MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2004, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: = &nb= sp; Lee Archer
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Karl Fisher
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Hebert, Jr., Vice Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Robert Kane, Chairman
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Raymond Primini
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Paul Rinaldi
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard Wick
ABSENT: &nb= sp; = Elaine Adams
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Paul Valenti
OTHERS PRESENT: Randy
McHugh, Town Attorney
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; Frank
Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director
1.&nb= sp; Call Meeting To Order
Mr. = Kane, Chairman, Called the Meeting to Order at 7:30 p.m.
2.&nb= sp; Roll Call
Ms. LaForme, Board Clerk, executed the Roll Call.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane, Chairman, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane, Chairman, read aloud the following Proclamation:
P R O C L A M A T I = O N
&= nbsp; WHEREAS, the Junior Woman's Club of Watertown, Inc., was established in 1970 and is a member of the Connecticut Junior Women, Inc.; and
&= nbsp; WHEREAS, they are a non-partisan, non-profit, non-political organization which promo= tes civil, educational and social interest in the community by volunteering many hours in services; and
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October 18, 2004
Page 2
&= nbsp; WHEREAS, the Junior Woman's Club of Watertown, Inc., has accomplished much for the T= own by donating numerous hours by undertaking community projects which include Preschool Lazy Eye Screening, Town Spelling Bee, Supporting Teachers Apprec= iation Week, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day Celebrations at the Senior Cen= ter, Lunch with Santa, and a $500 Academic Scholarship to name a few.
&=
nbsp; WHEREAS,
this organization helps bring together women from all walks of life for
fellowship and who, through constructive action, help build, serve, improve,
and enjoy living in
&= nbsp; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Robert J. Kane, Chairman of the Watertown Town Council, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested, do hereby = declare the week of October 24 - 31, 2004 as
&=
nbsp; I
hereby call upon all citizens of
&= nbsp; IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 18th day of Octo= ber, 2004.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Robert J. Kane, Chairman &n= bsp; = ;
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane presented the Proclamation to two members of the Watertown Junior Wome= n's Club.
4.&nb=
sp; Public
Participation
&=
nbsp; Robert
LeBlanc,
&= nbsp; Mr. LeBlanc: Two questions I = have, one is concerning the method in which the Town Council goes into Executive Session for legal matters. Al= ls it says is anticipated executive session, then when you go into executive sess= ion you say for legal matters or something like that. Is there any possibility that you = could be more specific on what legal matters they are, or do you think you're safe the way you do it?
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October 18, 2004
Page 3
= ; Mr. Kane: Actually if you rem= ember, I think you were there, the Freedom of Information came down and had a semi= nar for us at the High School, and I believe you were there, and they told us t= hat we don't always have executive session, but it is mostly, (inaudible) and that= 's why it's kept on the Agenda that way, that we anticipate the possibility of= an executive session but there may not always be, but it gives us the availabi= lity to have it or not have it, depending on whether we need it or not.
&= nbsp; Mr. LeBlanc: Secondly I appreciate you mentioni= ng that I was there. There were = a lot of people that weren’t there, but we were there, you and I and a few other people. The premise of = the question is when you go into executive session and you say legal issues or legal matters, I don't know how you worded it the last, the minutes of this meeting, can't you be more specific? Would you say legal matters, LeBlanc vs. LeBlanc, period. You don't do that, or you can't do= that, I don't understand.
= ; Mr. Kane: I don't really know= that, but we can find that out. I t= hink it's just specific categories, pending litigation.
&= nbsp; Mr. LeBlanc: There's 5 areas, we agree.
= ; Mr. Kane: I don't think we ha= ve to name anyone. You're looking f= or us to name what we're talking about?
&= nbsp; Mr. LeBlanc: Yes.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane: Then it wouldn't be executive sess= ion anymore.
= ; Mr. LeBlanc: Okay, I apprecia= te that answer. Secondly I was j= ust wondering, you know I've been trying to find out about the 24/7 business on= the use of Town cars and I have never received an updated version of it. What I received the last time was a version that was 5 months old, mileage hasn't been changed, so I was just wondering if I could go to the Town Manager's Office or someone in Town, ju= st peruse the latest vehicle report.
= ; Mr. Kane: Sure, (inaudible).<= /p>
= ; Mr. LeBlanc: I would apprecia= te it. As far as the other issue= s I was trying to research or trying to find out about, supposedly there's no settlements, no agreements as far as arbitration is concerned, but that is coming down, and I appreciate your listening to me. Thank you.
