Thursday, January 5, 2012

BOARD OF SELECTMEN
DECEMBER 12, 2011
Page 1 of 2

Attendance: First Selectwoman Derrylyn Gorski, Selectman Donald Shea, Selectman Steven Thornquist

Visitors: Attorney Kevin McSherry, Ann McDonnell, George McDonnell, Phil Brunwin, Janet Brunwin, Janet Hescock, Bruce Hescock, Walter Briggs, Pat Stewart, Tony Esposito, Kathleen Schurman, Guy Yale, William Brinton, Shaukat Kahn

The meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order at 7:35 P M. The meeting was held in the Conference Room of the Bethany Town Hall. Check signing was the first order of business. First Selectwoman Gorski asked all to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
First Selectwoman Gorski called for approval of the minutes of the meeting of November 22, 2011. The motion of approval was moved by Selectman Shea and seconded by First Selectwoman Derrylyn Gorski. There were no changes to the minutes. The vote was called. The vote taken was unanimous.

First Selectwoman Gorski called for a motion of approval for the minutes of the special meeting of December 1, 2011. The motion of approval was moved by Selectman Thornquist and seconded by Selectman Shea. The minutes were approved on a unanimous vote without change.

LIONS CLUB
SHOWCASE PLANS
Shaukat Kahn gave a presentation to the Board of Selectmen on the history of the Bethany Lions Club. The club was established sixty years ago and has been an active club in the Town ever since. To preserve the history of the Bethany Lions Club, members present were asking to have a show case installed at Lakeview Lodge to display memorabilia. A plan of the show case was distributed. Following discussion and review of the plan, Selectman Thornquist moved to grant permission to the Bethany Lions Club, to build a showcase at the Lakeview Lodge in the inner room, to display memorabilia of the club, with a storage area at the base of the showcase as shown in the plans presented to the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Shea seconded the motion. The vote taken was unanimous.

LIONS CLUB
FLEA MARKET
Members of the Lions Club discussed with First Selectwoman Gorski, a suitable location on the Airport property, to hold their Flea Markets in the spring and summer and fall of 2012. The location as discussed was agreeable to all members present.

REVALUATION BID WAIVING
Bethany Tax Assessor Mario Panagrosso has requested that the Board of Selectmen waive the bidding process for revaluation of the 2013 Grand List. Equality Valuation Services LLC will give us a price of $73,800 to perform the revaluation if the bid process is waived. This amount is substantially less than we would probably settle if we had a request for proposal. Equality is a Connecticut based company which still employs the same personnel that worked on the 2008 revaluation in Bethany. Mario indicates that this previous experience with Bethany will be beneficial when arriving at fair market values. Included in the $73,800 price would be digital images of every home in Bethany. Following discussion the Selectmen c hose to table the decision until Mario could be present to answer questions they might have.

TAX REFUNDS
Selectman Shea moved to refund to David Cira the sum of $90.79, to Nissan Infiniti, LT the sum of $216.55 and to Robert Golub & D. DeFusco the sum of $10.00 all for overpayment of taxes. The motion was seconded by Selectman Thornquist. The vote taken was unanimous.

MONUMENT REPAIR FOR BETHANY CEMETERIES
William Brinton, Bethany Town Historian gave a power point presentation to the Selectmen on the need for repair of the old historic monuments in Bethany’s Cemeteries. The cemeteries are the Meyers, Carrington, Methodist and the Sperry Cemeteries. There are a number of historic headstones that are damaged and require attention. The Board of Selectmen in the absence of a church or cemetery association is responsible for the maintenance of all town cemeteries which is the case of the four listed. William is proposing that the Selectmen add an appropriate sum to the existing line item or create a separate one for headstone restoration and maintenance to establish a preservation program for all historic grave markers. The Selectmen all agreed that something needs to be done to preserve history. A consideration will be given to this request in the preparation for the budget of 2012-13.

CORRESPONDENCE
A request has been made by the family of Edyth Simpson to possibly place a bench at Veterans Memorial Park in memory of Edyth as she was one of the founders of the former Beacon Outing Club now known as Veterans Memorial Park. The Selectmen agreed as long as a presentation was made to them on the design of the bench and that proper steps were followed for its placement.

OTHER
First Selectwoman Gorski reported that the Audit draft will be presented to the Board of Finance tomorrow night.

The Bond Sale will take place on Wednesday. There should be a $347,000 savings if the price remains stable until Wednesday.

ADJOURNMENT\
Adjournment was called at 9:00 P M after a motion was moved by Selectman Thornquist and seconded by Selectman Shea. The vote taken was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,


June G. Riley