MINUTES
REGU=
LAR
MEETING
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2008, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: =
&nb=
sp;
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Demirs
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard Fusco
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Carl Mancini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Scott Marotta
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Primini, Vice Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Paul Rinaldi
ABSENT: &nb= sp; = Elaine Adams, Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard DiFederico
OTHERS PRESENT: Roy
Cavanaugh, Director of Public Works
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Chuck Frigon, Town Manager
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Carol Parmelee-Blancato, Interim Superintendent of Schools
1.&nb= sp; Call Meeting To Order
Mr. = Primini, Vice Chairman, Called the Regular Meeting to Order at 7:30 p.m.
2.&nb= sp; Roll Call
Ms. LaForme, Board Clerk, executed the Roll Call.
&= nbsp; Mr. Primini, Vice Chairman, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 2
4.&nb=
sp; Public
Participation
Richard Mazzamaro,
= ; Vice Chairman, Board of Education
= ; Mr. Mazzamaro: I read the Council’s response to the Board of Education’s request for a Jo= int Meeting with the Town Council, the Board of Education, and the Public Build= ings Committee. I appreciate your willingness to meet as a group and seriously discuss the ramifications of t= he 60 day moratorium on the school projects.&= nbsp; I do, however, have serious concerns about the timing, and if you re= ad the response there seems to be a lot of misinformation surrounding the Council’s decision.
My
first concern with timing is that leaves a razor thin timeline to get asbes=
tos
abatement done at
Other issues with the schools starting are at Judson, the location of Grades 3 through 5 is in question. Ima= gine me, getting phone calls from parents on July 21st asking where m= y 3rd, 4th or 5th grader is going to school, and I have to s= ay I have not a clue. We look like clowns. School bus routes for= next year can’t be done yet. Parents have concerns over daycare.= There is also a preparation of the buildings for the start of school= . Do we prepare them? Do we not prepare them? Will they be under construction? <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Will they not be under construction= ? Not only that, but the uncertainly about moving forward about moving two tempor= ary locations for the nurses, the guidance departments, and the food service departments.
My question is was any of this taken into account before the decision was made= by the Council? It was on the Board’s side. The Town = Council’s response, I read there is a need to be fiscally responsible. To date $4,000,000 has been spent = on these projects with the engineering, the drawings, and all the studies that were done. $2,000,000 is encu= mbered and it’s not reimbursed cause the projects do not move forward, this amount, $6,000,000 is not reimbursable from the State. Is that fiscally responsible? It doesn’t sound like it to me. It sounds like a waste of taxpayer’s $6,000,000.
Construction
costs are estimated to rise 7% to 10% a year. Should these projects be put on ho=
ld
that would put the
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 3
With the renovation projects, the boiler systems at all the schools and the mechanical systems were going to be updated to state of the art energy savi= ng units. For example, this High School, on the coldest days in January and February, burns 800 gallons of o= il per day. At $4.80 a gallon, y= ou guys do the math. That’s roughly $4,000.000 per day because of the old, outdated boilers. At Polk we’re running on 1 b= oiler, 1 has a leak in it. The cost = to repair the leak in the second boiler is about $15,000; that would be includ= ed in this project. Without the project, we’re on the hook for that amount as well. Judson, there are certain sections= of the boiler that need to be done, to be installed at a cost of $25,000. Again, that’s reimbursable u= nder the project so we have them under the renovate as new projects. With the renovate as new we’= re on the hook for that, and those are 2 projects that absolutely have to be done before this Winter. Again fis= cal responsibility, I’m not so sure, not sure at all.
We also have the issue of lead contamination at Polk. Again, this is going to be covered= under the renovate to new project and will be reimbursed $.56 on every $1.00. Without renovate to new, we’= re on the hook for that as well, taxpayers. It’s an environmental hazard and it’s now being looked a= t by the D.E.P. and monitored by the D.E.P., so one way or the other we’re gong to have to do this now.
All I’m asking is that this Council consider all the ramifications. The is a lot of time, energy, and planning that’s gone on by the Board of Education, the administration, and the Public Buildings Committee over the last 2 years to plan this thing= and make sure it’s done right and we’re asking that this be taken i= nto account while you guys sit on this moratorium. There’s a lot of money that’s going to go to waste if this doesn’t happen and happen pretty soon.
One misunderstanding that I also wanted to address. There was a paragraph in the Counci= l’s response with regard to changing plans, changing drawings, or the alternates. The impression the Board of Education had is that the Council is possibly thinking that the Bo= ard increased the cost of these projects by doing alternates, and I’m not sure if that’s the case, but I’m here to say that the alternates were done to save the Town, to make sure the bids came in on or under budge= t, and if money exists those alternates would then be done, they’re not = done to increase the scope of the project, but actually to reduce the scope of t= he project and to reduce the cost of them as well. I think the Board has done an outstanding job, along with the Public Buildings Committee and the administration, in keeping the Town’s fiscal responsibility in mind during this entire process. T= hank you.
Thomas Lambert,
= ; Member, Board of Education
Mr. Lambert: I’d like to read a letter fr= om one of our Board Members, Mary Colangelo:
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 4
“Members of the Town Council:
I
hope you understand the ramifications of your decision to impose a moratori=
um
on the school projects. The s=
chool
department is at a standstill as it relates to the opening of schools, bus
routes are on hold, parents of Judson students have daycare concerns as rel=
ated
to bussing policy and daycare locations, Watertown High School scheduling
decisions on room use and NEASC warning status, both schools don’t kn=
ow
whether to pack up and move their rooms, or unpack, the list goes on and
on. Asbestos abatement can be
completed on Phase 1 only at the High School provided it starts by August 1=
0th. If Judson is to proceed their move=
to
To
date $4,000,000 has been spent and $2,000,000 more has been encumbered all =
of
which will have to be paid by the taxpayers and absorbed in the budget with=
out
benefit of State funding at a rate of $.56 on the $.100 for the projects.
Polk
and
I’ve read your comments about being fiscally responsible and I don’t see a= nything you are doing by delaying or postponing these projects as being fiscally re= sponsible. Without the projects you are addin= g an additional tax burden on the Townspeople and forcing them to pay 100% of the needed repairs to our buildings. You are taking steps to overturn a referendum vote 2 and 3 to 1 by thousands of Townspeople who approved these projects. You may have the legal right to do= so, but it is moral or is it ethical? I think not.
Mary Colangelo”
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 5
Nadine Savage,
Ms. Savage: Lifelong resident of
Unfortunately
that budget was voted down, because many parents mistakenly thought that if
they voted it down, they would send a message to you that the money would be
put back in, however no one ever made it perfectly clear to them that this =
is
never an option, that any time a budget failed that it can never go back up=
, it
can only go down. The bigger =
thing
and small mindedness that you failed to notice was that the Town’s si=
de
of the budget failed, and if you look at the past history of
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 6
Kevin Killeen,
= ; Member, Board of Education
Mr. Killeen: Over a year ago I heard some ideas =
coming
out of the Town Meeting about phasing in the project, and then more recently
the moratorium came up. You g=
uys know the history of that so I’=
;m not
going to repeat it . What
you’re doing with the moratorium is probably the worst idea that you
engaged as a Council because it is going to cost this Town so much money.
There
was so much pride when the 3 school project passed. For once everybody in town was pro=
ud to
say
Charlotte Morro,
Ms. Morro: I have 2 children who are now out o= f the school system here, the last one graduated from Watertown High, and I’= ;ve been a resident for 20 years now, not from the area at all, we moved here because of the school system, and in the 20 years we’ve watched this = Town stagnate with zero mill increases and such and because of that that has put= us in the situation we are in now. Voting for the renovation project was one of the most prudent things this town did, (inaudible) a positive step forward to try and correct things that had gone by the wayside because of the no tax increases and all of the budgets that failed, we have just been treading water. Things needed to get done at the H= igh School between NEASC and the buildings, Judson, Polk, I know you know the details of it, I don’t want to bore you with that, but it was a very prudent thing.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 7
I know that a lot of time and effort and thought went into how this was going to be conducted, it was not done without any care at all. When Polk ended up having to get d= elayed and they then switched to have all of Judson go to Heminway, I thought what= a good solution, you know we’re trying to work with this thing. Pulling the plug on it was out of = the blue, it was one of the most inane things I have ever heard of being done.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I know the economy is not great, budgeting in our own households and such, but if your house is falling down around you what do you do? If= we hadn’t had all these no tax increases all those years we wouldn’t be in the situation (inaudible). The am= ount of money that it’s going to cost, there are ways to find it, everybody can find it, everybody should be able to, and if people are living beyond t= heir means then shame on them. The= whole thought of having asbestos abatement being done during the Summer when there’s no school, that was the smart thing. There was no poor judgment on any = of this. The poor judgment came = when you folks pulled the plug. Th= e High School was ready to move, Judson was ready to move, and the Town was ready = to move. I appreciate some of you listening, I can tell by body language some aren’t listening on the T= own Council, but I appreciate those that are listening. Please (inaudible) for the sake of= the Town. Like I said, I’m not from th= is Town but we have a lot of things going for it, little things, not necessarily the way the budget goes, but little things that really make it a nice place and= we want to be proud of the Town and actually that renovation (inaudible) yea (inaudible) say we’re not the poor second cousin to the towns around = us because we can’t seem to get our act straight. We’re doing something pruden= t that makes sense and I just really, I don’t have kids in the school system anymore, but please I’m a taxpayer in the Town and I want to be able = to hold my head up. Please let&#= 8217;s go forward with this. We can tighten our belts and pay for this, it’s okay. Thank you.
Bob Dickson,
Mr. Dickson: You know it’s interesting, my=
5
year old son just started Kindergarten last year and he had a great time, r=
eally
great time and he learned and developed so well. Just a couple of years ago when it=
was
on the table to put those 3 schools rebuilt to new, what was interesting ab=
out
that was the selling point of it. The
selling point that you can look at the Town and say man,
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 8
Sandra Greenwood,
Ms. Greenwood: I must be in the minority because I= am for the moratorium. I hate to= say this, you people have to realize when this was voted in a couple of years a= go the economy wasn’t the way it is right now. I think it would be best if just one school at a time would be fixed, get the money for it, pay for it, when the time comes, fix up another school. This is what was done years ago.&nb= sp; We can’t do all these 3 schools all at once. A lot of these elderly people, and= I am one of them, are on fixed incomes. I am not working right now, because I am disabled. I didn’t think this was goin= g to happen to me a year ago, and it has. My husband is retired right now, we can barely make ends meet, and y= ou think I’m going to be worried about paying for a school when I don’t = know whether or not I can pay for my medication? Yes, I did have children that went through this school system. Y= es, I want this town, I love this town, I’m proud of this town, but we can’t keep on getting all of this money out of nowhere. I want these schools to be repaire= d too, but not all at once. Thank yo= u.
