Minutes

Emergency CREMPO Meeting

and

Connecticut River Valley Council of Elected Officials

April 22, 2009

 

Attendance:  Please see attached list

 

            An emergency meeting of CREMPO was called to order by Chairman Tom Marsh of the CRVCEO at 12:15 p.m. at Angelico’s Restaurant, East Hampton, CT.

Items:

            1. Resolution on Conformity with the Clean Air Act PM 2.5 - Branford Shoreline East Supplemental Parking.

            2. Resolution on Conformity with the Clean Air Act Ozone – Branford Shoreline East Supplemental Parking.

            Motion:  Jean proposed the motion to adopt the resolution on conformity and the resolution on clean air on ozone.  Dick Smith voted to accept the motions and Rich Cabral seconded the motions.  All were in favor.

            Motion to adjourn the CREMPO Emergency Meeting was made by Tom Marsh.  Rich Cabral seconded, all were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 12:22 p.m.

 

CRVCEO

 

1. Call to Order:

            The CRVCEO meeting was called to order by Chairman March at 12:24 p.m. at Angelico’s Restaurant, East Hampton, CT.

 

2. Approval of February 25 and March 25 minutes:

             Motion to approve the Minutes of February and March was made by Dick Smith and seconded by Noel Bishop. All were in favor.

 

3. Business:    

            A. Legislative Issues:

            a.  Jeff Nelson, Governor Rell’s Representative:  Jeff reported that the budget deficit could reach $1 billion (tax revenues are down).  Governor Rell is troubled by the legislative budget.  She feels there are too may new taxes in this budget.  The State unions have agreed to a $337 wage freeze.  Overall, the house and senate will decide on all budget issues.

            b.  Legislative Reports from Council Members: Dick Smith said he met with Don Williams, and they discussed several current issues.  The recent CCM meeting turned into a media circus and was basically a campaign forum for the Governor.

              Probate judges met yesterday and will meet again on April 23rd to go over regionalism of the probate courts. The larger courts are in financial trouble; however, the smaller courts are within their individual budgets.  One of the proposals to help resolve the financial problems would be to raise the fees, which have not been raised since 1998. The selectmen were urged to attend the meeting in Essex on the 23rd to help resolve the probate issues. Lobbyist Rick Balducci will be at the meeting.

            Dick suggested that the selectmen attend the next CCM meeting scheduled for the 20th in Hartford.

            Tom March hoped that the 17-town CRVCEO could advocate as a group.   Selectman Goldberg from Madison expressed an interest in joining the group.  Tom asked that the selectmen contact their legislators and make them aware of the CRVCEO. 

            Bill SB3 was discussed.  This bill would prevent CRRA from purchasing land for ash.  Other vendors may apply.  This legislation is important, and there is a battle between Franklin and CRRA which may effect how we ship ash out of state.  Linda noted that Franklin was selected “after careful review.”  CRRA would pay $1.5million to local budget to place ash.  This bill could stop the regulatory process.

            CT JAG Program:  State police must attend this meeting.  This program will help pay office help, material and equipment.

            Connector Road Paving:  Jean suggested that anyone having a smart machine should use it for future road counts.  Jean said she is looking into buying less cumbersome equipment to handle this function. 

            B. Regional Discussion-17 Town Group.

                        Linda cautioned that the group should be cognizant of the FOI and ADA regulations.  If the CRVCEO becomes a formal organization, she explained several legal issues to them, such as accessibility and location.

                        It was suggested that the agendas of meeting be emailed to all town clerks in the 17 towns each month.

                        Linda distributed information on an act concerning membership on regional planning agencies.  She expressed her concern about the consolidation of the 15 RPOs.  A study on RPOs is scheduled to be completed in 2012.  She suggested establishing the CRVCEO as a strong presence prior to the 2012 study. Linda said it’s imperative that the selectmen take an active role in the legislature. Right now, no one pays attention to the CRVCEO.

                        The parameters of forming a CEO vs. an RPA were discussed. On page 4 of the handout Linda distributed a table showed the type of RPOs operating in the State. She reviewed the problems that would be encountered by regionalizing the RPOS.  It’s important for CEOs to be united, to be heard, and to fully understand the issues.

                        There was a brief discussion on how the CRERPA Board operates.  Linda basically reports to them what the selectmen are doing.

                        Tom Marsh suggested the appointment of an Executive Committee to determine a direction for the CRVCEO.  He suggested the findings of the Committee be discussed at the May meeting.

                        Dick Smith said we must have a voice in Hartford and suggested collectively hiring a lobbyist. The suggestion was made to ask several lobbyists to speak at a meeting to explain how they could help the causes of the CRVCEO.

            Tom Marsh volunteered to write a letter to CCM to let them know the concerns of the small towns. 

           

4. Other Business:

            Roy Piper, Region 2 Coordinator, DEMHS, circulated copies of the FY ’09 budget. There will be a meeting on May 4th at the Guilford Fire Dept. Headquarters at 9:30 to ratify this budget.  Roy urged each selectman to attend the meeting or to send a delegate.  He will be forwarding an agenda as well as a reminder by the end of the month. Roy explained that REPT is made up of the 30 towns; therefore, representation from each town concerning the budget is important.

            Roy said the CCM Conference on May 12th is full.  The Conference will be held in Cromwell.

            On June 2nd the annual Hurricane Conference will be held at Southern Connecticut State University.  This will be an all day conference for Emergency Management Directors.

            Chairman Marsh suggested several items for the May Agenda such as regional bidding, and contact information regarding grants.  Larry Wagner was suggested as a speaker to help the selectmen understand the grant making process.

            The next meeting of the CRVCEO will be held in Killingworth, on May 27th, at the Country Squire on Rte 80.  Rich Cabral said he would be forwarding future meeting sites for the CRVCEO  shortly.

 

5. Adjournment:

            The motion to adjourn was made by Rich Cabral at 2:30 p.m. and seconded by Phil Miller.  All were in favor.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Pat Anthony, Clerk