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JANUARY 22, 2008 MIDDLETOWN TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

Vice Chair Shirley Mello called the meeting to order at 7:02pm explaining that President Paul Roderiques would be arriving later. Councilwoman Mello also stated that “It’s not my fault” for the late start of the meeting, indicating that Councilman Louis DiPalma was talking on his cell phone. Councilman Edward Silveira Jr. was absent. Editor’s Note: Time is quoted from the wall clock. The wall clock is two minutes slow.

Twenty- seven item Consent Calendar

Fourteen items on the consent calendar received additional comment:

Councilwoman Mello questioned the need for paper copies of the minutes of previous meetings contained in the first twelve consent calendar docket items indicating that it was a waste of paper since the entire docket is on the Town website. Town Solicitor Francis Holbrook explained that the paper copies are needed in each Council member’s folder in the event that minutes of previous meetings needed to be corrected or amended.
Resident Antone Viveiros agreed that the Council should accept the recommendation of the Natural Resource Services, Inc. to leave the property behind Forest Avenue School alone, since it is primarily marsh land. The Town had considered the possibility of converting the property to recreation fields.
The Town audit for the year ending June 30, 2007 was continued to the last item on the regular docket.

Commendation for Girls Volleyball Team

The commendation for the Middletown High School Girls Volleyball Team was continued to the next meeting to allow team members to attend.

Recent Fire on Tuckerman Avenue

Councilwoman M. Theresa Santos thanked and commended Fire Chief Stephen Martin and the entire Fire Department for its excellent work in getting a recent fire quickly under control at a Tuckerman Avenue residence.

Green End/Paradise Avenue Crosswalk

Councilwoman Mello asked the Administration to provide an update report at the next meeting regarding the status of the Green End Avenue/Paradise Avenue intersection, specifically the crosswalk situation.

Editor’s Note: President Paul Roderiques and Finance Director Shawn Brown arrived at this time.

Pavement Management Plan

Town Engineer Warren Hall explained a Pavement Management Plan that is under development which will allow the Town to prioritize road repair/replacement projects. An inventory of all Town roads has been compiled and all roads are in the processed of being rated according to an objective and repeatable rating system that has been developed. The final draft of this Pavement Management Plan will be submitted to the Road & Utilities Committee on February 2^nd for its review and comments before submission to the Town Council at a subsequent date.

Appointments

The Council made the following unanimous appointment:

George H. Steele – Technology Advisory Committee

FY08 Budget

As an added addendum item, the current FY08 budget was discussed as impacted by the cuts in State revenue caused by the existing State deficit. Apparently as part of the effort to correct the State budget deficit, Middletown will be receiving $171,000 less revenue than anticipated from the State. In an attempt to mitigate the impact on the existing Town budget, Interim Town Administrator Shawn Brown prepared a handout to each Council member indicating $61,000 unanticipated additional revenues and $110,000 identified cuts in expenditures that will allow the Town to absorb the projected State revenue loss without the Town accruing a deficit itself. President Roderiques, Councilman DiPalma, and Councilman Sylvia commended Interim Administrator Brown for his initiative and effort on this issue. Councilman DiPalma was pleased that the problem is being addressed in this manner (within the budget itself) rather than using the Undesignated Fund Balance to solve the problem.

FY07 Audit

Continued from the Consent Calendar was the issue of the FY07 Audit. Interim Administrator Brown related that the audit showed “no material weaknesses” in the Town’s accounting and finance department and that the Undesignated Fund Balance is maintained at $7.86M – “all very good news.” Councilwoman Santos commended the “teamwork” that has occurred throughout the Town Hall. Resident Antone Viveiros questioned why the $7.86M Undesignated Fund Balance was listed as 17% of the expenditure budget in the audit report but in Interim Administrator Brown’s cover letter was listed as 13%. Interim Administrator Brown invited Mr. Viveiros to come and sit with him to discuss the matter and Mr. Viveiros accepted.

PUBLIC FORUM SESSION

No one requested to address the Council during the public forum session.

The Council adjourned at 8:02pm.

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