City Council

Approved by the City Council & WPCA MINUTES January 21, 2025 Vol 27, Page 473 CITY COUNCIL & WPCA Vote: Unanimous REGULAR MEETING City Hall Auditorium / Zoom January 6, 2025 A REGULAR MEETING of the City Council and Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) of the City of Torrington was held at the City Hall Auditorium on Monday, January 6, 2025. Present at City Hall were Mayor Elinor Carbone, Corporation Counsel Michael Magistrali, City Councilors Stephen Ivain, Molly Spino, and Anne Ruwet. Also present in person were Fire Chief Eric Borden, Deputy Fire Chief David Tripp, Economic Development Director William Wallach, and Treasurer Dan Farley. Councilor David Oliver and Public Works Director Ray Drew joined via Zoom. Councilor Drake Waldron and Paul Cavagnero were absent. Mayor Carbone called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment: On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Spino, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. Jonathan Barber voiced his concerns regarding the high assessment and rising taxes. He also asked for fluoride to be removed from the water. Approve Minutes On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Spino, the Council voted unanimously to accept the Regular Meeting Minutes from December 16, 2024. Planning and Zoning Commission Reappointment On a motion by Councilor Ruwet, seconded by Councilor Ivain, the Council voted unanimously to reappoint Donna Greco (R) as a regular member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for a five-year term set to expire on December 14, 2029. Discussion – Building Healthier Communities Marketing Fund On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Spino, the Council voted unanimously to open discussion on the change in funding source for the marketing campaign from the Economic Development Department’s Marketing line item to the Building Healthier Communities (BHC) Grant. Mr. Wallach explained to the Council that the Building Healthier Communities (BHC) Grant was awarded to the City for $750,000 for Economic Development initiatives. He said the marketing line item in the Economic Developments budget was zeroed out before hiring him. They would like to use the BHC Grant funds for a marketing campaign for the City. Mr. Wallach has spoken with Mintz & Hoke and negotiated a $180,000 multi-year contract for business development and support. Councilor Ivain asked who the target audience is, Mr. Wallach said there are three different categories for outreach, the people who live in Torrington, those who didn’t live in Torrington but relocated here; what attracted them to the City, and those who visited Torrington; what tourism aspects attracted them. Mayor Carbone added that Mintz & Hoke are helping to work on improvements with the website upgrade. Extend the Still River Gardens Contract at Coe Park On a motion by Councilor Ruwet, seconded by Councilor Spino, the Council, on the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Coe Park Committee, voted unanimously to approve a five- year extension of the Still River Gardens Contract for Coe Memorial Park and to authorize the Mayor further to negotiate and execute terms and conditions of a successor contract. Fire Department Recruit Training On a motion by Councilor Ruwet, seconded by Councilor Ivain, the Council voted unanimously to approve $31,500 for training expenses for four Firefighter Recruits. This training will occur at the Connecticut Fire Academy, the request is to use these funds from the Contingency Account for the current FY 24/25 Budget. This is pending Board of Finance approval and is further explained in Fire Chief Borden’s memo dated December 30, 2024. Chief Borden explained the Department had budgeted for five recruits to go to training, however, because there was only one vacancy at that time, the budget was cut. Now the Department has five vacancies, so they have one funded and are looking for an additional four recruits to be able to go to the Academy. Mayor Carbone added they had looked at other line items to see if there would be savings to move into training and there isn’t. She said that $200,000 is budgeted annually for the Contingency Fund. Councilor Ruwet said the Board of Finance would better understand where the City is mid-year in the Budget. Mayor Carbone said there was only one other request to use the Contingency Funds. Mayor Carbone said the request was for SLR for design work, which would leave about $180,000 in the Contingency. Small Cities – 64 Albany Street – Project # 143-SC-36 On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Spino, the Council, on the Small Cities Committee's recommendation, voted unanimously to approve replacing the house and garage roof and gutters, installing a new garage door, and replacing the garage cement floor slab for $28,250, at 64 MINUTES Vol 27, Page 474 CITY COUNCIL & WPCA REGULAR MEETING City Hall Auditorium / Zoom January 6, 2025 Albany Street. Councilor Ivain told the Council this was previously approved by the Small Cities Committee and there is plenty of equity in the home to support this request. Small Cities – 26 Hodges Hill Road – Project # 143-PI-51 On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Oliver, the Council, on the Small Cities Committee’s recommendation, voted unanimously to approve the amended quote for the installation of an auxiliary generator for an updated price of $15,877.72, at 26 Hodges Hill Road. Councilor Ivain explained this request had been approved, however, the bid had expired so they had to rebid the job. Tax Collector Refunds On a motion by Councilor Spino, seconded by Councilor Ivain, the Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Tax Collector and authorize the tax refunds indicated on the list dated January 6, 2025. Business by Dept. Heads On a motion by Councilor Spino, seconded by Councilor Ivain, the Council voted unanimously to consider business by Department Heads. There was no business to be discussed. Business by Mayor & Members On a motion by Councilor Ivain, seconded by Councilor Waldron, the Council voted unanimously to consider business by the Mayor and City Council members. Councilor Ruwet asked to have an educational forum on the Assessment letters for more clarity and less fear. Mayor Carbone said she would work with the Assessor and the Tax Collector for a public meeting. Councilor Ruwet also said they did a great job with the Torrington High School goodbye. Mayor Carbone told the Council there is a tour for elected officials on January 18, 2025, at the new High School. Councilor Spino said she agrees with Councilor Ruwet about discussing the mill rate and the assessments. Mayor Carbone said they would do a dialogue that way the citizens could ask questions. Councilor Oliver asked for information on the Economic Development forum that is being held at Cravings. Mayor Carbone said that it is extremely challenging to get news out to the public, so there will be pop-up events going forward, to continue the conversation with the public. They would be in areas where work is being done such as buildings being torn down. She said they would be educating individuals on why the building couldn’t be rebuilt, why it was demolished, and what the plan is for space. This first meeting will be held on February 12, 2025, at Cravings on Migeon Ave, where they just took down the Hotchkiss building. Councilor Ivain told the Council about a letter that was sent out from the Water Company regarding old pipes with lead issues. He said this was concerning to residents. Public Comment (in-person only) On a motion by Councilor Spino, seconded by Councilor Oliver, the Council voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public to comment on agenda items only. No one from the public wished to speak. Adjournment On a motion by Councilor Spino, seconded by Councilor Ivain, the Council voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted by ATTEST: Heather Abraham, Asst. City Clerk CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK CAROL L. ANDERSON, CITY CLERK