MINUTES

WATERTOWN TOWN COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
POLK SCHOOL LIBRARY
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2002, 8:00 P.M.

PRESENT:        Elaine Adams
        Lee Archer, Chairman
        Raymond Hebert, Jr., Vice Chairman
        Robert Kane
        Jean King
        Raymond Primini
        Paul Rinaldi
        Paul Valenti
        Richard Wick

ABSENT: None

OTHERS PRESENT: Charles Frigon, Interim Town Manager
        Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director

1.      Call Meeting To Order

Mr. Archer, Chairman, Called the Meeting to Order at 8:00 p.m.

2.      Roll Call

Ms. LaForme, Board Clerk, executed the Roll Call.

3.      Pledge of Allegiance

Mr. Archer:  Tonight for the Pledge of Allegiance, given the fact that were looking into land acquisition for ball fields, we thought wed have some kids from one of our local teams lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  We have Megan Cordon, Alyssa Couette, and Amanda Couette and theyre from the Girls Rapids Oakville/Watertown Softball Team.  So if they could come forward and lead us in the Pledge, please.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
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4.      Public Participation

        Cathy Cordon, 58 Earle Avenue, Oakville, CT  06779

        Ms. Cordon:  My question is to the Board, and Im not sure if it should be to the Board of Ed or to the Town Council, regarding first of all Deland Field.  Was there some type of State funding regarding these fields when we were redoing the fields?

        Mr. Archer:  On Deland Im not sure.  I cant speak to that.  Jean was on the previous Council which approved . . . .

        Ms. King:  There was no State funding per say.  The last Council, when we got, really interesting, a rebate from C.R.R.A. two years ago, wed forgotten that they actually did that one year, we agreed that we would put that money toward the renovations of Deland Field, but that was not enough money, and therefore we used money from the Town budget to do the rest of it.  Correct, Frank?  But there is no State grant money by any means.  It basically was funds that the Town had available.

        Ms. Cordon:  Okay, is there a reason why there were no Girls Softball fields put there?

        Mr. Hebert:  There was State money used for the bleachers and the fencing.

        Ms. Cordon:  So thats part of the State funding, so possibly why wasnt at least one field used for Girls Softball?

        Mr. Hebert:  The fields were rehabbed, what was there.  Nothing was added it was just . . .

        Ms. Cordon:  Okay, but when those were built, that was long before there was any Girls Softball in Town.

        Mr. Hebert:  Correct.

        Ms. Cordon:  So is there some grandfather clause that you have to keep it?

        Mr. Hebert:  We rehabbed the fields to the fields that were there.

        Ms. Cordon:  Is there a possibility for them to make it, at least one field into a Girls Softball Field, because these girls, as far as in Town, have probably the worst field to play on.  Just tonight we had Polk School T-Ball players, first of all the Town does not allow anybody but a Union worker to touch these fields and they probably had about 3 inches of water in home plate, and these are T-Ball girls.  We are not talking about older girls.  We are talking about T-Ball girls.
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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 3

        Mr. Archer:  As far as the maintenance of the fields, Im going to be addressing that at length coming up, so if you can hold that question, I will have at least an answer.  Its probably not going to be anything, its not a solution as of yet, but it will be an answer to that question.  I just dont want to go through it twice, thats all.

        Ms. Cordon:  Theres many parents that are more than willing to help take care of these fields, but because of the Towns Union contracts, they cant touch the fields, however, theyre not being taken care of.  You go up to Watertown high School, theres garbage, garbage throughout all these fields.

        Mr. Archer:  This is a, as weve gone through the process of listening to the public on this, this is one of the issues that comes up every single time, and we realize this is an issue, and I will explain how it is that Veterans looks like it does, and then the school fields look like they do in a little bit.

        Ms. King:  Im really ignorant, Im sorry, I didnt have girls.  Theres a difference between Girls Softball Fields and the other fields that are there?  Theres no reason why one of those fields cant be . . . . is it a different size?

        Ms. Cordon:  Well depending upon what the age group is, but there is no grass in the infield and there is no mound for pitching.  So it would be a dirt infield, like the one down at Swift.

        Ms. King:  So the fields that have been built at Deland would not work then?

        Ms. Cordon:  Youd have to take the infield grass out and get rid of the mound.

        Rachel Saucier, 333 Falls Avenue, Oakville, CT  06779

        Ms. Saucier:  I would like to know whats going on with Turkey Brook now that you people have been in office for awhile, and where are we headed for it?  Thats my issue right now.  Im tired of Town Councils, and Ive been to how many Town Councils?  Ive been fighting this since 1994, so I want to know whats going on with the brook, if its going to be fixed, if so when, because if its not going to be fixed, all right, then Im going to build a wall thats on your property, not mine, because youre property is whats damaging my property, and I just want you to know that.
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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
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        And another thing, Id like to have the Charter changed, and I think there should be a Mayor in this Town, not a Town Council anymore, because I think its better to select a Mayor because you can impeach a Town Mayor if a Mayor doesnt work for this Town.  You people are in office for "x" amount of time, and you start jobs, but you never complete them.  You never finish the jobs.  I keep reading in the paper about how youre going to buy land, youre going to do this, or youre going to do that, but you people never complete anything you start, so I want to know whats going on with this brook, and I want to know how to go about changing the Charter of this Town, because I dont think a Town Council is any good in this Town anymore.  Theres too many people, and I think you people, just like myself, work full time and you have to come here and you have to face other things, you have other duties, youhave family obligations also, and I dont think you have enough time to take care of the obligations of this Town.  And thats the way I feel.

        Mr. Archer:  I heard 3 things and I just want to make sure I got them:

        1.     What is happening with Turkey Brook?
        2.     Seeming inability to complete projects.
        3.     How do you change the Charter?

        Ill start with Turkey Brook.  Thats been on our Agenda as an informational item each time since November.  I know Chuck has had numerous conversations with Brian Flaherty and Lou DeLuca regarding securing additional financing for that.  As you know, we went to Referendum with one amount, and the actual estimate came in with another amount, so it would require us to find the additional funding before we could go forward with that.

        As far as completing projects is concerned, first of all weve been here, I guess 4 or 5 months, which is not a great deal of time, and actually neither is a 2 year term a very long time.  And one of the reasons I think that projects tend to start and then go off in a different direction is because we keep changing administration every two years, and I would suggest that perhaps if we kept a single administration for a period of time, that might help.

        As far as changing the Charter and how to do that, I couldnt begin to tell you.  I would imagine there are people in the Annex or Town Hall who could instruct you as to how to do that.  I would imagine it would require some sort of a petition here or something (inaudible).

        Ms. Saucier:  Because what Im seeing here is this Town Council is going to end up out of this, and Turkey Brook is still going to be sitting there waiting to have something done, because I dont think its going to go anywhere, because you people are going to be hanging the same way were hanging.  The thing is my issue here is this is land that is your land thats coming on my property.  The water comes from your property onto my property and it flows down to other peoples property and it damages their property, and if you look at the laws, people can sue the Town for the damage that is done.
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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 5

        Mr. Archer:  I personally dont . . . .

        Ms. Saucier:  I asked quite awhile ago to put up a wall or put up some kind of a wall to stop the water from coming in over in Turkey Brook, and many people know what Turkey Brook looks like on Falls Avenue; theyve been there.  And you cant have a lowland like this and a high level like this and expect water to take a 90 degree angle and not go anywhere.  Its going to end up going on people property.  And half of that property on the side of my house is your property, not mine.  And I think that the Town should go down there and take a look at it, and either put some kind of a border or a barrier to stop the water from entering onto other peoples properties, because youre damaging my property.  I cant even do any landscaping on my property because it just rots it away.  If I put new grass in, the water comes from Turkey Brook onto my land and it just rots it away.  This is anissue thats been going on since 1994.  I havent seen any changes, so whats the point of having Town Councils if you people just start things and you dont complete them, and you just put things in the paper that youre going to do this, youre going to do that, but you people never do them?  And I know the budget is coming up and youre talking about budget money, and you want us people to pay more money into taxes, but yet you dont take care of the people that need the help either.

        Mr. Archer:  Chuck, how many meetings have you had with Lou and Brian?  How many times have you spoken to them about this issue?

        Mr. Frigon:  In person twice, on the phone, dozens.

        Mr. Archer:  What was the shortfall, between 6 and 9?

