1990/05/15APPROVED
EXECOTI%~ BOARD MEETING
May 15, 1990
Mayor Peters called the meeting to order at 7:00 ~m. Present were
Deputy Mayor Karen McQuade, Deputy Mayor Angelo Tiezzi, James
D'Errico-Personnel Director, Dr. John P. McIntosh-Chairman Finance
Board, Charles Gameros, A1 Gerdis, Elisa Hutcoe-Herald reporter, Gall
Erickson, and Janice Serafino-Secretary.
Approval of Minutes
Mayor Peters pointed out the following corrections to be made in the
minutes of May 8, 1990:
- Page 1, under Audience of Citizens, paragraph one, line 2, delete
"had anyone";
- Page 2, under Personnel/Purchasing Matters, item 1, line 2, "would
longer", should be "would no longer"; paragraph 6, last line, "to his"
should be "do the";
- Page 4, under Budget Transfers and/or Appropriations, item 1, line 2
"Fire Board" should be "General Fund". '
Mayor Peters moved to approve the minutes as corrected, seconded by
Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously.
Audience of Citizens
No one wished to speak.
Personnel/Purchasing Matters
Gail Erickson, Accountant for the Town, reported to the Executive Board
on the Dale Carnegie course she is presently taking. The Executive
Board, when agreeing to pay for the course, had requested that she
report to them when she had reached the mid point. She explained
briefly what the classes consisted of and said that she felt it was
beneficial. Mayor Peters thanked her for ccming in. Gall left the
meeting at 7: 07.
SkmmerHelp Appointments:
Engineering: Mayor Peters moved to appoint Daniel Waida to work in the
Engineering Department, effective June 1st, seconded by Deputy Mayor
McQuade, passed unanimously.
P~creational Services: Steve Kelly, Director, sukmitted two names for
appointment to work at the pools, replacing two who were previously
appointed but did not accept the positions. Mayor Peters moved to
appoint Mark Britton and Sarah Bartlett, seconded by Deputy Mayor
McQuade, passed unanimously.
Cafeteria Workers Pension: Mr. D'Errico brought the Executive Board up
to date on the pension buy back for the school cafeteria workers. He
said that they had agreed to go 10 years retroactive from the date of
entry into the plan. He said that it involves 11 ~nployees and there
will be a one t~me cost to the Town of $29,138.
Erin Martin, Hartford Courant reporter joined the meeting at 7:20~m.
Dr. McIntosh and Mr. Gam~ros left the meeting at this time.
Bid Award for Underground Storage Tank Replacement: Mr. D'Errico
presented copies of the listing of bidders for tank replacements at
Griswold and Hubbard schools. He said that on both projects Capitol
Burner add Boiler Company b~d sutm~tted the low bids for a total of
$54,663 for both. Mr. D'Errico said that there was a current balance in
that account of $50,230.03 due to the fact that money had to be taken
from it for the r~oval of contaminated soil at the McGee school during
the replacement of that tank. Mayor Peters suggested that they hold on
the Hubbard bid, pending approval of a budget transfer in the amount of
$4,433 add award the contract for the Griswold project now.
Mayor Peters moved to award the contract for the replac~nent of the
.erground storage tank at Griswold School to Capitol Burner and
ller Cc~pany in the amount of $32,262, seconded by Deputy Mayor
McQuade, passed unanimously.
The Mayor asked Mr. D'Errico to prepare a budget transfer form in the
amount of $4,433 to make up tb~ shortfall so that the Board can award
the contract for the Hubbard tank replacement.
East Berlin Pool: Mr. D'Errico said that representatives frcm the
Whitten Corporation, the ccm~any that did the repairs to Percival Pool,
checked the leakage problem at the East Berlin Pool. He said they
suggested caulking the gutter syste~, under the water line, as the
water appeared to be leaking there. Mr. D'Errico said the Eastern
National Ccmpany, who had done ~ork for the Town at Percival Pool, can
do the job for approximately $1572. He said the only problem is there
is no money budgeted. Mayor Peters asked if the money could be taken
frcm the account budgeted for the filtration system for the wading pool
in East Berlin. Mr. D'Errioo said that he did not feel taking this
amount would present a problem when bidding for that project,
Mayor Peters moved to take approximately $1572 frcm the 1990-91 budget
for the filtration system at the East Berlin wading pool, and have the
Eastern National Company do the repair work, with cc~pletion date prior
to June 18, 1990, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously.
Mayor Peters moved to enter Executive Session at 7:25 ~m to discuss a
personnel matter dealing with a position appointment, seconded by
Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously.
Mayor Peters moved to exit Executive Session at 7:40 ~n, seconded by
Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously.
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The following motion was made as a result of the discussion held in
Executive Session:
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, in reference to the filling of a position in the
Public Grounds De~t, moved to use the current list of applicants
that have already gone through testing, to fill that vacancy, seconded
by Deputy Mayor McQuade. The vote was two in favor, with Mayor Peters
abstaining as he has a relative on that list.
Corporation Counsel
Attorney E. Timothy Sullivan joined the meeting at 7:45 pm.
