Portland Board of Selectmen Discuss Several Items

The first meeting of the new year for the Portland Board of Selectman touched on a variety of concerns on Wednesday night, among them a proposal for a new regional board of officials to represent towns along the Connecticut River.

The seven-member board heard a detailed invitation to help form a regional council of governments, and heard details on a 15-year agreement that would lower the cost of disposing of the town's refuse. The board also got a further update on collection of brush and limbs that has now expanded to collection of leaves and discarded Christmas trees. 

Portland selectmen heard from Linda Krause the Executive Director of the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency. Krause said legislature and state agencies are pushing to eliminate some of 15 regional planning agencies. She said they were cutting spending and "they just didn't want to deal with so many agencies."

The Office of Policy and Management was spearheading the action and in effect was telling towns to 'choose your partners or we'll choose them for you." Krause said the OPM had already started to suggest that towns along the Connecticut River should go into regional agencies, to be centered in New Haven, Hartford or New London. Krause admitted such divisions would not serve the interests or goals of the towns along the river, which she believes have many concerns in common.

She represents a group of 17 towns, most along both sides of the Connecticut River, with Middletown serving as the largest community. She said 11 of the 17 communities must formally vote on changing the planning agency to a council of governments. She argued such a body would have the power to apply for federal and state grants that would benefit the region. The body would also have a louder voice at the State Capitol to argue for services and funding.

First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield said it was a matter that requires serious consideration and that she's been in touch with local leaders and would attend further meetings. A formal proposal could be drawn up for consideration by the board.

On the matter of solid waste, Public Works Director Rick Kelsey said the current agreement with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority that provides garbage disposal for the town was ending in November 2012. He said after a number of meetings and deliberations with town officials, the best option was to seek a 15-year contract with the CRRA.

Such a plan he said would reduce the cost of disposing of garbage at the CRRA transfer station from $69 a ton to $59.50 per ton starting in 2013. He said the charge might go down to $57 per ton in 2017. All of the town refuse, and refuse collected by two private collectors, would go to the CRRA plant in Hartford.

At the same time, the town would continue to send recyclable waste that is compacted to Willimantic Waste. The company pays Portland between $15 and $20 dollars per ton for recycled materials. 

Kelsey said the Willimantic firm also supplied two compactors at the transfer station on Sand Hill Road and also maintains them. He says it would cost at least $50,000 to replace each of the compactors. The board approved a motion to proceed with negotiations with CRRA, reserving a final vote for a time when the formal agreement is drawn up. 

During the informal session for comments, the board turned to the continuing efforts to clear the remaining limbs and brush from the late October snow storm.

Bransfield said Kelsey had given her an estimate of two to three weeks to complete the effort. One public works employee was asked about the work and said as you get into the hills and country, "the amount of brush is tremendous." He said it might take four days to do Isinglass Hill Road alone.

Selectman Mark Finkelstein said it was very fortunate the town has not gotten any more snow. 

Bransfield said crews were starting to pick up leaves and discarded Christmas trees. While she is urging town residents to use paper bags if at all possible, she promised that all leaves, including those in plastic bags, would be picked up. She said the plastic bags were not biodegradable and posed a health risk to workers. Crew member Paul Colla, when asked to comment why that might be so, told the panel the plastic bags can become saturated and that one bag could weigh 100 pounds.  He also told selectmen the crews have to cut the plastic bags open when they reach the brush disposal area.

Colla also said the biodegradable paper bags are lighter and can be tossed on the disposal area intact. Bransfield pointed out the paper bags also saved time and money. She promised a town officials will explore a way to make paper bags readily available next fall, possibly at the transfer station. 

Bransfield also brought up the board’s resolution to eliminate blighted buildings in the center district. She said she was talking to several property owners involved and was hoping for good news at their next meeting. 

Selectman Fred Knous suggested the proposed ordinance against blighted property should also include junked cars on lawns. Bransfield and Finkelstein pointed out there was already an ordinance in Portland to ticket property owners who have unregistered vehicles on their lawns. Bransfield said police officials once pressed a number of cases before the court in Middletown but that officials disposed of the cases before they came up, perhaps because of caseloads for more serious matters. She also recalled police reporting to her that just because a car didn't have plates didn't prove the cars were unregistered.

Selectmen then discussed the possibility of having a panel in Portland to review tickets for derelict cars and give property owners the right to appeal tickets to the court system.