        Mr. Frigon:  $985,000 shortfall (inaudible), not once but twice.

        Mr. Saucier:  Yea, but Chuck, let me tell you something.  We had money.  It was the Town Council who sat on their butts and didnt get off their butts to move to get the brook done, so I blame the Town for doing this, because the money was there.  The money was there, somebody miscalculated, which was the Towns fault because they had engineers that should have calculated what took place, what they were supposed, what was going to happen during this whole term of Turkey Brook, and they didnt calculate, a lot of things werent calculated.

        Mr. Frigon:  And the money is still there.  It hasnt gone away.

        Ms. Saucier:  No, theres money thats, the $700,000 is . . . .
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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 6

        Mr. Frigon:  Its $900,000 and we have secured that money and we have been reassured that that money will remain secure until such time as the amendment to the M.A.A. Assistance Agreement that we applied for is decided upon.  That may be tomorrow, that may be two months from now.  I dont know.  We are aggressively pursuing it.  Thats all we can do, we cant do anything more than pursue this through our legislators.

        Ms. Saucier:  How about the person who put the bid up for the brook?  Are they still involved in this?

        Mr. Frigon:  Theyre involved to the point where they still are the lowest bidder.  Theyre bid has expired.  They will hopefully be in a position to do the work for that bid amount if and when we are awarded the additional money to do the project.  If theyre not, then well need to do something else.  We have no way at the time of knowing what this project was going to cost.  It went through several different design changes, as I understand.

        Ms. Saucier:  No, it went through 2 design changes.

        Mr. Frigon:  2, and that takes a long time, and there are a lot of permits, and (inaudible) this hasnt been a cheap project up to this point.  People have been putting money into it, people have been . . . . .

        Ms. Saucier:  Let me tell you something Chuck, this started in 1981.  You can sit there and laugh all you want.

        Woman in the Audience:  Im not, I give you a lot of credit.

        Ms. Saucier:  No, Im talking to her.  This started since 1981 okay, and the problem is in 1981 if it was taken care of it wouldnt have gotten this far.  So it all comes right back down to what does the Town Council or what does the people on the Town Council do.

        Mr. Archer:  But we werent sitting here in 1981.

        Ms. Saucer:  No you werent, but you are now, and youre still giving me the same answers that the Council before you did, the Council before them did, and the Council before them did.

        Mr. Archer:  Well I dont have $1,000,000 in my back pocket to fix the problem.  I dont.  It is singularly a money issue right now, thats all it is.
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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 7

        Ms. Saucier:  Well then why doesnt somebody come down there and try to put a barricade and stop the water from coming into peoples property?  Until this is clarified, why doesnt somebody send the Town down and put something there to stop the, put a barricade or something to stop the water from coming into the Towns property into peoples properties.

        Mr. Archer:  Do you want us to take that out of the money that is secured and waiting for the larger project, or no, because then were looking for more money?

        Ms. Saucier:  Well fine, then my alternative is I can build a barrier.

        Mr. Archer:  I couldnt stop you from doing that.

        Ms. Saucier:  Thank you.

        Mr. Archer:  Thank you.

        Louis Juliano, 339 Falls Avenue, Oakville, CT  06779

        Mr. Juliano:  Im willing to join with you people spending all this money for doing a lot of different projects, but please take care of Turkey Brook first.  One day when Im floating down the river, then youll do it, I know.  Thank you.

        Robert LeBlanc, 78 Highland Avenue, Watertown, CT  06795

        Mr. LeBlanc:  I was wondering if the Town has received a bulletin from the C.M.U. concerning taxation of Town vehicles used for personal and recreational use?  I believe one went out to all mayors and first selectmen, and I was wondering if we received one in our Town?

        Mr. Archer:  Not that Ive seen.

        Mr. Frigon:  We have the bulletin.

        Mr. LeBlanc:  May I have a copy of it if I go to your office and get it?

        Mr. Frigon:  Yes.

        Mr. LeBlanc:  Thank you, thats all I wanted.

        Mr. Archer:  Is there anyone else in the public wishing to speak?  Hearing none, we will Close Public Participation at this time.

Mr. Archer Closed Public Participation at 8:16 p.m.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 8

5.      Minutes

        A.     Regular Town Council Minutes  April 1, 2002

        MOTION:        (Ms. Adams, sec. Mr. Kane) to Approve the Regular Town Council Minutes dated April 1, 2002 as presented.

               Discussion:    None

               MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

        B.     Public Hearing Minutes  April 1, 2002

        MOTION:        (Mr. Kane, sec. Ms. Adams) to Approve the Public Hearing Minutes dated April 1, 2002 as presented.

               Discussion:    None

               MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

        C.     Special Town Council Minutes  April 8, 2002

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Ms. Adams) to Approve the Special Town Council Minutes dated April 8, 2002 as presented.

               Discussion:    Ms. King:  I feel very badly that I was not at this meeting because I didnt know that this meeting was taking place.  And in fact I didnt until I opened my packet that came last Friday.  It has always been my understanding that if theres a Special Council Meeting that wasnt on the Agenda, that people are called.  I happened to go out of Town Friday afternoon, and not come back until Monday.  There was a packet.  When I opened it, it had the memo on top from Elisabeth Moore.  It did not have the Agenda of the meeting so I looked, and thought oh, they sent me this nice information and put it to one side, so I had no idea that this meeting happened.  As I say, Ibelieve its always been our policy to call people if theres a Special Meeting and leave messages, thats all.  I was checking in with my messages all the time I was away.

                      Mr. Archer:  I apologize that you didnt know.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 9

                      Mr. Frigon:  I wasnt aware of that policy (inaudible).

                      Mr. Archer:  Yea, can we do both paper and the calls?  That would be great.  I was actually surprised that you werent there.

                      Mr. Frigon:  Yes.

                      Ms. King:  I was home too, thinking, boy, a night without a meeting.

                      Mr. Kane:  I actually called Chuck because I got too many notices.

               In Favor:      Ms. Adams, Mr. Archer, Mr. Hebert, Mr. Primini, Mr. Valenti, Mr. Wick

               Opposed:       None

               Abstained:     Mr. Kane, Ms. King, Mr. Rinaldi

               MOTION CARRIED (6-0-3)

6.      Sub-Committee Reports

        A.     Finance Subcommittee

               Mr. Kane:  The Finance Subcommittee has set a Public Hearing on our Town Budget for tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 16th at 7:00 at the Watertown High School Auditorium.  Again, I think we worked very hard on this budget and people will see that it is a good budget and it should pass without an issue, I think.

        B.     Public Works Subcommittee - April 9, 2002

               Ms. Adams:  The good news is the bridge reconstruction on Echo Lake Road that ha resulted in the one car at a time traffic, the contractors are back and hopefully it will be done within 30 days.  They will start paving next week and we can finally open it up and use it as it was intended.

               Also, the construction has started on the Middlebury Road/Bunker Hill intersection.

               Steel Brook Improvement project  finally all the paperwork has been submitted for that so we can start moving on that.  You may remember that we approved those dollars back in December, the end of November, beginning of December.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
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        C.     Facility Subcommittee  April 8, 2002 and April 15, 2002

               Mr. Primini:  The Facilities Subcommittee met both last Monday and tonight prior to this meeting.  The main topic of discussion is the disposition of Griffin School.  We had narrowed it down to 3 options:

               1.     Sell the building outright keeping the present façade of the building.

               2.     Sell it to a non-profit agency who would possibly turn it into Senior Citizen apartments/low income housing.  They would give us fair market value of the building, but take the building off the tax rolls.
               3.     Possibility of converting it into Town offices.

               We met again tonight and we are going to be getting harder figures on exactly what it would cost for Town offices.  Bid packages are going to be prepared at the same time for anybody interested in buying the building, which will be reviewed.  As far as selling it to a non-profit agency, its going to be put on hold right now because the application for HUD would have to be in by June 5th, so we wouldnt be able to meet the deadline.  We just found that out right now so obviously wed have to sit to next year, so currently right now for our next meeting well be preparing those other two options, getting the bid packages ready, and also seeing what some of the more hard costs would be as far as converting it to Townoffice space.

               Mr. Archer:  Do we know how much of the Town offices could reside in that building based on square footage or are we still working on that?

