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1971/12/13MINUTES BOARD OF SELECTMEN December 13, 1971 The meeting was opened at 7:30 p.m. by First Selectman Arthur B.Powers. All Selectmen were present. Also present were: Leslie Bentley, Finance Director, Donald Ward, Member of the Board of Finance, Gary Laskowski, an observer, and Mrs. Blanche Mahan of the press. Mr. Bentley discussed the reason for the request for a transfer of funds from the General Fund to Item #830 Mattabassett District in the amount of $44,571.00. Since Mattabassett prepares its budget 18 months in advance we can only work with estimated figures with respect to usage and credits. The $44,571 will bring us in line and keep us current with the District regarding the money we owe them. Mr. Sczymanskt, Director of the District is now in the process of going over the records to determine the amount of the credits due us. We should have these figures in January or February. Since we have owed this money for some time we are now trying to bring it up to date. There is an interest factor in the agreement but the Dis- trict will not charge us the interest fee. Mr. Rio said he thought the whole situation should be explained by Mr. Bentley in the newspaper before the Town Meeting. On motion by Mr. Lanzoni, seconded by Mr. Rio, it was voted to hold a Town Meeting on December 27, 1971, for the following: MOTION CARRIED. 1. To transfer $44,571 from the General Fund to Item #830. The Mattabassett District; 2, To approve a number of streets as Town owned streets; 3. To approve a mantainence agreement between the Town of Berlin and the State of Connecticut as follows: Town of Berlin, Relocation of Route 72, State Project Nos. 07-85 and 07-111. The Selectmen read the minutes of 12/6/71 and Mr. Powers asked that the words "and pollution" be inserted in the first sentence of paragraph three on page one. Also on page three, paragraph six, the words water pollution be changed to "water supply." Then em motion by Mr. Lanzoni, seconded by Mr. Rio, it was voted to approve the minutes,with the above corrections, of 12/6/71. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Powers said that with regard to Mr. Green's request for aid from the Selectmen's office in getting permission to plant trees at the Manafort dump site (see minutes 12/6/71)' after checking it out, Mr. Curnow reports that the property owners can make their request directly to the state. Mr. Powers said he would report this to Mr. Green and have the company contact the State. Selectmen's Meeting 1~/13/71 -2- Mr. Powers announced that there would be a meeting on December 16, 1971 at 10:30 a.m. in the Selectmen's Office to discuss the reconstruction of the Division Street Bridge (see minutes 12/6/71). Officials from Cromwell and Middletown have been invited. Mr. Powers invited the Selectmen to attend. Mr. Powers said that Mr. McGlone is looking for more land behind Hubbard School as suggested by Mr. Rio (see minutes 12/6/71) and that he will be discussing this matter with the planners. Mr. Powers said that Mr. Scheyd has offered to check out land in East Berlin and talk to the property owners to see if they will sell. Mr. Scbey~ has offered to do this as a Town employee and will not accept any commission on any sale which might be made. Mr. Powers reported that we must hold a public hearing on the pulverizer within 30. days of receipt of the agreement (the agreement was received in this office on December 8, lg71). A tentative date for the hearing was set at January 6, 1972. Mr. Powers said he would rather have New Britain go through the matter with their Common Council and if no changes are made during that meeting, then we can present the agreement to the townspeople. In connection with this Mr. Powers announced he was taping a television interview with Mayor Stanley Pac of New Britain. This interview will be seen on Channel 30 on Sunday, 12/lg/71 at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Mel Schnetdermeyer of CCRPA will also be interviewed. Mr. Powers read a letter from Attorney Jackaway regarding the proposed ordinance for screening the Berlin Drive-In Theater from traffic and public view off the theater's premises. Mr. Jackaway cites where the authority lies {the State Traffic Commission where public safety is concerned and the State Police where the moral quality of the movies shown is concerned) and further states that he is of the opinion that it is best to check with the State before proceeding with an ordinance. Mr. Powers said he still maintains that the Town is in a position to do something about the situation. He said he would make contact with the State Traffic Commission and the State Police. There followed a lengthy discussion. Mr. Rio said he would prefer rather than stop all action to go ahead with the ordinance and if it is not valid go to court to prove it,.tf necessary. The Selectmen signed Bond Anticipation Notes with the Connecticut Bank & Trus Company in the amount of $2,982,000. The notes are extensions on the Junior High School Bonds. The interest rate is 3.10%. The motion to sign these notes was made by Mr. Lanzoni, seconded by Mr. Rio, and voted upon. