[0:00] Um, so you can get us started
[0:03] whenever you would like.
[0:05] » Okay, great. Thanks, Matt.
[0:07] » Okay, so I'm
[0:08] » Colleen, do you want to just record?
[0:10] » Sorry.
[0:18] » Sorry, my recording is not working, but
[0:19] we are live on YouTube.
[0:20] » Yeah, we're live on YouTube, so it's
[0:21] recorded. We'll just post that video
[0:23] back to the website. That's fine.
[0:25] » Are we good to go?
[0:25] » Yep, we are good. Thank you, Vic.
[0:27] » Okay, great. Thanks, Matt. Okay, I'm
[0:29] going to call the March 26 regular
[0:32] meeting of Metrocog March 26, 2026 to
[0:35] order. Um, I'd ask us all to stand to uh
[0:39] recite the pledge of allegiance.
[0:43] » Pledge allegiance
[0:45] » To the flag of the United States
[0:48] » And to the republic for it stands, one
[0:51] nation under God, indivisible, with
[0:54] liberty and justice for all.
[0:57] Thank you. Well, Matt, can you call the
[0:59] role for us?
[1:00] » I can. Thank you. Uh, first select
[1:02] Monroe, town of Monroe.
[1:07] » Volume was off.
[1:09] » No problem. Thank you, sir. Um, uh,
[1:12] first person, Vitali, Town of Fairfield.
[1:14] » Morning.
[1:15] » Thank you, Christine. Uh, first elect,
[1:17] town of East
[1:18] » Here.
[1:19] » Thank you. Ken Fato, city of Bridgeport,
[1:20] proxy Mayor Ganham,
[1:22] » Here.
[1:22] » Thank you. Uh, chairman Toro,
[1:26] » I'm here. Thank you.
[1:28] » Uh, and that is five members. It
[1:30] constitutes a quorum.
[1:32] » Great. Thank you very much, Matt. Uh,
[1:35] good morning everybody again. Nice to
[1:38] see you all even on Zoom today. Um, Matt
[1:41] can give us a little update later on how
[1:43] we're making out on the changes at the
[1:46] uh the office. So, we'll talk that'll be
[1:48] part of the discussion. Um, so right now
[1:50] I'm going to uh see if there's anyone
[1:53] ask if anyone public particip
[1:54] participation. Matt, I don't know if
[1:56] there's anybody who's joining us this
[1:58] morning online to
[1:59] » Uh No one from the public. We do have
[2:02] Alfredo
[2:03] and Sarah and Ashley from OPM that will
[2:06] be making a presentation uh to the
[2:08] board, but no other public
[2:09] participation.
[2:10] » Great. Thank you. Okay. So, let's move
[2:13] then to the approval of the minutes from
[2:15] the January 29th, 2026 meeting. Can I
[2:18] have a motion to approve those minutes?
[2:22] » So moved.
[2:23] » Thank you, Terry. Can I have a second,
[2:24] please?
[2:26] » Second.
[2:27] » Thank you. I'm not sure who that came
[2:29] from.
[2:30] » That was Ken Plato.
[2:31] » Oh, hi Ken. Thank you. Uh, okay. So, any
[2:35] discussion?
[2:39] Hearing none. Uh, all in favor?
[2:42] » I
[2:43] » I
[2:44] » I
[2:46] assume that was unanimous. So,
[2:48] » No. Yep. No, no, no.
[2:51] » Against. Okay, good. So, that those
[2:53] minutes are approved.
[2:56] » All right. Um, item four on our agenda
[2:57] is presentation from Alfredo Herreric,
[3:00] the Connecticut Geographic Information
[3:02] Officer. So, um, Matt, do you want to
[3:05] introduce?
[3:06] » Yeah, Alfredo reached out. Um, would
[3:08] like to make a presentation on some of
[3:09] the the data and and other, uh,
[3:11] information that Alfredo and his staff
[3:13] are putting together. Um they are st
[3:15] they are out of the office of policy and
[3:17] management. Um but Alfredo runs the the
[3:19] GIS office uh for the state of
[3:21] Connecticut. Uh so we're happy to have
[3:22] him here. Alfredo, we gave you the
[3:24] ability to share um unless it should be
[3:27] somebody else. So just let us know.
[3:29] » Yeah. If you could pass it to Ashley or
[3:31] Sarah. I'm not feeling well. So
[3:33] » No problem. Sorry Alfred.
[3:36] » Ashley, you are a co-host now. You
[3:37] should be able to share your screen.
[3:39] » Yeah. Um are you able to see my screen
[3:40] now or is did I not click through? Okay.
[3:43] No, I didn't click through.
[3:44] » It's coming up now.
[3:45] » There you go. Well, thank you everybody.
[3:49] Metrog uh first select people and um to
[3:54] soro share of of this group and Matt Fo
[3:58] to point inviting us and Markver to
[3:59] enabling him to present here like uh
[4:02] Matt um executive director Fula said we
[4:04] do have a few things that we want to
[4:06] present to you very um um high level uh
[4:10] just to keep everybody updated in our
[4:12] priorities and what's coming next for uh
[4:15] in terms of the geospatial um world for
[4:18] you guys.
[4:20] Um
[4:24] um just a little background for those
[4:26] that haven't met us. Um we have two
[4:28] coordinators in in the office. So we
[4:31] will be presenting today on behalf of
[4:33] Alfredo. Um I'm Ashley Benites. Um and
[4:37] my my area of work concerns mostly
[4:39] address data, parcel data, broadband
[4:41] data. So everything that's related to
[4:43] that sort of precise and local uh local
[4:45] fabric aspects. And I have Sarah with
[4:48] me. she will introduce herself in in the
[4:50] second part when she's still discussing
[4:51] her um her as um her slides.
[4:57] So um a little background for those that
[4:59] um are not aware of the GIS office and
[5:02] and the geographic information officer.
[5:05] Um this the office was established on
[5:08] 2022 and is led by the GIO. Um and we
[5:12] coordinate our efforts um it's in
[5:15] coordinating and collaborating with all
[5:17] stakeholders in Connecticut. Um, and we
[5:20] like to see ourselves as as the go-to
[5:22] resource for all things that have to do
[5:24] with geospatial. Um, and that's where we
[5:28] focus the most on on clo working closely
[5:31] with other state agencies, regional
[5:32] councils, municipalities, and other
[5:34] partners. Um, like I like to say,
[5:37] everybody is our stakeholder.
[5:40] The things that we do in general, uh,
[5:43] like I mentioned, we do coordination, we
[5:45] do fat and facilitate the statewide data
[5:47] collection that you may know. For
[5:49] example, parcel data. We compile this
[5:51] data and we share it widely and openly
[5:55] um through our different portals like
[5:57] the geo data portal um and an open data
[6:00] portal. We also do a lot of inter agency
[6:03] supporting other agencies on their
[6:05] projects. Uh we do outreach and training
[6:07] like we're doing today and um and also
[6:11] we do collection of uh main data sets
[6:14] like ortho imagery and lighter data. Um
[6:17] and while we see all this data, we get
[6:19] to see some of the data quality issues.
[6:21] So we get to address um issue standards
[6:24] and guidance. Um and within all these
[6:27] data sets, of course, we do data
[6:28] processing and we're called uh
[6:31] specifically by law to develop data and
[6:34] maps uh of broadband and that's my
[6:36] responsibility.
[6:40] Um just a quick overview of our
[6:42] strategy. I'm not going to go over in
[6:44] detail. We have a vision. Uh I think
[6:46] it's just really related to what I just
[6:48] explained before uh regarding our sort
[6:51] of tasks um and efforts. So I will skip
[6:54] to this uh I'll skip through this and go
[6:59] directly to the highlights and future
[7:00] activities. So um talking about
[7:03] standards and and collection um today I
[7:07] will be talking about um a new guidance
[7:10] that we released what we're calling the
[7:12] GIS parcel data creation guidance and
[7:14] specifications.
