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APRIL 21, 2008
President Paul Roderiques called the meeting to order at
7:02pm. All Council members were
present. Editor’s Note: Time is quoted from the wall clock. The wall clock is three minutes slow.
FOP Outdoor License Approved
The Council unanimously approved an outdoor service for the Class D Alcoholic Beverage License at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #21, 464 Mitchell’s Lane on May 4, 2008 (Police Parade Day.)
The consent calendar was adopted unanimously without comment.
The first reading of an amendment to the Comprehensive
Community Plan was held and no one from the Public chose to speak. This amendment pertains to two parcels of
Navy land fronting on the Defense Highway (aka
Wind Turbine Zoning Amendment
Councilwoman Barbara Barrow asked for a status update for the wind turbine amendment that the Council, last December, asked the Planning Board to consider. Town Planner Ron Wolanski responded that the Planning Board has developed a preliminary draft of the ordinance but is awaiting testimony from experts on the subject before finalizing the ordinance. It is expected that the ordinance will be made available to the Council in early summer of this year.
Licenses Granted
The Council unanimously granted the following licenses:
* Councilman Edward Silveira Jr. recused himself on this issue due to a “service related” conflict.
Public Works Department Praised
Ray Briganti,
Emergency Bid Award for
The Council received a letter from Interim Town Administrator Shawn Brown indicating that a $9,500 contract had been awarded to Michael O’Hearn (low bidder) to replace the deck at the Second Beach Concession Stand. Resident Ronald Santa criticized the emergency basis for this award stating that the Town knew that the deck was in serious disrepair at the end of last beach season and could have solicited bids during the winter months through a normal process where the Council could have approved the award without the need for a last minute emergency contract approved by the Administrator. Interim Administrator Brown explained that the Beach Commission discussed the project in December but was cautious about spending Town money in these troubled times; however, the Beach Commission finally decided in January-February to do the project before the beginning of this year’s beach season and the bid specifications were distributed and the contract was awarded. A heated discussion on this subject ensued between Councilwoman M. Theresa Santos and Councilman Edward Silveira Jr. with Councilman Silveira accusing Councilwoman Santos of being “out of line” and Councilwoman Santos responding with “I am not out of line.”
Council Supports House Bill No. 8109
The Council unanimously adopted a resolution in support of H-8109 allowing the Town to invest the funds currently set aside in a special account for post-employment benefits (medical, etc.) This would amount to the same procedure the Town uses for pension funds.
Commercial Recycling Program
Councilman Louis DiPalma asked the Council to consider an
ordinance requiring businesses in the Town to adopt a recycling program for its
waste products. Citing the successful
residential recycling program the Town has adopted and recognizing that a
similar commercial program could help extend the life of the
Trash Bag Price Not to Increase
The most controversial issue of the evening was a proposal by Councilman Robert Sylvia to nearly double the price of the trash bags in the residential Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) trash removal program. Introducing the topic, Councilman Sylvia was quick to indicate that he was NOT going to introduce a motion to increase the trash bag price at this time; but instead was going to use the time to initiate a discussion on the PAYT program itself. Councilman Sylvia indicated that based upon the six months of data collected so far, the PAYT is running a deficit of $400,000-$500,000 per year and, at this rate, will be a $1.5M-$2M deficit over the three-year lifespan of the current waste removal contract. The cause of the deficit seems to be a direct result of the “success” of the program. Apparently residents are recycling at greater than expected rates and this has resulted in less trash discarded, thereby reducing the number of trash bag sales. With less than anticipated trash bag sales, the revenue stream has been reduced prompting the deficit in the program. Considerable discussion among Council members ensued with nearly every Council member praising the recycling success of the program and recognizing that increasing the trash bag price would likely reduce participation in the program, something that no one wanted to do. However, Councilman Sylvia and Councilman Silveira maintained a criticism over the mounting deficit in the program. Possible solutions to the deficit were identified, the best being increased participation, and the Solicitor and Administrator were tasks to examine these remedies. Although a few dozen residents were in attendance, only three chose to speak after the Council had exhausted the discussion on this issue. Resident Antone Viveiros reminded the Council that the Transfer Station had cost the taxpayers approximately $300,000 per year and the Council had proposed that the savings produced by closing the Transfer Station were projected to be used to compensate for any deficit associated with the startup of the PAYT program. Consequently, Mr. Viveiros asked that the PAYT be subsidized by the taxpayers in these initial startup years. President Roderiques said “I won’t give up on this program (PAYT), it is very successful.”
No one requested to address the Council during the public forum session.
The Council recessed the regular meeting at 8:38pm in order to reconvene in Executive Session. As noted in the docket, the purpose of the Executive Session was “litigation, land acquisition, and personnel.”
"The Impossible
Dream" is from the Man of La Mancha Soundtrack
(Original 1965 Broadway Cast) copyright ©1973 MCA Records, Inc.