Mayor's Neighborhood Preservation Commission

Mayor's Neighborhood Preservation Committee 1/06/2010 Minutes (Final) CITY OF NORWALK MAYOR’S NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION TASK FORCE REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 6, 2010 ATTENDANCE: Mayor Richard A. Moccia; Christine Abraham, West Main Street N.A.; Katherine Griffing, Golden Hill Association; Glenn Iannaccone, Norwalk Fire Department; Christine Names, N.A.S.H.; Ron Muller, Village Creek Homeowners Association; Al Raymond, Spring Hill/Hospital N.A; Lt. Paul Resnick, Norwalk Police Department; Marilyn Maitland, Health Department; David Shockley, Redevelopment; Maribeth Becker, Wall Street STAFF: Connie Blair; Customer Service CALL TO ORDER Mr. Shockley called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. WELCOMING REMARKS; REVIEW AND APPROVE THE DECEMBER 2, 2009 Mr. Shockley welcomed everyone. ** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE DECEMBER 2, 2009. ** MS. NAMES SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 2, 2009 AS SUBMITTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER UPDATE Ms. Blair distributed copies of the new garbage collection and recycling schedule for 2010 along with other items in an information package. The plastic bags marked 1-7 will now be collected, but they must be in one plastic bag. Papers in the blue bins must be in paper bags, the papers in the green bins can be loose. ANNOUNCEMENT City Staff Mayor Moccia said he met with CL&P yesterday and the rates will be decreasing. However, Yankee Gas will be raising their rates. City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting January 6, 2010 Page 1 The City employees will be working together with the police and the utility companies for an action plan in the event that electrical wires come down. The utilities have responded quickly when this happens. The Mayor urged everyone to report any downed lines and stay clear of the area. The Mayor said that the new DPW trucks are very sophisticated with GPS and also have an instrument that reads the temperature of the pavement. Lt. Resnick joined the meeting at 10:17 a.m. The trucks also have computerized readers that determine how much salt is being distributed and what kind of salt to use. The plow drivers can also call in and report streets where cars are parked on both sides and the street is too narrow for the trucks to get through. The Mayor commented that people must remember that the City workers, like the Superintendent of Schools, must anticipate what the weather is going to do and make decisions to the best of their abilities in advance of the actual event. The discussion then moved to the City ordinances regarding the shoveling of snow on sidewalks. The Mayor said that while it is important to have the sidewalks shoveled, it is also important to give people in residential areas time to do this. He pointed out that frequently, those who are elderly may need to wait for someone to come and shovel them out. Lt. Resnick suggested that the neighborhood pay particular attention to crosswalks and where there are bus stops when shoveling out. Businesses that do not shovel out should be reported to Customer Service. Ms. Abraham asked what to do if people see others shoveling snow into the street. Ms. Blair said that the residents should call Customer Service. Ms. Blair asked if people were receiving Ms. DeLuca’s newsletter. Mayor Moccia then praised Ms. DeLuca for her recent work during a house explosion and other planning efforts. He said that hiring Ms. DeLuca was one of the best things he had done and that she had initiated several plans for helping the residents in times of disaster. He then cited the recent house explosion on Ohio Avenue Extension. He added that a neighbor had rushed in to help the residents out. That neighbor has been nominated for the Red Cross Yearly award. Ms. Blair said that if people smell gas, get out and call the gas company Keep Norwalk Beautiful spring cleanup advisory and calendar Mr. Shockley said that April 24th will be the Keep Norwalk Beautiful Day. The neighborhood groups can select a public area for clean up and DPW will pick up the bags at a prearranged designated location. City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting January 6, 2010 Page 2 With the KAB affiliate, the Board of Directors has now been assembled. Mr. Shockley then read the list of Norwalk residents that have been asked to participate on the Board. The first meeting will be at the Police Station on January 21st. General Electric has sent in a nice financial donation for work gloves. Suggestions for possible guest speakers for 2010 MNPTF meeting Mr. Iannaccone suggested Ms. DeLuca come in and speak about the various emergency preparedness programs. Ms. Names suggested that a speaker from Conservation be contacted regarding wetlands. Mr. Shockley said that if anyone else had any ideas, that they should share them with him. Neighborhood Representatives NASH - Ms. Names said that Silvermine had experienced three more burglaries in houses that are set further back from the road. She said that the speeding continued and someone had spun out in front of her house. She said that her group had just been notified about a condominium of 11 units that was being planned and the conservation issues associated with it. She said that DPW had just finished working on Mary Austin Drive installing a major drainage pipe because of flooding and she had concerns about what the new development might do. Golden Hill – Ms. Griffing said that there were still issues with Ben Franklin. This will be looked into by the staff. West Main – Ms. Abraham said that there was a problem with the development, but that she would call the developer about this. Village Creek - Mr. Muller said that there had been puddle development on Split Rock Road. Someone came and dug a hole and patched it. The puddle remains. Ms. Blair will check into this. Wall Street - Ms. Becker said that the Farmer’s Market was continuing and the merchants were committed to provided the market. The building is not heated, so please dress appropriately. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mr. Shockley adjourned the meeting at 10:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting January 6, 2010 Page 3