[7:15] We do have other webinars that are
[7:19] recorded um and could be used as as
[7:21] resources for those that are interested
[7:23] in knowing more about uh GIS and and the
[7:27] and other um efforts through Yukon and
[7:30] Clear. So that um we put the the link
[7:32] there for you guys. But today we're
[7:34] going to presenting on on on parcel data
[7:40] and in the um priority task that we are
[7:45] looking ahead. Uh one of the things that
[7:48] we want to start working and we've been
[7:50] working on uh for a while is uh
[7:53] developing a comprehensive list of
[7:55] addresses in the state. Um as you see we
[7:59] have different multiple sources that um
[8:03] can tell us where this locations where
[8:05] addresses are. Um and um right now we've
[8:10] estimated that we have 1 1 8 million
[8:14] addresses and we can we are expecting to
[8:17] find more through different processes uh
[8:19] by collecting this this address data uh
[8:22] from all these different sources. Um
[8:30] in the process uh we would like to start
[8:33] surveying uh town towns to understand
[8:37] how um how this data how this data is
[8:41] collected and managed throughout uh
[8:44] through the ordinances and who is
[8:46] responsible entities for creating and
[8:48] documenting new addresses and any other
[8:50] details that we uh uh you would like to
[8:53] provide in terms of the standards and
[8:54] meanings of these addresses to really
[8:57] have a picture. So when we um start
[9:00] publishing and a complete data set we
[9:03] can understand sort of the panorama
[9:06] and the little specs the all the little
[9:09] specs of the addresses. So you can
[9:11] expect on a upcoming win a survey to
[9:14] your towns asking about addresses and
[9:17] and their details.
[9:20] As you may know, we also collect address
[9:23] um sorry parcel and camela from the
[9:26] towns and we like to always give an
[9:28] overview of um of the collection every
[9:33] year and this year we have 159 towns
[9:36] that submitted parcels and we also like
[9:39] to see it and how they adhere to sort of
[9:41] the standards that we have provided. Um
[9:45] uh so 117 uh here to that standard
[9:49] 168 town submitted KMA and 130 out 31
[9:54] towns um uh comply with the issue of
[9:58] suppression of with the submission
[10:01] field. Sorry 117 comply with submitting
[10:04] a suppression field. Um and 38 of those
[10:08] do not um they mentioned that do not
[10:10] suppress information and 23 we estimate
[10:12] that 23 are of complian suppress for
[10:15] suppression and this is very important
[10:17] that field that we call it a suppression
[10:19] is sort of like that tag um to let us
[10:22] know that of a record um the ownership
[10:25] and and the
[10:29] um the ownership and and the mailing
[10:32] address is suppressed um um for these
[10:37] records.
[10:41] Now we are under we're going to start
[10:43] undergoing the 2026
[10:47] parcel and camera collection. Um
[10:50] this um Alfredo will be sending a letter
[10:54] soon um in the coming days. uh we have
[10:57] released a new uh g uh data submission
[11:01] portal to ease the navigation and the
[11:03] submission of this data enabling the
[11:06] councils of governments to uh use this
[11:09] resource so the municipalities can
[11:11] submit more directly to them. Within
[11:13] that we have a um sort of a a submission
[11:18] form that uh requires it that you can
[11:21] submit your files but also requires some
[11:23] metadata information um which we're
[11:25] underlining a little bit more in this
[11:28] process uh to have that complete picture
[11:30] again of of parcel uh their maintenance
[11:34] uh who is uh um responsible for what um
[11:38] and other sort of details that we that
[11:39] are useful for the you know enhancing in
[11:42] the quality of of how the parcel and the
[11:46] kama uh data connects to each other. So
[11:50] you will see um a little bit more about
[11:52] the parcel and kind of collection in the
[11:53] upcoming weeks as well.
[11:56] Um again as you may know we do have also
[11:59] funds we had funds uh for the
[12:02] improvement of parcel and kama
[12:04] throughout the state uh with different
[12:07] targets um based on different things
[12:10] that analysis that we did over um over
[12:14] the submissions. Uh we found issues with
[12:17] some recency of the updates. um a lot of
[12:20] the match rates which is how well the
[12:22] parcel sort of talks with the kama and
[12:24] vice versa and some data completeness
[12:27] also issues and other smaller geometry
[12:30] issues. So there were a total funds of
[12:31] 2,000 uh $2 million uh and they were
[12:35] distributed based on the number of towns
[12:37] with you know an equal balance um and we
[12:40] have helped providing sort of data
[12:41] analysis and and and setting up the
[12:44] targets for this funds.
[12:48] Um like I um just an overview um this
[12:53] this um
[12:55] this grants have a higher prior tier
[12:57] prioritization based on what I showed
[12:59] you before. So um all the efforts were
[13:02] sort of through that funnel of the
[13:03] recency first and um and came to parcel
[13:07] match rates and and the completeness of
[13:09] those fields that um that are really
[13:12] useful uh for different analysis.
[13:16] And now I will pass it on to Sarah for
[13:18] the next uh part of the presentation.
[13:20] Sarah, you can let me know when I have
[13:22] to go next. And if you have any
[13:24] questions, sorry that I was very brief
[13:25] on the addresses, but if you have any
[13:27] questions about that survey or would
[13:28] like to talk more about any of the is
[13:30] the topics that I cover, please let me
[13:32] know.
[13:34] » Great. Thanks, Ashley. Um, hi everyone.
[13:37] My name is Sarah Hurley. I'm one of the
[13:39] GIS coordinators at the GIS office. Um,
[13:41] I largely work with our um, hydrography
[13:45] and the housing and the imagery and
[13:47] elevation programs um, in the GIS
[13:49] office. So, the first thing we're going
[13:53] to talk about here is our 2026 imagery
[13:56] and LAR capture. Um, this is starting
[14:01] very soon. Um, we should be starting it
[14:03] within
[14:05] uh within this week or next week. Um,
[14:09] our imagery data is high resolution
[14:13] aerial photographs of the whole state.
[14:15] Um and the LAR data is a 3D point cloud
[14:19] um of data um across the whole state
[14:21] where we can derive um a lot of
[14:23] different data types but um the bare
[14:26] earth elevation data um gives you um a
[14:32] statewide elevation data set. Um and
[14:35] then there's a lot of other derivatives
[14:37] from that which we'll talk about in a
[14:39] minute. Um but we contract with Dubberry
[14:43] to do this data collection and they
[14:45] manage um our flights that will go
[14:50] across the whole state and collect this
[14:51] data. Um so that basically looks like
[14:54] planes that fly um back and forth across
[14:57] the state. They have um cameras and
[14:59] devices on the bottom of the plane um
[15:02] that will uh collect the data and then
[15:05] Deubberry will take that data and um get
[15:08] the those deliverables back to us. So
[15:11] the flights will be happening right
[15:13] around now um because we do leaf off
[15:17] imagery. So we want the trees to not
[15:21] have any leaves on it, but we would also
[15:23] like the ground to have no snow. So,
[15:26] we're kind of in that um that spot right
[15:30] now where we're waiting for the snow to
[15:33] finish melting but before the leaves
[15:35] start growing on the trees um which is a
[15:38] pretty uh tight window especially this
[15:40] year with how much snow we got. Um so
[15:43] they've been watching the ground
[15:45] conditions pretty closely. Um, and we're
[15:48] hopefully getting to the point where
[15:51] we have minimal snow before the leaves
[15:54] really start um, growing. So hopefully
[15:56] we can hit that window right around now.
[15:58] Um, so this QR code is just a survey
[16:02] that has been helping Deubberry um,
[16:04] understand what the ground conditions
[16:07] look like right now. Um, so you can scan
[16:10] the survey and or scan the QR code pulls
[16:13] up a survey and you could submit um,
[16:15] photos or um, you know, verbal narrative
[16:18] about if you're seeing snow outside your
[16:21] window. Um, so they can get a good idea
[16:24] of what what these conditions are right
[16:26] now.
[16:30] Um, I think we can go to the next slide.
[16:34] Um yeah, so we did this collection also
[16:37] in 2023 using um the ARPA funds and um
[16:43] those funds were able to cover our 2026
[16:46] flight this year. Um we're doing the
[16:49] same uh uh specs um same resolution as
[16:54] the 2023 data so that we are able to
[16:57] compare conditions across 2023 and 2026
[17:01] um imagery and elevation um data
[17:05] and from that we have um a lot of other
[17:09] data uh derivatives. So, we have all of
[17:13] those fully complete and delivered from
[17:16] um our 2023 data. So, that includes
[17:18] imagery elevation, um 2D building
[17:20] footprints, we have 3D buildings, um
[17:24] contour lines, and um there's a few more
[17:27] that are out there now. Um and then in
[17:31] addition to our flights that we do um
[17:35] federally uh the National Agriculture
[17:38] Imagery Program which is also called
[17:40] NAPE um they do every two years or so
[17:43] they do um an imagery collection but
[17:46] they do leaf on imagery. Um, so it's a
[17:50] little bit different than ours. A little
[17:51] bit, um, you know, with with such a
[17:53] highly forested state, it's a little bit
[17:55] harder to, um, see the ground conditions
[17:58] with the leaf on. Um, and then we are
[18:02] are also able to ortho rectify a lot of
[18:05] spots of our um, imagery, which you can
[18:08] see in the photos at the bottom. So that
[18:10] basically means that you see in the 2023
[18:13] NAPE photo that the capital building is
[18:16] um slightly sideways um just by the way
[18:19] the camera took it. So we're able to use
[18:22] um several different photos and it uh
[18:25] changes the image so it looks like
[18:27] you're looking straight down onto the
[18:28] building so you have a really good idea
[18:30] of how that looks um from like from the
[18:35] top.
