A meeting of the Stony Creek Association Executive Board was called to order by President Peter Brainerd at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library at 7:40 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2001.
Present: Peter Brainerd, President; David Bailey, Treasurer; Board Members: Dan Bullard, Sandra Fischer, Stan Fisher, Dottie Leachman, Linda Meyer, John Opie, Judy Robison, Nina Smith, Jonathan Waters, Marvin Zimmerman, Vice President
Absent: Jake Greenvall, Tax Collector
Public: 9
Minutes: Re February minutes, a motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to accept the minutes as corrected. [Note: March’s meeting was cancelled due to snow.]
Treasurer’s Report: David distributed the Treasurer’s report as of March 31st. A motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to file the report for audit. Total Cash: $31,227.50. Total Income Mar: $199.90. Total Income YTD: $13,335.20. Total Expenses Mar: $2,295.84. Total Expenses YTD: $10,696.35. Tax receipts to date: $13,043.20. David will adjust the balance sheet so that sidewalks under assets125 and equity 450 equal $8,335.69.
Bills: Motions were made/seconded and unanimously approved to pay the following bills:
CL&P (Bayview Park lights) 37.83
DaRos Company (snow removal) 1,809.00
CIRMA (worker’s comp) 102.00
Jeff Page (reimb for Seton sample sign) 35.14
CIRMA (liability insurance) 625.00
Total $2,608.97
Tax Collector: No report.
Legal and Zoning: There were requests for variances on Thimble Island Road for an addition. They were of a minor amount. Nothing upcoming.
Police & Traffic: Construction at Exit 56 and the aligning of Leetes Island Road with School Ground Road has begun and is expected to be a 1.5 to 2 year program.
Maintenance: Nina handed out and reviewed a spreadsheet for new street signs throughout the Creek which represents the culmination of research done by Nina, Dottie, and Sandy and meetings with Ed Masotta. The recommendation was to use a black two-foot wide with white six-inch reflective letters and border, cast-aluminum sign made by Lake Shore. (The smaller four-inch-letter sign is used in Essex and New Canaan.) The town will pay $2,000 toward the cost of the signs. Billing would not take place until the next fiscal year. A motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to accept the recommendation for the signs as presented and to give the order to Ed Masotta, with the total expense to the Association being less than $3000. Sandy reported on sidewalk repair to be done by Riccio Construction prior to Memorial Day totaling $4,000 which will be paid for by the town. The town has paid $2,000 of the $4000 bill for work done last fall and the Association will pay the balance. A letter was written to Masotta regarding repair work at 309 Thimble Island Rd. The town will be addressing repaving and sidewalks for side streets: Three Elms, Buena Vista, Long Point, & Prospect Hill. Drainage at 309 TIR will be redone, and walks at the same time. Drainage problems at the curve by the market and on Prospect Hill are being addressed. Granite stones edging Madeira Park will be lifted to create a barrier for cars. Andy is pointing up granite at the boat ramp and has repaired the piers at the fountain. Alex is cleaning the park for the Easter egg hunt and will paint the baseball backstop green. The Rec. Dept will empty their trash receptacles every Monday. Sand will again be put at boat ramp. The beach will be spruced up and sand added if necessary. Port-O-Potties will be installed sometime in May. Mike Infantino has arranged for a dumpster at the dock that he will monitor. There will be a container for garbage and a retainer for recycling which will also be monitored by Mike. Cameron Construction will empty the rest of the garage containers on weekends. Mike will accept responsibility for the cleanliness of the area from the town dock to boating association ramp. Streets will be swept Friday April 6th – no advance notice was given to the Association. Stan reported that two letters were sent out to residents asking them to cut back their hedges prior to spring growth. Jay Brown will level grass area between walk and road at 200 TIR where needed and reseed. Approximate price - $100. Repair of drainage at the ""four corners" is imminent but nothing is scheduled to happen in terms of upper TIR at this time.
Administration: A motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to adopt a budget for the fiscal year 2001/2002 totaling $21,639. A nominating committee was formed and will be chaired by Sandy, and include John Opie, Dottie, and Nina.
Old Business: The Ways & Means sub committee of the RTM approved a $400,000 bond authorization for the town dock. It goes to the RTM next week. The ordinance change for sidewalks was approved. Dottie reported on the Ramshaw memorial: it will be located on top of the retaining wall in Kurt’s gardens and will be a granite rock with a 10x6 bronze plaque reading “In memory of Kurt Ramshaw Stony Creek’s Gardner”. Cost will be about $450. Joanne will mention it in her column seeking donations made out to the Stony Creek Association. Any monies in excess of the cost will go toward maintaining areas he worked on. A motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to front the money for the plaque.
New Business: Peter addressed the filming of Widow’s Row scheduled for spring 2002 noting that he is in the process of getting dates squared away with the public relations people so we can hold a special meeting. Peter read a letter from Marcia Simon of MSE, the public relations firm (attached in file) stating their intent to open the lines of communication with the Association. They will attend the special meeting along with representatives from 2-3 sections of the production, give a brief talk on what they would like to do in Stony Creek and answer questions. Peter asked those present for their concerns and will forward them onto the PR group: increased traffic… increased people…more notoriety…extra police protection for crowd control…any plans for in-village changes or sets?…assurances…can we eliminate any reference to Stony Creek in credits?…absolutely no filming on Memorial Day!…what benefit to village versus a few individuals? By state requirement, final approval comes from the Town. Peter will stay in contact with the town and will check with the state on guidelines and permits. Marvin noted Chester has guidelines for film productions that bring up many of the issues we will need to address. The 13th Annual Spring Clean-up Day for Branford will be Saturday, April 28, 9-noon. Meet at the town green.
At 10:15 pm a motion was made/seconded and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Nina N. Smith
Secretary Pro Tempore
The next meeting of the Stony Creek Association Executive Board will be held on Tuesday, May 1st at 7:30 pm at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library.