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October 18, 2004
Page 4
&=
nbsp; Denis
O'Sullivan,
&= nbsp; Mr. O'Sullivan: I'm a long ti= me resident of Town. Firstly I appreciate that you guys are volunteers and I appreciate you're here, spend= ing the time listening to our concerns and doing the Town's business, I really = do appreciate that. I'm here to = ask a couple of questions and also to bring to your attention one issue. Let me bring the issue first. About a year ago when the Town was looking to put a new roof on Polk School, I came to a presentation, and at = that presentation, it was a very poor presentation in that we could not read any= of the cost numbers, if you recall, and some of you were there, they were projected up on a portion of the stage, there were no handouts, we couldn't read what was up there, and the people apologized for that, however I left = with no information in my hand. At= that presentation as I recall the company that was to put that design out, the gentleman that was there specified he was going to put a 20 year roof shing= le on the building, and when I had an opportunity to ask a question, I asked if that was appropriate, and he said, now I may have made a mistake, and he may have, he said no, it will be a 30 year roof shingle, and I have a backgroun= d in that, and I suggested that would be a very poor choice for an institutional building like a school. There= were many other people that came forth, and everyone who came forth were talking about spending more money, spending that money and they were all talking th= at they wanted it down for the children. And I'm here tonight to talk about the very same children. I have concerns about the children= that are in the school right now because as I understand it, they are using right now a 30 year shingle on that building.&nb= sp; Now that's not a standard in the industry, that's less than a standa= rd in the industry. I understand it= 's allowed by code, even though the code specifies an 80 mph wind rating, that= 30 year shingle only has a 70 mph wind rating.
&= nbsp; I brought this to the attention of the Town Manager, very thankful that she provided me with the information that it was okay, it met the building code, and however it in the back and forth of my investigation and my discussions with the Town Manager, apparently there was a section of the bid that would allow an upgrade from a 30 to a 40 year shingle and I was sent the informat= ion on that and the cost to change from a 30 to a 40 year shingle was $9,200 for the entire project. And I bel= ieve the value of the project, I have the paperwork here, the value of the proje= ct was $1,156,000. And one of th= e alternates was to have a 40 year shingle. Now I sat back and I said is that a wise move on we, the Town, to put a burden = on the children because we're really looking out 30 years to when that shingle= is going to deteriorate and what I'm bringing to your attention that I think t= he wrong decision was made on that particular issue. If I went in to buy a tire, which = we all do, and I was after a 30,000 mile tire, and when I went up to pay for it the person at the register said to me, you know, I've got another tire here that will give you 40,000 miles. N= ow you might think it to be oh my goodness, it's going to cost me another $20.00, = and if the person said that that is going to cost another $.92 over the price of approximately $115.00, which one of us wouldn't go for that? So what I'm bringing to your atten= tion is that somehow in the system, we didn't have the $9,200, it's just like sa= ying to that clerk in the store, I don't have $.92 to buy a better quality tire.=
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October 18, 2004
Page 5
&= nbsp; So I'm bringing it to your attention, I don’t think anything can be done now, I think it was very shortsighted and I think it's unfortunate that the children now that are in the school are going to have to pay to replace that roof what I consider to be prematurely.&nb= sp; 30 year shingles are not the standard, 40, 50 lifetime shingles are. If any of you have homes, you're putting a new roof on or what have you, you know that. So I’m bring that you to your attention and I'm hoping that could be built into your future thoughts. That's #1.
= ; Mr. Kane: I just want to let = you know owe have a 5 minute time limit.
&= nbsp; Mr. O'Sullivan: I didn't know that. Where am I right now?
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane: I don't know.
&= nbsp; Mr. O'Sullivan: I think I'm at about 3 minutes to = tell you the truth. I attend a lot= of the Fire District meetings and I understand very, very peripherally, just conversations, not any place else, that there is a dispute between the Town= of substantial proportions about something.&n= bsp; Can you give me any overview of that or is anybody familiar with that? Sewer flows, payment of= sewer flows or anything with the Fire District?
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane: Fire District.
&= nbsp; Mr. O'Sullivan: The Fire District's sewage flo= ws through the Town, and I think it basically pays the Town. As I understand it, I just heard i= t from someone else that there is an issue there.= That's all that I really have. Thank you very much.