               Mr. Primini:  There would be plenty of space down there where we could put all the offices in from Depot Square right now.  The current rent at Depot Square is about $55,000 per year and the leases are up in November, so we dont know what the rents will be after that.  Possibly put another Town office spaces as needed too.  Were also looking into the possibility, if we ever do the Town Hall, we could possibly put people down there temporarily at a time so the Town Hall could be done, but obviously thats getting ahead right now.  The first step is what we can do with Griffin School.

               Mr. Frigon:  To date the approach hasnt been how many offices can be accommodated per square foot, but how many offices can be accommodated in the existing square footage, configured the way it is.  Thats two different (inaudible).

               Mr. Archer:  Thats what I meant.  I can see where youd think I was asking something else.  I was trying to determine just how many departments could be moved from where they are into that space.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 11

        D.     Ordinance Subcommittee  April 8, 2002

               Mr. Wick:  The latest meeting of the Ordinance Subcommittee was last Monday, and just a reminder, that the Council will be holding a Public Hearing prior to our next Council Meeting on May 6, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in this room to consider the revised language for a new skateboarding ordinance.

7.      Chairmans Report

A.      Correspondence

        1.     Historic District Commission Resignation

               Mr. Archer:  There is a letter regarding a Historic District Commission resignation:

               April 4, 2002

               "Ms. Virginia Stewart
               Town Clerk
               Watertown Town Hall
               DeForest Street
               Watertown, CT  06795

               Re:  Watertown Historic District Commission

               Dear Ms. Stewart:

               By copy of this letter, I hereby resign as an Alternate member of the Watertown Historic District Commission.  When I accepted this position, I was unaware of the time commitment that would be expected of me as an Alternate and no longer feel capable of devoting the time and energy that is apparently expected of an Alternate member.

               Respectfully,

               Danielle E. Duprey-Bonsignore

               Cc:  Watertown Historic District Commission"

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 12

B.      Charge To Park and Recreation Commission, Re:  Additional Areas for Skateboarding Report

        Mr. Archer:  We have a response from Harry Ward, Director of Parks.  Last meeting, Chuck, I asked you to charge him with recommending some other areas that could be used for skateboard use:

        "To:   Charles Frigon, Interim Town Manager
        From:  Harry D. Ward, Director of Parks
        Date:  April 5, 2002
        Re:    Proposed Skateboard Sites

        At their regularly scheduled meeting dated April 4, 2002 the Watertown Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously approved a motion "To turn over the paved area around Griffin School for skateboarding".  This motion was made as a recommendation to the Town Council as a start to find locations for skateboarding.

        The Parks and Recreation Commission also requested that the Board of Education be contacted to determine if they have any areas which can be utilized as a skateboarding area.  One suggestion was to construct a skateboard area at Baldwin School.

        The Park and Recreation Commission also requested that the Director of Parks inquire into the possibility of using the parking lot at Deland Field for skateboard use.  I believe the parking lot located at Deland Field is still under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.  Please inform me as to who has jurisdiction over the parking lot and if it can be used for skateboarding.  I realize that the parking lot located at Deland Field is in need of repair and probably would not be suitable in its present condition.

        Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

        cc:    Lisa Carew, Recreation Director
               Skateboard File"

        Ms. Adams:  It says here that they request that the Board of Education be contacted.  Do they want us to do it or are they going to do that on their own?

        Mr. Archer:  Thats a good question.  Chuck, can we  . . . . I turn that over to you to make that contact.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 13

        Mr. Frigon:  I was actually holding on that (inaudible). I will do that once the new Superintendent starts (inaudible).  Thats one of the items I want to discuss with him.  The other is the Park Department has given so much to our Town (inaudible) but I do point out that this is a start to find locations.  They will continue to keep this on their Agenda (inaudible).

C.      Miscellaneous Projects Update

        Mr. Archer:  Police Department Roof  Contractor work began Tuesday, April 9th.  Work is expected to be complete on May 31st of this year.

        Deland Field  bleacher footings were poured Monday, April 8, 2002.  The bleachers are expected to be installed by the end of this month.  The perimeter chain link fence is expected to be installed by the end of April.  The field is currently open for play.  I think the first game was last Monday.

        Ms. Adams:  It was great to see that field finally being used again.

        Mr. Archer:  A formal rededication is on hold until a firm completion date is established.  I would imagine that refers to completion of the bleachers and the fence.

        Ms. King:  The Board of Ed gave Deland Field to the Town and we repaired it, so Im assuming that running a rededication could be a Town Council function to which the Board of Ed would also be invited, rather than a Board of Ed function which had been mentioned in the media in a couple of places.  Maybe Chuck could figure that out tactfully.

        Mr. Archer:  That got by me, but that would be something to tactfully address.

        Ms. King:  Well they were going to have a ceremony, and I thought (inaudible).

        Mr. Archer:  Turkey Brook Funding Update  authorized funding remains secure.  The M.A.A. Amendment is still under consideration by D.E.C.D.  As we know, the wheels of State government turn very slowly.  Hopefully they will speed that up.

        Middlebury Road/Bunker Hill  that has begun and well update you as that proceeds.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 14

D.      Municipal Liability Insurance

        Mr. Archer:  This is just a, we received a letter from James Mullen of H.D. Segur and its a good 3 or 4 page letter, Im not going to read the whole thing.  It is sort of putting us on notice about how difficult it is becoming to secure insurance for municipalities.  This is not just a situation of Watertown, but all municipalities.  My understanding is there is only one insurance company underwriting who is extending policies to municipalities at this point.  He was just sort of giving us a heads up on the strong possibility of not having the ability to obtain liability insurance for the Town.

E.      Noise Ordinance

        Mr. Archer:  There have been discussions at the last 2 or 3 Town Council meetings regarding the Noise Ordinance and whether or not we have a valid Noise Ordinance. Chuck, Im going to read the note exactly the way you wrote it here:

        "Recently there have been several questions raised regarding the legality of the Towns Noise Ordinance.

        As of the date of this memo, the Town has recognized that our local ordinance is not valid due to the failure of the Town to submit to the Department of Environmental Protection for approval.

        At the regularly schedule Town Council Meeting April 1, 2002 the legality of Watertowns incorporation in the Torrington Area Health District Noise Ordinance was brought into question.  The Town has one written opinion from Assistant Director of Compliance and Field Operations of the State Department of Environmental protection stating that the Town is legally incorporated into the T.A.H.D., and as such is included in their Noise Ordinance.

        I also have a verbal opinion from the Director of the State Air Compliance Unit that the Town is not officially recognized under the T.A.H.D. Noise Ordinance."

        So we have differing opinions here.

        "In conversation with Jim Rokos, TAHD Director of Health, I have been informed that although he is not convinced that this most recent opinion is correct, he has requested formal recognition by the State DEP on behalf of Watertown."

        Ms. Adams:  What did they do, forget we were a municipality under them?

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 15

        Mr. Frigon:  Well they (inaudible) realized that a municipality joining (inaudible) that they were required on the Towns behalf to go to D.E.P. and have them placed into (inaudible).  They were not aware of that so (inaudible).

F.      Other Business

        Mr. Archer:  The last Town Council meeting I added some additional people to the Town Manager Search Committee.  In doing so all 9 members of the Town Council are now members of the Town Manager Search Committee, and as such I thought it just appropriate that I Chair that from this point on, being the Chair of the Council, and all 9 people are on the Search Committee it just seemed to make sense.  At this point we have contacted, between Elaine and myself, we have contacted 5 to 6 different search agencies, and I believe weve received responses back from 5  6.  We have looked through most of the, I would say its been kind of a cursory read from the materials they sent, from my part anyway, and next week we will have a Town Manager Search Meeting with the intention of bringing at least a couple of those people in to interview them and get this process going.

        Ms. Adams:  Do you have a date?

        Mr. Archer:  Not at this time.

        Ms. Adams:  I know we talked about the . . . .

        Mr. Archer:  We did talk about the 23rd.

        Ms. Adam:  Just kind of take an informal poll and see if that works for everybody here?

        Mr. Archer:  Thats a good idea.  Would Tuesday the 23rd work for everyone here?

        Mr. Archer:  Lets work on this tomorrow and figure a good date, cause I havent looked at the schedule myself.  I know a couple of weeks ago the 23rd was open, but I dont know if it still is.

        Ms. Adams:  Cause we need to give the potential consultants, too, a little bit of notice and see what their schedule is like too.

