2026-09-14 - Town Council

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08:47>> Okay, good evening. It is 7:00 p.m. uh

08:52Monday, September 14th, 2026.

08:55We are beginning the town regular town

08:58council meeting. Uh madame clerk, please

09:00call the role.

09:01>> Jennifer Clark

09:02>> here.

09:03>> Michael Del Santo.

09:06>> Kristen Ga

09:07>> here. James Morelli

09:10>> here.

09:13>> Was that Mike?

09:14>> We heard Mike and James obviously.

09:16>> Mike and James. Okay.

09:20>> Tony Morrison

09:21>> here.

09:22>> Christopher Pali

09:23>> here.

09:24>> Joshua Saraphino

09:25>> here.

09:26>> David Zony.

09:30>> Paul Chaplinsky

09:31>> here. We have a quorum. Uh Mr. Delanto

09:34is remote today. Uh I have not heard

09:36from Mr. Zone. I don't think the town

09:37manager is heard, so we don't have

09:39>> He's trying to call in.

09:42>> It is open.

09:43>> It's open.

09:44>> Okay. When Mr. Zony comes on, he'll come

09:46on.

09:47>> Okay.

09:48>> Sounds good. Can we please all stand for

09:51uh prayer and flag salute.

09:58>> Heavenly Father, open our eyes this

10:00evening to the truth and reality of

10:02every situation that we encounter. Give

10:05us solutions that are the best for our

10:07community now and in the future. Keep

10:10your hand upon Southernington and

10:12continue to make her great. Amen.

10:14>> Amen.

10:16>> I'd like to ask the 11u All-Star team

10:18here to start us off with the pledge of

10:20allegiance. Whenever you're ready.

10:24>> To the flag of the United States of

10:26America and to the stands. One nation

10:31under God, indivisible, with liberty and

10:35justice for all.

10:39>> Okay, we heard somebody come on the

10:41phone. Uh, Mr. Zone, is that you?

10:44>> Yes, it is.

10:46>> Okay, let the record show Mr. Zone came

10:48in at 70:01. Madame Clerk,

10:52uh we're going to move on to item two,

10:55approval of meeting minutes. A July 13,

10:582026, town council regular meeting

11:00minutes, the revised meeting minutes.

11:02>> Make a motion to approve the revised

11:04minutes.

11:05>> Second.

11:06>> We have a motion and a second for the

11:07revised minutes. Any discussion?

11:10I think Chris, the the revision was a

11:12name revision last meeting, right? So,

11:14it was a name correction for those who

11:15may be wondering. Y

11:17>> Okay. Any other discussion on that?

11:19Hearing none. All in favor?

11:22>> I

11:23>> I I.

11:25>> Any opposed?

11:27>> Okay. The motion passes uh unanimously.

11:30Item B, August 10th, 2026, town council

11:34regular meeting minutes. The revised

11:36meeting minutes.

11:36>> I'll make a motion to approve the August

11:3810th minutes.

11:40>> We have a motion and a second. Any

11:42discussion on those?

11:46>> Okay. All in favor? I

11:49>> I

11:50>> I

11:51>> Okay, motion passes unanimously.

11:54>> Uh we're going to go on to item three,

11:56council person communications.

11:59And uh we're going to move if uh for

12:01those who are remote, if you'll just put

12:03your phones on mute while we are u

12:04moving into the council person

12:06communications. We'll call on you uh uh

12:09individually once we open it up to the

12:10council members. Uh item A, 11U all-star

12:14baseball team championship proclamation.

12:17Uh I'd like to first for those of you

12:19who might not notice there's a whole

12:21bunch of all stars in the room here.

12:23Welcome all of you and congratulations

12:26uh on your accomplishments. It was

12:27exciting uh to follow you and watch and

12:30uh and hear all the exciting tales. We

12:32have somebody who's pretty close who

12:34sits here on the dis uh vice chairwoman

12:37uh Jen Clark who's also going to step in

12:40and make uh a nice presentation for you

12:42all.

12:45>> [applause]

12:55>> Well, I forgot my stool again, Mr.

12:57Chair. [laughter]

12:59Have to lower this. Okay. Uh, good

13:02evening everyone. Um, tonight it is my

13:05great honor to stand before you, not

13:07only as a town counselor, but as someone

13:09whose family has been deeply connected

13:11to this program for many years. I've

13:14watched these young athletes grow up on

13:16these fields. I've cheered alongside

13:17their parents, celebrated their

13:19victories, and felt the heartbreak that

13:21can come with coming so close to a

13:23dream. Last year, this team experienced

13:26one of the most difficult moments in

13:27sports. They made it all the way to the

13:29state championship game only to fall

13:32just short of the ultimate goal. For

13:34many teams, that kind of disappointment

13:36can define them. But for this group, it

13:39became the foundation for something

13:40greater. And unfortunately for the rest

13:42of the state, it also motivated you.

13:45Instead of letting that loss discourage

13:48them, they chose to believe. They

13:50believed in each other when things were

13:52difficult. They believed in their

13:53coaches and the countless hours of work

13:55that nobody sees. They believed in the

13:57lessons learned through adversity. And

13:59most importantly, they believed that if

14:01they stayed together, worked hard, and

14:04kept faith in one another, they could

14:06write a different ending. That belief

14:08became more than a slogan. It became

14:10their identity. We believe wasn't just

14:13something they said. It was something

14:14they lived every day. And because of

14:16that unwavering belief, determination,

14:19and resilience, this team accomplished

14:20something extraordinary. They turned

14:22heartbreak into history. They

14:24transformed last year's disappointment

14:26into this year's triumph. They earned

14:28the title of state champions and brought

14:30home a championship that this community

14:32will celebrate for years to come. So

14:35tonight, on behalf of a very proud town

14:38and is someone who knows firsthand what

14:40this program means to so many families,

14:42it is my honor to recognize a team that

14:44never stopped believing, never stopped

14:46working, and ultimately achieved

14:48something extraordinary. And yes, this

14:50time you finished the story the way it

14:52was supposed to be ended.

14:54Congratulations, state champions. I'd

14:56like to read the proclamation and

14:58present it to the coaching staff. So,

15:00Coach Packroll, Coach Bodwin, and Coach

15:03Raly, please come up. And uh Coach

15:05Denorphia.

15:08So, this is an official town council

15:11proclamation honoring the Southernington

15:1311 all-star 11U all-star baseball team,

15:16Connecticut State Champions. Whereas the

15:19Southernington 11U all-star baseball

15:21team comprised of players selected from

15:23the North, South, and West Little

15:24Leagues represented our community with

15:27outstanding talent, teamwork,

15:29determination, and sportsmanship. And

15:31whereas through their championship run,

15:33the team embraced the mantra, we

15:35believe, demonstrating confidence,

15:37resilience, unity, and unwavering belief

15:39in one another. And whereas through

15:41their dedication and teamwork, the

15:43Southernington 11U all-stars captured

15:46the district sectional and Connecticut

15:49state championship bringing tremendous

15:51pride and recognition to the town of

15:53Southernington. And whereas the players

15:55and coaches exemplify the highest ideals

15:57of youth athletics, demonstrating that

15:59perseverance, teamwork, and belief in

16:02one another can lead to extraordinary

16:04achievement. Now therefore, be it

16:06resolved that the Southernington Town

16:07Council on behalf of the residents of

16:09Southernington proudly congratulate and

16:11honors the Southernington 11U All-Star

16:14Baseball Team for its outstanding

16:16championship season and commends the

16:18players, coaches, families, and

16:19volunteers whose dedication made this

16:21remarkable achievement possible.

16:23Congratulations

16:27[applause]

16:33>> [applause]

16:35>> Um, if you don't mind, I would like to

16:37read the names of the players as well.

16:39Um Henry Valleus,

16:43Owen Pugles, [applause]

16:45Camden Zenorphia,

16:47Vincent Ralibate, Chase Michael, Logan

16:50Jigar, Nash Packl, TJ Dorte, Brady McKe,

16:55Chase Bodwin, Cam Rubino, Owen Salson,

16:58and Andy Eckard.

17:02Nice job.

17:10>> [applause]

17:12>> So, we're now going to call the our

17:13state representatives to present the

17:16team with a proclamation from the state

17:18of Connecticut.

17:29You

17:41>> want to say a few words?

17:42>> I I'll speak after.

17:44>> Okay. Are you going to read a citation?

17:45>> You want to do whatever you want to do?

17:47>> Whatever.

17:47>> I thought you were taking the lead on.

17:48[laughter]

17:49>> We always debate who's done first.

17:52>> Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.

17:53It's it's truly an honor to be here and

17:56I can't tell you from my heart how much

17:58I congratulate this team. Not only have

18:00you created memories for yourselves, but

18:02you've created a lot of memories for

18:04your parents because I remember when my

18:05son was playing baseball, it was the

18:08best time. It their memories lasted a

18:10lifetime and we thank our coaches for

18:13that because without what you have done

18:15for these students, these kids, you

18:17would not have been able to create those

18:18memories. So, what you have done is

18:20extraordinary. This is an incredible

18:22team. I'm so proud of you. A state

18:24championship is a big deal. So, you guys

18:26should be proud of yourselves and thank

18:28your parents and your coaches. And I

18:30think uh Senator Samson or

18:33>> Donna Beach, you want to say something

18:35before we read?

18:36>> I just want to congratulate the coaches

18:39and the children for playing so well.

18:41Obviously, um I recall the days where my

18:45girls played softball. I didn't have any

18:48boys. So, all girls, we spent plenty of

18:50times on the field. And I know how

18:51dedicated parents have to be for that.

18:53So I thank the parents for being so

18:55dedicated and congratulations all of

18:58you. Thank you.

19:04[applause]

19:04I want to congratulate you as well and

19:07uh thank you for putting Southernington

19:09on the map yet again. It's it's a great

19:11great town and accomplishments like this

19:15make us look even better across the

19:17state. And I want to make sure to thank

19:19the parents and the coaches for all your

19:22time and effort so that these guys could

19:24have success and memories and and

19:26accomplishments.

19:32I guess I will bat forth clean up here

19:34and just uh offer my congratulations as

19:37well. This is quite the achievement

19:39obviously. Um, I was just, you know, as

19:42you guys were coming in, I was thinking

19:44back. I played little league like a lot

19:46of us did. And uh I just remember my

19:49grandfather um till the day he died when

19:52I was considerably older than you guys

19:54are now still talking about playing

19:57little league and how much it meant uh

19:59to see uh not only uh his children but

20:02also his grandchildren me uh and the

20:05lessons that we learned and everything

20:06that really led to um us becoming better

20:10people. You know,

20:13this is like such a remarkable thing. As

20:16Chris said, you know, we get to brag

20:18about the talents that we represent uh

20:20to our colleagues uh in Hartford. So,

20:22you guys just gave us another thing to

20:24say, you know what, Southernington, by

20:25the way, has the champions. So, um and I

20:27noticed you guys have these giant rings.

20:32I'm I'm I'm pretty impressed with the

20:34rings.

20:35>> Very very nice. Um, congratulations to

20:38the players obviously to you guys, the

20:41coaches, you know, job well done. Thank

20:43you for, you know, all the time and

20:45energy probably away from family and

20:47everything else to invest into the lives

20:49of these kids and uh it really means a

20:51lot and obviously the parents uh for

20:53their um, you know, time and sacrifice.

20:56Um, I really think this is something you

20:58guys are going to remember forever. Uh,

21:00it really does. I remember my time

21:01playing little league. Uh, it comes up a

21:03lot actually in my family. So, uh,

21:05congratulations once again. And I heard

21:07there's a rumor that you guys do a chant

21:10to celebrate, uh, your success. You guys

21:13want to do that for us?

21:15>> Yeah, let's do it. Let's hear it.

21:17[applause]

21:27>> I

21:28>> I BELIEVE

21:29>> I BELIEVE

21:29>> I BELIEVE THAT.

21:31>> I believe that. I believe that we

21:33>> I believe that we

21:35>> I believe that we will

21:36>> I believe that WE WILL

21:38>> I BELIEVE THAT WE will win.

21:40>> I BELIEVE THAT WE will win. I believe

21:42that we will.

21:49>> All right. Nice job you guys. That is

21:51awesome.

21:56Uh thank you Senator Samson,

21:58Representatives uh V Master Francesco

22:00and uh Pulis. So, you want to read the

22:02uh citation?

22:03>> Yes, I would. Wonderful. Thank you, Mr.

22:04Chairman. That was awesome.

22:06>> So, we have an official citation from

22:08you from the Connecticut General

22:09Assembly, and it was introduced by uh

22:12Senator Samson, Representative Pulis,

22:13Representative Beach, and myself. And it

22:15says, "Be it hereby known to all that

22:17the Connecticut General Assembly hereby

22:19offers its sincerest congratulations to

22:22Southernington 11U allstars in

22:24recognition of the Southernington 11U

22:26allstars for an outstanding championship

22:29season capturing the District 5 section

22:311 and Connecticut 11U state

22:34championships. Representing

22:35Southernington, North, South, and West

22:37Little Leagues, these talented players

22:39and coaches demonstrated exceptional

22:41teamwork, dedication, sportmanship,

22:44sportsmanship, and community pride

22:46throughout their remarkable championship

22:48win. Uh we the entire membership extends

22:51his best very best wishes on this

22:53memorable occasion and expresses the

22:55hope for continued su success and it is

22:58signed by the president pro prom speaker

23:00of the house and the secretary of state

23:02and is my honor on behalf of all of us

23:04to present the coaches and the team with

23:06this official citation.

23:08[applause]

23:12Would [applause]

23:16it be okay to ask all of the uh

23:18representatives and the vice chair to

23:19come up for a photo with the uh

23:21citations? That would be great. If

23:22anybody wants to stand up and take a

23:24photo, please do.

23:27>> Come on in.

23:31>> Yeah, sure. Why don't Why don't we

23:32squeeze them?

23:37>> Mike and Dave Zone are here in uh

23:40>> in memory in thoughts. Yeah.

23:45>> Yeah, they got it.

24:01>> All good.

24:04[applause]

24:09So, I'd like I'd like to uh

24:13>> Absolutely. I'd like to give you an

24:14opportunity, right?

24:15>> I don't even need the mic. I'm loud

24:16enough.

24:17>> Well, you know what? I'm putting here

24:18because we're videotaping.

24:19>> Oh, got it. It'll be caught in the

24:21audience.

24:21>> Really quickly, guys, I just want to let

24:24everyone know like we felt the love from

24:25this town starting last year. No matter

24:28how far we traveled, didn't matter where

24:29it was, we always had homefield

24:30advantage and that was from the

24:32community. So, we appreciate the town

24:33council. Shen, thank you so much for

24:34having us and recognizing these kids cuz

24:36they really do deserve it. Um, it's all

24:38them, honestly. They're the most

24:39coachable level of kids any of our

24:42coaches have in any sport. Um, they

24:46truly did and this town truly did like

24:48come together and we had that home field

24:51advantage all the way throughout whether

24:52it's Beverly, Massachusetts or if it was

24:53here in Southernington. So, thank you

24:55all. Thank the town of Southernington.

24:57We appreciate you guys. We feel the

24:58love. So, thank you for this recognition

24:59for these guys. They deserve it. Any of

25:02you guys want to say anything?

25:03[applause]

25:07Is there a spokesperson? No.

25:10>> Okay. So, I have one last request for

25:13you. I know I know I had given you a

25:15little bit about the logistics and maybe

25:16for the parents. I gave you a little bit

25:17of logistics uh about how the meeting

25:19was going to go. Um what I'd like to ask

25:22if you're willing, we have one more

25:24agenda item after yours that's a special

25:26agenda item. It's a naming of a of a

25:28room. And we don't often have a chance

25:30to have uh young young children and

25:33young adults in the audience. And uh

25:35since this is the next topic, if you

25:38could stay for 10 minutes, um I think

25:40it'd be nice to uh let the kids hear uh

25:42about somebody special in our community

25:44and uh what the council's doing for them

25:45if you would mind.

25:46>> Is that okay, you guys?

25:48>> All right, let's do it.

25:50[applause]

26:03Okay, I think we still have our remote

26:05participants and thanks you guys for

26:06staying. Um,

26:11>> we're moving on to item 3B, naming of

26:14the Edward S. Poco Jr.

26:17room at the calendar house and

26:18presentation of proclamation. And um

26:21what I'd like to do first if it's okay

26:23with the council is uh put up for a vote

26:26the the naming of the room first and um

26:30and then we can go into the the

26:31presentation afterwards if that's okay.

26:34You guys good with that? So is there

26:36anybody who would like to make a motion

26:38on the naming of the community room at

26:40the calendar house?

26:43>> Madame vice chair. I'll make a motion to

26:47uh name the room at the calendar house

26:49after um Mr. Edward PCO.

26:52>> Okay, I'll second.

26:54>> We have a motion from the vice chair and

26:56a second from uh Councilman Paul Mira

26:58for the naming of Edward S. PCO Junior

27:00Room at the calendar house. Um and if

27:05it's okay, you know, for the children

27:07that are out there, Mr. PCO was a a

27:10lifetime resident here in

27:12Southernington. He was a police officer

27:15who uh retired as a lieutenant. So an

27:18officer in the in the police department.

27:20He gave so many hours and years as a

27:23volunteer in the community. He was an

27:24avid farmer in his life. Uh he was he

27:28was a passion of his to farm uh u many

27:30years ago and I know many people in the

27:33community have talked a lot about his

27:34talents and his skills as a farmer. Uh

27:36he volunteered on um various boards in

27:39town, our library board, our board of

27:41finance. He was elected since 2010 to

27:44the board of finance. And um and so what

27:47I'd like to do is open it up for the

27:49town council who um who might want to

27:51say a couple words before we go into the

27:53presentation.