[18:37] Um so there's um the 2025 NAPE imagery
[18:40] should be coming out soon but they like
[18:42] I said they do it every two years or so
[18:44] two years or so. So all that data um
[18:47] from previous years is available. Um and
[18:51] then I think it was in the the fall time
[18:54] Deubberry did a webinar um or yeah in
[18:57] December they did a webinar um about our
[19:00] 2026 flight. So they go into a little
[19:01] bit more detail of um all all of that
[19:05] about um you know what's what's
[19:08] happening on these flights coming up and
[19:10] what the data is going to look like. So
[19:12] if you want more information about that
[19:15] um you can take a look at that webinar
[19:17] and can we go to the next slide?
[19:23] Um yes so these are some of the
[19:24] derivative data sets that we get from
[19:27] this data. Um, one really interesting
[19:30] one is our imperous cover data and that
[19:33] covers uh driveways, roads, sidewalks,
[19:37] um, bridges, um, any imperous cover
[19:40] areas. Um, we have, uh, polygon for it
[19:45] and, um,
[19:49] uh, we should be able to publish that
[19:51] soon. We have all the data. We're just,
[19:53] you know, one more look through it, but
[19:55] that is going to become public soon. Um
[19:58] and then the DOT also worked to have
[20:01] transportation lane data um from the
[20:05] information
[20:07] um we also have contours and um or steep
[20:11] slopes which is um all the land where
[20:16] it's um moderate steep or very steep
[20:19] areas. Um it's a really big data set but
[20:21] it should be really useful um in
[20:24] determining where there are steep areas.
[20:31] Um so the next program is our 3DHP which
[20:35] stands for the 3D hydrography program.
[20:38] Um we are in a partnership with the
[20:40] other New England states um to
[20:42] participate in this program um with
[20:45] USGS.
[20:46] Um so the 3DHP
[20:51] will use our high resolution elevation
[20:54] data to create um a new surface water
[20:57] data set and that will replace the
[21:01] outdated uh national hydrography data
[21:04] set. Um
[21:06] so the data for this program is derived
[21:09] by watershed and since many wersheds are
[21:12] crossing state boundaries
[21:14] um we wanted to collaborate with the
[21:16] neighboring states so that we can get a
[21:18] full look on the entirety of these
[21:20] wersheds and get all of them done. Um so
[21:25] the there's a data collaborative
[21:28] agreement with USGS so they cover part
[21:30] of the cost and the data validation. Um,
[21:33] so we applied for this for 2025 and
[21:36] didn't receive the funding, but we were
[21:38] able to reapply in 2026 and then we've
[21:42] been approved with that and we're moving
[21:44] forward with um both the border
[21:47] watersheds. So, we're working with our
[21:49] partner states to do the border wersheds
[21:51] and then we're doing the full internal
[21:54] um watersheds in Connecticut.
[21:59] And let's see.
[22:01] So, we're gonna have this hydrography
[22:03] data for almost all of Connecticut
[22:05] except for that one little section in
[22:07] the in the panhandle in the bottom
[22:09] corner just because um New York doesn't
[22:12] have the data, but hopefully we'll be
[22:13] able to do that in the future. Um
[22:17] and the work for this should start this
[22:21] summer. Um so, we should be able to see
[22:23] data around next summer. Um, and to fund
[22:28] this, OPM is going to be submitting a
[22:30] bond fund allocation request to pay for
[22:33] the Connecticut contribution, and we
[22:35] should be doing that around May time.
[22:44] So then um in a similar project, similar
[22:49] you know topic area um PA 2533 requires
[22:53] that
[22:55] all um municipalities submit a
[22:59] geospatial data file of every cover and
[23:02] bridge within their boundary. Um so this
[23:05] is understandably a very large task and
[23:09] the GIS office um has been taking the
[23:13] first steps on this process. um we first
[23:17] needed to identify all the data that's
[23:18] available and now we're working on um
[23:23] developing a data schema that we're
[23:26] going to require that the um town submit
[23:29] this data in so that we're able to take
[23:32] all the town data and aggregate it into
[23:34] one big statewide um data set. So that's
[23:38] where we're currently at with um
[23:42] this program. Can we go to the next
[23:44] slide?
[23:46] So we had aggregated our um first data
[23:51] sets that we have available. Um and we
[23:54] were seeing that a lot of the data is
[23:56] very different. Some are lines, some are
[23:59] points. Um so they're they're pretty
[24:02] different across data sets. Um, so we
[24:05] want to make sure that the schema is
[24:06] able to get the data all in the same
[24:09] data type and giving us the same
[24:11] information so that we can aggregate it
[24:13] all. Currently there's a request out to
[24:16] the COGS and municipalities to send us
[24:20] any covert data that they currently have
[24:22] available. Um, so that'll help us kind
[24:25] of see the landscape of what is already
[24:27] being collected and what is out there
[24:29] and how this data already exists.
[24:37] So, our last item is talking about the
[24:41] housing bill data tools. Um, so I'm sure
[24:44] you're all aware of the PA25-1,
[24:47] an act concerning housing growth. Um,
[24:50] there's a lot of different pieces in it.
[24:53] Um, but the part that we're involved
[24:56] with involves the housing growth plans.
[24:59] Um so the GIS office has been asked to
[25:02] provide data tools to help the towns um
[25:07] develop their developable land
[25:09] inventory. Um so the two parts of this
[25:12] are that we're going to provide
[25:14] guidelines that specify mapping
[25:16] standards for these annual reports that
[25:19] will be going to OPM. So in those
[25:22] reports there are some required maps and
[25:24] we're going to be um providing mapping
[25:26] standards of how that's um going to look
[25:30] in those reports. And then the second
[25:32] part is providing um datas and data and
[25:35] tools um to help COGS and towns
[25:39] determine what developable lands they
[25:41] have available um for housing. So that's
[25:45] going to be in the form of a uh hub
[25:48] website. Um so there'll be a collection
[25:51] of relevant data and tools and other
[25:53] resources that we're working on
[25:55] developing
[25:56] at the moment. Um can we go to the next
[25:59] slide?
[26:03] So the hub is going to have um lots of
[26:06] other spatial housing resources but
[26:09] specifically for PA25-1
[26:12] for the developable land inventory um it
[26:15] will include the mapping guidance. We're
[26:17] going to make some highlevel thematic
[26:19] map viewers which um policy makers will
[26:24] be able to look at for decision- making.
[26:27] So there there's going to be no
[26:28] complicated um analyses or anything like
[26:31] that. I will just be um subject specific
[26:35] data layers um so that you'll able to
[26:38] just look at a map and zoom in and
[26:39] quickly get an idea of what that area is
[26:42] looking like in terms of housing um and
[26:45] what what decisions need to be made at
[26:47] that level. And then we're also going to
[26:51] develop some scenario-based walkthroughs
[26:54] for GIS analyses so that when um the um
[26:59] GIS people get their hands on the data
[27:01] and need to do these analyses, we are
[27:04] able to provide some guidance um on
[27:07] specific topics like uh urban, suburban,
[27:11] um rural areas, things like that just to
[27:13] give a little bit of guidance um in that
[27:16] area. And then we'll also have a data
[27:19] library of all the different um data
[27:23] types that are either acquired from the
[27:26] statue or other types of data that we
[27:30] think might be useful for um
[27:34] uh the communities deciding what land is
[27:38] developable or not. Um, so we're not
[27:42] creating a developable land inventory
[27:45] for the whole state because we we don't
[27:47] have that local data and we don't have
[27:48] that local um insight on um community
[27:52] level areas. So we are just providing
[27:55] the tools and the data to be able to do
[27:59] that.
[28:04] Yeah. And I think that is it. So, if you
[28:06] if anyone has any questions, we can
[28:08] answer them now. Um, but thank you for
[28:12] listening.
[28:15] » Sarah, I have a question for you if you
[28:16] don't mind.
[28:17] » Sure. Yep.
[28:18] » Um, just in regard to LAR, I know enough
[28:20] about it to be dangerous. Uh,
[28:22] » Oh,
[28:22] » However, I have a question for you in
[28:25] regard to LAR. From what I understand,
[28:27] LAR is able to look beneath the ground.
[28:29] Is that correct?
