[Marker]
Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
November 20, 2006
Present: Ketcham, Miller, Takacs
Also present: four members of the public and S. Wolf of the Redding Pilot
Mrs. Ketcham called the November 20, 2006 meeting to order at 7:40 pm in the Hearing Room of the Redding Town Office Building.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: move to approve the minutes of October 16, 2006 as corrected.. Miller, Takacs. Approved. Unanimous.
Corrections, page 1, paragraph 1 under Discussion of Speed Humps, the correct name is Maya Furrer; page 2, last paragraph, line 1, should be “clerk of the works”.
Motion: move to approve the minutes of October 19, 2006 as submitted. Miller, Ketcham. Approved. 2-0-1. Takacs abstained.
Motion: move to approve the minutes of October 25, 2006 as submitted. Takacs, Miller. Approved. Unanimous.
Corrections: Page 1, under Great Oak Lane, change sentence to read “Mr. Takacs questioned the impact on several large trees, and noted that this should not be an issue with proper design.”
The minutes of October 5, 2006 were tabled, pending clarification of the information on the athletic fields report.
ATHLETIC FIELDS UPDATE
Discussion began with a review of the Board of Selectmen Site Walk of three potential sites for the relocation of tennis courts currently located adjacent to the Redding Elementary School. The site walk was conducted on October 25, 2006 and included a site on Great Oak Lane, a site off Gallows Road, and a site on the East side of the Redding Elementary School property.
Mrs. Ketcham read the minutes of the October 25, 2006 that included a discussion by the Board of Selectmen following the site walk. (Refer to October 25, 2006 minutes).
Onion field option: Mr. Takacs reported Blades and Govern reviewed the suggestion to retain the tennis courts in their current location and design an artificial turf field adjacent to the courts on the existing “onion field”. That plan would reduce costs substantially by eliminating roadway reworking, retaining wall, and cost of relocating the tennis courts. The Blades & Govern cost to build field #5 on the “onion field” is $625,279. The cost includes contingencies, but does not include the cost of landscaping. The field would impact approximately 1700 square feet of the property currently used by the Historical Society, but does not impact the area used for the Town garden. Mrs. Ketcham contacted the Historical Society, but discussions have not occurred as yet.
Schools impact: On November 15, 2006, Mr. Takacs and Chris Hocker met with school administrators, including Director of Finance Peggy Sullivan, JRMS principal Diane Martin, and RES principal Kathleen Kelly to review the impact of the alternate locations of tennis courts & field design on the schools. The question of removal of the geese materials from the artificial turf surface was raised and Mr. Takacs has asked Blades & Govern to get further information on that issue. The impact of expansion of Field #4(closest to RES) on the school grounds and the basketball court were discussed. If an artificial turf surface is used, the field will be fenced and this may impact the basketball court area. With regard to the tennis court relocation to the area near the demountable, there were
questions about a reduction in parking. RES principal Kelly noted that the current “onion field” is used for overflow parking for special events, but Mr. Takacs noted that there is sufficient parking space available in the Community Center lot. At JRMS, the school administrators questioned the use of the artificial use field by the school and Mr. Takacs responded that the field would be available for school use.
Construction manager: Mr. Hocker provided information regarding different types of construction project oversight. Oversight of the project is an additional cost for consideration. Mr. Takacs reported Blades & Goven believes that for a site-only project, a productions manager company, like Gilbane Building, would manage all the trades and contractors.
Park & Recreation Department Director, Rob Blick, provided a spread sheet outlining weather impact on use of the existing fields. This will be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting.
Discussion will continue at the next Board of Selectmen meeting.
DONATION OF 4.275 ACRES ON WHORTLEBERRY ROAD TO TOWN OF REDDING
Motion: move that the Board of Selectmen accept the donation of a conservation restriction and easement of 4.275 acres on Whortleberry Road subject to approval of the easement document by Town Counsel and the Conservation Commission. Takacs, Miller. Approved. Unanimous.