27:59Anybody?

28:02>> Chris?

28:03>> Sure. I can say a few words. Um I had

28:05the pleasure of serving with Ed on

28:07multiple boards. Um starting with when

28:10we were both at the time elected to the

28:12board of library uh library board um we

28:15served in that for I think four years

28:18together and I also had the pleasure of

28:20serving right here on the town council

28:22with with Ed. Um I also uh Kennedy and

28:26Apollo Middle School the building

28:27committee um I served as vice chair of

28:29that committee and Ed served as the

28:31chair of that committee. um regardless

28:34of what role Ed played in the community

28:37um he always was always clear that he

28:39put um the best interest of this entire

28:42town first. Um I think that's a great

28:45quality to come by um regardless of what

28:48the issue was. He was very thoughtful,

28:51deliberate um just to make sure to do

28:53what was right for all of our residents.

28:55So um it's truly an honor to be able to

28:57second the motion to to name the room

28:59after him. Um later later in his life,

29:03Ed also drove the bus to the calendar

29:04house. So he became very well known at

29:06the calendar house as well. Um I joked

29:09we should name the bus after him, you

29:11know, because because of all his hours

29:12driving that bus, but I think it's very

29:14fitting to name a room in the calendar

29:16house as well.

29:18>> Is there anybody else who would like to

29:20uh speak? Yeah, Jim, go ahead.

29:22>> I have a little bit different angle for

29:24you guys. So, I remember when I was 16

29:26years old and a student at Tington High

29:28School, uh we used to take rides to

29:31McDonald's on Fridays and hang out with

29:33the kids and do our thing. And Mr. PCO

29:35was a police officer, a rookie new one

29:37at the time. And uh we all knew that if

29:40we did something wrong, he was going to

29:42shake us down. But he he didn't just

29:44shake us down. He called our parents. He

29:46let us go, but he called our parents.

29:47And then, of course, we got in more

29:48trouble with our parents than we got

29:50with the police. Um I had the pleasure

29:52of knowing him that long. and working

29:54with him in the community service area

29:57and he always had a smile on his face.

29:59He was always in a good mood and he was

30:01always very positive on Southernington

30:03and I miss him dearly. I do.

30:05>> Thank you.

30:06>> Thanks, Jim.

30:08Anybody else? Uh, anybody remote would

30:11like to say a few words? Mike, go ahead.

30:15>> Mr. Chair, Mike Delanto here. Uh, yeah,

30:17just to echo everyone's sentiments as

30:19well. Mr. PCO um was such a strong

30:22leader in this town. Uh I've been

30:24involved in politics for about 27 years

30:27now and he was already a veteran when I

30:30started. So uh I've served on a couple

30:33of different boards with him. I've

30:35always leaned on him for uh suggestions

30:38and bouncing feedback off of him. Uh and

30:41you know I believe I said this after he

30:42passed, we lost a legend. Uh and they

30:45just don't make them like that anymore.

30:46So uh I think this is a wonderful honor

30:48and his name will now be uh capsized uh

30:52at the calendar house forever. Very nice

30:54uh gesture.

30:58>> Thank you Mike.

31:00Anybody else?

31:04So I had the uh the pleasure of serving

31:07um with Mr. POC in various capacities

31:09including open space and I'll say that

31:12um it was a passion of his as I had

31:14mentioned he was um passionate about

31:16farming and he was passionate about open

31:18space uh he loved to reach out to people

31:21to talk about open space and and look at

31:23the open spaces in the town and it was

31:25truly a pleasure to uh to work with him

31:27uh in that capacity and also beyond and

31:31you know it's special to have all of you

31:33here all the young adults that are in

31:36this room here because I know at least

31:38one of you there's going to be another

31:40Mr. BOC here. And the question for all

31:42of you is who's that going to be? Who's

31:45going to be that volunteer in this

31:46community? And who's going to be that

31:48person that does good things for other

31:49people? Uh and I hope someday in the

31:52future, uh you two will be able to be

31:54recognized for the great things that you

31:55do, whatever community it is. Hopefully,

31:58it's here. Okay. So, with that, we have

32:01a motion in a second. Madame Clerk, why

32:04don't you call the role, please?

32:07>> Jennifer Clark.

32:08>> Yes. Michael Del Santo,

32:12>> yes.

32:13>> Christristen Ga,

32:14>> yes.

32:15>> James Morelli,

32:16>> yes.

32:17>> Tony Morrison,

32:18>> yes.

32:19>> Christopher Paul,

32:20>> proudly, yes.

32:21>> Joshua Saraphino,

32:22>> yes.

32:23>> David Zony,

32:30>> Dave Zone,

32:33>> yes.

32:35>> Walter Plinsky,

32:36>> yes. The motion passes unanimously.

32:38Thanks everybody. I'd like to ask Erica,

32:40can you come on up? I'd like to read a

32:41proclamation for you. We'll I'll join

32:43you at the podium.

32:58Thanks for coming, Erica. For those who

33:00don't know, Erica PCO is Mr. PCO's

33:03granddaughter. She's also a longtime uh

33:06volunteer in the community serving uh in

33:08various capacities including elected to

33:11the water board. Uh Mr. PCO's son uh Ed

33:15Jr. Ed III is actually also a longtime

33:18member. So you're you're here honoring a

33:21family that has been involved in

33:23Southernington for

33:26Paul for how how long?

33:28>> It's a long time.

33:30>> Decades, right? Generations. So, um it

33:33you you won't see this very often. So,

33:35what I'd like to do is um is read an

33:38official town council proclamation after

33:39we've now named the room. And what we're

33:43doing is we're we're going to give each

33:45of you one of these uh signed by the

33:47council. And we'll have one for the room

33:49as well. Okay.

33:51It says town council official

33:53proclamation Edward S. PCO Jr. Day.

33:56Whereas Edward S. PCO Jr. also known as

33:59E2 because there was another Edward III.

34:03So he was known as E2 and E3 devoted a

34:07lifetime to serving the people of

34:08Southernington, including more than

34:09three decades with the Southernington

34:11Police Department, retiring in 2003 with

34:13the rank of lieutenant. And whereas Ed

34:15continued his commitment to

34:17Southernington through distinguished

34:18service on the library board, town

34:20council, conservation commission,

34:22planning and zoning commission, and

34:24board of finance, always placing the

34:26needs of his community here.

34:27Southernington first. Whereas Ed's

34:30integrity, dedication, friendship, and

34:32unwavering love for Southernington

34:34earned him the respect of generations of

34:36residents, colleagues, and fellow public

34:38servants. And whereas in recognition of

34:41his extra extraordinary legacy of

34:44service, the town of Southernington is

34:46proud to dedicate the large community

34:48room at the Southernington Calendarer

34:49House in his honor as the Edward S.

34:51Pocock Jr. Community Room.

34:54Now therefore, be it resolved that the

34:56Southernington Town Council hereby

34:58declares today, Monday, September 14th,

35:01as Edward S. Pocock Jr. Day in the town

35:04of Southernington, and encourages all

35:06residents to join us in honoring and

35:08remembering a man whose lifetime of

35:10service made Southernington a better

35:12community. Proclaimed this 14th day of

35:14September, 2026. And it's signed by the

35:16entire town council.

35:22>> [applause]

35:29>> Thanks everybody and I appreciate all of

35:31you staying. Okay. Yeah, there you go.

35:39>> Why don't we take a five minute recess,

35:40okay, in the meeting and we'll let

35:41everybody uh say hello and if anybody

35:44wants to leave

35:46>> Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, come on. [laughter]

35:49>> Sorry, you guys. Is our state

35:50delegation's going to read a

35:51proclamation?

35:54>> Not yet.

36:06>> My apologies you guys.

36:16>> I was like, don't let them leave.

36:18>> [laughter]

36:19>> Where are they going?

36:20>> I just want to start crying.

36:25>> So

36:27difficult to uh find the right words at

36:31the at the moment. Uh and very nice to

36:33listen to all of the uh fine comments

36:35from the uh counselors that have uh

36:38spent so much time and served uh with

36:40E2. And that's how I knew him actually.

36:43It's funny because uh almost every

36:45conversation I ever had was us trying to

36:47figure out which Ed PCO we were talking

36:49about. Junior, well, he's a junior, but

36:51he's also a senior. You know, it's gets

36:53very confusing very quickly. Uh so

36:55that's how you end up with E2. Um but I

36:58will just say that uh I met him probably

37:00around 2010 uh when I first got involved

37:03in running for state representative and

37:06came to Southernington looking for

37:07support. And I will tell you that he was

37:10one of the kindest people I met

37:13initially

37:15uh on the Southernington Republican Town

37:17Committee. And he

37:19offered his kindness, his friendship,

37:21and his support to me uh immediately.

37:24And um it was just nice because, you

37:27know, when you're getting started,

37:28especially when you come to a new town

37:30and you're trying to meet people, not

37:32everyone greets you with open arms. Um

37:35and after that I learned more about his

37:37contributions to this community and they

37:40are as was pointed out uh a legacy of

37:43decades of public service to serve on

37:46the police force uh and then to devote

37:48decades really to public service and to

37:51this community. There are very few

37:52people that can measure up to the amount

37:54of time and energy that that man

37:57dedicated to the town of Southernington

37:58and it's very correct that he be rec

38:01recognized for it today. So we have this

38:04uh very nice citation from the

38:06Connecticut General Assembly and it

38:07reads uh be it hereby known be it hereby

38:11known to all that the Connecticut

38:12General Assembly hereby offers it

38:15sincerious congratulations in

38:17recognition and in memoriam of Ed PCO 2

38:22for a lifetime of dedicated service to

38:24Southernington from 34 years with the

38:26Southernington Police Department to

38:28elected service on the library board

38:30town council and board of finance.

38:33Ed had devoted [clears throat] decades

38:34to his community. His service on

38:37numerous town commissions, committees,

38:39and civic organizations reflects on

38:42enduring commitment to Southernington

38:44and its residents. And it's really an

38:46honor and a privilege to be able to

38:47recognize him here today and to present

38:48this award to Erica. Congratulations.

38:54[applause]

39:02Okay.

39:06>> Did any of the representatives, anybody

39:08else want to say anything?

39:10>> All set.

39:13>> Okay.

39:14Thanks everybody. We'll take a five

39:16minute recess now.

40:03>> [music]

41:34[music]

41:48[music]

41:52[music]

42:07[music]

42:21[music]

42:26[music]

43:26[music]

43:47[music]

43:55[music]

44:30>> Okay,

44:34thank you everybody.

44:47>> Nice job with the baseball team.

44:51You got it.

44:53Okay, everybody. We are going to

44:56welcome.

44:59We're going to move on to item three

45:02C, Barnes Museum update.

45:05And uh we are honored to have Christina

45:09Vulpi with us to give us a little update

45:11as to how things are going and what's

45:13going on at the Barnes Museum. And

45:15before you start, Christina, uh, if we

45:18can just please have, uh, the remote

45:19participants to please mute their

45:21microphones because you're, uh, there's

45:23some scuffling going on there. We'd

45:24appreciate that.

45:26>> Okay, Christina, the floor is yours.

45:28>> Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Um, yeah,

45:30my name is Christina Vulpi. I'm the

45:31curator and site administrator of the

45:33Barnes Museum. Uh, just a hop and a skip

45:36away from where we are this evening. If

45:38you haven't been to check it out, please

45:40come by. Um, but we're so much more than

45:43a museum. Uh, we are a research center,

45:47an educational resource, and a community

45:50gathering place. So, I just want to give

45:51you an update. Um, because I have

45:53officially been with the town of

45:54Southernington for five years now. Uh,

45:57and it's been a really amazing five

45:59years with this with this uh site. So,

46:02let's dive in. Um, we are all over town.

46:05I don't know if you've noticed, but I

46:06certainly feel it in my feet, uh, that

46:09we have made an impact in every corner

46:11of Southernington. Most recently, being

46:13involved with Southernington 250 has

46:15been really big for us. We did receive,

46:18um, some grant funding as well to do

46:20250th programming, which included our

46:23um, pop-up American Revolution banner,

46:26which I'm sure you've all seen or heard.

46:28It was at the town clerk's office. It

46:31was a big hit. I also made that banner

46:33um not just for this commemorative

46:35experience, but we have Southernington's

46:38anniversary coming up in 1779

46:42is that's when we were a town. So 2029

46:44we'll be celebrating that and hopefully

46:46the banner can get reused again talking

46:48about Southernington's place in the

46:50American Revolution. Um beyond that, we

46:52have done uh new [snorts] tours at local

46:54cemeteries. We've been at Oakhill

46:57Cemetery. We did community partnerships

46:59around the 250th. So, um, when people

47:02talk about, wow, Southernington's doing

47:03so much for the 250th, I like to think

47:05that they're talking about our wonderful

47:08event that we had on the town green,

47:09about the things that we're doing, but

47:10they're also seeing the history and the

47:12stewardship coming out. Uh, we put out

47:15publications about uh, the town heroine

47:18Hannah Woodruff and Captain Daniel

47:20Sloper. Um, and we've been talking with

47:23school groups as you can see there as

47:24well. Um, so yeah, it's been really

47:26great. I already talked a little bit

47:28about our walking tours, but we've

47:30brought over a hundred people to

47:31downtown Southernington um this past

47:33summer alone. Uh either by signing up

47:36for one of our walking tours or uh by

47:39signing up to do a private one where

47:41we'll take groups of three or more to

47:44town hall all the way to the post office

47:46talking about the history of our town

47:48green which is also celebrating its

47:50anniversary this year. Uh, the town

47:53green, which used to be called Pigeed

47:55Park, was it was the town dump. Um, and

47:59that's what I'm here for, guys, the

48:00history. And, um, and in 1876, local

48:05leaders such as yourselves got together

48:07to turn it in to our town green. So, we

48:10have been celebrating that this year

48:12along with the Southernington Historical

48:13Society. Uh, and we've never seen our

48:15tours more packed. People are begging us

48:18for a Plantsville tour. I can't get it

48:20made quick enough. You know, these

48:21things do take time. They take research.

48:24Um, but our newest tour coming up,

48:26you'll see at the end, is exploring one

48:28of Southernington's oldest cemeteries

48:30and visiting some of our uh most

48:33important people during the American

48:34Revolution here in town. We also have

48:36our school programs that have come back

48:38to the Barnes Museum. For the longest

48:40time, there was this idea that school

48:42groups can't go to the Barnes because

48:44there's not enough bathrooms. While that

48:46is entirely true and we wish we had

48:48more, trust me, it's a single stall when

48:50you visit us. Um, we have made it

48:53flexible in a way by partnering with uh

48:56SOA and other members of downtown

48:58Southernington to ensure that uh the

49:00youth could come and visit them, visit

49:02us, make a whole day of it. Nonas pizza

49:05has been really great in the community

49:06donating like over 40 pies for these

49:09kids. Um, so that has been an annual

49:12thing now for the past three and a half

49:14years. Uh we've seen students every end

49:17of spring I go into the each second

49:20grade classroom and talk about

49:22Southernington's history to each second

49:23grade. I'm sure some of them kind of

49:25were like she looks familiar. Um and

49:28then we also invite those who can like

49:31um you know the schools who can get the

49:34bus to come down and visit those

49:35multiple sites. We coordinate that day

49:37with everybody in the community and as

49:39you can see um we have a great time

49:41doing it. Most recently, we had the 25th

49:44annual Taste of Southernington on our

49:47grounds, which was a wildly uh

49:49successful event and also the first time

49:52in 25 years that we actually not only

49:55broke even, but made a small profit. And

49:58that is all in thanks to the friends of

50:00the Barnes Museum, which are their own

50:02501c3 nonprofit that uh support us at

50:06the museum. So, that's just a little

50:08flavor of the many things I'm doing on a

50:11weekly basis. Now, when we talk about

50:13the Barnes Museum's community impact, I

50:15am a museum professional. I um I work

50:18I've been working in museums for over 10

50:20years now. And this is our engagement uh

50:23last fiscal year. It included this 2000

50:26number includes public events, priv

50:28outreach, private tours, private events,

50:31and additional museum v visitors. I

50:33broke it down even even further for us

50:36here. And these numbers at the end of

50:38the day don't capture uh even the people

50:41who walk through our yard every day. The

50:44Barnes Museum is a micro park. I know

50:47because of Plantsville, we're all

50:48familiar with that term now, right?

50:50Pocket Park, micro park. The Barnes

50:52Museum connects the community on Oak

50:55Street uh to downtown Southernington and

50:57people start walking their dog as early

50:59as 3:30 in the morning. If you're tuning

51:02in, thank you for picking up after your

51:04dog. Um that's as early as the alarm

51:07starts going off that people are walking

51:08through which is wonderful. So we love

51:10to um enable that. We've put benches in

51:13the park over the last couple years. But

51:15our outreach numbers do reflect that

51:17members of the community while small are

51:19engaging with us in higher numbers than

51:22than they did the in the years before I

51:24came on to the Barnes Museum. The only

51:26number that I would personally love to

51:28improve upon here, you know, I'd love to

51:30see all of them in the higher thousands

51:32is the private attendance. Uh we had one

51:34private event last year and that is

51:37because the Barnes Museum is in need of

51:39some repairs and I'll get to that. Uh we

51:42reached 150 students across three

51:44schools and we saw over 2,000 hours from

51:48volunteers and interns. There was this

51:50question from me for many years,

51:52Christina, get more volunteers.

