Common Council

COMMON COUNCIL MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT SPECIAL MEETING QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023 6:00PM MINUTES A Special Meeting of the Common Council of the City of Middletown, Questions to Directors Workshop, was held on Monday, December 4, 2023, beginning at 6:00 PM. This meeting was a hybrid meeting with in-person participation in the Common Council Chamber and remote access via WebEx. The meeting was also simultaneously livestreamed on local cable access television, on the City’s webpage, and on the City’s Facebook page. Present: Councilman Eugene Nocera Councilman Anthony Mangiafico Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell Councilman Steven Kovach Councilman Darnell Ford Councilwoman Linda Salafia Councilman Vincent Loffredo Councilman Anthony Gennaro, Sr. Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney Councilman Jonathan Pulino Councilman Grady Faulkner, Jr. Councilwoman Leslie Spatola Hon. Benjamin Florsheim, Mayor Linda Reed, Clerk of the Common Council Sergeants-at-Arms: Middletown Police Officers Cody Harlow, Matthew Milardo, and Jared White Also, Present: Arts & Culture – Kisha Michael, Coordinator Economic & Community Development – Christine Marques, Director Equal Opportunity & Diversity Management – Faith Jackson, Director Fire Department – John Woron, Fire Chief General Counsel – Brig Smith, Esq. Health – Kevin Elak, Director Library – Ramona Burkey, Director Police Department – Eric Costa, Police Chief; Officers Cody Harlow, Matthew Milardo, and Jared White Public Works – Christopher Holden, PE, Director; Kim O’Rourke, Recycling Coordinator Recreation -- Cathy Lechowicz, Director Technology Services – Brianna Skowera, Director Water & Sewer – Joseph Fazzino, Director Youth Services, Justin Carbonella, Manager Absent: Assessor -- Damon Braasch, CCMA II City/Town Clerk – Ashley Flynn-Natale Human Resources Division – Justin Richardson, Division Director Land Use – Marek Kozikowski, AICP Communications – Wayne Bartolotta, Directors Public: Chamber: 100+ WebEx: 20 Facebook: unknown 1. Call to Order The Chair calls the meeting to order at 6:03 PM. He welcomes everyone to the Common Council’s Special Meeting, the Questions to Directors Workshop. He explains that this the first regularly scheduled meeting of the newly elected Middletown Common Council since the November election. This is the Questions to Directors portion is of the meeting, a time to question Directors about agenda items that will be considered this evening. They have a busy agenda this evening. They will go in order of Councilmembers, who indicate questions by turning on their light. To be efficient, Councilmembers will ask questions of whatever Director has been called to the podium. He reminds everyone to be direct and succinct in their questions. A. Pledge of Allegiance The Chair asks everyone to join him reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 2 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS B. Council Clerk Reads the Call of the Meeting and Mayor declares call a legal call and meeting a legal meeting The Clerk of the Common Council reads the Call of the Meeting and the Chair declares the call a legal call and the meeting a legal meeting. 2. Questions to Directors Workshop Opens Councilman Eugene Nocera welcomes everyone to this meeting. He calls on Public Works Director Christopher Holden. Under the Mayor's Report, there is the Sanitation District’s trash diversion program. He asks Director Holden to give the Council background on that and what plan was developed at the Sanitation District meeting. He notes that both he and Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell attended this meeting. Public Works Director Christopher Holden states that, as people may have been reading in the news over the past few years, Connecticut has a trash crisis. One of the major wasted energy plants up in Hartford. Closed down. More and more waste is being shipped out of state -- Ohio and Pennsylvania -- which could cause us problems if all of a sudden they say, “We're not going to accept as much waste anymore. You're going to have to find another place.” That is what we're trying to do. Out of that was developed a statewide Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management. The Mayor was very involved with that process. Leaders from all across the state came together and try to brainstorm ideas of how to address this trash crisis. Out of that came one of the most valuable items. We are already participating in a lot of the programs that the ideas that they came up with, but one of the major, most impactful is what's called co- collection. Co-collection is collecting both the solid waste and food waste, which is a valuable resource. The food waste is sent to Southington to Quantum Biopower, which is an anaerobic digester. That takes the organic waste, digests it, creating methane gas, which is captured and used that to create electricity. From that point, the leftover residuals are composted. It's valuable resource. The co-collection also includes unit based pricing. This is the program that we've just established for this for the last two (2) years. We had a non-required, pilot study for the year ending in November (2023), in which we provided boxes of bags for everybody to try to participate and get used to the program. They did extensive outreach over the summer to try to get people’s ideas about what works, what isn't working, the challenges that they might have. As part of that, how do you get the food waste in your kitchen? If you have a small kitchen, what can you do for that food waste? There are two (2) types of containers that the City is giving away for free. There is a five (5) gallon bucket or a smaller countertop container, which works very effectively. They reduced everybody's fee that they paid at the Sanitation District by about $60 for the standard, residential one cart and one time a week pick up. The fees have to be made up