09/15/08 RTM Meeting Notes: Moderator Tom Byrne Asks RTM To Suspend The Rules And Combine 8 RTM Items Into One Vote

The Combined Vote Had The Following Effects:

JILL OBERLANDER
M. MICHAEL WARNER

These persons were appointed were appointed alternate members of the labor relations committee.

TO ACCEPT A $600,000 GIFT FROM THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF GREENWICH TO RENOVATE THE BRUCE PARK PLAYGROUND

The Junior League's Boundless Playground, is a new initiative this year, and will develop a playground in conjunction with Greenwich Parks and Recreation Department that will be accessible to all children and their caregivers, regardless of ability or special needs to allow them to play and discover together.

The playground will will have a ribbon cutting ceremony next year and will mark the Junior leagues 5oth Anniversary.

The Original JLG Bruce Park Playground Gift Was Made In 1993.

The JLG set out to enhance the playgrounds in Greenwich. The JLG’s “Playground Pals” initiative resulted in a partnership with the Town to renovate the playground at Bruce Park, for which the RTM accepted a $250,000 gift from the JLG in 1995.

At the time of the installation, the Bruce Park playground was considered state-of-the art and unique, and was one of the few playgrounds serving families with children of all age ranges from toddlers to pre-teens. Today, the Bruce Park playground is still one the largest, most frequently used playgrounds within the Town.

After years of heavy use, the Bruce Park playground needs renovation. The JLG / Town would like to again create a renewed, modern playground at Bruce Park, incorporating the latest in playground philosophy and design brought on by the:

advent of universal design principles
advances in understanding how children develop
growing population of children with special needs in the community
need for total family activities.

Boundless Playground

The JLG has become a member of the Boundless Playgrounds program.

Boundless Playgrounds, founded in 1997 and based in Connecticut, is the first national, non-profit organization dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary playgrounds where all children, with and without disabilities, can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play.

A Boundless playground isn’t just another playground.

And it isn’t a playground just for children with disabilities. It is a new, modern playground designed for the needs of all children and how they play.

The difference between a Boundless playground and a traditional playground is in the subtle design features that one might not notice, but that make a profound difference to a child or adult with special needs, such as:

a) Every child can reach the highest play level
b) Play structures are configured to support all children’s development
c) Pathways and surfacing are universally accessible
d) Cozy gathering and away spaces provide a rest from the action
e) Equipment such as swings with back support
f) Sensory-rich and ground level play activities

Boundless Playground assists communities in vendor selection and playground design and certifies completed playgrounds as “Boundless.” There are more than 120 Boundless playgrounds in over 20 states and Canada and dozens more are currently in development.
Further information can be found at http://www.boundlessplaygrounds.org/.

Other Key Elements of the Proposed Bruce Park Playground

For this project, the JLG hired TO Design LLC, a New Britain, CT-based landscape architecture and civil engineering firm whose associates are recognized for creating landscape designs that preserve and embrace natural features.

Furthermore, TO Design is known for creating playgrounds that incorporate progressive, universally inclusive Boundless features.

Key characteristics of the newly designed playground are:

The preservation of Bruce Park’s beautiful bucolic features as large mature trees, rock outcroppings, and the view to Smith Cove;
The footprint remains the same with no expansion into the surrounding rock ledge buffer area;
A generous amount of passive and active recreation areas, including ample seating with benches and picnic tables, and open spaces to throw a blanket and relax;~
Cost-effective design using existing bathrooms, ADA compliant pathways, water fountains, and parking lots (which will be restriped for additional handicap parking spaces);
Play areas that evoke the park’s history as a Native American Siwanoy and Boy Scouts camp site;
The majority of the playground will be accessible to all children, the elderly, and others with special needs.

Financials

Playground

The playground’s renovation is valued at $750,000.

In 2007-08, the Town RTM approved $150,000 from the CIP budget for the renovation of the Bruce Park playground.

In addition, through the JLG’s own town-wide fundraising efforts, such as the Enchanted Forest and Touch a Truck, the JLG has committed $150,000 from its own funds for the renovation.

Further, the JLG has also added an important partner to the project, The United Way of Greenwich.

The United Way is marking their 75th anniversary in serving the Greenwich community.

In celebration of this important anniversary, United Way is joining the JLG on this project, which demonstrates both the JLG and United Way’s commitment to many common causes, including children and the elderly.

Thus, the United Way has matched the JLG contribution sum of $150,000.
Finally, the JLG is raising the remaining $300,000 through grants, foundations, and corporate and individual donors as they have done in their previous capital-intensive projects.

The JLG has raised over half the amount at $155,000 towards the goal.
Thus, at this date, the total Bruce Park renovation project is nearly 90% funded.

Previous Brick Donors

The donors from the 1995 playground renovation project will continue to be recognized. The new playground design has incorporated the existing donor bricks to be used once again in a beautiful pattern among the pathways throughout the playground.

Maintenance

In addition to $700,000 for the playground renovation itself, the JLG will establish and manage an equipment maintenance fund in the amount of $50,000 for repair and upkeep during the 10-year life expectancy of the playground.

JLG/Town Permits Granted

In July 2008, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved Municipal Improvement status and the final site plan for the renovation at the Bruce Park playground. Prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval, in April 2008, the Board of Selectmen granted Municipal Improvement status for the project, also in April 2008 the Board of Parks and Recreation granted its formal approval as well.