51:53Christina, get more interns. I had uh

51:56six interns, three at the university

51:58level from Urri, Mount Holio, and

52:01Trinity, uh who also got to help out at

52:04the town clerk's office. So, I'm open to

52:06sharing mildly. Um and then we had three

52:09high school students, juniors and

52:11seniors, who not only were with us last

52:14year, but brought a friend with them. So

52:16we see this return in our investment in

52:19bringing education at that level to

52:20people and letting them get the hands-on

52:23museum experience from a collection that

52:25is incomparable uh to others out there.

52:31Uh again because I'm a museum person and

52:33not to throw my friends in the state out

52:36but uh looking at similar house museums

52:39we have the Phelps Hathway House in uh

52:41Sfield saw about 1100 visitors last

52:44year. The Palmer Warner House in East

52:46Hatam had about 500. Weston Historical

52:50Society, which is a very active

52:52community museum, very much like ours,

52:54sees numbers kind of on point to what

52:56we're talking about. The Museum of

52:59Darien, we have a number to beat with

53:013,000. And then looking at the Keeler

53:04Tavern Museum in Richfield, you're

53:05probably like, what are they doing? And

53:07I'll tell you, it's private events and

53:09weddings. they have the setting there

53:11where they're able to really bring in

53:13that revenue from doing events and

53:15weddings. The Hearthstone Historic House

53:17Museum is actually um not in this state,

53:20but it is a municipally owned house

53:22museum with investment both in the

53:24similar ways that we have it here. And

53:26they uh average around 9,000 and that's

53:29also because they're able to rent as a

53:31wedding venue. Um so our reach is

53:35actually pretty strong for a municipal

53:37small house museum. The community impact

53:39is really the numbers that you should

53:41judge us by. We're never going to be a

53:44multi-million dollar making museum.

53:46Museums aren't meant to do that, but we

53:48can certainly with a little bit of

53:51investment um make it more functioning

53:54as a private event rental in the future.

53:56Now, um we are part of Southernington's

53:59growth. I don't have to tell any of you,

54:01you go down [clears throat] on a

54:02Saturday night to Factory Square and

54:04it's bumpin. Plantsville is more beloved

54:06than ever because of its beautiful mural

54:09and all of the investment that's

54:11happened to turn the village into its

54:13historic place. Right? So I want to

54:16argue that, you know, investing in the

54:19Barnes Museum is heritage tourism. It is

54:22economic development because people are

54:24coming to Southernington not because

54:26they see all the hard work you guys are

54:28doing on the council, but because they

54:29drive through and they really like the

54:31feel of it. We've been compared to

54:33Gilmore Girls more time than I can

54:35count. Uh, highly recommend for the

54:37fall. Please watch. Um, so, you know,

54:40investing in the Barnes Museum in a way

54:42and having us be a part of the community

54:44in this way as I show here from Factory

54:46Square to our walking tours to

54:48Plantsville partnerships at Kinsman

54:50Brewing. We've really made it where

54:53people want to come to the town. When we

54:55do history pints, which brings beer and

54:57history together at Kinsman Brewing, we

55:00see over a hundred visitors in one

55:02night. Um, and yes, it makes some money

55:04for us at the museum, but it also is

55:06making an impact across the state. I've

55:09been invited to speak at national uh

55:12conferences. I've been inspired

55:15uh to talk more about what

55:17Southernington does in this regard. And

55:19actually when I go to these meetings

55:21with other museums, they look at me and

55:23they look at the town of Southernington

55:25like an example of a municipal historic

55:27house museum. And I've I can't be more

55:29proud because as Mr. P can tell you, I

55:32am one of these little kids, you know,

55:34and I grew up here and I'm investing in

55:35here, too. So preserving the the barns

55:38is part of economic development if you

55:40look at it in the way the same way that

55:41people look at Factory Square. Why do we

55:43go there? Yes, it has beer and axes and

55:46things like that. It's a historic space

55:48reimagined. That is the exact experience

55:50that I deliver when I go out and speak

55:53or when I bring you to the museum.

55:55People want to visit us for these

55:56reasons.

55:58It also talking about the uh POCD which

56:00I know is still in development or going

56:03in development. Um maintaining

56:05Southernington's character is part of

56:06that. The barns without it I don't know

56:09what Southernington's downtown would

56:11really look like without the barns. Um,

56:14we enhance the downtown and we enhance

56:16Plantsville with our programming, uh,

56:18which is also in the POC and we promote

56:21businesses. I don't do a single program

56:24where I don't partner with a local

56:25business. Um, and you'll you can see

56:28that this Saturday as we partner with

56:30Long View Cider House, uh, Smoking with

56:32Chris for our wine tasting.

56:35Now, I really uh was I'm so grateful for

56:38this opportunity to talk to you tonight

56:40because one of the things I said 5 years

56:41ago when I took this job is, "Oh dear, I

56:45don't know if this can last five more

56:46years like this." Here we are 5 years

56:49later and you're looking at the

56:50deterioration of the west side of the

56:53Barnes Museum. The front of the museum

56:56that you see when you drive by was

56:58actually painted before I started in

57:002021. The deterioration on the west has

57:03continued unfortunately because the

57:05house was built in 1836. It is old. And

57:09as I tell our students at the museum,

57:11how do we treat old people? Gently. Do

57:14we hit old people? No. Uh do we toss

57:17rocks at old people? No. And that's how

57:19we should be treating the Barnes Museum,

57:21right? Is like it's our most treasured

57:23eldest person in our community. It's

57:25been a institution as a museum in

57:27Southernington for 50 years. This is our

57:3051st year of being a museum. So, um, you

57:34know, I don't come to you with anything

57:35that isn't already in development,

57:37folks. I'm not, uh, I do my homework.

57:39So, we, uh, myself, Christine Mashad,

57:42and the, the library director and the,

57:45uh, board of the library and Barnes

57:47Museum have been working diligently to

57:49raise funds for towards this project for

57:52years now. We do have $40,000 in reserve

57:56for the project, but we're actually

57:57talking about two separate projects.

57:59Unfortunately, there is rot that you can

58:02see here that extends simply beyond

58:04painting. We would need to do carpentry

58:06work, which is what uh what you're

58:09looking at there on the right hand side

58:10where my cursor is right now is the

58:12goblet room.

58:14briefly. This is a collection of

58:17approximately

58:18more than 1,200

58:21early American press glass goblets.

58:23Since I took over the museum, we have

58:26found out that that is the third largest

58:28collection in the nation. And once I

58:30catalog all of them, I believe we have

58:32the largest, second to the Corning

58:34Museum of Glass in Corning, New York,

58:36and a private family collection at the

58:38University of Wisconsin. So, we actually

58:41house some of the rarest goblets in

58:44American history. Um, there are some

58:46that they can't find a double to it. We

58:49are the only ones that have it. We have

58:51researchers and scholars who come to the

58:52museum to research this collection.

58:55We've been cataloging it for three

58:56years. We have about 700 cataloged. It's

58:59not an easy project. When I published

59:02the Barnes Museum book, we highlighted

59:04that collection in there and we have

59:06seen more people interested in it. So

59:09when the deterioration in the goblet

59:11room became extreme, we needed to act

59:13quicker. Uh and so we did receive a

59:16grant very recently in the last month

59:18for $6,000 for this from the Main Street

59:21Community Foundation. Um and that $6,000

59:25grant is going to go directly towards

59:26that carpentry repair that that section

59:29of the building needs. And that grant

59:31was given specifically because of the

59:33historic nature of the collection. Now,

59:36the remaining side of that that portion

59:38also does need carpentry repair. As you

59:41can see, the old wooden gutter. I don't

59:44know why they thought that would work.

59:45Um, the old wooden gutter has uh over

59:48time deteriorated the bay window of the

59:51dining room, which is the main window

59:54that faces our garden. So, when we

59:56didn't secure a wedding rental last

59:58year, it's because this side of the

1:00:00museum faces the garden. So if you walk

1:00:03through when all the buses drop off

1:00:05everybody for apple harvest in a couple

1:00:08weeks, thousands of people are going to

1:00:10walk from Merryill Avenue through our

1:00:12gate down this path and that is what

1:00:15they're going to see because that's the

1:00:17biggest view. So when I can't secure a

1:00:19rental and we're not getting more rental

1:00:21income, please be advised it's because

1:00:23photographers are sad. [laughter]

1:00:26And I talk about the brick building all

1:00:28the time, you know, like everything. I'm

1:00:29like, "Oh, but the brick and the

1:00:31fountain." and they're like, "Girl." So,

1:00:33we're doing our best. Um, the Friends of

1:00:35the Barnes Museum has raised an

1:00:37additional 10,000 so far uh for this

1:00:41project. And then on top of all of that,

1:00:43because of our community impact, we have

1:00:46a private donor who's willing to

1:00:48contribute up to $25,000 towards this

1:00:50project.

1:00:52I don't know what could say I've done my

1:00:54job more than that. You know, we have

1:00:56someone who cares about so much that

1:00:57we're doing that they want to put their

1:00:59own money towards this. And I I get

1:01:01emotional because I couldn't be more

1:01:02grateful for that. But we need help

1:01:05beyond that. We do. Um the last quotes,

1:01:09air quotes that we ever received for

1:01:11this uh was back in 2023 and they were

1:01:14upwards of $60,000.

1:01:16Clearly, we're almost there. Clearly,

1:01:18we're almost there, but as we know,

1:01:20these projects um are going to take a

1:01:22little bit more than that probably to

1:01:23get this done. We are undergoing a

1:01:26structural assessment right now. We did

1:01:29provide the money towards a structural

1:01:30assessment so that we know exactly what

1:01:32this building needs. Whether it be

1:01:34during my tenure here or well beyond my

1:01:36tenure here. I may not always be at the

1:01:38Barnes Museum. So everything that I do

1:01:41today is to ensure that this building is

1:01:42standing for 50 more years. And if we

1:01:45continue to allow the maintenance to be

1:01:46deferred,

1:01:48it's just going to crumble before our

1:01:49eyes.

1:01:51Now you want to talk about what we're

1:01:53doing. Um we're doing fun stuff. If you

1:01:56ever want to support us, it's super easy

1:01:57because we're located at 85 North Main

1:01:59Street. This Saturday, we're having our

1:02:02annual wine and beer tasting. Uh again,

1:02:05with all of these community partners

1:02:07helping us to make it a success, and

1:02:10then um this was supposed to be like

1:02:12show you multiple things, but I'll talk

1:02:14about uh our new walking tour with

1:02:16Southounn Burying Ground, which is a

1:02:18wonderful partnership with them. We're

1:02:20also working with the Congregational

1:02:21Church on this, uh, Plantsville

1:02:23Congregational Church on this. Um, I've

1:02:26been researching it for about a month

1:02:27now. It's a brand new tour. Uh, and

1:02:30that's where Captain Daniel Sloper is

1:02:32interred, as is other mites of

1:02:35Southernington. We have the Clark

1:02:36family, we have the Hazards, the Pratts,

1:02:39they're all in Southoun Bearing Ground.

1:02:42Um, and usually at our Oakhill tours, we

1:02:45see upwards of 40 to 50 people. Uh, so

1:02:48we're actually expecting a pretty big

1:02:49crowd for the new one. Uh, because this

1:02:52is the first new one we're we're going

1:02:53to do in five years. So, it's been five

1:02:56years of doing Oak Hill. Uh, this takes

1:02:58place during Apple Harvest, too. So, it

1:03:00brings people from out of town to our

1:03:02walking tour. Um, and yeah, I hope I've

1:03:06covered it. I'm ready for your

1:03:07questions. Um, but I I'm so proud of

1:03:09this museum and what we do here. So,

1:03:11thank you for your time.

1:03:13>> Thank you, Christina. Amazing amazing

1:03:15presentation. and uh

1:03:18[applause]

1:03:20your love and passion for the town and

1:03:23and your role is just amazing to see.

1:03:25So, thank you for that. We'll we'll open

1:03:27it to the council. [snorts]

1:03:28>> I just have a comment. I just want to

1:03:30say that I've attended some of your

1:03:31presentations and they are out of this

1:03:32world. So,

1:03:33>> cool.

1:03:34>> Keep up the good work.

1:03:35>> Including tonight.

1:03:36>> It helps more when there's beer and

1:03:38pizza, guys. You got to come to one of

1:03:39those. Jim knows.

1:03:43Is there anybody else who would like to

1:03:45have any comments or questions?

1:03:50So, just on the you're about there was

1:03:54some numbers there. I wasn't sure how

1:03:55they added up, but you told us about

1:03:5760,000.

1:03:58Um I mean I'm guessing over a couple

1:04:01years it might be a little bit more 70

1:04:0380,000 depending on what you find. But

1:04:06what's the number that you actually have

1:04:09um on hand that could go towards that?

1:04:12>> Um so 13,000 is our annual building

1:04:15maintenance budget. So kind of ignore

1:04:16that number because this can't come from

1:04:18that, right? That's already accounted

1:04:20for. God forbid something happens in

1:04:22this house, right? Uh and that also

1:04:25includes like uh trash and and things

1:04:27like that. So really what you're looking

1:04:28at is we have over $50,000 towards the

1:04:32project as it stands.

1:04:33>> Okay? without that $25,000 contribution.

1:04:36I think our donor is waiting to see if

1:04:39the town decides to contribute to this

1:04:41effort. Um but as of right now, we are

1:04:44feeling very positive about it because

1:04:46um we're closer than we've ever been,

1:04:48especially with the structural

1:04:50assessment. We really can't move forward

1:04:52until we know exactly um you know how

1:04:56deep the damage is.

1:04:57>> Okay. In rough order of magnitude time

1:05:00wise, when will you know that? So, we

1:05:02should have the structural assessment in

1:05:03our hands like any day now. It's Yeah,

1:05:06it's been well underway. Um, yeah.

1:05:09>> Okay. Thank you.

1:05:10>> Which I'm sure we'll have more problems

1:05:11than listed here, but this is my main

1:05:13focus right now.

1:05:15>> Sounds good. Anybody else? Tony,

1:05:17>> just a quick I'm interested about uh the

1:05:20revenue projections of what you talked

1:05:22about about using as an event more say

1:05:24for weddings or other other events. Um,

1:05:27what kind of revenue could we expect

1:05:29from that?

1:05:30>> Yeah. So, um, you know, we have done

1:05:33weddings in the past. We have a

1:05:35baseline, um, of $1,500 to rent the

1:05:38venue. Um, and then it also depends on

1:05:41the day of the week, right? Weekends, we

1:05:43have to negotiate and make sure that

1:05:45we're following union guidelines. You're

1:05:47looking at the only full-time staff

1:05:49member at the museum at this time as

1:05:51well.

1:05:51>> So, um, ensuring that we're able to be

1:05:53in the building, um, as well as my

1:05:55part-time staff member. Um, that's part

1:05:58of it as well. And we we count that in

1:06:00the revenue too, right? We have to think

1:06:01about that. But um we do have metrics

1:06:04for how much it costs to rent the

1:06:06museum. Um as soon as we're doing more

1:06:09weddings than one a season, I think we

1:06:11can up that to be honest with you.

1:06:12$1,500 to get married somewhere and rent

1:06:14some pl a municipal, you know, museum is

1:06:18not that much. I got married in the last

1:06:20two years, so I know that it takes an

1:06:22arm, a leg, and a lot more than that. We

1:06:25also like we're really grateful that

1:06:26anytime somebody gets married at the

1:06:27town hall, they're recommended to come

1:06:29take photos with us and people we we do

1:06:32see them doing that in the gazebo by the

1:06:34fountain, but we have had too many

1:06:36people turn away from me for their

1:06:38engagement party or for, you know, just

1:06:41because of the look of the outside. They

1:06:43love the inside, but we don't have the

1:06:45room for that. We're not one of those

1:06:46museums that we have like a ballroom,

1:06:48right?

1:06:49>> And talking about the barn would give

1:06:50you a headache in me as well. So trying

1:06:53to do what we can in order to bring in

1:06:55what we can and I I honestly do think

1:06:57that this little bit of investment would

1:06:58see a pretty good turnout for us.

1:07:01>> Okay. Thanks.

1:07:02>> You're welcome, Tony.

1:07:04>> Anybody else?

1:07:06Uh I know the chair of the library board

1:07:09is also here. Did you want to add

1:07:11anything?

1:07:13Tina Rickio,

1:07:16>> thanks. I could never do Christina

1:07:18justice, right? I mean, she's just

1:07:19amazing and we're we're so so fortunate

1:07:21to have her. I um I have a lot of ideas,

1:07:25you know, about how to make this a

1:07:28destination and um the potential is just

1:07:32unbelievable. Like the potential and

1:07:34when you travel around, and I say this

1:07:35all the time, right? People don't go to

1:07:37Florence, Italy because the people there

1:07:39are friendly, because they're super not

1:07:40friendly, right? It's about the art and

1:07:43the history and the culture that's

1:07:45there. That's and the food. Everyone

1:07:47goes for the food, but that's why people

1:07:49go, they go for art and history and

1:07:50culture, and that's what we have. And

1:07:53and it just has so much potential. And I

1:07:56could we could talk, you know, about

1:07:57what it would look like to have this be

1:08:00a venue and what that would entail and

1:08:04and how we would not make it on

1:08:07Christina, who was a curator. She's not

1:08:09an event planner, right? She she plans

1:08:11events and she does things that are

1:08:13historical and and cultural, but she's

1:08:15not a wedding planner, but we I have a

1:08:18little plan of how we could make this

1:08:20work and not putting that on her and and

1:08:23on our staff.

