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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
SEPTEMBER 3, 2002
A Special Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Vayda in the Enfield Room of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Tuesday, September 3, 2002 at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Councilmen Edgar, Fiore, Jones, Mangini, Strom, Tait, Tallarita and Vayda. Councilman Kaupin entered the meeting at 6:05 pm. Councilmen Egan and Hall entered the meeting at 6:10 p.m. Also present were Town Manager, Scott Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni, Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Director of Public Works, John Kazmarski; Town Engineer, Jeffrey Bord; Public Works Coordinator, Thomas McGee.
WORK SESSION - ROAD 2000
Town Engineer, Jeffrey Bord provided the Council with a status report on the Road 2000 Project.
Mr. Bord reviewed the following completed projects since 1999 - Kalish Avenue, Bernardino Avenue, Highland Park, Dartmouth Street, First, Second, and Third Avenues, Winding Lane, Glendale Road, Orbit Drive, Riverview Street, Michell Drive, Orlando Drive, Pleasant Road.
Mr. Bord then highlighted active construction projects as follows: Mathewson Avenue, Gordon Avenue, Orchard Hill Drive, Birch Street from Pearl Street to the railroad tracks, the Hazardville section (School, Oak, Cooper, Grove Streets and the Southview Street cul-de-sac). He noted Avon and Victory Streets will be addressed in the spring. Mr. Kazmarski reported the driveway at 48 Gordon Avenue was accidentally damaged and this damage will be repaired.
Councilman Kaupin questioned the outlook for trees along the roadside, and Mr. McGee stated an arborist looked at these trees. Mr. McAlmond stated they do not see any negative impact on the trees along the roadside. He explained the root system of these trees is very well established. He added topsoil and loam have been placed over exposed roots.
Other active construction projects include the Birdland area (Redwing, Sandpiper, Bluebird, Flicker and Bobolink Roads), the Green Manor section (Jackson and Sheridan Roads, Marion Place, Perry Lane). Mr. Shanley pointed out Green Manor Road and Sheridan Road will retain the sidewalks on both sides of the road.
Mr. Bord provided an update on the Hazard Avenue streetscape and Pearl Street sidewalk projects.
Councilman Edgar questioned whether Mr. Furey's letter to the Town has been addressed. Mr. Bord stated he did receive Mr. Furey's letter and his concerns will be addressed.
Councilman Tallarita reported the membrane between the slabs on Enfield Street is lifting in some places and may be a tripping hazard. He noted the Town should keep an eye on this area.
Mr. Bord then explained the work done with the Post Office Road drainage. Mr. Shanley stated the funding for this drainage work will come out of the Post Office Road/Weymouth Road account and not the Road 2000 monies.
Mr. Bord reviewed projects under design - Section 7 - DEP permits-wetlands mitigation; Army Corps permit, Enfield Inland/Wetlands permit, easement acquisition on 12 properties.
Mr. Kazmarski explained some of the cross culverts originally installed did not extend to the back of the houses in Section 7. He noted they believed this was a safety hazard and could potentially flood people's basements. He explained they proposed extending these to the back of the houses, however, DEP responded "no". He noted they are working with the Conservation Commission to put together a mitigation plan as to what can be done to solve the problem for residents in this area. Councilman Fiore stated his belief there should be another neighborhood meeting so that residents understand the Town is doing the best they can regarding this matter.
Councilman Fiore stated his understanding information has been distributed concerning a stream behind Tabor and Marble Roads. Mr. Shanley explained the neighbors put together a petition and wanted this stream area addressed as part of the Section 7 work. He noted there was a meeting with DEP and they walked this area. He stated DEP issued a report which basically says this is a wetland area and advised it would be helpful if people stopped depositing material over the hillside. Councilman Fiore noted this information needs to be shared with the residents in that area.
Mr. Shanley stated given the challenge they have with Till Street, it appears to him they wouldn't be able to address the Tabor Road issue.
Mr. Kazmarski stated the work to be done at Freshwater Pond might be considered as part of the mitigation that DEP is looking for.
Mr. Bord highlighted other projects under design - Section 7a - Bright Meadow Boulevard (the consultant is completing the design); Section 13 - the lake areas -
Crescent Lake, Shaker Pines Lake - (the consultant is starting the design); Section 14 - Old King Street (the consultant is starting the design); Section 15 - Nancy Drive - (the consultant is completing the design and they will advertise for construction in September.)
