MINUTES
REGU=
LAR
MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 2, 2005, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: = &nb= sp; Elaine Adams
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Karl Fisher (left at 8:40 p.m.)
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Hebert, Jr., Vice Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Robert Kane, Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Kevin Killeen
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Primini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Paul Rinaldi (left at 8:40 p.m.)
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Paul Valenti (left at 8:40 p.m.)
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard Wick
ABSENT: &nb= sp; = None
OTHERS PRESENT: Frank Nardelli, Finance Director/Assistant Town Manager
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Meredith Robson, Town Manager
1.&nb= sp; Call Meeting To Order
Mr. = Kane, Chairman, Called the Meeting to Order at 7:31 p.m.
2.&nb= sp; Roll Call
Ms. LaForme, Board Clerk, executed the Roll Call.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane, Chairman, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
&nbs= p; MOTIO= N: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Killeen) to Move Agenda Item 9A, Discussion and Possible Action on Changing the Number of Polling Places, to Item 4A.
&nbs= p; Discu= ssion: None<= /p>
&nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 2
&nbs=
p; MOTIO=
N: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to Add Agenda Item 9B, Discussion for an Extensio=
n of
the Contract for
&nbs= p; Discu= ssion: None<= /p>
&nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
4.&nb=
sp; Public
Participation
=
; Dave
LeBlanc,
=
; Mr.
LeBlanc: There has been m=
uch
discussion over the last 18 months on F.O.I. violations, written and
verbal. You stated last meeti=
ng "I
think the intent of Freedom of Information is to allow a person like yourse=
lf,
(you were speaking to the other LeBlanc, Mr. Robert LeBlanc) information, n=
ot
necessarily to slap someone's wrists." I disagree with you 100%. This would only pertain to a Town =
whose
officials are concerned about the public's rights; not many of
At the March 15, 2004 Town Council Meeting I came here in front of you and I stated "you, Mr. Chairman, and the Town Manager knowing this right now= the facts, if you allow the laws to be violated from this point on, you're cost= ing the taxpayers nothing but unnecessary money and legal expenses." This had to do with an F.O.I. viol= ation. You ignored that, this was ad= judicated against the Town.
July 19, 2004 I came here in front of you again, and I stated "I'm continua= lly having a problem with public information". I went through this in May, went t= o my Chairman of the Police Commission, and he told me to go to F.O.I. and file a complaint. I stood here in fr= ont of you and I told you I have no other recourse but to go to F.O.I., if I don’t get the public information that I'm asking for. Half of this has been adjudicated,= I just received it Saturday, against the Town, the other half is being heard = for civil sanctions that I want imposed against you, the Town Manager, and the Police Commission Chairman.
October
20, 2004 there was a violation filed for an illegal executive session that =
this
entire Council held. The comp=
laint,
November 5, 2004 I received a 2 page legal opinion from Atty. Jessell that =
contained
an extensive review of the F.O.I. Act at a wasted expense to the
taxpayers. November 11, 2004 =
- a 1
page letter from Atty. Jessell about terminating the complaint. I guess Atty. Jessell assumed beca=
use he
did an extensive review that the charge was going to be dropped. He should never have assumed. November 15, 2004 the complainant =
sent a
letter to Atty. Jessell stating the simple recourse we were seeking. It was simple, it could have been =
solved
right there. March 16, 2005 a=
2
page legal opinion with 11 pages of exhibits was sent up to Mitchell Pearlm=
an,
Executive Director of F.O.I. =
This, another extensive legal cost to the taxpayers.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 3
March
31, 2005, we received a letter from Atty. Jessell, after all of this, 6 mon=
th's
worth of wasted legal expenses we received a letter from Atty. Jessell, wha=
t we
were looking for from the beginning.
All 9 of you admitted to violating the law in this letter. I know of 3 of you for a fact were not even told by the Chairman that there w=
ere
charges filed or they admitted to wrongdoing, so all 9 of you are guilty.
Mr. Kane: You have 5 minutes, sir. 5 minutes in total, probably 2 lef= t.
Mr. LeBlanc: The respondent has agreed to compl= y with the F.O.I. Act in the future. That's the last thing you guys admitted to, you said you were going = to comply. This letter was accep= ted on April 8, 2005. 10 days later = the ink is still wet on this and you violated my rights again at the April 18th Town Council meeting, the last meeting.&nb= sp; You have an Agenda, Executive Session (A) Personnel. That tells the public absolutely n= othing of what you're going to discuss there.&nbs= p; And if you don't believe me I'll state a few facts:
· Docket #86-230, it was also found that the statement to discuss personnel does not adequately reflect the actual purpo= se of the executive session in question.
· Docket #2003-129, these charges were adjudic= ated in favor of the complainants, where they were discussing 3 members in an executive session held without indicating on the posted agenda that such individuals would be discussed.
· Docket #90-48, it is found that the phrase e= xecutive session, personnel matters, is too vague to communicate to the public what business would be transacted.
Mr. Killeen: Did you mention tonight's Agenda?
=
; Mr.
LeBlanc: No, April 18th, =
the
last meeting. I'm appealing t=
o any
member of this Council, I don't care what political party you're from, to m=
eet
with me. Let me discuss the
malfeasance that your Chairman is allowing. Your Chairman should be removed as
Chairman of this Council. Let=
me discuss
the malfeasance that's going on within the Police Commission, that is wasti=
ng
the taxpayers money. You will not win violating the pub=
lic's
rights, you will not win. =
; Mr.
Kane: Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to
speak? =
; Mr.
LeBlanc: Is my 5 minutes =
up? Mr. Kane: Yes. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 4 Mark Tedesco, Mr. Tedesco: Later this evening this Counci=
l will
be asked to vote on my nomination to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Kane: Thank you. =
; Bob
Giannaccio, =
; Mr.
Giannaccio: The budget th=
at you're
proposing, the 3.5% over the 10 year increase, is that a rock bottom
budget? I mean do you feel th=
at
it's the absolute least you can do and cut in this Town? Is that what you feel? Mr. Kane: Yea, what happens is in our bu=
dget
discussions you will find, or you'll see that over the last 10 years the
average passing budget was a 3% increase per annum, and at the same time we
also noticed a lot of Letters To The Editor about people talking about C.O.=
L.A.
and cost of living and the consumer price index and basic economic baromete=
rs, if
you will. So being that both =
of
those were a 3% figure, we figured it would be a fair and equitable increas=
e at
3%. Basically we're not throw=
ing
darts at a dartboard is what I'm trying to say. We used a statistical method to co=
me up
with the budget. Mr. Giannaccio: But I mean all of the departments a=
nd everything
you put together, you feel that's enough that's going to run this Town, at a
minimum? Mr. Kane: I think we should do more, but=
we
just feel that this is a fair budget that should pass. Mr. Giannaccio: Did anybody ever look at where you =
have
the Board of Education with a Purchasing person, and the Town has a Purchas=
ing
person . . . . Mr. Kane: Shared services. =
; Mr.
Giannaccio: And combining=
it to
one so that you only have one person to do both. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 5 =
; Mr.
Kane: Part of the Manager=
's
goals when she came in, and still wishes to work with them. We've had unfor=
tunately
a change in the Superintendent position, this will be our third one, that t=
he
Manager will try to work with but . . . . Mr. Giannaccio: Cause I mean stuff like that . . .=
. =
; Mr.
Kane: But yes, yes, shared
services. Mr. Giannaccio: Where you can combine, and in this =
day
and age of the computer, especially going out for bids, it makes it very ea=
sy
where you could eliminate one person and perhaps save some money and one pe=
rson
can do the whole job, and I'm sure there are other positions in Town that a=
re
the same, cause I have a list of all personnel. Also
the trash, everybody knows, everybody that got a Copes bill received this
beautiful little colored thing that says that we're facing a 24% increase.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Now I look back from 2003 where it=
cost
$19.75 a month to July 1st of this year that cost $28.50, which is a 44%
increase. Now that's 44% mone=
y that
you kept, that you would be paying, you relieved that but now we're paying =
it,
so you could say it's a 3.5% increase as far as the Town, but if you add all
this other stuff to it, it's more for us. Mr. Kane: At the same time the revenue s=
ide of
the ledger has been reduced and continues to be reduced from the State side,
and things like that, so that's why.
