Town of Easton: Events for Monday, March 08, 2010

REGION 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
SPECIAL MEETING
JOINT MEETING WITH THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITEE
JOEL BARLOW HIGH SCHOOL – ROOM B109
March 8, 2010 – 7:00 P.M.
(Times listed below are approximate)
AGENDA

7:00 – 7:15 P.M.

1. Call to Order
2. Public Comment

7:15 – 9:15 P.M. – Discussion and Possible Action:

3. Recommendation from the Facilities and Fields Committee Regarding Field A
4. Agreement Between the Service Employees International Union Local 2001(non-certified employees) and the Region 9 Board of Education
5. Debt Refinancing
6. 2010-2011 Proposed Operating Budget

9:15 – 9:20 P.M.

7. Public Comment

9:25 P.M.

8. Adjournment







Public Comment at the meeting provides an opportunity for Redding and Easton residents to make comments to the board about items listed on the agenda or about an unrelated issue or concern. Residents are asked to give their name and address at the beginning of their comments and to limit their comments to three minutes. The board chair, with the assistance of the secretary, will record all comments and questions posed by the public and direct them to the appropriate committee chair or administrator to address during his/her report. The goal of Public Comment is to encourage public communication with the board and to provide accurate, timely information to the public pertaining to Region 9 matters.


Filed subject to approval

REGION 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
March 8, 2010
Meeting Minutes

Attendance:
Region 9 Board: Baker, Gombos, Hocker, Karvelis, Lewis, Logie, Macchio, Neidenbach
Administration: Cicchetti, Mas, Sullivan, McMorran, Kipp, Pin and additional JBHS staff members
Financial Oversight Committee: Gombos, Karvelis, Hocker, DeSalvo, Gold (7:06 pm), Cable (7:10 pm)
Others: three in the audience and a representative of the Redding Pilot/Easton Courier
This meeting was video-taped.

CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Lewis called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm in Room B109 of the Joel Barlow High School. The Financial Oversight Committee was also in attendance. Mr. Hocker called the Financial Oversight Committee to order at 7:06 pm.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Peter Wasmer, Easton: urged the board to take action on the Facilities and Fields Committee recommendation for Field A asking Blades & Goven LLC to begin the permit approval process by filing their plans with Planning, Zoning and Conservation commissions in Redding.

Frank DeSalvo, Redding: commented regarding the stipends for Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Mas that were approved by the Region 9 and Redding Board of Education, but not by the Easton Board, stating that he disapproved of the manner in which it was handled. Mr. Lewis suggested this topic be explored at one of the next two board meetings when the agenda permits such discussion.

FACILITIES AND FIELDS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION FOR FIELD A
Mr. Hocker reported the Facilities and Fields Committee is recommending that the firm of Blades & Goven LLC be authorized to proceed with the necessary approvals for work on Field A from the necessary Town of Redding agencies. The scope of work previously approved for Blades & Goven LLC includes this task. The work involved is primarily the removal of clay from the field and sand trenching on the western portion of the field. The purpose of the work is to improve the drainage of the aforementioned areas of field A. The initial estimate for the work is roughly $40,000.

Motion: move that the Region 9 Board of Education authorize Blades & Goven LLC, on behalf of Region 9, to present its plans for the Field A work to the necessary Redding boards and commissions for their approval. Hocker, Karvelis. Approved. Unanimous.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 2001 (NON-CERTIFIED EMPLOYEES) AND THE REGION 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Mr. Lewis read the memo of understanding from the Service Employees International Union Local 2001 agreeing to a 3% salary increase for all of the JBHS non-certified employees. This is the final year of a 4-year contract and the increase was not specified in the contract for this the 4th year.

The Financial Oversight Committee considered the topic and unanimously approved the increase in salary and recommended the same action for the Region 9 board.

Motion: the Financial Oversight Committee recommends that the Region 9 Board of Education accept the 3% salary increase for the non-certified staff as recommended by the Negotiation Committee. Gombos, Hocker. Approved. Unanimous.

Motion: move that the Region 9 Board of Education accept the 3% salary increase as recommended by the FOC and the Negotiation Committee. Gombos, Logie. Approved. Unanimous.

DEBT REFINANCING
Mrs. Sullivan reported that, following a review, Standard & Poors gave Region 9 its highest possible rating, AAA. $5,400,000 of our outstanding long term debt was refinanced on 02/12/2010 with a savings of $351,582 over the next 12 years to the time of maturity in 2022. As a result of refinancing our outstanding debt under more favorable interest rate terms Region 9 will reduce our debt service expenditures for the fiscal year 2010-2011 by $83,340 net of the refinancing fees of roughly $27,000.