        Mr. Archer:  Right.  The ones that I spoke to I told them that we would want them to come down pretty much pronto, but once we set a date, if we pull a date well be calling all of them tomorrow.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 16

        I want to go over a couple of things Ive been thinking about lately with regards to the political discourse in Town and the, and particularly as it pertains to the land purchase that weve been discussing.  Last week the Town Times printed a letter that I submitted, and I have some more comments on the topic that I wrote about, which Ill get to in a moment, but for the benefit of those who may have missed it, and for those who will be watching this at home tomorrow night, I like to read that into the record, and Ill read rapidly so it doesnt take forever:

        "To All the Citizens of Watertown/Oakville:

        Every so often in our lives we find that its time to pause for awhile, take stock of our lives, and decide if the direction were headed in is the right one.  Some of us will take this time out in the form of a religious retreat, while others prefer the simple act of a quiet walk in the woods as sufficient.  By whatever method each of us ultimately finds our direction through life in our own way.  Indeed that very freedom of choice is what makes ours the greatest nation in the world.  How do we do this as a community, though?  How do we pause for a moment as a community and make important decisions that will set our direction for the future?

        I wish to suggest that the first positive step towards this end would be to change the direction of our political and social discourse.  Prompted in part by todays pervasive media, all too often we find ourselves focusing on whats wrong rather than whats right.  We seem, at times, to have an enormous talent for identifying the negative aspects of things around us rather than the positive.  While I cant remember the source, I once heard someone refer to this tendency as missing tile syndrome.  A room can have hundreds of perfect ceiling tiles, but most people will focus only on the tile thats missing.  In like manner, week after week, you can turn to this section of the Town Times and learn about everything that is wrong with our Town; this doesnt work, that costs too much, he did this, she said that.  Rarely do we see letters discussing whats right with our Town written with the same passion andfervor of the usual fair.  While the right to express ones views on any topic is also one of the freedoms that makes our nation great, I believe that exercising that freedom carries with it an enormous responsibility, and even more so (inaudible) speech can have an impact on an entire town.  I believe that if a person is sufficiently motivated to find problems in our Town, be they real or perceived, that person should also be willing to offer a solution of some sort.  Truth be told, most of us already know what the issues in our Town are, and we dont need to rehash them on a weekly basis.  It only serves to sap our collective energies and drag us all down.  Only with a positive mental attitude and a willingness to contribute toward positive change will we find the collective strength to move forward.  I would encourage everyone to see Town problems not simply as problems, but as opportunities to find creative solutions.

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Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 17

        We are a representative government.  Our job as your Town Council is to offer leadership in working toward solutions.  I will continue to strive to make this Council available to hear your concerns, but also to hear your ideas for how to address them, and implement those ideas as much as time and budget will allow.

        Respectfully,

        Lee Archer
        Town Council Chairman"

        Thats the letter that was published in the paper.  Even as this was published, along side it were other letters that engaged in the same negative rhetoric that mine spoke of.  One of the issues that seemed to be in the spotlight last week is the proposal to purchase parkland bordering Bunker Hill and Middlebury Roads.  Although I didnt agree with the tone of some of the letters, they did raise some issues that apparently need some clarification, and these are issues and questions that seem to be coming up every time we discuss this.

        It was suggested in the paper that no one wants the property.  It was stated that since its been on the market for years and its still open, nobody wants it, and what good could it possibly be?  A clarification on that  it is industrial zoned land, which means that currently the only thing you could build on it would be industry.  The owner has tried to sell it as an industrial park for years and years, and to no avail.  Actually both P & Z and the State D.E.P. has said that it is unsuitable for use as an industrial park.  I have, however, spoken to dozes of parents and sports leaders who think it would be great to have it, so the truer statement would be that no one wants it for industrial use.  I thought that needed to be revisited.

        The price is grossly over inflated  this is one of the things that were hearing.  In truth the purchase price is below market value.  What we would be paying is about $9,300 per acre, which is well below its assessed value.

        We are losing tax revenue  thats another statement.  That is absolutely correct, although it is not a tremendous sum in the whole scheme of things.  The annual property taxes for the Sperry portion of the property, there are actually two parcels that are being joined together, the annual taxes for that are $190.00.  That is agricultural land so its taxed at a very lot rate.  For the Paparazzo piece, which is larger and industrial, therefore having a higher value, the annual property tax is $14,700.  Youll find if I have numbers, I will share them with you; Im not going to keep anything from you.

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April 15, 2002
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        We hear that we should fix the fields that we have first.  And this is where there was a woman here who was asking about that before, but she left.  For the record, there is nothing I would love more than to fix the fields that we already have, and that is an area we hope to be addressing soon.  If we get past this land purchase we will free up some time to address that.  To clarify though, there are fields that are maintained by the Board of Ed, and there are fields that are maintained by the Town.  Examples of Board maintained fields are Swift Middle School and the High School.  Examples of Town maintained properties would include Veterans Park and Sylvan Lake Park.  The Town maintained properties are great.  I was up at Veterans two weeks ago on a Sunday with my kids and it already looks great up there.  Its a great facility.

        The Board of Ed fields are clearly not in great shape.  Part of this is budget constraints.  They simply have not had the money to put into maintaining the fields.  Its as simple as that.  Everyone knows what happens when we try to pass a budget in Town here, and that unfortunately is the end result of paring budgets down to only the absolute necessities.  I told this to a group of sports leaders that I was meeting with once, and they said so, so why dont we just fix it?  I dont get it, they said, why is there a difference?  My response was it doesnt make a lot of sense to me either, but the properties themselves are either under Board or Town control, and each of these entities has their own budgets and their own labor unions, etc. etc.  Most often the Board of Ed, they simply dont have the funds to maintain the fields.  This is something we hope to address in the future.  Anytime youre dealing with labor unions, I dont imagine its an easy thing to try and make changes, but I do have hope that we can make some change.  It may take several years to segway from one way of doing things to another to make sure that everyones interests, the workers at the schools, and the people who work on the Town side are all taken care of properly.  Nobody wants to take work or money away from anyone, but Im hopeful that that can be changed.

        One thing that we hear is what will engineering and construction and maintenance costs be?  The simple answer is we dont know.  Is building ball fields cheap?  No, it is not.  Some of the engineering costs, $100,000 in site planning is proposed to be included in the Referendum.  We simply do not have hard estimates, and are we keeping any information from you or trying to dupe you into buying this?  No.  Ask yourselves, what would our motivation be to do that?  Im personally not going to gain anything from this, and I dont think any of the other 8 members are going to.

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April 15, 2002
Page 19

        Its unreasonable to think that we can have all the costs worked out prior to purchasing the property.  To start with we dont know how many of each type of ball fields were going to build there.  I would imagine different ball fields are different sizes and they require different construction.  I would imagine that would have some affect on it.  Based on what we decide to build, we may need lights on some of them, we may not.  Thats obviously going to be a cost variance.  In a park of this size, will we need one or more sets of bathroom facilities?  Who knows?  We dont know at this point.  There is the possibility of State grants from a couple of different directions that were looking into, but usually they require that the Town sort of put their money where their mouth is first, and then the grants become available.  And also theres some talk about possibly corporatesponsorships. Theres at least one corporation in Town with the idea of sponsoring a field, so theres a lot of creative ways we can finance this.  There are simply too many questions to be answered at this time.  At some point we have to take a bold step forward to try and get this started.  All the questions about continuing costs are moot if theres no land to talk about.

        The last one is that there have been surveys done and flyers handed out and such and it has been indicated by some that the taxpayers money is being spent to promote this land purchase.  Some of you may have received flyers or phone calls, survey phone calls.  I want to make sure that everyone is absolutely clear that there were no Town monies, no public funds being spent on this, on the campaign for this.

        Ive said this before, its worth repeating, the decision to buy this land or not is not mine or the Councils to make; it is yours, the citizens of the Town.  The choice is being presented to you by the Council because a large group of concerned citizens came out to this room on a cold, snowy night in January to tell us about the lack of adequate fields in Town.  These good folks exercised their right to speak in this public forum and notified us of what we, their elected servants, should be spending some of our time on, and we have simply responded to that request as is our job. Ultimately the big question is what kind of Watertown do we want, one that other area towns seek to emulate, one with a high quality of life, good schools, nice parklands, smooth well maintained roads, one where our largest single investment, our homes, steadily rise in value?  We all want all of these things, but theyre not going to come tous magically.  We have to act and act boldly, and sometimes its going to cost a little money to do so.