Jean McNair,
Ms. McNair: I hope if you continue with the
moratorium and decide to change something that was, after all, voted in by =
the
population of
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 9
Kim Petrorazio,
Ms. Petrorazio: If you had concerns about these construction projects, why did you wait until after school commenced to pla= ce a moratorium on these projects? Obviously you didn’t come to that decision the night you placed the moratorium.= You should have been meeting all al= ong and coming up with a strategic plan or even multiple plans to address these issues. Parents are so concer= ned, they want to know where their children are attending. For us at Judson and Polk, the chi= ldren were told they were going to Heminway, then they were told that no, they’re staying at Judson. The teachers are packed up in boxes, and the teachers don’t know where to= go, or where they’ll be unpacking their boxes, or if they’ll be unpacking them at Judson or at Heminway.&n= bsp; Parents don’t know what the bus routes are going to be, when w= ill they be determined? That affe= cts people who are working and trying to find childcare for their children. When are they going to find out th= ese answers? When are our children going to know and be assured that they’re going to get on a bus and t= hey’re going to know exactly where that are going to go on the first day of school= ? They don’t know right now an= d all the parents that I talk to on a daily basis tell me that their children ask them daily, what’s going to happen, where am I going. When you look to purchase a home, = and the inspection fails, you typically don’t move forward with that purc= hase unless the homeowner agrees to resolve those issues. Same thing if you own a home and t= here are repairs that need to be made, you plan for those repairs and you make t= hem diligently. If you don’= t have the income to do it at the time, you come up with a plan of how you can move forward and go ahead with those repairs. You don’t allow your house to= fall to shambles. The same should = be done for these schools. Care = has not been taken to maintain these schools. This is why they are in the state that they are in today and these 3 school construction projects do need to = move forward. We can’t conti= nue to ignore the problem. We can= 217;t continue to think that there is going to be some magical answer out there.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> There isn’t .
These
are hard times for everybody. We
have to move forward. We have=
$6,000,000
invested in these projects. W=
hat
are you going to tell the taxpayers when we don’t move forward and we
lose the State funding and then it’s still going to result on the han=
ds
of all of us? The taxpayers a=
ll
along have been imploring everybody to move forward with this project, yet
nobody is listening. Where is=
the
fiscal responsibility and accountability to our Town and our children? I certainly can appreciate
everyone’s hardship during these unstable and extremely difficult
economic times. My own family=
faces
many of those. I have a husba=
nd
that is stricken with neurological Lyme Disease. From week to week we don’t k=
now
when he’s going to be able to work.&=
nbsp;
There are many weeks in which he doesn’t. Sometimes it’s months and we=
make
it on a week to week basis, but I too realize that we have to put money asi=
de
now, no different than we do, we have to come up with extra money on a week=
ly
basis to go to the grocery store and to pay for those groceries, and to pay=
for
our gas. We have to do this f=
or our
schools and for our town. We =
need
to take care of our children and as such they will take care of our town.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 10
John Chipko,
=
; Vice
Chairman, Public Buildings Committee
Mr. Chipko: I’m speaking tonight as a resident. I want to say IR= 17;m disappointed with you guys. I elected you, as the others did, to represent us. On the Buildings Committee, you gu= ys didn’t meet with anybody before you put this moratorium. We never had a meeting with you to= say let’s talk and see what we can do to resolve the problem. I don’t believe you met with= the Board of Ed before you came up with the moratorium. What’s with this? You’re not a separate entity= . We’re all together. We could have possibly worked out something so that we could have phased it, but to just slam it on us all at= the last minute, having a meeting at the same exact time as the Board of Ed mee= ting on a Tuesday night, a special meeting, so that nobody could talk at it, see= ms kind of fishy. I’m very disappointed with you guys. I= expected better. You were supposed to improve, not go downhill from the past.&nb= sp; You’re not supposed to have the ostrich syndrome of burying yo= ur head in the sand when these problems come up. Past Councils have done that = over the years and never addressed it. If you’re trying to pass this budget, I don’t see anybody out there pushing for it. If you’= re proposing a budget it should be backed up by all of you on the Council, as = well as the Board of Ed on their end. But that hasn’t happened.&nbs= p; This moratorium came about, it doesn’t seem like any research = was done. You certainly didn̵= 7;t meet with the Buildings Committee, you didn’t meet with the Board of = Ed, and you didn’t meet with O & G, so how could you have come up with all of the right information to solve the problem? You haven’t and it’s n= ot going to get solved. As every= body else has said already, delays equal money and you’ve delayed it, so it’s going to cost more in the end.&= nbsp; You’ve caused confusion with the kids, you’ve caused confusion with the projects cause now they can’t go ahead and do the asbestos removal when they should have been doing it. I’m in the business, I know = what happens. Every Summer is valu= able to a construction project and if you’re worried about the money, which I’m sure you are, maybe we could have worked out some phasing, but th= at didn’t happen. It just = was all done behind our backs and it doesn’t leave me feeling really good about the whole thing. I also= want to say that Dr. Erardi last year built up this town, he brought roots toget= her to get support and work out issues. You guys, I congratulate you, you’ve undone all of that. Thank you.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 11
Theresa Meczkowski,
Ms. Meczkowski: I’ve been up here many times =
before
and I just want to say that I feel really foolish because I was invited here
all Winter to come and share my thoughts about the renovation project on my
street, I live across the street from Judson. They wanted to know what did I thi=
nk,
should my street be one way, what should we do about busses, is it safe or =
not,
I spent hours in front of this microphone talking to all of you and it seems
maybe like we put the cart before the horse because it doesn’t matter
now. The money that we spent
keeping the lights on the for the buildings for all of those meetings should
have been saved, if we’re in that dire need. I don’t understand why we ha=
ve all
these meetings all Winter long to talk about the many, many things that we
talked about, we talked about trees going up and guide rails and fences.
I do want to say one thing is that my children are terrified of where they’re going to go and who they’re going to have for a teacher= . I do know one thing, thank God we = have the teachers that we have in Watertown, because I know no matter what schoo= l my child goes to, they are going to have a good education and they are going t= o be taken care of by the teachers that we have and I feel extremely blessed to = be able to say that, but in saying that we have to make sure that we protect t= hose teachers and we don’t squeeze them into classrooms that are too big f= or them to handle, so just make sure when you make your decision don’t t= hink about numbers and this many taxpayers and these groups against that group.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Make sure you think about the peop= le who this is directly affecting, which is the teachers and the children. Thank you.
Gary Martin,
Mr. Martin: You guys are making a mistake. This is really a big mistake. Take a look at these buildings.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 12
There is a public act 03220, it’s called an Act Concerning Indoor Air Quali= ty in Schools. It’s laws t= hat we as a community have to live under, that the State has put on us and part of= it says “each local or regional Board of Education shall maintain good public elementary and secondary schools, implement educational interests of= the State as defined in section 10-4A and provide such other educational activi= ties as is in the judgment will best serve the interest of the school district”. It also stat= es “proper maintenance of facilities is one of the issues that they requ= ire. The Town shall also adopt and impl= ement an indoor air quality program that provides on going maintenance and facili= ty review as necessary for the maintenance and improvement of indoor air quali= ty of its facilities”. We can’t do that with these schools.&nb= sp; You can’t do it. Not the way they are now.
Now I’m not blaming you folks for this because we’ve been through 2 referendums. I’m blamin= g us as a community. I mean weR= 17;re all hear yelling at them but we as a community have got to turn around to t= he folks in this community and say what are you doing, you’ve got to get= out and vote and support this darn thing. Now can I ask a question? If this budget passes the next time around does this construction project move forward?
Mr. Primini: Yes.
Mr. Martin: It does.
Mr. Primini: Yea, it would.
= ; Mr. Martin: Okay, so yea, thi= s is what we have to do, we have to go out to the community and say what are we doing here? We are wasting en= ergy every day with windows that let air in and heat out. I mean this is crazy, this is abso= lutely insane, and it’s been through 2 defeats. I mean where are the people = who voted for the school construction? I don’t understand this. I’m blown away. I’m saying what the heck is going on. We need it, absolutely. I voted for it, I supported it, its= got to get done, but man, if we don’t get out there and tell these people= you got to get out there and vote for this thing, we’re going to get killed. Now I feel bad for the people who are on fixed incomes, absolutely. I mean maybe that’s where you folks should be coming in. Ma= ybe you should be looking at an innovative way of making this happen where we can he= lp them out and I mean, not that I can afford much more than they can, but I’m willing to do it because my daughter is coming to this High School and I don’t want her in this High School, I really don’t, unless something happens. We’v= e got to do something. I’m sa= ying look at this in a different perspective.&n= bsp; Look at it in a way to pass this thing, keep it moving, but we as a community have got to get out there and tell everybody, we got to get this passed. Thank you.
=
; Mr.
Primini: Anybody else?
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 13
Marylu Lerz,
Ms. Lerz: No, you misread that. I think that we need to lift the
moratorium. Swift was in dire
straits. It is a beautiful bu=
ilding
now, that our students are proud to be in.=
When anyone walks through the school and they see all that we have to
offer, they are delighted, the kids respect the property, it’s much d=
ifferent. I think we put money in all the ti=
me, we
say we’re going to put money in to refurbish the turf, keep it
maintained, we have cut that. So
what’s going to happen in 5 years?&n=
bsp;
Everybody is going to blame everybody else and say where’s the
money, why are the schools dilapidated?&nb=
sp;
I think Maura said it, we put no money into our schools. How are we going to maintain them?=
I think we’re making a big m=
istake
by having the moratorium. I t=
hink
we need to do this for our children. I can’t say anything else.
= ; Mr. Mancini: Me either.
Ms. Lerz: So to say that that would happen i= s a shock and I think that we need to get the word out if that is the case, whatever we need to do, but we need to do that. I don’t like to speak so I&#= 8217;m very sorry. Thank you.
Trish Kropp,
Ms. Kropp: I think the moratorium is more than=
a bad
idea. I think it’s turn=
ed
this town into, instead of the fiscal authority, that fiscal authority has
turned into an oxymoron.
You’ve got $6,000,000 that you’re going to have to
bond. Where? I was on the Council for 4 years, =
I was
on the Budget Committee for those 4 years, where are you going to find
$6,000,000 just to cover what was spent?&n=
bsp;
The other thing is if there’s $6,000,000 that we could get
reimbursed on if the moratorium were lifted, that means there’s anoth=
er $2,500,000,
$3,000,000 that we’ll never see.&nbs=
p;
We can get that in goods or services, I’m not willing to allow=
you
people to throw $3,000,000 of our Town money down the sewer. Whose idea was this moratorium?
Audience: No.
