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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
JANUARY 16, 2001
A Special Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairwoman Strom in the Enfield Room of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 6:07 p.m.
ROLL-CALL Present were Councilmen Dodd, Egan, Falk, Fiore, Hall, Mangini, McGuire, Strom and Vayda. Councilmen Giddings and Kaupin were absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Attorney, Christopher W. Bromson; Director of Human Resources, William E. Mahoney; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Town Engineer, Jeffrey Bord; Director of Finance, Gregory Simmons.
REVIEW OF ROAD 2000 AND OTHER PROJECTS
Mr. Bord gave a presentation of what has been accomplished with the Road 2000 Program as well as other major capital projects within the last couple years.
Mr. Bord presented a slide presentation to show those roads which have been addressed in Enfield.
Section 1
Bernardino Avenue
Gamello Avenue
Stanley Drive
Maratea Place
Kalish Avenue
State Street
Bouvier Street
Leon Street
Total Length 1.29 miles
Cost - $670,000
Mr. Shanley stated the Councils direction was to include the worst roads, and an additional million dollars was appropriated to do that.
Mr. Bord pointed out there were instances where they found organic layers of soil under the gravel and pavement, and this caused the road to move and break up. He explained they had to dig out that material and replace it with fill and include some storm drainage.
Section 2
Dartmouth Street
Highland Park
Woodland Street
Pequot Avenue
Francis Avenue
Sunset Drive
University Place
Fairfield Street
Ferndale Avenue
Total Length 1.35 miles
Cost - $940,000
Mr. Bord stated these were some of the worst roads in Enfield and extensive storm drainage work was required. He noted additionally, large trees had to be removed from the walkways.
Section 3
Second Street
First Avenue
Third Street
Second Avenue
First Street
Total Length 1.02 miles
Cost - $360,000
Section 4
Winding Lane
Fernwood Avenue
Redwood Avenue
Riviera Drive
Cynthia Circle
Total Length - .97 miles
Cost - $740,000
Mr. Bord pointed out extensive storm drainage work was done in this area.
Section 5
Glendale Road
Olmstead Road
Ellis Road
Oak Ridge Street
Total Length 1.19 miles
Cost - $750,000
Section 6
Orlando Drive
Riverview Street
Mitchell Drive
Orbit Drive
Total Length 6,400 feet
Cost - $300,000
Section 9
Southwest corner of Enfield
Depot Hill Road
Pleasant Road
River Road
Total Length 0.14 miles
Cost - $250,000
Mr. Bord stated this area was in very bad condition.
SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN THE PAST TWO YEARS
Mr. Bord listed the roads where sidewalks were addressed:
Taylor Road, the Green Manorville area
Enfield Street, from Woodgate to Route 91 (north end of Enfield)
Hazard Avenue
North Street
North Maple Street
Frew Terrace
Alden Avenue
Virginia Avenue
Mr. Bord then reviewed capital projects completed in the past two years:
Ash Street, Cedar Street, Allen Street, Park Avenue (roadways, storm drainage and sanitary sewer construction)
Bridge Work
Old King Street Bridge
North Main Street Bridge
Pleasant Road Bridge
Other projects included the Town Hall parking lot, Sharren Lane storm drainage work, channel work on Post Road in the area of the court house, drainage work on South George Washington Road, outlet work on Queen Street.
