Attendance: Please see attachment for attendance
Minutes
I. Chairman
II. Guests
A. Emergency Management
Chairman Miller introduced Mary Rose Dubarek, Director of Emergency Management District II. Mary Rose encouraged members to apply for funds to pay half the expenses of local Emergency Management Directors. All CRVCEO towns are eligible. All have Emergency Management plans. Each has an Emergency Management Director. Each has an updated plan and each town exercises its plan every time it is opened and used as a reference. Grants are for a minimum of $3,000, they are population based and may be matched by in-kind services and expenses. So far, only Old Saybrook and Westbrook have applied.
All other
funding will be directed to the five EM Planning regions. The thirty towns in
Region II extend along the shoreline to
Mary Rose noted that emergency shelters have been designated. Support functions, such as transportation are being addressed. The planning team needs to be expanded. By-laws must be written. The dispersal of money must be discussed. Planning is done regionally but implementation is local. A conference will be held August 21. Mary Rose invited CRVCEO members to serve as members of the panel.
The Department of Health has been enlisted to determine how best to serve people with special needs. Planning for the evacuation of pets, which has been addressed here, is mandated statewide after October 1.
B.
DOT
Chairman Miller introduced Brian Cunningham of the DOT to address potential changes to Route 9 in the Middletown area.
A
Middletown Area Crossing Study is considering twelve overall concepts of how to
cross the
Plans to remove the traffic lights on Route 9 have been underway since 1999.
The community has been involved in the planning
process. Two projects have been
identified. The southern project will
eliminate the left hand exit, connect Routes 9 and 17, and improve access to
the
The
northern project involves an environmental impact study of the
C. Open Space
Chairman Miller introduced Dave Gumbert
of the Killingworth Land Trust and the Killingworth Open Space Committee. Mr.
Gumbert demonstrated the
Tony Bondi
mentioned his concern with single issue people who are proponents of open
space. He inserted a line in the Haddam budget and funded it with $20. Tim Griswold
mentioned that Old Lyme usually sets aside $75,000 a year to build a fund. Use
of the fund has to be approved by Town meeting.
D. Affordable Housing
Chairman Miller declared the discussion a perfect segue to the topic of affordable housing.
David Fink thanked members for their support of the housing bill during the recent legislative session. He reported that the bill he supported passed with two out of the three incentives intact. Towns will receive $2000 for each unit rezoned under the new legislation. When the building Permit is issued, an additional $2,000 per multi unit or $5,000 per single family unit will be awarded. The payment of fifteen years of net school costs per student was eliminated from the bill.
Mr. Fink asked for suggestions of other suitable incentives.
Selectman Bishop mentioned that various boards are involved in land use decisions. He asked about the level of specificity of the data available. Could Mr. Fink provide specific data at the town level? He assured him that he would be glad to.
Mixed income housing means that 20% of the units should be available for a family earning 80% of the median income of that town. CBIA complains that the lack of
Affordable housing is the #1 deterrent to the development of
industry in the state.
Selectman Brayshaw asked about problem of the number of units per acre in small towns that depend on wells and septic systems. Lower density is allowed in towns with fewer than 5000 people. Whereas the general rule is 6 units per acre with 2 units designated as affordable, a waiver can be obtained for as few as two units per acre.
Tony Bondi announced that he has a problem with the basic concept. He suggested that as an alternative, state land be devoted to housing.
Brad Parker moved that the May 2007 minutes be approved as circulated. The motion was seconded by Tony Bondi and unanimously approved.
IV. Business
A. Legislative Report
1. Senator Meyer
Senator Ed Meyer
stated that the government in
Several towns have provisions for local ethics committees. The problems of
Implementation was discussed. Politics seems to be a primary problem.
2. Representative Brian O’Connor
Rep. O’Connor asserted that he believes that most legislators are honest people.
Rep. O’Connor asked for guidance on the issue of including local municipal employees in the state health care system. The proposal would raise the pool from 300,000 employees to 600,000. It would allow towns to self insure and would involve a ten-year commitment.
Several Selectmen have investigated the matter and determined that they could negotiate a better package without state involvement.
Tom Marsh and Brad Parker both suggested that it be available only as an option.
V. Minutes
Brad
Parker moved that the
VI. Old
Business
Chairman Miller encouraged members to participate in the Revitalization Committee. The next quarterly meeting will be in October.
VII. New Business
Chairman Miller asked each member to state whether he or she is running again and whether they have an opponent.
The August meeting will be omitted.
Respectfully submitted,