Town of Prospect-Boards & Commissions

Prospect Town Council

Approved Minutes

June 17, 2008

Chairman Thomas Galvin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was taped.

Members Present: Robert Doyon, Tom Galvin, Carl Graveline, Theresa Graveline, Stanley Pilat, Charles Mallon and Douglas Merriman.

Members Absent: R. Kergaravat, P. Geary

Mayor' Report:
T. Galvin read into the minutes a letter from the Department of Transportation to Mayor Chatfield regarding the final approval for the Scott Road Phase I Project.

Chair's Report: None

Guests: 1

Public Participation: None

Motion made by D. Merriman to approve the Minutes of June 3rd, 2008. Motion seconded by C. Graveline. T. Graveline abstained. Unanimous. Motion Carries.

Motion made by R. Doyon to approve the Minutes of June 5 , 2008. Motion seconded by Charles Mallon. Unanimous.

Correspondence:
T. Galvin read into the minutes a letter sent to the Town Council by Mr. Richard Misavage, Church Street regarding the Prospect Drum Corp Utility truck and questions regarding liability also authority and use of Region 16 property. T. Galvin also read into the minutes a letter to the Town Council from Dorothy Grish requesting improvements to the Town Hall parking lot for handicap accessibility.

Board of Recreation Minutes for April 9, 2008, Tax Collector's Report for May 2008 showing the amount collected to date of $19,445,953.93, Prospect Police Report of May 2008 showing 12 Officers, Fire Marshal Report for May 2008, T. Galvin commented that the format for the Fire Marshal never listed investigations, Zoning Inspectors Report for May 2008, Building Department Reports, State of Connecticut Department of Transportation agreement for the Scott Road, Phase I Project. T. Galvin stated this Project was a long time in coming for Scott Road; the 1st Phase will be from Austin Road to Nicholas Court, the 2nd Phase will be from Nicholas Court to Maria Hotchkiss and the 3rd Phase will be from Maria Hotchkiss to Rte 69 Prospect.

Motion made by D. Merriman to place correspondence on file. Motion seconded by T. Graveline. Unanimous.

New Business:

  • Transfers - None

  • Diane Lauber, Tax Collector for the Town of Prospect gave the annual Suspense Report for accounts that are deemed uncollectible by law. These accounts are mostly motor vehicle registrations that are the residents who have moved. These accounts stay on the books for 15 years. If someone moves out of the area and comes back these residents could be billed. Diane noted that the tax office does try to stay updated with address changes but in some instances this is not possible. Diane also stated that there is one Real Estate Property and a few personal property accounts. The Suspense report total would be $32,855.42. T. Galvin asked for a motion. Motion made by C. Graveline to approve the Suspense Report total in the amount of $32,855.42. Motion seconded by T... Graveline. T. Galvin inquired if this was a larger amount than previous years. Diane stated that in previous years the amount was from $25,000.00 to $35,000.00.

  • Refunds - The Tax Collector's office issued a request in the amount of $515.86 for refunds for 3 individual accounts from the Grand List year of 2006. Motion made by R. Doyon to approve the 3 individual account refunds in the amount of $515.86. Motion seconded by T. Graveline. C. Mallon questioned if the two of the refunds stating Nissan Infiniti LT and VW Credit Leasing LTD were to be returned to the leasing companies. Diane advised the refunds go to the companies not the individuals.

  • Resignations - None

  • Appointments - None

    • Old Business:
    T. Graveline informed the Council on the Open Space Plan. The Open Space Subcommittee did publish requests for proposals for planning agencies and others to submit. T. Graveline stated five proposals did go out; the deadline was set for 4:00 P.M. on June 17, 2008, the Subcommittee did receive one back. T, Graveline asked permission from the Council to appropriate up to $15,000.00 to allow the Subcommittee to actually contract with a firm to help us complete/rewrite the Open Space Plan. T. Galvin stated this was the approximate amount, while $12,000.00 or $13,000.00 to $15,000.00 was the target amount. T. Graveline stated if the Subcommittee avails itself to all parts of the plan that was submitted to the Subcommittee, the cost would be approximately $12,000.00; the amount that was not included was the amount for the printing costs. T. Graveline advised the Subcommittee anticipated it would be costly for printing and felt that $15,000.00 was a good number to work with but she did not expect to go that high unless the printing costs were much more than was anticipated. T. Galvin questioned if there was a time set for the finished product. T. Graveline advised the time set for the finished product was October 1, 2008. Motion made by C. Mallon to appropriate $15,000.00 from the Open Space Account to allow the Subcommittee to contract with a firm to help rewrite the Open Space Plan. Motion seconded by S. Pilat. 1 Galvin advised once the plan is in place it will more than pay for itself; more "Grant" flexibility toward Open Space. T. Graveline stated once agreed upon by the Subcommittee the contract will be drawn up by the Town's Attorney. T. Galvin questioned if this cost would be included in the $15,000.00. T. Graveline advised the cost of the attorney should be that, but costs of printing may not be fully covered by that amount. T. Galvin questioned if the company had experience in this area. T. Graveline advised the company had experience with Open Space in the past. Unanimous.

    T. Galvin advised the Council of the date for the 3r time for the Referendum 6 a.m.- 8 p.m. on June 23, 2008. T. Galvin requested to set the mill rate immediately following the Referendum. Motion made by D. Merriman to approve the date of June 23, 2008, immediately following the voting, at Community School for a meeting to set the mill rate Motion seconded by T. Graveline. Diane Lauber, Tax Collector of the Town of Prospect, requested a special line to be added to the Agenda to exclude bills that were less than $2.00. T. Galvin questioned if this meant the bill would not be generated. Diane advised any bill $1.99 or under would not be generated. Unanimous.

    Diane Lauber, Tax Collector for the Town of Prospect, requested after the mill rate is set to have a turnaround time of 1 day to have the bills printed. Diane requested to have the office of the Tax Collector closed on Friday June 27,2008 and Monday June 30,2008. T. Graveline questioned if there is a frequent amount of traffic in the tax office during the day. Diane advised people will be coming in to request their tax bills. T. Graveline stated this was a reasonable request. Diane stated if someone needed to have a Motor Vehicle registered the tax office would be available. Motion made by T. Graveline to allow the Tax Collector's office to be closed on Friday June 27, 2008 and Monday June 30, 2008 if necessary to expedite the processing of tax bills for this Grand List. T. Galvin questioned if the bills needed to be postmarked June 30. Diane advised the date does need to be June 30. Motion seconded by S. Pilat. Unanimous.

    Adjournment:
    Motion made by D. Merriman to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by R. Doyon. Unanimous. Meeting adjourned @ 7:32 p.m.

    Thomas J Galvin, Chairman

    Rosalyn Moffo, Clerk