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2018-11-13 Public Forum TOWN OF BERLIN COMMUNITY/ SENIOR CENTER OPEN FORUM Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Berlin Senior Center 1:00 P.M. Mayor Kaczynski convened the meeting at 1:00 p.m. He thanked the many attendees for joining the forum to discuss the possibility of a Community/ Senior Center. He stated that there is a need for an indoor pool and gymnasium. Mayor Kaczynski values public input on what the community wants and needs and a consultant will be employed to estimate a cost of building a new Community/ Senior Center. The taxpayers will be responsible for that cost (which may be $25M - $30M), and every option will be considered including charitable donations and public/private partnerships. Mayor Kaczynski invited interested parties to attend and speak at Town Council meetings or at any future Public Forums. He hopes to gauge public opinion about what the community wants and what it can pay for throughout the exploratory process and avoid the unnecessary cost of a failed public referendum. Town Manager Healy explained that Berlin has applied for a $750K grant to fund a study and preliminary engineering of a joint Community/ Senior Center. He stated that he wants to hear from residents whether they are for or against such a facility, and what they would like in such a facility. Town Manager Healy stated that if the grant application is approved,the $750K is not awarded in a lump sum, rather Berlin would apply for release of the funds as needed to pay for consultants, engineers, etc. An advisory committee will continue to work with the community to determine needs and create a conceptual design. From there, a Statement of Need will be drafted detailing the facility needs, size of building, etc. and submitted to Town Council along with public comments (both from the public forums and submitted to the Town Manager's office directly). If approved,the Statement of Need then goes to the Public Building Commission which will then issue a Request for Qualification and designate an architect and engineer to work on the programmatic needs. Town Manager Healy expects that the Public Building Commission will work with the various Commissions, Committees and Boards to develop the design, and finally present its report and cost estimates to the Town Council. Eventually the proposition would go to public vote, and if approved the Public Building Commission would begin final engineering. Town Manager Healy stated that the process takes time and a lot of community input. He added that Speaker Aresimowicz plans to pursue further grant funding, but any additional grants would likely not cover the entire cost of building a facility. Cynthia Pavano, 57 Meetinghouse Road - Ms. Pavano stated that Mayor Kaczynski voted against taking the $750K grant, and now he is thinking about collaborating with the YMCA that charges for annual membership and additional fees per program. She stated that seniors have paid taxes to the Town for years and deserve 1 a facility that does not charge for membership and program participation. Ms. Pavano asked that Mayor Kaczynski be responsible for Berlin's citizens and take the help offered from Speaker Aresimowicz. Mayor Kaczynski responded that he didn't vote to accept the $750K grant money for a few reasons: 1) because it is not free money- it is all of our State tax money; 2) because $750K doesn't get much. It will help with some of the planning but won't pay for the facility. Mayor Kaczynski stated that Speaker Aresimowicz did deliver this grant funding, but has also promised funding before that did not materialize (as with the proposed Police Station); 3) The State is facing a massive deficit and Berlin should not rely on the possibility of grant funding. Mayor Kaczynski stated that a partnership with the YMCA is an option worth considering, but certainly not the only option. He plans to explore the concept of "silver memberships" with the YMCA at little or no cost to seniors. The Town has looked into paying for those memberships, as it would be much cheaper than building a facility and being responsibility for annual costs to maintain it. The study should show the estimated cost to construct and he will provide taxpayers that information, along with the potential impact to taxes. Virginia Steele,Towne Drive - Ms. Steele is in favor of a senior/ community center, but against partnering with the YMCA. She feels that sending the kids out of town to use another indoor pool is a lot cheaper than maintaining an indoor pool of our own. She also brought up the cost of liability insurance for the facility. Ms. Steele feels that a partnership with the YMCA should not be considered just to gain access to an indoor pool. Vickie Hogan, 45 Plum Hollow Way- Ms. Hogan enjoys coming to the Senior Center and is in favor of another senior/ community center. Israel Silguero, Christian Lane - Mr. Silguero suggested that if the YMCA partnership goes through, there may be a way to add spouses or family members to low-cost memberships. Eleanor Bouchard, 268 Percival Avenue - Ms. Bouchard stated that there is nothing for seniors and not much for kids in Berlin. She stated that many seniors would probably exercise in an indoor pool if it was available close by. She also asked how Southington was able to build a senior/ community center with a swimming pool. Hinda Niemeyer, 50 Sbona Road - Ms. Niemeyer asked when the last study was done and if that study can be used now. She also suggested looking at other towns to