Community Support

The JLG formed an advisory committee to ensure broad community input to the project. The following are members of the Bruce Park Boundless Playground’s Community Advisory Board:

Stuart Adelberg, President & CEO, United Way
William S. Dunster, Town of Greenwich Board of Parks and Recreation
Doug Fainelli, Former Principal Old Greenwich and Dundee schools
Honorable Livvy R. Floren, Connecticut State Representative
Icy Frantz, Community Advisor and Author
Laurel Ross, President, Abilis/ARC
Dr. Benjamin D. Roye, Orthopedic Surgeon, Greenwich Hospital
Katherine Quinn, Educational Advisor, Eagle Hill School
Alice Stuart, Abilis/ARC Board Member
Alison Troy, Community Advisor and Former Chair of Playground Pals
Martha Zoubek, Bruce Museum Board Member And Resident

In addition, the JLG has conducted relevant research and held meetings with service providers and parents of children with special needs in order to understand the community needs regarding the renovation of the Bruce Park playground.

Timeline

Upon RTM gift acceptance the JLG/Town Parks & Recreation Department will break ground in October 2008 and begin construction. The playground will be closed until the ribbon cutting ceremony in the spring of 2009.

Reconstruction of Riversville Road Bridge and possible road realignment, from Sherwood Avenue to 700 ft. south of bridge

WHEREAS, the Town of Greenwich has published a legal notice display ad, mailed a news release to a number of officials and agencies, and mailed a formal letter to abutting property owners, announcing a public information meeting on the proposed STP Rural Minor Transportation project known as Riversville Road Bridge Reconstruction, Town Project No. 05-13; and

WHEREAS, a public informational meeting was held on June 14, 2007, at Greenwich Town Hall from 7:00 PM to 8:30 P.M., at which meeting residents had an opportunity to voice their concerns; and

WHEREAS, the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency has selected this project as a regional priority and to utilize federal funds for right-of-way, preliminary engineering and construction activities; and

WHEREAS, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) has considered the concerns of the residents from the public informational meeting and finds that the proposed Riversville Road Bridge Reconstruction is in the best interest of the Town of Greenwich, and will promote the health, safety and general welfare of its residents and provide for convenience and safety of the motoring public.

WHEREAS, the Town of Greenwich, based on the above information, and by virtue of this resolution, hereby fully supports the proposed project.

$200,000 Given To The “Art Barn (Greenwich Emergency Medical Services - GEMS Station)”.

This was the first appropriation of the evening.

The Art Barn is located on Lower Cross Road next to the Parkway School and is used by GEMS as a remote response location.

The rehabilitation of the Art Barn has a long history.

The first request for funds, $500,000, was part of the FY04/05 budget.

Because of issues with the Parkway School well, which serves both the school and the Art Barn, the project was delayed until the school wells were brought up to code.
The first request for bid for the actual rehabilitation occurred in December 2005 and this plan called for demolishing portions of the building to reduce the square footage and then rehabilitate the remaining structure.

Because the existing building was designed for a different use, major alterations had to be undertaken for it to accept the GEMS function.

The resulting plan, which totally renovated the interior, left many of the areas in a non-conforming state as compared to present day standards. The subsequent competitive bid to undertake this work came in at $965,000 and was nearly 100% over the original estimate.

In an effort to reduce the cost of the project, a plan was devised to replace the existing structure with a new building at the proper square footage.

The estimated cost of this new option, $880,000, was lower than the bid value of original rehabilitation plan while providing a modern conforming structure.

An additional appropriation for $380,000 was approved as part of the FY07/08 budget to provide funds to undertake the new plan.

Unfortunately, this new plan, which included demolition of the existing structure, met with opposition due to the building’s age.

DPW met with the Historic District Commission to work out a compromise. In September 2007, a plan was agreed upon to demolish all of the existing building additions except the large barn structure which would be rehabilitated and connected to a new two bay vehicle garage.

This plan was competitively bid in June 2008; the low bid came in at $861,689.

The account status of the project has minimal funds remaining and requires at least a 20% contingency fund to cover any construction change notices that may be encountered.

Further, the architectural service for the redesign effort requires an additional $26,300.

Allowed The Greenwich Police Department to accept a monetary donation from Greenwich Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) in the amount of $8,000. This donation will be used towards the purchase and installation of a boat crane to be used for rescues.

This is kind of a stange item, because the Town Funds GEMS. The Non-profit GEMS is basically giving the town it's own money back. This is sort of like an accounting transfer that is being called a donation.

This is an $8,000 monetary donation from Greenwich Emergency Medical Services to be used towards the purchase and installation of a crane. The crane will be installed on Police Boat #124 and will be used to remove injured persons from the water.

GEMS paramedics accompany our marine personnel on weekends, holidays, and special events and recognize the need for a crane. This device will allow personnel to safely extract patients from the water without causing further injuries. GEMS has graciously offered to contribute $8,000 to assist in acquiring the crane.

In September of 2006 the Police Department received approval to transfer $14,000 from the Federal Asset Forfeiture account to purchase a Hydraulic Marine Davit; however, we were unaware that amount did not allow for installation. Since that time costs for materials have increased, and the currency exchange rate versus the Canadian dollar has worsened.

The total amount required for purchase of the crane, including shipping and installation, is $24,939. The combined funding from GEMS and the Police Department will leave a shortage of approximately $2,939, which will be absorbed by the Marine Section maintenance account.

THESE COMBINED ITEMS PASSED 182 - 2

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