&=
nbsp; Raymond Hebert,
&= nbsp; Mr. Hebert: This is not something I normally do= but I'm here tonight and it's about the comments made by Mr. David LeBlanc at t= he October 4th Council Meeting during Public Participation and his letter in t= he October 7th edition of the Town Times.&nbs= p; I stand by my decision to donate the Minivan to the Watertown Oakvil= le Drum Corps. There is no confl= ict of interest because the donation was made to the organization at the rest of i= ts Board of Directors, not an individual.&nbs= p; Yes, my uncle is Jim Demarest, he is also the Director of the Watertown-Oakville Drum Corps. This is not an issue, he answers to the Board of Directors. As a member of the B= oard I will do what is required in the position, including attending Board meeti= ngs. The reason I volunteered was that = no one else was interested. And we a= lso followed the Charter. If some= one disagrees with my voting record so be it, however, I take exception to Mr. LeBlanc's comments questioning my integrity on this issue. I was elected to serve the Town an= d its citizens. I have always tried= to do this to the best of my abilities. I will let the voters judge my performance in office. I believe the community should sup= port any organization that he's the kids. Mr. LeBlanc should apologize for his comments, they were inappropria= te in this matter. Lastly, this = is the definition of a conflict interest:
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October 18, 2004
Page 6
&= nbsp; Conflict of Interest: A situation in w= hich a public official's decisions are influenced by the official's personal interests.
&= nbsp; Again I state, there was no conflict of interest. Thank you.
&= nbsp; Mr. Kane, Chairman, Closed Public Participation at 7:47 p.m.
5.&nb=
sp; Minutes
&= nbsp; A. Regular Meeting Minutes – October 4, 2004
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Mr. = Wick, sec. Mr. Primini) to Accept the Regular Meeting Minutes dated October 4, 20= 04 as presented.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
6.&nb=
sp; Sub-Committee
Reports
A. &nbs= p; Public Works Subcommittee
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Primini: Next Monday the =
7.&nb= sp; Chairman’s Report
= ; A. Correspondence
= ; &n= bsp; None
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: I again want to thank the Juni= or Women's organization and the proclamation we had.
= ; = ; Mr. Rinaldi: I received a not= ice this week that the Economic Development Commission was cancelled again due = to lack of a quorum. Not too lon= g ago we reorganized that Commission and reduced it from 9 to 7 members in order = to carry on business. Apparently something is wrong. My questi= on is - is there something going on that perhaps the Council should know about (inaudible)?
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October 18, 2004
Page 7
= ; = ; Mr. Wick: We readjusted their= size, at their request.
=
; &n=
bsp; Mr. Nardelli:
= ; = ; Ms. LaForme (Clerk): It might= have been a lack of business rather than a lack of quorum. Joe had asked me to send out a cancellation notice, and that's the standard cancellation notice; I'm not s= ure if it was a quorum at all actually.
= ; = ; Mr. Rinaldi: Well the reason = why I raised the issue is that considering the condition the Town is in relative = to business and attracting business, I think that that Commission is very vital. When I was on it it wa= s a very vital commission; we did bring some business into Town. I know times are tough, but I can't believe that a Commission entrusted with the things that they are have a la= ck of business, completely to stop (inaudible).
= ; = ; Mr. Kane: We'll check that ou= t.
8.&nb=
sp; Action
Items
= ; A. Consider Appointments to Boards and Commissions
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Mr. Fisher, sec. Mr. Rinaldi) to appoint John Griffith, 57 Academy Hill, Watert= own, to the Zoning Board of Appeals, as a Regular Member, to complete the term of Nicholas Reynolds, Term to Expire January, 2005.
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
=
; B. =
Consider
An Appropriation from the General Fund to Fund the Water Existing Water Ser=
vice
at
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS,
the
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October 18, 2004
Page 8
NOW
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council appropriates $3,534 from the
General Fund for the purpose of lowering the water service located at
&=
nbsp; Dated
at
_________________________
Robert Kane, Chairman
=
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Archer) to Approve the Resolution authorizing the
appropriation of $3,534 from the General Fund for the purpose of lowering t=
he
water service at
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
= ; C. Consider an Appropriation from the General Fund for Independent Testing
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, funds were deposited into the General Fund for inspection fees for by developers for constructions projects.
WHEREAS, the Public Works Department desires to continue to retain the service of an independent testing firm to perform compaction tests on roadway projects to insure conformance with established State and Town regulations.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council appropriates from the Gener= al Fund $5,360 to line item 010-50310-030-0470 - Consultant Town Engineer, to allow for continued independent testing on subdivision roadway projects.
&=
nbsp; Dated
at
_________________________
Robert Kane, Chairman
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October 18, 2004
Page 9
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Archer) to Approve the Resolution authorizing the appropriation of $5,360 to line item 010-50310-030-0470 consultant town engineer for continued independent testing on subdivision roadway projects.=
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: = ; Mr. Rinaldi: Could somebody e= xplain that real fast?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: This is more of= an accounting function. These de= velopers give money to the Town, and they get deposited into the General Fund as a revenue source. Now we have t= o pay these consultants to go out and do some inspections so we have to reappropr= iate the revenue back to the line items.