The following items were discussed:
Trash-Away Contract Extension: The Corporation Counsel gave the Mayor a
newly typed copy of the extension to the Trash-Away contract. Mayor
Peters said that they would take it up later in the meeting.
Ordinance Amendment: Attorney Sullivan gave the Executive Board copies
of the proposed amendment to the Ordinance No. 3-88, entitled "Public
Safety Alarm System Registration Ordinance". The revisions to the
Ordinance were to Section 6, putting the responsibility for maintaining
the alarm syst~ in good working order on the owner and eliminating the
requir~r~nt of having inspections performed every six n~nths by an
alarm c~,~any; and to Section 10 (B), adding a penalty of $5.00 for
each false alarm to the initial penalty of $20.00 for the third in any
calendar year. Mayor Peters moved to accept the amendment and put it on
the agenda of the next Special Town Meeting, seconded by Deputy Mayor
Tiezzi, passed unanimously.
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked who was sending out letters to residents
regarding the building number ordinance. Attorney Sullivan said that
they were being sent out by th~ Police Department, signed by the Chief,
Fire Marshal and Post Master and delivered by the postal ~ployees.
The Deputy Mayor asked if they were being sent to everyone or only
those who were in violation of the Ordinance. Mayor Peters said that he
would get a copy of the letter and find out to whc~ they were being
sent.
Zoning-Z.B.A. Court Case: Attorney Sullivan said that the case was
going to be heard on Thursday.
Mayor Peters referred to a letter sent to Attorney Sullivan by Lillian
Klotz, m~mber of the Zoning Board of Appeals. He asked the Corporation
Counsel if he understood what she was asking of him. Attorney Sullivan
said that she made several mentions of alleged improprieties on the
part of former Building Inspector ~nil Carlson, the late Chief of
Police William Scalise and a recent matter which involved Mayor Peters,
regarding the cc~unity sign installed by the Junior Women's Club, but
he was not sure what she was asking of him.
Mayor Peters said he took great offense at her allegations against not
only himselfbut against Mmil Carlson and Bill Scalisewho he felt were
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dedicated Town employees and strong upholders of laws and regulations.
He said that Mrs. Klotz had been elected to vote her conscience and
this is what she should be doing, not voting the way she thinks someone
else wants her to vote. He said that the Mayor is an ex-officio
(non-voting) member of all boards and c~,~,{ssions, except the Board of
Education, aD~ he would continue to comply with his responsibilities as
Mayor and appear before any board or c~ssion on an issue when he
feels it is important to do so. He continued to say that the officials
and employees of the Town have a responsibility to assist residents and
organizations in Town with their projects add will continue to do so.
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi said he was glad the subject bed been brought up
and that he had said weeks ago that the situation with the sign
installed by the Junior Women's Club had been mishandled from the
beginning. He said that he has known Mrs. Klotz for a number of years
and she is not one to make idle statements. Mayor Peters said that if
Mrs. K1otz has proof to back her allegations, then she should produce
it.
The Mayor also disagreed with tb~ statement about the mishandling of
the project. He said that the only thing that had been wrong was the
mishandling of the sign application, for which Town Planner, William
Voelker, has sent letters of apology to the Chairmen of the Z.B.A. and
Zoning Cc~ssion. His letter explained that the pezmit was issued
before P~xler Gaudio, Zoning Inspector, gave his approval for it to be
issued, due to a misunderstanding within his Department. Mr. Voelker
explained that steps have been taken to see that this type of incident
is never repeated.
The Mayor then asked Attorney Sullivan to meet with Mrs. Klotz and see
what her concerns are.
Old Business
No action was taken on the first three items: Old Peck Library,
C.C.A.R.C. Request (Tabled) and Delinquent Taxes (Tabled).
Fires: Both Landfills: Mayor Peters said that he had toured the
Manafort T_~_ndfill on Friday with the Fire Marshal and Roger Gaudio,
Zoning Inspector. He said that they were impressed with the operation
of this landfill and there were no visible signs of a fire. Mr. Manafort
said that he would he willing to join in the ~ly-over picture taking
with New Britain if the cost was not prohibitive.
The Mayor said that when they visited the New Britain Landfill on
D~ning Road that fire was actively burning. The New Britain Fire
Department had tried to smother it on Friday, and when that was
unsuccessful they opened it up and were continuously pouring water on
it. This, too, was not successful and they were presently bringing in
clay-type dirt in an~)ther attempt to smother the fire. He said that he
was being called twice a day by New Britain's Assistant Fire Chief to
keep him informed on the fire.
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.Mayor Peters said that he felt the City of New Britain should send its
· nsurance adjustors to our residents who live on Deming Road and
Christian Lane as the sulphur smell is in their hc~es and furnishings.
Mayor Peters briefed the Executive Board on the dumping situation on
Massirio Drive behind the old Cc~¥uercial Insulation Building. He said
that the Town has brush dumped there but others are dumping items, some
of which are on the American Legion property. He said that he has sent
a letter to the Police Depa~ ~Lent asking them to increase their patrol
of this area and is looking into installing a fence to keep residents
frcm dumping there. He said to do this the Town would have to obtain a
right-of-way from the American Legion. Mr. Gerdis said that is why he
had come to the meeting because the Legion would be using their field
for activities soon.