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April 15, 2002
Page 20

        At the presentation of this concept on March 25th during the Q & A session, someone in the audience said that 20 years from now when were playing with our grandchildren in this park, well all look back and remember that night in the Swift Middle School Auditorium when we decided to make Watertown a better place for them, our grandchildren.  And hasnt that always been an underlying goal in this country, to make our childrens and grandchildrens lives a little better than our own?  Tell me what better goal could there be.  Thats the end of my comments, and I thank you all for listening.

        Ms. Adams:  Lee, maybe you should remind them that the Public Hearing is Wednesday.

        Mr. Archer:  The Public Hearing is Wednesday.  Thank you.

8.      Action Items

        A.     Consider Appointments to Boards and Commission

               The terms of various boards and commissions have expired or are expiring.  Appointments must be made to fill these vacancies.

               MOTION:        (Mr. Kane, sec. Mr. Hebert) to nominate Patricia Kropp, 52 Wheeler Street, Watertown, CT to the Historic District Commission, as an Alternate, replacing Danielle Duprey-Bonsignore, term to expire January, 2003.

               Discussion:    None

               MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

B.      Consider Establishment of Prioritized Direction to be Given to the Town Public Works Department for the Construction of New Sidewalks with a Cost Not to Exceed One-Half of the Sidewalk Fund Balance

        The Town Council is responsible for the administration of the Town Sidewalk Fund.  At this meeting, the Town Council will establish priority areas in which to construct new sidewalks along Main Street in Oakville and Watertown.  Until such time as a legal opinion is received regarding the use of this fund for the maintenance of existing sidewalks versus new construction, authorization will be considered for new construction not to exceed one-half the funding in this account.

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April 15, 2002
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        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) to direct the Public Works Department to begin developing specifications for bid for the construction of Main Street sidewalks according to the following contract award:  shall not exceed one half of the available sidewalk construction und balance as established by the Towns Finance Director at the time of construction contract award.

        Discussion:    Philip Deleppo, Public Works Director
                      Mary Barton, Town Planner

                      Mr. Deleppo:  We were asked to do a (inaudible) survey of the Main Street area to make a determination as to where sidewalks were needed, and once that determination was made, to prioritize, or indicate in a graphical manner, what we felt would be the classification of construction for the missing sidewalk areas.

                      What we have here are three different boards, and the beginning board, on the left hand side, shows the north end of Town, up at Woolson Street, and you travel southerly, intersecting at match lines. Match line A, match line A, continue on southerly B, and so on and so forth all the way down to the Waterbury Town line.

                      Ms. King:  Could I ask a basic question?  Where youre showing missing, youre assuming there should be sidewalks on both sides of the street?

               Mr. Deleppo:  Let me get to that.  The way the color code is set up here is if you see color on this board, that means theres missing sidewalk.  If there is no color on the board, there is an existing sidewalk.  So thats self explanatory.  What weve done is weve indicated with a red highlight areas where, in Marys opinion, development in the future is likely, and as a result of that development, sidewalks will be constructed at the developers expense.  The orange color indicates that that development is not likely in the near future, and that the Town would be expected to construct those sidewalks, but because of either right of way problems, grade problems, permitting problems, the constructability of those particularpieces of sidewalk are more difficult than other areas.  Lastly, the green areas indicate not such a significant difficulty in building those sidewalks, in other words, the land is pretty much at grade, its level, the sidewalk can be put in without a lot of engineering work and without a lot of extensive construction.

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April 15, 2002
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                      Ms. King:  Again, orange means it would be costly or hard to do?

                      Mr. Deleppo:  Orange means it would be a Town constructed sidewalk, not dependent upon a future developer, but it would be difficult to build.  The green is the Town constructed sidewalk, but again it would be relatively easy to build.  Again, as we start at the Woolson Street end, and traverse to the south, you can see that that section of Town, this is Echo Lake Road in this area, you have in front of the Annex and Town Hall, the Library, at the Watertown Green, the Munson property, and theres some sections of sidewalk that were not built of Baldwin to Roberts up to Woolson Street, all relatively easy to construct.  However, there are some grade issues, for instance, on the Munson property; the point is we own all the land, so we could slope back as much as we needed to in order to build that.  As you can see, themost difficult piece of sidewalk to build is that directly in front of the Town Hall Annex where the stone wall is.  Thats pretty obvious.  Its a great difference in elevation, they have a 4 foot high stone wall on top of it already.

Again starting at Echo Lake Road, traversing to the south, we get down about as far as around Trumbull Street, stops just short of Trumbull Street.  As you can see theres a good part of the street that already has sidewalk until you get to Woodruff, and then again on the west side of the road, which is heading south, would be the right, at St. Johns School, everybody knows the situation there, theres a very high wall, not a lot of room from the edge of the road to the toe of the wall, very difficult to build that.  Continuing on down southward the land opens up a little bit, it would be easy to construct a sidewalk in  here.  We have a developable piece of property which is opposite, its just to the north of Watertown Tire, where there was a house that burned down awhile ago.  Mary believes that probably will be developedsome time in the future.  And so on and so forth, all the way down.

                      In a nutshell, what we have here is the sidewalks that are highlighted in green total about 6,000 lineal feet, 3,600 on the east side which is the upper side, and 2,400 feet on the other side.  Total cost of construction for all the green sidewalk, (inaudible) a basic $26.00 per running foot, would be $157,000.  That would leave the red and orange gaps.

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                      Ms. King:  This is great.  I was trying to figure out if there was a way you can see where there are places where theres no sidewalk on either side.  There are places where its missing on either side and there isnt a green?

                      Ms. Adams:  It doesnt really look like it, does it?

                      Ms. King:  Down beyond Carvel.  Is that the Carvel intersection?

               Mr. Deleppo:  Carvel is here.

               Ms. King:  Whats the curve?

               Mr. Kane:  Thats down by Hammer & Nail.

               Ms. Barton:  Red is developable.

               Mr. Deleppo:  The reason why that curve down by Seymour Smith is in red, is the D.O.T. currently has some conceptual plan to realign the curve, and if we paid 20% of the cost of the sidewalks, they will build them for us.  So we put that in as a red line.

               Ms. King:  You added up all the green and it came to $6,500?

               Mr. Deleppo:  No, 6,000 lineal feet, $157,000.

               Ms. King:  And thats all the green?

               Mr. Deleppo:  Yes.  Obviously theres a number of different combinations you can select to build this thing.

               Mr. Rinaldi:  A decision has to be made whether we tackle the green areas for $157,000 or do we tackle the orange areas which are much harder to build and get those out of the way.  Wouldnt that . . . . what do you figure it would cost just for the orange area?

               Mr. Deleppo:  I wouldnt even venture a cost, because if you could imagine, take for instance St. Johns down by Woodruff, the cost of the wall alone to make room for sidewalk would be 10 times the cost of a sidewalk.

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April 15, 2002
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               Ms. King:  But there is sidewalk on the other side of the street.  One of my concerns was a way for people to walk from the middle of Watertown to Adams, for instance, and it looks like . . . .

               Mr. Deleppo:  Theres more existing sidewalk and green sidewalk on the east side than the west side.

               Ms. King:  East is the top?

               Mr. Deleppo:  Yes.

               Ms. King:  So if youve got it at least on one side so people could walk, (inaudible) I was trying to do was eliminate any place where there was none.

               Mr. Deleppo:  Youll still have some gaps though, unless you wanted to fund it now.  You have down by Seymour Smith, obviously where the State would realign the road, and that would be very expensive to put a sidewalk on that side, in front of Lorraine Gardens.

               Ms. King:  But down in Oakville we have sidewalk on both sides all the way from . . . . .

               Mr. Deleppo:  From Seymour Smith all the way down to the Town line.

               Ms. King:  There is a sidewalk on at least one side, and in many cases on both?

               Mr. Deleppo:  Yes.

               Mr. Archer:  I would think that in order of priority wed want to build sidewalks where you have green marked off where they are:

a) easy to build, and
b) there is no sidewalk on either side of the street

That would seem to be the optimal way to go, first off.

               Ms. King:  Does that cut it down?  That doesnt mean 6,500?

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April 15, 2002
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               Mr. Deleppo:  Right, that would be much less.

