Minutes

Connecticut River Valley Council of Elected Officials

June 24, 2009

 

Attendance:  Please see attached list

 

           

1. Call to Order:

            The CRVCEO meeting was called to order by Chairman Marsh at 12:25 p.m. at the Gelston House Restaurant, East Haddam, CT.

            Chairman Marsh introduced Selectman Mark Walter and thanked him for hosting the meeting.   Mr. Walter said that the Lower River Valley must remain unified, and the State is not listening.  Therefore, a partnership of the towns is extremely important.

 

2. Approval of April Minutes: 

             Motion to approve the Minutes of May was made by Rich Cabral. Motion was seconded by Noel Bishop. All were in favor.

 

3. Business:    

            A. Speaker: William Villano, Workforce Alliance :

                        Mr. Villano said that the Governor’s latest budget cuts impacted the Workforce’s budget adversely.  The Federal dollars will get appropriated.  It’s the Job First dollars that are in question.   This is a crisis issue for Workforce Alliance.

            B. Chairman Marsh introduced Representatives Giuliano and Spallone to the Selectmen and thanked the legislators for being at the meeting.

            C. Speaker: Larry Wagner, L. Wagner & Associates:  Mr. Wagner spoke on the availability of grants.  He noted that there is a huge amount of stimulus money out there.  The State assumes that the towns have plans that are ready to go.  However, the towns must know all the parameters for grant processing. He cited that one grant was denied because one page out of 287 was missing while the file was being electronically transferred.  He cautioned to be extremely careful when submitting grant proposals over the internet. All software is not compatible.

            Mr. Wagner discussed the Small Cities Program’s $13M allocation and said this is a viable program.  Funds are available for one a year.  However, towns can apply same year for the following year, conceivably having two applications in process.  The criteria for Small Cities are by population only.

            Mr. Wagner noted that money is going out quickly.  It’s extremely difficult to do “due diligence” on all the money disbursed.

            He cautioned the selectmen to identify and quantify projects.  Mr. Wagner said the Small Cities Grants fall into 4 categories:  public services, housing, rehab (ADA renovations, senior centers, homeless facilities) and economic development.

            A booklet was distributed to the selectmen concerning the application of grant proposals and the complexity of the issue.  He warned the selectmen to be cautious.

 

            The meeting was convened for luncheon at 1:00 and the reconvened at 1:25 p.m.

 

            B. Legislative Forum:

                        Jenny Contois, Congressman Joe Courtney’s representative, said that ARRA guides will be mailed to anyone who requests them.  Simply contact Courtney’s office for a copy. She said that any town that is having problem with the grant process to call Courtney’s office and they will endeavor to help.

                        AMTRAK will be doing a great deal of work in the next few years; therefore, Shoreline East will be impacted.

                        Fire Construction Grants deadline is July 10th.

                        Congressman Courtney’s office is presenting an “Access to Capital” seminar in Norwich to help funding needs for small start up companies.  She said if this seminar is successful, there will be others scheduled during the year.

                        Mike Pace asked Jenny for guidance for next year’s budget.  Jenny’s comment was “to proceed with caution.”

                        A lengthy discussion followed on the accessibility of funding, and it was suggested that the selectmen needed a stimulus for small towns.  Property values have dropped.  Where can the towns go for needed funding?

                        Revaluation:  Ralph Eno noted that the fixes don’t work.  It’s impossible to “put the Genie back in the bottle.”  The threshold is based on property classes.   Many small towns do not have diversification of property classes, and are, for the most part, residential towns.  Therefore, revaluation is ludicrous for towns that have no diversification. These towns need tax credits.  The entire process must be reconfigured.  Jamie Spallone said he’d like to discuss the issue further with Ralph at a future date.

            C. Round Table Discussion:

                        a. CRVCEO as a Lobbying Entity: The question of legislators attending the meetings was discussed.  Jamie and Marilyn said that when the legislature is in session, it’s difficult to attend meetings.  Tom said that he had sent out a questionnaire to the legislators, and noted that much of the email was deleted without having been read.

                        A discussion ensured concerning the various legislators in the respective towns.

                        Tom suggested breakfast meetings and/or evening meetings several times a year might be a solution.  Ralph suggested forming an executive committee of 2-3 members to go to Hartford to talk with the legislators about the concerns of the towns.

                        Jeff O’Keefe said he is interested in seeing if any towns would want to pool funds to hire a lobbyist for our issues and that he would see if he could get his policymakers to authorize upward of a $20,000 investment in this effort. Tom asked that feedback of the lobbyist proposal be sent to him.

                        The Selectmen asked that the no new items be added to the State budget without full disclosure prior to budget approval. Heretofore, special interest groups have presented legislation without the public knowledge. The name(s) of any one or any group presenting a bill should be made known.

                        The 40% proposed fare increase for transit was discussed, and it was agreed that services such as Dial-a-Ride and senior fares must be protected.

                        Mike Pace mentioned that CRRA’s tip fee reduction for the towns would mean $6 a ton.  The towns may have the money now or use it as a reserve for next year.  He also noted that the ash land fill bill was vetoed by the Governor as “bad public policy.”

                        Tom said he would be focusing on creating a meeting calendar for next year that would be amenable for legislators’ participation.

                        COG involvement:  Tom will contact other regional planning organizations to determine if they wish to become involved with the efforts of the CRVCEO.

 

4. Other Business:

            A. Probate Court Update:  Ralph said that the 10-town group is holding solid in the consolidation and said there was a problem with one member town, which has been resolved.

 

5. Adjournment:

            Motion to adjourn was made by Rich Cabral, seconded by Laura Francis.  All were in favor.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Pat Anthony, Clerk