= ; &n= bsp; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
9. &nb=
sp; Discussion
And Possible Action Items
A. Discussion
and Possible Action on Authoriz=
ing
the Town Manager to enter into and execute on behalf of the Town of
R E S O L U T I O N
BE
IT RESOLVED, that the Town Manager, Meredith S. Robson, is empowered to ent=
er
into and amend contractual instruments in the name and on behalf of this, t=
he
Town of
&=
nbsp; Dated
at
_________________________
Robert Kane, Chairman
=
; &n=
bsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Hebert, sec. Mr. Archer) to Approve the Resolution authorizing the Town Man=
ager
to enter into and execute on behalf of the Town of
= ; &n= bsp; Discussion: Mr. Hebert: It is a radio repeater correct?
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October 18, 2004
Page 10
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; James Delancey,
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Delancey: Yes. The repeater that we're looking to=
put
up there would extend an amateur radio system which currently has repeaters=
in
New Milford, Harwinton,
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: Didn’t we just put a repeate= r in?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: No.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Archer: This came up once before I think.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: I think we were tal= king about the load on all the locations that we have and we were going to look = into that. We tabled that I believ= e.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: I spoke with Ma= ry Barton as far as Planning and Zoning; they didn't have any issues with it, = and Chief Black felt it was a good idea for a backup system for the Fire Department.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: (Inaudible) shal= l be submitted to the Town for review and approval. Who reviewed and approved?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: I think we're allow= ing Meredith to (inaudible).
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: I know that. I'm talking about Section 202, sco= pe of activities. I'm not questioni= ng the fact that Meredith (inaudible). What I'm saying is the drawings and documents prepared by the contractor, were submitted to the Town for review and approval. Who in the Town reviewed and appro= ved?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: It must have be= en Meredith. Meredith went throu= gh it and I talked to Mary Barton, and Planning and Zoning didn't have any proble= ms.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: This is an on-go= ing sore subject with me. This sh= ould go to Water & Sewer.
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October 18, 2004
Page 11
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: It did, see the= cover sheet in there, it did go to Water & Sewer and they did approve it.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr.<= /b> Rinaldi: They haven't had a meeting in 5 months.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: On the Special Meeting of September 30th they approved it.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: There was in fact (inaudible)? There were some = legal issues and they haven't had a meeting in quite some time.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: I believe, acco= rding to this memo, it was approved at a Special Meeting on September 30th.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Wick: On Page 3 of Sectio= n 3, it says that the Town will endeavor to secure materials or information from= other sources requested by the contractor and that bothers me a little cause it w= ould seem to me if you're going to be handling this yourself then it would be yo= ur responsibility, and I don't think it's appropriate to have something in the= re that basically says if you need a 2 x 4 you call Meredith.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: I honestly have= n't seen a copy of that yet, so you're ahead of me on that.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Wick: So there would be no objection of = sort of messaging this language so we're not in the position of being your purchasing agent.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Delancey: I've never asked the Town to purch= ase anything for anything (inaudible).
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Wick: But this gives you = the right to do it if we don't change it. The other question is we seem to have a limit to the weight that can= be put on these towers safely and the antennae that have been put up so far are all good revenue generators for the Town, so my question is to what extent = can we legitimately expect value from the service that would be available from = your project that would help justify forfeiting the revenue that will ultimately= be received when somebody else comes down the pike and wants to put up an ante= nna from some (inaudible)?
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October 18, 2004
Page 12
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; Mr.
Delancey: I do understand=
your
concern. Basically the premis=
e of
amateur radio is defined in FCC Part 97 of the Rules and Regulations is not
only as a hobby radio, but it's also to provide communications in times of
emergency. Another more recent
example would be down in
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Wick: Thank you. And I gather from what Frank told = us that Chief Black has already offered an opinion that he thinks even with the other communication equipment we have and are planning to have, this would still be needed, this would still provide a useful service in an emergency,= so there's no redundancy there.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: There's no spec= ific direct link to the Town of Watertown, but in the time of need, let's say the Fire Department system disappeared off the face of the earth for some reaso= n, we would be able, as amateurs, whether it be over that repeater or portable= to portable unit, we would, be able to come in and assist with communications whether it's shadowing an official to get the communications back and forth, running a Red Cross shelter or anything to that effect.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: One other questi= on, on Section 702, it says the project (inaudible). I'm not an attorney, but (inaudibl= e).