with the disposal cost. What they took out of the fee was the disposal cost, which is where the bags come into play, You may say, “This bag is way more expensive than I'm used to buying.” Of course it is because it includes the disposal of all that material in the bag. There are three (3) sizes of bags. The most common is that the tall kitchen bag – 15 gallons – for $1.00. There is a larger bag, which is probably your best deal if you want to put a couple of the trash bags into the 33-gallon. That is $1.65. He feels that people should be breaking even, or making a little bit of savings, based on the rates that have been provided. Over the past couple of weeks, they have been very happy with the results. They have gotten about 70%, based on their inspection in the morning. They have a crew that goes along with the truck and reviews the videos of the trashes that come out comes out of the carts. He is excited over that. Over the first three (3) weeks of the program, they have diverted approximately 8,000 lbs. of food waste. He notes that they are very excited with the program results so far. They do not anticipate immediate fines because we're having such good participation. He adds that will be something that may come along down the road, if necessary. What also came out of the Sanitation meeting was that they are going to help families and give a 90-day supply of free bags. He suggests that people download the app so they get a coupon for those free bags or, alternatively, come into the Public Works Department. It will be one (1) bag per week for the orange bags and one (1) bag of the food waste diversion for each week. Essentially, it will be about thirty (30) bags. Director Holden states that he thinks that about sums up where they are at this point, Councilman Nocera notes that the free bags in the original grant expired in November (2023). He asks how do we how are we going to tell the public that in December, January and February there is an extension to those bags as we work out all the bugs in the program. Director Holden replies that they will try to have a campaign on Facebook, City website, the app that they have for the Sanitation District. If people download the app, they you get all the up-to-date information as to what is available. They will try get it out in many different areas to be sure that everybody knows it’s available. Councilman Nocera states, secondly, are we still moving forward with requests for proposal (RFP) for a media consultant to help us advertise this properly, perhaps video development, which would be up to the consultant. DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 3 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Director Holden replies, “Yes,” adding that they are working on putting together a proposal for that. He notes that Councilmembers may have seen the recently released video, summarizing the program. He suggests that Councilman Nocera look at that. Councilman Nocera asks where that video may be viewed. Director Holden replies that it is on the City website and probably on the Facebook page, the Public Works & Recycling Facebook page. Councilman Nocera states that he has one final question to ensure that the Council is aware of where the revenue is coming from it. We anticipate that the revenue would come directly from the Sanitation District for the extension and the media consultant. Is that true? Director Holden replies definitely for the bags would be a combination of the grant and the Sanitation budget. He adds that they have some leeway within the grant to have these additional expenses. That's part of what the grant funds: in case we have any shortfalls, based on this program that would fund that difference at this point. The Chair calls on Councilman Anthony Gennaro. Sr. followed by Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell. Councilman Anthony Gennaro states that he has gotten some questions from constituents related to the monitoring of it. They've gotten a warning tag, or something similar, in the mail. He notes that Director Holden mentioned videos being monitored. He asks Director Holden to elaborate about these videos that are being monitored and expand about that and how that, how that works. He asks if they are getting more staff to monitor that. Who is doing it? He notes that someone said they had thrown out garbage that was not the orange bag. They later learned, after Halloween, it was a pumpkin in the trash. How is that being monitored? Will we need more staff to do this? How are we going to do that? Director Holden replies that, as part of the grant, it supports a part-time person, through our consultant, who is going around with the truck and either watching the video or actually looking into the carts himself. He wants to make sure that everybody understands that if you have an extra poop bag, or if somebody threw in a random bag -- miscellaneous trash – you are not going to be fined or penalized. As long as you have some orange bags in your cart already, we know that you're paying for your service. That orange bag is essentially your receipt for paying for disposal of the material in your cart. He wants to be sure that people understand that, if there is a McDonald's bag in there, we are not going to fine for that because there is already an orange bag in there. Many people are concerned about random people throwing stuff into their trash cans. He did not realize, based on some of the posts, that it is a rampant situation where people from one end of town to the sanitation district, looking for partially empty containers and then throw in their trash bags. He cannot see that happens frequently, but he hasn’t been monitoring it. He reiterates that, as long as there are orange bags in the cart, they are making sure that some random piece of trash is not going to cause someone to be penalized. Councilman Gennaro states that, to expand that a little bit, some of the comments from emails received were from tenants and from landlords. He asks if there is