Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY March 11, 2020 TIME: 6:30 P.M. ROOM 208 MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Darnell Ford Councilman Ed Ford Jr. Councilman Ed McKeon Councilman Philip Pessina Members Absent: Staff Present: William Russo, Director of Public Works Christopher M. Holden, P.E., Deputy Director of Public Works Catherine Lechowicz- Director of Recreation and Community Service Joseph Augeri- Assistant Superintendent of Streets Jeff Daniels- Fleet Manager Others: Blake Carter – 10 Tall Timbers Road Robert Laske- 75 Tall Timbers Road Ken McClellan- 114 Tavern Circle J. Michael Parker- 35 Tall Timbers Road Heather Parker- 35 Tall Timbers Road Brian Harrell- 302 Barbara Road Pam Gionfriddo- 369 Pine St John Coughlin- 45 Sonoma Lane Philip Cacciola- 17 Lorelei Circle Megan Bush-LHEA Ken Skomro- Middletown Fire Department Councilman Nocera opened the Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting at 6:40 P.M. Chair Nocera requested a motion to approve the minutes dated February 12, 2020. The motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford and passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Blake Cater 10 Tall Timbers Road comes to the Commission to discuss the request that was made to convert Tall Timbers into a City owned street. CORRESPONDENCE: None NEW BUSINESS:  a. Military Museum Security System- The Military Museum had a recent break in. Ken Skorma from the Middletown Fire Alarms was called into assess the Military Museums security system. He stated that upon his inspection he noticed that there are no smoke detectors or fire detection in place. He also stated that if the alarm is set off a key holder is notified. He recommends that the system get upgraded. The alarm system would be the same as others in City buildings to provide adequate protection. Further discussion ensued. A motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ed Ford Jr. and passed unanimously. b. CNR Request- Jeff Daniels and Joe Augeri have come before the Commission to request 2 new trucks and 2 pieces of Heavy equipment. They are looking to replace a truck from 1985 and 1994. A motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. c. Recreation Center Proposal Landmark Architect- The plan is to get an estimate on the cost of renovations. A program that shows prioritized improvements will be drawn up upon examination of the premises. A motion was made to forward this item to the Finance and Government Comission. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. d. Pamecha Pond Dam update-Deputy Director Chris Holden presents to the Public Works & Facilities Commission the Pamecha Pond Project. Public Works and the Water & Sewer Department are working to determine if we will keep the dam or remove it. The D.E.E.P has issued a consent order. D.E.E.P is pushing to remove the dam. A motion was made by Councilman McKeon. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford Jr. and passed unanimously e. Middlesex Country Historical Society’s 35th Annual Antique Car Show and Flea Market- A motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. f. Park Rental Fees- The park rental fees are not uniform, Director Russo and Deputy Council have done some research with the adjacent towns and came up with some reasonable fees for the park rental fees. A motion was made by councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. g. Garage Guy Car Club- Brian Harrell requested permission to use Palmer Field on August 22, 2020 rain date August 23, 2020 for the 6th annual memorial car cruise and food collection for one of their fallen members. The food collected is given to the local soup kitchen. Director Russo informs the Commission that there is no cost to the city of the event. A motion was made by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford Jr. h. ATG Lab Scope Techniques Hands on Seminar- Jeff Daniels, Fleet Manger is requesting for him and his mechanics to attend. It is a total of 6 employees and the cost per person is $249.00. A motion was by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford Jr. and passed unanimously. i. New England Chapter of the APWA Spring Conference-Deputy Director Christopher Holden and Thomas Nigosanti, Engineer request permission to attend the Spring Conference. A motion was made by Councilman Ford. The motion was seconded by Councilman McKeon and passed unanimously. j. Wadsworth Mansion Driveway Repair- Megan Bush, Executive Director if Wadsworth, has come before the Commission to discuss the condition of the driveway. Megan States that the driveway is in desperate need of replacement. She has gotten a few quotes that range from $100,000 to $200,000. Councilman Nocera has suggested that the Wadsworth Mansion be added to a road bond. Further discussion ensued. OLD BUSINESS:  a. Crystal Lake Improvements- Item will be left on the agenda ever month for progress updates. The project completion date is expected to be before summer camp starts. b. Tall Timber Request to deed the road from common space private property to a public- Deputy Director Chris Holden presents to the Commission an estimate of the cost to have the street extended to the City of Middletown’s requirements. It opens the doors for other private roads to come forward and ask for the Commission to accept them as City owned streets. The Commission recognizes the hard work that Blake and the neighbors have done to bring this request forward. The Commission would like to involve this in a future Road Bond. Director Russo states that he would need to get the Office of General Counsel involved in the acceptance of Tall Timbers Road as a City owned street. A motion was made to move forward with the consideration of the acceptance of Tall Timers Road as a City owned street. c. Boardwalk updates- Deputy Director Chris Holden gave a quick update. We are able to move forward with the improvements. d. February 2020 Public Works Overtime- The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their February 2020 monthly reports. There were no questions. e. February 2020 Building Permits- The Commission reviewed their February 2020 Building Permits. Building continues to be very busy. An average of $398,974.00 in the past few months has been generated in building permits. OTHER: a. February 2020 Monthly Report- Highway Division- The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their January 2020 monthly reports for the Highway Division. b. February 2020 Overtime Report-Parks Division – The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their February 2020 monthly reports for the Parks Division. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: As there was no further discussion, a motion was made to end the meeting by Councilman Pessina. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ford Jr. and approved unanimously. The Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting adjourned.