Councilman Fiore questioned why they did not hire a consulting firm for the whole process instead of a consultant for each individual project, and Mr. Kazmarski stated they've used the same three consultants throughout this process.
Councilman Fiore stated when the Council was last given a Road 2000 update, there was a tentative spreadsheet of when projects would be done. He expressed concern that none of the start dates made it on time. He stated his hope that trend won't continue into the future.
Councilman Edgar questioned why Cook, Nonotuck, Massasoit Avenues were missed when Highland Park was done. He added he doesn't see Parker Street on this list. Mr. Shanley stated Parker Road was not a Road 2000 project, but rather it's a separate drainage project. As concerns Cook, Nonotuck, Massasoit Avenues, he noted he had requested a review be done on the PCI ratings. He pointed out the PCI ratings for these roads were considerably higher and they were attempting to address the worst roads first. He noted the Town is currently doing roads in Section 15 that have PCI ratings lower than Cook Avenue. Councilman Edgar stated his belief something should be done in this area. Mr. Shanley stated they will be looking at the priority projects for the future. He noted if the Council chooses this area to be a high priority, that could be done.
Chairman Vayda stated his belief the Council needs to think about all the streets in Town.
Mr. Bord reviewed other projects outside of Road 2000 - Post Office Road from Raffia to Abbe Road (with bike path) - design to be started shortly. He noted they've hired a consultant to work on the design for the South Maple Street Bridge.
Mr. Shanley stated the Post Office/Town Farm Road project now has a total of $3.2 million dollars in grants. He noted the federal highway appropriation was funded over six years, and they're approaching Year 5.
Councilman Fiore questioned if the Town is still proceeding on the good faith that the money will be there. Mr. Shanley responded yes. He noted the Town has to pay for the design anyway in order to access the funds. He stated the track record is good and this had to get the State DOT approval and CCROG approval. He added highway funds are a very sensitive subject in Congress and he is not concerned.
Councilman Kaupin stated when the Town purchased the PCI software, it was his understanding they'd be able to quickly get an update on the current PCI. He questioned whether a report could be printed out that shows what condition they are in today. Mr. Bord stated he printed out a report today. He pointed out right now the average PCI in Enfield is 81 and they started at 73. Mr. Shanley stated they have been updating the street-by-street PCI on an annual basis.
Mr. Shanley distributed a financial report on Road 2000 thus far. He noted it totals a little over $15 million dollars that is committed or already spent. He stated in addition to $15 million dollars in bond funds, the Council appropriates $500,000 a year, $100,000 a year for continued work on Green Manor sidewalks, and the Council also appropriated $1 million dollars extra for the worst roads. He noted there will be approximately $3 million dollars remaining after Section 15 is completed. He stated in the upcoming season when construction work slows down and the engineering staff has more time, they will look at all the roads and re-run everything that was on the original list with the most recent PCI information that they have and from that grouping they will determine what are the worst roads and they will then try to put together a program. He noted in addition, the Council budgeted $250,000 this year for post Road 2000 and hopefully future Councils will continue that trend so that over the next four years, the Town will have another million dollars which will then total about $4 million dollars to move forward on the other priorities. He stated they plan to put all of this together this winter with some proposals in order to continue moving forward in the next three to four years.
Mr. Kazmarski stated for an upcoming meeting they would prepare a comparison draft showing how many miles of road there were at the start of the project and how many miles remain in the various PCI categories.
Mr. Shanley stated they really need a multiple year plan, and they have to be careful that this plan doesn't fluctuate from year-to-year.
MOTION #6114 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Tait 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 #6114 adopted 11-0-0, and the Special Meeting stood recessed at 7:15 p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Executive Session of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Vayda at 7:16 p.m.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Councilmen Edgar, Egan, Fiore, Hall, Jones, Kaupin, Mangini, Strom, Tait, Tallarita and Vayda. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni and Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki.
Personnel Matters, Pending Litigation, and Real Estate Negotiations were discussed with no action or votes being taken.
Chairman Vayda adjourned the Executive Session at 7:39 p.m. He 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 #6115 by Councilman Strom, seconded by Councilman Mangini to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #6115 adopted 9-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 7:41 p.m.
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