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CC MTG MINUTES JULY 14 2014 REGULAR MEETING OF THE AGAWAM CITY COUNCIL Minutes dated July 14, 2014 Meeting was called to order by President Johnson at 7:00pm at the Auditorium at the Roberta G. Doering School, 68 Main Street,Agawam. Item 1. Roll Call ROLL CALL—10 PRESENT, 1 ABSENT (Councilor Perry) Roll Call was taken with the following councilors present: George Bitzas, Cecilia Calabrese, Paul Cavallo, James Cichetti, Council President Christopher Johnson, Gina Letellier, Joseph Mineo, Donald Rheault, Robert Rossi and Anthony Suffriti. Vice President Dennis Perry was not in attendance. With ten councilors present, there was a quorum. Item 2. Moment of Silence and the Pledge ofAlleeiance. • President Johnson asked for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Item 3. Citizen's Sneak Time Eleven citizens appeared to speak at Citizen's Speak Time. The following spoke in favor of the Track Master Plan: • Daniel Pryce Lyn Bussiere Courtney Bussiere Brittney Bussiere Peggy Dialessi Lou Conte Will Reichelt Jeri Bonfiglio Shelley Borgatti-Reed Douglas Reed Daniel Pryce stated that our town needs to be competitive with other towns. Courtney • and Brittney Bussiere both stated as former AHS athletes that they would urge the City Council to further the track facility as well as did Lyn Bussiere. Peggy Dialessi held her son out of participating in track because of her concern for the poor practice surface. He ran cross country instead. Lou Conte as Head of the Track Exploratory Committee wanted to clarify that this was not just a track, that it was an all-purpose facility to be • used by all ages. It promotes spirit, mind and body to allow us to be a better community as a whole. We are far behind the 8 ball as compared with other communities. Will Reichelt spoke as Vice Chair of the Committee stating why this resolution was placed on the Agenda and wanting to see a commitment from the Council since this was indeed an expensive project with funding of approximately $6 to $7 million. The process going forward is to use CPA funds for up to 75% and the town's General Fund for the remainder. There will be an RFQ (Request for Quote) as required by designer selection law. The top three would be selected and would negotiate from there. Jen Bonf glio asked for the Council's support. Shelley Borgatti-Reed stated that the track was an embarrassment to the town and shame on all of us for letting it get this way. Finally, Douglas Reed wanted to see this get done not only for its poor condition but look at the • savings on maintenance the town would see with a turf field. The football/lacrosse/soccer field really deteriorates during the season. 1 0 Mary Pasteris also spoke regarding the School Nurse issue stating the need for parity with school nurses' salaries and the need for more nurses on staff. The town lost seven nurses in less than five years. The town trains these nurses and then they leave to go work in another town for more money. Item 4. Minutes Motion to approve the June 23, 2014 Regular City Council meeting minutes was made by Councilor Cichetti and seconded by Councilor Rheault. The minutes were approved by a vote of 10 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent(Councilor Perry). Item S. Declaration from Council President None. Item 6. Presentation of Petitions,Memorials A Remonstrances 1. TR-2014-26 - A Resolution endorsing the Track Master Plan as presented and the Administration's 'intention to continue with the Project with support from the Exploratory Committee and seek bids for construction documents(Mayor) Motion was made by Councilor Calabrese and seconded by Councilor Bitzas. Discussion was opened to the Council. Councilor Rheault made the Motion to go into Committee as a Whole seconded by Councilor Letellier. Councilor Rheault asked to speak with Lou Conte. After mentioning several items regarding the baseball field, Councilor Rheault asked if the plan was the final plan,would there be baseball storage,would there be access to bathrooms in the back by the baseball fields, etc. Lou Conte stated that there are bathrooms in the back of the school in the Science wing which could be opened and accessed during games. Ideally, Lou would love to see all the fields be turf. There would be lacrosse fields in the middle near the tennis courts. The drop off points near the new handicapped parking area should work sufficiently and there would be bleachers at the other fields. Councilor Calabrese mentioned the facility in Bethel, CT and envision ours to be similar. With the creation of this facility, would our Title 9 issues be rectified? Lou Conte stated that the girls' locker room would mirror the boys' locker room. Councilor Rossi thanked the committee for allowing him to view other facilities to see how ours could look. Lou Conte stated that our high school is the town's showcase and our field is in terrible condition. He takes some of the blame along with others for allowing this to happen. He thanked Tony Albro and Roger Kupec for keeping the fields in as good a condition as they are in. Councilor Bitzas had heard no negative comments in town about doing this project. Lou Conte • stated this was long needed and the community deserves it. Motion to come out of Committee as a Whole was made by Councilor Rheault and seconded by Councilor Rossi. Council President stepped out of the Chair to mention that this Resolution doesn't really do anything. It would have been better if the Mayor placed the next step on the Council Agenda to make a decision on the funding for the plan and preliminary costs. The vote was 10 YES,0 NO, 1 ABSENT(Councilor Perry). 2. TR-2014-27 - A Resolution requiring the State to fund 50% of the costs associated with M.G.L. Chapter 41, Section 108L "The Police Career Incentive Program"commonly referred to as the"Quinn Bill"(Mayor) • Motion was made by Councilor Rheault and seconded by Councilor Cavallo. 2 Councilor Rossi opened the discussion stating that he was "okay" with this resolution although the new hires should not be getting the Quinn Bill but the Mayor granted it to the new Chief. He felt this needs to be done at the negotiating table. Councilor Bitzas hopes this sends a message to the Governor that his denial of funding for the Quinn Bill is unfair. The vote was 10 YES,0 NO, 1 ABSENT(Councilor Perry). 