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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
DECEMBER 2, 2002
A Regular Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Vayda in the Council Chambers of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, December 2, 2002 at 7:32 p.m.
PRAYER - The Prayer was given by Councilman Hall.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Councilmen Egan, Fiore, Hall, Jones, Kaupin, Mangini, Tallarita, Tait, and Vayda. Councilmen Edgar and Strom were absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Town Attorney, Christopher W. Bromson; Director of Public works, John J. Kazmarski; Assistant Director of Public Works, Colleen Brand
MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETINGS
MOTION #6266 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Mangini to accept the minutes of the November 12, 2002 Regular meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6266 adopted 8-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
MOTION #6267 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Egan to accept the minutes of the November 18, 2002 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6267 adopted 9-0-0.
MOTION #6268 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Jones to accept the minutes of the November 18, 2002 Regular Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6268 adopted 9-0-0.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS & PETITIONS
Robert Matacki, Sun Street
Stated his belief this is not the time for a referendum. He suggested the Town look at available funds to see what can be done for recreation. He went on to question whether the Town ever looked at the as-built plans for Enfield High School to see if they can make those drainage plans work.
Mr. Matacki stated his belief it should be made clear what other costs are involved when projects are brought before the taxpayers.
Francis Costanza, Valley View Circle
Suggested putting the referendum off for a couple years until the economy is better.
Brian Ellis, 17 Cora Street
Stated he voted no for the referendum because he believes people can't afford this now. He went on to note a recreational area was taken away when the Town provided land behind Enfield Street School for the new Head Start building.
Mr. Ellis stated eliminating the leaf vacuum program wasn't a good idea.
Margaret Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Questioned whether the Town will have a referendum question regarding the EMS service. She went on to question whether people will be able to afford the ambulance service if they don't have insurance.
Ms. Jedziniak expressed her objection to the school system having it's own financial technology system.
She voiced her concern about the local taxes going toward Head Start.
Robert Messenger, 4 King Court
Stated many people don't have the money to compete with other more affluent towns. As concerns the recent referendum, he stated his belief the school fields do need attention, but they also have to be maintained.
Robert Tkacz, 1300 Enfield Street
Stated his belief the Town Council should be utilizing its capital budget for some of these projects.
Mr. Tkacz stated his belief the pool for Green Manorville should be a basic pool rather than an elaborate, expensive pool.
He stated the largest employer in Enfield is the Town of Enfield.
Charles Wood, 11 Westerly Drive
Questioned the need to spend a lot of money for consulting fees for different projects
Mr. Wood stated his belief the Town needs to financially reign in the Board of Education. He acknowledged the Board of Education is very autonomous, but the Town of Enfield writes the checks.
Referring to recreational needs, Mr. Wood stated his belief the Town needs to look at what can be done with internal resources and making adjustments.
Referring to the Head Start Program, Mr. Wood stated his belief people who don't work or don't have children don't like paying babysitting fees. He stated he's not sure the taxpayer is getting very much for their dollar out of the Head Start Program.
Mr. Wood stated his hope the Council will reconsider moving forward with a referendum.
Jack Sheridan, Buchanan Road
Agreed with previous speakers concerning the referendum. He suggested adding a question to a future referendum to learn how many people would like to change the Town Charter to include the entire budget being voted on similar to all the surrounding towns. He noted this would take a lot of pressure off the Town Council.
Mr. Sheridan questioned how much extra did the brick sidewalk in Hazardville cost. Mr. Shanley responded $50,000. Mr. Sheridan stated he doesn't believe a brick sidewalk is a good idea.
He recommended the Council not have another referendum for at least another year.
Frank Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated his belief recreation should not take priority over education. He added his belief the recreation referendum should be put on the back burner for a couple years.
Mr. Jedziniak stated in the past the taxpayers voted down a second middle school, however, a big addition is being built in front of JFK. He added there are also three portable classrooms at JFK.
Robert Tkacz, 1300 Enfield Street
Referring to the brick sidewalks in Hazardville, Mr. Tkacz pointed out they're currently removing the brick walkways at Bradley International Airport because there have been many incidents of pedestrians tripping and causing liability issues. He pointed out the airport walkways are protected by an overhang and he questions what will happen with the Hazardville sidewalks since they're exposed to the weather.
