SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Committee Members: Fred Bondi, Chair; Joanne Romano; Phyllis Bolden; Herb Grant

STAFF: Michael Mocciae, Recreation & Parks Director

OTHERS: Ron Feldman, SoNo Equities; John Hiscock, SNEW; Robin Kriesberg, Save the Sound; Tod Bryant, NPT - Fodor Farm Historic District Study Committee

I. ROLL CALL

The meeting was called to order at 8:02 p.m. by Mr. Bondi.

II. MINUTES OF JULY 18TH, 2007

** MR. GRANT MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 18TH MEETING AS SUBMITTED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

III. OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

IV. NEW BUSINESS

1. Approve the use of the Pavilion and immediate surrounding grounds by Joycia Shular for a family reunion, to be held on Saturday, June 28, 2008 from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Estimated attendance 200.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Bondi reminded the applicant to stay in touch with the Parks Department and make sure all necessary forms were submitted.

2. Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to enter into an agreement with The March of Dimes for a “March for Babies” to be held at Calf Pasture Beach on Sunday, April 27, 2008 from 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Estimated attendance 1,500 – 2,200.

** REV. BOLDEN MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Bondi reminded the applicant to attend the Council Meeting on the next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

3. Approve the use of the Wolfpit School Parking area and grounds by the Wolfpit PTO for their annual Pumpkin Festival to be held on Saturday, October 13, 2007 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Estimated attendance 100 – 150.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

4. A) Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to enter into agreement with the United Haitian American Society for the 6th Annual CT Haitian-American Day Celebration to be held at Veteran’s Park on Saturday, July 19, 2008 fro 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM. Estimated attendance 3,000.

Rev. Bolden commended UHAS for their record of successful events.

Ms. Romano said that she’d participated in all of the Connecticut Haitian-American Day Celebrations and that the organization ran a fantastic festival, was very clean and conscientious of the neighbors.

Mr. Bondi said that unfortunately, this festival was held a week after the Colombian festival and UHAS was unfairly associated with the mess and excessive volume but that UHAS had never caused such a problem and had always left the park as they found it.

Ms. Romano added that UHAS actively metered the sound level of their music and it did not get any louder than 80 decibels.

** MR. GRANT MOVED TO APPROVE ITEM 4.A).
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

B) Approve the use of the Show Mobile by the United Haitian American Society for the 6th Annual CT Haitian-American Day Celebration to be held on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at Veteran’s Park.

** REV. BOLDEN MOVED TO APPROVE ITEM 4.B).
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Bondi reminded the applicants to attend the Council Meeting on the next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

5. Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to amend the Industrial Business Group, LLC d/b/a Dalton Contracting Company’s contract for tennis court refurbishment to include tennis court refurbishment at Woodward Avenue Park for a total not to exceed $20,500.00. Account #09086030-5777-C0321.

** REV. BOLDEN MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

6. Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to execute a license agreement with SoNo Equities, LLC to provide the property owner vehicle access for loading on a portion of 50 Washington Street Plaza. Length of license agreement 5 years, property owner responsible to provide landscape improvements required by the Department of Recreation and Parks Department.

Mr. Mocciae said that currently the building at 50 Washington St. had no access for their tenants to move things in and out and that for years they'd been using the front plaza grass portion and while there was an easement, it didn’t extend far enough from the building so SoNo Equities was asking to extend the area they could use for load in and load out for their tenants on a temporary basis as needed and the City wanted to have a formal agreement on this.

Mr. Grant said that on the drawing submitted to the Committee, the area in question was marked as a “proposed dumpster location” and asked for further explanation.

Mr. Feldman answered that this was a 30 yard container that was used when tenants were vacating or swapping and that it was used on an occasional basis, typically for a few days to a week at a time. He said that it was located in an unused, far corner of the park area and that SoNo Equities had provided some landscaping to visually screen the surrounding area. He said that the dumpster had been there for years but this would grant them official permission to keep it there. Mr. Feldman said that SoNo Equities spent approximately $15-$20,000 per year to keep that park beautiful and clean, including planting year-round and decorating for the holiday season so they were responsible stewards for the park and this was something that they needed for access and because of the way the whole area was designed as an urban renewal project 40 years ago with the surrounding land belonging to the City instead of 50 Washington St.

** MR. GRANT MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Bondi reminded Mr. Feldman to attend the Council Meeting on the next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

7. A) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order to M.E. O’Brien & Sons Inc. for the supplies and installation of Playground Equipment at Fox Run Elementary School for the sum not to exceed $83,247.00. Account #09086030-5777-C0364.

B) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue orders on contract to M.E. O’Brien & Sons Inc. for the supplies and installation of Playground Equipment for a sum not to exceed $8,000.00. Account #09086030-5777-C0364.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE ITEMS 7.A) AND 7.B).
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

8. Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to enter into an agreement with DMG and Associates, LLC for the use of Veterans Park for the “2008 Norwalk Jazz Festival” to be held on Saturday, July 12, 2008 from 11:00 AM – 9:30 PM. Set up to begin on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 12:00 Noon with tear down no later than 12:00 Noon on Monday, July 14, 2008. Estimated attendance 5,000+.