Mr. Bord reviewed Connecticut Department of Transportation Projects:
Resurfacing on Route 91
Enfield Street/North Main Street intersection
Enfield Street/Alden Avenue intersection
North Street and Parsons Road railroad crossings
North Maple Street overlay
Depot Hill Road overlay
He then reviewed projects that are currently underway:
Beemans Brook, Phase III drainage improvements (behind Woodgate)
Sidewalk reconstruction Park Avenue, Belmont Avenue, Summer Street, and Virginia Avenue
Enfield Street sidewalk reconstruction still has to be done from Alden Avenue to Carpet Street
Central Library drainage improvements paving to be done in the spring
Taylor Road improvements at the intersection of Route 190
Mr. Bord then reviewed future Road 2000 projects:
Section 7
Roosevelt Boulevard
Section 7A
Bright Meadow Boulevard
Section 8
Green Valley Drive
Section 10
Hazardville
Section 11
Birdland area
Section 12
Green Manor area
He then listed future capital improvement projects involving the following areas:
Fletcher Road, Gordon Lane, Oliver Road, Post Office Road/Town Farm Road, Susan Circle, Enfield Memorial Industrial park, Sun Street, JFK Middle School drainage outlet, Foxcroft Road, Tanglewood Avenue, South Maple Street bridge, Hazard Avenue sidewalk reconstruction, Freshwater Pond improvements, Filmore Drive, Keller Avenue, Depot Hill Road, River Road, Parker Street, Enfield Street at Bridge Lane, Wilstar Circle, lower level parking at Town Hall, Prior Road, Parsons Road, Stephen Drive
He highlighted future DOT projects:
Hazard Avenue/South Road/Elm Street intersection reconstruction
Elm Street/Freshwater Boulevard/St. James Avenue project
Councilman Dodd questioned if theyre behind in the roads that the study said should be done first. Mr. Shanley responded it could be argued enough "fair" roads arent being done because theyve been focusing their efforts on the "poor" roads.
Councilman Dodd questioned if theres anything in place regarding placement of trees on the snow shelf. Mr. Shanley stated CL&P has a set of rules regarding power lines. He added the Town does not yet have a set of rules concerning the snow shelf. He noted it would be nice to have either a Beautification Committee or a Conservation Committee do a roadside forestation plan. Councilman Dodd agreed something like that should be done.
Councilman Dodd questioned if all bridges are pinned into bedrock. Mr. Bord stated some concrete footings were poured right over bedrock, except for the Old King Street bridge where the footings were poured over a compacted stone base.
Councilman Dodd questioned whether core samples will be taken. Mr. Shanley stated theyre spending more money on engineering and core samples to avoid future problems.
Councilman McGuire questioned if theyre on schedule with the Birdland area, and Mr. Bord responded this construction season.
Councilman Mangini stated her belief they did a very nice job on Glendale Road.
Chairwoman Strom questioned if its possible to know how many miles of overlay have been done. Mr. Bord indicated he can supply that information.
Chairwoman Strom commended the Engineering Department for an excellent presentation.
AUDIT REPORT DISCUSSION
Present from the auditing firm, Santos and Bertoline was Scott Travone. Mr. Travone gave an overview of the audit report, as well as any findings and recommendations.
Mr. Travone referred to the first section of the comprehensive annual financial report and noted this section contains required information provided by the town.
He referred to Page 16 and the independent auditors report. He noted as in past years, the opinion is unqualified and is a clean opinion. He explained the third paragraph basically outlines the scope of what they audited, specifically the general purpose financial statements that are listed in the table of contents. He clarified these financial statements are the responsibility of the towns management, and they are not the financial statements of the auditing firm. He pointed out the auditors responsibility is to express an opinion on those financial statement based on their audit. He stated the second paragraph explains how they conducted the audit and standards that they adhere to, as well as the basis for their opinion.
Mr. Travone stated the financial report contains a number of supplemental schedules, and the opinion does extend to those as well. He referred to a section of tables which provides ten fiscal years worth of data compiled by the Town and the Finance Office. He pointed out their opinion does not extend to those statistical schedules.
He referred to the combined balance sheet on Page 17 and noted this reflects all the various fund types. He pointed out the fund balance section is a significant portion of the total assets. He noted this is a very strong balance sheet and a very strong financial position that the town has as of June 30, 2000.
Mr. Travone referred to Page 19, Exhibit C, and noted this is a comparison of the budget and actual results in the general fund. He noted there is no budget deficit or surplus budgeted, but the $2.5 million dollars in fund balance was utilized in the budget process to balance the budget. He stated actual results show revenues were approximately $700,000 in excess of budgeted amounts. He noted the town only needed to use approximately $472,000 of the fund balance that was budgeted June 30, 2000.