2010-2011 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET
Mr. McMorran made a formal presentation of the 2010-2011 proposed operating budget. The slides of that presentation are available online at the Region 9 website. Mr. McMorran indicated that work on this budget proposal began in November with a 7% budget increase and with input from all department heads and others has been reduced since. The proposed budget for 2010-2011 is $21,469,646 for an increase over the current budget of 4.01%.

Numerous line items in the Object Summary were reviewed and discussed. Contractual increases in salaries to both certified and non-certified employees were pointed out. Additions including the restoration of summer work days for curriculum development, curriculum work in the Humanities and Science subjects, PowerSchool software, a textbook management system and a virtual language lab were discussed. Mr. McMorran touched on the numerous things that are being deferred at this time.

Mr. McMorran then outlined as requested by the board a series of reductions (8 tiers in all) as a suggested path by which the proposed budget increase of 4.01% could be reduced to 2.0%. Mr. McMorran then concluded his presentation with a list of deferred requests.

Mrs. Sullivan then answered a series of questions that had been submitted to her in recent days by members of the board and others.

Discussion with board members followed. Staffing was discussed and will be studied further at the next meeting when the Staffing Report will be presented.

Mr. Lewis pointed out that further discussion of the tiered reductions will continue at the next meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 11th, 2010.




ADJOURNMENT

Motion: move to adjourn the Region 9 meeting. Macchio, Karvelis. Approved. Unanimous.

Motion: move to adjourn the FOC meeting. Gombos, DeSalvo. Approved. Unanimous.

The joint meeting of the Region 9 Board of Education and Financial Oversight Committee then adjourned at 9:23 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

William A. Baker, Region 9 Board of Education Secretary
Catherine W. Gombos, FOC Secretary
Recorded by Mary Maday

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The March 8th meeting has been changed to March 22nd @ 5:30 P.M., location to be determined.

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SPECIAL MEETING
HUMAN RESOURCES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010 9:30A.M.

TOWN HALL CONFERENCE ROOM A
AGENDA






1. Discuss and take possible action on health insurance for non-union and elected officials employees.

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Filed subject to approval

REGION #9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
March 8, 2010
Special Meeting
Minutes

Attendance: Baker, Gombos, Hocker, Karvelis, Lewis, Logie, Macchio, Neidenbach
Administration: Cicchetti, Mas, Sullivan, McMorran, Kipp, Pin and additional JBHS staff members
Financial Oversight Committee: Gombos, Karvelis, Hocker, DeSalvo, Gold (7:06 pm), Cable (7:10 pm)
Others: three in the audience and a representative of the Redding Pilot/Easton Courier

Mr. Lewis called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm in Room B109. The Financial Oversight Committee was also in attendance.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Peter Wasmer, Easton: urged the board to take action on the Facilities and Fields Committee recommendation for Field A asking for Blades & Goven to begin the approval process for permits with the Town of Redding agencies.

Frank DeSalvo, Redding: comments regarding the stipends for Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Mas that were approved by the Region #9 and Redding Board of Education, but not the Easton Board, stating that he disapproved of the manner in which it was handled. Mr. Lewis suggested this topic be explored at one of the next two board meetings.

FACILITIES AND FIELDS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION FOR FIELD A
Mr. Hocker reported the Facilities and Fields Committee is recommending that the firm of Blades & Goven be authorized to proceed with the necessary approvals for work on Field A from the Town of Redding agencies. The scope of work previously approved for Blades & Goven includes this task. The work involved is primarily the removal of clay from the field and sand trenching on the western portion of the field. The initial estimate for the work is $40,000.

Motion: move that the Region #9 Board of Education authorize Blades & Goven, on behalf of Region #9, to present planned renovations for Field A to the Redding boards and commissions for approval. Hocker, Karvelis. Approved. Unanimous.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 2001 (NON-CERTIFIED EMPLOYEES) AND THE REGION #9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Mr. Lewis read the memo of understanding from the Service Employees International Union Local 2001 agreeing to a 3% increase for all of the JBHS non-certified employees. This is the final year of a 4-year contract and the increase was not specified in the contract for the 4th year.

The Financial Oversight Committee considered the topic, unanimously approved the increase in salary and recommended the same action for the Region #9 board.

