permit fee – she cannot imagine anyone not willing to pay an additional $1,000 when they are already planning on paying over $100,000.  She added that it’s more important that they fix the homes rather than let them go into foreclosure; which would be the real issue.  Ms. Schreiber added that she is not making light of the situation, stating that the extra $1,000 is still a lot of money, but you can’t just throw away the income stream that supports the officials to do the job.   

Randy Belair clarified that the revenue stream isn’t even consequential on this – there have only been a few permits pulled to replace foundations so far.  He stated that anything the town can do to encourage these people to fix their homes will reflect well on the town.  He added that it really doesn’t add up to very much.  Jim Rupert warned that is true right now, but what if the State, Federal Government or insurance companies come up with money to fix the issue and you have everyone coming at once to get the problems fixed, may create a different burden in the Building Department.  Mr. Belair then clarified only the ones not covered by insurance should be the ones with a waived fee. First Selectman Mailhos warned that we talked about that and there is no real way to know if the money is coming from insurance or out of the homeowner’s pocket.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn then stated that she is leaning towards going with a flat fee, but not sure how much.
First Selectman Mailhos stated that she feels whatever we end up doing should go to Town Meeting and asked the other Selectmen what they thought.   Selectman Blessington then said if we are going to put it before a Town Meeting, we need to come up with an idea.

First Selectman Mailhos stated that it is hard to think about this as a homeowner in town and she just wants to do the right thing for the Town and the homeowners.  

Ralph Tulis suggested keeping it simple and only have the rate reduced per thousand for affected foundations.

Discussion was held on how much to cut the permits.  

Selectman Blessington moved to adjust the building fee to one quarter of the standard rate for the repair of foundations affected by crumbling concrete due to the presence of pyrrhotite.
Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked if any other permit fee would be involved in this.  Selectman Blessington said no, unless you want to amend the motion.  First Selectman Mailhos said she doesn’t think she can vote on this as she fears she personally may be affected and thus would have a conflict of interest.
Vote: 1 Yes (Blessington) 1 No (Kowalyshyn) 1 Abstain (Mailhos)
Motion Fails.

First Selectman Mailhos suggested having it go to Town Meeting.  Selectman Blessington suggested not adding this topic to the upcoming Town Meeting being called tonight because we need to research this further. It should be tabled until the next meeting.  First Selectman Mailhos suggested it could be sent to a Town Meeting via petition.  Selectman Blessington said he hopes not, because he wants to have the issue checked by the Town Attorney first.

Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that she wanted to talk about the task force, but will wait until the next meeting.  

  • Nuisance (ATV/Dirtbike) Ordinance Update
First Selectman Mailhos has been working on a draft of the Ordinance and has mocked what the Town of Mansfield currently has in place.  She reached out to a State Trooper; who is familiar with the Ordinance; who suggested this would be a great asset to Willington.  The ordinance would not only cover the dirt bike and ATV issues (as part of the original request for this); but would also cover illegal partying (college students) as we are always getting complaints of that as well.   She explained that tickets would be issued (tickets would need to be created) and the Trooper would fill it out and the offender would be issued a fine that would come to the town.  

First Selectman Mailhos said this would be a great tool for enforcement, but unfortunately there are a few issues that need to be worked out.  For example, once a ticket is issued, someone needs to make sure it is being paid and we would also have to offer an appeal process.  She stated the enforcement (making sure fines are paid) could come from the Selectmen’s Office as opposed to the Resident State trooper, since we didn’t have one; however we do not have an appeal board; which would require the Town to adopt another ordinance to appoint people to serve on it.  First Selectman Mailhos noted that it is a requirement to issue an appeal if imposing a fine on anyone.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked why the police couldn’t be the appeal board.  First Selectman Mailhos stated this is because the Town is enforcing the Ordinance, even though most of the things listed under it are also considered “Nuisance” for example:
Excessive pedestrian and vehicular traffic,obstruction of public streets by crowds or vehicles, illegal parking, the service of alcohol to underage persons, underage drinking, fights, creating a public disturbance, breach of the peace, trespassing, disorderly conduct, littering, simple assault, threatening, harassment, illegal burning or use of fireworks, urinating or defecating in public, lewdness, criminal mischief, crimes against property or excessive noise.

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked why we would need a ticket for these things if they are against the law and the person could simply get arrested for doing those things?  First Selectman Mailhos presented a copy of a ticket (for the Town of Mansfield) which has all of the items listed. She stated that using the ticket system is easier for the troopers to use and arresting someone is considered more serious.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn asked if the Tax office would be willing to collect the fines.  First Selectman Mailhos said we could ask them. First Selectman Mailhos stated we don’t know how much volume we will have with this type of thing.  She added that we would also need to print out booklets of tickets so the State Troopers have them while making rounds through town.

Randy Belair asked what the consequence would be if the fine is not paid.  First Selectman Mailhos stated that we would be able to track the offenders down.  She added that there are also other possible avenues; such as adding a lien on someone’s property.  If it involves a rental, the landlord would be notified.  

