Board of Selectmen Minutes

Meeting Minutes                                                                 
November 20, 2017
Town Office Building                                                               
6:30 P.M.

*Minutes are not official until approved at the next regular meeting

The meeting began at 6:30 PM with a brief reception thanking First Selectman Mailhos and Selectman Kowalyshyn for their service.  Cake was served to everyone in attendance and the 2 Selectmen received plaques made by local business, Creative Mark Engraving.  

The meeting was then called to order by First Selectman Mailhos with Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington.  First Selectman Mailhos led the Pledge of Allegiance.  

Approval of Minutes:

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to approve the minutes of November 6, 2017 with the following edit:

Page 5 item C second paragraph second sentence; add 1 in front of 1/7/17 should now read “incoming First Selectman (to be determined on 11/7/17)  and add Donna Hardie, Town Clerk to the appointees.

Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.

Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Present to Speak:

Willington Tree Warden, Andy Marco was present.  He stated that officials at Hall School had contacted him regarding the 4 Norway Maple trees along the playground at the school.   A large branch had fallen on the playground a few weeks ago, posing a hazard, and Mr. Marco was called to assess the trees.  

Mr. Marco researched with the State Department of Transportation, who confirmed the trees are not in the State Right of Way.  He then reached out to Eversource because of the proximity to the power lines.   In addition, Mr. Marco sought a second opinion with a licensed Arborist, who has agreed that all 4 trees have reached their end of life.   The 4 trees will be legally posted for removal shortly and Mr. Marco said he is expecting there may be some backlash from the fact that  the trees are historic and may be a sensitive topic to some residents. Because of this, he anticipates a public hearing may need to be held on the issue.    

Mr. Marco noted that he will be coming up with a plan to replace the 4 trees in the future, for those who take issue with them having to come down.  Lastly, Mr. Marco stated that he has reached out to Alice Cassells (Hall Foundation) but has not heard back from her as of yet.

Correspondence:

A list of correspondence was available at the meeting and in the Selectman’s office.  

First Selectman Status Report

First Selectman Mailhos went over the list of updates:

*The following items are on hold until we receive LoCIP funding:

        *River Road Athletic Complex Lighting

*WHFD Parking Lot Replacement  

*TOB Masonry & door replacement

*Pillars under the Town Clerk’s office

*PW Environmental Configuration Engineering (Salt Shed - waiting on STEAP approvals)

        *Door to Lower Level at TOB

*MS4 Compliance – we now have a list of items that need to be done in the next 5 years and everyone is on the same page (including First Selectman Elect Wiecenski).  A meeting will be held in March to review with the Town Engineer.

*Daleville School Road Bridge – the bridge is almost done – the contractor just needs to paint the bridge, however it was too windy today.  Once the painting is completed, the project will be removed from the list.

*Cadlerock Property – the RFP has been published.  The prospective purchaser was not able to negotiate and pulled out of the agreement, so we will continue on with the RFP process to evaluate the property.

*Hiring new Town Clerk –The hiring committee has been established and they met last week.  Interviews will be conducted soon.   

*Website Upgrade – the vendor is integrating our data from the current website over to the new one.  The website is expected to go live on December 8th.

*PZC/ POCD – the final draft meeting will be held in January and  the new Board will be able to review the draft prior to that meeting.

*Crumbling Foundations – we are still waiting for the testing program to go live, which should be sometime in December.  The Captive Insurance Company still needs to be created and the Board of Directors established.  Once that is done, they will figure out how the funding will be administered. We are in a holding pattern at the moment.

*Land Use Position – Now that the budget has passed,  the new Board of Selectmen & PZC will finalize the job description.  Once that has been finalized, a search committee will be established to continue with the next steps.  

Public Works:

Derek reported that the crew has been busy with the following:

Grading gravel roads

Roadside mowing

Ready snow plows for upcoming winter season

Blowing leaves at T.O.B.

Install new flags on town green

Install topsoil burm on Moose Meadow Road

Cut roadside brush

Patch pot holes

Burn brush pile

Vehicle/equipment maintenance/repairs

Sign installation/repair

Backfilling along new pavement at the Transfer Station

Derek reminded residents to not blow their leaves into the roadway. With the winter season upon us, please do  not push snow onto the roadway. When snow is pushed into the roadway it can be a hazard to motorists, and you may be held liable for any accidents or damage it may cause.

Also, please be advised that any waste oil that is brought into the Transfer Station cannot contain any water or antifreeze. No industrial~waste~is accepted and will be returned if left.

New Business

Personnel Policy update

First Selectman Mailhos noted that the Personnel Policy was in need of updating to reflect the newly ratified union contract from July 1, 2017.  

The changes are as follows:  

Cover Page – Approval and effective dates – will read: Effective on Retroactive to July 1, 2017; Adopted at Board of Selectmen meeting on November 20, 2017.

Footnote on all pages:  reflects the effective date

Appendix A: changes to insurance section to reflect the union contract

Appendix B made a change regarding the Town Clerk benefits (now that it is an appointed position as of 1/8/18). 

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to accept the changes as presented in the Personnel Policy.

Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.

Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington)  0 No.

Update of information on usage and hours of operation to TSOMP (Transfer Station Operations Management Plan)

First Selectman Mailhos stated that after the last Town Meeting (where the Transfer Station fees were discussed) reminded Derek that the TSOMP was in need of updating since the hours were changed at the Transfer Station.

The change is on Page 6 to reflect the change we made last year and each appendix is updated with the current fiscal year’s information.

Selectman Kowalyshyn moved to accept the updates made to the TSOMP (Transfer Station Operations and Management Plan) as presented.

Selectman Blessington seconded the motion.