Mr. Grant recused himself from item 8 and left the meeting at 8:20 p.m.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO SUSPEND THE RULES TO ADD ITEM 12.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

12. (ADDENDUM ITEM) Approve the use of the Show Mobile by DMG Associates for the “2008 Norwalk Jazz Festival” to be held on Saturday, July 12th, 2008 at Veteran’s Park.

** REV. BOLDEN MOVED TO APPROVE ITEMS 8 AND 12 TOGETHER.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Bondi reminded the applicant to attend the Council Meeting on the next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Mr. Grant returned at 8:25 p.m.

9. A) Refer recommendations to the Planning Commission in accordance with State Statute section 8-24.

B) Review and recommend the following to the Common Council. Authorize the Mayor, Richard A. Moccia to execute and sign documents to grant an easement to South Norwalk Electric and Water for the purposes of an Electric & Water line through Heritage Park under the existing Walking Trail.

Mr. Hiscock said that South Norwalk Electric and Water was in the process of modifying its water and electric distribution system to accommodate the 95-7 development and all of the highway and road changes related to that development including the underpass which went under the railroad tracks. He said that for a long time SNEW had been planning to modify their facilities in a way to both accommodate the 95-7 development and to improve the northern section of their distribution system and as they’d reviewed the facilities in the area and the project itself along with the highway improvements they’d decided that the best way to reinforce their distribution system would be to run both a water main and an electrical conduit from the underpass area, to be constructed in the following year down through the park and through the paved path that was there currently. He said that currently the water distribution system had two water mains that ran through a vacant area where all the buildings were torn down to accommodate the 95-7 project and the reason there were two water mains was to provide extra fire protection to King Company because of the nature of their business and that the weak point of that water system was that there was only a single main that crossed under the railroad tracks in front of their facility and in front of the transfer station. Mr. Hiscock said that coming through the park would replace one of the mains being relocated in the 95-7 project and also would provide a water main on the east side of the railroad tracks so that the King Company’s fire protection was not dependent on a single railroad crossing. He said that this would also provide a high level, very large volume water supply if the park needed fire protection, hydrants or other things and so it would be appropriate to extend the water distribution system down the pathway from the transfer station to the current end of N. Water St., by the Maritime Yards project. He said that SNEW was also looking to improve the electric system and to accommodate loop feed to the northern portion of their distribution area, namely the 95-7 project adding that SNEW did not provide electricity to King Company, that CL&P provided that but that SNEW did provide electricity to the transfer station and wanted to run a conduit bank down through the same path adjacent to the water main so that they could utilize an existing electric conduit that went under the highway at essentially the transfer station to provide loop feed all the way through the backside of the project. Mr. Hiscock said that there had been interest and efforts to provide electricity to this area of the park and that the conduit work that would go through would feed some of the future plans for the park in the area so not only would South Norwalk Electric and Water’s distribution systems benefit, King Company would also get better and more reliable fire protection and the park would gain better water service and better electric service and allow more flexibility in the future. He said that South Norwalk Electric and Power was requesting that the city of Norwalk grant them an easement, adding that SNEW did not have a specific, detailed alignment or map at this point, nor did they have a surveyor engaged to draw the actual description of the easement but that it would be 30 feet wide to accommodate the passage of trucks in and out for the installation and any future maintenance required. He said that it was laid out to go generally down the roadway depending on what other utilities and facilities were in the way and that there was nothing unusual about the water main or the electric conduit. He said that the water main would be buried 4 feet deep and was approximately 12 inches in diameter so the trench would be about 5 1/2 feet deep and the electric conduit would be laid alongside within several feet of the water main so that they would run down a common utility corridor.

Mr. Mocciae said that this proposal was quite timely because the City had been looking for ways to power the first phase of Oyster Shell Park. He said that currently there was nothing underneath the path to worry about as far as existing lines so this was a natural fit and the area where the utility corridor would run through would go right past an area that was being considered as potential leasable property for either a restaurant or a kayak rental and that would require a building and power which would go right by.

Mr. Bondi asked if this easement would in any way hinder the use of the park.

Mr. Mocciae answered that it would not, adding that there would be no regular maintenance necessary that might hinder the use of the park.

Ms. Romano asked what the cost of this would be to the City.

Mr. Hiscock said that there were four different parties which stood to benefit from this but the costs had not yet been allocated and that at this point, SNEW expected that the City ought to contribute something for the use of the water and electricity if it was necessary for the park.

Mr. Bondi asked if 95-7 would be powered by SNEW.

Mr. Hiscock answered that it would.

Mr. Grant asked if it was correct, that South Norwalk Electric and Water was asking the Committee to approve a conceptual approach at this particular time.

Mr. Hiscock said that this was correct and that upon this Committee’s approval, SNEW would move on to design and have a surveyor provide the standard meets and bounds and work with Corporation Counsel on the easement document itself.

Mr. Bondi noted that that was not the language provided to them in their agenda.