               Ms. King:  If they only did where there was green and there was nothing on either side?

               Mr. Deleppo:  If you built all the sidewalk on the east side, which is the upper side, it would be about $100,000, $95,000.

               Ms. King:  But that would mean there would be sidewalk from one end of the Town to the other on the east side?

               Mr. Deleppo:  No, except for . . . .

               Ms King  Except for the places where we think it might be developed down by Seymour Smith.

               Mr. Deleppo:  Yes, but I think theres a couple of small (inaudible).

               Ms. Adams:  Can you identify those orange areas if you were to do that?

               Mr. Deleppo:  On that side?  Right here this is the entrance into Neills Auto Body, and the reason why we see that as so difficult is that theres a big culvert that crosses the highway at that point.  In order to build a sidewalk, theres not enough room, and the culvert would have to be extended.  The D.O.T. is planning to reconstruct that culvert in the near future.  We could talk to them to make sure that they install enough culvert that would make it easier for us to put a sidewalk in, but if they didnt, that would be an expensive proposition.  I think thats basically it, other than the pieces of  developable property, everything else is green.

Mr. Valenti left the Room at 8:59 p.m.

               Mr. Primini:  I think one of the other solutions you want, if someone is going to be installing sidewalks, youd want to keep them continuously going down instead of doing all these little spots around too.  So if you decide to do the east side, just keep going straight down instead of bopping all around.

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April 15, 2002
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               Ms. Barton:  On the east side the only thing is, is that theres, thats Neills, then as you get down (inaudible) Carvel here, this is the Salt Box right here, this will be developed at some time in the future, its  a developable parcel along Main Street, so that wouldnt be, theres actually people walk in the parking lot right here, so you wouldnt, I mean if you chose to you could do that, but I think thats going to happen in the future.  I cant tell you when, but I believe its going to happen some time in the future.

               Mr. Archer:  Well at least there, though, there is a paved surface for people to walk on.

               Ms. Baton:  Exactly.

               Mr. Deleppo:  And in order to build that it would be relatively inexpensive.

               Mr. Kane:  But isnt that currently for sale?

               Ms. Barton:  Its been for sale for quite awhile, but its a potential for a developer to do it, so it depends, I mean, I guess you could look at how much it would cost and figure out if you would want to do it to provide somewhat of a real pedestrian surface for it.  As you go further down, theres that piece and then this would be D.O.T. and . . . .

Mr. Valenti returned to the room at 9:00 p.m.

               Mr. Deleppo:  (Inaudible) all the way down, the existing sidewalk.

               Ms, King:  We could have a parade on the sidewalk.

               Ms. Barton:  The other thing is if you look at where Carvel is, theres sidewalk on Straits from Pondview Subdivision, and theres no sidewalks in front of Bungalow, and then theres sidewalk in front of Crestview Plaza, Burger King, and then theres nothing in front of Crestwood Ford.

Mr. Hebert:  Thats their parking lot.

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April 15, 2002
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Ms. Barton:  Theyve been in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission for 2 or 3 times for applications and theyve withdrawn it because they dont want to relocate their access area, but the design for the sidewalk is already in place, with plans on file.

Mr. Archer:  So, do we have further discussion on that so we can figure out how to amend the Motion to . . . .

Ms. King:  I cant remember the amount, when we said one half of the funding, how much does half the funding mean?

Mr. Nardelli:  Theres $206,870.

Ms. King:  So when Phil said $100,000 would do the east side, green, thats half the money.

Mr. Archer:  Seems like the way to go.

Mr. Wick:  Would it make sense to set aside the 20% that we might have the opportunity to contribute to the area that the State D.O.T. might be constructing in conjunction with the work on the road near the Seymour Smith Building, and then commit the balance?

Unidentified Voice:  Thats still a ways down the road.

Mr. Archer:  Well were only talking about committing half of the total balance anyway, so one half would still be . . . . .

MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) to amend the Motion to direct the Towns Public Works Department to begin (Tape #1, Side B ended  missed some) in accordance with the following:  contract award shall not exceed one half of the available sidewalk construction fund balance as established by the Towns Finance Director at the time of construction contract award.

Discussion:     Mr. Wick:  Does the Motion refer only to the area depicted in green on the maps?

               Ms. King:  Yes . . . . . he didnt say that.

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               Ms. Adams:  You need to say that because theres some orange on there too.

               Ms. King:  I think we probably should say that.

               Mr. Hebert:  Ill Withdraw my Motion.

               Mr. Kane:  Ill Withdraw my Seconding of the Motion.

MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) to direct the Town Public Works Department to begin developing specifications for bidding the construction of Main Street sidewalks on the east side of the street, in the green areas as specified on the map, according to the following:  contract award shall not exceed one half of the available sidewalk construction fund balance as established by the Towns Finance Director at the time of the construction contract award.

Discussion:     None

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

        ORIGINAL MOTION WAS NEVER VOTED ON

C.      Consider Abandonment of a Portion of Killorin Road

From time to time, the Town is petitioned for the abandonment of an unaccepted roadway.  Each petition is considered individually and in accordance with Ordinance #10-02-78-73 An Ordinance for Abandonment of Unaccepted Streets.  In this case, formal recommendation was made to approve the abandonment by the Planning and Zoning Office in September of 1998.  Only now is the owner seeking finalization of this abandonment.

The area delineated in red is the portion of roadway considered for abandonment.

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MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) in accordance with Ordinance #10-02-78-73 An Ordinance for Abandonment of Unaccepted Streets, the request for the abandonment of a portion of Killorin Road be approved.

Discussion:     Mr. Archer:  Chuck, I was speaking with the Town Attorney and he had mentioned that he had received a request for a Legal Opinion regarding this item.

        Mr. Frigon:  (Inaudible) ordinance he also has to approve this, so (inaudible).

        Mr. Archer:  I dont think thats necessary.

        Ms. Adams:  Maybe Mary can go into now, when we abandon a piece of property then what happens to it?  Do we sell it to abutting property owners?  Does it become theirs just by actually the abandonment?

        Ms. Barton:  No, that came up the last time with Millicent Street, and I have to do a little research on it, I think Im going to contact C.C.M., cause some communities do, when they abandon streets, they do let the person go through the abandonment process and then they determine an appraisal value and they make them pay for it.  Right now the way the Ordinance reads, and I think that came up with Mr. Wick had talked about it during the Millicent Street abandonment, was that right now the way the ordinance reads is that the applicant pays an $85.00, $75.00, $85.00 fee, they make an application to Planning and Zoning, they use the tax map, they say, and they get all the abutters who want to abandon it, and if they all agree, and if Water and Sewer has no objection, and Public Works has no objection, or if they want to maintain easements and its not part of, adverse to the Plan of Development where you need this roadfor traffic circulation, the next step it comes along to the Council.  If the Council determines its feasible to be abandoned, and the Town Attorney agrees, the Town Attorney, based on the ordinance, writes a letter saying if theres (inaudible), theres dire ramifications to the Town if the Town abandons it.

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        Then the next step is the applicant prepares a survey, they bring it back to the Planning and Zoning office, it goes in front of the Commission and they sign it, and the description is made and it becomes their property, so the money that the applicant expends, the $85.00 application fee plus their cost of survey, and thats it.  Theres no, its different in relation to how the Town has guidelines for sale of Town owned property (inaudible) the Assessor does the appraisal, or you get an appraisal of it, then it goes out to bid, and the abutting property owners are given preference.

        Ms. Adams:  Then it goes back on the tax rolls once that process is done?

        Ms. Barton:  Yes, and in this case this will be part of a lot, this will be part of two parcels, this abandonment of Killorin Road, because actually if youre familiar with Guernseytown, Killorin Road was relocated as part of the construction of Wheeler Farm Subdivision, and this portion is just a remainder of the road that the Town doesnt need.

        Mr. Rinaldi:  Why did it take 4 years?

        Ms. Barton:  What the ordinance says is the abutting property owner has to agree, all abutters have to agree, and the applicant made his application at that time, and the abutting property owner gave me verbal approval, but he never gave me anything in writing, and I would not forward it on to the Council because then Im providing you with something thats not true.  Apparently there was some disagreement among the two property owners about which portion of the street, and the person who applied for the abandonment was supposed to provide the other abutting property owner some additional land, so theyve come to terms because apparently this lot, that this is going to become part of, is up for sale or contract to sale.  Thats why, cause normally they do not take that long, but I would not forward something on to the Council because I would be saying that the other abutting property owner had given me a writtennotice and they didnt, so now they resolved their issues, but it took that long for them to come to a resolution, I think, for someone to buy the property is what it came to.  It wasnt anything that I was holding up, because I didnt have anything in writing from that abutter.

