MINUTES

WATERTOWN TOWN COUNCIL

PUBLIC HEARING

WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL

TECHNOLOGY ROOM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007, 7:00 P.= M.

PRESENT:      &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;          Elaine Adams

&= 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:           &nb= sp;            =        Antonio Guerrera

= ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;         Robert Kane

OTHERS PRESENT:      = ;      Charles Frigon, Town Manager

1.&nb= sp;        Convene Public Hearing - 7:00 P.M.

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Mr. Pawlak, Chair= man, called the Public Hearing to order at 7:05 p.m.

Mr. Pawlak, Chair= man, read aloud the following Notice of the Public Hearing for the record:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Watertown, Connecticut

October 30, 2007

The Watertown Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, October 30, 2= 007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Watertown High School Technology Room, 324 French Street, Watertow= n, CT, to hear public commen= t on the proposed sale of Town owned property located at 0 Artillery Road, 0 Flintlock Road, 720 Echo Lake Road and Baldwin School. Comments will be heard and written comments will be read.

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

October 30, 2007

Page 2

Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 19th day of October, = 2007.

____________________________

Charles A. Frigon, Town Manager

RETURN OF NOTICE

TOWN OF WATERTOWN

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

I = hereby certify that on October 19, 2007 I left a duplicate copy of the attached No= tice of Public Hearing, Town of Wat= ertown, Connecticut with Virginia R= usso, its Assistant Town Clerk, to be held on October 30, 2007.

I = further certify that I caused a copy of said Notice of Public Hearing to be publish= ed in the REPUBLICAN AMERICAN on October 19, 2007 and October 25, 2007 in the = TOWN TIMES, which newspapers have substantial circulation in said Town.

I = further certify that on October 19, 2007, I caused to be set upon the signpost or o= ther exterior places nearest the Office of the Town Clerk and all other places a= nd signposts designated by the Town, a written copy of said Notice of Public Hearing signed by the Town Manager of the Town of Watertown.

I = further certify that all of the above acts were done at least five (5) days before = the holding of the Public Hearing on October 30, 2007.

Da= ted at Watertown, Connecticut, this 19th day of October, 2007.

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;         &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = Charles A. Frigon

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = Town Manager

TOWN CLERK’S CERTIFICATION AS TO

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND RETURN OF NOTICE<= /p>

I HEREBY CERTIFY that the attached Notice of Public Hearing and Notice of the forego= ing Return of Notice of Public Hearing are duly recorded in the records of the = Town of Watertown, Connecticut, and that Charles A. Frigon was Town Manager on t= he date the Notice and Return of Notice were signed.

Dated at Watertown, Connecticut, this 19th day of October,= 2007.

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;         &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; Virginia Russo

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; Assistant Town Clerk, Town of Watertown<= /st1:place>

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

October 30, 2007

Page 3

            Mr. Pawlak: Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

<= /p>
            The meeting is now open for comment.

<= /p>
            Richard Wick, Northfield Road, Watertown<= /st1:City>, CT&nbs= p; 06795

<= /p>
            Mr. Wick: Two points I'd like to go over. The first one is that if Town prop= erty is sold, then what we're really doing is we're disposing of a fixed asset, = if you will, in balance sheet terms and when we do that my recommendation woul= d be that a special fund be created, if we don't already have one, so that the m= oney we get from the sale is saved for the replacement of a similar fixed asset = some time down the road. A good ex= ample is an open space fund that I know we've tried to feed, if you will, with bu= dget contributions over the years and usually those contributions get defeated during the budget process, and I remember those days very well, but I think= it would be a good expression in an interest in long term planning to try to increase the value of the Open Space Fund in particular, so that when the t= ime comes that we need to buy some property we'll have the funds to do it.

<= /p>
            The other point I'd like to bring up is whether we should sell the particular f= ixed assets that are under consideration right now at all. I'm sure that there is an assumpti= on that there are no need for these assets, these pieces of land for the next = few years and I won't challenge that, but I will ask that we give consideration= to whether we might need them in 30 or 40 years, and if we have a long term pl= an, a strategic plan that goes way out way beyond the period of time that we're thinking about, then I would think that we would need to ask the question, = is there a possibility that we might use or need some of these properties at s= ome time in the future, and if there is a possibility of it, then I would recom= mend that we think twice before selling them now, especially if the reason is to= try to use the money for operating expenses next year. It think that's an absolutely impr= oper use of the value of a fixed asset. Thanks.

<= /p>
            Susan White, 15 Flint Lock Road, Waterto= wn, CT&nbs= p; 06795

<= /p>
            Ms. White: We've had a lot of trouble with the= cul de sac on Artillery Road and I think we would welcome having a house built there because it would help get rid of some of the problems that we run into all the time with a lot of dumping, teenagers partying, we call the Police, sometimes we go down and chase them ourselves. Everybody on the street helps clea= n up the mess so I think we would welcome a house being built right there. Thank= you.