 Selectman Blessington said most landlords are not going to care.  Selectman Kowalyshyn clarified in most cases, landlords have leases with rules and said most of them do care.   She then added that we need to come up with a process to be sure fines are paid.  

Selectman Blessington said that you may have a hard time selling this.  First Selectman Mailhos said that she is struggling with this and isn’t sure how this is going to work.  Selectman Kowalyshyn said in Mansfield, they have resident State Troopers but isn’t sure they are the ones who track the people down to make sure they are paying the fines.  She added that it would be too costly to ask the Town Attorney to become involved to handle a $250 fine.  She then suggested putting a lien on the property if it is not paid.  Selectman Blessington cautioned in this case, it may end up to be more students, who do not own homes.  

Discussion was held on changing it to be a noise ordinance.  First Selectman Mailhos said for example,  Tolland has a noise ordinance, however it is hard to enforce and the appeal system is very high; it is more trouble than its worth.  

Selectman Kowalyshyn told Selectman Blessington that she understands what he is saying that this may be too much trouble; but we also have residents who are fed up with the noise of their neighbors and we don’t want them to take matters in their own hands.  Selectman Blessington said that the town cannot solve every problem.  Selectman Kowalyshyn agreed, but some things the Town should handle Selectman Blessington said this is too far.

First Selectman Mailhos said she is not sure what to do now.  She will look into how to handle liens.  Selectman Kowalyshyn said she will research what other towns do.  Selectman Blessington said we’ve gone as far as we can now – we will revisit at a future meeting.

  • Mansfield-Willington Cooperative Agreement Discussion
First Selectman Mailhos noted that we received notice that the Willington Board of Education voted to not pursue this and will discontinue discussions with Mansfield.  The item will be removed from the Agenda.

  • WWI Memorial Evergreen Replacement update
Selectman Blessington stated that the committee met a few weeks ago and discussed options.  The Committee is thankful to those who have offered to donate a tree from their property.  It was found that large trees growing in the wild are very difficult to move; as their roots have already been established; and end up dying.  

The committee decided the best thing to do is to purchase a tree from a nursery.  Derek found an 8’ – 12’ tree at a nursery in Suffield at a cost of $439.00.   Derek is confident the crew would be able to remove the old tree and plant the new one and will be successful.  The entire cost to do so should be under $600.00.  

Because we had several residents  offer to pay for the new tree, it was found that the original trees were purchased by the town in memory of two Willington Soldiers who lost their lives in WW1; and the Town should cover the cost of the new tree.  

Selectman Blessington stated that the Committee felt that a plaque should be placed near the tree, in memorial of the old tree (and Soldiers) and we should seek donations to cover that cost.  In addition, the committee would like to see if a contest could be held at the schools to design the plaque.   The plaque would be bronze and placed in the ground.

First Selectman Mailhos said we need to figure out where the funding will come from.    

First Selectman Mailhos said people are going to hate to see the old tree taken down. Selectman Blessington warned that it is in really bad shape as it  is infested with a fungus.  He then suggested it would be best to plant the new tree in the spring, because we have had such a drought.   First Selectman Mailhos said that we can then have a proper send off this year and will note that when advertising for this year’s tree lighting.

Good & Welfare

We received a letter from the Department of Transportation authorizing us to establish a school speed limit zone in front of Center School.  The speed limit will be decreased from 25MPH to 20MPH during school hours (8:00AM-9:00AM and 3:00PM-4:30PM)

Our Animal Control Officer sent us an email with the following info:
The Animal Control Department was very grateful to accept another donation of pet supplies from some of Willington young animal angels. Jordan and Tristan M both had a joint birthday party and asked for pet supplies to help the animals at our shelter. Actually young Jordan stated he wants to do the same every year! We are so blessed!

~The Animal Control Department would like to give a HUGE shout out to Willington DPW employee Jeff Semmelrock. Jeff was called in to assist the ACO and CSP with a call for kitten trapped in a sewer drain. Not only did Jeff answer the call to help, but he was willing to to climb down into the sewer and with the help of a little canned food, eventually bring the kitten to safety!

First Selectman Mailhos stated that a resident has asked her to inform residents that affixing anything to a telephone or electric pole is not allowed by law.  She noted that this pertains to tag sale or lost pet signs; which should be removed after a few days before becoming  litter.

The CT Coalition Against Crumbling Basements group went to the Governor’s mansion via bus this past Saturday to rally for State support.  The Governor was waiting for them with coffee and donuts.   The group seemed encouraged after meeting with him.

We also received a letter from HUD responding to the crumbling basement issue that they are offering to assist homeowners; however there are many limitations and requirements on the funds.  

Selectman   Kowalyshyn moved to adjourn at 9:36 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

You have received this e-mail because you have subscribed to the Town of Willington’s E-mail bulletin feature. If you wish to remove your name from this list please visit www.willingtonct.org/subscriber.html to unsubscribe.