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Meredith is not her= e.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: I now this went= to the Town Attorney for review.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: The Town Attorn= ey did confer with me regarding this just briefly, but I have not received a copy = of it.
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October 18, 2004
Page 13
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Mr. Kane: Actually, Randy . .= . .
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: I'm sorry, I was reading. Where are we?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: We're on the amateur radio association repeater system on a water tower and I believe this contr= act went to your office for approval. Is that true?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: I've given back Meredith everything that . . . . . .
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Can you maybe respo= nd to Mr. Rinaldi's question on Section 702?&nbs= p; Do you have it in front of you?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Atty. McHugh: I've never seen this agreement bef= ore.
= ; &n= bsp; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Nardelli: I believe an associate in your firm looked at.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: Maybe Marylou Sch= ofield saw it.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Nardelli: Yes, I believe so.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Do we have correspo= ndence from them?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: I don’t h= ave any correspondence. I just know t= hat Meredith said that she reviewed the contract with an associate of Randy's.<= /p>
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: What was the ques= tion?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: Section 702, how= is that section going to impact the Town or compromise our options if any (inaudible)?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: Waiving your righ= t to a trial by jury?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: Right.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Atty. McHugh: Well it certainly would seem (Tape= #1, Side A ended - may have missed some).
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: (Inaudible).
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: I have not person= ally reviewed this.
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October 18, 2004
Page 14
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: Is there any time limit on this thing?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: The only thing = we're trying to do is have something done before the Winter, but no matter what happens now (inaudible).
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: If we Table this= for one meeting will (inaudible)?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Well it's already b= een approved by somebody in his office. It may not have gone to him personally,= but there has been . . . .
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Atty. McHugh: Righter, there's another attorney in my office, Marylou Schofield who worked in the New Haven Corporation Counsel's office for many years and she's familiar with Town le= gal matters. I don't know for a f= act personally. It could have been something that Meredith may have sent her directly while I was out, I don’t know. I was not a= dvised that we were having to look at this tonight, otherwise I would have been prepared.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: I apologize for that, I didn't mea= n to put you on the spot.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Archer: Can we approve th= is conditionally?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Is there anything in there that Meredith has postponed? Approved by the Water & Sewer Authority, Planning and Zoning . .= . . did Meredith leave you anything, Frank on this?
&nb= sp; = <= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Mr. Nardelli: No, she didn't.=
= ; &n= bsp; = ; = ; Mr. Rinaldi: As long as Randy= or someone in his office for sure went through this I'm okay, but I have to kn= ow for sure, just to protect the Town, I mean I think it's wise that we . . . = . .
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Nardelli: I know somebody= in his office went through it. N= ow whether they had issues or not, I don’t have that correspondence.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Rinaldi: I have no proble= m with the contract. None at all.
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October 18, 2004
Page 15
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Wick: On Section 503, Page 3 at the bott= om, it says that the contractor's relationship to the Town is that of an independe= nt contractor as opposed to an employee, and that, I believe, is the intent of this section, to distinguish between employee and independent contractors.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> But my question is, why is there an independent contractor relationship at all? It would seem to be that the relationship would be more like the other companies who have contracted with the Town to use the Town asset, namely the height from that water tank to m= ount their antennas, and it seems to me that that's the same thing that you'd li= ke to do, and I'm just bothered by the possibility that your role as an independent contractor could be a problem, not too dissimilar from the conc= ern that Paul has.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Delancey: I'm not sure what the difference is between that. I've never seen= any of the other agreements up there, and I've got stuff in 4 other towns and I= 've never had any agreements like this in any of those other towns.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Wick: But you say you hav= en't seen this agreement?
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: I have not.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Wick: Your name is in here. Somebody is using your name.
&nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mr. Hebert: So we have questi= ons that aren't answered, correct?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; MOTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Fisher) to Table.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Discussion: None<= /p>
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
&nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Sir, if you don't m= ind, our next meeting is November 1st.
&nb= sp; Mr. Delancey: That will direc= tly conflict with another meeting I have, but is it possible I can get a copy of this document?
&nb= sp; Mr. Kane: Yea, I'm surprised = you don't have one, cause Mr. Wick is right, you're name is on here, contractor, but we can do that for you. W= hy don't you hang around for a little while and we can do that for you. Thank you.
= ; &n= bsp; ORIGINAL MOTION WAS NEVER VOTED ON (TABLED)
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 16
B. =
Discussion
and Update on
=
Joseph Yamin, Attorney
=
; &n=
bsp; Atty.