But I understand. Mr. Giannaccio: The other thing that concerns me, t=
hat really,
really gets me, is the cut in the library service. We'll go out and we'll want to put=
a
field in, or get a motorcycle for a policeman, but we're shutting the
library. What happened to rea=
ding,
writing, and arithmetic? That's the most important thing, these kids is to =
have
the library open. Let's cut
something, forget the motorcycle, let's get the people who want to donate
$10,000 and let's put the Librarian back to work. Mr. Kane: We weren't closing the library, tha=
t's a misnomer. The Manager's recommended budget w=
as $712,000, we had reduced it to $695,000, so the actual
reduction that we made was only $17,000.&n=
bsp;
We'd love to do it all. Mr. Giannaccio: My understanding with the library, =
the
only place they could cut, talking to some people who are on the Board ther=
e,
is through salary, through hours, because they have a, you can't shut the
library because they're getting donations or whatever it is . . . . Ms. Adams: State and Federal money. Mr. Giannaccio: But the only place they can cu=
t, if
you tell them to cut, is the person that's running it, so naturally the doo=
r is
closed, so I'm more concerned with that more than anything, really. I want to see that library open fo=
r the
kids, I really do, I think that's more important=
than
a motorcycle or anything else, so see what you can do there. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 6 =
; Gary
Stewart, =
; Mr.
Stewart: I just want to u=
rge
the Council to support, I forgot the Agenda Item, on the extension of the
contract for sale of the school. I
think that the purchaser, I don't even remember their name, but they're cau=
ght
in the middle here, whereby the seller also controls all of the approvals
necessary for them to do what they want to do with the property, so I don't
feel that it's the purchaser's fault that they're behind in the original pl=
an
as to a closing date. I think=
that
no matter what real estate transaction takes place, it never takes place on=
the
day and time that it was supposed to.
It's highly unusual. I=
don't
think that anybody in this room ever had a real estate closing that took pl=
ace
on the day and time it was supposed to.&nb=
sp;
It's always cancelled, it's always resche=
duled,
so I think it's wise to extend that contract. The plan is good for the Town of <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on"> Robert LeBlanc, Mr. LeBlanc: I think you shouldn't give an exten=
sion
to I've
got a couple of questions here concerning ethics and the Town Charter. I don't know what the Ethics Code =
say, I
haven't gotten a copy of it, but I wish I could, but the question I have to=
the
Town Chairman is was a meeting held with the absence of the Town Manager wi=
th
department heads, cause if it was I think it's a violation of ethics, it's =
also
a violation of Section 312, Page 9 of our Town Charter, but if it didn't ta=
ke
place, I guess I’m just shooting my mouth off, but I just hear through
the grapevine that there was a meeting that was held and I would like to . =
. .
. . Mr. Kane: A meeting of the Town Council? Mr. LeBlanc: No, a meeting of the Town Chair, and some department heads. Mr. Kane: There was no meeting of the Town Co=
uncil. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 7 Mr. LeBlanc: I didn't say Town Council, I said =
Town
Chair, with department heads, and if it was to happen that way it was a
violation of Section 312, Page 9, which says the Council shall go through t=
he
Town Manager and she shall be at all meetings with department heads, so I m=
ean
if it's not true, we'll just drop it, but if I could read the Code of Ethics
that you people have, I don't know anything about it, and I hate to go with=
out
laws. Secondly
is anything being done about the Police Commission laundering money. I mean maybe it's a misquote or a
misstatement or whatever you want to say, but if I were making a speech up =
here
and I was talking about racist and I used the "N" word, it would =
be
all of the paper and you would drown me . . . . =
; Mr.
Kane: Mr. LeBlanc, I thin=
k you
yourself made a joke last meeting about some land that the Town was conside=
ring
selling and you yourself made a joke and said hey, sell it to me, I'll take=
it,
I've got grandkids and the like . . . . Mr. LeBlanc: But that's the truth. If he was thinking about laundering
money, that's the truth. Mr. Kane: I'll admit that Mr. Durso made a ba=
d joke,
it was in poor taste, but it was a joke, and we have to accept it as that, =
and
everyone at that meeting will say the same thing. =
; Mr.
LeBlanc: If you listen to=
the
tape, when the suggestion is made that they can put money into the Police
Benevolent Association and transfer it for a motorcycle, $10,000, they said=
oh
yes, we can launder the money. Well
you don't joke about things like that, not in politics, I don't think you d=
o. Mr. Kane: Again it was a joke, I'll admit it =
was in
poor taste, I'm not defending his actions, but it was a joke. Mr. LeBlanc: I appreciate it if you could do
anything. According to the To=
wn
Charter you have the right to investigate and regulate all commissions that=
you
appoint. Mr. Kane: Thank you. =
; Mr.
LeBlanc: Now let's get to=
the biggie. Last Thursday in the Town Times th=
ere
was an advertisement for bids to repair of all things, the roof and gutter =
on Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 8 Secondly
if you want to see some of other problems, it's beneficial that it's
raining. Just look out the wi=
ndow
and you'll see that the emergency drains right now are draining out onto the
sidewalks. The emergency drai=
ns on
the other side of the building are draining out on the sidewalks; it's not
supposed to do that in this type of weather. The water is supposed to go do=
wn
to the swale and down to the pond.
The emergency drains are hooked up in reverse and there is no mentio=
n in
this manual that they're going to change that. Secondly there's no mention in the=
manual
about those 2 gutters out in the front that have a hole in it that goes alo=
ng
the gutter and down on the sidewalk; there's no mention of that. Mr. Killeen: On the topic of emergency drai=
ns,
having served on Public Buildings, that is an issue of address that has been
taken up, and while it might not occur in this document, it's due to be
addressed. Mr. LeBlanc: Well the reason I bring that u=
p is
in this document that I’m going to, if the Chairman will let me hand =
it
out, you'll see on #5, they're going to cut out those emergency drains and =
the
regular drains and then replace them. It makes no mention about changing
them. You see what I mean? =
; Mr.
Killeen: The purpose of t=
hat
was that the heights of them were going to be adjusted as well (inaudible).=
=
; Mr.
LeBlanc: It doesn't say t=
hat in
the document. Mr. Kane: Okay, well you're running out =
of
your time, so if you have a few more points, please make them. Mr. Rinaldi: If you have some documentation, can=
you
share it with us this way we can . . . Mr. LeBlanc: If I hand out this documentati=
on I
got to talk about it and it will take it a few minutes longer, but I will
gladly hand it out to you. Th=
is is
a schematic out of the manual.
(Inaudible) understand, my own numbers are the ones that are kind of
chicken scratch. The first th=
ing
you want to look at is #5 and #4, those undersized gutters, they're only 4 =
inch
gutters, they must be much larger, because the overflow of those 30 x 30 ro=
ofs
overrun those 4 inch gutters and ruin the lawns around the land, and also
builds up water that pulled, it bent the gutters out, it didn't pull the
gutters away. The gutters wil=
l pull
away because the screws were too small holding into the soffets, but before
they were pulled away, the gutters used to bend over when you had a 10 year
storm. Secondly #1, you'll se=
e R6,
you have, what I call a bath tub, it's above the PreK area, and it's about =
10 x
10. It does not have a safety
drain, only a regular drain, and that drain in the past has gotten clogged =
and
it flooded the PreK bathrooms. I call it a bathtub, and it's about 18 inches
high and it fills with water and the water has no place to go but into the =
roof. Secondly you see where the drains =
are,
they're at 2 and 3, and those drains are hooked up incorrectly, that's what=
Mr.
Killeen said, and they're supposed to be fixed, but it’s not in the
document. At #5 and #4 they h=
ave . .
. . Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 9 Mr. Kane: If I might, Mr. LeBlanc . . . . Mr. LeBlanc: Is that my 5 minutes? Mr. Kane: Well no, it's just that his informa=
tion
is very good, but I think it might be best with the Public Buildings Commit=
tee. Mr. Killeen: Yes, cause a
lot of the issues that you brought up are under address with Public Buildin=
gs. Mr. Kane: I think what you're saying is =
very
good, but you just might want to go to the Public . . . . when
is their next meeting? Ms. LaForme (Clerk): May 18th is the Regular Meeting. Mr. LeBlanc: I appreciate going to the Publ=
ic
Buildings Committee; I do respect these gentleman. When they asked me to bring them t=
hrough
the inspection I went through all these things, =
and
these problems were also addressed by me in 2001, 2002, and 2003 and when t=
he
Public Buildings Committee took over, I went with them to show them what was
wrong. Secondly
I would like to know who is going to pay for this. When this school was opened in Augu=
st,
2000, there was an agreement made between the Town Council and the Board of
Education that the Town would handle the construction end of it and the Boa=
rd
would handle the educational end of it until the building was completed, ye=
t in
November of 2003 the E.B.C. was done away with, the Executive Building
Committee, and the Board of Education took over the building which is
nice. Now we have problems. Ms. Robson: It's still in litigation. Mr. LeBlanc: Thank you and thank you for my extr=
a 2 minutes. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 10 Mr. Killeen: I would like to address one of the
comments made by Mr. David LeBlanc and it's a topic that to me we cannot ta=
ke
lightly, and that is in reference to your serving as Chair. I look to my right and to my left =
and I
see all people from our Town who volunteer their time and services, and it's
never been my assessment of anyone, both in the public of people who attend
these meetings, as well as people who serve on the various committees, who I
don't think they serve with the intent to defraud, and when comments are ma=
de
that seem to indicate some form of malfeasance, I believe that these are
allegations that are very serious and I’m not so certain that it's the
appropriate forum to make that kind of address. We're here to serve the people and=
I
think we do it better when we utilize our podium and our microphones in a m=
ore
appropriate and neighborly way, and that's just a personal opinion, but it =
did
kind of, I don’t want to say hurt my feelings, but it kind of did, ma=
ybe
it hurt my feelings for you because I know that you serve to the Council's =
service
and the Town's service and it kind of bothered me, so I wanted to make that
public statement. Joe Cefaretti, Mr. Cefaretti: I concur with the statement that Mr=
. LeBlanc
made, cause I know he worked diligently when he =
was on
the Public Buildings Committee. He complained
night and day that something was wrong with the roof it wasn't set right, t=
he
ceilings were falling down, cracked floors, broken gutters, etc., a list a =
mile
long, and while he was on there they removed him for one reason, cause he yakked too much. That was the reason he was removed The
Chairman didn't like that, I think it was a female if I'm not mistaken, she
bounced him, she didn't like him so she let him go. Now I'd like to ask one question o=
f our
Town Manager. She puts these =
articles
in the paper which are knowledgeable, I like the idea, she puts different o=
nes
in, but I would like her to put in and let the public know who is on this
Public Buildings Committee and what their qualifications are, because if
they're not qualified they might as well stay home as far as I'm concerned,
because the taxpayer is the one that's going to end up footing the bill. We
already paid for a roof and we're going to do a roof at Polk School was a f=
oul-up,
years later they found out there was something wrong with the material and =
this
one here is a disaster area. Mr. Kane: If I might what I wanted to say is =
that I
think part of the problem back in 2000 when they were building this school =
is
that the Public Buildings Committee was not involved and it created an
Executive Building Committee of the Town Council (Tape #1, Side A ended - m=
ay
have missed some) Public Buildings Committee we have now does wonderful wor=
k and
they are all professionals and all volunteers (inaudible). That's a big problem. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 11 Mr. Cefaretti: That's true. I agree with that. I know there were discrepancies be=
fore,
but now that we're building this school over here, they better do it right,=
and
do it right the first time, cause it seems like every time a project goes o=
n,
it lingers, they dilly dally and I hate it because before you know it it co=
sts
millions of dollars more than originally projected. You know it and I know it, and
procrastination and not doing it. Sometimes
they say haste makes waste, but procrastination might (inaudible) even worse
because you're taking your time and in the meanwhile everything goes up. Mr. Kane: Well we can provide you with . . . =
. Mr. Cefaretti: Put it in the paper like you did the
other ones. Mr. Kane: The members of the Public Buildings=
Committee? Mr. Cefaretti: Yes.
Who is on the Committee and what their qualification are. Ms. Robson: It's on the web site. Mr. Kane: I don't know if we need to question=
the
qualifications of committee members. Mr. Cefaretti: Why not? I don't want no joker taking care =
of
something that is going to cost me money, nor is it, in my estimation, this=
is
the way I look at it, if you have somebody in this committee he better be a=
n electrician,
a plumber, a roofer, whatever, something in the construction business. You can't have me there because I m=
ight
know about finances but I don't know about building, I don't know a thing a=
bout
it, I'm a joker when it comes to that. Mr. Kane: I'm firmly confident in the
qualifications of the members of our Public Buildings Committee. Mr. Cefaretti: Well I don't think I’m asking=
for
too much. Okay ma'am? Mr. Killeen: I can give you some insight on some=
of
the members of the Buildings Committee.&nb=
sp;
I myself served for over 2 years; I spent 20 years in construction, =
10
of which I owned my own business, I'm very accustomed to interior build out=
s of
this nature, I've built countless and helped build countless buildings
throughout the State. We have
members who are employed by architectural firms, Karl Kuegler worked his en=
tire
life in construction, so the committee is very knowledgeable of the
construction trades, and they work very diligently to ensure that they bring
their expertise to the projects that we've undertaken. Mr. Cefaretti: Thanks a lot. &=
nbsp; Mr.
Kane, Chairman, Closed Public Participation at 8:09 p.m. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 12 4. &nb=
sp; A. Discussion
and Possible Action on Changing=
the
Number of Polling Places &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Kane: This is really a Discussion Item as
opposed to an Action Item, so I'll open it to discussion to the members.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Adams: It says discussion and possible ac= tion on saying the number of polling places, that's what the Agenda says.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Right, it's not a . . . . . it's a= Discussion Item, it’s not an Action Item, it’s = not under Action Items. It's a potential action if we wish.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Adams: I've sat here, well this time arou= nd what, almost into our 4th year on the Council, 4 years on the Board of Ed, a year= and half prior in the early 90's on the Council, and during all these times we = had referendums, mostly budget, with a few other things thrown in. And I know that the one thing that bothered me was low voter turnout. It seemed very hard unless there really became a burning issue, and = then the voters would come out, and then you'd probably get 30%, 33% and so be i= t, the budgets would finally pass. I think what really bothers me about this whole proposal is I feel we are goi= ng to now cause a lot of confusion. We have a budget referendum coming up very shortly. Trying to notify 2 districts that they're going to change, and oh by the way, in November what the proposal i= s is to go back to 4. I think it's= a lot to ask. I don't see where a c= ouple thousand dollars, even if it is each referendum and yes, granted it could a= dd up, is going to really serve the general public and the voters. I do believe there are other ways t= hat money can be saved at the polling places, I beli= eve you can cut back the number of checkers.&n= bsp; You have 16 here, cut it back to 8.= That's a savings of almost $1,000.&= nbsp; I don’t understand, for several years I was a Deputy Registrar. At the polls itsel= f I was considered an Assistant Registrar, and again as listed here on this lis= t, there's 2 Deputy Registrars, you're looking at 10 Registrars, not including= the 2 regular Registrars, that's 14 Registrars, that's an awful lot for a refer= endum, I think 2 of them could be eliminated, so I think potentially right there t= hat would be like $1,300, $1,400 in savings alone, so that $3,000 now is cut ba= ck a little bit. I think if the Re= gistrars put their heads together and really took a look at the amount we are hiring= , I think there is a possibility of potentially more savings. I am definitely opposed to this and would not support cutting back the polling places to two.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: Just to show you I was paying atte= ntion, Mr. Giannaccio, before we talked about the library cuts. You, Mr. Chairman, mentioned it was $17,000. As I mentioned befor= e we average about 6 referendums a year, which comes out to about at least $18,0= 00 a year. I just want to ask each= Town Council member what if that $18,000 it might be a little inconvenience as far as voting, but wouldn't that $18,000 be better spent giving it back to the Library?
