MINUTES
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007, 7:15=
P.M.
PRESENT: &=
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p; Elaine
Adams
&=
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p; Antonio
Guerrera
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Robert Kane
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Carl Mancini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Joseph Pawlak, Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Suzan Plowman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Primini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Paul Rinaldi, Vice Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Jack Walton
ABSENT: &= nbsp; &nbs= p; None
OTHERS PRESENT: Chuck Frigon, Town Manager
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director
1.&nb=
sp; Convene
Mr.
Pawlak, Chairman, Called the
MOTION: &nbs= p; (Mr. Rinaldi, sec. No One) to nominate Joe Pawlak for Modera= tor of the Special Town Meeting.
Discussion: =
Mr. Pawlak: Are there any other nominations?
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
MOTION: &nbs= p; (Mr. Rinaldi, sec. No One) to nominate Lynn LaForme for Secr= etary of the Special Town Meeting.
Discussion: =
Mr. Pawlak: Are there any other nominations?
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
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Mr. Pawlak, Moderator, read aloud the Call of the Meeting as follows:
WARNING AND NOTICE
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
September 17, 2007
The legal voters = of the Town of Watertown and those entitled to vote in Town Meetings are hereby WA= RNED AND NOTIFIED of a Special Town Meeting to be held on Monday, September 17, = 2007 at 7:15 p.m. at the Watertown High School Technology Room, 324 French Stree= t, Watertown, CT to consider an appropriation in the amount of $79,400 from the General F= und to fund the Thomaston Road sanitary sewer and pumping station project.
Dated in
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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Charles A. Frigon
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Town Manager
RETURN OF
WARNING AND NOTICE
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
September 17, 2007
I hereby certify that on September 7, 2007, I left a duplicate copy of the attached WARNING AND NOTICE of a Special Town Meeting of the Town of Watert= own, Connecticut, to be held on September 17, 2007 with Virginia Russo, Assistant Town Clerk.
I further certify that on September 7, 2007 I caused a copy of said Warning a= nd Notice to be published in the REPUBLICAN AMERICAN Newspaper, which has a substantial circulation in said Town.
I further certify that on September 7, 2007, I caused to be set upon the sign= post nearest the office of the Town Clerk and all other places with signposts designated by the Town, a written copy of said Warning and Notice signed by= me as Town Manager.
I further certify that all the above acts were done at least five (5) days be= fore the holding of the Special Town Meeting on September 17, 2007.
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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Charles A. Frigon, Town Manager
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TOWN CLERK’S CERTIFICATION
AS TO WARNING AND RETURN OF WARNING
I hereby certify that the attached WARNING AND NOTICE of the foregoing RETURN= OF WARNING are duly recorded in the records of the Town of Watertown, Connecti= cut and that Charles A. Frigon was the Town Manager of the Town of Watertown on= the date the WARNING and RETURN OF WARNING were signed.
Dated at
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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Virginia Russo, Assistant Town Clerk
Mr. Pawlak: The meeting is now open for pu= blic comment.
MOTION: &nbs= p; (Mr. Rinaldi, sec. Mr. Mancini) to consider an appropriation in the amount of $7= 9,400 from the General Fund to fund the Thomaston Road Sanitary Sewer and Pumping Station Project.
Discussion: =
David Minnich,
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Minnich: Reserving the right to ask some questions, could someone make a presentation as to what this project is abo= ut and the means of financing? I= heard is all the general fund, is that correct?&= nbsp; No? Could someone make= a presentation as to the means of financing as well as the project? Thank you.
=
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Frigon: I apologize, as this has been disc=
ussed
at several Town Meetings in the past, and this b=
eing
only one component of it, I wasn't prepared to go through the whole
project. As you know this pro=
ject
has been designed in 2004 when the Water & Sewer Department put pen to
paper and actually designed this project.&=
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The project was considerably more than they had anticipated it
being. Several different vari=
ations
of it have gone through since, not that I was a part of, but I'm somewhat
familiar with the history of it. The General Fund component of it is $79,400
where they give a general benefit attributed to the Town maintenance facili=
ty
on
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Pawlak: Does that go up to or past the Legi= on?
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Frigon: It does not go as far as the Legio= n, just up to where you see the excavation on the left.
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= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Minnich: How did you arrive at the general s= pecial benefit distribution?
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Frigon: I wasn't part of that calculation, David, I don't know. This is = a re-appropriation from last year. This was an a= ppropriation and this is a re-appropriation because the contract was not signed last yea= r, so that was all discussed at last year's meeting, I don't know how (inaudible)= .
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Minnich: I understand, but speaking as the Chairman of the Watertown Fire District, one of the issues that, we certain= ly support water and sewer projects throughout the Town. One of the issues that has been longstanding in this Town is an understanding of what the general benefit is and what the special benefit is, and from the perspective of those that res= ide and also have businesses in the Fire District, that is an important issue to understand because if there is more general benefit than the project should, whatever that actually means in dollars, then I'm not so sure that we would come to a conclusion as we have as a general statement that the project sho= uld be supported, so I'm still at that same point of coming to you, who is aski= ng us for dollars, and obviously this Town Council and previous Town Councils = understanding the actual position of the Watertown Fire District, we have spent some time= in Superior Court over this issue and I'm wanting to understand if I may, mayb= e I can't be answered, but I'm wanting to understand what the general benefit, = how the general benefit was arrived at.
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Pawlak: Are you talking about the formula,= that amount?
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Minnich: Yea, how the $79,000 was arrived at= . I understand the numbers that you = gave me, but I don't understand how the numbers were arrived at.
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Pawlak: Unfortunately Mr. Jodaitis is on vacation?
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Frigon: He did return today, but he's not = here today.
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Pawlak: He's not here today so we can't giv= e you the explanation that he would be most in position to give. Paul, do you have anything?
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: To answer Mr. Minnich's question, = I'm Chair of the Water & Sewer Authority, and I came in way after this thing was resolved, so I don’t know how the dollars were arrived at. I do know that= Mr. Bernardi has been extre= mely patient and extremely understanding with us. We had a problem with the bids on = the project were too much, we asked Frank Jodaitis to go back and they had to redesign the job, reconfigure it, do everything he could, he finally got it down with Stoneybrook so we can afford this project and I think in all due fairness to Mr. Bernardi we should pass this. We already have passed it once, an= d at the end of the fiscal year, since the work didn't start, it got lost in tra= ffic so I think that all we're doing here tonight, in all fairness, is just reaffirming the Motion, and I think it should pass at this point in time.
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= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Mr. Pilicy, sec. Ms. Adams) to Move the Question.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph Pawlak, Moderator
Approve= d: ______________________________
&= nbsp; Lynn M. LaForme, Clerk