Yamin: I'm here to provid=
e an
update on the work performed so far on the
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: Yea, we normally ha= ve an easel in the other room, so I apologize.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: What I thought I w= ould do is first kind of explain what we've done so far with the site, review th= ese drawings before you, then have Todd address you and then Tony is here to an= swer any questions as well.
=
On
the front page, you'll see, what we've done here, is created essentially an=
18
foot one way drive around the perimeter of the school, which is going to
require excavation in the rear of the school. If you look, what looks like a sto=
ne
wall closest to the school, that's the existing retaining wall, so we would
propose excavating back to the stone wall that you see to the very rear clo=
sest
to
=
On
Page 2, presently at the site the entire parking lot drains down into one c=
atch
basin that is on
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 17
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Genovese: Actually identi= fied the grass areas and also incorporate (inaudible) landscaping that we've incorporated not only in the landscape area but along and around the new co= urt yard.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: We think this is a= good idea because it creates less impervious soil which would eliminate or at le= ast reduce the amount of storm water and other water that's draining into the c= atch basin. We also had reviewed t= his plan prior to coming today with Mary Greene, to get her input, and to if sh= e'd like to see additional trees or had other ideas to incorporate now into the landscape plan; we were very comfortable with that. You'll see we have some flowing crab apple trees in the front.&nbs= p; I think Pac Sandra and then in the rear Moon (inaudible) Junipers on either side of that 5 foot concrete walk in the rear.
=
If
you turn to the last page you can see the details identified there (inaudib=
le)
courtyard area, and this really gives you a better idea of what we're propo=
sing
for the front of the building. We'd
like to install brick pavers with a 2 foot high brick or stone wall, we're
going to look at some different designs, to make sure it's compatible with =
the
existing façade of the building.&nb=
sp;
We also would have
= Mr. Kane: I compliment you on doing this so quickly.
=
Todd Genovese, Rose Tiso Architect=
ural
and Engineering Firm
=
Mr. Genovese: We presently have two offices, in <=
st1:City
w:st=3D"on">Fairfield and
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 18
= S= ome of the things I'd like to point out which I believe you should get familiar with is first and foremost is a walkway, the (inaudible)walkway which we are proposing to be removed. It's= sort of like an eyesore that's in there. We have removed all of the duct work that was up on top of the roof = to clean it up a little bit and anything that was in front (inaudible) mind you this is strictly conceptual just something that we're working with right now and trying to maintain the integrity of the façade of the building.<= /p>
= O= ne major thing is if you notice, these grayish white (inaudible) which the building presently has, is actually the same brick that is there right now,= so you'd never notice it from the road and it's a good piece of architecture to have character so we felt was with the (inaudible) which are above the wind= ows, we would actually make the colors the same so that should bring out some of= the character and maintain just to show that actually the building's integrity. So outside of that= and making some of the improvements with some of the (inaudible) and maintainin= g the (inaudible) as we had talked about and a fence, is a conceptual front eleva= tion of what the building would be as far as just doing a brief cleanup.
= As far as the interior of the building, our main focus is actually to maintain= the existing structure to keep all the load bearing walls in the program the wa= y it is and try to work within there. We feel very comfortable that we can accommodate that, we can get the units th= at we want and we're trying to maintain the existing structure as it is so tha= t the program is exactly as it stands and work with them to get the units which we are trying to accomplish which I believe is 40 units and not affect the structure of the façade of the building. I believe we would bring this to t= he Board for approval.
=
Atty. Yamin: One thing I forgot to add was as y=
ou
know one of the stipulations in the contract was to preserve the Centennial
tree, and if you take a look at the way we laid out the parking lot and cre=
ated
green areas, that accomplished it, it's not in the way whatsoever of our pl=
an
so I think it's more than likely that there's absolutely no work that's goi=
ng
to be done that's going to require the moving or disturbing of that tree. =
Mr. Kane: If everything goes as planned, whe=
n do
you anticipate an opening? Regular Meeting October 18, 2004 Page 19 =
; &n=
bsp; Atty.
Yamin: Maybe we could talk
about, I think we should talk about where we are with the zoning issues.
=
Tony Mancini
= Mr. Mancini: Once the construction documents ar= e in and formally approved we're looking at 9 to 11 months construction duration= , so really that's the timeframe, or sooner, but we really need to get the appro= ved documents prior to getting the actual completion date.
= Atty. Yamin: And our approved construction draw= ings would be, construction drawings won't be required for this approval process= , so we would be able to close on the building, and then Todd's firm would provi= de the construction drawings based upon the design drawings that are submitted with the special permit, so I would anticipate that those would be complete= d at or about the same time as we receive our approval on the special permit so I would say maybe construction would start in early Spring, I probably wouldn= 't want to start construction in the middle of Winter.