Mr. Tkacz stated the New Milford Town Council had their budget defeated four times and finally passed it at the exact same amount as last year. He noted they are having a mid-term meeting to work with the taxpayers.
He noted the Amityville school budget was defeated eight or nine times because the people will not vote in favor of the budget until the complete school board resigns. He stated this is a result of corruption they learned about through an audit of the school board budget.
Mr. Tkacz stated an audit is being done in North Branford at a cost of $5,400, and he feels it's about time that the Town of Enfield audited the School Board. He noted line items are audited, but there's never been an audit.
TOWN COUNCIL REPORT & COMMUNICATIONS
Councilman Fiore commended the Town employees for their United Way contribution.
Councilman Fiore stated his hope the Town Manager can get a handle on the prison environmental study which might be released tomorrow. He noted he'd appreciate a copy of this study being distributed to the Town Council.
Councilman Fiore stated the Governor announced the mid-year cuts to municipalities. He read the following: Pequot/Mohegan grant - a cut of $7.7 million dollars; machinery and equipment reimbursement - a cut of $3.6 million dollars; public/school transportation - a cut of $2.3 million dollars; miscellaneous education grants - a cut of $8 million dollars. He questioned if in the near future the Town Manager will be in a position to be able to provide the Town Council some details as to what this will actually mean to Enfield's budget which has already been passed. Mr. Shanley stated that is not a "done deal" and the Governor is currently negotiating with the Legislature to perhaps go back into session to deal with issues. Councilman Fiore questioned whether based on these figures, the Town Manager would be in a position to provide estimates as to what Enfield's loss would be. Mr. Shanley stated he would have to wait because so much is formula driven. He noted as soon as the state releases the information, he will pass that onto the Town Council.
Councilman Mangini thanked Public Works for doing an excellent job during the recent snowstorm. She also commended the Public Works for improvements to the gazebo.
Councilman Kaupin requested an update from the Public Works Director on the status of the Road 2000 projects and the impact from the snow.
Chairman Vayda pointed out funding for furnishings was included for the school projects. He pointed out the school projects have come on line ahead of schedule and under budget.
Chairman Vayda stated the Town does not have a rainy day fund, but the Town does have a fund balance. He noted prudent government requires a town to keep a fund balance, and what Enfield keeps for a fund balance is what is recommended by a lot of the rating agencies.
Chairman Vayda stated his understanding about some of the concerns some people have about the school budget. He noted when students leave Enfield Schools, they will be competing with students from other school systems, He stated Enfield needs to do its best to be sure its students have the tools they need to compete effectively. He stated his belief it's a good choice to put resources into something like education and to continue to improve.
Councilman Tallarita stated he and his parents struggled to make a living in Enfield, and he made a conscious choice to remain in this town because he believes Enfield is a good town. He added he also made a conscious choice to volunteer to serve on the Town Council. He added he tries to do his best to serve the community. He noted he listens to the people and he cares about what this town is doing and where it's going. He stated having a referendum is truly the essence of democracy and it puts things on the table and allows the citizens of the community to decide on it. He agreed the community spoke on the last referendum and the Council heard the people, however, there's still a problem at least at the high school level regarding their fields and proposed meetings will get input from people about this issue.
Chairman Vayda congratulated Town staff for the United Way contributions. He went on to request the Town Manger address the mis-statement on the news about Enfield's $70,000 snow budget. He noted that figure is wrong.
The meeting recessed at 8:30 p.m. for a five minute recess.
Chairman Vayda reconvened the meeting at 8:35 p.m.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT & COMMUNICATIONS
Referring to claims about the school and town budgets increasing, Mr. Shanley noted he did read about the school budget, however, there has been no comment about the Town budget at this point.
As concerns school furnishings, Mr. Shanley stated furnishings were part of the referendum and have been purchased and have been installed in some schools and will be installed in all of the schools as they get their certificates of occupancy.
Mr. Shanley stated the funding for the EMS Program, as hypothetically proposed by Mr. Wiemokly, the EMS Manager, was a net of $98,000 last year, not $1.3 million dollars. He noted the $1.3 million dollars was the cost, but there's a revenue side as well and that takes into account that they're able to collect 65% of the billings and this is a conservative revenue estimate. He noted the EMS Committee just received the report and they will probably be discussing that report for a couple months before they come up with a recommended plan for the Town Council, therefore, it's premature to judge any costs until the Committee completes their work.