there a plan to work on that. Also, going back to the grant and the part-time person, how long is that going to be good? Is this, going down the down the road, an expense that we will need to take on. Director Holden replies that the monitoring is for this year is the pilot with the grand funding. Once we get to the end of the year, we are hopeful that there will be so much participation that we won’t t have to worry about going out and monitoring all the time. We are evaluating a system based on artificial intelligence that has a camera and a computer, or a controller, that would be able to learn the difference between the bags. We will be able to take a picture of what is coming out of that trash can. We can then, if needed, have enforcement at that point. He explains that they currently already have enforcement on recycling, so that would just follow that along. Councilman Gennaro notes that there are already cameras in the trucks. Director Holden replies, “Correct,” adding that they are just reviewing at this point. Councilman Gennaro asks if that is how they found out certain things already -- from the cameras -- or is there a person. Director Holden replies that there are cameras and a person, noting that the person is riding in a truck. When they first started off, we were not as accurate with what was good and what was bad. Our sanitation workers were the ones, who were reviewing it, and there was someone in a car behind with the tags. It was “thumbs up, thumbs down.” It might be hard to see in the dark so that may have been why some of the early ones, such as the pumpkin or what have you, may have been tagged. Again, that's just a “Whoops. Hey, don't forget, we want you to make sure that you know what's going on here and that we need you to participate.” The Chair calls on Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell. Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell thanks Director Holden, adding, “Nice to see you.” She notes that she has a couple of questions. She indicates that there were other Councilmembers online and that she was online as well. She notes for the record that Councilmembers Loffredo, Ford, and Salafia were also present. In terms of DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 4 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS the ad hoc group that Miss O’Rourke talked about, she asks Director Holden to elaborate on how members of the public can join that group. Director Holden replies that people may contact the Public Works Department, which will put together a list. They will setting up some meetings to try to get direct community feedback on what's working and what's not working, and what, what concerns might be. Councilwoman Blackwell continues, saying, “No fine,” and asking how that has been communicated to the public. Director Holden replies that they have been trying to respond on Facebook and at the Sanitation Commission meeting. He does not know if it made it to the news or not, noting that a couple of news channels were present. He adds that, along with the free bags, they will make sure that it is reiterated that currently there are no fines. Councilwoman Blackwell states that, perhaps, Director Holden consider sending a letter, noting that a lot of folks are not savvy with social media and may not see that notice. Perhaps sending a mailing to folks in that district – a letter – would be prudent. She asks that the Council be given a map of the Sanitation District. Director Holden replies that a map was part of the proposed resolution, as backup, but it was pulled. Councilwoman Blackwell asks if there was any consideration as to the number of household members per bag, appreciating that some families are larger than others. She asks if that was given consideration. Director Holden replies, “Yes, of course,” adding that they can work with larger families, if they communicate with us that them (Public Works). They can work with them to get them more bags, if necessary. Councilwoman Blackwell replies, “Great,” noting that she has one final question. She asks if there are any accommodations for individuals that cannot download the app or cannot come to City Hall. Director Holden replies, “Yes,” adding that they are willing to deliver bags if necessary. If someone cannot -- those homebound or what have you – and need help, they are happy to bring them the bags. He adds that they have additional support for families that are already getting some sort of support. They can fill out a form online and we can make sure we give them a discount on the bags. The Chair calls on Councilman Eugene Nocera followed by Councilwoman Leslie Spatola. Councilman Eugene Nocera offers a clarifying comment: as Councilwoman Blackwell indicated, at this point, there are no fines. He adds that any proposed ordinance would be developed at General Council Commission and then moved forward to the Common Council for consideration. He envisions perhaps January or February, so the Common Council will be voting on that ordinance in the future. He suggests that they look for other ways to enforce compliance rather than a fine. Thank you. Director Holden states that to reiterate: there are no exemptions within the Sanitation District, so this program relates to carts. If you have a cart, then you are part of the program. If you have a dumpster, then you are not part of the program. He adds that there was some question whether Wesleyan was exempt from this. They are not exempt, adding that they bought a large quantity of bags in bulk to provide to their students that are within senior housing. These are the houses that have carts, so they are definitely participating. The Chair calls on Councilwoman Leslie Spatola followed by Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney. Councilwoman Leslie Spatola states that she knows that this is a pilot program. There will be more discussion and more work to be done on this, but will this put any burden on a disabled or handicapped people, who cannot participate. There are a lot of people out there, who just can't do it. Would you help with that? Director Holden replies, “Sure,” adding that he I would say that they already are putting their trash in a bag. It would just be a different color bag, so it would just be the one that you have to purchase. He reiterates that they would be willing to deliver bags, as necessary. Other than obtaining the bags, which they already have to do for their own trash, it is not really putting an undue burden on them because they already have to do this process. He adds that, if not already mentioned, both bags -- the orange bag and the green bag -- just go in the cart as they would normally throw it out. The bags are sturdy enough so that they can go through the compaction process, be sorted, and not be broken open. The Chair calls on Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney. Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney states that she has two (2) requests for Director Holden to consider. One is building off what Councilman Nocera said when it comes to the fines and being presented with the fines and, and any kind of structure that goes with that. She asks to clarify what the appeal process would look like, what people would have to do, and what kind of timing they would have to take care of that. When people got the tags on the trash, many were concerned that they were not acting quickly enough and that the fines might double or triple. The other request -- noting that they have covered a lot of ground this evening and that Director Holden has covered a lot of ground in social media – is that they provide some brochures in the City Hall lobby area and online covering all of the things. There is a lot of misinformation that has been split around. It would DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 5 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS be good for the community to get a really concise, even if it's a T-chart -- this isn't what we're saying; this is what the program is -- , so that it can be very clear. Thank you. Director Holden replies that the fines are for the chronic people that are not participating because they are really stealing the service, so we just want to make sure that people are paying their fair share. That is how the bags work: they cover the cost of the disposal. The Chair calls on Councilman Vincent Loffredo. Councilman Vincent Loffredo states that the big question that he gets, noting that perhaps Director Holden has touched on this evening and that the public has asked, is why they can’t use the bags that they have been using. Why do they have to spend a dollar a bag and so forth. Some families indicate, based on their size and questions that have come up, that they will need to use more than one bag. Over time, based on their calculations, at the end of the day, they are not saving anything on this. They decide to stay with what they have right now. Where is the savings? He asks Director Holden to answer the question. Director Holden replies that they are really trying to make it more equitable for everybody. So the person that only throws away one bag should pay less than a person that's throwing away three or four bags, who is using more of the service. If you use more of the service, you should be paying more just like you do with water, sewer, and electricity. People know that if they use more electricity, their bill is going to be higher. We are no longer having the person at throws away only one bag support the person throwing away five bags. This levels, the playing field and is more equitable for people, giving them more control over what they are paying. He adds, “Yes,” some people may be paying more, but most people will be either breaking even or will be saving money. Councilman Loffredo asks if there is there a way in which the cost of the bags that is being mandated for both the orange and the green bags, based on the number of bags and the fact this is a statewide program. Director Holden replies, “No,” explaining that this is the first program in the State. He qualifies his response, indicating that the first program is in Stonington already, noting that they have been doing it for many years. Middletown is the newest program doing it, so, adding that there are many, many communities that do it throughout the world. Councilman Loffredo replies that he understands, adding that, in Connecticut, the State is not involved at all. Director Holden replies, “ Correct,” .noting that he Sate is providing the funding to try to create, create the pilot and the understanding of how the program can work and whether it can be successful or not. Councilman Loffredo notes that there is State funding involved. Director Holden replies that there is State funding, but it's not a statewide mandate that everybody has to do this, adding that it is only mandated within the City’s Sanitation District and only for those, who have carts. Councilman Loffredo asks, when we speak about the Sanitation District, what percentage of the City does not belong to the Sanitation District. Director Holden replies that there are 2,500 households in the program, so 25out of 50, which is a small portion of the City. He indicates that he does not know if the population, but based on the households, it's a, small portion of the City. Councilman Loffredo states that half the City is just not involved with this, the importance of dealing with trash and the way that the City is indicating would be the appropriate ways. It seems that they are doing it inappropriately. Director Holden replies that with the current program, we only have control currently over the Sanitation District. If it is very successful in Sanitation District, then it may become Citywide with ordinance changes mandating that all trash haulers within the City need to participate in the program like this. Councilman Loffredo replies that it is his sense, based on the comments made during the hearing and all the rest, a number of people want to know how they