[28:31] Um the LAR that we have is not looking
[28:35] beneath the ground.
[28:36] » It is.
[28:37] » So I can answer this. Um that uh some
[28:41] LAR can pierce beneath the ground. Um it
[28:43] depends on the frequency of the laser
[28:45] that's being used.
[28:47] » Um the the frequency that we are using
[28:49] for this capture in particular is meant
[28:51] to be getting returns from the ground
[28:53] because that's what we're trying to uh
[28:55] measure. Um there are some that can
[28:58] measure beneath and you can do all sorts
[29:00] of crazy things like estimate ground the
[29:02] amount of groundwater because of you
[29:03] know like the intensity of the return
[29:05] and all that kind of fun stuff. Um but
[29:07] in this particular case the lasers we
[29:09] are using are tuned specifically to
[29:12] reflect off the surface of the ground.
[29:14] » Understood. And the reason I was asking
[29:17] it it came with a purpose. You know, a
[29:19] lot of the towns had just recently
[29:21] suffered the floods, right? We had the
[29:22] thousand-year flood where a lot of our
[29:24] roads were undermined and things of that
[29:26] nature. I was looking at it from a
[29:28] benefit of being able to look under
[29:30] those roads in some circumstances and
[29:31] maybe be able to protect sink holes and
[29:34] areas that have been washed out that you
[29:35] may not see immediately after the flood.
[29:38] It might take years to reveal
[29:39] themselves. So, I was looking for it as
[29:41] a benefit to my town or other towns that
[29:43] were affected to possibly search for
[29:46] those things um ahead of time. So that
[29:48] was the reason I was asking. But yeah, I
[29:50] do understand that LAR has been used to
[29:52] recover underground cities in some parts
[29:54] of Europe and Turkey and things of that
[29:56] nature. But I was looking at for that uh
[29:58] that application. So that answers my
[30:00] question. Thank you.
[30:02] » Yeah, no problem. Thank you. That uh we
[30:04] can look into what that would be. Um
[30:07] that's typically more ground planetating
[30:09] radar.
[30:10] » Yeah. Um, but like you know the when I
[30:12] when I say you can tune LAR to kind of
[30:14] search beneath the surface, you're
[30:15] talking like inches, not like feet.
[30:21] » Yeah.
[30:22] » Yeah. The ground penetrating radar,
[30:23] Terry, would be probably your better bet
[30:25] for that. We we actually did a little
[30:27] bit of that work in Trumble on an EPA
[30:29] assessment uh looking for potential uh
[30:33] storage tanks underground and they use
[30:34] ground penetrating radar for that
[30:36] specifically. So it is possible to get
[30:39] further down but it it would have to be
[30:40] done that that is typically done more on
[30:42] a very sight specific basis than it
[30:44] would be kind of flown over the whole
[30:46] state.
[30:46] » Understood. Yeah. And this would be
[30:48] obviously um sight specific.
[30:51] » Yep.
[30:52] » You know so anyway you answer my
[30:53] question. Thank you very much.
[30:57] » Okay. Um that certainly was a
[30:59] comprehensive presentation. We
[31:00] appreciate that. Does anybody else have
[31:02] any other questions at this point?
[31:08] Okay. Uh, thank you again. Um, Ashley
[31:13] Alfredo, we appreciate it.
[31:15] » Matt, do you have anything else you want
[31:16] to offer there or
[31:18] » No, I think we're good.
[31:18] » Could I ask a question for the first
[31:21] speaker? I mean, can you just tell us if
[31:24] if any of our towns are out of
[31:26] compliance with the with the GIS
[31:29] submission requirements?
[31:31] it. No, Metro Cook right now is not in
[31:34] in not compliance. Yeah.
[31:36] » Yeah. Dan, we we coordinate with the
[31:38] towns every year to collect the parcel
[31:40] data and submit it to OPM. Um and we
[31:43] have done so ever since it was required.
[31:45] So uh no, there's no towns in Metro Cog
[31:47] that have not uh continued their annual
[31:48] updates.
[31:50] » Okay, great. Because I know we hadn't
[31:51] done some of the GS GIS uh we hadn't
[31:56] submitted some of the GIS data we needed
[31:58] to. Okay, great. All right, thanks.
[32:02] Okay. Thank you again. Appreciate it.
[32:05] » Thank you.
[32:07] » Okay. Uh we don't have any action items
[32:09] on our agenda this morning. So I'm going
[32:11] to turn to the discussion items. And
[32:13] Matt, you want to start with A, which is
[32:16] the regional PC?
[32:18] » Yeah. Just quick update. As we've talked
[32:20] about in previous meetings, we are
[32:21] updating the regional plan of
[32:22] conservation development. We've had a a
[32:24] team set up of municipal staff um to
[32:27] help uh guide that process with our
[32:29] staff as well as some focus groups on
[32:31] specific focus areas. I did send to to
[32:34] you all, I think it was a couple weeks
[32:36] ago at this point. I can resend it um
[32:39] our uh goals and objectives for each of
[32:41] the various sections of the plan. Um I
[32:43] will resend that to you. I just want to
[32:44] make sure you all see it. I think it's
[32:45] pretty straightforward. It's
[32:46] comprehensive across a number of
[32:48] different um items uh and and
[32:50] requirements uh as outlined in the
[32:53] statutory language for the regional PCs.
[32:55] Um and again, we've worked really
[32:57] closely with staff to make sure that we
[32:58] are addressing all the local intricacies
[33:01] that that um that the region has and
[33:02] make sure that we are uh um kind of uh
[33:05] including all those as part of our uh
[33:07] planning processes. We are also um
[33:10] putting together um we are also putting
[33:13] together um some opportunities and some
[33:17] um outreach materials specifically for
[33:20] your individual planning and zoning
[33:21] commissions. We're not going to go
[33:22] present to them, but we are going to
[33:24] kind of create some short videos about
[33:25] each of the focus areas and what what
[33:26] the plan is going to contain within them
[33:28] uh for for them to be uh digested at at
[33:31] the planning zoning commission's um uh
[33:34] at their own uh time and place. And we
[33:37] also will be uh putting the plan the
[33:39] draft plan out for public consumption um
[33:41] and public review and public comment um
[33:43] after we get it to you all for uh review
[33:46] first. Um so that's really where we are
[33:47] with that. Megan, I don't know if you
[33:49] have anything else to add to it.
[33:58] Oh, Megan, you're muted if you're
[34:00] talking. Sorry.
[34:08] Okay. I guess
[34:09] » He's having some internet issues as
[34:11] well. So,
[34:13] » Everyone's having some internet issues.
[34:16] » Yeah.
[34:17] » Okay. I think we're good. I can I I like
[34:18] I said, I will re I will resend you all
[34:21] the goals and objectives for each of the
[34:22] the sections of the plan. Um just so you
[34:25] can take a look at them. I I don't
[34:27] believe there's anything in there that
[34:28] should be of concern to you, but I want
[34:29] to make sure you all have a chance to
[34:31] see them. So, I will resend those today
[34:32] after the meeting.
[34:34] Thanks, Matt.
[34:35] » And Matt, um, you you covered everything
[34:37] regarding the PCB
[34:39] to to reach us right now. Uh, you
[34:41] covered everything. Yep.
[34:43] » Thank you.
[34:45] » Okay, great. So, let's uh any further
[34:48] questions about the uh PSC item?
[34:53] » Okay, then let's go to item B, which is
[34:55] the economic development strategy
[34:56] update.
[34:57] » Uh, yes, as I mentioned last month, um,
[34:59] we have to update our SDS, the
[35:01] comprehensive economic development
[35:02] strategy. Uh it was initially completed
[35:04] and adopted in um fall of 2021. It has
[35:08] to be updated every 5 years. Uh last
[35:10] time around we went out and hired a
[35:11] consultant for this using some EDA funds
[35:14] which proved to be more difficult to
[35:16] manage than they were worth receiving to
[35:18] be honest. It wasn't that much money and
[35:20] the time and effort it took to comply
[35:21] with the federal requirements did not
[35:23] really um the return on that benefit was
[35:24] not was not uh seen very well. Um so we
[35:27] are going to be updating it internally
[35:28] this this this time around. Um Noah
[35:30] Miller, who's on uh a new wish planner,
[35:33] is going to be working directly with
[35:34] Patrick Carlton on on that strategy
[35:36] document. Um one thing we have to do as
[35:38] part of the SGS is is have a strategy
[35:40] committee. Um last time we did work
[35:42] through the BRBC and their economic
[35:45] economic development committee to kind
[35:46] of set up that strategy committee,
[35:48] although it was very difficult to get
[35:49] those folks kind of in and um and and
[35:51] meet and and have input from them on a
[35:54] timely basis. So we talked to a couple
[35:56] other cogs that have done this process
[35:58] recently. Um and they all start uh began
[36:01] using uh the board members, so the you
[36:04] all and economic development staff
[36:06] within the within the region um within
[36:08] your municipalities as kind of the
[36:09] strategy committee to help guide this
[36:11] planning process. So our hope is that we
[36:13] would do the same for uh for this update
[36:15] for ourselves. Um so we will be sending
[36:18] some information out to you all um and
[36:20] your econ economic development directors
[36:22] and any other staff they can obviously
[36:23] bring in at at their at their um
[36:25] discretion uh to be part of the strategy
[36:27] committee. and the strategy committee
[36:28] really is just going to meet a few times
[36:30] to we're going to go over some of the
[36:31] the uh the data trends that we've seen
[36:33] over the last five years, review some of
[36:35] that information, review some of the
[36:36] goals and the the the SWAT analysis. So,
[36:38] there's a um a strengths, weakness, and
[36:40] opportunities analysis that is required.