REQUESTED NAME CHANGE FOR THE COMMISSION FOR THE ELDERLY
The Commission for the Elderly reported the Commission voted to change the name to the Commission on Aging. The Board of Selectmen approved the change in the name and requested that the Commission incorporate the change in their By-laws.
Motion: move that the Board of Selectmen adopt the recommendation of the currently named Commission for the Elderly to be changed to the Commission on Aging. Miller, Takacs. Approved. Unanimous.
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
1. CL&P easement: the agreement to trade a parcel of open space for another parcel must be approved at a Town Meeting in lieu of monetary compensation.
Motion: move to set a Town Meeting date and time for Monday, December 11, 2006 at 7:30 pm in the Town Office Building for the purpose of acceptance of the resolution regarding the revised CL&P easement of town-owned rights. Ketcham, Takacs. Approved. Unanimous.
Call of the Meeting:
Motion: move to approve resolution as attached. Miller, Takacs. Approved. Unanimous.
2. Resolution regarding State of CT Department of Emergency Management Homeland Security:
Motion: move to approve the resolution as attached. Takacs. Miller. Approved.
3. Resolution regarding the State of CT DOT & Town of Redding:
Motion: move to approve the resolution as attached. Miller, Takacs. Approved. Unanimous.
4. Town of Redding mileage reimbursement rates: discussion of town employees using municipal vehicle compared with using a personal vehicle for conduction of town business. The reimbursement rate for use of a personal vehicle if a municipal vehicle is not available is 44.5 cents/mile, the reimbursement rate for use of a personal vehicle when a municipal vehicle is available and not used is .28 cents/mile. Some questions regarding use and logistics were raised. Additional information was requested prior to a adoption of a policy.
5. Energy update:
a. Alliance Energy Electricity Audit: a report on the audit of the municipal buildings was reviewed. The CL&P program audits the lighting fixtures, etc. to find ways for energy savings. They calculate the cost to make the improvements and pay 50% of the improvements. To make sure there are no out-of-pocket costs to the municipality, they take the current usage and hold it flat, calculate the savings with the improvement, calculate the number of months to pay off the improvements. At the end of that payoff period, the usage rates drop to what they should be. The police building, annex building, community center building, highway department and transfer station were reviewed, with considerable savings in each one of
them. The police station and annex building, the payoff period is 10 months, the highway department is 22 months, and community center is 23 months. No action was taken.
b. Westport Solar Consultants proposal: A proposal was submitted following a meeting that included Mrs. Ketcham, Jim Cotton (Board of Finance Chair) and Peggy Sullivan (Director of Finance for the schools). The proposal is for a feasibility study for John Read Middle School, Redding Elementary School, Redding Community Center, and the Highway Department to determine if any of the buildings would be suitable for solar energy. The study will include the costs and payback period. The fee is up to $5,000 for a proposal that includes these buildings. The Board of Finance will discuss this issue at their next meeting. No action was taken.
c. CCM Energy Purchasing Program: the Town has joined the Connecticut Council of Municipalities and is participating in their energy purchasing program.
6. Appointment
Joe Paola was appointed to the position of the Town of Redding Emergency Management Director.
7. CT DOT Railroad Parking Fees: at the October 5, 2006 meeting the Board of Selectmen approved an increase in the cost of the monthly parking fee to $180. This was submitted to the CT DOT for approval, and they requested that the monthly fee be raised to $250. This is the fee that is being charged by Bethel, and it is anticipated that the Danbury fee will also be increased. The additional income will serve for capital improvements to the Redding station.
8. Historic Properties preservation efforts: an ad hoc group has been meeting for the past few months. The Preservation Society, Historical Society, a town historian, the Planning Commission and Mrs. Ketcham have begun discussions on what could be done to increase preservation of historic property. The group is planning to invite owners of historical properties to an event to discuss preservation on January 21, 2007.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Jim Miller, Parker Brook Pond Road: requested that information regarding a final accounting of project expenditures be make known, such as the amount approved for a project and the actual amount spent. He further requested that for future projects, such as the athletic fields program, that a person be employed to oversee the project or function as the owner’s representative. Mrs. Ketcham responded that they would take this under consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Maday, Recording Secretary
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