1:08:24>> So, I don't know how much detail you

1:08:26want tonight, but

1:08:27>> maybe maybe not all the detail tonight.

1:08:29Maybe what you could do is

1:08:30>> reset a little bit. Go and also let's

1:08:33wait to see what you get for, you know,

1:08:35how bad things look or how good things

1:08:36look. maybe the surprises aren't going

1:08:38to be too too much at a time, you know,

1:08:41in the not too distant future. Uh you

1:08:43can connect with us and we can have you

1:08:44back

1:08:45>> to talk about some ideas.

1:08:46>> Yeah. Okay.

1:08:47>> So, yeah, Tina, I think

1:08:50>> I think I'd be grateful if we could. We

1:08:52spend about $200,000 a year, you know,

1:08:54as a town on this, you know, if you

1:08:55include the uh uh maintaining the the

1:08:59space, the gardens, etc. Um if we could

1:09:02just mirror that,

1:09:04>> right?

1:09:04>> Then

1:09:05>> we want to be self-sustaining, right?

1:09:07That's what we want. Mhm.

1:09:08>> We do want that. And and you do get, you

1:09:10know, we can get into more details. You

1:09:11do get money from the trust.

1:09:14>> We've pursued that. Alex and I pursued

1:09:16that. I mean, it's you get what you get.

1:09:18We're not going to get more than that.

1:09:19Um, it's in the will. It's the way it's

1:09:21written. So, um, yeah. No, we definitely

1:09:24want to be self. We That was kind of the

1:09:25charge that Alex gave us. Make it

1:09:27self-sustaining. We listen to Alex.

1:09:30[laughter]

1:09:32>> Thanks. Thanks, J.

1:09:35The tables have turned. The tables

1:09:36[laughter] have turned.

1:09:37>> And you know, it's a it's a crawl, walk

1:09:39run, right? I mean, you have a goal and

1:09:41uh you know, you you take steps towards

1:09:43the goal. I think that's uh I'm

1:09:45interested to hear the details. I also

1:09:46know our uh library directors here,

1:09:48Christina Mich. Did you want to say

1:09:50anything?

1:09:51>> Yeah.

1:09:53>> Thanks for coming out. We didn't

1:09:55[clears throat] realize you were going

1:09:56to make your way out then join us this

1:09:59evening. So, thank you for taking the

1:10:00time.

1:10:00>> Oh, thank you so much for having us. Um,

1:10:03we're always happy to talk about the

1:10:04Barn Museum. Um, so I I don't really

1:10:07think I can add a whole lot to what

1:10:09Christina and Tina have said, but I do

1:10:12want to emphasize to the council that,

1:10:14you know, we are thinking um I think

1:10:17long-term and um about sustainability

1:10:22for the museum and about how to make it

1:10:25uh you know a cultural destination um

1:10:28that you know is here for the history

1:10:31because it I mean it is a historical

1:10:33museum but also So um one that can

1:10:37sustain itself. Um we are looking at

1:10:39examples from other house museums, other

1:10:44cultural um institutions about how they

1:10:47manage that between

1:10:51philanthropy fundraising directly um

1:10:54rentals and other forms of um income

1:10:57that aren't you know dependent on the

1:11:00taxpayer.

1:11:03>> Thank you. Any questions for the library

1:11:04director?

1:11:06>> Christina, any final words?

1:11:08>> Yeah,

1:11:09like I said before, um, you know, Tony,

1:11:11you mentioned this return on your

1:11:12investment. I honestly think you're

1:11:14seeing it in the children that come to

1:11:16our museum, in the events that we have

1:11:18people come at. This is a cultural

1:11:20institution. But if you want to really

1:11:22[clears throat] see that return, we

1:11:23would need to have something like this

1:11:25fixed. And it simply cannot happen until

1:11:28then. Um, I've been trying the best as I

1:11:30could these last five years through many

1:11:33personal health issues. Um, and still

1:11:35showing up and I've seen that it come

1:11:38back to us. Um, if anything in $25,000,

1:11:41>> but I didn't use the word return

1:11:43deliberately. I used the word mirror the

1:11:45investment.

1:11:45>> That would be, you know, that would be

1:11:47wonderful. And I hope you all received

1:11:49your individualized tickets from me to

1:11:52come and visit the Barnes Museum and see

1:11:54what we have going on. Paul, I know you

1:11:55do. So, thank you.

1:11:56>> Sounds great. Sure. Absolutely. Thank

1:11:58you again.

1:11:59>> Thanks.

1:12:00>> I believe in you guys. Thanks.

1:12:01>> Thank you.

1:12:02>> Thank you.

1:12:04>> Closing line.

1:12:11>> Okay. Moving on to

1:12:14item four, reports of special

1:12:17committees. A ordinance committee. Tony.

1:12:22>> Okay.

1:12:24Ordinance. All right.

1:12:28Let's wait for folks to leave and

1:12:32settle down. Okay.

1:12:39Oh, everybody's leaving.

1:12:43Okay. Um

1:12:45we've had uh two meetings since our last

1:12:48since the last council meeting um August

1:12:5020th September 3rd uh where we discuss

1:12:54several proposed ordinances and two of

1:12:57them I'll talk about tonight. Uh due to

1:13:00the log jam of business going forward

1:13:02we've changed from a special meeting

1:13:03which is meeting only when necessary uh

1:13:06to a scheduled monthly meeting. We've

1:13:08had 10 meetings already this year. So it

1:13:11seems about time that we and we got

1:13:13three ordinances to complete. So hence

1:13:15we'll meet every month. Uh the first

1:13:17thing uh the blight ordinance uh there's

1:13:20a revised blight ordinance which is on

1:13:23the agenda this evening

1:13:26uh for review by the council and it came

1:13:29from Matt Rayondo the zoning enforcement

1:13:31officer presented to the committee that

1:13:33the current blight ordinance was too

1:13:35unwieldy to use to resolve some of the

1:13:37blight issues in town. uh he attorney

1:13:40Matachio Matt Rayondo and Dave Levali

1:13:43the deputy town planner have worked

1:13:45together to refine some of the language

1:13:47and presented it to the committee uh for

1:13:50our review changes and approval. Uh the

1:13:53committee approved to send to the

1:13:54council and here we are tonight. I'll

1:13:56leave the details for our town

1:13:58attorney's presentation later on in the

1:14:00meeting as part of his report.

1:14:03Okay. um ebikes which has been a uh

1:14:09a a big subject for discussion

1:14:11especially in the last couple of

1:14:12meetings. Earlier in the year, we

1:14:15reviewed the state legislation which had

1:14:16just come out, how it uh articulated uh

1:14:20what ebikes were and the conditions for

1:14:21for each of the categories of ebikes and

1:14:25uh we asked police response on the new

1:14:27issues in town concerning the ebikes

1:14:29being ridden by teens particularly in

1:14:31traffic and on the trail and sometimes

1:14:33in groups. So we said after review after

1:14:37two or three months uh after collecting

1:14:39data from the summer we would see if uh

1:14:41we needed to uh present ordinances uh if

1:14:45there was any need to control this

1:14:46issue. So much of our last two meetings

1:14:49has consisted of listening to public

1:14:51comments. In fact we move public comment

1:14:54up to the first item on the agenda at

1:14:56both meetings. Uh we had so many folks

1:14:59wanting to talk and not just attending

1:15:01and the and uh the comments were what

1:15:04you might expect for any of you who live

1:15:06in town. Uh there are issues with the

1:15:09bikes, there are issues with um you know

1:15:12people who ride them, how they ride

1:15:13them. Uh teens in groups. Um so uh the

1:15:18police have had several incidents. Uh in

1:15:21their statistics they don't count those

1:15:23incidents as ebike incidents, they count

1:15:25them as crimes. So the the actual data

1:15:29that the police showed us uh was less

1:15:31than the amount of issues we have with

1:15:34ebikes probably are. So um we listened

1:15:38to a presentation by Captain Armach on

1:15:40that subject. he represents SPD and we

1:15:43listened uh and what enforcement is done

1:15:46already in this issue and we listened to

1:15:49uh uh legal issues uh from obviously

1:15:53attorney uh Matachio

1:15:56and we discussed the topic uh

1:15:58energetically among ourselves and at the

1:16:00end of that the action we took was as

1:16:02follows. develop more information from

1:16:05both reviewing what other towns were

1:16:07doing in this area to have attorney

1:16:10Matachio draw up what ordinances would

1:16:12look like and those will be based on

1:16:14what we actually discussed in the last

1:16:15meeting where we discussed several and

1:16:18then to move quickly to resolve if any

1:16:20action was needed and if so what

1:16:23essentially what ordinances were needed

1:16:25in addition to what we have already and

1:16:27that's got to be done on our next

1:16:29meeting at September 24th we scheduled

1:16:32that meeting deliberately. It's ahead of

1:16:34our next council meeting on September

1:16:3728th. So, uh we're hoping to have uh

1:16:42something in front of the council uh if

1:16:45we if we so choose to do so. Um we'll

1:16:49have that on the 28th. Uh we're trying

1:16:51to get it done. The only problem is is

1:16:53the four days may not be enough to

1:16:56actually uh take you know get get all

1:16:59the legal stuff uh in in the actual

1:17:01ordinance that that you need because

1:17:02it's got to be tied in a with what we do

1:17:05legally uh at the state level and b what

1:17:09uh we do enforcement wise already. So

1:17:13borrow a common expression these days.

1:17:16Stay tuned.

1:17:19Sounds great. Anybody else? Anybody have

1:17:22questions on

1:17:24ordinance?

1:17:25>> No, I mean I'll I'll add to it. Um the

1:17:28the goal with the

1:17:32ebikes is also working in conjunction

1:17:35with sings police department and Captain

1:17:37Armarmac has been wonderful and trying

1:17:40to figure out you know what we can do

1:17:42that we can also aid the police because

1:17:44you know we can certainly create some

1:17:45ordinance but if it turns out to be

1:17:47completely un unworkable with the police

1:17:50department we're back in the same

1:17:51position we are and not to skip ahead a

1:17:53little bit but we found ourselves in

1:17:55that position with blight And you know,

1:17:57Matt came to us and said, "Look, we

1:18:00ratcheted this up too much." Um, so, you

1:18:02know, I certainly give credit to the

1:18:04previous ordinance committee who got us

1:18:05to this point, but it was too tight.

1:18:08And, you know, I I have to give a lot of

1:18:10credit to Matt and Dave from the town

1:18:12who worked with me to say, you know,

1:18:14look, these are the pitfalls we're

1:18:17seeing with the way it's currently

1:18:19written and, you know, how we can make

1:18:20it more enforceable. So, uh, certainly

1:18:23credit to Tony, his whole committee, and

1:18:25Matt and Dave with that.

1:18:28>> Any other questions?

1:18:30>> Are there any other municipalities that

1:18:32have um ordinances in place regarding

1:18:35these ebikes?

1:18:36>> Yeah. Um, Captain Armac sent us um two

1:18:40and I think that I think I sent it I No,

1:18:42you're not on the comm. I sent it to

1:18:44Chris, Josh, and me and uh the rest of

1:18:45the ordinance committee. Uh, one was uh

1:18:49New London and one was Guilford. Um,

1:18:51Guilford was interesting, I should say,

1:18:54because uh we talked about um I said

1:18:59punishing the parents for buying the

1:19:00bikes, but we talked about an ordinance

1:19:02above and beyond say towing the bike,

1:19:04which you have to pay 250 bucks for if

1:19:06the police do that. There's something

1:19:08beyond that. And um Guilford has a

1:19:11$1,000 fine if you know, which is which

1:19:17uh is interesting, put it that way. So,

1:19:19we've got two two in front of us that

1:19:22that are uh models uh that you know we

1:19:25can look at and compare ourselves with

1:19:28and uh we may have one or two more by

1:19:30the time the 24th comes along.

1:19:32>> It might deter some of the behaviors

1:19:34we're seeing.

1:19:35>> Uh I think that was was Guilford's idea.

1:19:38>> The other thing is we're trying to work

1:19:40with towns also on the trail. um you

1:19:42know because we have concerns from

1:19:44people who ride these bikes responsibly

1:19:46that they're going to pass through

1:19:48Southernington and enter a different

1:19:49municipality and be subject to a number

1:19:51of different rules. So, it's a lot to

1:19:53balance. You know, I understand and have

1:19:56heard the the behavior that has occurred

1:19:57on some of these ebikes. So, it's a real

1:19:59concern, but

1:20:01>> it's a very delicate nuance that we're

1:20:03trying to strike that it doesn't turn

1:20:04into a logistical nightmare.

1:20:09We'd have we'd have some people who

1:20:12talked about, you know, they're getting

1:20:14on in age and they they use ebikes on

1:20:16the trail. [laughter] They don't want to

1:20:17get, you know, sort of uh stopped using

1:20:20their ebikes for no reason. So, we heard

1:20:22we heard that, too. So,

1:20:25[clears throat]

1:20:26any other questions?

1:20:28My only recommendation is let's get

1:20:30something let's just put something out

1:20:32there and get it up for debate. you

1:20:35know, it's it's difficult to talk about

1:20:37it um without something in front of you.

1:20:39And so my only recommendation to the

1:20:41committee is put something on paper so

1:20:44that we can have a debate about it and

1:20:45we can look at the pros and cons and and

1:20:47that would be I think would be

1:20:48beneficial for folks to see that. So if

1:20:51we don't have something by the next

1:20:52meeting, at the very least a working

1:20:54document to share that says, hey, we're

1:20:56not there yet, but kind of here's where

1:20:58we are. I would appreciate to see um

1:21:01something that's reasonable that that um

1:21:03you know and if there's objections from

1:21:05some areas or others, we'd like to know

1:21:07that too. It doesn't need to be

1:21:09something final, but certainly it would

1:21:10be good if we could um if we could have

1:21:13a little a little sneak peek into how

1:21:16things are looking.

1:21:18Okay, item B, Apple Harvest Festival

1:21:21Committee. Chris,

1:21:22>> great. As you know, it's just about that

1:21:24time. Um, I'll give a little bit more

1:21:26detail at the next meeting leading right

1:21:29up to the festival, but we did have a

1:21:31committee meeting on Wednesday,

1:21:32September 9th. Um, just to share with

1:21:36the the community, so far right now, we

1:21:39are sold out with our vendor positions.

1:21:40We have 86 vendors this year, which is

1:21:42great. Um, we are still accepting

1:21:45vendors for our arts and craft fair,

1:21:47which is the second weekend. So, if

1:21:48anyone's interested in participating in

1:21:50the arts and craft fair, there's still

1:21:51availability um for the second weekend

1:21:53for that. I'd like to acknowledge um

1:21:56many of the volunteers that are heading

1:21:58up our committee. Again, I'll do that at

1:22:00the next meeting, but tonight I'd like

1:22:01to at least acknowledge some of our

1:22:03students, our festival ambassadors.

1:22:05These are high school juniors and

1:22:07seniors that are volunteering their time

1:22:09um to be part of the festival. So, I'd

1:22:11like to thank them. Uh they are Taylor

1:22:13Klein's, Julie Fchett, Olivia Gowell,

1:22:17Sarah How, Thomas Cole, Neil Reyes, Jack

1:22:21Solziki, Liam Thornton, Nicole Tran,

1:22:25Theory Vincent, Gina Wanzik, Eli Whis,

1:22:29William Woo, and and Ryan, Zack

1:22:33Razinski. So again, thank you to all our

1:22:36um [snorts]

1:22:38juniors and seniors in high school that

1:22:39are our festival ambassadors this year.

1:22:41I'm also pleased to share we have um as

1:22:44of our last meeting uh collected 44,000

1:22:47a little over $44,000 in sponsorships.

1:22:50We just got two more today. So we're

1:22:53still um right up to the last minute

1:22:54accepting those as well. And finally um

1:22:58one of the highlights this year we try

1:23:00to do something a little special with

1:23:02our entertainment. Um this year we have

1:23:05um a Michael Jackson experience um going

1:23:08along with the new movie that was a big

1:23:10hit um earlier this year. Um on

1:23:13Saturday, October 3rd at 6:45, we have

1:23:17Joby Rogers who is a Michael Jackson

1:23:20impersonator. He is the only tribute

1:23:22artist with the distinguished honor of

1:23:24being personally chosen by Michael

1:23:26Jackson and a signed statement as an

1:23:28official substitute. So he'll be

1:23:30bringing to life the magic music um

1:23:33dance of Michael Jackson. Um and again

1:23:37this will be right on the stage. He's

1:23:39performed to sold out soldout audiences

1:23:41all over the world including 14

1:23:42countries um in four continents in more

1:23:45than two decades. So I think that should

1:23:47be a great um performance that we're

1:23:50bringing new to the festival this year.

1:23:53>> Any questions on the Apple Harvest

1:23:55Festival committee?

1:23:57>> Okay. Thanks Chris. So, welcome.

1:24:00>> Item C, sewer committee,

1:24:02>> Tony.

1:24:03>> Oh, that's me again.

