Board of Selectmen

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 1, 2004

Present: Gordon M. Ridgway, first selectman, K.C. Baird and Ken Keskinen, selectmen. Members of the press and 18 citizens.

The meeting convened at 7:39 pm.

The minutes of the meetings of February 2 and February 19 were approved with this change: where it is incorrectly spelled, the word “Schaghticoke” is substituted.

Gordon Ridgway proposed the addition of one agenda item – a discussion of personnel – to the agenda for the previously posted executive session. The Board approved.

Communications: Ridgway said that Valley Road residents had complained during the past week about roadside cutting by the town crew. Jeff Jacobsen, who was present at the meeting, explained that the site was, in his opinion, a mess. He agreed with Ridgway to meet later this week with the Don Reid, the highway foreman to discuss the matter.

After School Program: Patricia Bramley, president of the PTA at CCS, led off a discussion of the status of a proposed Park & Rec sponsored after-school program. The new program was removed from the FY 2005 budget in February. A letter from Park & Rec Director Bethany K. Thompson had been received on February 27. Bramley asked that the program be reinstated. Ridgway reported that he had recently learned from CCS Principal Kathleen Fitzgibbon that there might be grant money available to fund the first year of the program. She has also offered to be available for guidance since she stays at the school late into the afternoon.

Bramley and other citizens said they felt they had answered the questions raised by the Selectmen about insurance and qualifications of staff members. The need is evident through surveys and parent comments. K.C. Baird said to would be helpful to have a more precise financial projection to establish the PTA claim that the program will be self-supporting through parent fees.

Ridgway said that there seem to be two issues: 1) Details still to be determined, such as the availability of the grant; and 2) the level of increase for the entire selectmen’s/capital budget which now is showing an 8% increase over FY 2004. He said he would produce a list of concerns for Parks and Rec to research.

Patriot Act Petitions: Ridgway said that he had received from the Town Clerk certification of 101 signatures on a petition to call a Town Meeting to declare Cornwall a “Civil Liberties Safe Zone” and to adopt a resolution “pertaining to the violations and restrictions brought about by the USA Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act and also by executive orders that violate and restrict our civil liberties.”

Ridgway moved and Keskinen seconded a motion:

To forward a copy of the petition to the Town Counsel for review.

The VOTE to approve was unanimous.

Ridgway, in response to questions, said that he expected that counsel would have an opinion on the suitability of the petition for town meeting action before the next selectmen’s meeting on March 18. John Zinsser noted that other municipalities with a combined population of 43.5 million people had voted affirmatively on similar resolutions.

Ridgway briefly described cuts the state plans to make in long-standing reimbursement programs for towns required to give veterans’ and elderly tax breaks. The assistance usually reimbursed for the disabled has been cut entirely. He also discussed a recent meeting Litchfield County selectmen held with state legislators on the proposed ethics legislation for municipalities.

The bills were paid in the usual manner.

The Board voted to go into executive session to discuss the Schaghticokes and the BIA and also a personnel matter. The Board came out of executive session at 9:02. No votes were taken.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:03.

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa Lansing

Clerk, Pro Tem