Mr. Shanley stated the JFK addition, which was referred to by Mr. Jedziniak, was part of the 1999 referendum and it was approved.
As concerns audits as raised by Mr. Tkacz, Mr. Shanley noted there are audits and there are comprehensive audits. He stated Enfield does comply with all federal and state laws and the school department is audited for the purpose of the financial statement that the Town receives every year and for the purposes of federal and state grants which are subject to the single audit act.
Mr. Shanley stated as soon as the environmental impact statement is released, the Town will get it. He added there will also be a public hearing on this.
Mr. Shanley referred to the difference between the budget and the number of checks that the school department writes, and explained the numbers in the budget are full-time equivalencies (FTE's), and he believes 800 FTE's includes quite a few part-time people, therefore, when they're cutting checks, they probably have to cut 1,200 checks.
Mr. Shanley requested Mr. Kazmarski to provide a Road 2000 update.
Mr. Kazmarski stated the bituminous plants are closed and this will prevent the final paving in some areas. He noted they will attempt to get some bituminous material when there's some warmer weather to fill in around some of the raised catch basins and manholes. He stated if they can't get any bituminous material, they will put up warning devices in areas where needed which will be installed and maintained by the contractors.
He stated the concrete sidewalk work can continue as long as it isn't snowing and temperatures aren't below freezing.
Mr. Kazmarski stated brick work on the Hazardville streetscape can continue, but this work is held up by snow and freezing temperatures. He noted the ornamental street lights are in the process of being installed by CL&P. He went on to report that almost all of the trees have been planted.
Mr. Shanley stated the presence of a police officer at a Council meeting is not intended in any way to have anything to do with general public communications. He explained the reason for the police officer is a function of security measures that have been taken, and the Council is aware of the security measures, however, under Freedom of Information, this is not something that could or should be discussed publicly, but rather in Executive Session and that has been done. He noted security measures are in place for a very good reason.
TOWN ATTORNEY REPORT & COMMUNICATIONS
Attorney Bromson stated he had no formal report this evening.
REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL
There were no reports this evening.
OLD BUSINESS
MOTION #6269 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Fiore to remove Item g. from the table.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6269 adopted 9-0-0.
RESOLUTION #6270 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Hall.
RESOLVED, in order to comply with statutory requirements, the Enfield Town Council does hereby accept the amendments to the Blight Ordinance as discussed at their meeting held on November 18, 2002. (Ordinance appended to minutes)
Upon a ROLL-CALL vote being taken, the Chair declared RESOLUTION #6270 adopted 9-0-0.
All other items under Old Business remained tabled.
NEW BUSINESS
RESOLUTION #6271 by Councilman Kaupin, seconded by Councilman Jones.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Council of the Town of Enfield hereby waives the bid process for the "Owner's Representative" for the Enfield High School Expansion project so that the committee may interview two current Owner's Representatives with whose performance the staff and the Building Committees have been pleased with.
Mr. Shanley explained this is to allow for the reference check and interview of the two project managers who are currently working for the senior center and school expansion projects. He noted if the Committee is comfortable with that, they can then negotiate with the project managers, and if they're not, they can then go through the RFP process.
Chairman Vayda requested Colleen Brand provide a brief definition of "Owner's Representative". Ms. Brand explained an owner's representative can be viewed as a Clerk of the Works, which is someone who goes around and documents subcontractors and workers on the project and what type of work they're doing, as well as maintaining the security or observing the security of the project as it's under construction. She noted an owner's representative could also resolve issues out in the field and handle paperwork flow to make sure a contractor has the most current sketches and clarification from the architect and also maintains the reporting process for the owner. She pointed out some people call this position a Project Manager.
Upon a ROLL-CALL vote being taken, the Chair declared RESOLUTION #6271 adopted 9-0-0.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
Appointments will appear under New Business on the next agenda.
