North Branford Town Council Focuses on Town Manager

From approving an acting town manager to giving the go-ahead to advertise for an interim and permanent town manager to a lengthy discussion about the wording for the town manager’s residential requirement in the town’s charter, much of the June 17 Town Council meeting centered around the recently vacated position.

Late last week, the North Branford Town Council and former Town Manager made with Town Engineer Kurt Weiss stepping in as acting town manager. That role was approved unanimously at the June 17 meeting as well as motions to begin advertising for an interim town manager and a permanent town manager.

“I know it was short notice but I want to thank Kurt for stepping up,” said . “I also want to thank all of the department heads, who have been great in this transition.”

Town Manager Report

As acting town manager, Weiss updated the Council on several ongoing issues, beginning with the , which over as the .

Last week, Weiss, along with State Representative Vin Candelora, Public Works Director Fran Merola and Mayor Candelora met with the Connecticut Department of Transportation regarding landscaping issues.

“The DOT was very receptive and has more plantings and landscaping in this plan than any similar type of plan,” said Weiss. “A lot had to come down and a lot of grading has to go on during a two-construction season. They are working with the church trying to accommodate some of their concerns.”

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Weiss said that an agreement between the property owner at 64 Crossfield Road and the town have come to an agreement and with a DEEP grant, the town will be able to demolish the building on the property with a goal of turning into open space.

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Another DEEP grant will help fund a water service connection project to Cedar Lake Road. Weiss reported that the town has received bids ranging from $41,000 to about $80,000.

“We still need a few clearances from DEEP,” said Weiss. “There is one property that isn’t in their orders that would like to be included in the project.”

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Bids opened for the construction of the on June 15 with the town receiving bids ranging from $900,000 to $1.2 million.

“We’ve worked with the low bidder on projects in the past and so far, everything looks good,” said Weiss.

During the new business portion of the meeting, Weiss gave more details on the project, noting that, thanks to the the town received, there is now $1.1 million in available funds so that the field, lighting, fencing, driveway and wiring is included in the base bid. The concession stand, restrooms and associated septic system will be bid upon separately.

Weiss also said the town received a bid from Nafis and Young, the firm that designed the project, for inspection services at a rate of $66 an hour to total $22,500 for the 90- to 120-day project window. He noted that the inspection services fit into the $1.1 million budget.

Residence of Town Manager

When the (CRC) was formed, one of the elements of the town’s charter it was asked to examine was the town manager’s residency. Candelora, who was head of the committee, reported that the CRC had prepared a draft of the new charter for the Council’s review.

The biggest discussion centered around the wording for the requirement for the town manager’s residence. Town attorney John Gesmonde reviewed the proposed language and suggested it be “better defined.”

The CRC’s proposed change to the rule about residency would be that the Town Council would have the authority to grant an exception to the town manager being required to reside in town. Penny Seaman, a member of the CRC, was on hand to discuss the language and propose new wording.

“The town manager need not be a resident of town or state at the time of appointment but must reside in North Branford by the time he or she takes office and throughout the time he or she is in office unless the Town Council permits he or she to not reside in the town,” she said. “The wording gives the Council all the flexibility.”

Weiss then questioned whether the Town Council’s decision would be binding under a new Town Council and Seaman responded by saying one board’s decision cannot bind the next so “if this Town Council decides to waive the residency, the next Town Council might change its mind.”

This issue brought up concerns as far as attracting qualified candidates to the position knowing that things may change every two years. Deputy Mayor Al Rose suggested changing the vote to six instead of the simple majority.

“Having served here so long, I know you can get five votes pretty easy, but if you get six, it’s been thought out,” said Rose.

The CRC will keep the suggestions in mind as the Town Council approved a public hearing on the CRC’s draft of the Town Charter for Tuesday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Council chambers.