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 13
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Wick: I think at the very least the sugg= estion that Elaine made should be implemented, which is to reduce to the minimum t= he number of people actually present at the polling places, but in listening to the comments tonight, another idea came to mind. Dave Dalton mentioned that the pro= posal that he and Elaine have made is really an experiment, and to me that means the recommendation is to try something new and different once, gather some data, and then evaluate that data and decide wh= at to do after that experience is concluded.&= nbsp; The other idea that came to mind while I was listening is why do we = have to close 2, why not just try 1 and see what happens? I'm in the Heminway Park School vo= ting district, so I will be theoretically inconvenienced having to go to Judson,= I might even forget to go to Judson until I show up at Heminway, but I'd get there, and I'd get there because I want to vote. Comments have been made about inconvenience but I really believe, or at least I want to believe, that if someone really wants to vote, he/she will do it, so the thought I have for = discussion is why not, in the spirit of an experiment, in the next referendum, close Heminway, have the Heminway voters go to Judson and see what happens.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Rinaldi: I think here in
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 14
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Hebert: I'm sorry I missed the Public =
Hearing
but I was delayed in getting here. <=
/span>It
think it's great that the registrars came up wit=
h a
plan to try and do something. I
kind of like the idea of cutting polling places and cutting workers, make i=
t as
lean as possible because when the referendums start stacking up around here,
which they have a habit of doing, it gets expensive. I keep on hearing inconvenience, I=
keep
on hearing, you know something? There's always=
excuses,
everybody always has excuses for something. The one thing in this Town nobody =
wants
to do is change anything. My =
God
we've been doing it this way for 50 years, let's keep doing it this way.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Killeen: What I think about is show me the
money. We're faced with budget
constraints that when we come up with some reductions that we think could b=
e an
advantage to what we're going to spend, people have viable objections. And in the perfect utopian world o=
f
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Karl or Paul, do you want to w= eigh in?
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fisher: I'm against it, but I don’t = see any point in getting all worked up over it. Just leave it at that, I'm against= it.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 15
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Paul?
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Valenti: I don’t know if I can top th= at.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Well if I might, personally again = I want to thank the Registrars, both of them for coming up with some positive idea= s to save the Town some money, I appreciate that very much, it shows you're doin= g your job and thank you. At the sam= e time I appreciate the turnout that we had this evening and it kind of shows where some other thinking is. Quite honestly I like Ray Primini's earlier idea at the Public Hearing of an advi= sory question and if we could put this on the next referendum . . . .
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Robson: I'm checking on that.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: And with the hopes that this budget passes this referendum, then we're all set, but if it doesn't, which could happen I guess, we will put it on the next one. So I think Ray, I think your idea = is probably best, that we put it as an advisory question, the 20 some odd perc= ent that come out and vote, hopefully they'll weigh in and those are the voters anyway, you're right, cause they're the ones who come and pull the lever, s= o I think that's probably the best idea as opposed to being for or against it at this point, why don't we do that?
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Rinaldi: (Inaudible)?
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Well if it can be done in the most recent or next referendum, let's do that. The Manager will check that out a= nd come back to us. If that can = be added, we'll have an advisory question, the press will cover it I'm sure, so there will be notification to all citizens, and that might be amenable to everyone I think.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: Maybe it will bring the vote f= or the budget referendum up a little higher.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Adams: Well it would be advisory, it woul= dn't be binding so the question is can a binding question and an advisory questi= on be put on.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Kane: Thank you to all of you who stayed= for that particular item and if you like actually, there is a second Public Par= ticipation at the end of the meeting if you want to stay longer.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 16
5.&nb=
sp; Minutes
&= nbsp; A. Regular Meeting Minutes – April 4, 2005
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Ms. = Adams, sec. Mr. Wick) to Approve the Regular Meeting Mi= nutes dated April 4, 2005 as presented.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
= ; Mr. Rinaldi: (Inaudible)?
= ; Mr. Kane: Paul, to not answer= your question, but I guess it doesn't have to be answered right now. It's a good question. The Manager obviously has been instructed to find out if an advisory question can be put on the next ballo= t, and if so what is the procedure. Do we have to vote on this at a meeting (inaudible). I don't want to beat this to death= , I really don't.
&= nbsp; Mr. Valenti: If the intent is to bring it to the= next meeting, I think logistically we might not be able to . . . . .
= ; Mr. Kane: We're not going to = have a referendum until June.
&= nbsp; Mr. Valenti: Never mind, thank you.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane: So we'll have a meeting in between.=
&= nbsp; B. = Regular Meeting Minutes – April 18, 2005
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Ms. = Adams, sec. Mr. Wick) to Approve the Regular Meeting Mi= nutes dated April 18, 2005 as presented.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 17
&=
nbsp; C.
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Ms. = Adams, sec. Mr. Wick) to Approve the Special Town Minut= es dated April 18, 2005 as presented.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; In Favor: &= nbsp; Ms. Adams, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Kane, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Primini, Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Val= enti, Mr. Wick
= ; &n= bsp; Opposed: = None
= ; &n= bsp; Abstained: Mr. Hebert
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION CARRIED (8-0-1)
&= nbsp; D. Budget Public Hearing Minutes – April 27, 2005
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Adams: Do we approve Public Hearing M= inutes? I don’t think so.
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Ms. = Adams, sec. Mr. Wick) to Table the Budget Public Hearing Meeting Minutes dated Apr= il 27, 2005.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; In Favor: &= nbsp; Ms. Adams, Mr. Fisher, Hebert, Mr. Kane, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Valenti,= Mr. Wick
= ; &n= bsp; Opposed: = None
= ; &n= bsp; Abstained: Mr. Primini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION CARRIED (8-0-1)
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 18
&=
nbsp; E. =
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Ms. = Adams, sec. Mr. Wick) to Approve the Special Town Meeti= ng Minutes dated April 27, 2005 as presented.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; In Favor: &= nbsp; Ms. Adams, Mr. Fisher, Hebert, Mr. Kane, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Valenti,= Mr. Wick
= ; &n= bsp; Opposed: = None
= ; &n= bsp; Abstained: Mr. Primini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION CARRIED (8-0-1)
6.&nb=
sp; Sub-Committee
Reports
A. &nbs= p; Public Works Subcommittee
&nb= sp; Ms. Adams: Meredith handed out tonight the Turkey Brook update, which is moving right along. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, = May 17, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall Annex. Normally we meet on the second Tue= sday, but we're meeting on the third Tuesday this month.
B. &nbs= p; Finance Subcommittee
= Mr. Hebert: We had our Budget Town Meeting and Council meeting that followed. It was decided to continue discussion on this year's budget. We have a Finance Subcommittee mee= ting Wednesday, May 4, 2005 at 7:00 at the Town Hall Annex, so this is to be continued.
C. &nbs= p; Public Buildings Committee Liaison
= Mr. Killeen: Their work is on-going. A number of the projects that they= are presently dealing with are, they're addressing some issues as well as making some progress on some others, and I'd like to speak more specifically on th= ose items at our next meeting.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 19
7.&nb= sp; Chairman’s Report
&= nbsp; A. Correspondence
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 1. =
Letter
from Interim Superintendent of Schools, Michael W. Abdalla, dated April 25,
2005 - Re:
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Mr. Kane: "Dear Mr. Kane: This letter is to inform the Town Council that the Watertown Board of Education will begin negotiations with = the Watertown Education Association in June, 2005. Please appoint 1 or 2 members of t= he Town Council to take part in the negotiations. Thank you for you assistance and consideration. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at (860) 945-4801."