Deputy Mayor McQuade asked for a recess at 8:20 ~n. The meeting
resumed at 8:25
New Business
Special Town MeetingDiscussion
Mayor Peters moved to schedule a Special Town Meeting for Thursday,
May 31st, at 7:00 ~m in the Meeting Roc~ of the Town Hall and place the
following it~zs on the Agenda, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed
unanimously:
1. The sale of a parcel of land known as Lot 14-2, Block 84, Massirio
Drive, to Horbal Bros., Inc. of Berlin in the amount of $1500.
2. An Amendment otOrdinance No. 3-88 entitled "Public Safety Alarm
System P~gistration Ordinance".
3. Any budget requests passed by the Board of Finance that evening
that need Town Meeting approval.
Finance
Budget Transfers and/or Reques .ts
Mayor Peters moved to approve a budget request in the amount of $1500
submit~ by James Horbal, Assistant Town Engineer, to grade, seed and
mulch all excess materials placed to the north of Madison Drive frcm
the Willard School project, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed
unanimously.
A~dition to A~enda: Mayor Peters moved to add a letter of re~,_est
frem Matt Odishoo, ~mergency Management Director, to carry over funds
in the Siren account into the next fiscal year, seconded by Deputy
Mayor McQuade, passed unaninuusly.
Mayor Peters said that $2500 had been budgeted to that account but a
study was being conducted to see if the sirens are needed for use in
calling out firemen as they all have beepers. The possibility of
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converting them for civil Preparedness Warnings. He said that the Town
does not have any warning device for a Town-wide or national ~nergency.
Mayor Peters moved to forward the request to the Finance Board, asking
that they look favorably upon it, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade,
passed unanimously.
Deputy Mayor McQuade moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of
$13.88 to James Mattingly, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed
Deputy Mayor McQuade moved to add some of the correspondence items to
the agenda for discussion, seconded by Mayor Peters, passed unanimously.
Deputy Mayor Mc~3__~_d_e asked for an explanation of a letter from Barbara
Bak on a cc~puter course she is taking. Mayor Peters said that he had
asked for the explanation when a uurchase order was taken out for IBM
training. He said that it would be advantageous for the Town to have
its own c~-~uter person on board and Ms. Bak was taking courses that
will give a Town ~t~loyee the knowledge to do the ccmputer trouble
shooting.
On another item, Mayor Peters said that he would like to go on record
stating that he will not support a proposed addition to McCcc school.
He said that Berlin ranks 7th highest per capita for bonding in the
State and it is time to make scme changes. He said that if the
proposed addition is needed by 1992 then the Board of Education should
begin making plans to place the eighth grade in the high school at that
time.
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi said it appears that when the Board of Education
cc~es out with a decision supporting a project they expect automatic
approval. He said that the results of recent referendums on the
budgets proves that all the sales prc~otions against the budgets have
fallen on deaf ears, the tax payers are finally saying it is time to
tighten f_he belt. The Deputy Mayor said that there were other things
the Town has to consider, namely a Cu,,t~unity Center.
Mayor Peters said he wanted to go on record as being opposed to any
addition to McCcc school and to urge the Board of Education to study
and consider strongly moving the eighth graders to the high school in
1992, this was seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade and unanimously
approved by the Executive Board.
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked the Mayor if he had received any reports on
the incident at Guiseppe's Restaurant involving Hunter's Ambulance that
had been discussed at the last meeting.
Mayor Peters said that Cheryl Costa, ~4S Coordinator for New Britain
General Hospital, and also on Berlin's EF~ Management Ccm~ittee,
reported that her investigation s~ that Hunter's had dc~e nothing
wrong aD~ all the equigment they are required to carry was on the
The Mayor said that he and Jim D' Errico had met with A1 Rubino, the
nurse who ha__~_ administered the CPR, to discuss the newspaper article
and get the answers to their questions directly from him. In talking
with him they learned that when he referred to life support systems he
was referring to a heart monitor machine. The Mayor said that the Town
has never b~d that mchine on an ambulance and did not know if we would
have after July 1st when we have Paramedic coverage. Mayor Peters said
that he hoped that the newspaper would print another article on the
situation explaining Mr. Rubino's original statements and correcting
some of the misconceptions that occurred, and thanking him for the
actions he took at the time.
Extensio~ to Contraot PWB4-1 with Trash-Away
Mayor Peters said that there was a 5% increase over the present
contract and he felt this was reasonable and probably the best deal the
Town could hope for.
The Mayor then moved to waive the bidding, for the betterment of the
Town, and award a o~e year contract extension to Trash-Away, Inc. for
refuse pickup, effective July 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991, seconded by
Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unan/mously.
Mayor Peters moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 ~m, seconded by
Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed ~ly.
~)ectfully Sukm%itt~,
yanlce Serafin~, Executi~ Secretary
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