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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2005
Before the Regular Meeting was called to order the following proclamations were read:
A Proclamation regarding the Felician Adult Day Care 15th Anniversary to be presented to Sister Patricia Marie Iagrosso
A Proclamation regarding Foster Parent Appreciation Month
The Regular Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Tallarita in the Council Chambers of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, May 16, 2005. The meeting was called to order at 8:15 p.m.
PRAYER – The Prayer was given by Councilman Dodd.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
ROLL-CALL – Present were Councilmen Crowley, Dodd, Edgar, Egan, Fiore, Kaupin, Mangini, Peruta, Reveruzzi, Tait and Tallarita. Also present were Town Manager, Scott Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne Olechnicki; Town Attorney, Christopher Bromson; Director of Finance, Gregory Simmons; Director of Information Systems, Charlene Bond; Deputy Director of Public Works, Geoffrey McAlmond
FIRE EVACUATION ANNOUNCEMENT
Chairman Tallarita made the fire evacuation announcement.
MINUTES OF PRECEDING MEETINGS
MOTION #7849 by Councilman Edgar, seconded by Councilman Mangini to accept the minutes of the May 2, 2005 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7849 adopted 10-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
MOTION #7850 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Peruta to accept the minutes of the May 2, 2005 Regular Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7850 adopted 10-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
MOTION #7851 by Councilman Edgar, seconded by Councilman Mangini to accept the minutes of the May 3, 2005 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7851 adopted 9-0-2, with Councilmen Kaupin and Tait abstaining.
MOTION #7852 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Peruta to accept the minutes of the May 4, 2005 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7852 adopted 10-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
MOTION #7853 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Egan to accept the minutes of the May 9, 2005 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7853 adopted 10-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
MOTION #7854 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Edgar to accept the minutes of the May 12, 2005 Special Meeting.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7854 adopted 10-0-1, with Councilman Tait abstaining.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS & PETITIONS
Jack Sheridan, 7 Buchanan Road
Thanked Public Works for helping him dispose of his mercury thermometer.
Mr. Sheridan stated the conveyance tax was supposed to be a temporary increase on real estate to offset state aid because of a poor budget year. He noted that happened in 2003 and the sunset of this was supposed to be at the end of this year, however, it appears that may be extended for two more years. He stated his opinion the conveyance tax is a tax against people selling their own property.
He expressed his appreciation for all the work the Council did in trying to reduce the tax increase.
Charles Woods, 11 Westerly Drive
Thanked everyone for the time put into this budget. He questioned the motivation behind some of the changes. He referred to two major changes – one was the senior center. He stated some people felt this building should be torn down, but now they’re investing more money into this building than what it’s worth. He noted another item he’s disturbed about is the amount of money given the Board of Education. He stated it’s apparent the votes were divided down party lines. He noted he has a tape during which time the Democrats approached the Teachers’ Union and wanted to settle with them in the last election because they were concerned about losing support. He questioned whether this might be pay-off time. He stated his personal opinion the +$2 million dollars is kind of a payoff from the Democrats to the teachers.
Margaret Jedziniak, 232 Abbe Road
Stated she didn’t believe it was fair to have some of the meetings held in places that weren’t conducive to having the public attend, i.e., two meetings didn’t have the proper seating for anyone but the Council. She stated her belief a Friday, May 13th article in the Hartford Courant caused controversy by writing the headline, “Teachers Face Down Opposition”, and the reporter inferred the information the Taxpayers’ Association had was inaccurate. She pointed out the Taxpayer’s Association got their information from the Town of Enfield Financial Report.
Ms. Jedziniak stated her belief teachers try to intimidate people by their loud speech and making such statements as the “Enfield Taxpayers’ Association” should be “Enfield Anti-Education Association”. She stated her feeling taxpayers are already over-taxed and the school department doesn’t deserve a raise in their budget since they don’t really educate people, but rather push them through the system.
Mrs. Collins, Hazardville Section
Suggested freezing the taxes for senior citizens.
COUNCILMEN COMMUNICATIONS & PETITIONS
Councilman Mangini stated Integrity Martial Arts is having their ceremony this Saturday. She noted the public and Council are invited.
Councilman Mangini stated the Emergency Management Full Scale Regional Exercise was conducted on Sunday morning. She stated her belief this went very well and she commended Dan Vindigni for his work on this, as well as everyone else involved.
MOTION #7855 by Councilman Fiore, seconded by Councilman Mangini to move Item 13c to Miscellaneous.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7855 adopted 11-0-0.