Ms. Kropp: What are you guys doing? Add an agenda item to tonight̵= 7;s agenda, to stop this moratorium, reverse it, turn it around, whatever you h= ave to do. Whose idea was it? You’re not going to answer me, Ray?
Mr. Primini: It was a unanimous decision.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 14
Ms. Kropp: But someone had to say it original= ly. Whose lips did it come out of?
= ; Mr. Mancini: It wasn’t unanimous.
Many people talking at once (inaudible).
Ms. Kropp: You know you’ve got to rethi=
nk
this. This is a small meeting=
. This is a happenstance. I’m assuming that most of the
people in this room are residents, there could be people from out of town, =
I don’t
know. It’s wrong. We were moving forward and youR=
17;ve
done, and now that it’s being held hostage, that is totally wrong.
Mr. Bernier: I am Chair of the Finance Subcommi=
ttee. I cannot agree more with Rich, Mary,
Joyce, Tom, Kevin, Charlotte, Bob, Jean, Kim, John, Theresa, Gary, Marylu a=
nd
Trish. Our public school commitment has to be second to none. I have been the most vocal member =
of
this Council, I don’t believe there is a single person on this Council
that does not believe that we need to move forward with these projects. What’s happened, unfortunate=
ly, is
2 years ago, and I voted for it then, I voted for the original budget that =
came
up, we’ve suffered 2 rejects of our budget. We are at a point right now, that t=
he
only new monies that are in the budget right now are the monies that we have
bonded so far on this project. What
I am looking for, and I can’t speak for the Council, is a reaffirmati=
on
of the people. I voted yes th=
e first
time, I’ll vote yes this time to go forward with the school projects =
the
way it is. Regardless of what=
the
outcome is of this budget we need to move forward on these schools. I can&#=
8217;t
agree more. When I was on the=
Board
of Education I was the Finance Chair and I’m not ashamed to tell you,=
I
went home and cried because I could not understand why I could not, I was so
frustrated why I couldn’t make people understand the need in this Tow=
n,
to go in. A few people have t=
alked
about our staff, I could not speak higher and even in this position, every =
time
I have an opportunity, our staff in this Town is second to none. They take from their pockets, they=
give
until giving hurts, and we need to support education, but
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 15
Mr. Mancini: A lot of things that people said I= agree with wholeheartedly but there were a few things also said about (inaudible)= is that the public participation, the night they had the meeting where they put the moratorium on, all of the members of the Town Council don’t vote = to see what the agenda was going to be. When we got there that night there was no public participation. Not all of us wanted that. That’s one. The decision for a moratorium was = made and people are saying that we voted for the moratorium. There are some of us that didn̵= 7;t vote for the moratorium and some of us that did. Let’s get those facts straight. I don’t’ know, someone said who made the decision for the August 6th date, you said that the Town Council did an injustice because we made the decisio= n to put it off until August 6th. Well I don’t think there̵= 7;s not one person here at a meeting that I know of that voted on, that voted f= or August 6th. As a matter o= f fact I was at that Public Buildings Committee meeting with the Board of Education and I was kind of happy that Mrs. Calabrese was going to ask us to come to a meeting and explain what was going on, what was said at that meeting, I tho= ught it was very informative that night, that it didn’t happen, so donR= 17;t blame all the people on this Town Council, that’s all I’m going= to say as far as public participation.
Mr. Primini: Nobody wanted to put this moratori= um on but we’re at a crossroads right now, (inaudible) right now both budge= ts, the Board of Ed and the Town are based on a zero mill increase. The question has come up is there = an increase from last year? Yes,= on the Board of Ed because there is money they got from education cost sharing= but both budgets right now are at a zero mill increase. Most recently all town department = heads went through their budgets and we’re looking at $50, $100 items, there were 186 items that were cut from the department spending. We’re at the point right now = that we’re cutting back on street lights, that’s how desperate it’s getting. We’= re talking about taking street lights down, in some case dimming the street lights, whatever, this is how bad it’s gotten right now in this budget. The decision we came = to removing that last ½ mill off, right now I hope I mentioned but the = Town and the Board of Ed is going to be a zero mill increase from last year, so = what I was trying to get at with the 3 school projects, the 3 school projects in this next budget (inaudible) are going to be standing on their own. If the budget passes, obviously the moratorium is going to be lifted, but traditionally in the past we’ve= had budgets that we’d hold off over the Summer and we wait until Septembe= r, we want to get this thing moving right away. Hopefully we’re counting on students being home from Summer vacation that can vote, including anybody e= lse, absentee ballots by all means get them if you’re going to be on vacat= ion. Both budgets went down in a s= trong defeat, they were 2 to 1 both times and that’s what we have to look at. It wasn’t a pretty picture that we’ve seen.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 16
The
last time I’ve seen a budget this bad was 1991, and the reason why I
remember that is my daughter started Kindergarten that year and I remember =
her
being on the bus over an hour each way to school. I guess what happened is when peop=
le
started finally to feel it individually, and we’re trying not to do t=
hat
as much as possible, you start making decisions. That decision, we took my daughter=
out
of
I
want everybody to look at the past 2 projects, we just did Swift and the Fi=
re
House, I get a lot of compliments, people driving by
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 17
Theresa Meczkowski,
Ms. Meczkowski: While I’m sitting here, I understand what this man has said, and it’s the first time since read= ing all of these newspaper articles that I’ve completely understood what someone on this panel has said and why it’s happening. And I’m wondering if there h= as ever been a collective decision by any of you to say to the parents what you just said to us, because they don’t know. The articles that are coming out i= n the Town Times are so convoluted that nobody can understand what’s going = on and at these meetings there are people that disagree on this panel right he= re in front of us so it’s even more convoluted, so I think if someone was told we are waiting for you to prove to us that you want this to pass and t= hat’s why we’re doing it, then you would see people come out and do it. I think that you don’t under= stand that there is a good percentage of students of these schools who believe th= at what they’ve already passed is what is necessary to go forward. They do not understand, nothing ha= s been written in the paper, it hasn’t said if you do this, then we do blank. When is that going to happen? Has there ever been a decision made to re-explain to the parents and tell them in very simple ter= ms we care about the town, the Town Council, this is what we’re asking y= ou to do and if you can do it, then we can move on. Is that possible to let people understand in plain and simple terms what is needed of them because if you = did that, and I think that was the benefit of Dr. Erardi, because he put out th= ere and said if you do this, then you get this. There wasn’t all this inter-fighting and then innuendos in the newspaper. It was pretty simple it was clear,= we understood what was going on. So maybe it’s not just the PTO making phone calls, phone calls, phone ca= lls, maybe it’s the people who are running the Town standing up and saying= to its citizens, you do this, you get that, plain and simple. Just think about it.
Robert Porter,
=
; Chairman,
Public Buildings Committee
Mr. Porter: I’m speaking as a taxpayer tonight. A couple of question= s for the Council. If the budget fa= ils, do the projects move forward?
Mr. Mancini: We haven’t voted on it.
Mr. Porter: You haven’t voted on it?
Mr. Mancini: We haven’t talked about it.<=
/p>
Mr. Porter: You haven’t talked about it.=
You haven’t talked about it.=
If the budget passes, do any of the
schools move forward? Any? Mr. Mancini: I don’t know. Ms. Meczkowski: That’s what you just said.
Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 18 Mr. Mancini: It’s still under a moratorium
until the 6th. =
; Mr.
Porter: After the budget,
possibly. You have a member o=
f the
Buildings Committee who sits on this Council. Has anybody ever asked Dave Demirs
what’s going on? Does h=
e ever
give a report? Has he ever be=
en
asked to give a report? Dave,=
the
question is to you. Mr. Demirs: No one has asked me to comment on =
it. Mr. Porter: Never. That’s not the way to run th=
is
Council. Mr. Mancini: I agree. Mr. Demers: No one has ever asked me to commen=
t (inaudible). Kevin Killeen, Mr. Killeen: 3 members of the Council abstained =
when
the motion passed for the moratorium and if these 3 gentleman might be
gentleman enough tonight to make a motion to lift the moratorium as Trish K=
ropp
has said, if you would entertain changing the agenda, amending the agenda to
reflect that. Also I’m =
a little
miffed when I hear some of the conversations taking place, especially about
holding the projects hostage.
That’s totally inappropriate, totally, totally inappropriate.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The (inaudible) where that came fr=
om,
let’s get some answers from that one. Moratorium, no one wants to take c=
redit
for that. I want to hear some=
answers. That’s what you guys are sup=
posed
to be doing, answers, right? =
Is
that true? Answers? I mean come on, this is your respo=
nsibility. People come to the Board of Educat=
ion,
we get an answer, okay, it’s all about assessments. Well in my assessment, the Town Co=
uncil
has performed very poorly, and they’re about to cost this Town so much
money that we’ll never be able to do the schools, because we’re
going to get less and less reimbursement by the State government and the
schools will keep getting worse and costs will keep going up, and I do have=
bad
feelings for people who are in a tough position, we need to look at that to=
o,
as a Council and as a Town, but we can’t do it by hiding our heads in=
the
sand like we did for 30, 40 years and expect costs to go down. There was a guy who got ridden off=
the
Council because he was going to make all of these changes, and vote down
budgets, he voted for every bit of spending that came down the pike, heR=
17;s
not here. But what we’re
asking for is not to have to reprove and reaffirm, that was done once throu=
gh
one referendum. Reaffirm? What’s that about? You guys better do what you’=
ve
been entrusted to do for this Town, start running if fiscally responsibly or
we’ll be paying for it for another 20 years and we won’t have
anything to bear for it. (Tape
#1, Side B ended- may have missed some.) Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 19 Suzanne Gadoci, Ms. Gadoci: I moved here 8 years ago. I just want to (inaudible) morator=
ium
(inaudible). Why is there nev=
er one
issued on a construction or a new building? Because you’re infiltrating =
the
schools with more students, more roads to pave, more plowing , more street
sweeping. Could we maybe do t=
hat to
offset the costs of the other? Mr. Primini: I don’t understand your ques=
tion. =
; Ms.
