Thursday, October 28, 2010

Parking Request Forwarded By Finance and Governance

The Finance and Governance Operations Committee forwarded a request by Tom Hartley, Middletown's Parking Director, to conduct an engineering study which will provide a "service assessment" of the town's existing parking arcade on Dingwall Drive.

F&G approved the $6,500 expenditure for the study after questioning Hartley about a previous study.

"I don't want to pay for something we've already paid for," F&G member and Common Council member Gerry Daley said.  "We paid for a study back in 2008.  What did we pay for then, and what has changed?"

Hartley explained that the 2008 study provided information about needed repairs, such as resurfacing the roof and fixing leaks in the arcade (work that is currently underway), but that "it did not go into details of what we have to do in maintenance over the next five years."

The Common Council will have to vote to approve the expenditure for the study.

F&G also forwarded a request for $740,000 to complete citywide parking upgrades which will include metering, lighting, security and gates for all lots, and will allow for a rate structure which discounts parking in lots over parking on the street.

"It provides the opportunity for people to choose between convenience and value seeking," Hartley said.
 
The change in parking rates is designed, among other things, to encourage employees of Main Street businesses to park in long-term, off-street parking.

F&G Committee member Phil Pessina emphasized that some of that responsibility ought to be borne by business owners.


"The chamber has got to get more assertive with employees," Pessina said.  "And these restaurants have to tell employees 'you cannot park here.'"

Well, Water

The Water Department requested a temporary shift in personnel which would unfreeze a frozen position and create a temporary position to allow the Water Department to anticipate staffing increases now that new wells at the Kleen Energy site are coming on line.

The two new wells, one owned by Kleen Energy, and one given to the city by Kleen Energy, will be staffed by Water Department personnel.   Under the agreement, Kleen Energy will pay for all water pumped from either well.


Klattenberg Mum on Conservation Funding
(hed suggested by G. Daley)

F&G approved forwarding a training request for Public Works Department diesel mechanics, and asked that a certification training request by the IT department be forwarded to them by email for consideration.  However another request for Recycling Coordinator Kim O'Rourke to renew membership with the Connecticut Recyclers coaliation was denied after a motion proposed by Daley failed to achieve a second.  The $125 fee was denied because it did not lead to certification of any kind.

"We pride ourselves on being a leading community as regards environmental consciousness," Daley said, as he urged his colleagues to second his motion.  He chided F&G committee chair Ron Klattenberg who is known in town as an environmental champion.


"I can't believe it...$125," Daley said as the motion was disregarded.

5 comments:

Kim O'Rourke said...

Just to clarify, the $125 recycling request was for the City to renew its membership with the Ct Recyclers Coalition.

Anonymous said...

Certifications and memberships are only good if they offer a tangible benefit (sometimes these things just offer pointless newsletters and magazines) the city in some way not just
lines on a
person's resume or a
department's
achievments. For example a LEED certication is useful training however one could train without any funds spent on a piece of paper saying you passed. A microsoft certication for example is useless as it is so generic. There are a number of reasons why the council could have denied this. I just wish they would explain their reasoning in a straight forward concise way. They owe the public that much.

Anonymous said...

The water from the Kleen wells is not drinking water. Does the City plan to treat this water at the nearby facility which is slated to be shut down? What would the new personnel be doing?

Kim O'Rourke said...

I must say, the CRC Membership has been a great benefit to the City's Recycling Program. The City has been an active member since inception of the State Recycling Law in 1990. We've taken advantage of grants, education programs, and unique recycling opportunities through CRC. Its been through CRC that we've been running our sneaker recycling program and obtained a grant to research mixed paper options, long before everyone was doing it. Most recently, the City and its residents are saving thousands of dollars in ewaste recycling costs due to the work CRC did to pass a producer responsibility State Ewaste Recycling Law.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I missed something but what nearby water treatment facility is being shut down?
The City is getting a huge amount of free water--what is the problem?