November 21, 2022
Members present: Mark Fiorentino, Mark Neumann, Kelly Rome, Margaret Chapple, Frederick Moffa, Charles Orluk (Student Representative). Also present: Town Manager Erica Robertson, Finance Director Kimi Cheng.
Appointments
Chapple said that the Democratic Town Committee was recommending that Robert Lavitt be nominated to fill the vacancy created by Matthew Peters as an alternate on the Planning and Zoning Commission. The board unanimously approved that nomination.
Town Manager’s Report
Robertson announced that the Police Department has applied for and will receive a $5,000 Rural Road Speed Enforcement Grant to aid efforts of combating speeding and hazardous driving in Granby. Officers will use marked and unmarked patrol vehicles along targeted roads.
Public Session
Glenn Ballard (289 Granville Road) asked if all the work being done on the antenna project is required. Ballard said he would be willing to help compile the public input received regarding the strategic plan if the Board would like his help. Ballard also asked about the School Planning project and is concerned that the explanation delivered to the public was not accurate. Ballard expressed unease with the additional money being requested and expressed concern that not all of the projects included in the 2019 referendum are going to be completed. He asked if members of the Board of Selectmen were aware on April 4, 2022 that they were voting for a project that was 2.5 million dollars overbudget.
Fiorentino said he did not recall if they were aware in April that the project might be over budget, and explained that when the projects were proposed in 2019 it was made clear that not all of the proposed projects would be completed. Fiorentino also said that in the future a debriefing of what can be done better should take place so that we can improve upon the process.
Maureen Eberly (37 Silkey Road) spoke about the proposed strategic plan and what the final document will look like. Eberly expressed concern about its structure and cohesiveness, and that thought should be given to increasing the transparency between the mission, vision, and goal statement. Eberly feels that measurable terms need to be included and the board or party \ responsible for completing each item be identified.
Reinhard Maier (138 Day Street) spoke about the Station 280 apartment building being proposed and said that it was not going to get built and he is concerned there are going to be financial problems going forward.
John Morrone (15 Maple Hill Drive) spoke about the Planning and Zoning Alternates and inquired why they were appointed and how they were selected. He also asked about the makeup of political affiliation of members of the Board of Selectmen. He asked about the political affiliations of the Charter Revision Commission members and how they were chosen. Morrone indicated that some members of the Charter Revision Commission had Facebook pages that are far left and expressed concern that some of the nominated members had served on the Charter Revision Commission before. Morrone further expressed concern that the same people are always recommended and questioned why the First Selectmen was from Las Vegas, Nevada and living in Granby. He asked why he hadn’t been selected to serve on the Charter Revision Commission. Morrone also expressed concerns about the proposed Station 280 apartment building and believes that is going to be welfare-ghetto housing and that we do not know where these hundreds of people are going to be coming from and that they might be coming from the Berlin Turnpike.
December 5, 2022
Members present: Mark Fiorentino, Mark Neumann, Kelly Rome, Margaret Chapple, Frederick Moffa. Also present: Town Manager Erica Robertson, Finance Director Kimi Cheng, Town Clerk Scott Nolan.
Consideration of Holcomb Farm Investment Options
Robertson explained that one of the primary components of the long-term conservation and sustainability plan for Holcomb Farm was a gift from the Granby Land Trust. Robertson said that the Town of Granby accepted $500,000 from the Granby Land Trust to create a restricted investment account to support the Farm’s operation, maintenance and capital expenses. She also noted that the Granby Land Trust gift will enable the Town to support the Holcomb Farm operations and maintenance without always using tax dollars, but there are limitations on how much principal can be used.
Town Manager’s Report
Robertson said that the Police Department is in the final stages of implementing the new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS) and anticipates the system will be fully active on Dec. 19. She also noted that the hardware and software changes have been completed and employees are going through the final training requirements. She noted that the police department had also hired Alden Mezger, a new part-time dispatcher.
December 19, 2022
Members present: Mark Fiorentino, Mark Neumann, Kelly Rome, Margaret Chapple, Frederick Moffa. Also present: Town Manager Erica Robertson, Finance Director Kimi Cheng, Public Works Director Kirk Severance, Town Engineer Kevin Clark, Town Clerk Scott Nolan.
Consideration of Plus-One Budget
Robertson said that the PlusOne Budget is being worked on and requires that the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, and the Board of Finance review expenditures and fund balance expectations for the upcoming fiscal year. The Plus-One budgets are presented to the Board of Finance at the Three Board Meeting held in mid-January after which the Board of Finance issues a preliminary budget guideline to the boards at the end of January, with a finalized guideline adopted in February when more detailed revenue and expenditure information is available.
Public Session
Maureen Eberly (37 Silkey Road) spoke of the proposed strategic plan and gave each member a document entitled Town of Granby Strategic Plan Feedback December 19, 2022, regarding feedback that Glenn Ballard and Eberly collected regarding the Strategic Plan. Eberly further explained that a total of 45 emails had been collected regarding the Strategic Plan and that 38 people offered substantial feedback regarding the plan. Eberly also indicated that she had compiled a summary of the comments and questions that had been submitted.
Strategic Plan
Fiorentino thanked members of the public and the Board of Selectmen for all of their hard work on the Strategic Plan and noted that over the last year a lot of feedback had been offered. Fiorentino also noted that going forward a final draft of the Strategic Plan would be adopted once the drafts were completed and suggested that the subcommittee have an opportunity to add action steps. Fiorentino noted that he had an opportunity to read all of the feedback that was received and suggested that the Board of Selectmen review the document line-by-line to offer input and make corrections.
To see the corrected draft, visit the town website for the BOS Meeting Minutes.
Consideration of a Personnel Matter
Following Executive Session, the board unanimously approved the following amendments to the Employment Agreement dated September 20, 2021, between Town Manager, Erica P. Robertson and the Town of Granby:
Employer agrees to pay an annual base salary payable in installments at the same time as other management employees. Employee shall receive an annual salary of $166,563 effective July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. A review of the Town Manager’s salary will be conducted prior to the implementation of FY 2023-2024 budget and annual thereafter.
Employee shall be provided with 20 days of vacation leave upon hire and will receive 20 days upon each anniversary date of hire. Additional accrual of vacation shall be by amendment of this agreement or if employee reaches a length of service milestone per the benefits structure for nonunion employees. Up to 10 vacation days may be carried over from one year with a maximum of 30 days per year. A maximum of 25 days of vacation leave will be given as pay if unused upon termination of employment.
Employee shall accrue sick leave at the rate of 15 days per year. Sick leave may accumulate if not used in a given year and used in a subsequent year. Sick leave will accumulate up to 125 days but upon termination of employment, the employee will be paid up to 50 days.