1:24:05Okay, just uh like with the ordinance,

1:24:07we've had two meetings since our last

1:24:10council meeting. Uh so, we've got a a

1:24:13bunch of subjects, but most of them are

1:24:14small. Uh collector of revenue

1:24:19gave a presentation on a sue receivable

1:24:21strategy with the new year and the

1:24:22results so far. And uh in a nutshell,

1:24:25they're very, very encouraging. folks

1:24:26are paying what they owe and she expects

1:24:28the receivables issue that we had the

1:24:30last well several years to be down to

1:24:33just noise [snorts] once we go through

1:24:35the remainder of the year. Um we

1:24:38received bids for the scheduled and

1:24:41emergency excavation and sanitary sewer

1:24:43piping repair services which sounds like

1:24:46a lot but it's pipe breaks we fix it

1:24:49immediately. Um, and we got four biders

1:24:52and we'll have the contract for you in

1:24:55front of you at the next meeting.

1:24:58Uh, smaller projects are pretty much all

1:25:00done. We've got three going on right

1:25:02now. They should be finished uh next

1:25:05month. It'll be interesting. We'll have

1:25:07a report from Antony's properties

1:25:10uh which is a development up in West

1:25:12Street. How they plan to construct a

1:25:14feed into our systems uh from from their

1:25:17property. The original idea of a force

1:25:20main constructed by them and maintained

1:25:22by the town under West has been vetoed

1:25:25by the state. So they'll tell us what uh

1:25:27they think uh the plan should be going

1:25:30forward.

1:25:31And one [clears throat] last item of

1:25:33interest

1:25:34um I know we've discussed through the

1:25:36year of how the town has become a great

1:25:39and progressive place to work over the

1:25:40last few years. It's attractive for

1:25:42people to work here. Um we got another

1:25:44interesting piece of news here at our

1:25:46last meeting. uh one of our operators uh

1:25:49who we've trained through the years is

1:25:50very good. Of course, he's been offered

1:25:52more money elsewhere. [laughter]

1:25:54Um but uh as soon as we posted the job,

1:25:57we had 25 or so respondents

1:26:00um of whom six have the needed

1:26:03certification and experience for the

1:26:04position. Uh people want to work here,

1:26:07whatever the job. Um and it's uh you

1:26:10know and that's I think uh sort of uh

1:26:13dovetales with everything else we've

1:26:15heard um over the last year or so about

1:26:17the town being a good place to work.

1:26:20That's it.

1:26:23>> Kudos to the sewer committee chair for

1:26:25being a great place to work.

1:26:26>> Well, not me. [laughter]

1:26:29>> Anybody else? Uh

1:26:30>> plant manager.

1:26:31>> Anybody have a a question regarding

1:26:34sewer?

1:26:37Okay. hearing none. Seed committee

1:26:41Kristen, do you have I think you were at

1:26:42that meeting, right? For seed.

1:26:43>> I was, but I didn't bring my notes.

1:26:45[clears throat] I'm so sorry.

1:26:46>> Okay. Any other updates for seed?

1:26:49Otherwise, we can push it on to the next

1:26:51agenda item. Okay, Mr. Town Manager,

1:26:54what's that?

1:26:55>> Oh, Lou's here.

1:26:57>> Lou, did you want to give an update on

1:26:58the seed committee meeting? Any any uh

1:27:01>> interesting topics that you want to

1:27:02report out on?

1:27:09Sorry, it was an impromptu call here.

1:27:12>> No [laughter] problem. It's uh L Pillo,

1:27:14economic development director. Uh thank

1:27:16you. I think we're we have a a request

1:27:18for a tax abatement. I thought you were

1:27:20going to push it to the next meeting.

1:27:22>> We are.

1:27:22>> Okay. And that's pretty much what the

1:27:24update is.

1:27:25>> Was that the uh whole update?

1:27:26>> Yeah, we have um quite a bit of activity

1:27:28that happened at the meeting. We were

1:27:30explaining what's uh potentially coming,

1:27:32but nothing really vetted. Um we've had

1:27:34some positive uh response to the signs

1:27:36that we did for the direct marketing of

1:27:39property available on West Street um and

1:27:42on the corridor off of um Curtis Street.

1:27:45Um 1172 Curtis did close. Um so that

1:27:49sign was pulled off thanks to the

1:27:51highway department for taking care of

1:27:52that for us. and we hope to show a few

1:27:55more updates and again I'll see you next

1:27:57uh meeting or the meeting after for the

1:27:59um tax abatement request for 628

1:28:01Associates for property located at 170

1:28:04Spring Street. Okay, any questions or

1:28:08>> wait

1:28:09>> any questions on that?

1:28:10>> Thank you.

1:28:11>> Thanks for giving that update. So we

1:28:13don't need that for the next meeting,

1:28:14Alex. Thank you for the suggestion.

1:28:18[clears throat]

1:28:21Okay. Item number E, uh, letter E, 4E,

1:28:26American 250 I did get from, uh,

1:28:29Chairwoman Victoria Triano, uh, Mike

1:28:32Skavetta, DJ Voyine, uh, assistant

1:28:35director of parks and recreation from

1:28:37the August meeting. The month of August

1:28:39has been a time of celebration and

1:28:41activity within our community.

1:28:43celebrating with local organizations by

1:28:45volunteering with 250 handouts including

1:28:48small constitutions in a variety special

1:28:51memorabilia.

1:28:53We were at the Taste of Southernington

1:28:54celebrating our heritage at the Barnes

1:28:56Museum with our committee members

1:28:57Christina Vulpi, curator and the town

1:29:00historian Phil Wooding. We owe a great

1:29:03debt to both of these individuals. Their

1:29:05knowledge of Southernington's history

1:29:07during the Revolutionary War was

1:29:09incredible. As August started to close

1:29:12down, our attention turned to September

1:29:13in the Apple Harvest Festival in early

1:29:15October.

1:29:17Members participated with dining under

1:29:19the stars last week with SOA. A big

1:29:21thank you to Diane Thompson for working

1:29:22with our committee from the very

1:29:24beginning. Her [snorts] willingness to

1:29:26work with our committee has been

1:29:27wonderful. As school begins, we are

1:29:29hoping that the board of education will

1:29:31do this school year as they have done

1:29:34last year and designate one day where

1:29:35every school will look into look to

1:29:38continue to educate our kids on another

1:29:40aspect of our early history as a

1:29:42country. We will keep you informed on

1:29:44this. As we look to Apple Harvest

1:29:47Festival, we call all hands on deck.

1:29:49Many members on [snorts] our committee

1:29:52are also active are also very active in

1:29:55their own outreach for the Apple Harvest

1:29:56Festival and are setting up activities

1:29:58that will provide information and fun

1:30:00during during the special time. The

1:30:02United Way of Southernington will be

1:30:04participating with a special tricycle

1:30:06ride with a Patriot theme and our own

1:30:08veterans committee will also be active

1:30:10and provide information and small

1:30:12momentos reminding us that freedom isn't

1:30:15free. More info is coming so stay tuned.

1:30:19respectfully submitted Victoria Triano

1:30:22and we'll pass this uh to the clerk. Do

1:30:24you have a copy? Okay, we'll put that in

1:30:26the record.

1:30:28Thank you, Victoria, for the update.

1:30:32>> Okay, item F, elementary school roof

1:30:35committee.

1:30:36>> That's me. Um, so strong school

1:30:39elementary or the roof is about 95%

1:30:42complete as of September 2nd when we

1:30:45met. Um, there was a $4,200 change order

1:30:49for a plumbing repair on the roof. Um,

1:30:54the roof warranty has been inspection

1:30:57has been requested. Um, and the

1:31:00disturbed grounds have been restored and

1:31:02receded. Um, Thalberg is waiting on the

1:31:06state DAS review. Um, and we're going to

1:31:09go out to bid this fall for that. And

1:31:11then Hatton ran into a

1:31:15holding pattern. Um, Hatton has solar

1:31:18panels installed on the roof and we

1:31:20would need to uninstall those um and

1:31:23then reinstall them afterwards and we

1:31:27are waiting for proposals to go and do

1:31:29that because

1:31:30>> [snorts]

1:31:30>> um the I guess the solar company does

1:31:33not go and do that with our current

1:31:34contract. Um, so we need to get that

1:31:37done before it can go to the state DAS

1:31:40review uh to move forward. Um, and then

1:31:44we made a $432,000

1:31:47payment to the contractor for Strong.

1:31:50Um, and that's it.

1:31:53>> Excellent. Any questions on elementary

1:31:55roof replacement?

1:31:56>> Did I miss anything, Chris?

1:31:57>> You did. Okay.

1:31:59>> Okay. Hearing no questions.

1:32:01>> I've got a comment though.

1:32:02>> Oh, please, Tony. Go ahead.

1:32:03>> If um if we could have a look at

1:32:06uh how this project is doing based on

1:32:08you know uh the money available. I'd be

1:32:11interested in that if you could do it

1:32:12every so often. Don't have to do it

1:32:13every every single time. Um but you

1:32:16mentioned you know the payments to

1:32:17contractors and things. Be interesting

1:32:19to see how we're doing on that

1:32:22>> under bid. Yeah. We are under budget

1:32:25decently.

1:32:26>> That's what we'd like to hear. That's

1:32:28>> thanks for clarifying. I wasn't sure.

1:32:30>> Okay.

1:32:32Any other comments on that? elementary

1:32:34school roofs. Okay. Item G, open space

1:32:37committee. Madame vice chair.

1:32:39>> Uh yes. So, open space committee met on

1:32:41Thursday, September 3rd. We It was uh

1:32:45our director, our new director of

1:32:48planning and community development,

1:32:49Brandon Pete's first meeting. So, we

1:32:51were very excited um to have him there

1:32:54and uh talked about a few things. Uh Go

1:32:57Island. Uh we have a resident who um

1:33:01would like permission to pursue a state

1:33:04urban green grant to establish a

1:33:06pollinator garden. So we talked a little

1:33:08bit about that. Apparently it's a

1:33:11matching grant. So um

1:33:15you keep track of your receipts on what

1:33:18you spend um and the state matches it.

1:33:23We discussed that since there's another

1:33:26um parallel project with Unico um

1:33:29possibly happening on the same parcel of

1:33:31land, we'd like to see as a committee a

1:33:34master plan to document um what's going

1:33:37to be happening there before um any

1:33:40request for a grant um comes to the

1:33:42committee or the council.

1:33:44Um and then we had a special donation at

1:33:49the train depot on Canal Street from Mr.

1:33:52um Nelson D'Angelo, he donated a very

1:33:56cool, if you hop have time to go down

1:33:58see and see it. It's um a bumper stop um

1:34:01and it was his cousins and it's uh

1:34:04there's going to be some signage on that

1:34:05bumper stop in memory of um his cousin

1:34:09um for that. So that was really

1:34:13meaningful. And we also discussed parcel

1:34:17um update, parcel maintenance. Um

1:34:20Mr. town manager created a nice Google

1:34:23survey so we can identify our priorities

1:34:25when it comes to maintenance. So, we're

1:34:27still working on that. Um, and we are

1:34:32going to actually have an init an

1:34:34initiative for the spring, a day of

1:34:36caring, um, that our new member, uh, Mr.

1:34:38Britain is going to head up. So, uh, and

1:34:43one update on the Pleasant Street barn.

1:34:46It is, um, Dave Valley said it's

1:34:49completed. Um and so and Chris, anything

1:34:52more on Pleasant Street?

1:34:55>> Just a um they're planning lawn at this

1:34:57point. If you remember, I mentioned a

1:34:59couple meetings ago, just the grade

1:35:00needed some improvement. So that's been

1:35:02done and they're hoping to get some lawn

1:35:04over there.

1:35:05>> Yeah, it's gorgeous.

1:35:07>> And that was our meeting.

1:35:08>> Any other questions on open space?

1:35:11>> One comment for me. I appreciate um I

1:35:14appreciate the uh I think the board of

1:35:16ed went out and and worked on the um the

1:35:18grass around there. We just still have a

1:35:20patch by the road. There's a significant

1:35:22area maybe uh

1:35:24>> 15 20 feet by 15 or 20 feet that's right

1:35:27on the corner of the driveway where

1:35:29there's probably four or five foot tall

1:35:32grass and uh you know along the uh the

1:35:35roadway as well. The the fence the fence

1:35:37line

1:35:39would be great. And I did see that they

1:35:41planted the uh the grass already. They

1:35:43got sprinklers going. Got a little help

1:35:45from the rain yesterday, which wasn't

1:35:47too heavy, I don't think. So hopefully

1:35:49in uh a few weeks we'll see some

1:35:51germination.

1:35:54Okay. Uh item H, meeting of the chairs.

1:35:57Uh we talked a little bit about the

1:35:59elementary school uh referendum and uh

1:36:02the town manager and the um

1:36:05superintendent

1:36:06are, you know, helping to um provide

1:36:10updated facts for the uh school

1:36:12referendum and uh there is uh there are

1:36:16folks from the board of finance, from

1:36:17the board of education, council, myself

1:36:20and anybody who would like to join who

1:36:22are willing to uh hold some forum open

1:36:25public forums

1:36:27uh so that we could be available to the

1:36:29community who would like to ask

1:36:30questions about the referendum. You

1:36:33know, what are some of the facts? Um you

1:36:35know, what are the implications of

1:36:36referendum no referendum? How much does

1:36:38it cost? Um process. Uh and we'd be

1:36:42happy to provide some of the facts uh

1:36:44that have been created along the way.

1:36:47More to come on that. that's uh that's

1:36:49being organized um through the board of

1:36:52education and uh hopefully we'll have at

1:36:54least a few dates where the residents

1:36:57can come out and speak to that.

1:37:00Uh we talked about town staff on the

1:37:03town government side working uh with our

1:37:05state rep on the flood study. I think

1:37:07we're still waiting for that grant to

1:37:08come in. Um the parking lot and tennis

1:37:11courts at the high school look like they

1:37:12are just about there. I think uh

1:37:15probably a few more week couple two or

1:37:16three more weeks. They're waiting for

1:37:17the concrete to finish um curing there

1:37:20and um

1:37:23and that should be done here. I'm hoping

1:37:25by before the end of September. Signage

1:37:27for uh the all the neighborhoods around

1:37:29the school uh has been ordered and will

1:37:32be installed before uh the end of the

1:37:34month is what I've been told.

1:37:38Uh the vice chair talked about the

1:37:39Pleasant Street barn and then we had the

1:37:40grant for the locker room. Uh the

1:37:42superintendent reported that they didn't

1:37:44have a budget for the um for the locker

1:37:47room. They had cleaned up the locker

1:37:48room this summer, done some painting,

1:37:50kind of spruced it up. Um the grant uh

1:37:53was applied for with a parent group uh

1:37:56and our state representative. And um so

1:37:59now the board of education is working to

1:38:01look at um the $250,000 to figure out

1:38:04how do they uh get some quotations and

1:38:08uh and move forward with that because

1:38:09they don't have information on that yet.

1:38:11No plans.

1:38:14And that's it for the meeting of the

1:38:15chairs. Any questions?

1:38:20Okay. Hearing none. SHS roof committee.

1:38:22Chris.

1:38:23>> Yes. And actually, just to piggyback on

1:38:25what you just said, I I'd like to thank

1:38:28um Representative Pulis for um securing

1:38:31that grant for us because the 250,000

1:38:33for the locker room I think is is

1:38:35definitely needed. So, thank you um to

1:38:37him for doing that. Um the SHS roof

1:38:40committee met on September 2nd. Um if

1:38:42you remember the last council report I

1:38:45gave, we I had mentioned we were um

1:38:48needed some accounting work for for the

1:38:50federal tax credit. Um we were a little

1:38:53uneasy about just awarding it to one

1:38:55company, CLA. Um after consulting with

1:38:58our finance director and the town

1:39:00manager, uh we did award the bid to CLA

1:39:03without the bid process um for two

1:39:05reasons. one, they are already the um

1:39:08eight the office that we've been working

1:39:10with um and also they are on the state

1:39:13procurement list. So both of those

1:39:16exclude the need for the bidding

1:39:18process. So with that um we didn't

1:39:20necessarily want to spend the money on

1:39:22that, but in the long run it's something

1:39:23we had to do. Um and we are still well

1:39:26under significantly under budget for

1:39:27this project as well. The project is

1:39:29just about complete. Um, at this point

1:39:31they're just doing some work up on the

1:39:33roof um with the solar uh portion. Um,

1:39:36and we're hoping um with Eversource to

1:39:39get the project online, meaning the

1:39:41solar online um within a month. Um, and

1:39:45again, it's really up to Eversource of

1:39:47when we we totally get activated, but

1:39:49we're working on that now.

1:39:52>> Any questions on SHS roof committee? Um

1:39:56Tony I have a question but it's it's

1:39:59more on what you you started with Chris

1:40:01about the grant for $250,000.

1:40:06I seem to remember on the capital plan

1:40:08that we look at every year there's a

1:40:11project there from the board of ed which

1:40:12is $35,000

1:40:14and it's for for the locker rooms. So my

1:40:18question is do what's the $250,000 for?

1:40:22I mean, it's been moved every year for

1:40:24the last couple of years. So,

1:40:28I'm confused. We've never seen that uh

1:40:30under the capital plans. So, I'm

1:40:32confused. We only ever seen the 35

1:40:34grand. So, what's it? Do do you know

1:40:36what it's for? The

1:40:37>> I don't know exactly what it's for. I

1:40:38know it's specifically for the

1:40:40renovation of the locker rooms at the

1:40:42high school. Other any more details than

1:40:44that? I

1:40:45>> chair chairman Liry asked the same

1:40:47question at the meeting of the chairs,

1:40:49Mr. Morrison and he um

1:40:52>> yeah the uh superintendent

1:40:55um and the chair of the board confirmed

1:40:58that um

1:41:01they were not involved in the uh the

1:41:05process of filing for the grant. This

1:41:06was done separate. So they don't act

1:41:08they don't have a quote. They don't have

1:41:10a design but they are going to begin

1:41:12working on it is what they stated.