Motion: move that the Region #9 Board of Education accept the negotiation as recommended by the Negotiation Committee. Gombos, Logie. Approved. Unanimous.

DEBT REFINANCING
Mrs. Sullivan reported that, following a review, Standard & Poor’s gave the Region an AAA rating. Long term debt of $4,500,000 was refinanced with a savings of $351,000 over 12 years. The debt was refinanced in mid-February and the bond issue extends to 5/15/20. The savings in the current year is $83,340.

2010-2011 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET
Mr. McMorran presented the 2010-2011 proposed operating budget. The proposed increase over the current budget is 4.01%. Mr. McMorran added that the budget planning began with a 7% increase and has been refined to the 4.01% increase.

The areas of increase, most attributable to contractual increases, were reviewed. Additions included restoration of summer work days for curriculum development, curriculum work in the Humanities and Science subjects, PowerSchool software, a textbook management system and a virtual language lab. Mr. McMorran touched on the numerous things that are being deferred at this time.

Discussion with board members followed. Staffing was discussed and will be studied further at the next meeting when the staffing report will be presented.

A series to reductions, taking the budget from the 4.01% increase down to a 2.0% increase was presented for review. Further discussion of the tiered reductions will be held at the Thursday meeting.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move to adjourn the meeting. Gombos, Hocker. Approved. Unanimous.

The meeting adjourned at 9:23 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

William A. Baker, Board of Education Secretary

Recorded by Mary Maday

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Meeting Minutes
Easton Public Library Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting
Library Conference Room
March 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Present: B. Baldino, V. Hancock, G. Orticelli, J. Sonneborn, E. Spicer
Absent (excused): G. Gay and R. Seclow

The meeting was called to order at 7:22 p.m.

The Minutes of the February 8, 2010 regular meeting were unanimously approved after a motion by V. Hancock, seconded by G. Orticelli.

The Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved after a motion by E. Spicer, seconded by J. Sonneborn.

Corresponding Secretary’s Report. E. Spicer (interim C.S.) wrote four thank you notes acknowledging donations from patrons.

Director’s Report. The library is short-staffed as one employee is out for three weeks due to illness. The library is hosting a 12-week program on re-entering the work force. It begins in April, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, and is being run for free by a town resident.

Old Business. a. Lindquist Memorial. Furniture for the reading area will arrive in a few weeks. The FAX will soon be operating in the business center.

b. Murder 203. Occurs on April 17 in Easton and April 18 in Westport; 48 registrants so far. Four of the authors will speak at Borders bookstore on March 10. Several email publicity blasts have occurred and written materials are also available for distribution.

c. FY 2010/11 budget. B. Baldino suggested a bare minimum 1.87% increase at the budget review which would necessitate reductions in staff hours, as well as other sacrifices. The two-year cumulative reduction in books/materials would be $24,000.


(Minutes continue on page 2).







Library Board Minutes, March 8, 2010 Regular Meeting; Page 2 of 2


d. One Book, One Town. (“Animal Vegetable Miracle”). The film “Food Inc.” is being shown on April 6, with Patty Popp (Easton farmer) leading the discussion. The children’s programs so far include learning about composting, and recycling programs.

New Business. It was noted that the library does not have a program with NetFlix because it is not cost-feasible. The board welcomes the new president of the Friends of the EPL, Lisa Reck.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 p.m. after a motion by V. Hancock, seconded by E. Spicer.

Respectfully submitted,

Elaine Spicer
Recording Secretary

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APPROVED FINAL
MARCH 8, 2010 PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES


4. Public Hearing (continued)

The chairman read into record the standards and conditions which need to be met for the
Commission to approve the application and issue a special permit, Section 7.2.1 A. - G. of the
Easton Zoning Regulations.

A discussion was held as to the application and process.

The public hearing was closed and motion was made by Steve Carlson, seconded by Wallace
Williams, to take a short recess to allow for people to exit the room, which was passed by
unanimous vote at approximately 9:30pm.

After the short recess the meeting resumed at approximately 9:40PM.

5. UNDER OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION – No action was taken on
items one through eight. It was noted that the next planning meeting will focus on the
proposed amendments to the Flood Plain Regulations mandated by FEMA, which must be
completed by June, 2010.

A motion was made by Steve Carlson to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Wallace Williams, and passed by unanimous vote at approximately 9:45pm.

_______________________________
Margaret Anania, Recording Secretary

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