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        Ms. King:  Im probably repeating what you said, but then the property, whatever owner has it, the value of that property has increased and so we get tax money (inaudible)?

        Ms. Barton:  Correct, but you do not get any appraisal, because right now this Lot #6, that part of this road will go to will now be, its an existing building lot, but unfortunately due to the septic requirements, the way they have changed, and they do change periodically, they cannot get a septic system on it that meets code requirements, so they desperately need this portion of the abandoned road in order to meet their septic requirements for their maximum leaching system spread because you want to have the hydraulics spread out of the system, you dont have that bowl effect where it all goes into a concentrated area and it pops out of the ground.  You want to spread the (inaudible) out so it has the ability to percolate into the soil, and pretty much most of Watertown soil is high water table, hard pan, and its pretty standard Watertown soil.  If you find any sand or gravel youre lucky.

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

D.      Consider Abandonment of Portions of Artillery Road, Parcels A, B, C, and E

        Similar to the above request, an abutting property owner has petitioned the Town for formal abandonment of unaccepted roadway.  In this case, the abandonment is being considered subject to a condition that will protect the Towns interest for future development.

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) in accordance with Ordinance #10-02-78-73 An Ordinance for Abandonment of Unaccepted Streets that are (inaudible) for the abandonment of portions of Artillery Road known as parcels A, B, C, and E be approved.

Discussion:     None

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 32

E.      Consider Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to Sign a Grant Agreement with the State of Connecticut for the Annual Summer School Grant

        Annually, the Watertown Board of Education seeks grant funding to supplement the cost of their Summer School Program.  This year the State of Connecticut has awarded $12,440 to the Board of Education Special Services.  The State requires Town Council approval to enter into this contract.

R E S O L U T I O N

        RESOLVED that the Interim Town Manager, Charles Frigon, is empowered to enter into and amend contractual instruments in the name and on behalf of this Contractor with the Department of Social Services of the State of Connecticut for a Human Resource Development Program, and to affix the Corporate Seal.

        Dated at Watertown, Connecticut, this 15th day of April, 2002.

        ________________________________
        Lee Archer, Chairman

Watertown Town Council

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) that the Resolution authorizing the Interim Town Manager, Charles Frigon, to sign a grant agreement with the State of Connecticut for the Annual Summer School Grant be approved.

        Discussion:    None

        MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

F.      Consider Authorizing the Interim Town Manager to Sign an Agreement Between the State of Connecticut and the Town of Watertown for Rights of Way Activities in Conjunction with Urban Systems Improvements for the Reconstruction of Sunnyside Avenue

        The Town Council is asked to authorize the Town Manager to sign an agreement that would provide safety improvements to Sunnyside Avenue.  This project is funded 80%, with Federal funds, with the remaining 20% split between the Town and State.  The Towns $45,000 portion is currently funded in the 2001-2002 budget.

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 33

R E S O L U T I O N

        PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Urban Systems Improvements for
The Reconstruction of Sunnyside Avenue

        BE IT RESOLVED that Charles Frigon, Acting Town Manager of Watertown be and hereby is authorized to sign the agreement Between the State of Connecticut and the Town of Watertown for Rights of Way Activities in Conjunction with Urban Systems Improvements for the Reconstruction f Sunnyside Avenue.

        Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 15th day of April, 2002.

        ________________________________
        Lee Archer, Chairman
        Watertown Town Council

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) that the Interim Town Manager be hereby authorized to sign and agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Town of Watertown for Rights of Way Activities in Conjunction with Urban System Improvements for the Reconstruction of Sunnyside Avenue.

        Discussion:    Mr. Archer:  Chuck, just for the public record, this is an 80/20 funding split between the Town and the State, and the Towns portion is $45,000?

                      Mr. Frigon:  Yes (inaudible).

                      Mr. Archer:  Right, and this was funded in this fiscal years budget?

                      Mr. Frigon:  Yes.

        MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 34

G.      Consider Resolution Regarding Appointment of Auditor

        The Town Council is asked to consider approval of the appointment of Scully & Wolf to audit the Towns Fiscal Year 2001-2002.  This is the third year of a three year bid.

R E S O L U T I O N

        WHEREAS, the Town has requested bid proposals for auditing the financial statements of the Town of Watertown for a three year period;

        WHEREAS, Scully and Wolf has submitted a proposal and is recommended because of past performance and rate structure to continue auditing the financial statements of the Town of Watertown and the Watertown Board of Education for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2002 in the amount of $32,800, which is the third year of a three year proposal.

        NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council of the Town of Watertown hereby appoints SCULLY AND WOLF, 2670 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT  06033 to conduct the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2002 Audit.

        Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 15th day of April, 2002.

        ________________________________
        Lee Archer, Chairman
        Watertown Town Council

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec, Mr. Kane) that the Resolution appointing the firm Scully & Wolf to Audit the Towns Fiscal Year 2001/2002 be approved.

        Discussion:    None

        MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

H.      Consider Approval of an Enforcement of Municipal Ordinances (Tabled 11/19/01)

        The Town Council has previously approved the proposed ordinance.  However, due to a technicality in that the ordinance was not published within the prescribed period of time, the ordinance requires readoption.

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 35

TOWN OF WATERTOWN
CONNECTICUT
ORDINANCE NO. _____________

TOWN OF WATERTOWN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING
A PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES

BE IT ORDAINED THAT, pursuant to Sections 7-148(c)(10)(A) and 7-152c of the Connecticut General Statutes, as such sections may be amended from time to time, the Town of Watertown (the "Town") hereby adopts the following procedures regarding citations issued for violations of town ordinances.

1.  ENFORCEMENT BY CITATION; WARNING.  Unless otherwise specifically provided in a town ordinance or the Connecticut General Statutes, all town ordinances may be enforced by citations issued by designated municipal officers or employees.  Such designated municipal officers or employees shall issue a written warning providing notice of the specific violation before issuing the citation.

2.  APPOINTMENT OF HEARING OFFICERS.  Town Council shall appoint one or more persons who shall serve as hearing officers to conduct hearings into the violation of town ordinances.  The hearing officers shall be electors of the town, but no police officer or any employee or person authorized to issue citations for the violation of any town ordinance shall be permitted to serve as a hearing officer.

3.  NOTICE OF VIOLATION.  Within twelve (12) months from the expiration of the period for the uncontested payment of fines, penalties, costs or fees for any citation issued under any town ordinance for a violation thereof, the town shall send notice to the owner of the property which is the subject of the violation or such other person as may be appropriate (the "cited person").  Such notice shall inform the cited person :  (i) of the allegations against the cited person and the amount of the fines, penalties, costs or fees due; (ii) that the cited person may contest liability before a hearing officer by delivering in person or by mail written notice within ten (10) days of the date thereof, (iii) that if a hearing is not demanded, an assessment and judgment shall be entered against the cited person; and (iv) that such judgment may issue without further notice.

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 36

4.  ADMISSION OF LIABLITY.  If a cited person who is sent notice pursuant to section 3 above wishes to admit liability for an alleged violation, the cited person may, without requesting a hearing, pay the full amount of the fines, penalties, costs or fees in person or by mail to the Watertown Finance Director at the address specified in the notice.  Such payment shall be inadmissible in any proceeding, civil or criminal, to establish the conduct of the cited person or other person making the payment.  Any cited person who does not deliver or mail written demand for a hearing within ten (10) days of the date of the notice provided for in section 3 above shall be deemed to have admitted liability, and the Finance Director shall certify the cited persons failure to respond to the hearing officer.  The hearing officer shall thereupon enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees provided for the applicable ordinance and shall follow theprocedures set forth in section 6 below.