[36:42] So, we will kind of take the first pass
[36:44] at that internally with staff and then
[36:46] present that to the strategy committee,
[36:47] get feedback, make modifications, and
[36:49] then go forward with uh producing the
[36:51] full document. Um, so I just wanted to
[36:53] kind of give you a larger overview on
[36:54] what that process looks like. um and
[36:57] that you know again as opposed to using
[37:00] um the BRBC this time I think there's
[37:01] value in in us kind of doing it
[37:03] internally and using you all along with
[37:05] Danfo from BRBC who would be part of
[37:07] that committee as well kind of
[37:08] representing the business community um
[37:10] and maybe one or two folks that he
[37:12] recommends to bring into this. Um so
[37:14] that's kind of our our process for this.
[37:16] So you'll be seeing some more
[37:17] information both from myself andor uh
[37:19] Pat and Noah in the coming weeks on the
[37:21] SDS process. But just wanted to give you
[37:23] all an update on where we were with
[37:25] that. We are in the kind of data
[37:26] collection and data analysis phase right
[37:27] now. So once we complete that, we will
[37:29] be presenting to the strategy committee
[37:31] what that what that results were, what
[37:33] those results were. Apologize.
[37:35] And Pat, no, I don't know if you have
[37:36] anything else on that on that item.
[37:39] » No, I think you gave a good overview. As
[37:40] Matt mentioned, we have some materials
[37:41] that we'll be sending out uh to the
[37:43] board for review um and and really just
[37:45] give an update on the process and kind
[37:47] of uh you know, where it goes from here.
[37:49] But obviously we're just in the we're
[37:50] just starting this um so obviously going
[37:52] through the data collection and uh data
[37:55] analysis piece. Um once obviously we
[37:57] have some more of those findings uh
[37:59] we'll happy to share all the results
[38:00] with you and um you know always provide
[38:02] updates as we get uh get more into the
[38:04] process.
[38:05] » Thanks Pat.
[38:06] » Yep.
[38:09] » Okay. Any more questions, conversation,
[38:12] discussion about that item?
[38:15] Okay. Let's move on to item C.
[38:19] the uh pur update for us, Matt, please.
[38:22] » Yeah, so I was going to send something
[38:23] out yesterday, but I figured we were
[38:24] meeting today. I would just hold a
[38:26] discussion for uh for this meeting. Um,
[38:28] so as many of you likely know, uh, PUIR
[38:31] did meet yesterday at their regular
[38:33] meeting at 9:00 am. Um, the first item
[38:35] on their agenda was the, um, the remand
[38:39] of the judges appeal u, back to PURA on
[38:43] the Aquarian uh, water company uh,
[38:45] change in control to AWA.
[38:49] As we had as I indicated to all of you
[38:50] previously based on their draft decision
[38:53] um
[38:54] they unanimously uh three to zero uh
[38:58] approved the application. Um it's 3 to
[39:00] zero this time just as a as a side note
[39:02] as opposed to the 4 to zero in November
[39:04] which was denied. Um so that is because
[39:09] the chairman um chairman wheel uh he
[39:11] recused himself early on because he was
[39:13] part of OC that provided um that
[39:16] basically set out the OC path for um
[39:19] their uh their concerns about this case.
[39:22] So when he became a peer commissioner he
[39:24] recused himself and then the new
[39:26] commissioner that was just uh made an
[39:28] interim commissioner in uh in January
[39:30] did not feel as if he had the time or
[39:33] ability to come up to speed fully. Um,
[39:35] so he recused himself as well. So
[39:37] there's only three commissioners. Uh,
[39:38] Commissioner, uh, Vice Chairman Arante,
[39:41] uh, Commissioner Cheeseman, and, uh,
[39:44] Commissioner Beecher are the three that
[39:46] voted on this. Um, they, uh, so again,
[39:50] they approved it unanimously, 3 to zero.
[39:53] They did in their statements, and I
[39:55] watched it yesterday morning. Um, they
[39:57] did still, uh, the PUR staff did still
[40:00] have some concerns about the financials
[40:02] and the governance piece. Um but the
[40:06] arguments we made in the in the oral
[40:07] arguments uh last week uh from both our
[40:10] attorney and David Ball as well as OC
[40:13] the office of commun community consumer
[40:15] council and the AG's office that you
[40:18] know purist still had it well within
[40:19] their rights to deny the application. It
[40:21] seems like they did not take any of that
[40:24] really to heart unfortunately. Um, so
[40:28] where we are now, um, I just actually
[40:31] received an email from our attorney.
[40:33] They have been in discussions, uh, he's
[40:35] been in discussions with David Ball, who
[40:37] is representing four municipalities. Um,
[40:39] we are exploring all potential op
[40:41] options, uh, regarding additional
[40:44] appeals on this decision from PURA. Um,
[40:48] so that is kind of still in the works
[40:50] right now. I don't have any updates as
[40:52] you know, as that just happened
[40:53] yesterday morning. um the the the we
[40:56] have not finalized kind of the path
[40:58] forward on an appeal process, but we are
[41:00] um communicating both with our councils
[41:02] and the OC and AG's office on what an
[41:05] appeal potentially looks like and who
[41:07] who who actually files the motion and
[41:09] and where we can support that or where
[41:11] we can be the ones that file that
[41:12] appeal. Um, you know, as I said
[41:14] previously, unfortunately, it it it it's
[41:18] difficult to understand how you could
[41:19] deny something four to zero in November
[41:21] and have nothing change and and now
[41:22] approve it 3 to zero uh three and a
[41:24] half, four months later. Uh but that is
[41:27] unfortunately what has happened here. Um
[41:28] there is still uh just to keep you all
[41:31] fully updated, there is still a piece of
[41:33] legislation that was passed out of the
[41:34] energy and technology committee um a
[41:37] week and a half ago, two weeks ago now.
[41:38] Um that does modify both the governance
[41:41] structure. It changes the authority
[41:43] board structure from a 6 to5 majority
[41:45] RWA to a 6 to5 majority to AWA. It also
[41:49] um looks to clarify the legislative
[41:51] intent of uh public act 24-1 uh which is
[41:54] really what the judge the appeal judge
[41:56] judge Budsick um put in his in his uh
[42:00] remand decision was that the legisl the
[42:02] purer could not override the legislature
[42:04] um in that and they didn't really have
[42:06] uh authority to say the governance
[42:08] structure was not in the public
[42:09] interest. We always have believed that
[42:11] the legislature intended for PUR to have
[42:14] full control uh and full regulatory
[42:16] control to review this application
[42:18] including the governance structure and
[42:19] that that structure was only going to um
[42:22] kind of become uh real if PUR deemed it
[42:26] acceptable. Uh so the language in the in
[42:28] the legislation that was voted out of
[42:29] committee does uh try to address that
[42:32] issue of the judge's interpretation of
[42:33] the legislative intent and make it very
[42:36] clear that the legislature intended
[42:37] always for pure to have full control. Um
[42:40] what happens with that p with that piece
[42:42] of legislation I do not know. It is it
[42:44] is um voted out to the floor. So it is
[42:47] able to be brought to the floor for a
[42:49] vote at any point by the house of
[42:50] representatives in the state. Um we are
[42:53] working behind the scenes to try and see
[42:54] if we can garner support for that and
[42:56] get that bill raised uh in the House for
[42:59] a for a floor debate and a vote. Um but
[43:02] you know I don't have anything more on
[43:04] that at at this time. I would say the
[43:06] one thing that you all potentially could
[43:09] do uh individually is re make sure you
[43:11] reach out to each of your legislative
[43:13] delegation folks, especially those
[43:15] members of the House and urge them to
[43:17] continue to put pressure um on on their
[43:21] caucuses to uh to support this bill
[43:24] coming out for a vote in the House.