Gadoci: If you place a
moratorium on new construction, you’re not letting more children in.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Primini: That’s a Planning and Zoning
issue. I know that’s be=
en
talked about in years past. Ms. Gadoci: I know that’s taboo in Mr. Marotta: This goes way back to when we had =
the
first meeting in the Swift auditorium, and I agreed at that time that I was=
not
in favor of cutting that budget at all.&nb=
sp;
I wanted to present what was originally presented to us. But let’s not go there,
let’s not look at that, it got cut.&=
nbsp;
That budget was put forth in front of the Town and it failed, so I
understand where everyone is coming from and my wife is pregnant, we have a
little baby coming along soon, so I feel what everyone is talking about her=
e,
it’s tough, it’s not easy out there, I agree, but I’m wil=
ling
to pay the money to have these schools done. But I’m only one person. The people of the Town have to vot=
e yes
in order for these budget to pass. Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Mr. Marotta: Let me just finish here. So and then another budget was put
forth; it failed again. The
moratorium, I understand the whole aspect about the costs are going to go
up. The analogy is your home.=
If you know in your home you need a=
roof,
a septic, a well, siding, and you don’t have the money to do everythi=
ng
all at once, what do you do? =
You
phase things. We are in a very
tough time right now and we have to look at alternatives. Not to say that, I voted yes on bo=
th of
the other budgets, so I understand we’re the fiscal authority, but we=
do
not set the budgets here, the people do.&n=
bsp;
So what they vote (inaudible) and you know I would like to see the f=
irst
budget pass, so I feel for you all but really it comes down to the people.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 2 to 1, that’s not slim pick=
ings. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 20 Mr. Mancini: Somebody said that if anybody said=
a
certain thing they should own up to it and say it, and I will do something
probably that is politically crazy to do, but I’ll be the one and
I’ll tell everybody that I said, back in March, Rich Mazzamaro on the
Sunday before St. Patrick’s night, I said Rich, we have a serious pro=
blem
in town with the taxes coming up, cause I’m on the Budget Committee
also. I said what we probably
should have done in this town, instead of doing the 3 projects all at once,=
we
probably should have phased them in gradually so it would be more feasible,
more fiscally responsible. Th=
e night
that we voted for the school projects, and I voted for them, I talked to To=
m Lambert,
Rich, Dr. Erardi, we went and had a drink together afterwards to celebrate =
the
3 school project being passed. I
said now guys, it’s up to you guys to help us to pay for it. Okay. If you want to talk about everythi=
ng,
let’s talk about how things are done and all that. Like I said I’ll own up, I o=
wned
up to it, I said we need help from you guys to pay for this. They said what do you mean. I said somebody has to help us inc=
rease
the tax base in town. We have=
a big
problem in this town, the tax base is not going up. We lost a lot of, not lost money, =
but
our tax base didn’t increase this past year like it did the year befo=
re
and the year before. Mr. Bernier: (Inaudible.) Mr. Mancini: That’s right, and how much d=
id it
go up the year before, Frank, this year it only went up $300,000. What did it go up the year before?=
Mr. Nardelli: About $875,000. Mr. Mancini: Yea, so I mean you’re up a h=
alf
million dollars there, our interest earnings on investments didn’t go=
up,
so what I'm trying to say is we have to get off our butts, in plain English,
increase this tax base. There=
are
120 acres of land on Route 262 and Route 8 that could be developed. Now Tom, I asked you to help us, R=
ich I
asked you, I asked Dr. Erardi, I never saw anything in the paper from anybo=
dy
to say it’s time for us to start supporting, well Tom you did mention=
it
once in the Town Times, I’m sorry, but we have to increase our tax ba=
se,
because if we increase our tax base, you pull in another $1,250,000 from th=
at
area alone, you can do a lot with $1,250,000. We were anticipating Heritage Wood=
s to
take off, that’s the development over on Bunker Hill, across from
Panalaitis, 352 units of 55 and older housing, that was supposed to bring in
another $1,000,000, that construct ion, all that’s going on there is =
the
water line right now because of the economy so there is all money that was
supposed to come in that’s not coming in so that’s why we’=
;re
in the predicament we’re in now, and then you get people like Sandra
Greenwood who get up and say guys I can’t really afford this type of =
an
increase. That’s why, a=
gain
I’ll own up, I said I cannot support a 13.6% tax increase that night,=
the
first budget meeting with the Board of Education. It’s too unreasonable to ask
anybody to pay 13.6%, that’s my philosophy. I’m sorry. Believe me, I’ll do it for th=
e kids
too. I voted for the schools,=
but I can’t vote for a 13.6% =
tax
increase for anybody, so I’ll say it. I owned up to it . I recommended t=
o do
phasing in. Whoever wants to =
say
moratorium they can take the hit on that if they’re here. That’s it. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 21 Rich Mazzamaro, Mr. Mazzamaro: Carl, you must have missed my artic=
le
Thursday in the paper by the way about the development. I am wholeheartedly in favor of
development. Mr. Mancini: No, I didn’t see it. Mr. Mazzamaro: I just want to talk a little bit a=
bout
phasing. Again, the Board of
Education, this idea came up 2 years, I’ve been living this for 2 yea=
rs
myself. Phasing has come up, =
the Board
of Education, =
; Mr.
Rinaldi: A little earlier
Theresa mentioned something about the paper and how convoluted it was. Well I read the papers and I’=
m on
this Council and I read the articles and I say I don’t think I was at
that meeting. How long is this
meeting tonight? You’ll=
get a
paragraph and that’s it. So
it’s hard to tell what really went on. I have some concerns about the
moratorium and I’ll give them to you quickly. #1, the night that we voted on the=
moratorium the bids were not open =
yet,
so we didn’t know if the bids were on target, over, under, we had no
clue. The other thing I’=
;m
concerned about is that if put a moratorium, how much more is it going to c=
ost
us. You know if you get a bid=
of
$6,000,000 and you put it off a couple of months, the cost of the projects =
goes
up $1,000,000, that’s the way it is. Either side has their arguments, bu=
t the
bottom line is those are the concerns that concern me. I’m not even going to get in=
to who
voted against it, and who didn’t, but those are some serious issues, =
not
that they weren’t addressed, they couldn’t be addressed at that
time so I thought that any responsible person would need that information in
front of them to make an educated decision (inaudible). That’s all, next case. =
; Mr.
Bernier: This is for Ther=
esa
and for everybody, I think I owe all of you an apology because I really tho=
ught
that this message was getting out.
I am telling you every time I am in front of the press that has been=
my
message, I thought it was getting out and I apologize, it’s just that
simple. It’s not holdin=
g you
hostage, it’s just a reassurance that the people have not had a chang=
e of
heart because of the economic, that is a national crisis with the fuel. I mean locally the permits are dow=
n, we
only went up $300,000, it’s very, very bad time and we just need to m=
ake
sure we have to pay for this, and as Scott has said, we don’t set the
budget, it’s the people. I
personally apologize if that message hasn’t gotten out because
that’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since this has happened
(inaudible). Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 22 Mr. Mancini: Can we ask Frank and Chuck to let t=
he
people know how much this project is going to cost us if we go through with=
it,
with the economy the way it its, how much of an increase next year and the =
year
after in order to pay for this project?&nb=
sp;
How much of an increase over the next 2 years, plus this year? We’re not talking just the
increase this year, multiplied and compounded next year and the year after,
that’s why we’re so concerned. Ms. Meczkowski: (Inaudible.) Mr. Mancini: Yes. Mr. Frigon: The cash flow projections have not
changed since the inception of the project. We presently borrowed $14,100,000.=
The next borrowing would be $16,00=
0,000
which would represent about $1,200,000, $1,300,000 additional tax revenue r=
equired
next year. And then the follo=
wing
year we would have to, it was projected that we borrow another $10,000,000
which represents about another $800,000 a year added to what we presently p=
ay. When I say that I say they haven=
217;t
been adjusted yet because there are some issues with Polk School and I
don’t know when that is going to move forward, I don’t know if =
that
is going to be readjusted downwards and the $16,000,000 next year will be l=
ess,
will be the same, I don’t know yet. The bids are presently being
evaluated. There has not been=
a
recommendation to move forward yet, so we don’t have the accurate num=
bers
any better today than we had, but we are expecting those within the next few
days. Mr. Bernier: Chuck, that’s a ¾ of =
a mill
increase for next year, and ½ mill for the following year, based on
those numbers. Mr. Frigon: Based on today’s mill rate,
that’s correct. Mr. Bernier: So we’re talking another 1-1=
/4
mills (inaudible) on top of what we already owe. Mr. Mancini: That equates to approximately 5% tax
increase just for that alone, right? Mr. Frigon: Yea (inaudible). Mr. Mancini: About 5.5 whatever, yea, plus this=
year,
so it’s not just . . .<=
/p>
Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 23 Mr. Marotta: I also wanted to say you know we m=
eet
every 2 weeks to talk about stuff, it’s not like we’re not show=
ing
up and we’re really working hard on this, I also apologize too. We’ve all been talking about
this. As for the moratorium, I
voted for the moratorium and I’ll tell you why. When you have sort of a crisis bre=
wing,
2 budgets that failed 2:1, not just minor failures but pretty good sized
failures, and the only thing left to dip into if this budget, if this next
budget fails, we’re going to have to cut money probably from the 3 sc=
hool
project and then it’s going to look even worse. The reason for the moratorium is t=
hat
when you see a crisis brewing and when you see some frivolous situations wh=
at
do you do? You don’t in=
cur
more costs. Someone had menti=
oned
using the word beyond your means. We
are the fiscal authority here, so we don’t want to put our town beyond
our means so that’s why we put a moratorium so that we don’t in=
cur
more costs and bond more money so that we go beyond our means, so it’=
s a
60 day moratorium and it could be lifted at any point in time so it’s=
not
causing (inaudible). That is =
the
reason for the moratorium. Mr. Fusco: If you think we’re having tr=
ouble
here tonight, if this next referendum fails, this is going to seem like a p=
arty
and I’ve said that before. Trish Kropp, Ms. Kropp: There are a lot of legalities here =
that
aren’t being addressed. We
set a referendum for the machine, the voters voted on a question with a dol=
lar
amount, that the State has greed to reimburse us on. I don’t think it’s leg=
al to
phase in or cut the project. =
It is
what it is. We either go with=
it or
you can’t go with it.
It’s that simple. I
don’t think you can Mickey Mouse around with the funding. Now the other thing is, most of yo=
u have
already addressed the issue that we’re in some really bad times, so we
should be able to get some really good prices from all of these people that
aren’t working, cause they’re not building houses, they’re
not building condos, so you’ve got the concrete people and the sheet
rockers and the framers . . . . =
; Mr.
Demirs: All Union people.=
=
; Ms.
Kropp: I know that. =
; Mr.
Demirs: The =
; Ms.
Kropp: Frank, am I correc=
t in
saying that when the referendum passed and it went to the State that is the=
way
it is, we can’t debase it, we can’t make cuts (inaudible) proje=
cts? Mr. Nardelli: I don’t know the answer to th=
at
question, we’d have to check with the State of =
; Ms.
Kropp: That may be someth=
ing we
should look into then for that August 6th meeting because I think
it’s like being a little bit pregnant, you either are or you
aren’t. Mr. Marotta: You are absolutely right, we can&#=
8217;t
say no, we can’t say yes, so we didn’t do either one; we postpo=
ned
and that we can do. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 24 =
; Ms.
Kropp: You have $6,000,00=
0 to
pay the tab that you (inaudible) down. Ms. Meczkowski: Do you understand why the budget
didn’t pass? Do you rea=
lly understand
why it didn’t pass? We =
have
no one at the helm. We’=
re riding
around on a ship without a captain.
