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.