Simsbury Board of Selectmen Meeting October 23, 2023

Board of Selectmen Meeting October 23, 2023

On September 19, 2023 Interim Town Manager Lee Erdmnn gave a presentation to the Board of Finance encompassing issues surrounding budgeting and the ambulance services in town.

It appears that the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association is asking the town for financial assistance that led to remarks made by Lee Erdmann.

According to the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association tax return 2022 Karen Stewart received a salary of $133,628.

The revenues were $1,275,533 and the assets were $1,292,593.

I am supplying the link to the full tax return for review.

https://beta.candid.org/profile/6891407

The presentation identified areas where the town could identify the issues with various models: privatization, division of the town, separate district with taxing authority, review financials and audits and long-term and short term solutions.

There was no mention of having a private ambulance service give a presentation such as AMR Ambulance that is used by Avon and Farmington with no issues.

The Interim Town Manager presented some budget ideas, some of which were an earlier date for review, expand Capital budgets to 12 years expand to additional years for large projects.

The presentation appeared to reflect a Zero-Based Budgeting process with Department Heads prioritizing submissions.

There are approximately 42 various boards, commissions and organizations under Town oversight.

Many of these organizations although volunteer, require staff input and are thinktanks that should be separate from the town.

Recently I drove down Seminary Road to Firetown Road to the stop sign at the intersection.

There were plantings on the island from the Beautification Committee that obstructed the line of sight.

According to my measurements the plantings were over six feet high and growing.

I took a picture of the island and submitted it to Chief Boulter complaining about the obstruction to my line of sight, with no response.

According to the Simsbury Police Department Website Traffic Safety and Enforcement it states, “For complex issues, a local traffic authority group, consisting of the representatives from the Town Manager’s Office, Public Works, Planning and Land Use, Engineering and the Police Department will discuss issues, reports and solutions collectively from diverse professional perspectives. With over 100 traffic related complaints each year, it is one of the most prevalent concerns of the community and one of our daily focal points. “

My concerns were not a complex issue and could be resolved with the trimming of the planting.

I checked with the Planning Department for a Zoning regulation for the height of plantings on islands under the direction of the Beautification Committee and they were clueless on the regulations.

I checked with the Public Works Department and was told it was not under their direction.

The Deputy Town Manager suggested it might be the Traffic Authority.. The urgency of this matter is not being addressed in a timely manner.

It appears that nobody is in charge and the Beautification Committee is a rogue organization with no discipline or direction from staff.

The Town spends time and money on policy statements, ordinances, violations but the chain of command has loose links.

While all of this is continuing, there is a serious safety issue that should be addressed immediately.

After weeks of complaining, the plants were trimmed to about 2 ft from the ground.

At the last Bord of Selectmen meeting there was a presentation from the East Coast Greenway Study showing many roads throughout the Tariffville community.

There were several areas of concern that need to be addressed with placement of the roads.

However, there was no mention about the overhead costs of future maintenance and responsibility to maintain the additional road.

As the road structure continues to grow, there should be a plan for maintenance of the projects.

Presently there are many trails that are not maintained on a regular schedule, leaving them with trash and in need of repair.

Public Works has a plan for paving roads, they should use the same discipline for walks and trails.

With a new Town Manager and a newly elected board in November, the new board should send out an RFP for Town Attorney and Labor Attorney.

Over the years, Town Attorney Decrescenzo has given opinions that have no legal substance.

There were many ethical issues where DeCrescenz did not file conflicts on the form addressing the Silverman Group when he was representing East Granby and Simsbury at the same time.

Decrescenzo, as Town Attorney contributed to First Selectman Mary Glassman’s campaign while representing Simsbury, a clear conflict of interest.

There is rarely a prompt response to requests for legal opinions and it is alleged that he builds a legal opinion on what staff would like implement.

It is time for a change.