avoid spending$750K if we can learn from what has already been done and paid for. Mayor Kaczynski replied that the committee will certainly look at past studies, but the information in those studies will relate to the needs at that time (layout, size, 2 proposed location) and will likely not relate to Berlin's current needs. He stated that representatives from the Town have visited other towns, and will continue to get information from towns that have completed similar processes. He cautioned that Berlin has $100M in debt (the entire annual operating budget is $88M), and he has tried to keep taxes low to attract businesses and residents to Town. Mayor Kaczynski estimated that nearly 50 businesses have invested in Berlin over the last few years, including Acura,Assa Abloy and Forrest Machine. Ann Gamelin, 31 Colonial Drive - Ms. Gamelin thinks it's a good idea to combine community and senior centers, making it an all-Berlin project. She feels that Berlin has a problem attracting businesses and keeping them. She observed that half of the Berlin Turnpike sits unused and more business = more taxes = reduced burden on the taxpayer. Barbara Gombotz, 24 Sterling Drive - Ms. Gombotz was very happy to see so many people at the forum. She responded to some of Mayor Kaczynski's statements, saying that the Police Station was voted down by referendum because of the proposed location, not because of the need. She also stated that Southington paid for only half of its senior/ community center, grants paid for the rest. Ms. Gombotz disagrees with the person who wrote to the Berlin Citizen saying we should give the $750K grant money up and let another town use it. Berlin has doubled in size in the last 50 years, and why shouldn't its citizens have a nice senior/ community center? A combined center makes sense - seniors will use it during the day, kids will use it after school. This opportunity is here now and a new center will service the Town for the next 40 years. Ms. Gombotz feels Berlin will get the grants eventually and investing in the community attracts businesses. Ms. Gombotz also read a letter from Sandy Driscoll. Ms. Driscoll stated she is not against a senior/ community center, but she feels senior housing is more important. She feels other surrounding towns take better care of their seniors than Berlin does. Mayor Kaczynski responded that the issue of adding senior housing has been ongoing. The previously approved property suffered delays due to a conservation easement that took years to work through with the State. He believes that financing is being researched, and he acknowledges the need and the waiting list for senior housing. Bob Brown, Mystic Mountain- Mr. Brown asked for a show of hands of who does not want to be affiliated with the YMCA. Mayor Kaczynski acknowledged the raised hands and stated that all possibilities will be explored,but the community sharing opinions is what these meetings are all about. Barbara Cesanek, 54 Hart Street- Ms. Cesanek asked that the subject of seniors' taxes be discussed. Mayor Kaczynski described a different tax abatement program for seniors that would freeze taxes for seniors that meet certain income and asset requirements. (The current plan allows freezing taxes when the income 3 requirements are met,but a lien is placed for all increases after the "frozen" rate and that lien becomes due upon sale of the home or when the homeowner passes on.) The new program would not calculate additional taxes as rates increase. The freeze would simply expire upon sale of the home or passing of the homeowner. Mayor Kaczynski described the downside of the proposed program,which is the Town would lose tax revenue. He feels that the affect to the budget wouldn't be that great and the offset would be worth it. Mayor Kaczynski invited further feedback from the public before the ordinance is voted on, and stated that after the Public Forum adjourns,he would like to stay and address anything else the attendees want to talk about. Kathleen Murray, 36 Kenton Street- Ms. Murray stated that many seniors utilize walkers and wheelchairs. BHS is not the ideal place to have meetings and expect seniors to contend with night driving, stairs, searching for elevators. She urged the Mayor to make meetings where and when seniors can attend. Mayor Kaczynski replied that senior request is the reason for this very meeting. All Town Council members (and other Town boards and commission members) are volunteers, many of whom work during the day. The evening meetings are to accommodate those who work during the day. Mayor Kaczynski continued to say that he was happy to schedule time off work to attend this meeting with the seniors and will make every effort to do so in the future. Senior Center Director Tina Doyle suggested that if the new location is on a main thoroughfare, adding a secondary entrance/ exit on a side street would be ideal for seniors coming and going. The possibility of locating the new center close to senior housing was briefly discussed, and if a new facility is constructed, the current senior center location will likely be utilized for more senior housing. Mr. Healy invited calls, emails or letters from residents through the process, as he records all of comments for the record and those comments will be provided to the Town Council and committee for review and consideration. Mayor Kaczynski concluded the forum at 1:54 p.m. RECEIVED FOR RECORD SETUP -1-q";';t, ::. RK 2018 NOV 21 MMI t0: 36 4 SER IN,C% rn ee+ ri 5R . 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