[43:26] That's really our best our best case
[43:27] scenario right now. We do have what
[43:30] about a a little over a month of the
[43:32] session left. So there will be a number
[43:34] of other days that the the House and
[43:35] Senate are in session to potentially
[43:37] raise this bill. So we are working
[43:39] diligently and try to try and get enough
[43:41] uh support within the House to raise
[43:43] that bill. But there are a number of
[43:44] roadblocks we are um trying to contend
[43:47] with as well.
[43:49] So that's the unfortunate update for
[43:51] PURE right now. But is it uh we we we
[43:53] are as I said exploring all options
[43:55] moving forward and you know I I don't
[43:57] think this is the end of it. Uh
[43:59] fortunately or unfortunately um we will
[44:01] continue to uh to support uh all the
[44:05] potential opportunities we have uh to
[44:08] address this decision which we don't
[44:09] believe is the correct one.
[44:20] Okay. Anybody have any uh questions,
[44:24] discussion about this? Obviously, this
[44:27] is um you know, not something we would
[44:30] have expected, especially since the
[44:32] result was the exact opposite, you know,
[44:35] basically less than 3 months ago. So,
[44:37] it's just uh extremely frustrating. Um,
[44:41] so I think we should all take Matt's
[44:44] advice and reach out to our uh our
[44:47] legislative delegation and make sure
[44:49] that they do what they can to get this
[44:51] vote to the floor.
[44:54] » So,
[44:55] » And I do have some um I I put together
[44:57] some some draft talking points um about
[44:59] our our major concerns with this deal.
[45:02] Um so, I will get that all to you uh so
[45:04] you have it when you when you do speak
[45:06] with any of the legislative delegation
[45:08] uh members from your municipality.
[45:10] Thanks, Matt. That'd be uh very helpful.
[45:14] » And can I just add one thing, Matt?
[45:16] » Yeah, please.
[45:17] » I have a copy of the the decision. It's
[45:19] about a 50-page decision. So, if you
[45:21] haven't seen it, I could I could send
[45:22] that out after this meeting. Um
[45:24] » Yeah, why don't you do that, Pat? Just
[45:25] so everyone has it. I mean, it's
[45:26] lengthy. It's a lot of uh it's a lot of
[45:31] uh interesting things. if you want to
[45:33] take a look at it.
[45:34] » They they certainly seem to at some
[45:36] points kind of
[45:39] I would say try to directly address some
[45:41] of the arguments that were made by both
[45:43] Tony Mloud and David Ball and the AG's
[45:46] office and the OC during the most recent
[45:48] oral arguments. Um it seemed like they
[45:50] kind of went out of their way to try and
[45:52] in their decision dispel some of our um
[45:55] the the arguments we made in their
[45:57] decision and they tried to from the way
[46:00] I read it is they were trying to limit
[46:02] our ability to appeal. Um but I I think
[46:04] there are still certainly grounds that
[46:06] that uh we could file an appeal under um
[46:09] even with that. But yeah, Pat, if you
[46:11] want to share that out with the board
[46:12] afterwards, that'd be great. Thank you.
[46:15] Uh, so Matt, I I haven't seen anything,
[46:17] but that doesn't mean it hasn't been
[46:19] done. Has William Tong made any comments
[46:21] yet about this?
[46:22] » I haven't seen anything publicly from
[46:23] him. I will say he was very very strong
[46:25] at the oral arguments. Um, he was he was
[46:28] there for five and a half hours. Um,
[46:31] which isn't typical for an AG. Uh, so he
[46:34] spent a considerable part of his day or
[46:35] four and a half hours uh part of his day
[46:37] at the oral arguments. um talked very
[46:41] passionately um during his time um and
[46:44] his with his major concerns of this of
[46:46] this transaction and why he was against
[46:48] it. I haven't seen anything publicly
[46:49] from him yet, but if I do if I do see
[46:52] anything, I will get it out to you.
[46:54] There was also um
[46:55] » There is a press release, Matt, that he
[46:56] » Oh, there is one from the AG's office.
[46:57] Okay, I didn't see that yet. Sorry.
[46:58] » I could send that out with the decision
[47:00] as well.
[47:00] » Yeah, why don't you include that with
[47:01] decision so everyone can see that as
[47:02] well. And we have had some discussions
[47:04] uh our our council has had some
[47:06] discussions with the attorney general's
[47:07] office about what a potential appeal
[47:09] looks like um and and who might be the
[47:10] lead on that. So I will keep you all
[47:12] informed as that discussion uh
[47:14] continues.
[47:16] » Madam Chair, if I can I just like to say
[47:18] one thing. This is not a question. This
[47:20] is more of a statement. with this sale
[47:23] um of Aquarian to RWA, I would certainly
[47:26] hope that uh there's a strong
[47:29] consideration by Eversource to uh remove
[47:32] public benefits. That is my statement.
[47:35] Thank you.
[47:39] » Um yeah, it I also had a comment. Um
[47:45] so I went up to the Connecticut Land
[47:47] Trust Conference on Saturday, which I
[47:49] recommend you. and they have it every
[47:51] year in at Wesian University. And um I
[47:56] got to talk to uh some people who work
[47:59] at RWA and um and then I also saw uh
[48:03] workers from Aquarian here in East
[48:07] and I was sort of surprised that you
[48:10] know they they think it's it's going to
[48:13] be administered better um than Aquarian.
[48:17] they they pointed out that um you know
[48:20] maybe new technology will be introduced
[48:22] faster or this or that. So I was just
[48:25] sort of surprised that um they were kind
[48:28] of all for it. Um and I obviously from
[48:33] East's point of view were very concerned
[48:35] about the tax revenue and and and
[48:38] whether or not they'll be obligated to f
[48:40] pay their full taxes with pilot and and
[48:43] how that'll work and then the water
[48:45] rates. But I just wanted to throw that
[48:47] out there that the people who work at
[48:50] Aquarian and then the people who work at
[48:52] RWA,
[48:54] they think it's going to be better. Um,
[48:56] and I just was sort of surprised to hear
[48:59] that. Um, and I didn't know that before
[49:02] I spoke to them.
[49:04] » Yeah, thanks. And I mean I, you know, I
[49:06] can't speak for individual employees. I
[49:08] would say that, you know, at the
[49:09] employee side of this, I don't think,
[49:11] you know, I don't know how each, I don't
[49:13] know how RWA's run. don't have a lot of
[49:15] experience, you know, dealing with them.
[49:16] I think people that have worked for
[49:17] Aquarium for years, it's 175 year old
[49:19] company in various iterations, um, have
[49:22] been very happy and and considered a
[49:24] very good place to work. I don't know
[49:26] how what those changes would be on the
[49:27] kind of employee side. Um, but I also
[49:30] think that, you know, those employees
[49:31] aren't really uh don't really have to
[49:33] worry about to a certain extent don't
[49:34] have to worry about I mean they might be
[49:36] rateayers but aren't aren't necessarily
[49:38] as clued into the financial aspects and
[49:40] the governance aspects of this deal that
[49:42] um are really where we have major
[49:45] concerns about how this goes forward and
[49:46] how it um how it continues in the future
[49:49] and what the potential burden on on
[49:51] rateayers and municipalities would be.
[49:53] But, you know, I I it's not surprising
[49:55] that the the staff level would would
[49:56] wouldn't be concerned, you know, but I I
[49:59] do think our concerns on a higher level,
[50:02] on an administrative level, are still
[50:03] very uh very valid and and and and we're
[50:06] going to try to exhaust every option we
[50:08] have.
[50:15] Okay. Uh any other comments, questions
[50:18] at this this point?
[50:22] Okay. So, hearing none at this at this
[50:24] time, let's move on to uh the safe
[50:26] streets item D on the discussion items.