Councilman Hall referred to Page 29 and noted there was apparently approximately $2 million dollars in teachers retirement, but now it appears theres nothing there. Mr. Travone explained the State of Connecticut makes a pension payment on behalf of all state teachers. He noted thats recorded under Exhibit B, and this is not impacting fund balance.
Mr. Travone stated they noted no matters involving the internal control for financial reporting in its operation that would be considered to be a material weakness.
He referred to Page 91 and noted they express an opinion on compliance with the requirements of the major federal programs the town receives, and its a clean opinion. He noted the town complied in all material respects with the requirements of the grants.
Mr. Travone referred to Page 93, and noted theyre required to list out all of the federal awards that the town receives. He noted Page 94 shows the town received a little over $3 million dollars in a variety of different grants. He stated the requirements for a federal single audit is $300,000, therefore, Enfield is well in excess of that.
Referring to Page 98, Mr. Travone stated this starts the state single audit. He noted the town complied with all the requirements for the state grants. He referred to Page 104 and noted the town received over $31 million dollars in state financial assistance, most of it pertaining to education.
Councilman Falk questioned the net increase in the fund balance. Mr. Travone stated the net increase in the fund balance on the "gap" basis was $147,000 in the General Fund and on the budget basis, it was a decrease of $472,000. He explained when the town budgeted, it budgeted utilizing $2.5 million dollars out of the fund balance, therefore, in essence only $472,000 was used of the $2.5 million dollars that had originally been budgeted.
Mr. Shanley stated one of the things theyve tried to accomplish over the last three or four years is to stabilize the fund balance so that theyre not significantly increasing or decreasing it. He noted hes very comfortable with the decrease because hes aware of what the increases have been over the last couple years, therefore, its a relatively slight fluctuation.
Councilman Fiore referred to Page 12 and requested clarification regarding "$5 million dollars of authorized unissued debt previously accrued". Mr. Shanley explained that is the Road 2000, and the town sold $10 million and has $5 million yet to sell.
Mr. Travone reviewed the management letter and noted their recommendations relate to things that they feel will enhance the financial reporting of the town.
He stated a new accounting standard has been issued by the government accounting standards board and this standard will revolutionalize the way all cities and towns present their financial statements. He noted this is an attempt to get everyone on the same level in terms of how financial statements look. He pointed out they are doing a phase-in based on the size of each city and town as to when this new standard has to be adopted. He noted he provided Enfields Director of Finance with the background information on this, and hes well aware this is coming and recognizes whats involved.
MOTION #5039 by Councilman Falk, seconded by Councilman Egan to go into Executive Session to discuss Personnel Matters, Pending Litigation, and Real Estate Negotiations.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #5039 adopted 9-0-0, and the Special Meeting stood recessed at 7:29 p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Executive Session of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairwoman Strom at 7:30 p.m.
ROLL-CALL Present were Councilmen Dodd, Egan, Falk, Fiore, Hall, Mangini, McGuire, Strom and Vayda. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Director of Human Resources, William E. Mahoney; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Town Attorney, Christopher W. Bromson.
Personnel Matters, Pending Litigation and Real Estate Negotiations were discussed with no action or votes being taken.
Chairwoman Strom adjourned the Executive Session at 7:39 p.m.
Chairwoman Strom reconvened the Special Meeting at 7:40 p.m. and stated that during Executive Session they discussed Personnel Matters, Pending Litigation and Real Estate Negotiations with no action or votes being taken.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION #5040 by Councilman Falk, seconded by Councilman Egan to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #5040 adopted 9-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 7:41 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannette Lamontagne
Secretary to the Council
By Suzanne F. Olechnicki
Suzanne F. Olechnicki
Town Clerk
Clerk of the Council
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