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Ms. Adams: I've been there, done that, so I th= ink somebody else should have the opportunity.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Mr. Kane: Whoever is not here at the next mee= ting, we'll volunteer them.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; = ; Mr. Rinaldi: I've already don= e it once; never again. I agree wi= th Elaine. J= ust a question about that letter - (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; = ; Mr. Kane: To take part in negotiations.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Mr. Rinaldi: The only functio= n that the Council person serves there is to listen and if anyone asks them a ques= tion relative to financial information, we can give them information. That's it, we don't have any other function there.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; = ; Mr. Kane: Yea, well there's m= any ways you can take part, I guess. There's many ways to take part in a meeting.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; = ; Ms. Adams: You don't have a v= ote, though.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 20
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 2. =
Letter
from the Economic Development Commission, dated April 27, 2005, Re:
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; Mr. Kane: This is from Joseph McGrail, Chair=
man of
the Economic Development Commission.
Dear Chairman Kane: The
members of the Economic Development Commission would like to lend their sup=
port
to the effort of having
= Mr. Fisher: Mr. LeBlanc brought up a point ear= lier, I certainly don't want to deal in hearsay or rumors, but he said there was a meeting or something with the Council Chairman and the department heads wit= hout the presence of the Town Manager. I don’t know if it happened or not.&nb= sp; Is there any validity to that?
= Mr. Kane: Well I think you know what happened actually, Karl.
Mr. Fisher: I wasn't told anything. I heard rumors just= like everybody, but again I don't like to deal in rumors.
= Mr. Kane: Well what happened is the departme= nt heads are due to negotiate with the Town Council soon regarding their compensation, I guess. Mr. Nardelli, who is the Assistant Town Manager and the spokesperson for the de= partment heads at the time, asked me, because I was going to be in Town, to attend a meeting between himself, the Department Heads and myself. I then instructed him to allow the= Town Manager, tell her that this was going to happen, and we were all there at t= he Planning and Zoning Office. W= hen the department heads entered the room, they asked if Meredith wouldn't mind leaving the room for a moment. Meredith Robson that is, the Town Manager, I guess bestowed their wishes and replied that she would leave the room for a moment, and that's all.
Mr. Fisher: Okay. (Inaudible).
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 21
Mr. Killeen: It's my understa= nding that Ms. Robson was in agreement, was in attenda= nce to the meeting and she took a brief moment out of the room.
= Mr. Kane: Right.
= Mr. Killeen: Is that appropriate, Ms. Robson?
Ms. Robson: Well it wasn't a = brief moment; I left.
Mr. Kane: Okay, any other questions, Karl?
Mr. Fisher: Just to clear up = rumors, Mr. Chairman, that's all.
Mr. Kane: Well rumors are jus= t what they are.
Mr. Fisher: That's why we bri= ng them here.
Mr. Kane: Well, there's no pl= ace for rumors, actually.
= Mr. Fisher: Okay.
Mr. Kane: We have enough thin= gs to deal with.
Mr. Fisher: Well something li= ke that is important, I think, and I think it should be brought up, so . . . .=
Mr. Kane: Yea, well I hope I answered your question thoroughly.
8.&nb=
sp; Action
Items
= ; A. Consider Appointments to Boards and Commissions
=
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Valenti, sec. Mr. Rinaldi) to nominate Mark Tedesco,
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: Mr. Kane: I don't have a resignation from Mr. Hughes.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Valenti: I've got an orig= inal here, a copy was given to the Town Clerk earlier today, I believe.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 22
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: The Town Clerk is in receipt of the resignation?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Ms. Stewart (Town Clerk): I have it.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: I'll just read this= into the record. It's addressed to= Ginny Stewart. Dear Ginny: Effective this date I tender my resignation from the Watertown Planning and Zoning Commission. Wilbur S. Hughes, Secretary, Plann= ing and Zoning Commission. It's a= lso CC'd to the Watertown/Oakville Democratic Town Committee and the Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Dated 4/29/05, of course the date is handwritten.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Ms. Adams: It's a Democrat position, is he a D= emocrat?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Valenti: Yes.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: It's a Democrat seat.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Valenti: Yea, it's a 7-2, I think (inaudibl= e).
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Ms. Adams: Do we have 5 Republicans, or does t= his become Republican?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: Yea, that's a good question, is Mr. Tedesco a Registered Democrat?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: Yes, he is.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Valenti: Well it's our appointment, no?
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: Well that's what I'm questioning.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: There's 5 Republicans.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: Any discussion. The only thing I'll mention, I kno= w Mr. Tedesco offered his credentials, if you will, at Public Participation. I do see a potential problem with a developer being on a land use board and I think part of the reason behind t= hese Code of Ethics is to prevent relationships like that, and I don't feel that= a developer with the amount of work that Mr. Tedesco does in this Town, shoul= d be making votes on planning and zoning issues here in Town.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 23
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Secondly the New Milford scenario is a perfect example of how ethics charges came ab= out because of members on a Planning and Zoning Commission were developers and builders and working in the Town, and although I will not hold up Mr. Tedes= co's appointment, I do feel, for the record, that there is a potential conflict = of interest here and you might want to second think your appointment.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: I don't think I can, I don’t= think any of us here can, in good conscience, accuse Mr. Tedesco (Tape #1, Side B ended - may have missed some). I just want to respond to one thing you had said about a conflict of interest. The fact remains in= this Town there are educators and teachers on the Board of Education. And I think that they contribute, I think they're qualified, and I think they have a tremendous amount of input that we need. #2, the Chairma= n of the Zoning Board of Appeals in this Town works for Lombard and Yamin.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: I didn't know that.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: Yes, he does and all he does is . = . . .
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: Is he a Democrat?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: Yes. And when his stuff . . . . is that good or bad?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: I don't . . . . you brought it up.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: I think the thing that we have to = look at is, I went to a couple of Z.B.A. meetings, as a matter of fact I went to= comment on the Griffin School project, and as soon as the issue came up he recused himself and left the room, which is the proper thing to do, and I would hope that Mr. Tedesco does the same thing. Anything that would possibly or remotely come up that has anything t= o do with his issues he would leave the room, you recuse yourself, you have to ethically, legally, he's going to have to do it. And I can name a few other positio= ns too, I know Joe Polletta for example served for years on Z.B.A. and Planning and Zoning and he was more or less a contractor in Town, a developer, and a= lot of other things, and I think that as long as it's done properly it can be an asset to the Town. If it's us= ed improperly, I think that anybody could possibly set them up for improper us= e.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: Well I didn't accuse Mr. Tedesco of anything, I just said there was a potential.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 24
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Hebert: I'm just going to make the comment=
, I
don't know Mr. Tedesco personally, business-wise anyway (inaudible) I see h=
im
at the meetings. I, however, =
cannot
or will not support putting a developer, any developer on a Zoning Board.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Ms. Adams: I heard what Rob said, and I heard = what Paul said, but you know what we have now that we never had before is that Ethics Ordinance and if anyone feels that the line has been crossed, you kn= ow with this watch dog groups we have in Town, they're coming forward so if he wants to go on he'll have my support.
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Wick: I'm not sure that what's in the Et=
hics
Ordinance pertains to what we're talking about here, but I am bothered by i=
t,
and I want to make it clear that it has nothing to do with the individual.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He was correct in saying that we w=
ere on
the same Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 25 =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr. =
Wick,
sec. Mr. Killeen) to Table. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; In
Favor: &=
nbsp; Mr.
Hebert, Mr. Kane, Mr. Killeen, Mr. Primini, Mr. Wick =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &=
nbsp; Opposed: =
Mr.
Fisher, Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Valenti =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Abstained: Ms.
Adams =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION
CARRIED (5-3-1) Mr.
Fisher, Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Valenti left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Mr. Valenti returned to the room at 8:41 p.m. &=
nbsp; Mr. Valenti: I move the appointment of Mark Tede=
sco,
of =
; Mr.