could get out of our Sanitation District and actually join the other folks, who do not belong to the District. Director Holden explains that there is a way to opt out, but there is an administrative fee that the City has to collect to run the program, to run the whole Sanitation District. For one cart collected one time a week that administrative fee is just under $75 per six (6) months. So someone can opt out, but they have to pay the administrative fee and then hire their own trash hauler. That person then does not participate. Councilman Loffredo asks f that administrative fee can be adjusted. Director Holden replies that it is adjusted based upon the service. If someone has more carts, it's a higher rate than, than having just one cart. Councilman Loffredo states that the Sanitation District falls under the City Charter. Correct? Director Holden replies that the Sanitation District was created by State statute, but there is also a City ordinance in the Charter that describes it further. DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 6 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Councilman Loffredo remarks that just like we have other districts -- three (3) different fire districts -- we have this unique district dealing with sanitation. Director Holden replies, “Yes.” Councilman Loffredo continues, noting that the other half of the City doesn't belong in that district at all. Director Holden states that probably 25% and 75%, adding, “Yes, that's correct.” Councilman Loffredo states that some questions are being raised, just on an equity point of view and whether or not, at the end of the day, he understands, adding that, personally, he has no problem with it, indicating that is just his personal opinion. The other folks involved in the Sanitation District have a number of concerns and issues out there. Councilman Loffredo continues, noting that fees that are being set currently and the fees that they will go forward with, in one fashion or another other, who sets those fees? Is that done by the Sanitation District or by the City Council? Director Holden explains that it's a combination of the Public Works Department and Sanitation. That's the requirement for changing any fees within a Sanitation District. Councilman Loffredo remarks that the City Council, per se, collectively does not have a voice Other than our opportunity to discuss it publicly and speak out one way or another on the matters as various constituents may point out to the Council. Is that correct? Director Holden replies that, based on his reading of the State statute and the City ordinances that is correct: only the Public Works and Sanitation Commissions. Councilman Loffredo asks, when Director Holden refers to “Public Works,” is he referring to the Public Works Commission. Director Holden replies, “Yes,” the Public Works and Facilities Commission. Councilman Loffredo remarks that he belongs to other committees. By ordinance, EDC (Economic Development Commission) has specific requirements and so forth. At the end of the day, if there is going to be a hearing about a fees and changes in the overall program, those hearings and discussions will be commensurate with members speaking and meeting with Public Works and the Sanitation. Is that correct? Director Holden replies, “That is correct.” Councilman Loffredo replies that is his understanding on that. Thank you. The Chair calls on Councilman Jonathan Pulino followed by Councilwoman Blackwell. Councilman Jonathan Pulino states that he has one question for Director Holden: How he would explain this entire process? Let's say somebody just says, “Director Holden, I just don't understand what to do” He adds that he is not saying whether it is a bad idea or a good idea, but, in two minutes, what are the basics, particularly for someone, who has not read the Facebook or other platforms. Director Holden states that this is really about thinking about what you throw away. We have a lot of programs that have to go to the transfer station: free electronic recycling, brush and grass clippings, mattresses. These all are free at the transfer station. We want to get those out of the waste stream. We're trying to have the appropriate materials go to the appropriate locations. We really want people to think about recycling, noting that there is a website -- “What's In/ What's Out” -- so a person can see and make sure if the material they are looking at is recyclable or not. Also, people can call the department as we would be happy to discuss questions. We're really trying to have people think about the trash, what that they throw away. When you do the appropriate recycling and reusing things wherever you can and redirecting the food waste, we think that, that overall will help sustain the trash crisis in Connecticut. We believe that this is going to cut the, the trash down by about 50% percent as people have seen in other communities that do this type of program. The Chair calls on Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell. Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell states that she understands that here are three (3) communities that are participating in this program. She asks if there is any feedback on how things are progressing in those other communities. Director Holden replies that fifteen communities did the Phase One Pilot Program. West Hartford is the most recent that just started their program. For Middletown, it’s a little bit easier than for West Hartford because their sanitation is inclusion their taxes. In Middletown, it's a separate fee for the Sanitation District so that allows a little more leeway and how we control the program. He believe that there's been enough success through the other communities. He adds that West Haven was about the same time as Middletown, but, for political reasons, decided not to do the program. He remarks that it shows clearly that we can reduce the amount of trash that we are throwing away and redirected it to recycling and other methods that we can