There’s no one telling the parents exactly the way it is. 9 out of 10 of my friends believed=
that
they already voted for this. =
Am I
wrong? Audience: No. =
; Ms.
Meczkowski: They don̵=
7;t
know, they don’t understand, I tell them to come to a meeting. I’m not coming to a meeting,=
you
sit there for 4 hours, you listen to people fight, and I’m not
going. And that’s the g=
eneral
feeling. It’s apathy,
that’s what has happened.
It’s just a general blanket of apathy that landed on our town =
because
we have no one at the helm and it will keep going until someone, preferably=
one
of you who are in a position of authority with the microphones with the nice
big leather chairs, decide to stand up and say okay people of Watertown, th=
is
is what we need you to do, you may have thought you passed it once before, =
you
didn’t, this is different, it’s not the same thing, we need to =
keep
going, and keep saying it over and over until the budget passes if you real=
ly
do want the budget to pass, which I’m thinking, hoping that you do. =
; Mr.
Demirs: The voters voted =
and
they approved the school project. Ms. Meczkowski: They did. Mr. Demirs: But now they don’t approve t=
he
money, that’s the problem. Ms. Meczkowski: I don’t believe that they
understand that, that’s what’s going on. Many
people talking at once. Mr. Demirs: The budget was voted down twice and=
it
was because . . . . Ms. Meczkowski: It’s not because they don=
217;t
want it, it’s because people don’t know what’s happening.=
Mr. Demirs: Obviously they don’t want to=
pay
for it because we seen . . . =
. Audience: No. Ms. Meczkowski: No, if that’s what you belie=
ve
then you’re not living in the same town that I live in. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 25 Mr. Demirs: I’m not saying I don’t
believe, I'm just saying they voted for the projects, but then when it comes
time to pay for it, they don’t want to pay for it. Ms. Meczkowski: That’s not true, they don=
217;t
believe that they are commingled, that all the projects are
interdependent. People do not
understand that, they don’t. <=
/span>Unless
you force them to come to these meetings so they can sit hear and listen, if
the message that you’re getting is that people are voting it down bec=
ause
they don’t want to do it, then you’re getting the wrong message,
just like we’re getting the wrong information. Mr. Demirs: (Inaudible) voting down the budget=
is if
we don’t have the budget we can’t pay for it. Ms. Meczkowski: I understand what you are saying .=
. . .
without them voting yes obviously your hands are tied, you can’t move
forward, I just want to make sure the people in a position of authority, yo=
u,
understand why it’s being voted down. I mean you and congratulations on =
your
new baby, compared it to if you were building a house and you have problems,
you make a decision, but that’s when everyone in the house knows
what’s going on. That&#=
8217;s
when you sit down with your spouse and you look at your list of your ins and
outs and you understand, but you can’t compare that to this, people i=
n this
Town have no idea what’s happening, they can’t make decisions w=
hen
they don’t know what’s going on, they don’t know whatR=
17;s
going on because there’s no one at the helm, so if someone decides to
step up, that woman that was just up here, you could be our mayor. All I have to say is this is
what’s happening and you’re right about the blurb in the Town
Times. How can parents unders=
tand
(inaudible) and the parents right now have the tunnel vision of where is my
child going to school, where is my child going to school. They’re not thinking okay we=
ll
they need this much money to cover this, they are frantic. Someone please step up and explain=
to
the town and you will see the turnout for your budget. Yes, they are still confused. Steve LaBella, =
; Mr.
LaBella: I’m beyond
confused. I’ve heard a =
few
things. The most recent comme=
nt was
that you guys don’t have the ability to say yes or new to move forward
with this project but you can put it on hold, is that true? Or you can’t say no? Mr. Primini: I don’t understand your quest=
ion. Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Mr. Marotta: In other words, we’re the fis=
cal
authority . . . . Mr. Labella: We asked a legal question, can you =
guys
legally stop this, it’s been voted on? You’re telling me you did al=
l this
but you don’t know whether you can actually do it. Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 26 Mr. Bernier: I, for one, am hoping it doesn̵=
7;t
get to that. Mr. Nardelli: When we spoke with our bonding atto=
rneys,
they said to stop the project totally you’d have to have another refe=
rendum
vote just to stop it totally, just to stop it right in its tracks totally.<=
/p>
Mr. LaBella: So it’s been voted, it has t=
o move
forward or we have to have another referendum. So the town can vote to stop it, b=
ut you
guys can’t totally, that’s accurate? Mr. Frigon: Yes. Mr. LaBella: That’s completely different =
than
what I was hearing all night long.
So you guys are trying to decide whether to move forward, you then m=
ade
a comment that after the next vote you’re going to have to decide whe=
ther
you’re going to cut this or not.&nbs=
p;
You can’t, you just told us you can’t do that. Mr. Marotta: If there’s no money to fund =
these
projects, how do we . . . . Mr. LaBella: You bond it. Mr. Marotta:: Yea but . . . . Mr. LaBella: Over time, we’ve already vot=
ed to
get the bonding. Mr. Marotta: I’m not an attorney, but I c=
an
just tell you what I understand.
What the town voted on about a year and half ago or 2 years ago was =
a concept. Sounds like a good concept, 3 scho=
ol
project, great, and we voted yes, we want to do it. Now comes time to fund those proje=
cts,
to actually allocate money to see those projects through to fruition. My understanding is that if the to=
wn
doesn’t vote appropriately to be able to fund those projects, those
projects don’t happen. =
Now I
don’t know if they just stop, or it’s just a portion that is st=
ill
“moving the project along”, I don’t know if there is a
percentage, you know you take a 3 school project say $85,000,000 and
you’re doing $500,000 of it, if that’s considered stopping the
project. Probably theoretical=
ly no,
it’s still going forward. The
legality of it I don’t know, that’s what I know. Mr. LaBella: The other thing I want to clarify =
is you
said the only way to let this project go forward is to vote yes on the next
budget. Is that . . . . Mr. Primini: Well that will make it easier . . =
. . Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Mr. Bernier: That was not my intent (inaudible)=
. Mr. LaBella:: Ray said that. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 27 Mr. Primini: I’m just saying I want to
reiterate what I said before is when we cut the budget right now, both side=
s,
the Town and the Board of Education are at a zero mill increase, so we̵=
7;re
hoping that as we brought things down, we cut up to 13% originally? Mr. Mancini: 15.(inaudible). Mr. Primini: And we’re down to 7.2 (inaud=
ible)
and we’ve cut, cut, cut services.&nb=
sp;
Trust me if you talk to anybody on the Budget Committee it’s e=
asy
when people vote yes on the budget, there’s no question about it, but
what we ‘re looking at it, you can talk to anybody on the Budget Comm=
ittee
or even the Town Manager, we’ve been looking at cuts over and over and
these budgets, and Carl can tell you after 3 years on the Budget Committee,=
you
look over these budgets over and over you start to see different things and
it’s just amazing how much we’re cutting down. Right now we’re looking at
asphalt, $70 a ton, we cut that to almost on road repair jobs. We were at $50 a ton last year, th=
e year
before it was about $35 a ton so from the Town’s side, what I’m
seeing as Chairman of the Public Works Committee, as we defer all these, I =
see
it in the road projects, see it in the building projects, when we defer the=
se projects,
yes, it’s costing us a lot more in the long run, there’s no que=
stion
about it. Dave told you, he&#=
8217;s
a plumber, these products, they don’t go down in price, its prevailing
wage, it’s not like you can bid them out and somebody is going to com=
e in
(inaudible) that just doesn’t work, and we are, we’re definitely
looking at these projects going up in price, I have no question about
that. I don’t think
there’s any one person here, if the budget is voted yes, would be more
than (inaudible) we don’t know, I think anybody here, make yourself, =
what
you did tonight loud and clear, we’re hearing a lot from the opposite
side, trust me. Mr. LaBella: So what I’m trying to clarif=
y, let
me continue with my question if I could, sorry to interrupt, so what you sa=
id
is if we move forward with the project it’s going to mean how many mi=
lls
next year and the year after? Mr. Mancini: 1 and ¼ anyway. Mr. Bernier: Right, ¾ then ½. Mr. LaBella: And what you just said is if we pa=
ss the
next budget it will be a 0 mill increase. Mr. Primini: No.
It’s been a zero mill increase on both the Town and Board of
Ed’s budgets. Mr. Bernier: At this point the budget that is in
front of the public has no increase in mill with the exception of the cost,=
the
7.2% is the cost of this project at this point plus what is left for the Sw=
ift project.
7.2% increase in the budget i=
s only
to fund this project if this project were to go forward. At this point what we would most l=
ikely
end up doing is if this project went forward the way it is now, what we wou=
ld
most likely end up doing is on the Town’s side could equally if not m=
ore
importantly on the Education’s side end up with reductions in staff,
larger classrooms, we would end up with monuments to education with nobody
(inaudible). Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 28 Mr. LaBella: With the next budget or if we had =
to
decrease it? Mr. Bernier: No. if we had to decrease it, if t=
his
budget does not go through, and we went through with the projects (inaudibl=
e)
we would end up to cuts to Education and the Town which would further reduc=
e .
. . . Ms. Meczkowski: Like what? (Inaudible.) Mr. Bernier: I don’t know. I’m being told by the Board =
of Education
any further cuts will be staffing.