<= /p>
            Jeffrey Bovier, Flint Lock Road, Watertown<= /st1:City>, CT 06795

<= /p>
            Mr. Bovier: I live next door to one of the prop= erties being considered. I agree wit= h Mr. Wick in that we may want to delay moving these properties to be sold in that they have raised in value quite a bit, certainly in 10 years I would imagine they have at least doubled. L= ooking at the assessment here, they're at least double, if not triple, what they w= ere 10 years ago, so if there is no immediate need for this money right away, I can't imagine that this property would decrease in value or remain the same. All indications are it = would rise.

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

October 30, 2007

Page 4

<= /p>
            My second point is if the intent to down the road use this property for anythi= ng other than building lots I would be opposed to that because you're in a residential neighborhood and Mr. Pawlak, I've written an editorial counter = to your proposal for the peninsula property on Flint Lock because it's a quiet residential neighborhood and if you're putting a recreational facility in t= he middle of that, it's just not good land use. Those kind of facilities you want = to have remove from people line of like Sylvan Lake, you want them away from, = get the noise and the traffic away from that kind of area, so if for example the building lot next to mine was ever considered as some small parklet I would= be very much opposed to that. If= they are going to be sold off as building lots, then that's what you'll do, but I would propose that we hang o to them, it's almost like money in the ban, and it's getting good interest, it's getting good return. That's all I have.

<= /p>
      = ;      Mr. Primini: I'm not opposed = to the sale of the two properties on Flint Lock but what I'm looking at is I agree with Mr. Wick and what I suggested before, any properties that are sold like that should be going into an open space account and hopefully we can buy a = nice piece of land we're growing at a fast rate, we definitely could use recreat= ion facilities, but what I'm looking at is if there is a piece of land around t= hat is suitable for all residents to enjoy then we can go towards that.

<= /p>
            The other issue I have, I think we should be working on a policy when we do get lots that come up like this, when they're taken over through foreclosure or whatever, there should be a process in place where they are sold a lot quicker. I mean I think these= lots have been floating around for quite awhile right now and I wouldn't want to= be leaving anybody in limbo what's going to go on next door to that lot like t= hat.

<= /p>
            But the only other issue I had was the property at 720 Echo Lake Road. This property was purchased with t= he bond money for John Trumbull School and as a result my feelin= g is if that property is sold, that money should be used to pay off the bond on = John Trumbull School, to buy it d= own. We have a mortgage on that, we're s= elling a piece of that property that was bought with that bond, and I question the= legality with the State if that’s what should be done, if we're selling off th= at land and using it to balance off the budget, but I really feel since it was bought with the bond money for John Trumbull School that property should be used to pay off the bond at John Trumbull School. I have no problem selling it, like= I said, but any other properties, I think we should be developing a policy so we're not sitting on this property for a long time, but as part of our Plan= of Development, I believe we're asked to have 21% of open space and I consider that part of our open space, so if we're going to be selling that off, that land should be used in exchange for another piece of land, hopefully anothe= r piece of land that we can buy that would be more suitable for everyone in Town.
<= /p>
            Dennis Strozzi, President, The Sie= mon Realty Company

<= /p>
            Mr. Strozzi: I am not a resident but I have wor= ked in the Town for 30 years and I'm not sure if the Townspeople realize this or n= ot, but we have donated 17 acres of land to the Town and Heminway Park Pond to = be used for recreational facilities and that was the restriction on it so in o= rder to have the people on Flint Lock understand that their properties may not h= ave to be used for that, if you're having a big site in the center of Town.

Watertown Town Council

Public Hearing

October 30, 2007

Page 5

<= /p>
            Mr. Pawlak: That's going to be basically t= he northern terminus of the greenway.

      = ;      Mr. Strozzi: Right, so I don'= t know if they understood that or not?

<= /p>
      = ;      Ms. White: No.

<= /p>
            Mr. Strozzi: Okay, but we've donated that and we= put a restriction on it that it can only be used for recreational purposes and al= so there's a greenway coming through, I don’t know if you knew that or n= ot, that's going to be part of the greenway so there is going to be plenty of l= and available for recreational use versus having a house built or something like that so I would hope that the Council would consider that and think of that when they make a decision for recreational use. That's all I have to say.

<= /p>
            Mr. Pawlak: Just to expand a little bit on that donation on the part of The Siemon Company, that 17 acres right now is basically a pond or probably swampy or wetlands or whatever and the plan is= to break the dam, drain the pond so that the feeding stream would return to its normal course which is more westerly against Deland Field and the basketball courts, and we would reclaim a significant portion of that land and use it = as recreational areas, i.e., soccer or baseball or football fields, perhaps picnicking and things of that nature, and basketball courts, so between that and the southern end which would be on the Pin Shop Pond which we would also want to break the dam and drain and reclaim land, it would be a beautiful linear park of about a mile with parks at each end, so that is the long term plan.

<= /p>
            Anyone else who would like to address?

<= /p>
3.&nb= sp;        Adjournment=

Mr. Pawlak, Chairman, Closed the Public Hearing at 7:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joseph Pawlak, Chairman

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = Town Council

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A= pproved: _______________________________

      Lynn M. LaF= orme, Clerk