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Powers announced that a meeting had been held with the Department Heads, the Chief of Police, and the Superintendent of Schools with regard to the Town Hall Statement of Need. Mr. Boos of Hirsch Kaestle and Boos was pre- sent. The purpose of the meeting was to try and cut down on the size of the proposed office space. Mr. Boos will try to find a standard acceptable size for offices. Another meeting is being scheduled to fina)ize the amount of space, required. Selectmen's Meettng 12/31/71 -3- On motion by Mr. Rio, seconded by Hr. Lanzoni, it was voted to appoint Jack Ross to the Zoning Commission for ~ five~y'ear term, effective January 1, 1972 and exptring December 3 , 19711~HOT[ON CARRZED. Mr. Rio thanked the Board of Selectmen for their expression of sympathy at the death of his grandmother. Mr. Rio said he had recently learned that the Charter Commission had held four meetings and there has been no publicity of their meeting dates and times also no reports from the Commission. He continued this is an impor- tant Commission and there is a great deal of interest in it. On motion by Mr. Rio, seconded by Mr. Lanzoni, it was voted that the Board of Selectmen request the Chairman of the Charter Commission to pub- licize in advance, whenever possible, the dates and times and places of their meetings and to file reports of each meeting. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Rio said that last week there was a meeting regarding the engineer's report to the Water and Sewer Commission and no one from the Board of Selectmen was present. Mr. Powers said he did not remember receiving a letter informing him of such a meeting, but upon further checking it was learned that a letter had been sent, addressed to First Selectman Powers, but was inside the brochure on the Water Supply System, and consequently the letter was overlooked. Mr. Powers said that had he been aware of the meeting he certainly would have attended. It was agreed that at a future meeting, the Selectmen would invite someone from the Water and Sewer Commission, possibly Morgan Seelye, to explain what transpired at that meeting. Mr. Rio asked if Mr. Jackaway had sent a letter regarding the proposed amendments to the Pollution Control Ordinance. Mr. Powers said there was no official letter from Mr. Jackaway as yet. Mr. Rio said several persons have asked him about the jobs filled under the Emergency Employment Act, how they were filled and what were the re- quirements. The secretary was instructed to provide Mr. Rio with a list of those persons hired under this Act. Mr. Lanzoni asked that a dead tree be taken down on Apple Lane. Mr. Lanzoni also reported damage done by a snow plow to a resident's lawn. Mr. Powers said this should be reported in the spring at which time it will be repaired. Mr. Rio said he felt the Conservation Commission should receive a written reply to their letter {see minutes of 12/6/71). Mr. Powers said he would do so. Mr. Powers discussed the Dutch-Treat luncheons which he is planning to hold once a month or so to discuss topics of interest to members of the community. The luncheons will be open to all Department Heads, and Boards and Commis- sions. The first luncheon will center around a discussion of the pulverizer. More about these luncheons will be forthcoming. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. lspectful~y s~qbmi tted, tricia A. Casella Secretary Off]ce of Fire Marshal ED~vVARD YIABER 346 $t~ruce Brook Road Berlin. Connecticut 06037 December 13, 1971 Board of Selectmen Town Hall 983 Worthington Ridge Berlin, Connecticut 0603? Gentlemen: Following 'the large barn fire on Sunset Lane on S~turday, I decided that it was necessary for me to write this letter. 'The courageous volunteer fire departments again were con- fronted with a tremendous Job. When the first Berlin fire truck arrived ~t the scene of the barn fire, we couldn't believe wh~t we saw. Practically the entire western end of the barn was engulfed in flames. Flames were also climbing the e~st wall of the house occupied by LeRoy Coleman and Mike Sno~.~:den. Large ~parks were flying all' over the area. The cover over the hose body of Engine No. 8 caught on fire .while this truc~ w~s laying ~ 2J~~'' line fro~ the hydrant to Engine No.~ 10. This line w~s connected into the pump of Engine No. 10 where the intentions were to boost up the pressure. Engine No. 7 attached another line to this s~me hydrant. We found out that the w~ter supply that we needed to fight this fire w~s not ~vail~ble. We tried the next impossible t~sk of l~ying hose lines from the corner of Worthington R'idge and Sunset L~ne, hoping to get ~ better supply of water~ to the scene of the fire. This turned out to be ~ discouraging attempt. We had a gremt turnout of~ men--the manpower ~nd all our equipment were there. Kens- ington's snorkel w~s in position to do a tremendous job. Engine No..10 with its .big deluge gun w~s in ~ good spot' to really pour water on the fire. The ~only water available to us was from the.hydrants, and this supply was used for h~nd lines ~zhich were used for roof tops and to protect all sur- rounding exposures. '0nly Small hand lines could be used on the b~rn fire. Board of Selectmen December 13, 1971 It is' my honest belief that we could h~ve done an outstanding ~ob of stopping this r~ging inferno from total destruction. There is no doubt in my mind ss a chief that the northeast oortion of the barn could have been s~ved if there was ~ better supply of water. Ill major fire equipment was positioned in oreas surrounding the fire ready to attack the flames. ~hen the wind shifted and blew burning debris toward the Wilcox home mhd barns~.practically all efforts were now concentroted on these build mng$ with hand lines. Had enough water been ~.v~il(-~ble to supply Engine No. 10 and its o~eluge gun and enough w~ter to supply the Ken.