1:41:15>> Okay. It's just usual for the design to

1:41:18come first before the grant, but I

1:41:20understand. Thanks. Thanks for

1:41:21>> Thank you. Any other questions on item

1:41:24I?

1:41:27>> Item J, public works. Mr. Delanto.

1:41:31>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh we met on

1:41:34Wednesday, Sep uh sorry, September 2nd,

1:41:37last Wednesday. A couple of brief items.

1:41:40This is a kind of a brief meeting, but

1:41:42um if someone's following along with the

1:41:44minutes for the public works meeting,

1:41:45Mr. Lra made an error in stating that

1:41:48the transfer station was going to every

1:41:50other week beginning on the 12th of uh

1:41:52September. That was an error that

1:41:53doesn't happen until um December and he

1:41:57just got mixed up because it was the

1:41:59holiday last week. That's why the um the

1:42:01transfer station was closed. Uh there is

1:42:04going to be a household hazardous waste

1:42:06collection day uh on November 14th in

1:42:08Bristol. It's advertised on the town

1:42:11[snorts] website. Um council members are

1:42:13encouraged uh to share the information

1:42:16on their personal Facebook pages or on

1:42:18their town council um Facebook pages.

1:42:20It's also on the Southernington page. So

1:42:22if you happen to see it and I can

1:42:24actually send it out to everyone um in

1:42:26the minutes uh so they can share it on

1:42:29their page as well. We had a

1:42:31presentation from uh a gentleman by the

1:42:34name of Sam King from circular services

1:42:36which was formerly quantum bio uh power

1:42:39and the presentation was on food waste

1:42:41reduction and we saw something like this

1:42:44Mr. Clint you may remember and actually

1:42:46uh Mrs. Clark was was probably I know

1:42:48Mr. Melli was as well uh back on

1:42:50planning and zoning when quantum bio uh

1:42:52quantum bio power came before us. It's

1:42:56got to be 10 or 15 years now. Um but now

1:42:59they're really pushing to uh to reduce

1:43:02food waste. And uh he talked about um uh

1:43:07ways the town could uh you know in in

1:43:10essence advertise uh for them to have uh

1:43:14residents sign up for their program so

1:43:17they can bring food waste uh to them. He

1:43:20also said there are some programs I

1:43:21guess the town of Middletown uh is using

1:43:23them and the [snorts] the Middletown

1:43:25Board of Education is using them as

1:43:27well. So, it was a really interesting

1:43:29presentation. Uh, I did say I would I

1:43:31would present, you know, talk about it

1:43:33here and then maybe they can they can

1:43:35come and give a presentation to the town

1:43:37council as well. They said there's many

1:43:39ways where the town does not have to

1:43:41invest any funds and it'll be strictly

1:43:44uh driven by the residents in town. Um,

1:43:46there were a lot of questions about

1:43:48where the storing of this food would

1:43:50take place. You know, they mentioned

1:43:52maybe the transfer station, but I think

1:43:54we all somewhat agreed that probably

1:43:56wouldn't be the best because it's only

1:43:58there on Saturdays and uh if they missed

1:44:01the pickup, there would be food sitting

1:44:03there rotting for a week. So, more to

1:44:05follow on that. They may be coming to

1:44:06the town council uh soon to give a brief

1:44:09presentation on what they gave us. Um

1:44:12leap pickups, the bids went out uh I

1:44:15guess they're going out this week, so it

1:44:16is that time of year. And then we did

1:44:19get an update from Mr. little pray about

1:44:21paving. All roads scheduled for paving

1:44:24have been completed with the exception

1:44:26of Merryill Avenue and Oak Street. The

1:44:29roads uh these roads need a little more

1:44:30pipe work, sidewalk work. Um and it was

1:44:34going to take a little longer than

1:44:35expected, so they're on hold now until

1:44:37after the Alpha Harvest Festival as not

1:44:39to disrupt the downtown area. Prep work

1:44:41will uh will wrap up shortly. Uh and

1:44:44they didn't want those roads mil only

1:44:46during the Apple Harvest. So stand by

1:44:48for those those two roads will be will

1:44:50uh be taken care of right after the

1:44:52apple harvest and all roads scheduled

1:44:55for capail and chip sail will be

1:44:57completed uh this and next week. Uh any

1:45:01road scheduled for crack sailing all uh

1:45:03will begin on Friday September 18th um

1:45:07depending on the weather. And that was

1:45:09essentially it. I'm not sure if anyone

1:45:11has any questions or if Mr. Zony or Mr.

1:45:13Morrison wanted to get more information.

1:45:16Something that I missed.

1:45:19>> You never miss anything, Michael.

1:45:23>> Oh, look at that. Mr. Zony, thank you

1:45:25very much. Thank you.

1:45:27>> I was going to say that, Mike, but he

1:45:28but he beat me to it.

1:45:30>> Thank you, Mike. And uh Councilman

1:45:32Morrison echoes Mr. Zony's uh comments.

1:45:36Any other questions?

1:45:37>> Okay.

1:45:40>> Okay.

1:45:42Thank you, Mike. Item number five, town

1:45:44managers report and communications, a

1:45:47report of the board of finance and

1:45:49review of meeting minutes, August 27,

1:45:512026.

1:45:53>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The board of

1:45:55finance met as you said, August 27th, it

1:45:57was a special meeting. The purpose of

1:45:59this meeting was um as you recall at

1:46:01your last Tom council meeting in July in

1:46:03August, you referred a um an issue of

1:46:08the assistant fire chief's hiring to the

1:46:11board of finance for review

1:46:14deliberation recommendation. The board

1:46:15of finance met with the um fire

1:46:17department in executive session, the

1:46:19fire chief and a few members of the

1:46:21[snorts] fire commission. Um and at the

1:46:24end of that they came out of executive

1:46:25session and

1:46:27um moved and carried to fund the

1:46:29assistant fire chief position from

1:46:31September 1st, 2026 outward out of the

1:46:35regular fire department salary line. So

1:46:37they there was no identification of

1:46:39moving money.

1:46:41it was uh said that they'll we're going

1:46:45to work to work on that salary line to

1:46:47make sure it doesn't go over or if it is

1:46:49pushing over towards the end of the

1:46:50fiscal year, they can address it at that

1:46:52time. Um that's what's on your approval

1:46:56list tonight for the board of finance.

1:46:58>> Okay,

1:46:59>> questions. We do have a member of the

1:47:00board of finance with us in the audience

1:47:02if there's any additional questions too.

1:47:06>> Any questions?

1:47:08Any questions for the member of the

1:47:10board of finance that's here?

1:47:12No. Okay.

1:47:16Item B, South Central Health District

1:47:19updates.

1:47:20>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, this is more

1:47:21of a personnel update, but I'm going to

1:47:23give an a [snorts] more expansive.

1:47:26As uh, Mrs. Clock stated, we did have a

1:47:30new town planner start two weeks ago.

1:47:32Brandon Peak, he is absolutely

1:47:35phenomenal. He's hit the ground running

1:47:37very quickly. his background. Um he

1:47:40worked out in [snorts] Bosezeman,

1:47:41Montana for the equivalent of their Crag

1:47:43in Bosezeman there. Obviously, everybody

1:47:45outside of Connecticut and Rhode Island

1:47:46is by county. Um so he worked at the

1:47:48county level there supporting their

1:47:50planning and zoning commission um for a

1:47:52year or two. [snorts] Then he was out he

1:47:54was in Newton New Town um on the border

1:47:57for a year. Then he was in Bristol as

1:48:00their chief CEO where he oversaw a few

1:48:03staff members. what was very aggressive

1:48:05with putting out about five to eight

1:48:08violation and and compliance letters per

1:48:10day. Um he now started with Selington

1:48:14and he's already digging in making a lot

1:48:17of um techn technological reviews and

1:48:20and suggestions to the team working with

1:48:22the IT staff to kind of streamline where

1:48:25he sees fit. He's worked with attorney

1:48:27Martacho and the ordinance committee

1:48:29doing re-reviews of some of the um

1:48:32previously suggested language and and

1:48:35doing a really good job. So he's he's

1:48:36also a local gentleman. He's grew up

1:48:38[snorts] in Berlin. Now he lives in

1:48:40Plymouth. So um welcome to Brandon. He's

1:48:43doing an absolutely wonderful job. On a

1:48:45sadder note, um goodbye to Susan Lonzik

1:48:48from the South Central Health District.

1:48:50Susan has been with the town just under

1:48:54five years. She's been instrumental in

1:48:56the modernization and revitalization of

1:48:59the district. So the district

1:49:01encompasses Middlefield, Planeville, and

1:49:04Southernington with representation from

1:49:05all towns. Um Susan took over towards

1:49:08the middle to the end of the COVID

1:49:10pandemic. She totally revamped the

1:49:12programs. She worked with the board of

1:49:14education. Um when the board of ed found

1:49:16out Susan was leaving, the first words

1:49:18were, "Oh my gosh, she was she got us

1:49:20through COVID. She was the one that did

1:49:22that." Um,

1:49:24and I and I will say the biggest thing

1:49:27that she did was modernize the office.

1:49:29If you go into her office now, it's

1:49:31clean, it's beautiful, and their records

1:49:34are online. So, if you have a septic

1:49:36tank or you have a well at your house or

1:49:39if you own a restaurant or anything like

1:49:40that, you can actually pull up your maps

1:49:43on the internet on the website for free

1:49:45at any time. So, one, it's great service

1:49:47for the the residents and the

1:49:49contractors who live in all these towns.

1:49:51Uh, and two, it's a lot faster and

1:49:53easier for everybody, including the the

1:49:54staff members. The foyer requests drop

1:49:56dramatically when you can just pull it

1:49:58yourself. So, we're going to miss her.

1:50:01She's going to the state of Connecticut

1:50:02um um taking a good job there. We're

1:50:06very proud of her. It's very bittersw.

1:50:07The entire board uh felt like a very

1:50:10bittersweet moment. She is sticking

1:50:12around a little bit. She's live she

1:50:13lives um in Bethany and she's going to

1:50:15be volunteering her time at the apple

1:50:17harvest festival this year after she

1:50:18leaves at the booth with the health

1:50:20district trying to help them um keep

1:50:23everything going. So um just a big

1:50:26thanks to Susan. She's been um a breath

1:50:29of fresh air and a solid member of the

1:50:31the regional team for many years.

1:50:37>> She'll tough shoes to fill there. She'll

1:50:40be tough to fill. Any uh questions for

1:50:42the town manager on that item?

1:50:44>> Just just got a quick comment because

1:50:46obviously with the blight. Um yeah, he

1:50:49came to the uh the last meeting and he

1:50:51made a couple of suggestions which we

1:50:53incorporated in in the ordinances in

1:50:55front of us tonight and um he uh he said

1:51:00he his view of our new ordinance was it

1:51:02was something he was really really

1:51:04impressed with. So it's a a natural

1:51:07meeting between us I think. [laughter]

1:51:10That's great.

1:51:12Okay, moving on to item C. Thanks, Tony.

1:51:16Southernington Police Department

1:51:17followup of Eden Avenue in Liberty

1:51:19Street traffic. This was the one that um

1:51:21the council had received uh some

1:51:23communication about and the police chief

1:51:25had done a traffic study and town

1:51:27manager is going to give us a little

1:51:29update.

1:51:30>> So, Mr. Sure. It's a eight or nine page

1:51:34uh traffic study and report that the

1:51:36Sington Police Department's traffic

1:51:38division put together. They were they

1:51:41they did some traffic um counts. They

1:51:44also had some physical watching. They

1:51:46contacted the board of education because

1:51:47there were some concerns with the

1:51:49walkers that walked to Darinowski. Um

1:51:52very few walkers walk to Darinowski. In

1:51:54fact, most of the the ones who are in

1:51:56the district drive. Pete Romano

1:51:57confirmed they drive. Um it I'm not

1:52:01going to go through every single page,

1:52:03but there really is no recommendation

1:52:06for additional

1:52:08um infrastructure in the area. The one

1:52:12thing that I believe everybody agreed

1:52:14on, including the police department, was

1:52:15just continuing enforcement in the area.

1:52:18Make sure somebody's there. And this is

1:52:20one of several problem spots that we

1:52:22have that the residents contact us on a

1:52:26weekly basis. and we've been allocating

1:52:28additional resources to those areas. One

1:52:31is um Mrs. Trio is back there. The

1:52:34Berlin Berlin is um very very busy.

1:52:37We've got a lot of people um all over

1:52:39there. So the recommendation is more

1:52:42staff patrolling.

1:52:45>> Okay.

1:52:48Any discussion on that?

1:52:51I noticed that there was a

1:52:52recommendation that that signage could

1:52:54be uh an option. Can you talk about

1:52:56that?

1:52:56>> School signs.

1:52:58>> Um wasn't school signs. It was um the

1:53:01they could do additional

1:53:04speed changes regarding um when the

1:53:07school's in on there or a crosswalk that

1:53:10has some blinking lights. Um but the

1:53:12board of ed hasn't requested that.

1:53:15>> Yeah. Consideration could be made for

1:53:16installation of appropriate school S1-1

1:53:19warning signs on Eden Avenue.

1:53:21>> Correct.

1:53:22>> Approaching Darinowski. I mean, given

1:53:24the fact that we're talking about

1:53:25elementary kids crossing the road to get

1:53:27to the school. I mean, how does the

1:53:29council feel about that?

1:53:35Any comments?

1:53:37It's an option that the police

1:53:39department has put out there and said it

1:53:41it's not required, but could be

1:53:43considered.

1:53:44>> So, I suppose it won't be considered

1:53:46unless somebody speaks up about it. So,

1:53:48it's up to you guys to

1:53:49>> I would say that it anything is better

1:53:52than nothing.

1:53:53Okay.

1:53:54>> So, I would I would look at that. So,

1:53:57>> I'd agree with you.

1:54:01>> If I may, if we could possibly refer

1:54:03that to the board of education.

1:54:04>> Yeah.

1:54:05>> I'm not sure if it require them to staff

1:54:07that with a crossing guard if we put a

1:54:08crosswalk there. I don't know what their

1:54:11if they have an opinion.

1:54:13>> So, the next step would be to have the

1:54:14board of ed look at it.

1:54:15>> Absolutely.

1:54:15>> And how did how's everybody feel about

1:54:17that? A referral to the board of ed on

1:54:19this

1:54:20>> for an assessment?

1:54:21>> Okay. Sounds like we got a thumbs up for

1:54:23that.

1:54:23>> Great.

1:54:24>> You guys okay with that? Mike and Dave

1:54:25online?

1:54:27We're going to refer that topic to the

1:54:29board of ed. Okay.

1:54:31>> Oh, I'm okay with that.

1:54:34>> Thank you, gentlemen. And does that

1:54:35complete your report, Mr. Tommy?

1:54:37>> Mr. Chairman. Thank you. And we do have

1:54:38executive session. Several items on

1:54:41tonight. Um myself, the town attorney

1:54:44will be in for part of them. The

1:54:46economic development developer, uh Mr.

1:54:49Prill will be in for some of them as

1:54:51well and HR is also available if anybody

1:54:55has any questions regarding some issues

1:54:57as well

1:54:57>> and there's no anticipated action after

1:54:59uh executive session. Right. Okay.

1:55:02>> Okay. Item six a propos from the town

1:55:05attorney proposed blight ordinance

1:55:06amendment chapter 203 of the

1:55:08Southernington town ordinances.

1:55:10>> Yes. Thank you Mr. Chair. Uh Tony

1:55:12alluded to it earlier, but the ordinance

1:55:13committee over the past probably four or

1:55:16five months um has worked to get us to

1:55:20this point with the proposed ordinance

1:55:22um with light. Uh we're going to ask

1:55:24that a public hearing be scheduled. I'm

1:55:27happy to answer any questions that

1:55:29anyone on the town council may have. Um

1:55:32the biggest thing we try to do with this

1:55:34and you know you have a clean copy as

1:55:35well as a tracked copy that shows the

1:55:38changes and red lines that we made is

1:55:40streamline the process. Um so I I think

1:55:43one of the most important ones we did is

1:55:45that we added in a 10day period where it

1:55:47has to be investigated. Uh I know

1:55:49there's been complaints from citizens

1:55:50that they'll make complaints um and

1:55:53won't hear anything. So we're trying to

1:55:55address those and have these things

1:55:56investigated properly. The other thing

1:55:58that we have is that it can also be

1:56:00incumbent upon town staff to report it.

1:56:02Um, so it used to be that we'd wait for

1:56:04complaints. Now we're allowing staff to

1:56:06to go out and, you know, see these

1:56:08things and, you know, not have to

1:56:09necessarily wait on anything else. Um,

1:56:12so most of the changes are outlined in

1:56:18section 2037, which is the

1:56:20administration enforcement section. Uh,

1:56:23like I said, the priorities committee

1:56:24did a great job getting us to this

1:56:25point. uh it just turned out to be

1:56:27unworkable after discussing it with the

1:56:29requisite town officials. So,

1:56:32>> any questions?

1:56:34This will be up for uh action and

1:56:36discussion later.