Councilman Egan thanked the Town Manager and staff for all the time and effort put into the budget process.
Councilman Egan stated she had the opportunity to visit the Town Hall Museum yesterday, and she commended the group of volunteers who do an extraordinary job.
Councilman Crowley thanked the Town Manager and staff, as well as fellow Councilmen for all the hard work during the budget process.
Councilman Peruta stated he was very impressed with how well all the groups came together for the Emergency Management Full Scale Regional Exercise.
Councilman Kaupin stated he recently played golf in support of the Athletic Hall of Fame. He noted the annual tournament was held yesterday at Oakridge Country Club. He stated all the proceeds go toward scholarships for high school students through the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Chairman Tallarita commended the Town Manager and staff for the time and effort they put into this budget process.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT & COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. Shanley commended Gregory Simmons, Director of Finance, for his enormous amount of work on the budget. He noted this process is started around Christmas time, and it’s an exhausting process. He also thanked Mr. Vindigni for his hard work on the Emergency Management Full Scale Regional Exercise. He noted Mr. Vindigni has also developed and maintained sound plans over several years, as well as helping develop this regional plan.
Mr. Vindigni explained how the recent Emergency Management Full Scale Regional Exercise was conducted. He noted there were 225 participants involved with a number of citizens volunteering to be victims. He stated over 30 agencies were involved, and they represented both local government and regional agencies. He added state agencies from Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as federal agencies were involved in this exercise. He pointed out this exercise was the result of a seven-month effort that began in November in meetings with the Capitol Region, EPA, FEMA, the State of Connecticut, a local planning committee made up of Herbert Foy, Deputy Chief of Police, Carl Sferrazza, Michael McMullen, Paul Wentworth and Deputy Fire Chief Paul Januszewski.
TOWN ATTORNEY REPORT & COMMUNICATIONS
Attorney Bromson stated he had no formal report this evening.
REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL
Councilman Mangini stated the Fourth of July Town Celebration Committee met recently. She commended this Committee for all their hard work.
Councilman Crowley requested someone look into a report about some rotting trees in the area of the Enfield Cemetery. Chairman Tallarita raised the possibility of those trees being on state property. Mr. Shanley stated he would contact the Cemetery Association regarding this.
Mr. Shanley stated it should be recognized that in an emergency management situation, there’s an incident command structure, and at the top of that structure on the scene is the most senior ranking fire official in the district, and in this case it was Patrick Furey. He noted this was a very daunting and demanding exercise, and he was put in an extremely tough spot, and he wasn’t necessarily well supported because everyone was doing what they could in a chaotic situation, however, Mr. Furey did a terrific job.
OLD BUSINESS
APPOINTMENTS (TOWN MANAGER & TOWN COUNCIL)
All appointments remained tabled.
Items c., d., and e. remained tabled.
MOTION #7856 by Councilman Fiore, seconded by Councilman Mangini to remove Item f. from the table.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7856 adopted 11-0-0.
MOTION #7857 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Fiore to waive the reading of the resolution.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7857 adopted 11-0-0.
RESOLUTION #7858 by Councilman Kaupin, seconded by Chairman Tallarita.
Stateline Plaza - Freshwater Boulevard - Costco
Traffic Control Signal Easement, Roadway Easement
Mr. Shanley explained this is related to the Costco project and part of the responsibility was the installation of control signals and traffic issues. He noted they completed all the work and these are the easements that need to be transferred. He stated Planning & Zoning approved this on April 21st.
Upon a ROLL-CALL vote being taken, the Chair declared RESOLUTION #7858 adopted 11-0-0.
Item g. remained tabled.
NEW BUSINESS
There were no Consent Agenda items.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
Items b, d., e., f., g., and h. will move to New Business on the next regular meeting agenda.
MISCELLANEOUS
MOTION #7859 by Councilman Tait, seconded by Councilman Mangini to waive the reading of the resolution.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7859 adopted 11-0-0.
RESOLUTION #7860 by Councilman Kaupin, seconded by Councilman Mangini.
Emergency Management Full-Scale Regional Exercise - DEP Funding
Mr. Vindigni stated this is an opportunity to receive some state funding to get reimbursement for non-personnel costs related to the Emergency Management Full Scale Regional Exercise. He added this can be up to $3,000.
Upon a ROLL-CALL vote being taken, the Chair declared RESOLUTION #7860 adopted 11-0-0.
COUNCILMEN COMMUNICATIONS
There were no communications.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION #7861 by Councilman Tait, seconded by Councilman Mangini to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7861 adopted 11-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 8:50 p.m. |