Board of Finance/Board of Selectmen Special Meeting Minutes-7/15/14
BOARD OF FINANCE AND BOARD OF SELECTMEN
SPECIAL MEETING – 5:00 PM
MINUTES
JULY 15, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Askham, Chairman, called the Special Meeting of the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen to order at 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices located at 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. The following members were also present: Barbara Petitjean, Jeff Blumenthal, Nicholas Mason, Linda Schofield and Moira Wertheimer. Also present were Mary Glassman, First Selectman, Sean Askham, Board of Selectmen, Cheryl Cooke, Board of Selectmen, Lisa Heavner, Board of Selectmen, Michael Paine, Board of Selectmen, Joseph Mancini, Director of Finance/Treasurer, Jeff Shea, Town Engineer, Gerry Toner, Recreation Director, Leslie Brigham, Commissions Clerk and other interested parties.
Pledge of Allegiance
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance
Long Range plan for maintenance and stewardship
Ms. Glassman thanked everyone involved in Open Space and for taking the time to attend this meeting to shift from acquisition of land use to stewardship of the Town’s Open Space and land use. She noted that Simsbury currently has 7,057 acres (32.2%) of Open Space land area in Town. Ms. Glassman stated that 2,907 acres are managed by the Town of Simsbury.
Ms. Glassman reminded everyone that the voters, overwhelming, supported the final acquisition of Ethel Walker Woods. She stated that this gives a great opportunity to discuss how to use the land but noted that it is a tremendous stress for the Town on how to manage the land.
Mr. Shea reviewed several maps that illustrated the Open Space land in Simsbury. With the Ethel Walker Open Space land, Mr. Shea noted that some of the land is owned by the Town, some by the State of Connecticut and some are conservation easements which are noted on the map.
Mr. Toner referenced the memo from him to the Board of Selectmen regarding needs for funding of Open Space. He noted that Forest Management is preparing plans for four separate parcels in Town, which is a continuation of a program that started about 25 years ago and ran for five to six years. Mr. Toner stated that the only funding being requested is for the initial timber harvesting work at Onion Mountain Park at a cost of $6,000 for 160 acres.
Mr. Toner discussed the line item that was eliminated from the 2013/2014 Fiscal Year Budget process for Park and Open Space facility maintenance. He noted that $10,000 of the $35,000 was put back into 2014/2015 Operating Budget and is used mainly for trail maintenance. He stated his concern regarding the funding for the Open Space maintenance of 2,900 acres of land that the Town is responsible for.
Mr. Toner stated that the Town is in the process of making the final payment for the Ethel Walker Woods parcel. He voiced his concern for both short and long-term issues concerning the property:
Put in place a short and long-term improvement plan to identify funding requirements
Coordinate the effort with the ongoing forest management plan that is now underway
Review our conservation easements within the Ethel Walker Agreement for use limitations and in the context of the improvement plan
Discussion with our major stake holders, Simsbury Land Trust, McLean Game Refuge, Keep the Woods Group as well as our abutting neighbors
The plan should also address trail mapping, signage, educational materials and informational brochures as well as short and long term improvements
Cost and schedule for trail improvements
Informational Kiosks
- < >
Drainage improvements
Stream crossing(s)
Parking improvements
Outdoor classroom
Ms. Schofield questioned the cost of harvesting the timber and what that work consisted of. Mr. Toner stated that the cost is for the consulting forester in preparing the bid package and doing an inventory of every tree that is going to be harvested. He stated that this would be a one-time cost. Ms. Glassman noted that the Town cannot go and clear cut any property and that is has to be done professionally.
Ms. Schofield also questioned the small parcels of Open Space land that the Town is responsible for but the public has no access to. She asked if the Town could sell this property to the abutting property owners. Ms. Glassman noted that the Open Space committee is looking into categorizing and mapping all the Open Space land owned by the Town. She stated that the next step was to prioritize which parcels needed to be protected long term and what additional conservation restrictions can be placed on them. The Open Space committee will be reviewing recommendations to dispose/sell land that the Town does not want.
Ms. Glassman discussed issues that will need to be worked on once ownership of the Ethel Walker parcel is obtained by the Town. She stated they will look into other Grants or other resources that can help offset the cost of all the Open Space in Town. For comparison, Ms. Glassman noted that Land Trust is trying to raise $500,000 to $1,000,000 to generate $30,000 to $40,000 a year to maintain 1,000 acres of Open Space. McLean spends about $230,000 a year to maintain 4,900 acres of Open Space. The annual maintenance expenses for the Ethel Walker property are anticipated to be $10,000.
Mr. Shea stated that the Town needed help with the shared use of the property, as well as the other issues raised, and has solicited the services from Milone & MacBroom, a professional planning and engineering firm who have a history on this property.
Mr. Mason asked if a public hearing will be held regarding this property. Ms. Glassman stated that they would like to involve the public but need to have a plan in place first to discuss at the hearing. She noted the handout that the Open Space committee did to identify a number of revenue sources:
Revenue from timber sales from implementation of the Forest Management Plan
Possible sale of Identified Open Space Parcels
Possible disposition of small neighborhood parcels
Naming Policy RFP for Ethel Walker acquisition
Creation of a Gift Policy to receive donations to the open space Special Revenue Fund
Increased Events/Programs (Races/Triathlon)
Increased Grant Funding for Stewardship
Ms. Glassman discussed the Proposed Expenditures for the Open Space Fund with Board members.
Stewardship of open space
Nothing discussed.
Methods of funding needs
Mr. Mancini suggested the Town set money aside from the General Fund Reserve into a Special Revenue Fund, which would be a multi-year account. He noted that the Town has to figure out how to generate some revenue for this fund and discussed with Board members.
Mr. Blumenthal questioned if the Town was thinking about donations they may receive for Open Space land. Ms. Glassman stated that people can identify their gifts for specific purposes in Town, however, she feels that there should be a specific place for people to donate to Open Space.
Mr. Askham would like to see the Board create a list of issues that need to be addressed and how the authorization for expenditures will happen. Ms. Glassman asked the Board of Finance members if they received a request for funding from the Board of Selectmen to start to put some short and/or long term plans in place, would they get their support. The Board of Finance members discussed their opinions.
Discussion of site walk
Ms. Glassman stated that, if there was interest, she would like to schedule a site walk for the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance for the Ethel Walker Woods property and also invite the public. She will send out some dates to members.
Future Actions
Ms. Glassman stated that her staff will speak with Milone & MacBroom on the time frame and if there needs to be a special meeting of the Board of Finance.
Adjournment
Mr. Askham made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________________ ______________________________
Peter Askham, Chairman Leslie Brigham, Commissions Clerk