Sophia V. Belade

The board addressed several agenda items, including the designation of the Orange Coneflower as the official city flower and the authorization of a streetlight upgrade at the corner of Hill Street and Coram Avenue. Discussions were held regarding a report on the Board of Education's insurance reserve account, and payments to legal counsel were approved. The board also authorized tax refunds, approved funding for Community Center flooring, maintenance vehicles, police interceptors, and professional services for the Waverly Road Bridge, and extended an agreement with Trash Master, LLC. A medical and dental risk reserve account was created, and an application for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant for the Shelton Housing Authority was approved, along with new protocols for building permit refunds and a lease extension for state land. Proposed amendments to ordinances concerning winter parking and solicitors were scheduled for a future public hearing, and two worker's compensation matters were discussed in executive session with no action taken.

The committee reviewed recent clean-up activities occurring since the start of the year, including efforts by various community groups and organizations to collect litter across multiple city locations. Discussion points included strategies for advertising the Clean Sweep initiative, such as social media engagement and sign placement, and the execution of an outreach program for Adopt-a-Street participants to gather feedback and determine resource needs. The committee also received an update on the utilization of Nipper Surcharge funds for part-time staff litter collection and assessed the status of the top three identified litter problem locations, proposing potential solutions such as area development or restricted access to discourage dumping.

The public hearing focused on two main legislative amendments. The first amendment concerned the regulation of pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, and precious metals dealers, aligning city ordinances with updated state requirements. The second amendment addressed fire lane regulations, specifically a proposal from the Fire Marshal to increase the fine for violations to $100 to improve emergency vehicle access at public assembly and residential locations.

The committee opened bids for batteries, brakes, filters, rotors, oil, grease, and lube for the Highway Department, noting issues with notarization on one submission. They also awarded several bids, including snow plow blades, a snow box pusher, a road de-icing system, and indoor/outdoor recycling containers to the lowest bidders meeting project specifications.

The board discussed the status of plan operations with the pension advisor and moved to proceed with restating the 401(a) and 457(b) plans onto Prudential documents. The Fireman's Pension Plan was reviewed with a presentation covering funding methods, annuity options, and insurance benefits. The board also approved modifications to the Request for Proposal for a pension advisor to ensure the current advisor's structure qualifies for the bid, and authorized payment for legal services rendered by Pullman & Comley using funds from the Forfeiture Account.