March 19, 2007
The Killingworth Town Office Building Study Committee held a meeting on Thursday, March 15, 2007, at the Killingworth Town Office Building, 323 Route 81, Killingworth, Connecticut. In attendance were Gwenne Lally, Arlene Tunney, Louis Annino, Hilary Kumnick, Jim Lally. Selectman Fred Dudek was also present.
Chairman Lally called the meeting to order at ?
Minutes - January 18, 2007
Motion made and seconded to approve January 18, 2007 Minutes amended as follows -
Page 1, 3rd paragraph, correct 2nd sentence to read, "Mr. Leighton noted it would take some serious money to fix up the Bosco building."
SO VOTED. Motion Carried.
Office Space Requirements
Chairman Lally noted Steve Hollander was going to contact town hall employees regarding space needs. In his absence this will be on next month's agenda.
Meeting Space Requirements
Chairman Lally noted meeting space has become quite an issue. She prepared a memo to be sent out to pertinent individuals. Selectman Dudek suggested there should be an individual who actually schedules the meeting rooms so there is no conflict. It was noted the meeting room at the Library is also overbooked. Perhaps this memo should go to those groups who use the Library. It was noted the Fire House meeting room is underutilized at the current time. Lou Annino noted this memo should be sent out to the widest possible circulation. Holding meetings at the two schools was discussed.
Arlene Tunney noted First Selectman Klein brought up to the Board of Finance that the Judge of Probate needs another room for private meetings. Selectman Dudek noted the Selectmen discussed this issue with the Probate Judge and arrangements have been made in the interim for her to hold private meetings.
Furniture issues were discussed. The Town should look into obtaining used furniture. Arlene Tunney noted the Library can use a State approved list and purchase furniture from a pre-approved furniture at a very inexpensive cost. Motion was made and seconded that this Committee take the initiative to act as a point group for furniture purchases. SO VOTED. Motion Carried. This will be an information gathering task for now.
Hilary Kumnick noted he met with the Town Clerk and reviewed space needs for the Town Clerk's Office as well as the downstairs and upstairs vaults. HVAC is a must for the vaults to control temperature & humidity. Additional storage capability is necessary. The standards for records retention are regulated by the State Public Administrator's Office. Town Clerk Dudek reviewed what is in the upstairs vault. She indicated there are probably records that can be destroyed at this point once approved by the State Public Administrator. It should be a priority to clean up the upstairs vault. Chairman Lally asked if it would be appropriate to have a student intern take on the task of going through and destroying records. Town Clerk Dudek noted there is also the option of off site storage. Lou Annino asked if the Judge of Probate moved, would those probate records move also or stay at this location. Town Clerk Dudek noted she attempted to get an answer to that question but was never able to do so.
There was discussion about additional shelving and cabinets to organize the records in the vaults.
Town Clerk Dudek reviewed in detail the types of records retention they are using in the Town Clerk's Office, including the two vaults.
Hilary Kumnick reviewed the office space in the Town Clerk's Office. He indicated there needs to be workspace for 4 employees. Perhaps there could be a bump out in the front of the office. This would allow staff to still keep an eye on the vault space. There was discussion regarding the interior counter area which needs to be made larger. With a bump out the counter could be pushed out further towards the front. Space heaters are used which are very unsafe and inefficient. Arlene Tunney asked if the interior counter could be removed and the counter island in the outer space used instead. Town Clerk Dudek replied no because staff must also make sure the vault area is secure and still wait on the public for dog licenses, hunting licenses, make copies, etc. Mr. Kumnick suggested using glass doors where the accordion doors are currently to make the office more secure. He indicated the counter out front also covers a height differential between the two buildings. A copy of Mr. Kumnick's miscellaneous notes regarding the Town Clerk's Office will be attached to these minutes.
There was discussion regarding the Trooper's Office. Chairman Lally noted Emergency Management is also using space at the Trooper's Office. Don McDougall feels it is illogical for that location right next to Amerigas. Perhaps there is meeting room space in the Trooper's Office if the current offices in there are moved. Don McDougall will come to the next meeting to further review Emergency Management needs for a communications office.
Jim Lally noted he was confused about some things going on such as using Town Center (Compactor) funds for ballfields. There needs to be a master plan of what is going on. Arlene Tunney reviewed getting a graduate planning class from Yale or Pratt to do a rural planning project for free.
Bosco - Jim Lally noted he contacted the Department of Agriculture where the Farm Bureau has a program for listing the property. Chairman Lally distributed copies of Mr. Leighton's report on Bosco from the last meeting. The Dept. of Agriculture is very interested, but the Town needs to decide what it wants to do. There could be other use of the Bosco property besides agricultural. Mr. Kumnick was going to discuss this matter with John Himmelman from the Platt Nature Center (Killingworth Land Conservation Trust). There is also grant money available for this type of activity. Perhaps the modular units could be used on the Bosco property. The Town as a group should make the decision as to the utilization of the Bosco property.
There was discussion about all the suggestions coming from the First Selectman's Office. There should be a specific charge to this Committee and the Committee should stick to that only - the original charge was utilization of the Bosco property and what to do with the existing Town Hall. Selectman Dudek reiterated the Committee should stick with the original charge to the Committee.
It was also noted the modulars from Killingworth Elementary School might be able to be used on the Bosco property.
There was discussion regarding the grant writer.