1:56:39No comments, questions. Okay, I'm going

1:56:41to pass out really quickly on this one

1:56:42if you can pass it down. I I have uh one

1:56:46item of request

1:56:48two

1:56:52three

1:56:56and this one's for you that I have one

1:56:58proposed recommendation that I'm I'm

1:57:00passing out. If you can turn to section

1:57:02203-7A,

1:57:04it's page four of the the document that

1:57:07we received. Um and uh in there in in

1:57:11the second line here when we get to um

1:57:14the discussion later on, I'd like the

1:57:16council to consider just a little bit of

1:57:19additional language that has a what I'm

1:57:21calling a four eyes principle so that

1:57:23any blight that's identified

1:57:26um has a sign off by uh a next level

1:57:30supervisor that's designated by the town

1:57:32manager. So like the director of

1:57:34planning uh or designated by the town

1:57:36manager. I did talk to the town manager

1:57:38about it. Um, he could talk about it a

1:57:40little bit later, but didn't see any

1:57:42issue with it. And this would be after

1:57:45uh the zoning enforcement officer

1:57:47identifies and thinks that they believe

1:57:49that there is a blighted issue. It would

1:57:51just be a review before sending in a uh

1:57:54a notice. So, we could talk about that a

1:57:55little bit more later on.

1:57:58Okay. Um, any other questions on a

1:58:04Okay. Uh, number seven, public

1:58:06communications.

1:58:10Please come on up. Just please state

1:58:12your name and address for the record.

1:58:17>> My name is Pete. Well, first of all,

1:58:18good evening.

1:58:19>> Good evening.

1:58:20>> Southernington Town Council. My name is

1:58:23Peter Pansky and I reside at 62 Eden

1:58:26Avenue here in Southernington.

1:58:29I'm speaking tonight to express my

1:58:31opinion regarding the traffic study

1:58:33conducted on Eden Avenue and Liberty

1:58:35Street. I read the report.

1:58:38First and foremost, I would like to

1:58:39extend my gratitude to the

1:58:41Southernington Town Council for their

1:58:43prompt response to my request to have

1:58:46the neighborhoods of Eden Avenue and

1:58:48Liberty Street studied for track traffic

1:58:51concerns. I couldn't believe it.

1:58:54Additionally, I would like to

1:58:55acknowledge the Southernington Police

1:58:57Department for their dedication and

1:58:59efforts in providing such a

1:59:01comprehensive study of traffic in the

1:59:03area so quickly. Unbelievable.

1:59:07But while stat while statist you have to

1:59:11excuse me, I'm usually in bed by 8. I

1:59:13get up at 4.

1:59:14>> Thanks for sticking around. [laughter]

1:59:17While statistics are valuable, they may

1:59:20not fully and accurately reflect the

1:59:22reality of traffic conditions. The study

1:59:25was conducted for a limited period of

1:59:28only one week. Not only was this a small

1:59:31sample size, it [snorts] also took place

1:59:34over a holiday weekend during which many

1:59:37residents were out of town due to the

1:59:39ender summer school vacation and

1:59:41approaching Labor Day holiday. I myself

1:59:45noticed less traffic and pedestrians

1:59:47during that time as well, not only in

1:59:50the neighborhood, but throughout

1:59:52Southernington.

1:59:53Furthermore, the portion of the study

1:59:56related to the school and pedestrian

1:59:58crossing only included statistics

2:00:00related to the children crossing the

2:00:02street during a specific year this year.

2:00:06And it does not provide data for past

2:00:08years or prediction for future years of

2:00:11children crossing the street. Therefore,

2:00:14it is my contention that this data does

2:00:16not accurately reflect the typical

2:00:18day-to-day traffic and pedestrian

2:00:20travel.

2:00:22I sincerely hope I will never witness or

2:00:24hear of an accident involving

2:00:26[clears throat] critical injuries or

2:00:27even fatalities, including

2:00:31family pets in the neighborhood. Despite

2:00:33what the town may or may not do choose

2:00:36to do regarding this issue, I feel the

2:00:39need to speak this matter for my own

2:00:41peace of mind.

2:00:43so that I can go to sleep at night

2:00:45knowing that I have taken steps to try

2:00:47and to prevent such tragedies.

2:00:50Finally, I would like to also

2:00:53extend my gratitude to the residents of

2:00:55Eden Avenue and Liberty Street as well

2:00:57as other area residents for their

2:01:00support and encouragement in bringing

2:01:02this matter to the attention of the town

2:01:04council. I particularly appreciate the

2:01:06thank you cards I received from

2:01:09neighbors who have expressed their

2:01:10appreciation for my time and commitment

2:01:13to this cause, even to those whom I have

2:01:15never met. And one last thing, I would

2:01:19also like to submit a letter from a

2:01:21resident of Eden Avenue asking me to

2:01:23submit this to the town council

2:01:25concerning the traffic safety review to

2:01:28be taken into consideration before any

2:01:30decisions are to be made. Thank you once

2:01:33all. And last, I heard you guys me uh

2:01:36the mention bring give it to the board

2:01:38of education. I just want to I just alls

2:01:41I wanted was a sign that says school

2:01:43zone. We don't need flashing lights and

2:01:46just a sign so people will who don't who

2:01:51don't pay attention know that this is a

2:01:53school zone. Maybe it'll slow down

2:01:55traffic because that was my biggest pet

2:01:57peeve with with this whole thing. The

2:01:59cars zooming down Eden Avenue. I told

2:02:01you, you know, double wide, you know,

2:02:03and and that week that they did this, it

2:02:08was I was amazed. I was like, "Wow, it's

2:02:10quiet in here. Geez, the statistics are

2:02:12going to be great. This is great." And

2:02:13then when I read the report, I was

2:02:15shocked. They said the highest speed was

2:02:1740 41 miles or something per hour. And

2:02:21that that no that let me tell you, you

2:02:24cars travel like 50 60 on Eden Avenue.

2:02:28Anyways, I want to thank the

2:02:30Southernington Town Council again for

2:02:32acting so quickly and the Southernington

2:02:34to police police department. Thank you.

2:02:37>> Thank you. And you can give that to the

2:02:38town clerk that did get um I believe

2:02:40that's the same letter we received today

2:02:41that did get sent to the entire council.

2:02:44>> Oh, okay. All right.

2:02:45>> I believe if not you've got is it the

2:02:49same one, Kath?

2:02:51>> Amy,

2:02:51>> I think so.

2:02:52>> Amy. Amy. Yeah, Amy.

2:02:54>> She asked me to bring it.

2:02:56>> Thank you so much for doing that.

2:02:57>> Come on. Thank you.

2:02:58>> And maybe Mr. Tom manager if we could

2:02:59just u as an outcome of this with the

2:03:01referral of of this can we just pen a

2:03:03little note an email to the um to the

2:03:06board chair and the superintendent just

2:03:08uh with the study the request that we're

2:03:11asking them to look at it and then also

2:03:12the resident's comment about um even you

2:03:16know at the very least a um school zone

2:03:18sign.

2:03:20>> Okay. Thank you.

2:03:21>> All I'm asking for is just a school zone

2:03:23sign. We apprec Thank you so much.

2:03:33Good evening.

2:03:34>> Uh, good evening everyone. My name is

2:03:36Chris Iverson. I live at 127 Burrett

2:03:39Street, number two in Plantsville. I'm

2:03:41also the president of the Friends of the

2:03:43Barnes Museum. I've been the president

2:03:45of the Friends of the Barnes Museum for

2:03:47the past three years now. I'm in my

2:03:49fourth year. I wanted to take a moment

2:03:51to add to what Christina said earlier

2:03:54and to comment on the importance of the

2:03:56museum as a historic resource resource

2:04:00in our town and to explain why in my

2:04:04view it's worthy of your attention and

2:04:07investment. Uh, allow me first to

2:04:09comment on what the friends of the

2:04:11Barnes Museum do because as I understand

2:04:15it, uh, it's one of the more active

2:04:18friends organizations for a house museum

2:04:21of this type in the state of Connecticut

2:04:23and that comes from Connecticut

2:04:25Preservation Action. Christina is one of

2:04:27the board members and fortunately they

2:04:29speak very highly of what we do in our

2:04:31town. Um the friends raise thousands of

2:04:34dollars every year for the museum and we

2:04:37allocate those dollars uh to fund

2:04:40important operations projects. So for

2:04:44example, this year was our first year uh

2:04:47gathering sponsors for the Taste of

2:04:50Southernington. It was the 25th Taste of

2:04:53Southernington, but the first year we

2:04:54recruited corporate sponsors to help

2:04:56make the event cash positive. And that's

2:04:59exactly what we did in our inaugural

2:05:02year recruiting sponsors for Taste of

2:05:04Southernington. We raised more than

2:05:06$5,000 in corporate sponsors. And that

2:05:08covered all of the major invoices

2:05:11including entertainment, trash,

2:05:14facilities, restrooms, I mean, and the

2:05:17tents and tables that people used and

2:05:20enjoyed. If you attended that event, you

2:05:22might have a sense of how much went into

2:05:24it. And this year we were able to make

2:05:26it cash positive because of our

2:05:28fundraising. Uh we as friends do two big

2:05:32events every year. We do a wine tasting.

2:05:34It's this Saturday. That's my project.

2:05:36So if you have time this Saturday, 3

2:05:38p.m. Please come down to the museum.

2:05:39You'll have a great time. Say hello to

2:05:41me. I'd love to show you around so you

2:05:44could see firsthand some of the work

2:05:46that needs to be done at the museum.

2:05:48[clears throat] If you can't attend on

2:05:50Saturday, we also do a raffle. It's for

2:05:52a private dinner catered inside the

2:05:55museum by Chef Hector uh at Fellies.

2:05:58It's a great dinner. It's a great

2:05:59opportunity to win. It's $20 for a

2:06:01ticket. Uh now, I've explained to you

2:06:05how we fundra. I'd love to tell you what

2:06:07we do with the money that we fund raise.

2:06:09Um, the museum in my view can be and

2:06:14should be the center of

2:06:19the history that we have in our

2:06:21downtown. We have funds set aside to

2:06:24spend on the mill work and the woodwork

2:06:28and the painting and the gutters that

2:06:30Christina shared. We being the friends.

2:06:32We've recruited private donors in the

2:06:35tens of thousands of dollars who are

2:06:38looking for buyin from this council. So,

2:06:40here's what I'm asking for from you

2:06:42today. Christina mentioned that there's

2:06:44going to be a structural assessment of

2:06:46the museum in the near future. Ask for

2:06:49it. If you don't get it, I assume you're

2:06:51all going to get it. When you get it,

2:06:53please read it. Please go to the museum

2:06:56to see for yourself what needs to be

2:06:58taken care of. Once that report is once

2:07:02that report exists, I expect that I'll

2:07:04be here again to ask each of you to make

2:07:06a commitment to the museum to make

2:07:08happen the most urgent action items.

2:07:11That's what I wanted to share with you

2:07:13today. So, if you're able to attend the

2:07:14wine tasting on Saturday, I'll see you

2:07:16then. And if not, good night. Thank you.

2:07:19>> Thanks, Chris. And we appreciate your

2:07:20work doing great work there. Thank you.

2:07:22>> Happy to do it.

2:07:26>> Is there anybody else who would like to

2:07:27speak tonight?

2:07:30Yes, come on up. State your name and

2:07:32address for the record.

2:07:32>> Good evening. My name is Richard Cooper.

2:07:34I live at 79 Barbara Lane. Um, heard a

2:07:37lot about investing in the community

2:07:39tonight, which is great. I love to see

2:07:41it. Um, it got me thinking. Um,

2:07:46this wasn't brought up in particular,

2:07:47but it just got me thinking. Um, you

2:07:50know, this town does a lot of good stuff

2:07:51in terms of prevention for substance

2:07:53abuse and stuff like that, but I would

2:07:56like to see the town go farther further

2:07:59in um holding gas stations and smoke

2:08:03shops accountable for selling to

2:08:05underage people um cigarettes and vapes.

2:08:08I think it's un unacceptable

2:08:11and it's not just something that should

2:08:13be met with a minor fine. Those places

2:08:15should be out of business. So, I would

2:08:17just ask the uh the council through

2:08:20whatever committee you want to go

2:08:21through to take a look at more things

2:08:23that you could do to hold to hold these

2:08:24places accountable. Thanks. Thank you so

2:08:27much.

2:08:31>> Okay. Is there anybody else who would

2:08:33like to speak tonight?

2:08:39Good evening everybody. Thank you for

2:08:41your time and service to this great

2:08:43community. My name is Mike Rickio. My

2:08:45address is 124 Andrew Street here in

2:08:47town. Um, I just wanted to do a

2:08:49followup. I'm glad that the visual is

2:08:51still up on the board to the Barnes

2:08:52Museum. Um, [snorts] there's a there's a

2:08:55little movement underway that they they

2:08:57didn't talk about tonight because it

2:08:58hasn't been formalized, but that'll

2:09:00that'll happen in the next couple weeks.

2:09:02And um, that is that there's a a a small

2:09:05committee that's going to be formed. I'm

2:09:07part of it. Um, Liz Copek approached me

2:09:10in in in doing this um, with her

2:09:12historical background. Christina's been

2:09:14involved. Um

2:09:17the director of the library and uh the

2:09:20last meeting I was at um Mrs. Wooding

2:09:22was there from from the friends of the

2:09:24Barnes Museum which are doing an amazing

2:09:26job. I mean look at the money they've

2:09:27raised so far for that place. So if we

2:09:29go back in time when I sat in your seat

2:09:32um and I think many many council members

2:09:34always look at the Barnes Museum as like

2:09:35oh god what do we do with this place?

2:09:38And I think with Christina on board,

2:09:40she's shown us what we can do with that

2:09:42place. And um we have to make sure that

2:09:45it's done in a way that um lives beyond

2:09:48Christina. If she moves on in the

2:09:50future, we want to make sure that it

2:09:52continues. And so the um concept to that

2:09:56is to maintain the historical value of

2:09:59the home in the interior and its

2:10:01contents and utilize the grounds to

2:10:04Tony's question to generate the revenue.

2:10:08And so um when my wife became chair of

2:10:11the library board, I've spent a lot more

2:10:12time there and gotten to really

2:10:14appreciate what the building, the home,

2:10:16the contents, the culture and all that

2:10:18offer to the community, to the town of

2:10:20Southernington. Um if you go on the

2:10:23property to the rear of the house are

2:10:25three what used to be horse stables. Um

2:10:29and um we'll be putting together a

2:10:31committee of volunteers

2:10:33uh that will consist of architects,

2:10:36engineers, builders

2:10:39um to and and then members of all the

2:10:42groups that I just talked about to

2:10:44re-engineer those those three stalls

2:10:47that are unused. They're just storing

2:10:49clutter and junk and garbage to uh a

2:10:52men's room, a women's room, and a

2:10:54warming kitchen. Um to allow for the

2:10:58grounds to be utilized for special

2:11:00events. Then if you go to the back, the

2:11:03detached barn, it's it's stunning. If

2:11:05you just peek in the window, it's a tack

2:11:07room. Um was Mr. Barnes's old tack room

2:11:11would be converted into and very easily

2:11:14actually to a bridal suite if for lack

2:11:16of a better description and then we

2:11:18would be utilizing um a very nice to be

2:11:22determined two or three spire tent for

2:11:25the um um events and turn this into um a

2:11:31ren a revenue generating property that

2:11:35um I think what we would all be proud

2:11:36of. It'll take the burden off the um

2:11:39town council. We had um John Larry over

2:11:42at the house to talk about it with him.

2:11:44Um and I'm happy to talk offline with

2:11:46any of you guys about it. Um but uh to

2:11:49Tony's point, generate, you know,

2:11:51Christina talked about $1,500 per

2:11:53wedding. you know, we're probably

2:11:55looking more around 5,000 per wedding or

2:11:57or event um and looking to generate in

2:12:02the in the nice six figures to offset um

2:12:06what this property costs to the town and

2:12:09to taxpayers. Um and do it in such a way

2:12:12and we'll need input from from the town.

2:12:15Do it in such a way that does not create

2:12:19um you know more salaries and that sort

2:12:22of thing. um be be creative about it and

2:12:26make this um a positive project and not

2:12:29a negative drain or draw. Um so, you

2:12:32know, my hope is that we get this done

2:12:36um through a couple of the large

2:12:37builders in town, through contacts from

2:12:39my business um at little to no cost for

2:12:43the we're not going to be altering the

2:12:45outside of the building. This is all

2:12:46interior work. So, framing, insulation,

2:12:50electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and I think

2:12:53we can do that. I've talked to um I

2:12:55don't want to name them yet um without

2:12:58their permission, but a couple of the

2:12:59bigger builders in town to get their

2:13:01support. I've gotten support from one of

2:13:03the engineering firms already. Um there

2:13:05may be some cash. I know my family's

2:13:07going to put in a substantial amount of

2:13:08money into this. Um, and we may go out

2:13:11to the community for other um um

2:13:14donations and cash, but um we'll do the

2:13:16best we can to work um through the

2:13:19builders and their suppliers to get this

2:13:20done proono. Um and if we need to raise

2:13:23some funds, we will. And we may come to

2:13:25the town for something. And I don't know

2:13:27what that is because the the committee

2:13:29really hasn't been put that together

2:13:30yet. Maybe it's the tent. I don't know.

2:13:32But if but but this will be a concerted

2:13:35effort because we want to put together a

2:13:37realistic budget for what this will

2:13:39generate, how many events can be held

2:13:41there on an annual basis and that sort

2:13:43of thing. Um we don't want to just shoot

2:13:45in the dark here. So um that will all

2:13:47happen. We'll come forward and um

2:13:50through the not through me but through

2:13:52the library board in the um Barnes

2:13:54Museum um groups and present that to you

2:13:57once this has all been kicked around.