Kane: Mr. Valenti, you're=
out
of order, you've left the room. I
don’t understand why you're not at your podium. You should be standin=
g at
your seat, Mr. Valenti. =
; B. =
Consider
Transfers R E S O L U T I O N =
; &n=
bsp; WHEREAS,
expenses in the 2004-05 fiscal year require the Transfer of Funds; =
; &n=
bsp; NOW
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by vote of the Watertown Town Council, that the
following actions are taken relative to the Transfer of Funds: &nb=
sp; WATER
AND SEWER =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $1,232 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 1 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 017-50443-075-0859 Maintenance of Equipment =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 017-50441-075-=
0000 Pipe Fittings Material =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $10,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; NO: 2 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 017-50110-075-1702 Assistant Superintendent =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 017-50318-075-=
0858 Maintenance of Mains =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 26 =
; &n=
bsp; GENERAL FUND =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $10,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; NO: 3 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 1,957<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> 010-50561-006-1272 Vali=
dator &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 2,500<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> 010-50401-006-0000 Offi=
ce
Supplies &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 1,500<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> 010-50561-007-0512 Comp=
uter &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 4,043<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> 010-50110-004-0144 Assi=
stant
Finance Director =
T=
O: &=
nbsp; 010-50577-006-=
0000 Other Machinery & Equipment =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Purchase
Bill Printer and Mailer =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $4,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 4 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $3,758 010-50125-031-0000 &=
nbsp; Temporary
Salaries &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 144 010-50552-031-0246 Pav=
er &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 50 010-50552-031-2085 &=
nbsp; 35
K GVW Trucks &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $ 48 010-50577-031-2213 &=
nbsp; Trash
Pump =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50130-031-=
0000 Overtime =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Due
to =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $2,640 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 5 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 010-50529-031-0349 Sidewalks =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50525-031-=
0000 Storm Drainage Facilities =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $8,205 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 6 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $6,800 010-50125-031-0000 &=
nbsp; Temporary
Salaries &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; FROM: &=
nbsp; $1,405 010-50529-031-0246 &=
nbsp; Sidewalks =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50415-031-=
0000 Equipment Parts =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $6,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 7 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 010-50319-031-0000 Vehicle Maintenance =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50415-031-=
0000 Equipment Parts =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $85,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; NO: 8 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 010-50360-033-0000 Solid Waste - CRRA =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50230-042-=
0000 Medical Insurance =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required =
; &n=
bsp; AMOUNT: $2,000 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; NO: 9 =
; &n=
bsp; FROM: &=
nbsp; 010-50334-004-0000 Legal and Fiscal =
; &n=
bsp; TO: &=
nbsp; 010-50401-004-=
0000 Office Supplies =
; &n=
bsp; REASON: Additional
Funds Required Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 27 =
; &n=
bsp; Dated at =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Robert
J. Kane, Chairman =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to Approve the Resolution Authorizing Transfer of
Funds. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
=
; &n=
bsp; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY =
; C. Consider
an Appropriation for Tax Refunds R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS,
Taxpayers have made application for the property tax refunds in accordance =
with
Section 12-129 Refund of Excess Payment; and WHEREAS,
the Tax Collector recommends that the refunds be made in accordance with the
provisions of Section 12-129; WHEREAS, in order to refund taxpayers who have been approved =
for
their refunds, monies must be appropriated into the budget line item to exp=
end
the funds. NOW
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council appropriates $16,748 to line
item 010-50341-043-0102 from the General Fund. =
; &n=
bsp; Dated at =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Robert
J. Kane, Chairman =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to Approve the Resolut=
ion
and the appropriation of $16,748 from the General Fund to Line Item
010-50341-043-0102 Tax Refunds. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
=
; &n=
bsp; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 28 =
; D. Consider
Tax Refunds R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS,
Taxpayers have made application for the property tax refunds in accordance =
with
Section 12-129 Refund of Excess Payment; and WHEREAS,
the Tax Collector recommends that the refunds be made in accordance with the
provisions of Section 12-129; NOW
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council approves the following tax
refunds: 1819 First American Real Est=
ate 1 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $ 91.67<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1820 First American Real Est=
ate 2 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $1,184.00 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1822 First American Tax Serv=
ice 3 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $1,147.96 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1823 First American Tax Serv=
ice 4 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $500.00 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1826 First American Tax Serv=
ice 5 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $ 91.67<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 29 1829 First American Tax Serv=
ice 6 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $492.58 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1834 First American Tax Serv=
ice 7 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $1,769.12 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1835 First American Tax Serv=
ice 8 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $30.49 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; 1838 First American Tax Serv=
ice 11 &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $894.24 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment 1848 Fodiman, Linda, H. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $46.18 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated 1863 &=
nbsp; 141
Pond View Drive &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Type: M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated 1866 Sacchi, Lois, M. &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $52.64 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated 1868 Dzwonchyk, Richard, J. =
Jr. &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $27.14 &=
nbsp; 94
Pullen Avenue =
&nb=
sp; =
Type: S &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 30 1869 Guerrera, John &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $2.56 &=
nbsp; 1706
Litchfield Road &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Type: &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Assessed Value Decre=
ased 1871 Leo, Paula M. & Dav=
id M. &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $1,047.02 &=
nbsp; 1011
Middlebury Road &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Type: R &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Assessed Value Decre=
ased 1872 Biron, Daniel K. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $5.97 &=
nbsp; 190
Cutler Street =
&nb=
sp; =
Type: =
; M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated 1874 Goodkin, Sybil C. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $15.48 &=
nbsp; 34
Hillcrest Avenue &nb=
sp; =
Type: M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Board of Assessment Appeals,
Assessed Value Decreased 1875 Huff, Nicole M. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $20.53 &=
nbsp; 53
Parkman Street =
; &n=
bsp; =
; Type: =
; M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Board of Assessment Appeals,
Assessed Value Decreased 1876 Johns, Franklin G. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $38.87 &=
nbsp; 178
Barnes Road &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Type: M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Board of Assessment Appeals,
Assessed Value Decreased 1877 Martinelli, Robert F or=
Wendy &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $11.08 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Board of Assessment Appeals,
Assessed Value Decreased 1879 Sacchi, Lois, M. &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $29.52 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Account Prorated 1880 So Jane Mee &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $22.86 &=
nbsp; 95
Carola Drive &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Type: M &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Assessed Value Decre=
ased Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 31 1881 Martinelli, R.F., Jr. or
Wendy &n=
bsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $11.77 &=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Board of Assessment Appeals,
Assessed Value Decreased 1882 So Patrick &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $140.15 &=
nbsp; 95
Carola Drive &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Type: S &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor, Assessed Value Decre=
ased 1883 DeAngelo, Robert N. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Amount
of Refund: &nb=
sp; $642.94 &=
nbsp; 140
Porter Hill Road &nb=
sp; =
Type: &=
nbsp; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Payment Total for All Refunds &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; $8,322.33 =
; &n=
bsp; Dated at =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Ms. Adams) to Approve the Resolution
authorizing Tax Refunds. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: =
; None =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 9. &nb=
sp; Discussion
And Possible Action Items =
; A. Discussion
and Possible Action on Changing=
the
Number of Polling Places =
; &n=
bsp; This
was moved to Agenda Item 4A. =
; B. =
Discussion
for an Extension of the Contract for =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to Approve an Extension to May 31, 2005 of the Co=
ntract
with =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: Ms. Adams: Is this the 4th or the 5th extensi=
on on
this contract, Meredith? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: The 3rd. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 32 =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Robson: I think it's the 3rd extension and=
the
4th date. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: It's May 2nd, so we'd be looking f=
or an
extension until June 2nd? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: May 31st. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Ms.
Robson: If all goes well,=
and
I’m not predisposing anything, but if all goes well, they would have
their approvals at the May 11th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting,
provided things are applied more appropriately and the deadlines are met and
that sort of thing, so given that they would need a little time to close.
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Ms.
Adams: Okay, but as far a=
s you
know, they have been doing everything, they have=
n't
been causing any delays themselves.