DISCUSSION/RESOLUTION RE: AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT/STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION SOFTWARE
Mr. Shanley stated this is something the Town Council has been discussing for a number of years. He explained the State of Connecticut has instituted a software program through the Secretary of State's Office that would register all voters in the State in a central data bank. He noted this is a process that Enfield's Registrars have been engaged in for a few years. He stated there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed before Enfield would agree to participate, and over the last year or so all of those issues have been addressed. He noted the Town Clerk and Registrars are now supportive of moving to this system.
Councilman Fiore stated at this time the State does not produce a voting history tracking record. He noted basically the system they are signing up with still is a little behind the times. He went on to note that about a year or two ago, the State indicated they would probably contribute toward the cost for the telecommunication line. He referred to Page 3, Line Item #10 and stated his impression they're getting one license. He questioned whether one license will allow them to be able to download a copy of this application on both computers. He requested the Town Manager ask this question of the Information Systems Director. He concluded stating his understanding the Town needs to go through this route.
Mr. Shanley stated this agreement is for 169 towns, and the State won't change it structurally. He went on to note the State did make changes to their system in that it's browser based and it will operate in the Town's NT environment. He stated his understanding this move is becoming mandatory. He added his belief the Town has done the best they can to negotiate for what is needed, recognizing they didn't get everything they would have liked to get.
Councilman Fiore stated it might be a good idea to get something in writing from the State stating they won't be able to produce the voter historic tracking record. Mr. Shanley stated they will ask the Secretary of State if she would provide that in writing.
Councilman Mangini questioned whether Attorney Bromson is comfortable with the contract as it stands. Attorney Bromson stated his office has reviewed it, but there's very little leverage with the state in regards to this contract. He added he feels comfortable with this.
Councilman Egan questioned if there's any time frame that the Town is obligated to do this. Mr. Shanley stated they have been waiting for the past few years to see upgrades to get to the point where they're compatible, and that has occurred. He noted there are only a few communities in Connecticut that have not committed to this, and Enfield is one of them.
Chairman Vayda stated the State of Connecticut would benefit from having a statewide registrar system, and he feels the election process is well served by having something like this. He noted things like election fraud can be tracked more readily. He went on to state his belief elected officials should make it known to the Secretary of State that they do have concerns and they would like to see a priority list of what things are going to be
addressed and hopefully a schedule within which it can be addressed. He added his belief the voter history track list would be of value to the state as well.
Mr. Shanley stated another reason for moving within the next few months is to have it operational through the next municipal election so that all the bugs are worked out prior to the presidential election.
Councilman Fiore questioned whether the Registrars would be maintaining dual systems for the municipal election and then that will be it. Ms. Olechnicki stated her belief they planned on doing that until they were sure how things would work.
MOTION #6272 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Mangini to suspend the rules to address Item d. under Miscellaneous this evening.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6272 adopted 9-0-0.
MISCELLANEOUS
RESOLUTION #6273 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Tallarita.
RESOLVED, that in accordance with Chapter VI, Section 8(f) of the Town Charter, the following transfer is hereby made:
TO : 1200-550 Printing and Reproduction $3,402.56
FROM: 8030-840 Contingency $3,402.56
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify the amount of $3,402.56 is available from Account #8030-840 as of November 22, 2002.
/s/ Gregory Simmons, Director of Finance
Councilman Kaupin questioned when this was done. Mr. Shanley stated this was the mailing for the leaf collection to all homes.
Councilman Kaupin questioned whether they publicized the transfer station being open on Mondays. Mr. Shanley stated the transfer station was open today, and they will ask the newspapers to publicize it for next Monday as well.
Upon a ROLL-CALL vote being taken, the Chair declared RESOLUTION #6273 adopted 9-0-0.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
Charles Wood, 11 Westerly Drive
Stated he recognizes this meeting as being run by the Mayor and he recognizes the need for security, however, he does not recognize the need for a police officer to control people if they're talking.
As concerns education, Mr. Wood stated it's not a case of providing the right tools for students, but rather he's opposed to waste. He noted times have changed, but he believes scores have changed as well. He stated his belief teachers' salaries are too exorbitant for taxpayers to pay. He suggested since the Town doesn't have any control over the school budget, he suggests cutting the bottom line of the education budget. He noted taxpayers would like the Town to recognize that times are tough.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION #6274 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Mangini to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6274 adopted 9-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 9:16 p.m.
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