[50:29] » Yep. Thank you, Vicki. So, um just a
[50:31] quick update. We received from the
[50:33] Federal Highways Administration a grant
[50:34] uh under the safe streets for all grant
[50:36] program. Um I think we've talked about
[50:38] this once or twice previously and this
[50:40] board this board approved us entering
[50:42] into that grant agreement um about a
[50:44] year and a half ago. We are at a place
[50:46] now where we have a consultant on board
[50:48] uh not fully executed but we have a
[50:50] preferred uh preferred uh preferred
[50:53] consultant selected that we will be
[50:54] moving forward with. Um some of the work
[50:57] under that grant program is updating our
[50:59] safety action plan which staff is
[51:00] already working on. Um but the the
[51:02] bigger piece that I just wanted to make
[51:04] aware to all of you is that it was a
[51:06] planning and demonstration grant. Um so
[51:07] the demonstration grant is really
[51:09] shortterm quick build type projects that
[51:11] would be put out on the street for a
[51:13] temporary period of time. uh typically
[51:15] between April and October April 1st and
[51:18] October 30th is what DOT allows. And
[51:21] just as a reminder, we are focusing on
[51:23] all the state-owned assets with this
[51:24] grant. So, we're not going to look at
[51:26] local road improvements, but it'll be
[51:27] all the state roads, which we know have
[51:29] some pretty significant um uh safety
[51:31] issues and crash histories on them. So,
[51:33] our consultant will be working with us
[51:35] um and our high injury network and our
[51:37] crash hotspot data uh that we update on
[51:40] an annual basis to identify the
[51:41] locations where we will design um the
[51:45] short-term uh temporary demonstration
[51:47] projects. They could be things like
[51:48] ballards at intersections to kind of uh
[51:51] reduce crossing distances and and change
[51:53] the geometry of the of the turn to make
[51:55] sure people are not taking turns at high
[51:57] speeds. Uh it could be daylighting
[51:59] crosswalks. So, uh putting up ballards
[52:01] or some sort of um some type of uh
[52:04] implementation where you don't allow
[52:06] cars to park too close to crosswalks to
[52:08] make sure pedestrians are seen. Um it
[52:10] can be paint, it can be temporary paint
[52:12] um to try and show, you know, where
[52:14] pedestrians can be, refuge locations. Um
[52:17] so there's a number of of different
[52:19] demonstration project types. Um, we're
[52:21] going to work with our consultant to
[52:23] analyze the the crash history data and
[52:25] all the data that we have and the
[52:27] consultant and and our staff and and
[52:29] staff from your municipalities will work
[52:30] to kind of identify the various types of
[52:33] demonstration projects that may that may
[52:35] be helpful in addressing the safety
[52:37] issues at each one of those locations.
[52:38] So, we don't have an idea now. I know
[52:40] based on our grant application, I think
[52:42] we have to do at least four to six
[52:44] demonstration projects throughout the
[52:45] region. Um our hope is though that we
[52:48] have enough money and we work with our
[52:49] consultant to get the costs on these
[52:50] demonstration projects down to a place
[52:53] uh where we can do significantly more
[52:54] than that. Um so that's kind of our hope
[52:55] right now. Uh we as we work through the
[52:58] initial process, we will be coordinating
[53:00] with with your with your municipal
[53:01] staff, engineering staff, planning staff
[53:04] um and have them work with our
[53:05] consultants directly um to make sure
[53:07] that we are um identifying the right
[53:09] locations to try and start looking at
[53:10] addressing some of these safety
[53:12] concerns. And again, unfortunately,
[53:13] these are demonstration projects, so
[53:14] they will be put out temporarily and
[53:16] have to come down. Um, but our hope is
[53:18] to be able to use those as an
[53:19] opportunity to show the the
[53:21] effectiveness of these safety measures
[53:23] uh to hopefully then look for uh
[53:25] programming for uh permanent
[53:27] improvements that will help uh you know,
[53:29] more more permanently uh increase safety
[53:31] for pedestrians and bikes and vehicles
[53:33] traveling through our region.
[53:37] Well, it certainly is uh positiveness
[53:42] » After the last item. Yeah, we need
[53:43] something.
[53:45] » Yeah, I'm sure we can we can I'll use a
[53:48] lot more of that. All right, so um any
[53:51] questions on that update about safe
[53:54] streets?
[53:58] Okay, hearing none, let's go to
[53:59] something positive as well and you can
[54:02] update us on the office remod. Yeah. So,
[54:04] unfortunately, we're still not in the
[54:06] office yet, which is why this is a uh
[54:07] virtual only meeting. Um, so appreciate
[54:09] you all being okay with accommodating
[54:11] our our lack of office space for the
[54:13] short term. Uh, so we did meet with our
[54:15] general contractor yesterday. Colleen
[54:17] Pat and I have had weekly meetings with
[54:19] them. Um, they every the the
[54:22] everything's basically doneish. Um, the
[54:25] floor is the new floor is going in today
[54:27] um and yesterday. Uh, it should be done
[54:29] by tomorrow. And the only thing we're
[54:32] waiting on now is the furniture that we
[54:34] ordered for the two new offices as well
[54:37] as um a couple additional cubicles for
[54:39] the for the uh the open area of uh of
[54:42] the office are a little delayed. Um, and
[54:46] one thing that is it those wouldn't be a
[54:48] major issue for us getting back into the
[54:50] office except for the fact that um there
[54:52] was an upgrade to the electrical
[54:54] standards on the I don't know I'm not an
[54:56] electrician so I don't know all the
[54:57] words but basically the the power that
[54:59] comes into the cubicles that allows um
[55:02] the cubicles to have power uh uh power
[55:04] receptacle that comes up through the
[55:06] floor. It's basically coured up uh
[55:07] through the floor and underneath. Um
[55:09] there is a new standard for those uh
[55:12] that that power receptacle that our
[55:14] current um uh receptacles do not meet.
[55:17] So those are on order. We should have
[55:19] them hopefully next week. Um so we can't
[55:21] do the final inspection until such time
[55:23] that those power pieces are um are
[55:26] installed. So that that's kind of the
[55:28] last limiting factor to us being um
[55:31] issued a certificate of occupancy. Um,
[55:34] so once we have that, we'll be able to
[55:35] move back in fully um and and get all
[55:38] get all of our stuff out of the
[55:39] conference room so we we can have a
[55:41] conference room again. But it is it it
[55:43] moved very well. Um uh everything was
[55:46] really remained on schedule and the
[55:48] really the only the only reason we're a
[55:49] little bit delayed is because of the
[55:51] ordering of this uh very specific
[55:53] electrical component that needs to be
[55:54] installed. But otherwise, the the
[55:56] remodel went very well. The the general
[55:58] contractor did a great job staying on on
[56:01] schedule. Um, even with the snow and
[56:02] things that we had, they they didn't
[56:04] really lose any time. So, it's been a a
[56:05] pretty seamless process. And I think the
[56:06] office is uh I was there last week. It
[56:09] looks really it looks really nice. Um,
[56:11] it's it's well done. It's a little bit
[56:13] bigger than what we had before. Gives us
[56:14] a little bit of ability to to um add
[56:17] more uh capacity uh staff-wise, which is
[56:20] great. Um, and you know, we're really
[56:22] happy with what how it's come out so
[56:23] far. So, we look forward to being
[56:25] hopefully being able to show it off uh
[56:27] to all of you for an inerson meeting in
[56:29] in April is my hope.
[56:32] Well,
[56:32] » That's good to hear, Matt. I'm looking
[56:34] forward to seeing it
[56:35] » For the renovation for you guys. So, um,
[56:38] anybody have a question?
[56:43] Okay, let's uh move on to the housing
[56:46] bill.
[56:47] » Yep. So, housing bill, as I talked about
[56:48] last time or maybe two months ago, I
[56:50] forget. We did put out an RSP for uh to
[56:52] get an on to get a consultant on that
[56:54] can help each one of municipalities with
[56:56] the zoning revisions that are required
[56:58] as part of uh public act 25-1. Uh
[57:00] specifically those zoning revisions are
[57:02] related to minimum parking as well as
[57:05] the submar review for um the development
[57:08] of uh middle housing 2 to9 units on uh
[57:11] commercially or mixeduse zones uh
[57:13] existing commercial or mixeduse zones.