get rid of the materials and recycle them or what have you. DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 7 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Councilwoman Blackwell asks a point of clarification on Public Works and Sanitation, the Sanitation Commission, at this time, assigns fees based on the current Charter and State statue. Director Holden replies, “Yes, that is my understanding.” Councilwoman Blackwell continues, noting that if I followed (inaudible) not the fines fees, (inaudible). . . Director Holden explains that the fines will be part of the ordinance, adding that would have to be a full ordinance change -- or update -- that would then come to this body. Councilwoman Blackwell notes that the entire body would, in fact, (inaudible) . . . . Director Holden explains that it would go to Sanitation, Public Works, General Counsel Commission, and then to this body. Councilwoman Blackwell states that she has one other point. The Clerk of the Common Council interjects, advising Councilwoman Blackwell that the video room has just advised that they are having difficulty hearing her. Councilwoman Blackwell apologizes, verifying that her speaker is on. Unidentified speaker: it's too far away from. Councilwoman Blackwell states that one other point that she omitted is that Councilwoman Sweeney was also online. She wants to be sure that the record reflects that on the Sanitation Commission meeting. Thank you. The Chair calls on Councilman Vincent Loffredo followed by Councilman Steven Kovach. Councilman Vincent Loffredo states that one other question does come up, noting he should have asked before, but was remiss. Are Middletown public schools part of the Sanitation District? Director Holden replies that there may be a couple that are within the Sanitation District. He is working with them to try to get them to be in the program. We do work with them. We did do some early pilots with the kitchens to try to redirect some of their food waste. He does not believe . . . there may be a couple right now that are doing that. Councilman Loffredo asks Director Holden to follow up and give all Councilmembers a list of all of the schools that are participating. If they're not, how do they get their trash picked up? At the end of the day, the taxpayers are paying for that trash pickup. We are not charging the students or anybody else for trash pickup, so that'll be as part of the cost. Thank you. The Chair calls on Councilman Steven Kovach Councilman Steven Kovach states that he is a North End resident where this obviously will impact a lot. He believes that there will be a lot of complaints coming from those residents, mostly because sanitation is built into their lease. Rent is already covering the cost for disposal. Now the burden is shifting where renters are already paying for it in their lease, and now they are being asked to pay for it through buying more expensive bags. His question to Director Holden is: What is your recommendation to those residents and how do they have conversations with their landlords about essentially paying twice. Their landlords are going to save the money, but they are not. He think that is where a lot of frustrations from people is because their immediate pocket is being affected, whereas the person that they're paying $1,500 every month, they are going to have a savings. He asks Director Holden how he thinks the City should address this issue. How do we ensure that those residents are being protected? Director Holden replies that they put a lot of thought into that because they know that is one of the hardest points. There are quite a few renters within the District, so, initially, a letter was sent out – mailed -- to the landlords, describing the program and asking them to pass on the savings to their tenants either by buying bags -- maybe buy them one bag a week -- and if they use more, then maybe picking up the tab for that. Director Holden states that they are working on trying to get that point across to the landlords that they should be passing this on either with reduced rent or providing the bags to tenants. We also tried to determine what remedies a tenant might have. There is a new Fair Rent Commission may be a possibility, if the leaser states that utilities are included. If they are including utilities that, that would be a challenge that they would hope that they would be able to support, essentially have the landlord pass that savings on onto their tenants. Councilman Kovach adds that his recommendation, as was mentioned earlier, would be that direct communication with the people that live in the North End is going to be the most effective way: mailings, door knocking. He adds that his building has been sold three times in the last three years. I have never met the landlord, who currently owns the building, and the property is operated through a management company. We need to make sure that we are communicating to them. Communicating to the landlord is not the only option. Communicating on Facebook is not the only option. We need to be sure to stress that we actually try to reach out to them. DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 8 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Director Holden replies that this was something that they did. They did go to every door and knocked and left material, if they didn't answer. They didn't do it just during normal business hours. They went in the evening to try to make sure that people were home. He reiterates that they took that action to try to reach everybody that we could, we did not obviously able to reach everybody, but will continue to make every effort to reach the tenants. The Chair calls on Councilman Eugene Nocera. Councilman Eugene Nocera Counsel apologizes to our other directors because so many questions. Director Holden quips that they might be happy. Councilman Nocera has one question. At the conclusion of the Sanitation District meeting, one of the consultants mentioned that it was possible, because of the