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 20
= Mr. Wick: In the early stages of these conversations there was a concern about the availability of adequate parking. Does this change her= e address that or solve it?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: No, it doesn't, bu= t I think, that was a good point. That site has 35 parking spaces; 44 is required. So I also put together a plan whic= h I can leave with you to show the Town the work we propose to do to the parking lot across the street, the improvements we would be willing to make in orde= r to have use of 9 guest parking spots. Essentially what we had our design team do is lay out the entire par= king lot and . . . . . what this plan does is basically (inaudible) with the (inaudible) parking lot. Lay = out 94 parking spaces and then create some (inaudible) landscaping which do not presently exist (inaudible). = You have a 25 foot wide opening here which is consistent with your zoning regs. I had (inaudible) that = as part of this project we would reclaim the entire site, repave it, install t= he island, and the landscaping and then re-stripe the entire lot in return for= the use of 9 guest parking spaces, which I think is important. It's guest parking, the residents = would not be parking in those spots, guests only, which I've been, since we've had these meetings been driving by that parking lot and considering the amount = of work we're doing I think a real benefit to the Town. I really don't think the 9 guest s= pots are going to impact the use of that field.= I (inaudible) organizing that parking to and you can see it's been p= aved at different spots at different times.&nbs= p; I think this is a real benefit that we could do to the Town. I mean I would anticipate this work being anywhere from $35,000 to $45,000 worth of work and I think that's a pretty good deal for the use of 9 parking spots. So while we haven't resolved the p= arking issue altogether, I think this is a reasonable way to resolve it.
= Mr. Kane: Randy, do you have anything to add= ?
= Atty. McHugh: No. There was one (inaudible) about the façade that if, you know, obviously they're trying to make it look more distinguishable rather than t= he monodramatic color that is now on the building right now, but per the contr= act any change to the façade is required to assent by the Town. It shouldn't be a problem for some= thing minor (inaudible) determination.
= Atty. Yamin: Yea, we're trying to do things tha= t we think would make the building more attractive while keeping its integrity, = and it's all open to suggestion and this is the best time to bring it to the Council to get people starting to think about it. I'm always open to ideas.
= Atty. McHugh: Your question is whether or not th= e Fire Department can look in their, it says the Fire Department shall be (inaudib= le) unfettered use of the (inaudible) attic space (inaudible).
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 21
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Yea that's not goi= ng to be a problem. That won't be a problem, I know I am obligated to do that.
= Atty. McHugh: And the only other thing would be = it doesn't obviously appear that their going to satisfy their contingency by t= he middle of November so I would be (inaudible) to allow them an extension of time, but that's up to you.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: What I had propose= d is let's do it in 30 day stages. As long as you can see the amount of money and time we're investing in this project, I don’t think this is anything that any other developer or builder would want to do, we would keep on a track where we're moving throu= gh the boards, we're acting in an expeditious fashion, and we can get to a closing. I'm not looking for 6 months or a year, 30 day spaces, I'm comfortable that - every 30 days I'll = be moving this project along.
= Atty. McHugh: Let me ask you this, the only contingency that you received from the extension, is that for the receipt of government approval will be or not less than 40 elderly apartments?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: We've done the Pha= se I report. I forgot to mention that. We also had our environ= mental company perform its Phase I work. It's been completed, they're preparing the report, but that will be = in well before the November 18th date, so you and I can discuss that. I'm not even looking for an extens= ion at this time.
= Atty. McHugh: So far it's just 20A of the contra= ct.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: That's right.
= Atty. McHugh: And then the geotechnical (inaudib= le)?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: That's fine.
= Atty. McHugh: And then the receipt of (inaudible= )?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: I'm sure that, the= re's no taxes owed and I'm sure they own the property so I don't think title (inaudible).
= Atty. McHugh: (Inaudible).
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: But yea, with resp= ect to the environmental I haven't discussed it because I haven't received the rep= ort yet, but I'll have that done well in advance to November 18th.
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 22
= Atty. McHugh: The only thing you're looking for = at this time to extend is . . . . .
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: I don't even think= I'm looking at it yet, I'm just looking to be able to send you a letter a week prior to saying here's where we stand, I propose 30 days, and then you could talk to the powers that be to see if they'll give it to me.
= Atty. McHugh: I just don't want to wait to the l= ast . . . . . we know now we're not going to have the approval, so we're going to have to be extended.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: So then I would ju= st request the 30 day extension approval on that contingency and then wait and see, I should have the environmental report this week. That work was done the 3rd week of September.
