BOARD
OF SELECTMEN
MARCH
3, 2020
Page
1 of 3 DRAFT
MINUTES
Attendance: First Selectman Paula Cofrancesco and
Selectman Donald Shea.
Absent: Selectman Derrylyn Gorski
Also
in attendance: Town Attorney Vincent
Marino, Finance Director Sheila Lane, and Facilities Director Rod White
Visitor: Fred Nevin
1.&2. First Selectman
Paula Cofrancesco called the meeting of the Board of Selectmen to order at 7:02 p.m.
The meeting was held in the Selectmen’s Conference Room of the Bethany
Town Hall. As the first order of
business, Selectman Cofrancesco asked all to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
3.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
First
Selectman Cofrancesco called for a motion of approval for the minutes of the regular
meeting of February 18, 2020. The motion of approval was moved by
Selectman Shea and seconded by First Selectman Cofrancesco. There were no changes to the minutes. Voting for:
Cofrancesco, Shea.
Unanimous approval.
First
Selectman Cofrancesco called for a motion of approval for the minutes of the
special meeting of February 21,
2020. The motion of approval was moved
by Selectman Shea and seconded by First Selectman Cofrancesco. There were no changes to the minutes. Voting for:
Cofrancesco, Shea.
Unanimous approval.
First
Selectman Cofrancesco called for a motion of approval for the minutes of the
special meeting of February 28,
2020. The motion of approval was moved
by Selectman Shea and seconded by First Selectman Cofrancesco. There was a change in the minutes with the
numbering of the items to 1 and 2 and the 3 was removed. Voting for as amended: Cofrancesco, Shea.
Unanimous approval.
4.
DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION – REPLACEMENT OF LODGE FLOORING
Facilities Director Rod White noted the following:
·
Asking Selectmen
to waive the bidding process.
·
Received three
proposals to replace lodge flooring.
·
Best bid was
from Sullivan and Son.
·
Flooring will be
Mohawk 12” by 24” rectangular luxury vinyl tile.
·
With the price
received from Sullivan and Son will be able to include the kitchen area.
It was moved by Selectmen Shea and seconded by
Selectmen Cofrancesco to waive the bidding process to replace the lodge
flooring and to accept the proposal from Sullivan and Son.
Voting
for: Cofrancesco, Shea.
Unanimous approval.
BOARD
OF SELECTMEN
MARCH
3, 2020
Page
2 of 3
5.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION – ROAD WORK – MOVING FORWARD – UPDATE
First Selectman Cofrancesco stated they are waiting
for the State bids which should be available within the next week to ten days.
Selectmen Shea noted the following:
·
We should know
in a few weeks who the contractor will be.
·
Asphalt plants
open March 25th and it will take a couple weeks to get running.
6.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION – SIMPSON PROPERTY – UPDATE
Town Attorney Marino noted the following:
·
There is a title
discrepancy on the part of the seller, which needs to be corrected before we
can move forward.
·
We have drafted
a contract but need the title issue to be resolved first.
·
Will call seller
to ask status of title and try to move the process along with the seller.
First Selectman Cofrancesco stated the Land Trust is
concerned about the grant money. They do
not want to lose the funds. First
Selectman Cofrancesco or Attorney Marino will contact the Land Trust to get
update on timeline of grant money.
7.
DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION – SIMPLE RECYCLING (SOFT RECYCLABLES) – UPDATE
First Selectman Cofrancesco noted that she followed
up with the Simple Recycling today to get the revised contract back and will
forward to Town Attorney for review when received. First Selectman Cofrancesco stated she would
hope to start the program in April around Earth Day, if not sooner.
8.
DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION – TAX REFUNDS
First Selectman Cofrancesco stated there are no tax
refunds.
9.
DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION – CEMETERY COMMISSION BYLAWS – UPDATE
First Selectman Cofrancesco stated she is working
closely with the Cemetery Commission on deeds and plots and that the Bylaws may
need to be updated to move on with this work.
10. DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION – STATUS OF
AIRPORT HANGAR
Town Attorney Marino noted the following:
·
Town needs to decide
what action to take.
·
Project paid for
with grant money.
·
Insurance will
pay to put structure back to pre-tornado condition, but then Town needs to
decide if it wants to sue the manufacturing company or contractor due to
unusable leaky building.
·
Selectmen need
to come up with a recommendation.
·
Some options
would be to restore and litigate or restore and pull the bond.
BOARD
OF SELECTMEN
MARCH
3, 2020
Page 3 of 3
Selectmen concerned with State wanting their grant
money back and suggested pulling the bond.
There was a question whether the grant from the State was to build a
community center or a cold storage space.
Facilities Director White stated it was to build a community center when
project started but was to be built in phases, and then it was called storage
at one point due to building codes.
Attorney Marino recommended putting together an
outline of what was done and what is needed to do. Also, Attorney Marino suggested contacting
the State to inquire about what if the building was damaged, the insurance
doesn’t cover it to restore to useable condition and what is the State’s
position if we wanted to just remove the building. How would that impact the
grant funds, which were mostly used?
11.
OTHER MATTERS PROPER TO COME BEFORE THE MEETING
·
First Selectman
Cofrancesco stated she received a letter from Bridges Health Care in regard to
the BOW Drug/Alcohol Action Committee (BOWDAAC) and that they are applying for
a grant and need letters of support.
Town Attorney Marino reviewed the letter and stated that they are looking
for an active role in this letter in various areas and that First Selectmen
Cofrancesco should state in letter of support that “To the extent that
Bethany’s resources allow:”. It was
moved by Selectmen Shea and seconded by First Selectman Cofrancesco to
authorize a letter of support to the BOW Drug/Alcohol Action Committee and to
include the phrase “To the extent that Bethany’s resources allow:”. Voting for: Cofrancesco, Shea. Unanimous
approval.
·
Selectman Shea
noted that he received a call from a resident on Miller Road who spoke to the
Zoning Enforcement Officer regarding neighbors that have junk in their yards
and can bring his property values down.
The ZEO contacted the neighbors and was asked who was the complainant
and then gave the name of the complainant to neighbor with junkyard. Is there a law that you have to give the name
of complainant out? Town Attorney Marino
stated that we would speak to ZEO and find out what her process is; and that it
is common if the respondent asks for the name that you give it to them under the
Freedom of Information Act.
·
Finance Director
Sheila Lane mentioned that the Town should have an emergency plan with the
situation at hand with regard to a way to notify everyone if a case has been
reported at the Town Hall or schools.
First Selectman Cofrancesco stated she will follow up with the Fire
Marshall.
12.
ADJOURNMENT
At
7:50 p.m., it was moved by Selectman Shea and seconded by First Selectman Cofrancesco
to adjourn the regular meeting. Unanimous approval.
Respectfully
submitted,
Antonia
R. Marek
Meeting
Clerk