~ington snorkel $ portion of the b~rn would still be standing. We had the equipment and manpower-- but no water. In May 1971 the Berlin and Kensington Depmrtments had a com- bined drill on Woodl~wn Ro~d behind Topps Deportment Store. Engine No. 10 hooked up to a hydrant, two 2~" lines were layed to Kensington's snorkel. Engine No. 10 pumped wster into the snorkel~ operating pressure off the pump was 1%O lbs. We operated for approximately ~% to 20 minutes ~nd shut down. ~,'Je were experimenting with different pressure at short intervals when s very disturbed gentlemen (Mr. Hans Witzel of L~urel Drive) pulled up st the scene. He informed us thst he hsd no ;~ter st home ~nd that possibly our drilling could h~ve c~used it. He was very understanding sbout the whole operation and commended us on our ever trying efforts. Through telephone n~d rodio communications we.were in direct contact with Mr. Witzel at his home; we continued to use water fro~ this hydrant only to prove to ourselves ~nd Mr. Witzel thor this w~s the cause of his loss of water st his home. Mr. Henry ~,~ldyg,. was ~t the scene with us, and he witnessed the entire Operation. The following day Mr. Nuttsll, Mr. Seelye, ~nd ~he Worthington Fire Di.,trict were all aware of wh~t happened. ~r. Landry (CDf,~P) was ~lso ~ware of this. o~fter returning to the fire station that evening I w~s informed that on Hudson Street near the top of the. hill there w~s no water. ~ seriot~s .problem now fsces everyone of us~ not only ,~s fire- men but .~s Town officials also. ;~ few weeks hnd psssed~ ~nd I ~:~s informed that between the .Wster ond Sewer Commission ,?nd the Worthi'h~ton 'Fire District the situotion was discussed ?nd that ~ way to improve' this condition could be done in the event of emergencies. 0nly approximately 60 feet of pipe nnd ~ wlve could connect the water system from the 2 million g~llOn storage tank tO,the water system in the Berlin district 2t ~ cost of ~pproximotely $~3OO. This I figured was a step in the right direction, However, on DeCember 11. 1971 obout six months .mfter everyone w~s notified of the water problem fire broke out at the old Judd Estate. If this little Job of connecting .the two water systems together had been done then the diesei .pumps at the huge tank sight would h~ve, started up ~nd provided the firemen with plenty of water for the Judd fire. Board of Selectmen -S- December 1S~ 1971 if the w2ter supply can be improved by connecting the W~ter ~nd Sewer Commission's lines into the Worthington Fire District's lines) then i ~trongly urge thet this very small prOject be given top priority ~nd be instslled immediately. Please give this your immediate attention ~nd help get some sction to further protect the property of our taxpayers. EFH/h Mr. J~mes'Godfrey Mr.-~ohn Nuttall 'Mr. J~ck Ross Mr. Morgsn Seelye Mr. Clifford Lsndry Very ~truly yours, Chief ~nd Fire Marshall BERLIN, CONNECTICUT 06037 DEC 16 971 December 15, 1971 Town of Berlin Office of the Selectmen Berlin, Connecticut Dear Arthur Powers: I have just finished reading a letter from the Fire Marshall dated December 13, 1971 concerning the recent barn fire of Saturday 12/11/71 A.M. on Sunset Lane and can ~m~gine their frustration. " Attached is a letter from Mr. James Godfrey dated August 6, 1971 which requests that the Worthington Fire District be allowed to take water from the Woodlawn Road connection and establishing a completion date of on or before October 15, 1971. -As of this writing, the project has been started but not complete. Perhaps a joint meeting of the interested parties in your office would be helpful at this point. Sincerely, attachment', OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TOWN HALL P. o. BOX 206 BERLIN. CONN. Deeem2:)e3: 20, ].973. Mr. Arthur B. Powers First Selectman Town of Berlin Dear Mr. Powems; At your request I am responding to the content of Chief Ed. Haber's letter of December 13, 1971 concerning the lack of water pressure in the vicinity of Sunset Lane and worthington Ridge during the Judd barn fire of December llth. First a review of pertinent facts. The connection to the Woodlawn storage tank was scheduled for completion on October 15th, with the Worthington Fire District to install necessary piping and the Town Water and Sewer Commission to supply and install a meter pit and meter at the boundary between the Town and District served areas. After the initial meeting between the DistriCt