3. TR-2014-28—A Resolution approving water connection and service charges fixed by the Department of Public Works (Mayor) (Referred to Finance Committee) Motion was made by Councilor Cavallo and seconded by Councilor Cichetti. • Discussion began with a Finance Committee report from Councilor Mineo. The committee had met twice on this and the next resolution. They were waiting on the requested community comparison sheet which was received. This shows that the town with these increases is still in the bottom third of surrounding communities. There was also some discussion about instead of a five-year plan to make it a once-a-year increase or a 3-year increase but the five year plan made more sense. They voted 3-0 in favor of positive recommendation to the Full Council. Council President Johnson stepped out of the Chair to mention that he met with Chris Golba and Tighe& Bond and helped to develop the five year plan. He also asked them to update the meter charges to match the town's actual costs. The vote was 10 YES,0 NO, 1 ABSENT(Councilor Perry). 4. TR-2014-29 — A Resolution approving water use rates fixed by the Department of Public Works (Mayor)(Referred to Finance Committee) Motion was made by Councilor Letellier and seconded by Councilor Cavallo. • Discussion began with Council President Johnson again stepping from the Chair to state that he played a significant role in the creation of the five year rate. It increases only once in five years instead of every two years. This rate increase is primarily a result of Springfield Water& Sewer rate increases (70% of the increase is a direct result of Springfield Water & Sewer's major • upgrades) and or connections to Springfield need to be redone — we have only two connections and one was the major water main break in Feeding Hills which had to be repaired. It is not fun to increase the rates but we really have no choice. The town's usage is low—the increase on the average bill would be about$75/year. Council President requested quarterly billing similar to the real estate taxes which is being looked at for the near future. Councilor Letellier had mentioned that she requested the comparison of Agawam to other towns. After looking at the report, • Agawam is still on the low end. She 'was originally reluctant to support this but in fact will support the increase. Councilor Rossi stated it was better to increase more up front so there's less to pay later on. Council President Johnson also stated that Tighe&Bond had recommended three increases within six years but he wanted to come up with a better plan. The vote was 9 YES, 1 NO(Councilor Rheault),1 ABSENT(Councilor Perry). • Item 7. Re ort of Council Committees None. Item 8. Elections None. 3 • Item 9 Public Hearin s None. Item 10. Dld Business • 1. TOR-2014-3 - An Ordinance to Amend the Chapter 114 of the Agawam Town Code entitled "Junk and Secondhand Dealers"(Mayor)('Iwo Readings Required) Motion made to leave this item on the table by Councilor Cichetti and seconded by Councilor Mineo. By a unanimous voice vote,the item is to remain on the table. Item 11. New Business 1. TO-2014-14 - Transfer $.09 from Veterans' Benefits (#16604-57100) to Western • Hampden District Veterans Office(#16604- 57150)(Mayor) This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 2. TO-2014-15 - Transfer of$41,250.00 from Uniform (#12201-51070) to Longevity (#12201-51400)(Mayor) This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 3. TO-2014-16 - Order granting or renewing a Junk Dealer's permit for John's Trucking of Agawam, Inc. located at 415 Silver Street, Agawam, MA 01001 ! (Council) This item was referred to the Administrative Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 4. TO-2014-17 -Transfer$100.00 from Council Printing& Copying (#11112- 52280)to Council Dues &Subscriptions(#11112-52170)(Council) • This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 5. TO-2014-18 -Voucher List$5,071.00 for the payment of MMA Annual Dues (Council) • This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 6. TR-2014-30 - Resolution to establish an Ad Hoc Sub-Committee of the Agawam City Council to initiate an investigation of the Agawam Municipal Golf Course . pursuant to Section 2-11 of the Agawam Home Rule Charter (Councilors Letellier, Johnson and Perry) This item was referred to the Community Relations Committee and moved to the next Agenda. • 7. TR-2014-31 - Resolution appropriating from the Community Preservation Fund and authorizing the expenditure of Community Preservation Funds for the purchase and installation of an irrigation system to preserve the Ann Sullivan Memorial Green (CPA) 4 • • This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. 8. TR-2014-32 - Resolution appropriating from the Community Preservation Fund and authorizing the expenditure of Community Preservation Funds for the • purchase and installation of an irrigation system to preserve the Veterans Green (CPA) This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. • 9. TR 2014-33 - Resolution appropriating from the Community Preservation Fund and authorizing the expenditure of Community Preservation Funds for the purchase and planning of Arborvitaes at the Town Hall(CPA) This item was referred to the Finance Committee and moved to the next Agenda. • Item 12. Any other matter that may legally come before the City Council Councilor Rossi requested back up information on TO-2014-15 and why was this not budgeted for? Councilor Calabrese will contact Barbara to schedule a Community Relations Committee meeting for an update regarding Games & Lanes as well as the referred item. Councilor Cichetti also requested scheduling a Legislative Committee meeting on July 29 h, 30s` or 31" and to include the Police Chief and Solicitor. Councilor Mineo also requested a Finance meeting (which is already scheduled for Thursday, July 17d') Councilor Letellier will be away for the Finance meeting. She also extended a sincere thanks to the Track Exploratory Committee for their hard work and for including • the women's softball field in the plans. At the budget meeting, she had questioned the Mayor about the Tuckahoe lease and he stated that the lease was done and no more payments. She received an email showing that in fact, the lease was not done and two more payments were owed and due. She wants to know were the rental payments made and when and where were they deposited. Councilor Bitzas is happy that the Council supported the track and thanked them. Adiournment. The Motion to adjourn was moved and seconded with all in favor of adjourning. Time of adjournment 8:07pm • • 5 •