They will have to answer that for us. That was the statement that was ma=
de,
and I know that was the statement that was made by the Town Manager. We’re looking at staff cuts.=
Ms. Meczkowski: (Inaudible.) Mr. Bernier: If I could (inaudible) out I would=
. Losing teachers for sure, I can=
217;t
guarantee that, but that would be a very likely possibility. My understanding and Rich, Tom, I =
guess
that we’ve already cut an administrator at Heminway, is that true? Mr. Mazzamaro: Yes. Mr. Bernier: On the Education side there has al=
ready
been some cuts. It’s no=
t an
actual cut in staffing, but it’s a cut of positions. Now again Rich or Tom I have to de=
fer,
this position that as cut, it’s not cutting the staff, it’s a c=
ut
in the position? Mr. Lambert: It has, yes. You’re talking about $489,00=
0 cut? Mr. Bernier: Yes, the current, the cut you guys=
just
made for this upcoming budget. Mr. Lambert: Well by category on the $489,000 c=
ut, it
went . . . . (inaudible) is affected by a budget reduction of $489,000: ·
.5 English Teacher at ·
.3 Art Teacher System-Wide ·
2 Cafeteria Monitors, one each at ·
1 Grade 5 Administrator at $93,000 ·
1 Nurse at $24,000 ·
1.6 Substitute Secretary ·
1.67 Special Education Paraprofessional ·
1 Bus and
that’s pretty much it. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 29 Now
one thing I do want to say while this young lady right here brought some pr=
etty
hard hitting information, a lot of these people did not understand where we=
are
and what we were doing. That&=
#8217;s
a lot of fault on the Town Council and probably the Board of Education. We should have been out there and
addressed the issues more than what we had. Unfortunately we’ve been thr=
ough a
lot with the loss of Dr. Erardi, he was the leading force in getting the wo=
rd
out, but (Tape #2, Side A ended – may have missed some). Out of the 169 towns in the State =
of Amy Lindstrom, Ms. Lindstrom: I’m confused as well. My question is I mean it seems
we’re going back and forth and there is finger pointing at the Town
Council and the Board of Education and the parents and people aren’t
getting out and voting. We ar=
e the
Town of I
understand fixed incomes, I don’t think anybody’s not really
pinching pennies, you know there’s not one single person that can sit
here and say that they’re not worried about groceries and gas and eve=
rything
else. It’s not going to=
get
any better. My question is why
isn’t this Town, the Town Council, the Board of Ed, the parents, where
are we that we can’t all get together, get the budget passed if
that’s what it needs to do? I
agree with (inaudible) no one knows what’s going on, there’s be=
en
nothing, no one stood up and said this is the situation that the town is
in. No one has. I don’t know. Yea, we voted 2 years ago because =
the
State was going to give us $.56 on the $1.00. Yea, it sounded great. But in the meantime we don’t=
know,
we have no idea that we needed the money, where it’s coming from, whe=
re
it’s not. I understand =
there
were a whole bunch of raises that went on.=
Times aren’t that tough if we can pass that, I’m sorry, =
you know
you’re looking at kids, you have a baby on the way. God Bless you 5 years from now whe=
n your
child starts Kindergarten because let me tell you, dress him warm. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 30 It’s
sad, it’s absolutely sad. And
exactly, you know, how many people are taking their kids out. Would you send your kid to Steve LaBella, Mr. LaBella: So I just want to, I guess I’=
ll be
a little bit repetitive but (inaudible) but it seems to me now we kind of
boiled this all down, it could have been a 15 minute meeting here tonight s=
o we
just need to vote, right, we need to get the next budget passed, so
that’s clear to everybody. It
seems to me, I don’t know, I’m not into this (inaudible) I̵=
7;m
not in politics, I don’t know how much you guys sit and wait for the
budget to come to you, and when you got it , you massage it, move it around=
and
figure out what you need to do, or how much you guys stand up and say we wa=
nt
to run this town differently, so parents, citizens, residents of this town =
get
out, vote, these are the things that can make it happen, clearly that
hasn’t happened, clearly.
Right? There was so mu=
ch
confusion in this room and if you guys were out talking about that telling
residents like me and most of the other people that I’m hearing in th=
is
room, that these are the things that need to be done, this whole 2 to 1 that
you guys keep referencing, just acting like that’s what came because =
you
had no choice and being helpless, you’re not helpless, right? You voted to the Town Council to s=
tand
up to make this town a better town, right, help us improve it, be more voca=
l,
talk about what needs to get done, and get the word out, don’t just s=
it
back and wait for it to come to you.
I don’t think that’s the function that you’re tryi=
ng
to serve. Mr. Primini: I just want to thank you for your
patience. It’s my first=
time
Chairing a meeting here, I got a good education tonight and I thought by the
Agenda this was going to be a short meeting, but I assure you there are 3
reporters here, I don’t think it’s going to be a paragraph
tomorrow, and Theresa, I will accept your challenge, I will write a letter =
to
the editor and I challenge anybody else here, the other members of the Town
Council, I know this was a little lengthy tonight but I think it was good, =
we
heard a lot tonight, we heard both sides, we have to understand that, where
everybody is coming from and that’s what we do, we’re out liste=
ning
all the time, it’s not like we wait for this to come to us, we are ou=
t in
the town all the time. Believ=
e me,
I hear from 100 guys down at the firehouse all the time, I get it from their
families and everything but I do want to thank everyone for coming tonight =
and
I assure you we do take all of this in, we listen to you. Anybody else for public participat=
ion? Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 31 Yank Rowan, 52 Honey Hill, Mr. Rowan: I’ve never been to one of the=
se
meetings before, I thought of two things that I just couldn’t not
say. One is the whole thing l=
eaves
me feeling like I’ll tell you what I’m going to go buy that Cad=
illac
Escalade and then I’m going to go to work in a month or two or a year=
and
tell my boss that now you got to give me a raise so I can pay for it. I think some of us should be better
educated about what we’re saying yes or no to a year and a half ago w=
hen
we voted because nobody said to me that if you vote yes you’re going =
to
have to get this budget passed later to pay for it. Ms. Meczkowski Right. Mr. Rowan: Ignorance on my part, I didn’=
t know
any better, but I assumed that when I said yes that I was backing this deci=
sion
on the part of the Town to do this and I missed the boat, I had no idea that
there was a “I got to get a raise later to pay for it”. The other thing is something that I
think we as a Town have to overcome, just as I think the City of Waterbury =
did,
those people lived in Waterbury for a long, long time without any raise in
their assessment, and then when they finally had a revaluation and everybody
went crazy about how much their taxes went up, there are still people build=
ing
houses in Waterbury, there are still people living in Waterbury and moving =
into
Waterbury all the time because they’ve accepted the fact that it is g=
oing
to cost them that much more to live in Waterbury, and I think the Town of
Watertown can do the same thing, we just have to overcome, and I feel very
sorry for the people on fixed incomes, living on fixed incomes, as it’=
;s
in my future, but so is the Town and we’ve got to learn that there are
certain things that we’ve got to bite the bullet and pay for if we wa=
nt
these other things. The peopl=
e of Robert Porter, Mr. Porter: Can I ask the Council to make an ag=
enda
item a report on the liaison from the Public Buildings Committee as an on-g=
oing
future thing? Mr. Primini We can do that. I don’t want to speak for the
Chairman, but I don’t see a problem. Mr. Porter: I hope so. Thank you. Mr. Primini: I know you said this was your first
meeting, you came to and I want to thank you for coming, but typically at T=
own
Council meetings other than the reporters and the department heads it’=
;s
just the Greenwoods here, and they’ve been here faithfully almost eve=
ry
week, and I tell you I really encourage anybody, the people here come to th=
ese
meetings, you are heard, trust me, you are heard by (inaudible) I know you =
hear
us as Democrats and Republicans but I can assure you we are all friends up =
here
at the same time too, but we do listen to you and I invite you to come
again. Thank you. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 32 Rob Frohock, Mr. Frohock: When is the (inaudible)? Mr. Primini August 5th, 6:00 a.m. to=
8:00
p.m. You’re not a repor=
ter,
are you? Mr. Frohock: My wife didn’t come so I had =
to (inaudible). So I think we waffled a couple of =
times
but I think what I heard is that if the budget passes, the projects go
through? Yes, or no? Mr. Mancini: Not guaranteed. Mr. Frohock: Not guaranteed. (Inaudible.) Mr. Primini: Scott said most likely. Mr. Bernier: It would then come down to a vote (=
inaudible). Mr. Primini: The reason why I’m saying tha=
t, we
have our meeting scheduled again for August 6th and that’s why we
scheduled it right away after the next referendum so hopefully I’m not
trying to scare (inaudible) I can’t answer what the vote is going to =
be
on (inaudible). Mr. Frohock: If the budget fails, we lose teache=
rs and
the project will be on hold and will probably be 7% to 10% more to do every
time we push it out (inaudible)? Mr. Primini: I really can’t answer this un=
til
August 6th, that’s why we scheduled it right away like
this. I mean obviously weR=
17;re
going to have to sit down with the Board of Ed and the Buildings Committee =
with
some recommendations. Yea, ma=
ybe we
made some mistakes with this, I’m not going to quarrel with that or w=
hatever,
but I want to make it clear to everybody here that’s here and listeni=
ng
tonight, but I really can’t answer those questions until August 6 Mr. Frohock: So does everyone on the Council, wo=
uld
you recommend to the voters that we pass this budget? Mr. Marotta: Yes. Mr. Frohock: Yes.
I heard one. Two. Mr. Primini: I cannot tell anybody how to vote.<=
/p>
Many
people talking at once (inaudible). Mr. Frohock: Recommend, I like recommend. I mean you know when you invest in=
like
a mutual fund or something and you get all those proxy voting things and th=
e Board
says we recommend you vote eyes. I
mean . . . . Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 33 Mr. Primini: I would say I mean I want to listen=
to
what people are saying like this. I
can’t get to that, I really can’t. I would recommend people to vote i=
s what
I can tell you. I wouldn̵=
7;t
want to tell anybody how to vote, that’s where I’m coming from.=
Mr. Frohock: Well I encourage again, you guys ha=
ve to
put it in the paper, you have to put it in very plain language or no one is
going to do it. You keep sayi=
ng 2
to 1 , 2 to 1, 2 to 1, only 25% of the people voted so that means 18% of the
people out there said no. Har=
dily a
mandate about let’s not do it, okay, so until we get a real mandate, =
(inaudible)
understand what we’re talking about. Mr. Killeen: The gentleman’s question, I t=
hink
it was a valid just had to be posed correctly is the Council in favor of its
budget that it prepared to go forward?&nbs=
p;
Is the Council in favor of its own budget? Mr. Rinaldi: Obviously, it passed. Mr. Primini: Once again I’d like to thank
everybody. &=
nbsp; Mr.
Primini, Vice Chairman, Closed Public Participation at 9:22 p.m. &=
nbsp; Mr.
Primini, Vice Chairman, Called a 5 Minute Recess at 9:23 p.m. &=
nbsp; Mr.