2:14:00But, um, I think it's important. They

2:14:02didn't talk about it because it really

2:14:03hasn't been formalized yet, but it's

2:14:04been talked about quite a bit. I know

2:14:05I've spoken to some of you about it. Um,

2:14:07I think it can be really amazing. It's

2:14:09right in the heart of our community.

2:14:11It's not easy for us to get rid of the

2:14:13Barnes Museum and get it off our books.

2:14:14So, let's let's embrace it. And you saw

2:14:17those pictures, guys. Whether it's you,

2:14:22the donors up there, the anonymous

2:14:23donor, $25,000. It has to get done. And

2:14:26it has to get done quickly. you can't

2:14:28sit on it and hope that this is going to

2:14:30go away because it's not. It's only

2:14:31getting worse. So, um I would I would,

2:14:34you know, recommend my opinion, do what

2:14:37you can to get this done. Now, I'm not

2:14:39sure it's we're heading into the the

2:14:41cold months, so I might put it on the

2:14:42agenda for the spring, but it has to get

2:14:44done. And those pictures aren't even

2:14:46showing you half the problems that are

2:14:47there. So, um I I appreciate your time.

2:14:50I hope that you give us a little time to

2:14:52put this together, and I think you'll be

2:14:54really happy with what you see when we

2:14:56get get this thing moving. So, thank you

2:14:58for your time and I'm sorry I went over.

2:15:00Any questions?

2:15:02>> Any questions? [laughter] We're in

2:15:04public communication, so we're good.

2:15:07Thanks.

2:15:08>> Take care.

2:15:13>> Is there anybody else who would like to

2:15:15speak during public communications?

2:15:20Anybody else?

2:15:23Okay, hearing none, we'll move on to

2:15:24item eight, old business. A action on

2:15:28the board of finance meeting minutes

2:15:29August 27, 2026.

2:15:32>> Motion to approve.

2:15:34>> Motion from Josh.

2:15:36>> Second from Chris. Any discussion on the

2:15:39motion to approve the board of finance

2:15:40minutes from the 27th of August.

2:15:44Okay. Hearing none. All in favor?

2:15:48>> I I

2:15:50>> Are there any opposed?

2:15:53Okay. The motion passes unanimously.

2:15:55Item B, schedule a public hearing for

2:15:57proposed updates to blight ordinance

2:15:59chapter 203 of the Southernington Town

2:16:01Ordinances. I'm looking for a motion. Uh

2:16:03well, first of all, we're going to go

2:16:05into discussion on this because we um

2:16:08we've got the the proposal in the

2:16:09ordinance and I I would like to ask that

2:16:12if we do schedule a public hearing that

2:16:14we consider adding this language in

2:16:16there.

2:16:18Again,

2:16:20it is section 203.7 where it says the

2:16:23enforcement of official or designate

2:16:25shall and then the requested language is

2:16:29after review and written approval by the

2:16:31director of planning or as designated by

2:16:33the town manager and then it goes on

2:16:35issue a notice of violation. So my

2:16:38request is to include that in the um

2:16:40motion to move for for public hearing.

2:16:43Would this still uh happen within that

2:16:4510day time period?

2:16:47>> And is it 10 days, 10 business days?

2:16:53>> Does that have to be designated in

2:16:54there? It's 10 business days.

2:16:57>> I'm not sure if it's 10 business days. I

2:16:58think it's 10 days.

2:17:00>> Is it 10 business days?

2:17:01>> So, we have to give t 10 business days

2:17:03for what? To schedule the public

2:17:05hearing.

2:17:06>> No. Are we talking about business days

2:17:08in the ordinance itself?

2:17:09>> Yeah. Are you Are you talking I'm sorry,

2:17:11Kristen. I thought you were asking is it

2:17:1310 business day for for publishing the

2:17:15notice for this a public hearing?

2:17:17>> No, I thought it was um once the zoning

2:17:19enforcement officer acts, right? Isn't

2:17:21it 10 days?

2:17:22>> Yes, 10 business days.

2:17:23>> Yes.

2:17:24>> Yes.

2:17:25>> The the purpose of uh what I'm proposing

2:17:27is when there's an initial um when

2:17:29somebody uh files a complaint, uh then

2:17:33the zoning enforcement officer usually

2:17:34goes out and looks, right? They have to

2:17:36decide whether there is something there

2:17:37to issue a notice on. If they feel that

2:17:39there is, then before they issue the

2:17:41notice, they just have a a a next a

2:17:44second pair of eyes on it that says,

2:17:46"Yes, I agree." And one thing that the

2:17:48town manager and I discussed could just

2:17:50simply be two signatures on the notice

2:17:52of violation. So, it's the CEO and the

2:17:54director of planning or whoever is

2:17:56designated. So, at least we know two

2:17:58people have looked at it. So, you don't

2:17:59have one person only. Yes, Chris.

2:18:02>> Just a question because you said you

2:18:03already talked to the town manager. I'm

2:18:05just I just want to make sure it doesn't

2:18:07delay the process longer because part of

2:18:10what we heard is that there's a long

2:18:13turnaround time when when people put in

2:18:15these complaints and it just waits and

2:18:17waits. So, I'd hate to see this language

2:18:20just sitting on someone's desk because

2:18:22they're busy with other projects, you

2:18:24know, that they don't get to it. So, I I

2:18:26guess I'll defer to the town manager and

2:18:28make sure that adding this language

2:18:30isn't going to delay the whole process.

2:18:35It's my understanding it's more of a

2:18:37formality um to make sure that every

2:18:41letter vi every violation that goes out

2:18:43is just it's we're not relying on one

2:18:46single person. So it shouldn't be a

2:18:48heavy lift. It should be review look

2:18:51pictures. Yes. Um it's really just it's

2:18:55to protect the residents as well.

2:18:57>> Okay. Okay. Yeah. That's my only concern

2:19:00with it. Otherwise I have no problem

2:19:01adding it.

2:19:03Okay.

2:19:03>> All right. So, we're only adding

2:19:05essentially one phrase which is

2:19:08>> Yeah. What's underlined in the And we'll

2:19:10we'll we'll submit this

2:19:11>> after review and written approval by the

2:19:12director of planning or the dates needed

2:19:13by the town manager. Yeah.

2:19:14>> Y'll

2:19:16be inserted. Yeah.

2:19:18>> You have that Kathy, right? Okay. So,

2:19:21what is the council's pleasure? [cough]

2:19:24>> We're looking ultimately we'll look for

2:19:26a motion to schedule a public hearing

2:19:28for this for September 28 26.

2:19:32I'll make a motion to schedule a public

2:19:34hearing for September 28th, 2026

2:19:39um on the BL ordinance inclusive of uh

2:19:43Chairman Chaplinsk's edit.

2:19:46>> Okay.

2:19:47>> Second.

2:19:47>> We have a motion and a second from Jim.

2:19:49Any discussion?

2:19:52>> Okay. Hearing none. Uh looking for

2:19:56um Madame Clerk, if you'll call the role

2:19:58on the motion to accept the blight

2:19:59ordinance with the proposed amendment um

2:20:02as presented for September 28th, 2026.

2:20:06>> Clark,

2:20:08>> yes.

2:20:08>> Del Santo,

2:20:12>> yes to the 28th.

2:20:14>> Gaida,

2:20:16>> yes.

2:20:17>> Morelli,

2:20:18>> yes.

2:20:18>> Morrison,

2:20:19>> yes.

2:20:20>> Paul,

2:20:20>> yes. Saraphino,

2:20:22>> yes.

2:20:23>> Zony,

2:20:25>> yes.

2:20:26>> Chaplinsky,

2:20:27>> yes. To schedule the public hearing for

2:20:29the 28th. The motion passes unanimously.

2:20:32Um, so we'll put that on the next

2:20:33agenda, Mr. Town Manager. Uh, item nine,

2:20:37new business, a tax refunds.

2:20:39>> I'd like to make a motion to approve the

2:20:41tax refunds as presented in our packets.

2:20:44>> Okay, we have a motion from Mrs. Ga,

2:20:47second from Mr. Morelli. Any discussion

2:20:49on the tax refunds

2:20:52hearing? None. All in favor?

2:20:54>> I

2:20:54>> I

2:20:56>> I.

2:20:58>> Any opposed on the tax refunds?

2:21:01Okay. Motion passes unanimously. Item

2:21:05number 9B, appointments. Uh number one,

2:21:08police commission, one member, four-year

2:21:10term, expires November 1, 2028. I make a

2:21:13motion to appoint uh Mark Loy of

2:21:15Kensington Road in Southernington.

2:21:18We have a motion, second, and a second

2:21:22from Mr. Saraphino and Mr. uh Morrison.

2:21:25Any discussion?

2:21:28Hearing none. All in favor?

2:21:30>> I

2:21:31>> I

2:21:32>> I

2:21:34>> Are there any opposed?

2:21:37Item two, seed committee is a

2:21:39chairperson's uh

2:21:42appointment. So, I'm going to reappoint

2:21:43the four people currently serving. Barb

2:21:46Coleman, Heckler, Jack Dailyaly, Terry

2:21:48Cardy, and Kevin Meyer. My only request

2:21:51is I know there's been some issues um

2:21:53with attendance to these. And maybe

2:21:55Chris, you can help with just

2:21:56reinforcing on your side. We'll do the

2:21:58same, but um we've had a not not from

2:22:01you, Chris, but

2:22:02>> on on the uh from your party's side who

2:22:05the representations are there, so that

2:22:07if we can just double check and make

2:22:08sure that everybody's um going to

2:22:10continue to to show up, we're having a

2:22:12little bit of issues there.

2:22:15Okay. Item three, zoning board of

2:22:17appeals. Uh, this is a town council

2:22:20appointment. One member, four-year term,

2:22:21expires November 2026.

2:22:24>> Uh, Mr. Chair, I'd like to put forth the

2:22:26name of Aleandro Palazetti, who is a

2:22:30current ZBA alternate.

2:22:34>> We have a motion from the vice chair and

2:22:35a second from Josh.

2:22:38This is to replace the seat from Mike

2:22:40Seleleski. Any discussion?

2:22:44We're looking to take a vote on Aleandro

2:22:47Palazetti. All in favor?

2:22:50>> I I Any opposed?

2:22:52>> Any opposed?

2:22:54>> Okay. Motion passes unanimously. Uh

2:22:57public works. Um this is a replacement

2:23:01of an open position from the board of

2:23:03finance as a chairperson's appointment

2:23:05as a town council subcommittee. And I'm

2:23:07going to appoint Robert Britain from the

2:23:09board of finance to the public works

2:23:12subcommittee.

2:23:15Um, board of ethics item five, two

2:23:17members, three-year term expires August

2:23:202029,

2:23:23>> Mr. Chair.

2:23:24>> Yes,

2:23:27>> this is Vik Santo. I'd like to put up

2:23:29the name of Talia Mitchell from 301

2:23:31Wedgewood Road here in Southernington.

2:23:33She's an unaffiliated uh resident in

2:23:36town. She's the associate director of

2:23:39the DMPK clinical operations at Oringer

2:23:43Ingleham. She monitors drug metabolism

2:23:46and bioanalytical workup supporting

2:23:48clinical trials. She's got an extensive

2:23:51background in oncology. Uh she's a well

2:23:53vested member of our community.

2:23:57That's the name I

2:23:58>> I'll second that.

2:23:59>> We have a motion from Mike and a second

2:24:01from Jim Morelli. Any discussion?

2:24:04>> Yes, Chris, go ahead.

2:24:05>> Question for the town attorney. My

2:24:08understanding was these need to be

2:24:11affiliated with the party because it is

2:24:12the board of ethics and there's

2:24:14traditionally two members of each party

2:24:17um represented on the board of ethics.

2:24:19So, can you clarify?

2:24:20>> Yeah, it just can't be more than two

2:24:22Republicans on the actual sitting board

2:24:25and more than one of any party as

2:24:27alternate. So, it's four or two. So it

2:24:30can't be more than two or one.

2:24:33>> Okay.

2:24:34So I I guess my objection is we have two

2:24:37names um to fill the two Democratic

2:24:40seats. Um they currently uh Pat Johnson

2:24:44and Anthony D'Angelo. I want to thank

2:24:46them for their service. And we do have

2:24:48two um registered Democrats willing to

2:24:51serve to take their place. So, I didn't

2:24:55know anything about this and you know,

2:24:58as usual, I talked to the town manager.

2:25:00Um, I see that we have two Democratic

2:25:02appointments, so we have two names ready

2:25:04to go.

2:25:05>> Would you like to make a motion to put

2:25:06one up, Chris?

2:25:07>> I I'd like to make a motion to put both

2:25:09of them up.

2:25:10>> Um,

2:25:10>> for the same Well, we're going to take

2:25:12two separate votes. Do you want to put

2:25:13them both up now? You can. I We can have

2:25:16three folks and just It's your call.

2:25:19>> Um, sure. I'll I'll put up the name of

2:25:22Erica PCO from 24 Carter Heights. Um she

2:25:26has expressed an interest to serve as

2:25:28our representative um on the board of

2:25:30ethics.

2:25:32>> Did you want to put the other one up as

2:25:33well at the same time or second

2:25:35afterwards?

2:25:35>> Yeah.

2:25:36>> Okay. So, we have a motion for Erica PCO

2:25:39to also be um considered. Is there a

2:25:41second to that?

2:25:43>> I'll second.

2:25:45>> Okay. We have a second. So, a motion

2:25:46from Chris and a second from Kristen.

2:25:49Any discussion on the uh the two folks?

2:25:54>> Mr. Chair, could I get the name of the

2:25:55Republican? I couldn't.

2:25:57>> It's a It's an unaffiliate

2:25:59>> Talia Mitchell, 301 Wedgewood Road.

2:26:07Any other discussion on this?

2:26:11Okay. So, what we're going to do is

2:26:12we're we're going to call the role,

2:26:13madame clerk, and we're looking for uh

2:26:16the town council to either accept

2:26:19Mitchell, Talia Mitchell, or Erica

2:26:21Pocock.

2:26:23So, if you'll call the role, please.

2:26:26>> Clark,

2:26:27>> Mitchell,

2:26:29>> do Santo

2:26:31>> Mitchell.

2:26:33Ga

2:26:34>> HCO

2:26:36>> Morelli

2:26:37>> HCO

2:26:39>> Morrison

2:26:40>> Mitchell

2:26:42>> Pome

2:26:43>> HCO

2:26:45>> Zarapino

2:26:47>> Mitchell

2:26:49>> Zony.

2:26:58>> Did you call my name yet?

2:26:59>> Mr. Zone. Yes.

2:27:00>> Yes. Dave

2:27:03>> Hulcott

2:27:05>> Japlinsky

2:27:07>> Talia Mitchell. Motion passes 54 for

2:27:10Talia Mitchell. Uh we're moving on to

2:27:12the second appointment of board of

2:27:13ethics. Um Chris, did you want to put a

2:27:17nomination up?

2:27:17>> I I'll nominate Erica PCO of 24 Carter

2:27:20Heights for the other seat on the board

2:27:23of ethics.

2:27:24>> Okay, we have a motion for Erica PCO.

2:27:27>> I'll second. And we have a second from

2:27:30Kristen. Any other discussions?

2:27:33>> I have another name. Uh

2:27:35>> okay.

2:27:36>> I can put forward.

2:27:36>> Sure.

2:27:37>> Uh it's it's a Democrat.

2:27:39>> Uh Amanda,

2:27:42am I pronouncing this right? Um Benello.

2:27:45>> Mhm.

2:27:45>> Of 63 Spring Lake Road.

2:27:48>> Okay. We have a motion

2:27:50>> from the vice chair and a second from

2:27:53Josh Saraphino for Democrat Amanda

2:27:56Mangelo. Any

2:27:59discussions for the two candidates?

2:28:05Any discussion? Okay. So, we're going to

2:28:07ask the council, Madam Chair, to call

2:28:09the role for either Mongulo or PCO.

2:28:14>> Clock.

2:28:15>> Mangelo.

2:28:17Dos Santo.

2:28:19>> Mangelo.

2:28:21>> Gaida.

2:28:23>> Poco.

2:28:25>> Morelli.

2:28:26>> PCO.

2:28:28Morrison

2:28:29>> Mongulo

2:28:31>> Pomera

2:28:32>> HCO

2:28:33>> Saraphino

2:28:34>> Mahanchelo

2:28:36>> Zony

2:28:39>> HCO

2:28:41>> Jlinsky

2:28:42>> Mongello the mo M motion passes for

2:28:45Amanda Mangelo uh 5 to 4

2:28:50okay we are now moving into executive

2:28:53we're looking for a motion to move into

2:28:55executive session for personel matters

2:28:58CGS1-2006A

2:29:00town manager feedback and labor

2:29:02contracts real estate in the central and

2:29:04north parts of town and contractual

2:29:06matters CGS1-26D

2:29:09[clears throat]

2:29:10it's going to exclude the public and the

2:29:12press and include the town manager the

2:29:15town attorney and for portions um the

2:29:18economic development coordinator

2:29:20>> so moved

2:29:21>> second

2:29:22>> we have a motion and a second uh any

2:29:24discussion there there will not action

2:29:26on executive after executive session and

2:29:29there won't be any action in executive

2:29:31session. Any further discussion on that?

2:29:34>> All in favor? Hi. Hi.

2:29:36>> Hi.