Mr. Mocciae said that upon approval of this concept, this item would still have to go through the Planning Commission and so would not be effectively moved as anything more than a concept.

Ms. Romano asked if the language in this could be changed to approve this as a concept plan.

Mr. Grant said that he was in favor of that with the further modification that he would urge SNEW to be a little more aggressive with the Redevelopment Commission to ensure that they were pursuing the possibility of grant funding for this project.

Mr. Mocciae asked if the Committee wanted to change the wording of this to “Approve and move forward to the Planning Commission a conceptual plan to grant an easement” and the Committee agreed to accept that as a friendly amendment.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE AS AMENDED.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

10. Approve a maintenance plan of the Oyster Shell Park Tributary Bank by Save the Sound.

Ms. Kriesberg spoke about the maintenance and restoration work that needed to be done in the tributary in Oyster Shell Park including the removal of invasive plant species that would be done by Save the Sound with the help of volunteers at no cost to the City.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

11. Approve the Department to do a test archeological dig on the Grounds of Cranbury Park for the Old Dr. Smith’s sanitarium to be supervised by Holly Cuzzone a volunteer with expertise in historical archaeological recovery.

Mr. Mocciae said that Ms. Cuzzone was not able to be present at this meeting and went on to say that she was very active with the Friends of Cranbury Park in trying to come up with innovative ways to attract people to the park. He said that there was a mystery surrounding Old Dr. Smith's Sanitarium and that there were pictures of it, but it wasn’t known quite what the location was except for an area where Ms. Cuzzone believed that the 1870s structure was and she wanted to do a small archaeological dig there that would involve the active participation of children and families and anything found would go back to the City as museum pieces that could be exhibited at the Gatehouse. Mr. Mocciae thought this was an interesting and a good idea would encourage participation and add some interest and intrigue in the history of Cranbury Park. He said that he’d spoken with a representative in the Corporation Counsel who advised that as long as there were no huge pits dug that people could fall into, there would be no legal issue with the project and that any participant would sign a waiver as they would when they played basketball with the City and this would be supervised area.

** MS. ROMANO MOVED TO APPROVE.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

V. DISCUSSION

1. Fodor Farm

Mr. Mocciae said that Fodor Farm had been off this Committee's purview for a some time, explaining that it had gone to Land Use and was batted around for two years and that he’d recently met with Mr. Bryant, Mayor Moccia and several other people to try to craft something that the Committee could take some immediate action on. He said that the plan that was laid out, which was the sale of the two newer houses on the parcel and keeping the eldest seemed agreeable to everyone. He added that the funds from the sale of the two other properties would be used to restore the original farmstead, keeping the caretaker's house attached in the back so that the City could potentially house someone there to safeguard the property until such time as a further plan was developed. Included in this plan was a conservation easement for the rest of the property which meant that the City would keep it for educational purposes and for passive recreation such as trails or agricultural education and the two other houses would be sold with deed restrictions crafted by Corporation Counsel with the help of the Fodor Farm Historic District Study Committee. Mr. Mocciae said that the Committee was not required to take any action on this item and that it would be going to Land Use the following night and Land Use could then forward it to the Council as early as the following Tuesday but he thought it would be good for the Committee to discuss this so that they were exposed to it before it got to the Council.

Mr. Bryant said that this proposal that would allow the City to retain access to the land in the back, but more easily than they had originally planned with the Historic District, which would have been a driveway in between the two houses and that this proposal also allowed for the restoration by the City of that house. The Fodor Farm Historic District Study Committee was originally in favor of having all of the buildings sold through an RFP process rather than through a straight bidding process so that a series of requirements could be set up so that whoever gained ownership of a house could be ensured to be someone with experience with historic preservation and who understood what it was that they were buying. He’d found this process being conducted in Tampa, Florida where there were six historic houses that they had to sell and the RFP process had worked very well for them. Mr. Bryant said that ultimately, an agreement had been reached that this would be a reasonable outcome and while he believed that a local historic district would be ideal that was not possible at this time and this agreement would not preclude a local historic district in the future.

Mr. Bondi said that this was probably the best solution to move this along as it had been long on the agenda of this Committee and that of Land Use and was glad to see it progress because the longer the City waited the more deteriorated the houses were becoming.

Mr. Mocciae said that this was on the land-use agenda for the following night and that the City would then have the option to seek bids for the restoration of the main house and if the cost was found to be unaffordable, the City could then sell that house as well but if the sale of the two other houses brought in enough money to restore the main house and there was a rental available for a caretaker, that money would go back into the upkeep of the home as well as any other additional uses for the main house for a nonprofit or salable space that the City could lease.

Mr. Bryant said that it might also possible to get grant money for the property.

2. Schedule Public Park planning session for Veteran’s Park.

Mr. Mocciae said that an information sharing session should be held independently of a Recreation and Parks meeting so that everyone who wanted to could be heard.

It was ultimately decided that this would be held as an information sharing session as opposed to a public hearing on Monday, Dec. 3rd at 7:00 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

** MR. GRANT MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Schroder
Telesco Secretarial Services

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