Mr. Kumnick asked what the options are for the a new Town Hall location - the Town Centre, bumping out the existing Town Hall, new Town Green, Bosco, etc. He will put something together for the next meeting. There was discussion regarding the life of the existing town compactor.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Chairman Lally called the meeting to order at ?
Minutes - January 18, 2007
Motion made and seconded to approve January 18, 2007 Minutes amended as follows -
Page 1, 3rd paragraph, correct 2nd sentence to read, "Mr. Leighton noted it would take some serious money to fix up the Bosco building."
SO VOTED. Motion Carried.
Office Space Requirements
Chairman Lally noted Steve Hollander was going to contact town hall employees regarding space needs. In his absence this will be on next month's agenda.
Meeting Space Requirements
Chairman Lally noted meeting space has become quite an issue. She prepared a memo to be sent out to pertinent individuals. Selectman Dudek suggested there should be an individual who actually schedules the meeting rooms so there is no conflict. It was noted the meeting room at the Library is also overbooked. Perhaps this memo should go to those groups who use the Library. It was noted the Fire House meeting room is underutilized at the current time. Lou Annino noted this memo should be sent out to the widest possible circulation. Holding meetings at the two schools was discussed.
Arlene Tunney noted First Selectman Klein brought up to the Board of Finance that the Judge of Probate needs another room for private meetings. Selectman Dudek noted the Selectmen discussed this issue with the Probate Judge and arrangements have been made in the interim for her to hold private meetings.
Furniture issues were discussed. The Town should look into obtaining used furniture. Arlene Tunney noted the Library can use a State approved list and purchase furniture from a pre-approved furniture at a very inexpensive cost. Motion was made and seconded that this Committee take the initiative to act as a point group for furniture purchases. SO VOTED. Motion Carried. This will be an information gathering task for now.
Hilary Kumnick noted he met with the Town Clerk and reviewed space needs for the Town Clerk's Office as well as the downstairs and upstairs vaults. HVAC is a must for the vaults to control temperature & humidity. Additional storage capability is necessary. The standards for records retention are regulated by the State Public Administrator's Office. Town Clerk Dudek reviewed what is in the upstairs vault. She indicated there are probably records that can be destroyed at this point once approved by the State Public Administrator. It should be a priority to clean up the upstairs vault. Chairman Lally asked if it would be appropriate to have a student intern take on the task of going through and destroying records. Town Clerk Dudek noted there is also the option of off site storage. Lou Annino asked if the Judge of Probate moved, would those probate records move also or stay at this location. Town Clerk Dudek noted she attempted to get an answer to that question but was never able to do so.
There was discussion about additional shelving and cabinets to organize the records in the vaults.
Town Clerk Dudek reviewed in detail the types of records retention they are using in the Town Clerk's Office, including the two vaults.
Hilary Kumnick reviewed the office space in the Town Clerk's Office. He indicated there needs to be workspace for 4 employees. Perhaps there could be a bump out in the front of the office. This would allow staff to still keep an eye on the vault space. There was discussion regarding the interior counter area which needs to be made larger. With a bump out the counter could be pushed out further towards the front. Space heaters are used which are very unsafe and inefficient. Arlene Tunney asked if the interior counter could be removed and the counter island in the outer space used instead. Town Clerk Dudek replied no because staff must also make sure the vault area is secure and still wait on the public for dog licenses, hunting licenses, make copies, etc. Mr. Kumnick suggested using glass doors where the accordion doors are currently to make the office more secure. He indicated the counter out front also covers a height differential between the two buildings. A copy of Mr. Kumnick's miscellaneous notes regarding the Town Clerk's Office will be attached to these minutes.
There was discussion regarding the Trooper's Office. Chairman Lally noted Emergency Management is also using space at the Trooper's Office. Don McDougall feels it is illogical for that location right next to Amerigas. Perhaps there is meeting room space in the Trooper's Office if the current offices in there are moved. Don McDougall will come to the next meeting to further review Emergency Management needs for a communications office.
Jim Lally noted he was confused about some things going on such as using Town Center (Compactor) funds for ballfields. There needs to be a master plan of what is going on. Arlene Tunney reviewed getting a graduate planning class from Yale or Pratt to do a rural planning project for free.
Bosco - Jim Lally noted he contacted the Department of Agriculture where the Farm Bureau has a program for listing the property. Chairman Lally distributed copies of Mr. Leighton's report on Bosco from the last meeting. The Dept. of Agriculture is very interested, but the Town needs to decide what it wants to do. There could be other use of the Bosco property besides agricultural. Mr. Kumnick was going to discuss this matter with John Himmelman from the Platt Nature Center (Killingworth Land Conservation Trust). There is also grant money available for this type of activity. Perhaps the modular units could be used on the Bosco property. The Town as a group should make the decision as to the utilization of the Bosco property.
There was discussion about all the suggestions coming from the First Selectman's Office. There should be a specific charge to this Committee and the Committee should stick to that only - the original charge was utilization of the Bosco property and what to do with the existing Town Hall. Selectman Dudek reiterated the Committee should stick with the original charge to the Committee.
It was also noted the modulars from Killingworth Elementary School might be able to be used on the Bosco property.
There was discussion regarding the grant writer.
Mr. Kumnick asked what the options are for the a new Town Hall location - the Town Centre, bumping out the existing Town Hall, new Town Green, Bosco, etc. He will put something together for the next meeting. There was discussion regarding the life of the existing town compactor.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