5.  HEARING PROCEDURE.  Any cited person who requests a hearing hall be given written notice of the date, time and place for the hearing.  The hearing shall be held not less than fifteen (15) days nor more than thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing of the notice, provided the hearing officer shall grant, upon good cause shown, any reasonable request by any interested party for postponement or continuance.  An original or certified copy of the initial notice of violation issued by the issuing official or police officer shall be filed and retained by the town and shall be deemed to be a business record within the scope of section 52-180 of the Connecticut General Statutes and evidence of the facts contained therein.  The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in the order and form and with such methods of proof as the hearing officer deems fair and appropriate.  The rules regarding the admissibility of evidence shall not be strictlyapplied, but all testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation.  The hearing officer shall announce a decision at the end of the hearing. If the hearing officer determines that the cited person is not liable, then the matter shall be dismissed and the hearing officers determination shall be entered in writing accordingly.  If the cited person is found liable for the violation the hearing officer shall forthwith enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees against the cited person as provided by the applicable ordinance.

6.  ATTENDANCE AT HEARING.  The presence of the issuing official or police officer shall be required at the hearing if the cited person so requests.  A designated town official, other than the hearing officer, may present evidence on behalf of the town.  The cited person wishing to contest liability shall appear at the hearing and may present evidence in his or her behalf.  The hearing officer may, however, accept from the cited person copies of police reports, investigatory and citation reports and other official documents by mail and may determine thereby that the appearance of the cited person at the hearing is unnecessary. If the cited person fails to appear and such appearance has not been determined by the hearing officer to be unnecessary, the hearing officer may enter an assessment by default against the cited person upon a finding of (1) proper notice; and (2) liability under the applicable ordinance.

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 37

7.  NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT; JUDGMENT.  If such assessment is not paid on the date of its entry, the hearing officer shall send by first class mail a notice of the assessment to the cited person and shall file, not less than thirty (30) days nor more than twelve (12) months after such mailing, a certified copy of the notice of assessment with the clerk of the superior court at Waterbury or Litchfield together with such entry fee as may be required by the superior court.  The certified copy of the notice of assessment shall constitute a record of assessment.  Within such twelve-month period, assessments against the same cited person may be accrued and filed as one record of assessment.  The clerk shall cover judgment, in the amount of such record of assessment and court costs, against the cited person in favor of the town.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Connecticut General Statutes, the hearing officers assessment, when so entered asa judgment, shall have the effect of a civil money judgment and a levy of execution of such judgment may issue without further notice to the cited person.

8.  APPEAL.  A cited person against whom an assessment has been entered pursuant to this ordinance is entitled to judicial review by way of appeal.  An appeal shall be instituted within thirty (30) days of the mailing of notice of such assessment by filing a petition to reopen assessment, together with an entry fee in an amount equal to the entry fee for a small claims case pursuant to section 52-259 of the Connecticut General Statutes, in the superior court at Waterbury or Litchfield, which shall entitle the cited person to a hearing in accordance with the rules of the judges of the superior court.

9.  This ordinance shall be known as the Watertown Citation Ordinance.

10.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This ordinance which was adopted at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Watertown on the 15th day of April, 2002, shall be published in full within ten days after such passage in a newspaper having circulation within the Town and shall become effective on the 21st day after such publication in accordance with the terms and provisions of Section 307 of the Charter of the Town of Watertown.

Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 15th day of April, 2002.

                                   
Lee Archer, Chairman
Watertown Town Council

Date of Council Public Hearing
Date of Approval of Ordinance by Town Council
Date of Publication
Effective Date of Ordinance

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 38

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) to approve the proposed ordinance entitled Town of Watertown Ordinance Establishing a Procedure for the Enforcement of Municipal Ordinances.

        Discussion:    None

        MOTION PASSED UNANIOMOUSLY

I.      Consider Approval of Job Description (Tabled from 4/1/02)

        1.     Assistant Water and Sewer Superintendent

               Town Council approval of descriptions is required under the Town of Watertown Charter  Chapter VIII  Municipal Employees, Section 802  New positions, changes in duties and responsibilities of existing positions, or any other changes may be made at any time by Resolution of the Council.

        MOTION:        (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) that in accordance with Charter Section 802, the Job Description as presented for the Assistant Water and Sewer Superintendent be approved.

        Discussion:    Ms. King:  There were no changes made to this, were there Chuck?

                      Mr. Frigon:  Minor, nothing of any (inaudible).

        MOTION PASSED UNANIOMOUSLY

J.      Consider Approval of Transfers

        The Town Council is being asked to authorize the transfer of departmental funding between line items.

"RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, expenses in the 2001-2002 fiscal year require the Transfer of Funds.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by vote of the Watertown Town Council, that the following actions are taken relative to the transfer of funds:

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 39

GENERAL FUND

AMOUNT: $7,100 NO:    1
FROM:   010-50419-032-0000  Snow, Sand & Salt
TO:     010-50526-031-1374  Highway, Middlebury Road Improvements
REASON: Intersection realignment project right of way acquisition expense

AMOUNT: $1,469 NO:    2
FROM:   010-50419-032-0000 Snow, Sand & Salt
TO:     010-50310-032-1712  Snow, Weather Service
REASON: Upgrade to advanced weather service

Dated at Watertown, CT this 15th day of April, 2002.

        ________________________
Lee Archer, Chairman
Watertown Town Council"

MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Ms. Adams) that the Resolution authorizing the Transfer of Funds be approved as presented.

        Discussion:    None

        MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

9.      Public Participation

        Robert LeBlanc, 78 Highland Avenue, Watertown, CT  06795

        Mr. LeBlanc:  This is concerning the Noise Ordinance again.  We had a little speech here and a little letter saying that because were incorporated in the Torrington Health District, we are covered by the Torrington Health District Noise Ordinance, the possibility of it. Well the question I have for the Town Chair is, how are we legally incorporated into the Torrington Health District when theres no signed contract?  There was never a signed contract with the Torrington Health District.  Now are we still covered when we dont have a contract?

        Secondly I would request that the Ordinance Committee do away with the so called Town Ordinance which is 0-20-43-186 because in that Noise Ordinance the Police Chief or the Police Department has to enforce the Noise Ordinance, while the new Noise Ordinance that youre going to have in the Torrington Health District is enforced by the Torrington Health District themselves.  I think there would be rather a lot of confusion if the Town has two pieces of paper that say Noise Ordinance on it.
Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 40

        Mr. Archer:  I agree with that.

        Mr. LeBlanc:  So its just a little suggestion I would have.  Secondly, if anybody would like a copy of the Noise Ordinance, the new one, Ill give it to them.  I had it printed up at my own expense and Ill gladly give you one if you want one.  Would you like to have one, Mr. Wick?

        Mr. Wick:  Are you speaking of the new one?

        Mr. LeBlanc:  Yes, well the Torrington Health District.

        Mr. Wick:  Over the course of the last few months weve been given multiple copies of a document thats entitled Torrington Area Health District (inaudible).  Im just asking if theyve redone it recently?

        Mr. LeBlanc:  No, it reads the same, its just not legal yet.  It will be legal in about a week.

        Mr. Wick:  We have that copy.  Thank you anyway.

        Mr. Archer:  Is there anyone else wishing to speak at this time?  Okay, well Close Public Participation.

        Mr. Archer, Chairman Closed Public Participation at 9:18 p.m.

10.     Old Business

Mr. Archer:  Theres anyone item, which is Code of Ethics, which is something that was referred to Ordinance Subcommittee and it might have been so long ago that theres no date there.

        A.     Code of Ethics (referred to Ordinance Subcommittee)

11.     Executive Session

        A.     Land Acquisition

MOTION  (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Kane) to enter into Executive Session at 9:19 p.m. to discuss land acquisition.

Discussion:     None

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Watertown Town Council
Regular Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page 41

Present During Executive Session:

        Elaine Adams
        Lee Archer
        Raymond Hebert, Jr.
        Robert Kane
        Jean King
        Raymond Primini
        Paul Rinaldi
        Paul Valenti
        Richard Wick

        Jeffrey DuPaul, The Siemon Company
        Charles Frigon, Interim Town Manager
        Paul Knickerbocker, The Siemon Company
        Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director

        Mr. Archer, Chairman, Reconvened the Regular Meeting at 10:10 p.m.

12.     Adjournment

        MOTION:        (Ms. Adams, sec. Mr. Hebert) to Adjourn the Regular Meeting at 10:11 p.m.

        Discussion:    None

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Regular Meeting Adjourned at 10:11 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lee Archer, Chairman
Watertown Town Council

Approved:       _______________________________

        Lynn M. LaForme, Clerk