AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING

March 22, 2007 at 4:00 PM

Room 304

 

Members Present: Carol Tytler, John Daniels, Tom Williams, Larry Cornell and Mike McKee.  Absent: Dan Tagliente, John Steger

Others Present: Legislators Sandy Price, John Troy, Ron VanDee, Newell Willcox, Sean Clark, Merwin Armstrong, Danny Ross, Tom Hartnett, Don Spaulding, Marilyn Brown; Chairman of the Legislature, Brian Parker; Director of Buildings and Grounds, Mike Kilmer, Director of Administrative Services-Mental Health, Susan Morgan; Clerk of the Legislature, Bob Wilcox, Kathy Wilcox, Jean Minnella, Barry Batzing, Ann Gebhard, Louis Gebhard, Chad Loomis; Residents, Corey Preston, Skip Chapman, Eric Mulvihill; Media.

Ms. Tytler called the meeting to order at 4:50 PM. Six documents were received into the record and numbered as follows:

#39 Report of Tank Removal report requested by Mr. McKee

#40 Correspondence packet Barton & Loguidice and the County

#41 Official Complaint from Moose Club

#42 History of County Space Needs

#43 Timeline

#44 Summary of Focus Groups comments

 

Three sets of draft minutes were reviewed. Minutes of March 9, 2007. Minutes of March 12, 2007 corrected to include that Chairman Brown appointed Tom Williams to the Ad Hoc Committee. Minutes of March 13, 2007. Ms. Tytler asked that whatever minutes referred to the submission of the Applied Design report reflect that it was given to her by Chad Loomis. The March 9, 2007 minutes recorded that action. On the motion of Mr. Cornell, second by Mr. McKee the three sets of minutes were approved with correction to the March 12, 2007 minutes.

Referring to page 8 of the Summary Report (#44), Ms. Tytler reviewed 6 possible options (bullets in document) that the legislature considers.  Mr. Willcox asked how many days does the County have to answer the action. Ms. Tytler said it must be answered in 20 days from the time filed. Mr. Willcox also asked in reference to bullet number 4, if it was possible that disgruntled taxpayers file a class action lawsuit. It was agreed that it was not likely but possible. Mr. Willcox added that although he was not a member of the committee he attended all the meetings and commended Ms. Tytler on leading the committee in a very professional manner.

Mr. VanDee asked as of now, do we have any plans for the property? Ms. Tytler answered that we have to decide if we are buying or not buying the property. If we buy the property then we have to decide if we buy all or some of it. In order to do that we need a sense of direction where we are heading and that needs further discussion. Chairman Brown reminded all that a lawsuit has been filed from the Moose property that requires a decision. Mr. VanDee asked if this goes back to the committee level. Ms. Tytler said committee discussion is still necessary.

Ms. Tytler asked the residents for any comments they wish to make. Barry Batzing repeated his earlier statement made at the Legislative session of January 25, 2007. He added that there is no plan in place and said that the Legislature made the right decision to stop the project. Ms. Gebhard agreed and reiterated her concerns for the neighborhood. Their neighborhood is designated as R1 and feels that this project is a violation of that zoning. She stated that she distributed a Memo to all legislators on behalf of the neighborhood (titled County’s Requirement to Follow Host Municipality Zoning Regulations) and discussed the contents of that memo.  Chad Loomis questioned the square footage figures as they differ in several reports given to the public and they don’t satisfy the needs of the project. He told the committee that they did the wrong thing and asked that they stop throwing taxpayer dollars into a hole based on speculation.

Meeting was adjourned at 5:16 PM

Minutes Approved: 4/10/07

Minutes prepared by Susan Morgan, Clerk