To the best of your knowledge, I understand that you haven't been to
every meeting of Z.B.A, P & Z and everything else, that they haven't
delayed anything or we're not having it ready for this meeting, we need the
next meeting, there hasn't been any of that? That they have been working in good
faith? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Robson: They have not always gotten their
application, or parts of their application in on time, but I don’t th=
ink
that's really the 2 week issue. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: If I might, one of the things that
you'll see is members of the Planning and Zoning Commission did have a conc=
ern
with the use of the parking lot across the street, that our Council approved
their use of, but because of that the site plan unfortunately has changed y=
et
again, so now they are going to go to Planning and Zoning as well as Z.B.A.=
for
another variance where they're going to get all of their parking necessary =
on
site, and because of this that's why they need another extension, because t=
hey
have another meeting to go to, but that alleviates the concern of the use of
the parking lot across the street.
They will be able to get their 1.1 required spaces, which I think
amounts to 42 on the site itself, but in order to do that they need one more
variance, one more parking variance, so that has delayed them yet again. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: So we're just looking for a site p=
lan approval
and a Z.B.A. variance for the parking spaces. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 33 =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: Right, right. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: Is that it? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Robson: No, they need to amend their speci=
al
permit to potentially so (inaudible). =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: Can it be done on the same night?<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> P & Z? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Ms.
Robson: Yea, I think so.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> As far as I know all of their appr=
ovals,
again if everything is submitted on a timely basis could happen on the 11th,
(inaudible) exact sequencing (inaudible). &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Wick: We've heard stories=
, and
it's not clear in my mind what the current status is of the plan that would
partition a portion of the lot and turn over title to it to the abutting
property owner. Is that or is=
it
not part of the plan? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: No, that's not part of this plan.<=
/p>
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Mr.
Wick: So they're not plan=
ning
to sell . . . . =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Mr.
Kane: That's not part of =
this
plan. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: To get the building sold. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: Right. What they do with that in the futu=
re is
something that may be looked upon down the road. &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Wick: So that could
happen. I mean if we put a
restriction with respect to the façade of the building when we
established the ground rules, we didn’t, as I recall, we didn't put a
restriction on the potential sale or non sale of any portion of it, is that
right? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Kane: Correct. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Wick: So basically if that happens then =
that's
something over which we have no control?&n=
bsp;
Is that what we have to accept? &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Kane: Are you talking abo=
ut the
1,.800 square feet? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Wick: Well whatever it is, yea. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 34 =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: That shouldn't be contingent on any=
part
of this sale of the building with us. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Wick: I just want to make it clear . . .=
. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Adams: Yea, that's a good point. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Mr.
Wick: What has changed in=
my
mind at least, based upon the original concept. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Robson: I didn't understand the question, =
(inaudible). =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Wick: Okay, well I guess the answer that=
I'm
hearing is that it's really an irrelevant question. =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Ms.
Adams: Is the 1,800 squar=
e feet
they want to give to the building next door, the bank, is that all part of =
this
process? =
; &n=
bsp; =
; =
; Ms.
Robson: It has been, but =
that's
a part of what they may change. I
can't tell you what their latest submission is. (Inaudible..)<=
/span> &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Ms.
Adams: They can't hold it=
up
because, they can't holdup buying the building (inaudible) get
that approval if Z.B.A. says no, that's not part of the contract to sell the
building. Contingent upon bei=
ng
able to cut off or . . . . =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Ms. Robson: The contract is contingent upon
approvals. Whether
or not someone would read that as something different I don't know.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> That maybe, it's not a good questi=
on
(inaudible). &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Kane: Any further discuss=
ion? =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 35 10. &n=
bsp; Public
Participation Dave LeBlanc, Mr. LeBlanc: Mr. Killeen, I respect your commen=
ts
that you made, but what you're doing is you're taking a word that I've been
using for 18 months, through the Chair of course, and you're giving it a
different meaning. The word is
malfeasance. You, Mr. Killeen=
, were
malfeasant in holding an improper executive session on October 4, 2004. Secondly=
, the
Police Commission meeting, the last meeting. The entire discussion of that meet=
ing,
after the commissioners were told that it could be a violation of the Ethic=
s Ordinance
with taking donations for the motorcycle, the entire discussion, listen to =
the
tape, was how to circumvent the Ethics Ordinance. It was not a joke, Mr. Kane, becau=
se a
high ranking official in the Police Department suggested donating it to the
P.B.A., and then Mr. Durso said we could launder the money. It was not said as a joke. The Director of the P.B.A. did not=
think
it was a joke. I just spoke to him today about getting . . . . . Mr. Kane: Truly, I ask you this, in all
seriousness, you really think Mr. Durso wanted to quote unquote launder the
money? Mr. LeBlanc: Out of the P.B.A. to get the motor=
cycle,
absolutely, there's no doubt in my mind.&n=
bsp;
I already asked for my . . . . . Mr. Kane: I have to disagree with you.
Mr. LeBlanc: That's fine. But if you listen to the tape it w=
as not
a joke. A ranking member of t=
hat department
suggested, before Mr. Durso used the term launder. Lastly, was the Town Manager given=
the
opportunity to have her evaluation conducted in a public meeting? Mr. Kane: That is something we do in executive
session. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 36 Mr. LeBlanc: Was the Town Manager given the
opportunity, yes or no, to have her evaluation conducted in an open meeting=
? Ms. Robson: I don't wish to have it in an open meeting. Mr. LeBlanc: Were you given the opportunity? Ms. Robson: I don’t wish to have it in a=
n open
meeting. Mr. LeBlanc: Were you given the opportunity? Mr. Kane: Mr. LeBlanc, you're badgering her =
now,
come on. She just told you no=
. Mr. LeBlanc: We're allowed that information und=
er the
Freedom of Information Act. Mr. Kane: Let's move on to the next item. Mr. LeBlanc: We're allowed that on the Agenda o=
r in
the Minutes, Mr. Kane. What y=
ou're
doing is if someone is going to file charges . . . . Mr. Kane: You're just causing trouble. Mr. LeBlanc: No, you're causing unnecessary leg=
al
expenses. We have a right to =
this
information. Mr. Kane: She told you she chooses not to do=
it in
public. Mr. LeBlanc: Well I asked was she given the
opportunity, yes or no. Mr. Killeen: Mr. Chairman, if I could. Mr. Kane: No, that's enough of this (inaudib=
le). Mr. LeBlanc: Are you going to meet with me, Mr.
Killeen? Mr. Kane: Thank you Mr. Killeen. Mr. Killeen: I would like to just ask 2 questio=
ns if
I could. I would like to stat=
e that
the purpose of Public Participation is not to be inquisitory to the members=
who
sit on the board in the manner of which you did to Ms. Robson. Mr. LeBlanc: I agree with you. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 37 Mr. Killeen: Secondly, you mentioned something =
about an
October 2004 meeting, and I was wondering exactly what that meeting was? Mr. LeBlanc: If somebody has a copy machine you=
could
have a copy of it. Mr. Killeen: It was what meeting though? Mr. LeBlanc: October 4, 2004, Town Council Meet=
ing. Mr. Killeen: I was a member of . . . . Mr. Kane: You were not a member at that =
time. Mr. Killeen: I was not a member of the Town Council, therefore I was not in violation of . . . . .=
. . . Mr. LeBlanc: Correct, I apologize. Mr. Killeen: And the issue of the use of th=
e word
malfeasance, it's your prerogative to do that, however, when you call for t=
he
removal of the Town Chairman, that's another thing in and of itself;
that's what I took to be oppositional about. Mr. LeBlanc: Okay, but that’s also my
prerogative. Mr. Killeen: Yes. Mr. LeBlanc: I've asked Mr. Kane, how many time=
s have
I asked you to meet with me? =
You have also nothing to lose. I mean I can't see the big deal. <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And to the Town Manager, I apologize, I should have went through the Chair. Thanks. Robert Giannaccio, Mr. Giannaccio: It's an exciting meeting tonight. As far a=
s Mr.