and the Town last summer which set up the agreement between the two agencies., a survey of the existing pipe lines revealed that the originally planned simple connection between the adjacent piping systems would not pro- vide adequate ~olumes of water at required pressures for fire fighting. Therefore it was decided to install a 12 inch main between Woodlawn Road and the 20 inch pipe at the entrance to the Woodlawn storage facility, a distance of about 200 feet, with a large meter and meter pit. Due to the increased scope of the project and the necessity.of ordering the large meter and due to other on-going projects, the District's contractor could not start construction, ironically, until December llth, the day of the fire. Construction is partially com- plete at-this time and should be completed this week. Once the connection is completed the potential water supply and pressure of the Northern Industrial Area will be available to the Worthington Fire District, and will be particularly valuable in the area tested by the Fire Departments last yea~ namely the Woodlawn Road-Webster Square. industrial and commercial properties. However, due to the limited capacity of the Worthington Fire District system, being mainly six-inch piping, it is apparent to me that this additional source of water if connected would have had limited value at best in combatting a fire at the south end of the Fire District. At the time of the Judd barn fire, early in the morning of a weekend day, the full capacity of the 12-inch main from Kensington to Berlin was available, yet, as has happened in the past, was throttled by.the smaller mains supplying ~he ~ou~hern par~ of Worthington. This lack of adequate feeder mains across both the Worthington 'and Kensington Fire Districts as well as the East Berlin section of Town was emphasized in the recent report completed by the Town's consultants, Cahn Engineers, and their recommendations include several large diameter transmission mains and additional storage facilities to correct this problem. Included in the particular area of this fire is the connection at Woodlawn, a 12 inch main in the Wilbur Cross Highway, and the conversion of several sections of 6 inch pipe in Lower Lane to 12 inch size. Until these recommendations are carried out by the Town and the Districts, the existing source of supply at Woodlawn, and the potential supply at our well sites will not be available to effectively fight fires in the south and central parts of Berlin. Your'Board of Selectmen is encouraged to study the details of the Cahn Engineers study and then to support the implementation of its recommendations by the Water and Sewer Commission at the earliest opportunity. The cost of the complete system called for is consider- able, but unfortunately there is no easy way out of this severe problem of lack of water pressures and volume needed for fire pro- tection and domestic use. MS:fm cc: J.H. Godfrey Ver trulys, ~4or~a¢ ~e~lye 1 Direct, Water .& Sewer Commission TOWN OF BERLIN WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION · TowN HALL · BERLIN, CONN. Mr. Jack ~. Ross, Chairman Worthington Fire DiStrict Berlin,~Connecticut August 6, 1971 Dear.Mr. Ross; This is to confirm the understanding rede 1971 at a meeting between all of the members ¢ Fire District Conlmittee, plus Mr. James Kissaz the writer acting for the Berlin Water and Sewer Commission. ~ ': Worthington'Fire District wants to take. water from the WSC system in the Wilbur Cross Highway. near WoodlawnRoad. ed August 3, ~ i f the Worthington .e., Engineer, wit~ WFD agrees to pay 27¢ per 100 cubic feet for water taken from the WSC system and also' agrees to sell water to WSC at any and all connections now made or to be made in the future at the same price. WFD and WSC realize that, in the future, th~ buy-sell price for water between our agencies may be reducible and have agreed to consider this on or about May 1, 1972. It was noted! that when WFD is taking water from WSC at the rate of 5,000,0.q0c.f. per year consistently, the matter of price should be taken up'! and resolved. Any. new price which might be established would'. apply 'to. all buy-sell transactions between our agencies. -Subject to formal approval of the Water and 'Sewer Commission which is assured as of August 10, 1971 and clearance by the' Board of Finance, we estimate completion of this project on or, . · , . Very truly yours, . ' cc :. Al~. R,. - Powers '. r . T.W,Ward ,. ,,.,., . Q Arthur - For your review. J. Ross 17, 1971 'Crcva Hill Cli~ic " Th.sr-J,s J. Zacceo~ M.D. " i,la~ Drltain~ Connec~icut you for the copy of your December 13th' le~e'r concernin~ ~he', !ca~aing of the problem. ~o Vol~eee~ Fire ~par~nes eh- · co~tcrsd a~ ~his fire, .I ~o~e Selec~n P~ers ~'equest of tho %7orthi~ton Fire District, the To~ of Berlin~ .~0 a conn~c~mon ~o the %~oodlam Road ~ 20" rain mhich ~-~11' ~'~ of v:at=T ~.7~m~ will increas~ pressure thresh ~e grid ~y~tem. ~c": ions r~n$e pro~ection, the a~=ached Xerox copy of a map, prepared by the Cahn ~inears, Inc., for the To~ of Berl~, .~dtca~es ~ ~i!I be pleased· tom, et ~ith you ~o discuss the ma:=er further if S-k~carely,.. Ross ' Chairr~ an.