Primini, Vice Chairman, Reconvened the Regular Meeting at 9:38 p.m. 5.&nb=
sp; Minutes &=
nbsp; A. =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr. =
Bernier,
sec. Mr. Marotta) to Approve the Special Town Meeting Minutes dated June 16,
2008 as presented. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &=
nbsp; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY &=
nbsp; B. =
Public
Hearing Minutes – June 16, 2008 =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr. =
Bernier,
sec. Mr. Marotta) to Approve the Public Hearing Minutes dated June 16, 2008=
as
presented. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 34 &=
nbsp; C. Regular
Meeting Minutes – June 16, 2008 =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr. =
Bernier,
sec. Mr. Marotta) to Approve the Regular Meeting Minutes dated June 16, 200=
8 as
presented. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY &=
nbsp; D. =
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr. =
Bernier,
sec. Mr. Marotta) to Approve the Special Town Meeting Minutes dated June 24,
2008 as presented. =
; &n=
bsp; Discussion: None<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 6.&nb=
sp; Chairman’s
Report A.&n=
bsp; =
;
Correspondence 1. Letter from
Superintendent of Schools, Re Town
Council representation during Negotiations with Administrators, dated July =
8,
2008. Mr. Primini: I have a letter from the Superinten=
dent
of Schools to the Town Council regarding representation negotiations with
teachers, I want to make a correction on that, it’s not with the
administrators, it’s with the teachers. “To: Chuck Frigo=
n,
Town Manager From: Carol Parmelee-Blancato, Inte=
rim Superintendents Re: Town
Council Meeting Date: July 8, 2008 Please
place the Watertown Board of Education on the agenda for the next Town Coun=
cil
meeting regarding negotiations with the Watertown Education Association
(WEA). I plan to attend the
meeting. Thank
you.” Mr. Frigon: This evening you are going to appoi=
nt 2
individuals. Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 35 Ms. Parmelee-Blancato: Thank you for allowing me to b=
e here
this evening but I am the Interim Superintendent and did bring forward to t=
he
Council that you would be selecting Council members to serve on the
Negotiations Committee, and I realize that you will be determining who they
would be this evening and then come back at another time to have a non-meet=
ing with
the Board to deliberate. Mr. Primini: I know, Carl, you expressed intere=
st. Mr. Mancini: No I didn’t, Elaine asked me=
. Mr. Primini: I expressed interest. We usually have two, one from each
party. Carl has already been
confirmed and so have myself so we’ll be expecting correspondence from
you regarding the meetings. T=
hank
you very much. 7.&nb=
sp; Committee
Reports &=
nbsp; A. Public
Works Subcommittee &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Primini: We met last week and &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: As the Chair has indicated we had a=
long
conversation about the street lights.
As you may or may not be aware, the street light budget for the Town=
of Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 36 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; In
conjunction with this CL&P will be re-lamping, in other words they will=
be
replacing every bulb and every ballast in town next year. That’s another opportunity w=
e have
to adjust particularly the wattages, when you look at the lights there are =
no
real rhyme or reason about why they are where they are, what their wattages
are, so we’ll try to rationalize it and make everything fair and
consistent as far as who gets lights, what they are, and what the illuminat=
ion
levels are, also in keeping with public safety and the recommendation of
CL&P. We’ve already=
met
with the Police Department and I know what their concerns are and we are
addressing them in the street light program. It is my intent prior to any street
lights actually being removed a list of all of the locations will be provid=
ed
to the newspaper and on the Town’s web site so people have the
opportunity to review and comment.
If there are any particular concerns, albeit school routes, bus stops, whether =
or not
(inaudible) that determination and judgment prior to actually removing the
lights. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Marotta: &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: No, CL&P will generate a work o=
rder
for the physical removal of the light, but what will happen is as of the day
they physically receive a letter from the Town asking that a light be remov=
ed,
that’s the day they stop billing us, so it could be several months
actually before they’re removed, depending on what their work schedule
is, but the Town would no longer be responsible for the electrical costs.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Marotta: Will they still be lit? =
; &n=
bsp; Mr.
Cavanaugh: Yes. They’ll still be lit. We have the option of having them
disconnected or removed. If w=
e have
them disconnected, they can remain disconnected up to a year and if
they’re not reconnected at $140 then they’ll come through the
fiscal year (inaudible) the charge is $140. So they’re going to stay on =
until
CL&P physically removes them. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: &=
nbsp; =
; Mr.
Cavanaugh: No, I contacte=
d the
Police Department to date and I’ll be combining a list of all the lig=
hts
and locations to the appropriate parties to be removed. &=
nbsp; =
; Mr.
Mancini: So you’re =
to
going to P & Z at all then? &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: No, I’m sending them a list.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> &=
nbsp; =
; Mr.
Marotta: Regular Meeting July 21, 2008 Page 37 &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: It’s safe to say given t=
he
current budget (inaudible) authorizing this upcoming referendum, approximat=
ely
10% of the lights in Town will be removed. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Demirs: As it stands right now, &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Yes. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Demirs: The current budget proposal? &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: $15,000 has been removed already fr=
om the
budget proposal right now which also does not take into account any increas=
es
in the electrical generation transmission fees which we don’t know ab=
out
which, as you know, they do impose them with 30 days notice and they have d=
one
that in the past. 8.&nb=
sp; Town
Manager’s Reports &=
nbsp; Mr. Frigon: No report this evening. 9.&nb=
sp; New
Business &=
nbsp; A. Consider
Public Works Director’s Request for the Change in Transfer Station Ho=
urs &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; MOTION: (Mr. =
Bernier,
sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to establish the new transfer station hours as
follows: &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; The
transfer station shall be open on the following days only: &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Thursday
– from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Saturday
– from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. <=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &=
nbsp; <=
o:p> <=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; <=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p;
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 38
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: The savings are going to come = in the fact that by State law the MSW, which is deposited up at the containers up = at the landfill, have to be removed within 24 hours, so we call that pulling t= he boxes. Currently we have a ve= hicle and an operator pulling the boxes or bringing them down to CRRA the business day after every time we’re open, so on Tuesdays we’re open, so Wednesdays we’re pulling boxes and dumping that at CRRA. Thursday we’re open, Fridays we’re dumping boxes at CRRA. <= /span>Saturdays we’re open, Monday we’re dumping boxes at CRRA. By only having it open on Thursday= and Saturday, we’re only going to be pulling and dumping boxes on Friday and Monday= so we’re going to be saving the diesel fuel, the wear and tear on the tr= uck, and we’re also going to be freeing up conservatively at least 1 man d= ay per week, we’re not going to save any money on labor because the pers= on who would be pulling the boxes 3 days a week will only be pulling 2, but he’ll be doing another task so it’s a more efficient operation.=
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; The other savings we’re going to have is again it’s a savings of efficiency, is because when you open up in the morning you have to get ther= e a half hour before, get everything set up and clean up afterwards during the = day after the landfill closes at the end of the day so they call that mobilizat= ion and demobilization in construction, well we’re going to be reducing t= he mobilization and demobilization time for the operator from 3 demobils a wee= k to 2 mobils a week so the only real savings we’re going to have that I c= an quantify at this time is going to be the savings on the diesel fuel which is significant, and the savings on the wear and tear on the truck.
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; What is more difficult to quantify is the fact that we’re probably going t= o be receiving less MSW per week than we were before because (inaudible) some pe= ople will, a few people certainly will not be using the transfer station for the= ir MSW for whatever reason. Ther= e will probably be a slight reduction in that, and when you consider the fact that= we lose $2.00 for every $1.00 we take in, as part of the operation and transfer station that will also translate to some savings, but I can’t really quantify. You have to remembe= r, the transfer station is a money losing operation. We would have to triple the rates = we charge to break even.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: It’s money losing only i= n the sense that we save people from dumping in the middle of the street (inaudible). It’s a pub= lic service.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 39
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Yes, it’s a public servi= ce, particularly with regards to the bulk items, the furniture, etc. It’s a public service, every= year at the Public Works Subcommittee we have this debate, we walk this fine lin= e, how much do you charge, how much are you prepared to lose every year, knowi= ng that if you go beyond what the public or the market is willing to bear, you’re going to start seeing the stuff show up over the bank on Echo = Lake Road, they’ll dump over (inaudible).
<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Fusco: You'll lose money in the end b=
ecause
you have to send trucks down to pick up the garbage that’s on
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Yes we could if we start seein= g a significant amount of garbage on the side of the road. That’s why when I took a loo= k at the hours of operations, I’m trying to keep the same number of hours = and by keeping it open late one day and open early one day, we’re still providing an opportunity to provide the same amount of hours but (inaudible) depends how it plays out.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: I’d like you to experime= nt with it (inaudible) Council understand and I’d like you to come back = with a report with this, is this really working or if it isn’t working, because if you have the thing open so many hours, you’re going to get= so many people to come in and dump anyway, you’re still going to have to send your trailer truck to pick up this stuff, to bring it down to the tran= sfer station, so you might have to do it 3 times during the day or 4 times during the long hours rather than once or twice a day with the short hours and more days open. You’re going= to still make as many trips because you’re going to get almost the same amount of garbage.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: No, I beg to differ because ri= ght now, all of the trips I’m bringing full dumpsters because we have this 24 = hour rule. If it’s half full= we still have to bring it and dispose of it.&= nbsp; He spends all day, the operator, the truck driver spends all day Wednesday, all day Friday, and all day Monday pulling the boxes and dropping them off, so I don’t think, based on the conversation we had with the operator out there, I don’t think we’re going to be seeing an overflow in the MSW. The other thing we’ve got going for us is our trash compactor is coming on line= and that will also reduce the volume (Tape #2, Side B ended – may have mi= ssed some). To answer your questio= n, yes, absolutely, if it turns out it doesn’t work then I fully intend = to come back here and say that it doesn’t work, cause you have to rememb= er when we established the hours way back when 8 or 10 years ago they were kin= d of feeling their way, and these hours were set up as an experiment at that tim= e, and it served our needs so we’re trying to see if we can make it more efficient and see what happens.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 40
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: I think it’s a good ques= tion and as Paul can tell you since I’ve been on the Public Works Subcommi= ttee, every year we review this and we try and see what we can do to hopefully br= eak even. Fortunately now we̵= 7;re starting to get $10.00 a ton now for recyclables so that’s an encouragement to get people to recycle.&nb= sp; That brings in a little more revenue and we do look at this every year. One of the things we lo= ok at is we take what Copes has been charging and we don’t want to charge w= hat Copes charges because that would be a disincentive, so as long as I’v= e been on that Committee we do review these and I think (inaudible) this be review= ed again maybe in 6 months.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: We see a lot of stuff on the h= ighways, all over town.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Absolutely, what we do is brin= g it back to the same forum that I brought it to this time, it will be brought b= ack to the Public Works Subcommittee because I report to them monthly as to wha= t happens on all of the operations (inaudible). If I find it’s not working, I’ll be letting them know and make a decision whether or not to recommend other changes back to the Counc= il so yes, I am accountable to the Public Works Subcommittee on a monthly basi= s on the operation up there and that’s (inaudible). They’re not shy about . . . = . . . .
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
&=
nbsp; B. =
Consider
an Appropriation in the amount of $20,000 for the Removal and Replacement of
Antennas and Equipment on the Straits Turnpike Water Tower in connection wi=
th
the Tank Rehabilitation Project; $10,000 shall be appropriated from the Gen=
eral
Fund and $10,000 from the Water Capital Fund
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. = Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to appropriate $20,000 for the removal and replace= ment of antennas and equipment on the Straits Turnpike Water Tower in connection with the tank rehabilitation project; $10,000 shall be appropriated from the General Fund and $10,000 from the Water Capital Fund.
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: Mr. Demirs: Is there money in the budget that w= ill be for the repairing of those tanks? We just added money to remove the antennas.