Tedesco going on the Zoning Board, I have mixed feelings myself about that,
cause will a project come up that he's involved with or not and he'll step =
out
of the room, and I can understand your concerns, but in the same respect, I
expect you to do the same thing with the Board of Education. Past, present teachers on the Board
negotiating with Unions that are paying them pensions, or are going to pay =
them
pensions, that's a conflict of interest.&n=
bsp;
I always said that from Day 1, there has always been a teacher,
principal, retired teacher, retired whatever, they should not be on the Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 38 Mr. Kane: Do we have Mr. Giannaccio: It doesn't make a difference, they=
're
all in the same Union, they all belong to the same Union in the State of Paul =
Valenti,
51 wilder Street, Mr. Valenti: The comments I'm about to make are =
not as
a member of the Council, but purely as a private citizen. We spoke earlier tonight about the
propriety of having the Buildings Committee involved in oversight of some of
the projects here in Town, some of the construction of municipal projects.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> In fact, I think it was Mr. Wick w=
ho
said, excuse me, I forget because I'm still a little hot under the collar f=
or
the details, but a sentiment was expressed that it's such a great idea beca=
use
these are people with knowledge and expertise, and I agree, and yet we have=
a
proposed nominee to a commission with knowledge and expertise, and what's h=
is
sole crime here today apparently, the legal profession in which he is engag=
ed,
or the legal business in which he is engaged. It's fairly apparent to me that at=
least
some members of this Council have judged Mr. Tedesco to be capable of engag=
ing
in wrongdoing before he's committed one single act. It's ridiculous. Regular Meeting May 2, 2005 Page 39 Moreover=
, we
went through the same problem when we wanted to make an appointment to the
Police Commission. And there =
have
been letters in the papers back and forth about agreements or not agreement=
s as
to who goes on the boards and commissions.=
I'm glad she's here tonight.
About a year ago Elaine and I engaged in a colloquy about an
appointment, I think it was to Water & Sewer, it doesn't matter. The fact of the matter remains tho=
ugh, I
questioned, I think that was our appointment, and we appealed to Ms. Kropp,=
the
Chairman of the Republican Town Committee, about whether there was a
gentleman's agreement in place between the parties of this Town. She came to this podium, and I'm n=
ot
going to misquote her, so I'll only say she told us words to the effect that
there was no agreement as to if you have "x" number of seats
available, those are your seats.
We've never questioned that as a party in this Town, but what she al=
so
said is, and I will get the transcript because Trish, you did say it, that =
they
would respect our nominations as we would respect yours. The only crime that you're convict=
ing
Mr. Tedesco of is the profession or business in which he is engaged. It's a crime. I don't think it's fair, I don't t=
hink
it's right in this Town, and quite honestly if you're afraid of alternative
opinions of people not agreeing with you or conforming to your point of vie=
w on
the world, why are you in politics?
That's what it's all about.
So what? He might have=
a
difference of opinion, as long as he recuses himself from votes in which it
would be inappropriate for him to vote, I don't know what the problem is. Mr. Kane: Mr. Valenti, I'll just reiterate t=
hat
the Motion was Tabled, no decision was made. I don’t understand your . . . . . the Motion was Tabled, that's all. Paul Rinaldi, Mr. Rinaldi: Mr. Wick spoke tonight about settin=
g some
criteria. I'm curious to see =
how
these criteria come about, cause they're going t=
o have
to be fashioned in such a way that we don't find the same problem, as we sa=
id,
the Board of Ed, the Public Buildings Committee, and I'm sure a few other
boards if I stopped to look. =
There
was a time where there was, I was brought up in this Town my whole life, and
when I got involved in politics I thought it was the right thing to do. The only crite=
ria that
I ever needed to participate was that I be a citizen, a resident and=
a
taxpayer, who gave a damn about what happens in
Mr. Killeen: Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Kane: No. thank you, is there anyone else?
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 40
Mark Tedesco,
Mr. Tedesco: You know my family has been doing =
this
business for almost 50 years, right here in
Mr. Kane: (Inaudible) go ahead.
Mr. Tedesco: I mean I'm trying to be up front w= ith you here.
Mr. Kane: Yea.
Mr. Tedesco: My free time, I'm a successful
person. I'm not going to talk=
about
millions and al that stuff, I'm a very successful businessman, and I’m
trying to give some input and my time and energy in volunteerism here. I mean I went to the Study Group
meetings, I don’t see much happening because of them, but I went. We're setting a bad precedent here=
. I mean this political thing, Repub=
lican,
Democrat, it's bad. You're no=
t going
to get anybody to do anything. I
had two engineers from the Town of
Mr. Kane: Thank you.
Mr. Primini: Through the Chair?
Mr. Kane: Yes.
Mr. Primini: I want to make it clear, I didn't = vote no against your nomination. W= hat's happened in the mean time, we have this Code of Ethics, and I've had some disagreements over the Code of Ethics. I agreed that this is going to be <= span class=3DGramE>Tabled so that this could be researched. If it's researched that there's no= conflict, I'm all for you being on the Commission, and that's what I want to make clear. I'm not voting no, and= I'm sure everybody else here, I just agreed to Table it, and that's my only rea= son because I'm very concerned about this Code of Ethics. If it's through our attorney, if h= e says it's okay, I'm all for you being on the, and I a= pplaud you for volunteering your time. That's my only reason for Tabling it.
Mr. Tedesco: Yea, I have nothing to gain by this= . It's really businessman suicide fo= r me even wanting to get on it, but I see that I can be a positive input on it, along with Judy's knowledge. I don’t agree with her all the time, but she's the most knowledgeable person up there.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 41
Mr. Primini: I think that's what we all agreed t= o . . . .
Mr. Tedesco: But this Code of Ethics thing, it = goes both ways, Mr. Kane. I know y= ou know Mr. Yamin personally, correct . . . . . . correct<= /span>?
Mr. Kane: I know Mr. Yamin, yea.
Mr. Tedesco: I'm not going to get into that roll= ing around in the dirt thing, but . . . .
Mr. Kane: Then what are you doing?
Mr. Tedesco: What's good for me, I mean you guy= s are almost slandering me here. I'm a developer.
Mr. Kane: We Tabled the nomination Mr. Tedesco, that's all we did.= That's all we did.
Mr. Killeen: Can I (inaudible)?
Mr. Kane: How can you say we slandered you w= hen we Tabled the nomination, that's all we did? There's a question arising regardi= ng a developer being on a Planning and Zoning Commission, that's a legitimate question.
Mr. Tedesco: And on the Wetlands Board you = have the Nature Fakers and the Tree Huggers, and you still let them on the Board= .
Mr. Kane: Well let's not attack anyone. Can we stay above that?
Mr. Killeen: Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Kane: No.
Mr. Killeen: I do have something to offer on this. Since it's my second . = . . .
Mr. Kane: I appreciate it. I think this is really, you know
Mr. Tedesco: No, I have nothing else.
Mr. Kane: Thank you very much.
Mr. Tedesco: You're welcome.
Regular Meeting
May 2, 2005
Page 42
11.&n=
bsp; Executive
Session
&= nbsp; A. Personnel - Town Manager Evaluation
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to enter into Executive Session at 9:04 p.m. with= the 6 members of the Council and Ms. Robson for the purposes of discussing the = Town Manager's Performance Evaluation.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: None<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane, Chairman, Reconvened the Regular Meeting at 9:43 p.m.
12.&n=
bsp; Discussion
and Possible Action Items (Continued)
= ; Mr. Kane: We are out of Execu= tive Session. Item #12A is a Discu= ssion Item. There's no need for action to be t= aken tonight. Obviously 3 members = of our Council are not present, so we don't feel it's prudent that we make a decis= ion tonight without their input, so Item 12A is again a Discussion Item, no nee= d to take action.
13.&n=
bsp; Adjournment
= ; MOTION: (Mr. = Hebert, sec. Mr. Primini) to Adjourn the Regular Meeting at 9:44 p.m.
<=
/span>Discussion: None<=
/p>
<=
/span>MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY <=
/span>Regular
Meeting Adjourned at 9:44 p.m. Respectfully
submitted, Robert
Kane, Chairman Approved: _______________________________ Lynn M. LaF=
orme,
Clerk