Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AMENDED MINUTES WEDNESDAY December 14, 2022 TIME: 6:30 P.M. Via WebEX.com MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Darnell Ford Councilman Phil Pessina Councilman Mike Marino Staff Present: Christopher M. Holden, P.E., Director of Public Works Howard Weissberg, P.E., Deputy Director of Public Works Cathy Lechowicz, Director of Recreation Mike Doherty- SLR Public: Philip Nettis & Patti Nettis-Deegan, Lisa & Joe Beierle, Jessica Tattersall, Brian Kronenberger and Kristen Rzasa The meeting was called to order by Councilman Nocera at 6:30 p.m. Councilman Pessina moved to approve the Meeting Minutes dated November 9, 2022. Councilman Marino seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Philip Nettis of 149 Dripps Rd stated he met with the Deputy Director and he is hopeful that what they discussed will come to fruition in the near future. Jessica Tattersall of 155 Monarca Drive stated that she is in attendance to get an update regarding a petition that was submitted in July for Monarca Drive to become a public road. Lisa and Joe Beierle of 2 Monarca Drive stated that they are in attendance to get an update regarding the petition submitted for Monarca Drive to become a public road. Brian Kronenberger of 1480 Randolph Road stated that he would like to speak to a closed item from October 2021 regarding Old Road Drive. Councilman Pessina made a motion to open discussion regarding this closed item. Councilman Marino seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Brian Kronenberger stated that he has a family member who resides on Old Road Drive. September 8, 2021 Philip Bennett came before the commission to ask that Old Road Drive become a public road. There was a lot of discussion about it. He stated that Old Road Drive has 11 properties that serve 9 different structures. Comments were made by then Director Russo that the road was put in in the 60’s but the road was actually built in 1953-1954. Most of the homes on that location were built around that time who were family members to his father. Then Director Russo stated in that meeting that when the road was built it did not go in front of planning and zoning, to which Brian Kronenberger stated that it went in front of planning and zoning in some form in 1954 as there were building permits issued for all of those homes in that location and that certainly zoning regulations have changed over the last 68 years. When Mr. Bennett came forward to speak to the Commission at the time his concerns were about emergency access and that there could be issues getting access to that road due to the conditions of the road. It was noted in previous minutes from that meeting that the Fire Marshal stated there should not be issue with emergency vehicles accessing that road during an event. Brian Kronenberger stated was tabled and there wasn’t enough money to address it and there was the possibility of the commission reconsidering it at a later date. April of 2022, Mr. Bennett’s property caught fire and burnt to the ground. The Middletown Press article from April 20, 2022 showed comments made by the Fire Marshal that the area of the blaze has been discussed in the past, that the neighborhood is challenging when fighting a fire, it’s one of those areas you dread to have a fire at. There were comments made that Old Road Drive is a dirt road which is incorrect. 2/3 of the road is presently paved. It is just over 3/10 of a mile long. The residents pay city tax and fire tax. Property values for most homes on the street have increased by 40%. He stated based on the engineers comments, the street doesn’t conform to current City road standards but that he can state emphatically that other roads in the area have similar circumstances, Footit Drive and Stantack Road. Brian Kronenberger went to Stantack Road and measured the width of the road. He stated that Stantack is a public road and maintained by the City, as is Footit Drive. Stantack has a commercial business that is actually on City of Meriden property. He asks that it be reviewed again. They are not seeking a new road, just improvements. CORRESPONDENCE: Councilman Marino asked that the correspondence that was received from the ACO be sent to the Commission for review and it be added to the January 2023 agenda for discussion. NEW BUSINESS: a. CT Tree Protective Association Annual Meeting- R. Romano & C. Holden- this training provides credits toward tree warden and deputy tree warden. Price is $90 per person. Councilman Pessina made a motion to approve. Councilman Marino seconded. The motion passed without objection. b. CT Leave of Conservation Voters Environmental Summit- K. O’Rourke- This training keeps Kim up to date on what is going on around the State. Councilman Pessina made a motion to approve. Councilman Marino seconded. The motion passed without objection. OLD BUSINESS: a. Monarca Drive – Deputy Director Weissberg stated that he has been working with the Chief Engineer on Monarca Drive to see what is existing and to get to acceptable City standards. He stated Monarca Drive has significant grade elevations and challenges. It is narrow and about is working up a cost estimate of what it would cost to bring it to City standard. Deputy Director Weissberg stated that the horizontal curve would need to be mitigated as it is a liability if it is ever made into a city maintained road. Councilman Pessina made to waive the rules to allow resident Joe Beierle to ask a question. Councilman Marino seconded it. Joe Beierle asked what a horizontal separation road is. Deputy Director Weissberg stated that it is if two cars can travel at the posted speed of the road and pass safely and what are the ramifications if that can’t occur. b. Dog Park Update- Deputy Director Weissburg has been meeting with the Chief Engineer to develop a process for moving forward with a dog park. The journey is as important as the result. He thinks they are at the point where a committee can be formed to do site evaluations and whether it is viable and beneficial. Councilman Nocera asked for a motion to create an ad hock committee through the Public Works Commission. Councilman Pessina made a motion. Councilman Marino seconded the motion. The motion passed. Kristen Rzasa arrived late and asked to have an exception made to speak to the dog park update. Councilman Pessina made a motion to allow a waiver of the rules for her to speak. Councilman Marino seconded the motion. Kristen Rzasa shared that she is still researching the ordinances. She agrees with the comments Councilman Pessina shared last meeting that Veterans Park isn’t an appropriate choice for a dog park location. She is apprehensive about a suggestion of having a dog park near the dump for several reasons including how loud it is, flooding of the coginchaug river and what type of earth is there. She asked if there are requirements that a parcel has to have to be acceptable as a dog park? Councilman Nocera stated many of the questions she has could be answered by the ad hock committee. Councilman Pessina stated that the $70,000 is no longer available as it was only approved for one fiscal year. c. Recreation Center Update – Director Lechowicz stated that they are nearing the end of the project. One major issue that is still outstanding is the pool floor. It is actively being worked on to be resolved. The gym floor is being refinished. January should be a soft opening. d. Veterans Pool and Splash Pad Update – Director Holden stated that there is no additional information to share. e. Saybrook Rd/ Dripps Rd Update- Deputy Director Weissberg shared that Director Holden, the Superintendent of Streets & Sanitation and he visited the site and identified several big challenges with the road. It is narrow and there aren’t many good areas for drainage due to the topography. He does believe there are some areas that can be addressed. They are looking into some parking restrictions as the spider weave is accessible through Dripps Rd. He will be meeting Mr. Nettis again to see if some of the drainage and sedimentation concerns can be addressed. He shared that Saybrook Rd is on a two year paving program. He believes there can be some improvements that can be made in the spring. OTHER: Reported on by Christopher Holden a. November 2022 Monthly Report - Highway Division- nothing additional to OT report. b. November 2022 Monthly Report - Parks Division – nothing additional to OT report. c. November 2022 Public Works Overtime Report- November is a very active month for OT due to road projects, holiday lights and the leaf program. d. November 2022 Building Permits – $383,000 in Building Permits. e. Department Updates- The food waste program is underway to divert food waste from the trash stream. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: None Adjourn – As there were no further questions the meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.