= Mr. Kane: So that's something we have to . .= . . .
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. McHugh: Or let Meredith h= ave the power to extend it.
= Mr. Nardelli: But it's something we can put on o= ur November 1st agenda.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Sure.
=
Mr. Primini: Personally I'm impressed with the
progress that's been made. As=
far
as the parking situation, I personally grew up near two schools in
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Yea, I think it's = going to improve, really three quarters of that corner will get improved, so it w= ill look really nice, particularly since you spent all that work on the library= .
= Mr. Fisher: Who owns that parking lot across t= he street?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. McHugh: The Town does.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Well the Town owns= it subject to a provision they cannot resell it to a third party, I guess, wit= hout first offering it back to the owner.
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 23
= Atty. McHugh: It's kind of exactly what I said, = the field and part of the parking lot, but not the whole parking lot, the whole property was deeded in 3 separate deeds, and there was one deed that didn't have those restrictive covenants. (Inaudible) Scovill.
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Well I would propo= se creating some type of a lease arrangement for $1.00 so long as we maintain = that area, or whatever.
= Atty. McHugh: Now we do have a lease on that to = the Little League obviously but many, when there are games there, I'm not sure = how many cars there are actually there.
= ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: How many parking sp= aces do you consider there now? An= d how many do you propose with these changes?
= ; &n= bsp; Atty. Yamin: Well that's the point. You have . . . . it's = just people park wherever they want, double park, park on top of each other, we can't really tell, but we think we have a plan where we're laying out 94 parking spots, that's a pretty good amount of parking.
= Mr. Kane: Thank you very much.
C. Discussion and Possible Action on Compensa= tion for Police Matrons
= M= OTION: (Mr. Hebert, sec. Mr. Archer) to Approve $16.10 as the hourly rate for Police Matrons effective October 23, 2004.
= D= iscussion: Mr. Wick: When I saw this I asked myself why= can't the Police Department just do this as an administrative function? Why do we have to approve it?
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Nardelli: It's a pay rais= e for the Police Matrons. They're increasing their hourly rate, so the Council has to authorize that. What we plan on doing the next tim= e is including this with the non-organized employees just to keep it on . . . .<= /p>
= &nb= sp; = Mr. Wick: So in other words miscommunication= is the reason why it was not, or was not intended to be considered in the beginning as something like that?
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 24
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Nardelli: When it was ini= tially set up they were tying it into what the communication people hourly rate was. And then that's why it w= as supposed to be set up over a 3 year period, however these are non-organized employees so we should come back every year to the Council for a raise, so = this will get us through to next fiscal year and then we would come back and do = the non-organized people.
= &nb= sp; = Mr. Rinaldi: How many police matrons are there?=
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Nardelli: Well I'm not, t= hey probably have about 5 or 6, I believe, but they don't use them all at once. You know the function o= f the police matron with the new State statutes and what not.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Rinaldi: I would imagine = they would have to cover 2 shifts as well, right?
= &nb= sp; = Mr. Nardelli: Yes, if we have someone in there a= round the clock, we have to watch them.
= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Mr. Kane: It's basically $.54= ?
= &nb= sp; = Mr. Nardelli: Yes, we use the 3.5% (Tape #1, Side= B ended - may have missed some).
= In Favor: &= nbsp; Mr. Archer, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Hebert, Mr. Kane, Mr. Primimi<= /span>, Mr. Wick
= O= pposed: = None
= A= bstained: Mr. Rinaldi
= M= OTION CARRIED (6-0-1)
10. &n=
bsp; Public
Participation
=
; The
second tape did not record at all.
&= nbsp; The following people spoke during Public Participation:
Robert LeBlanc,
Mr. LeBl= anc spoke about the legality of the Mosgrove Field = deed.
Regular Meeting
October 18, 2004
Page 25
Dave LeBlanc,
Mr. LeBl= anc stated he stood by his previous comments regarding Mr. Hebert's conflict of intere= st concerning the Watertown/Oakville Drum Corps.
Mr. Kane, Chairman, Closed Public Participation at 8:37 p.m.
11.&n=
bsp; Anticipated
Executive Session
&=
nbsp; None
12.&n=
bsp; Adjournment
= ; MOTION: (Mr. = Wick, sec. Mr. Hebert) to Adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:38 p.m.
<=
/span>Discussion: None<=
/p>
<=
/span>MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY <=
/span>Regular
Meeting Adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Respectfully
submitted, Robert
Kane, Chairman Approved: _______________________________ Lynn M. LaF=
orme,
Clerk