convenience issue of purchasing the bags. Sometimes they are available only in stores that you don't normally frequent, it is possible to get the bags through a delivery service like Amazon. He asks if there has been any progress on that. Director Holden replies that he has not heard anything yet. He notes that they meet today, but that did not come up in discussion. He adds that any day now Stop & Shop will be selling the bags. There were some questions if they could get the bags at Walmart. Some people might be over their shopping and they would be able to buy the bags there. He adds that some local shops throughout Middletown stock the bags, a couple of convenience stores, Stop & Go. They are always exploring where the bags can be stocked to get them out into the community. Councilman Nocera replies that something similar would be well received Director Holden adds that the bags can also be ordered online and, if necessary, we can deliver them. The Chair states that no other lights are on for Director Holden. He asks if there are questions for other Directors. The Chair calls on Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell. Councilwoman Blackwell states that she has a question for Library Director Ramona Burkey. In the spirit of full transparency, Councilwoman Blackwell states that she had a conversation with Director Burkey before tonight's meeting and I raised three questions. She asks Director Burkey to share with the public. I'm curious to know how the book sale fundraiser went, noting that it that ended yesterday, the status of new staff, and the fiber to the library grant, which is a Connecticut State Library grant in the total of $38263. She asks Director Burkey to speak as to whether or not that grant will cover the cost of the equipment and installation. Director Burkey replies, “Yes,” the grant will cover the cost and the fiber to the libraries, noting that the grant program is administered through the State Library. The amounts that the libraries, receiving funds, were granted were directly a result of a consultant that they had come in and assess the networks at the libraries affected. They then gave the quotes directly to the State Library. The $38K grant will cover the cost of our network upgrade. Going in reverse order, as for new staff, there are several new staff on board since her last update. It is very exciting. Adding that there are still have a few vacancies. There have been a number of retirements, departures this year. A children's librarian position is currently open, but we're in the process of making offer an offer on that position. There are also a library assistant and a library associate -- both full- time positions – vacant, due to retirements. They also expect to have one known retirement coming up in January. That's the status of staffing right now. They might hear some more about retirements, but hoping to reach stasis soon. Councilwoman Blackwell asks Director Burkey to describe the recruitment strategies. Director Burkey replies that they recruit through a variety of outlets. They recruit through the City of Middletown. Job postings are sent out through City email. They also recruit through the Connecticut Library consortium, which is a statewide consortium of libraries. It's a purchasing consortium, but it's also pretty much the State’s foremost way to publish library jobs. They also try and get positions, depending on the position -- whether it's a clerical level entry level position or a professional, even a department head level position -- we might go to a larger regional or even a national list serve. There are some interest groups through which they have advertised through as well. Councilwoman Blackwell replies, “That's great, very diverse outreach.” She asks Director Burkey if she can clarify: were these positions embedded in this year's fiscal budget for the library. Director Burkey replies, “Yes, yes,” they were budgeted for and vacated during this current fiscal year. She adds that, in addition to the vacancies that they anticipate filling, they have two (2) full- time clerk positions -- entry level clerk positions -- vacant at the library, which are going to remain vacant at least through June 30th because they were frozen during the budget process last spring. Councilwoman Blackwell asks if the Council will see those in FY 2024. Director Burkey replies, “We shall see,” adding that it depends on what the directives are, what kind of a target we have to hit in terms of matters.  DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 9 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Councilwoman Blackwell notes that she understands. She asks about the recent book sale. Director Burkey replies that the Friends of the Library is a separate independent 501(c)(3) organization. It has been in existence for about 40 years. Several times a year, the Friends runs a used book sale at the library, just about every quarter. They usually raise about $2K on those, those big book sales, which are held in the main reading room. Those funds come back to the library. They give a check to the library each year, which helps to fund things that are not included in the operating budget as provided by the City. These things include programs, concerts, museum passes, which people can check out for free or reduced admission to more than a dozen museum, attractions around the area mostly in Connecticut. Councilwoman Blackwell remarks that it is an excellent partnership and she always look forward to the updates. Director Burkey replies that the library loves the Friends and are really grateful to them. Councilwoman Blackwell thanks Director Burkey The Chair calls on Councilman Jonathan Pulino. Councilman Jonathan Pulino asks how someone become a Friend of the Library. In full disclosure, he notes that his question is personal, reminding Director Burkey that his mother is a big volunteer of Friend of the Library. He adds that his Mother won't say anything. Director Burkey replies that anyone can join the