Weekly Managers Report May 28, 2004

[Wethersfield.com]

TO: The Honorable Mayor and Town Council Members

FROM: Bonnie L. Therrien, Town Manager

DATE: May 28, 2004

A. COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS:

1. Manager: I hope you have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Holiday with your family.

2. Upcoming Events:
• The MetroHartford Alliance is co-sponsoring a new program developed by CL&P and Yankee Gas called the Community Builders Institute (CBI). CBI announced an economic development training series comprised of three sessions to be held at NU Headquarters in Berlin, CT. These will be held on 6/8/04 “Building the High Performance Economic Development Team-Part I”; and, 11/2/04 “New Technology Tools for Economic and Community Development”.
• The Conn. DOT will hold public information meetings on the Draft Long Range Plan for the State of Connecticut on Tuesday, June 8, 2004 at the DOT Building in Newington.
• On Wednesday, June 9, 2004, an all day training session will be held in the Police Community Room on the subject of “Incident/Unified Command” and the proper running of an Emergency Command Post. The training session will be taught by representatives of Connecticut’s Office of Emergency Management. Town staff and public safety representatives have been invited to attend. Council members are also invited to attend.
• The Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a “State of The Town” breakfast on June 16th at 7:30 am at the Wethersfield County Club. More details will be forthcoming on this.
• The Annual Meeting of the Capitol Region Council of Governments will be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 at the Manchester Country Club. I have included a copy of the announcement and an RSVP form in the Management Report. Please return to Gale by Monday June 14th if you intend to attend this event.
• On Wednesday, June 30, 2004 CRCOG will sponsor the 2004 Golf Outing at the Manchester Country Club. Tee times are 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
• The CCM Annual Meeting will be held on June 8, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. at the Cromwell Radisson. Please let us know if you will be attending.

3. Council Committee Dates:
• Shared Services Committee – June 8, 2004, 6:00 p.m., Town Manager’s Conference Room



4. Department/Division News:
• Library: At the April meeting of the Library Board, the Board approved the revised Library Board Bylaws and the Policy concerning Confidentiality of Records – Wethersfield Public Library, copies of which are attached for your information.
• Physical Services: Wethersfield Historical Society Director Doug Shipman sent the attached letter thanking Kathy Bagley and Jim McDonald for their help, cooperation, and support. Please join me in congratulating Kathy, Jim and their staff for a job well done!

5. Board/Commission News:
• Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission: Our application requesting permission to re-construct the existing football field at the High School to mitigate poor field drainage was approved as a Declaratory Ruling. The Commission has determined that there is no regulatory jurisdiction, and the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan was certified.

6. Council Questions/Answers:

7. CRCOG: “Regional Homeland Security Spending Plan”<br>Interim Report to CRCOG Policy Board on a Regional Strategy to Address Homelessness

CCM: Annual Meeting, June 8, 2004

8. Miscellaneous:
• The Office of the Secretary of State sent the attached letter regarding the purchase of electronic voting equipment.
• Attached is a letter from Undersecretary David LeVasseur of the State Office of Policy and Management regarding Legislation Concerning Revaluation and Total Disability Exemptions.

B. PROJECT UPDATES:
• CRCOG ranked the list of applications for the STP-Urban Program funds. The results are attached for your information. Recommendations were for 7 of 12 projects, and Wethersfield was number twelve. The preliminary staff rankings will be voted on at the June 21, 2004 CRCOG Transportation Committee meeting.
• I have included copies of the minutes and the presentation from the May 4, 2004 Wethersfield Cove CSO Alternatives Evaluation – Discussion of “Zero Discharge Alternatives meeting.
• I have attached a memorandum concerning our meeting with the DOT on the Nott Street blasting project.

C. CALENDAR REMINDERS: none this week


D. ATTACHMENTS:
• CRCOG Annual Meeting Invitation and Golf Outing Announcement
• CCM Annual Meeting Invitation
• Library By-Laws and Confidentiality Policy
• Letter from Doug Shipman of the Historical Society
• Inland Wetlands Commission Correspondence
• CRCOG Regional Homeland Security Spending Plan
• CRCOG Interim Report
• Letter from Secretary of State’s Office
• Letter from OPM
• STP-Urban Applications Memo
• Minutes & Presentation from MDC Meeting
• Memo re Blasting on Nott Street

[oldetowne]

. PROJECT UPDATES:
• CRCOG ranked the list of applications for the STP-Urban Program funds. The results are attached for your information. Recommendations were for 7 of 12 projects, and Wethersfield was number twelve. The preliminary staff rankings will be voted on at the June 21, 2004 CRCOG Transportation Committee meeting.

This is sort of sad.... We apply for a grant and come in 12 out of 12? What did we apply for? How can we expect to get any money to have the long overdue capital improvements done? Why did it come in last? Was it a bad idea? Was it presented poorly? Always remember and never forget that all of this CRCOG crap is just a way of getting some of OUR tax money back to do work in OUR town.

[GoldShield]

What is "sad" is that you have more questions than you have answers. Why not do some research and get back to us? Maybe there are some good reasons for the 12th place position. Why try to start a discussion when you don't know what you are specifically talking about. For someone who thinks that this is a lot of "CRCOG crap" you seem to be upset that we aren't getting a better piece of it. I am sure that you will dig into this and come up with more answers instead of questions. Before you shoot off your mouth, better have a full clip, one in the chamber and safety off!

[oldetowne]

I have a job. Doing the work of town employees is not my job. I just read a posting here which suggests that we aren't getting our fair share of CRCOG project money, at the same time everyone on this board laments our inability to get things fixed and up to snuff. We are already facing a referendum in July to be able to access existing grant moneys on the town hall and library because somebody couldn't get the puck in the net. We are also looking at another potential referendum in the fall to finish that project with a price tag that has yet to be determined.

I am sorry that I have annoyed you by asking questions that I don't have the time or ability to answer. Maybe there is an obvious answer and maybe someone will post it. Then I will feel stupid. For now, I just wish I had more time to do a lot of things and picking apart the spider webs of bureaucracy at town hall is low on the list.