Committee of the Whole

Special COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - MINUTES City Municipal Building | Council Chambers 295 Meridian Street, Groton, CT 06340 Monday, May 20, 2024 | 6:30 PM SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - Minutes Mayor Keith Hedrick, Deputy Mayor Gweneviere Depot, Councilor Erin Artale, Councilor Paul Norris, Councilor Tony Patterson, Councilor Christine Piazza and Councilor Stephen Sheffield and City Clerk Dani Baycura The following minutes meet all requirements under CT FOIA for public meetings and is not a transcript of the meeting. Please visit Groton Municipal Television on YouTube to view the meeting in further detail. Mayor Hedrick called the meeting to order at 6:34pm. I. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Hedrick, Deputy Mayor Depot, Councilor Piazza, Councilor Artale, Councilor Sheffield and Councilor Patterson (via Zoom). Excused: Councilor Norris. II. NEW BUSINESS OR REFERRALS: A. Board/Commission Appointments New Planning and Zoning Commission applicant, Coleen Lautrup, attended and was introduced to Council. Ms. Lautrup is a Civil Engineer and since moving to Groton City, has desired to serve and learn more of the City’s Planning and Zoning process and lend her expertise. Councilor Sheffield inquired as to Ms. Lautrup’s plan to stay in the City specifically to fulfill the length of the term. To which Ms. Lautrup replied that although it is not a guarantee, the plan is to reside in the City for at least the next 3 years. Motion to move two appointments, one reappointment and one commissioner upgrade, to the Mayor and Council meeting of 5/20/24 (immediately following this Special COW), made by Deputy Mayor Depot; second by Councilor Sheffield. Motion carried. 5-0-0. B. Groton Utilities Budget Presentation Finance Director Yuhas provided an overview of the fiscal year 2025 budget for Electric, Water and Sewer divisions of Groton Utilities. The total contribution provided by GU to the City is estimated at $6.9M. Rates for the average user are below the benchmark of neighboring utility companies by 39% for Electric, 5% for Water, and 43% for Sewer. Increases to the Operating and Maintenance Expenses, were greatly due to the new collective bargaining agreements negotiated earlier this year. Budgeted Capital for Electric is $7.2M including non-bonded capital projects of $6.8M. For Water it is $4.5M including non-bonded capital of $267k and bonded of $4.2M. Sewer budgeted Capital is $689k including $189k non-bonded capital and $500k bonded capital. Total Debt Service for GU is $9.4M. 1  Special COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - MINUTES City Municipal Building | Council Chambers 295 Meridian Street, Groton, CT 06340 Councilors asked clarifying questions. Some recommendations for reducing water usage were given by Customer Service GM Tina Daniels. She encouraged residents to visit the Groton Utilities website for a full list of ways to help offset the upcoming rate increases. Motion to move to the Mayor and Council meeting of 5/20/24 made by Deputy Mayor Depot; second by Councilor Sheffield. Motion carried. 5-0-0. C. Brew Run Communications Manager Dan Bouges recommended resolution for permission to allow alcohol consumption at Eastern Point Beach on September 7th for the Brew Run. Authorization has been passed all four previous years contributing to the overall success of the annual event. Motion to move to the Mayor and Council meeting of 5/20/24 made by Deputy Mayor Depot; second by Councilor Piazza. Motion carried. 5-0-0. D. Finance Suspense List Town Tax Collector sent the annual list of recommendations to move to the Tax Suspense List. Although still collectible, attempts to receive these taxes have been unsuccessful mostly due to resident relocation and undeliverable last known addresses. Motion to move to the Mayor and Council meeting of 5/20/24 made by Deputy Mayor Depot; second by Councilor Piazza. Motion carried. 5-0-0. E. Overall Budget Review FY2025 Mayor Hedrick reminded councilors that per City Charter, the Council must vote on the proposed budget on the 3rd Monday of May. Discussion was had regarding the Town’s cuts to City Police and Public Works Departments. Councilors asked questions regarding the manageability of those cuts. And the transferability of funds between departments, if needed later in the fiscal year, is possible as stated by Director Yuhas. It was expressed that the anticipated Salary Study, was expected to be submitted to Council, prior to the final approval of the budget. Due to historically underutilizing their budgets, the recommendation to reduce the Planning and Economic Development projections was made by Deputy Mayor Depot. Councilor Piazza expressed concerns about reducing those budgets and where the extra monies would come from, should all their projects get completed. Councilor Sheffield inquired to the amounts encumbered and projected for the upcoming demolition of the Costa house. The Mayor stated he expects department heads to manage their budgets and accomplish what they set out to, after asked how he intends to ensure monies allocated to projects gets spent this upcoming year. 2  Special COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - MINUTES City Municipal Building | Council Chambers 295 Meridian Street, Groton, CT 06340 III. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Councilor Piazza; second by Deputy Mayor Depot. Motion carried. 5-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:47pm. ATTEST: APPROVED: Dani Baycura City Clerk 3