Friends, adding that she has seen Councilman Pulino’s Mom volunteering at the library with the Friends group. Anyone can go to the library website – RussellLibrary.org -- and fill out the form on the Friend's webpage. Anyone interested in volunteering may also go to the library and speak to her. There are forms at the library that folks can fill out. There is a $20/year fee to join the Friends, a flat rate. There are no different levels of membership and it's a wonderful, small, but mighty, group of. Friends, who do a lot of good for Russell Library and the community. The Chair asks if there any other questions for Director Burkey. If not, thank you very much. The Chair calls on Councilman Vincent Loffredo. Councilman Vincent Loffredo calls on Finance Director Carl Erlacher. He asks about the transfer report, dated June 30, 2023.1 Director Erlacher replies that the heading might be incorrect, but he will check. Councilman Loffredo state that all of the listings are here of every single transfer, dated June 30, 2023, every one, except the last entry is dated July 2022, a year prior. C Director Erlacher suggests that t should read 2023. Councilman Loffredo notes that it is the CNR transfer there for $120,000 for IT, noting that it was for something that was planned. Director Erlacher replies, “Correct.” Councilman Loffredo notes that the report, dated June 20, 2023, deals with a lot of transfers for personnel: permanent wages for a lot of folks, hundreds of thousands of dollars moving, and so forth. He asks Director Erlacher to provide some explanation of what this report is. Director Erlacher replies that they only budget 98% of everybody’s salary in the City. Each department has 95% budgeted and a 3% credit, which is in salary reserve. Any time a department goes over -- a two-person department or something like that -- with no change, we transfer out of salary reserve to cover those. The larger departments, if there were upgrades, if there were unit contracts that were settled, we made a provision for in salary reserve, and we would take it out of there and move it to those. Councilman Loffredo continues, asking, as a follow-up, he assume that the big number here -- $977,296.92 -- came out of salaries reserve. Director Erlacher replies, “That is correct.” Councilman Loffredo states that all of those reductions and I'm not so sure, but there might have been, I'm sure maybe a few, but I'm hard to find them necessarily, but there were some add backs right here by the plus, or there's some add backs here or those are not all add backs at all. They're not, they're just all basically, and all these are reductions. Director Erlacher explains that there were contracts that were open. We make a provision of what we think the raises are going to be. The contracts are settled during that fiscal year, and then we transfer up. 1 NOTE: This referenced document is not part of the December 4, 2023 agenda packet.  DECEMBER 4, 2023 COMMON COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING Page 10 QUESTIONS TO DIRECTORS Councilman Loffredo states that, at this point, in terms of reports dealing with the, the fiscal budget – 2022- 2023 -- are those reports readily available now. He notes that there was questions of getting audit reports and so forth finance reports on last year's budget. He adds that going to be entering into discussions and hearings and so forth for 6/30/2023 Director Erlacher replies that the auditors haven't even been in yet. The year before that, yes, there is a reports. Councilman Loffredo states that Director Erlacher would know that, at the end of this fiscal year – here we are in December – what was carried over in the fiscal year. When you take in all of the pluses and minuses for what we added and deleted and spent, ended up being transferred into the City side on a plus side. Director Erlacher replies that it was between $2M and $3M that went back to the fund balance. Councilman Loffredo asks Director Erlacher to repeat that. Director Erlacher replies that it was between $2M and $3M. Councilman Loffredo continues, saying that, in terms of the budget that the Council passed, in light of all the expenses that were incurred, Director Erlacher notes that was either unexpected revenue from the State and from Departments turning money back, things of that nature. Councilman Loffredo asks if that was in line with prior (inaudible). Director Erlacher replies, “Yes.” Councilman Loffredo adds that it was pretty much in line, as we're dealing with budgets over the last four (4) years, myself and other colleagues that are now in here for a second four year term. Director Erlacher replies that he wishes that he know that Councilman Loffredo was going here, adding that he would have given them the schedule on all of that. Councilman Loffredo replies that that's all right and adding that looking over the report was the biggest and new. He adds that this is not something that they will see every month Director Erlacher replies, “No,” adding that they won’t see this for another year. Every single line doesn't end in a negative position, adding that there are 5,000 lines. A line could be five or ten dollars in the negative and we have to transfer and exhaust all their funds for an appropriation is made obviously. Councilman Loffredo thanks Director Erlacher. 3. Questions to Directors Workshop Closes There being no further comment, the Chair closed the public hearing at 6:54 PM 4. Meeting adjourned There being no further business, Councilman Darnell ford moves to adjourn. Councilman Jonathan Pulino seconds the motion. There being no discussion, the Chair calls for a voice vote. The motion to adjourn is approved unanimously by a vote of 12-0 (AYE: Councilmembers Nocera, Loffredo, Blackwell, Ford, Faulkner, Sweeney, Mangiafico, Kovach, Salafia, Gennaro, Pulino, and Spatola). The matter is approved. The meeting is adjourned at 6:55 PM. ATTEST: LINDA S.K. REED, COMMON COUNCIL CLERK K: review/ minutes/ 2023 Dec 04 – questions to directors – 4 Dec 2023