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: This is indeed added money, th= is is being appropriated from the General Fund, $10,000 and $10,000 from the Water Capital Fund.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 41
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Demirs: It’s not, it doesn’= ;t go with the $1,500,000 or whatever it is?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: No it does not.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Demirs: I thought that was all include= d in that, Chuck?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Rinaldi: So did we.
<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Frigon: What we were all told is all o=
f the
cell phone providers were signing contracts with a contractor to remove, at
their cost, all of the antennas, and to replace those antennas. Much time passed since the time th=
at Mr.
Jodaitis signed those contracts and moved forward. T-Mobile in the end was the only
contractor that came back to us and said that they were unwilling to pay
(inaudible). Their position w=
as
that the tanks were our tanks, they were the Town of
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: So T-Mobile is paying some?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Yea, they’re paying $45,= 000.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: (Inaudible.)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: What effect does this have on = the other people that are taking the towers and paying for theirs? Aren’t they saying to them w= ell why are we paying for it?
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Rinaldi: We hammered that out with Paul Jessell and the answer was with all the other customers that are up there we have an iron clad contract, there’s nothing they can come back to us with. The T-Mobile contract w= as one of the early ones and there were too many loop holes and there was a lot of vagueness in there.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 42
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: Who reviewed the contracts that T-Mobile?
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Many people talking at once (inaudible).
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Rinaldi: It wasn’t as solid as it should have been.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: When is that contract coming u= p?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Rinaldi: I don’t know. Paul Jessell told me they are havi= ng a lot of financial problems at T-Mobile.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: I agree with Carl, when it com= es up again, (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
&= nbsp; C. Consider an Appropriation in the amount of $5,400 from the General Fund, as well as a Bid Waiver for Communication Radios to be purchased and installed from Tate Radio Communications for the Police Department. Upon receipt and installation of t= he radios, all funds will be reimbursed through a grant funded by the Justice = Assistance Grant - Local Law Enforcement
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. = Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to approve an appropriation in the amount of $5,400 from the General Fund, as well as a bid waiver for communication radios to = be purchased and installed from Tate Radio Communications for the Police Department.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: Mr. Frigon: I want to compliment or commend the Police Department for their work on this particular grant. What this allows for the vehicles = that this will be installed, to have direct&nbs= p; communication with the State Police so in case of emergency, any regional emergency, prisoner transfer, (inaudible) transfers, they want to = have direct communication. It̵= 7;s a 100% grant, and we will be reimbursed 100%.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 43
&= nbsp; D. Consider Acceptance of Engagement Letter for Auditing Services to be provided by Blu= m, Shapiro & Company, P.C. and authorize the Town Manager to execute such = Agreement
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to accept an Engagement Letter for auditi= ng services to be provided by Blum, Shapiro & Company, PC and authorize the Town Manager to execute such agreement.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: = ; Mr. Nardelli: The engagement = letter used to be signed by the Town Manager, but now they have this new statement= of auditing standards #114, the auditors communication was both charged with governing and evidently you people are charged with governing with this new= SAS so it’s better if Chuck signs the engagement letter, the Town Council= now is supposed to now authorize him to sign the engagement letter and you̵= 7;ll se a copy of the engagement letter between the Town and the auditing firm is included in there and basically it just spells out all the responsibilities between the Town and the auditors for the audit. This is something new.
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Primini: More of a formality now just changing it?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Nardelli: Changing the authorization, ri= ght, from Chuck to the Council.
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: Frank, when they talk about th= e Town do they talk about the school budget also?
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:4'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Nardelli: That’s correct, the Town= and the Board of Ed that’s right.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 44
&=
nbsp; E. =
Consider
Withdrawal of the Sylvan
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. = Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to withdraw the Sylvan Lake Road Project from the STP-Urban Highway Projects Schedule of Projects to be completed.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: Mr. Frigon: Peter Dorpalen of C.O.G. and I have= been corresponding back and forth regarding the Sylvan Lake Project now for seve= ral months. Most of you on the Town Counc= il will remember that this particular project and this particular application = was both made and in parts funded at least back at least a year ago. The cost for these projects have escalated to the point where the earlier projections were 8 to 10 years bef= ore the Town of Watertown might see the monies released for this particular pro= ject. That estimate is now at a very min= imal of 10, more than likely 13, 14 to 16 years. By releasing our commitment a coup= le of things happen. #1 the Town, t= hrough a federal ordinance, has an obligation should the federal government choose= to exercise it, to pay back 100% of anything that has been spent on this proje= ct after a 10 year time period, so if we begin engineering this particular job= , if we spend federal government funds on this particular project, which we woul= d of course do, after 10 years should the federal government choose, they can ask for 100% reimbursement so we would be liable for all of that.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; To
give you a sense of timing, the Sunnyside Avenue project has been in design=
now
for sometime around, Roy correct me, maybe mid 90’s, later 90’s=
, so
you’re approaching the 10 year mark already on that project and that =
project
is a number of years way.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Now
I had come to you some months ago and I had suggested that we consider the
same, to postpone the project, however at that time the federal government =
was
not willing to allow the Town of
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: I’m a little confused. A few months ago you came to us ab=
out
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Correct.
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 45
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: Not the
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Frigon: I don’t know about the Rivers=
ide Project.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: There were two projects we talked a=
bout
that night, we said we wanted
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Frigon:
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: I think you’re talking about = the STEAP Grant?
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: No.
I remember Elaine Adams wanted, was it
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Sunnyside.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: She wanted Sunnyside instead of
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: No, Sunnyside is still in the works= . That’s going to happen.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: We voted to have this done and not = that.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: No, Sunnyside has always been in the queue, that’s not in danger, at least at this point that project is moving forward.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Cavanaugh: The problem is (inaudible) what hap=
pened
is they went through, as you know construction costs are going through the
roof, they re-evaluated what they were projecting the costs for all of the
projects in the Greater Waterbury region under this program. In some cases Guernseytown Phase II
being one of them, they’re saying now it’s going to cost more t=
han
double what they originally projected.&nbs=
p;
The other problem being the Greater Waterbury region only gets
$2,300,000 per year for the whole program and the problem is they’ve =
got
so many projects in the pipeline right now between
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Mancini: So in other words
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 46
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Frigon: What we are voting on tonight is to
withdraw that project from the region.&nbs=
p;
What we are looking at is FEMA funds which is 75% and we’re
looking at reducing the scope, which we were looking at with this as well to
the lower part of
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: Well we said back then it makes no = sense to put this project off and go with just a shorter version of (inaudible) c= ause it’s going to cost us even more money for the shorter version than if= we did the whole project. You ha= ve to remember that, we went back an d forth on that for a long time.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: I remember and again if the region = were able to absorb this project right now in the 10 year window . . . .
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: It will cost us less money to do the whole project than it . . . .
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Than it would be to go through the = 75% FEMA.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: It’s going to cost us more mo= ney later on to do a lesser project.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Yes.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: That’s not fiscally responsib= le.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: But they’re saying that I can’t fund it, okay, this is a grant program, a regional grant program that they can no longer support (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: Then why do we have to approve it?<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Formality. C.O.G. has already approved it, it’s just a formality thing that this (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: I don’t have to approve it then. I think it’s, we’re getting kicked in the rear end.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: But the liability, well we all are,= but the liability is . . . .
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: We’re going to spend more mon= ey for a lesser project then we have to do at least that amount. Okay I have (inaudible). No one’s fault here.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Frigon: No, I understand your (inaudible).<=
/p>
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 47
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: We don’t have the say so on i= t, C.O.G. votes on who gets the money.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: That’s correct.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Mr. Fusco: And we only have one little vote in
it.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Frigon: Richie, back in 2002 you went to a meeting with me . . . . . that’s correct.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Fusco: C.O.G. has already voted us out.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Mancini: We can vote no just to let them kno= w we don’t agree with them and don’t like what they’re doing a= nd they’re going to do it anyway so why (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Cavanaugh: Carl, what they are doing is they’re not dropping the project, they’re just saying they̵= 7;re not funding it.
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Many people talking at once (inaudible).
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; In Favor: &= nbsp; Mr. Bernier, Mr. Demirs, Mr. Fusco, Mr. Marotta, Mr. Primini, Mr. Rinaldi
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Opposed: = Mr. Mancini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Abstained: None
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION CARRIED (6-1-0)
&=
nbsp; F. =
Consider
a Resolution Authorizing 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:
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 48
2632 Wells
&= nbsp; Attn: Rehgan Bass = &nb= sp; Type R
&= nbsp; 1 Home Campus X2301-02B
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2634 Thomaston Savings Bank<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $1,218.93
&= nbsp; Attn: Claire Brickett = &nb= sp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2638 Wells Fargo Home Mortga= ge 2 &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $14.59
&= nbsp; Attn: Rehgan Bass = &nb= sp; Type R
&= nbsp; 1 Home Campus X2301-02B
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2654 Cilfone, Daniel &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $25.34
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2655 Cilfone, Daniel &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $24.94
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2656 Cilfone, Daniel &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $8.04
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2657 Brown, Richard A. &= Anita M. = ; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $102.34
&= nbsp; 215 Falls Avenue &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
2658 Fenn, Timothy C. & = Lisa A. = ; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $274.91
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Assessed Value Decreased
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 49
2659 Cilfone, Daniel &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $8.00
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Duplicate Pay= ment
2660 Nissan Infiniti LR &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $265.07
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Account Prorated
2661 Sheehan, James R. or Elizabeth M. &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $10.54
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Account Prorated
2662 Brown, Richard A. or An= ita M. &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $96.08
&= nbsp; 215 Falls Avenue &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
2663 Brown, Richard A. or An= ita M. &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $96.08
&= nbsp; 215 Falls Avenue &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
2664 Brown, Richard A. or An= ita M. &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $91.67
&= nbsp; 215 Falls Avenue &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
2665 Brown, Richard A. or An= ita M. &= nbsp; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $116.60
&= nbsp; 215 Falls Avenue &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Type R
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
2668 Demarest, James & A= nn &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Amount of Refund: &nb= sp; $112.10
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
= ; Reason for Refund: Per Assessor; Veteran Exemption Applied
=
; Total
for All Refunds &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; $4,371.34
Regular Meeting
July 21, 2008
Page 50
Dated
at
_________________________
Elaine Adams, Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION: (Mr. = Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) I move to approve the resolution authorizing tax refunds.=
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Discussion: None<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
10. Public Participation
None
&= nbsp; Mr. Primini, Vice Chairman, Closed Public Participation at 10:12 p.m.
11. Adjournment
= ; MOTION: (Mr. = Bernier, sec. Mr. Marotta) to Adjourn the Regular Meeting at 10:12 p.m.
<=
/span>Discussion: None<=
/p>
<=
/span>MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY <=
/span>Regular
Meeting Adjourned at 10:12 p.m. Respectfully
submitted, Raymond
Primini, Vice Chairman Approved: _______________________________ Lynn M. LaF=
orme,
Clerk