January 15, 2008
Chairman Tom Galvin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was taped.
Members Present: Robert Doyon, Tom Galvin, Patricia Geary, Carl Graveline, Theresa Graveline @ 7:04 P.M., Stanley Pilat, Roger Kergaravat, Charles Mallon, Douglas Merriman.
Members Absent: None.
Mayor’s Report: Mayor Chatfield submitted documents showing the weather information that the town uses in conjunction with the Public Works Department in scheduling for snow storms. The total amount of salt and sand used for the 2007 – 2008 season to date is 418 tons. Mayor Chatfield stated that he will need to purchase additional sand to get through the remainder of the winter season. The Town saved $942.27 with the CL&P Summer Saver program. A check in the amount of $10,000.00 was paid to the Tax Collector from the McAllens for an additional 12-month option to purchase the tax liens for the US Cap and Jacket property. Mayor Chatfield informed the Council that an ordinance will need to be passed for Storm Water Phase II in 2008 and distributed sample ordinances to Council members. The Mayor suggested that the Council check with the Chairman of Inland Wetlands and Planning & Zoning for the best way to present the ordinance. Mayor Chatfield reviewed briefly information on CODE RED Notification System that would be handled through the “Regional Dispatch”. A meeting will be held later in January or February 2008 at the Firehouse. Mayor Chatfield stated that the new Dog Warden is working out well. So far two dogs have been retained. The office of animal control is now working towards prevention and not reaction. Patricia Geary stated that Regional School District 16 has implemented their own system that goes by bus routes and asked the Mayor whether the Town could save money by using Region 16’s notification system. P. Geary asked how the system would be paid for. The Mayor advised that $7700.00 would be from a Grant and thereafter the total would be added into the budget.
Approval of December 4, 2007 Minutes: Motion made by D. Merriman to approve minutes as corrected. Motion seconded by R. Doyon. P. Geary advises that Trooper Abarzua’s name is misspelled. T. Graveline also states that Trish Spawford’s name was spelled incorrectly and has since been corrected to Spoffard.
Old News: Tom Galvin advised of two items from the last time: A grant that would allow Town Employees to attend college courses at NVCC has not been approved. Once the grant is approved then the class information will be given out so all town employees if interested, could attend. T. Galvin asked Attorney Yarborough for Thursday night meeting dates at the firehouse for all boards to attend, concerning FOI, Executive Session conducting business for all boards to run professionally. The dates could be either Jan. 31st or Feb. 7th. The preferred date is February 7th, but either date would do. T. Graveline suggested that a copy of the Town Charter should be provided to all new people. P. Geary and S. Pilat advised that they would each like one also.
The Council reviewed the tax refunds.
Motion made by P. Geary to approve refunds of 1/15/08 in the amount of $526.32. Motion seconded by Theresa Graveline. Motion unanimous.
The new Council Clerk, Rosalyn Moffo, was recognized by the Council.
Guests: None
Public Participation: None.
Correspondence:Letter from the Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, Mike Scaviola, regarding recommendations to town boards. Motion made by D. Merriman to approve the Democratic Committee recommendations. Motion seconded by P. Geary. P. Geary requested to have a copy of the Democratic recommendations put into the next package. C. Graveline stated that a correction should be made to Kurt Graveline’s name adding in the II. Motion unanimous. The Republican Town Committee recommendations to the boards and commissions were given to the Council. Motion made by R. Kergaravat to approve Republican recommendations. Motion seconded by P. Geary. Motion unanimous. Discussion for information only; for a quorum, if there are 5 regular members on the Emergency Management Committee then 4 would be a quorum. The correct amount would be if there are 5 members then 3 would be a quorum. Mayor Chatfield wrote to the Commission of Agriculture to inform of new Animal Control Officer: Alexandra Seelan.
The Police Reports for November and December were reviewed. R. Kergaravat suggested having an explanation of the break down of such items as Accident, Accident Assist and Accident Report by Trooper Nelson Abarzua. R. Kergaravat wondered, being that the officers are MRT certified or EMT certified, are they assisting with medical calls. Chuck Mallon advised that officers should be carrying oxygen. R. Kergaravat wondered if Trooper Abarzua could include the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in the monthly police report.
C. Graveline advised that follow-up with the Town Clerk, Carrie Anderson, should be made for the correction of Kurt Graveline II’s name. T. Galvin asked if the Council’s email addresses and phone numbers were correct, especially D. Merriman. T. Graveline also asked if there was anyone that did not use their email address. Additional Correspondence: Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, Plumbing and Heating Inspector reports on file. A question was raised as to where the Fire Marshall report was. The Council agreed that this should be considered.
A special Thank You to Theresa Graveline for the suggestion of taking the Social Security Numbers off all Town Employee’s checks except for the last 4 digits
Mayor Chatfield presented a copy of the current Town Council budget. The budget needs to be submitted before Feb. 8th. R. Kergaravat inquired if the Council salaries could be increased as this is not an election year. D. Merriman advised that the salaries are set by Charter. T. Graveline asked why we have a line item for supplies. T. Galvin advised that this will be researched. T. Graveline advised to cut Sub-Committee Expenditures from 500.00 to 250.00 for Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Approve R. Doyon, T. Galvin, P. Geary, C. Graveline, T. Graveline, S. Pilat, C. Mallon and D. Merriman. Opposed R. Kergaravat. Motion carries.
Board of Recreation minutes tabled until next meeting.
Region 16 has formed a Budget Review Committee to involve Town Representatives and Board Representatives for the entire school budget process. This committee would run from January through May (or later if the budget does not pass). The Board of Education requested one representative from the Town Council to be on the Board. S.Pilat was recommended as the representative due to his previous experience with the Board of Education. Motion made by D. Merriman to approve S. Pilat’s nomination to Budget Review Committee. Motion seconded by R. Doyon. Motion unanimous.
Mayor Chatfield’s appointments were put on file with correspondence plus Expenditure Budget, General Fund, Comparative balance sheet, Draft Budget, Audit Report. The Auditor will be at the first Council meeting in February.
The Council was previously sent a copy of the Audit Report, which everyone received except for R. Doyon.
Motion made by T. Graveline to put correspondence on file. Motion seconded by R. Kergaravart. Motion unanimous.
New Business: Transfers – Already acted on Refunds – Already acted on Resignations – None Subcommittee Appointments- None
Subcommittees Reports – None.
Subcommittee Report – None.
Adjournment:
Motion made by D. Merriman to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by R. Kergaravat. Motion unanimous. Meeting Adjourned @ 8:07 P.M.
__________________Thomas Galvin, Chairman
____________________Rosalyn B. Moffo, Clerk