First Selectman Mailhos noted that the permit fee remains the best bargain in Northeastern CT at 0$.

Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.

Willington Hill Fire Department proposed plan for sale of old Fire Truck

Michael Makuch was in attendance representing Willington Hill Fire Department.  He stated that he would like to discuss the 1981 American LaFrance Fire Truck that is currently for sale.  The apparatus, which was purchased brand new for $100,000 at the time, has been with the Department until it was taken out of service recently.   It was refurbished several years ago (at a cost of $85,000) having work done to maintain DOT inspections.  It was also transferred to Willington Fire Department for a brief time, before being returned to WHFD where it sits outside in the parking lot.  Mr. Makuch noted the truck is now approaching its 40 year mark and not really valuable any longer.

Mr. Makuch stated that the Department had sought 7 prospective vendors who might repurpose the truck, but none of them   were interested.  It was then  determined it is probably worth most as scrap metal, however the Department members are not in favor of seeing it cut up.   As a result, the apparatus was listed on Ebay and the current bid  is at $2,000 but the Department would like to look at other local options instead.  One of the options would be to offer it to Tolland, where they would add it to their special fleet of trucks they use to decorate at Christmas, but at that point it would be a donation and no money would come back for it.

Mr. Makuch stated he is following the protocol in the Emergency Services contract, which states that the Department must consult with the town before they depart with any apparatus.

Selectman Blessington said their plans sound good, even if they have to scrap it.

Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that donating could be a good idea – especially since Tolland works with our Recreation Department and sends a truck with Santa to our tree lighting event, perhaps that would be a nice gesture. 

Mr. Makuch then asked the Selectmen what should be done.  Selectman Blessington said they are doing the right thing.   If they can get money for it, then that is even better.  First Selectman Mailhos suggested putting out a public notice to see if anyone local would be interested in purchasing it.  

The Selectmen thanked Mr. Makuch for trying to come up with the best solution for the truck.

Old Business

Crumbling Foundation Update

First Selectman Mailhos stated that there is not much more to say other than what was covered under the status report.  We will wait to see what happens as time goes on.

Budget Update

The Board of Finance had met on Thursday and everyone left that meeting feeling that we were safe, but then Friday received notice that we are getting cut an additional $300,000.   That doesn’t leave us in a terrible place, because we had planned on being cut over $600,000, but it is still not great news.

Good & Welfare

Several years ago, when we had a bunch of new membership changes, we had scheduled the FOIA Commission to come out to do training.  First Selectman Mailhos said it might be a good idea to get something scheduled soon for all of the newly elected members.

The annual tree lighting will be held on Friday December 1st on the Town Green.  This year’s event will be bigger than last year - the Recreation Commission is sponsoring a holiday tree give away.  There are still a few more trees available for sponsors to adopt and decorate.  The decorated trees will be donated to families in need.  

First Selectman Mailhos congratulated everyone who was recently elected!  She also  thanked the Registrar of Voters who  had a successful election day with a record 40% turnout this year.  

Attention budget writers – CIP request forms are forthcoming.  Donna is making edits to the form (as suggested by Randy Belair) who made changes to the form, which is not only easier to submit requests, but is eaiser for the readers to comprehend.   

We received our monthly report from the State Police:

During the month of October:

6 Accidents             553 Non reportable matters

6 DUI’s                 23 Criminal Investigations

3 Burglaries            221 Traffic citations

41 written warnings        2 Larcenies

First Selectman Mailhos stated that she received meeting minutes from the recent MIDNEROC (Mid-Northeast Recycling Operating Committee) which Willington is a member.  The September minutes state “the Town of Ashford’s transfer station has seen a large increase in trash of late.  There was speculation as to why this might be happening.  One reason might be that they do not charge for a transfer station permit.”  First Selectman Mailhos noted that one of the former Ashford Transfer Station employees now works for us in Willington and he is doing a good job and has helped us enforce our policies.

First Selectman Mailhos stated that she wanted to thank all of the Town staff as well as her assistant, Robin Campbell. She also thanked the community and stated it has been a pleasure to serve you all.   She wished the incoming Selectmen; First Selectman Elect, Erika Wiecenski and Selectman Elect Liza Makuch well in the future.

Selectman Blessington stated that he has served 8 years with First Selectman Mailhos and 4 years with Selectman Kowalyshyn.  It has been interesting and he thanked them both for a pleasant time.  

First Selectman Mailhos presented her gavel to First Selectman Elect Wiecenski. .  The gavel was a gift  from a resident to First Selectman Mailhos when she first took office 8 years ago.   

Selectman Kowalyshyn thanked Robin Campbell, Selectman Blessington and First Selectman Mailhos, the town employees and Derek for their wonderful work.  She then wished First Selectman Elect Wiecenski and Selectman Elect Makuch well.  Lastly, she thanked the community for letting her serve them.

The residents applauded the Selectmen.

Michael Makuch stated that he has been attending Selectmen meetings for the past 30 years.  He thanked First Selectman Mailhos for the last 8 years.  He believes the new board will do well, but there are figuratively very big shoes to fill.  In all of those decades, he hasn’t seen anyone more dedicated to the town than First Selectman Mailhos.  

Stef Summers said all three of the Selectmen were here at one of the most difficult times in our town, which was when we were fighting the gun range.  The Board provided leadership in a balanced and professional way.  She added we couldn’t have done it without such strong leadership in the town.  Ms. Summers said she will never forget it and she believes the town won’t forget either.  

Robin Campbell thanked the Selectmen for the past several years.  

First Selectman Mailhos moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 PM.

Selectman Kowalyshyn seconded the motion.

Vote:  3 Yes (Mailhos, Kowalyshyn & Blessington) 0 No.
 

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell
Administrative Assistant