[57:15] Um we did put that out. We unfortunately
[57:18] only got one response um last week where
[57:20] they were due the 19th. We only got one
[57:22] response. So what we are doing um
[57:24] internally is we are going to extend
[57:26] that deadline out another two weeks, two
[57:28] and a half weeks um to and and get it to
[57:31] some other uh lists that maybe didn't
[57:33] see it or didn't uh publish it enough to
[57:35] hopefully get some more. We did reach
[57:36] out to a couple other cogs who had um
[57:40] four to eight responses when they put
[57:42] out their basically same RFP. Um, so we
[57:44] just think maybe either got lost with
[57:46] some of the other ones that were out
[57:47] there or maybe they thought it was the
[57:48] same one and didn't respond. So, we're
[57:50] just going to give a couple more weeks
[57:51] to get a few more responses in to make
[57:53] sure um to make sure that we have enough
[57:56] to go off of before we select a
[57:58] preferred consultant for that work. And
[58:00] then as soon as we get them on, we will
[58:01] we will um put them in touch with uh
[58:04] your planning uh planning department and
[58:06] whoever else they need to talk to uh so
[58:08] they can be again and this is going to
[58:10] be of no cost to yourselves. uh a nocost
[58:12] ability to help um wherever where where
[58:15] and how necessary to make sure your
[58:16] municipality can comply with those
[58:18] zoning revisions. I also just on the
[58:20] zoning side um based on the public act,
[58:22] the zoning uh zoning revisions are
[58:25] supposed to be done by July 1st of this
[58:27] year. It's going to be a very big lift
[58:29] for I think every municipality in the
[58:30] state. I am trying to have a
[58:32] conversation with legislative leadership
[58:34] to see if in some of the they're making
[58:37] a couple very small fixes to the bill um
[58:39] at some point in this session. I am
[58:41] trying to have a discussion to see if
[58:42] it's possible to just extend that July 1
[58:45] deadline out to January 1st of of next
[58:47] year. Uh just give us to give the town
[58:49] six months uh municipality six months
[58:50] additional to make those zoning
[58:52] revisions before they go into in in into
[58:54] effect. So I will keep you updated on
[58:56] that discussion. I don't know where it's
[58:57] going to go, but it is something I'm I'm
[58:58] trying to do because I do think that
[58:59] would give us a little bit more lead
[59:01] time in order to have these revisions
[59:02] incorporated fully into your zoning
[59:04] codes.
[59:05] Wait, Matt, can you just go over which
[59:08] which parts of the zoning need to be in
[59:10] by July 4th?
[59:12] » It's July 1st right now. Um, but as I
[59:14] said, I'm we are trying to see if that
[59:16] can get extended. It's also I mean it's
[59:18] supposed to be in there, but it's not I
[59:19] don't think it it there's no punitive
[59:21] measures if if the zoning is not updated
[59:23] by July 1. So, just I just want to put
[59:25] that out there, too.
[59:25] » No, but but my question is which which
[59:28] » No, I Yeah, I'm getting Yeah, I'm going
[59:29] to get to that, Dan. So, it's there's a
[59:31] minimum parking requirement um where
[59:33] municipalities um are not allowed to
[59:36] require parking um greater than one spot
[59:40] per studio or one-bedroom apartment or
[59:42] greater than two spots for a two-bedroom
[59:44] apartment or greater than three spots
[59:46] for any um units greater than two
[59:49] bedrooms.
[59:51] So, that's the parking piece. And then
[59:52] the other one um is related to a summary
[59:56] review of um so it's as opposed to going
[59:59] through a full zoning process uh summary
[1:00:02] review is kind of like an expedited
[1:00:03] review where the town sets out
[1:00:04] guidelines beforehand um during in the
[1:00:08] summary review code that you have and
[1:00:10] this is specifically for the development
[1:00:12] of middle housing. So two units to nine
[1:00:14] units on existing commercial or mixeduse
[1:00:18] uh parcels. So, they have to be zoned
[1:00:20] commercial or mixed use currently for
[1:00:22] that to be applicable. Um, and that
[1:00:24] would allow a developer to come in and
[1:00:26] put in an application. And as long as
[1:00:28] that application satisfied all the
[1:00:30] criteria that the town laid out for the
[1:00:32] summary review, they would be able to
[1:00:34] basically get a sign off and
[1:00:35] administratively without having to go
[1:00:37] through the full zoning commission
[1:00:39] process for those two to nine unit
[1:00:40] developments.
[1:00:43] » Okay. Yeah. I guess when I saw that I,
[1:00:46] you know, I thought we don't have that.
[1:00:48] We don't have mixed use or so. I I
[1:00:51] didn't know.
[1:00:52] » You don't really have one. I think you
[1:00:53] only have one commercial, two commercial
[1:00:56] zone parcels very minimally. So, it's
[1:00:59] not of uh I think Dan, for your specific
[1:01:02] perspective, I don't think it's of major
[1:01:03] concern because you don't have a whole
[1:01:05] lot of those two zoning types in your
[1:01:06] municipality.
[1:01:08] » Okay. And then just while I have the
[1:01:10] floor here, I I there's a zoning
[1:01:14] um association meeting tonight at the
[1:01:17] aqua turf that I'm going to go to. I
[1:01:20] don't know if anybody else is
[1:01:21] interested. It seems to be the
[1:01:23] association the Connecticut association
[1:01:25] of zoning.
[1:01:26] » Yeah, it's a zoning the zoning
[1:01:27] enforcement officers have an annual
[1:01:30] meeting. I think that's what that what
[1:01:31] that is tonight, I believe.
[1:01:32] » Yeah. So, that looked like a good one
[1:01:33] because they're going to go over 802
[1:01:35] again. So, if anybody's interested,
[1:01:37] that's that's happening.
[1:01:40] » Thanks, Dan.
[1:01:43] » Thank you.
[1:01:45] » Okay. Does anybody have uh any other
[1:01:47] questions on on the zoning update on the
[1:01:49] housing bill?
[1:01:52] » So, obviously that that will be uh I
[1:01:55] know we've talked about this at our
[1:01:56] previous meetings, but certainly that
[1:01:58] consult will be very helpful to us, all
[1:02:00] of us. So, we appreciate that. Yeah,
[1:02:02] we're just and we're trying to make sure
[1:02:03] we just we have enough uh responses to
[1:02:05] make a a a good informed decision on who
[1:02:08] to on who to move forward with.
[1:02:12] » Anyone else have a question on that?
[1:02:15] All right, let's move to the last item
[1:02:17] then if you would update us on that.
[1:02:19] » Yep. Yeah. CBRG is a climate pollution
[1:02:20] reduction grant program through EPA that
[1:02:22] we've been administering for the last
[1:02:23] couple years. Um our comprehensive uh uh
[1:02:28] our comprehensive um climate action plan
[1:02:31] CCAP I always too many acronyms um is
[1:02:34] fully is complete. We're just waiting on
[1:02:36] our consultant to provide um we're kind
[1:02:38] of doing some uh some handbooks or
[1:02:40] playbooks for each of the different
[1:02:41] sections. Um so once those are
[1:02:43] completed, we will be submitting it to
[1:02:44] EPA for our formal submission of that.
[1:02:47] It's not technically due, I don't think,
[1:02:49] until June or July of this year, but
[1:02:50] we're trying to get it in early since we
[1:02:52] were we were ready to submit back in
[1:02:53] December when the initial deadline was
[1:02:54] and then they extended it out through uh
[1:02:56] I think it's June. Uh but we will be
[1:02:58] submitting that shortly um and making
[1:03:01] sure we were in full compliance with
[1:03:02] that grant. And then we do have a couple
[1:03:04] years of of additional funding over the
[1:03:06] next two years um to work on some
[1:03:09] additional work. We're coordinating
[1:03:10] right now with EPA and WCOG, who's a
[1:03:14] partner with us on this on this climate
[1:03:15] action plan and this grant program um to
[1:03:18] try and uh potentially identify some
[1:03:21] opportunities where we can assist the
[1:03:22] municipalities specifically with looking
[1:03:24] at kind of some of their energy envelope
[1:03:26] issues with their buildings and and get
[1:03:28] some more uh real data that we could
[1:03:30] then use to provide uh to you all um and
[1:03:33] inform you on potential opportunities
[1:03:35] for um energy savings and and those
[1:03:38] types of those types of things. So,
[1:03:39] we're I'll we'll provide more
[1:03:41] information as we get a little bit more
[1:03:42] from EPA on that. Uh, but it's something
[1:03:44] that we're hoping to do over the next
[1:03:45] couple years directly with you on your
[1:03:47] municipally owned buildings to give you
[1:03:49] all a better handle on where you're
[1:03:50] currently um, you know, what your
[1:03:52] current energy utilization is, what
[1:03:54] you're currently paying from a rate
[1:03:55] perspective um, for these buildings and
[1:03:57] what opportunities exist to potentially
[1:03:59] uh, mitigate some of that energy usage
[1:04:02] um, and and have more sustainable and
[1:04:04] and conservation practices within those
[1:04:06] within within those municipal buildings.
[1:04:07] So, that's something we're hoping to
[1:04:09] provide be able to provide for you as we
[1:04:10] go forward over the next year and a half
[1:04:11] or so.
[1:04:16] » Okay, any questions on that?
[1:04:19] All right, thanks Matt for that update.
[1:04:21] Appreciate it. Um, it's uh we're at the
[1:04:25] end of our agenda. Anybody have any
[1:04:28] other business they want to discuss?
[1:04:32] » Nice long meeting. Thank you all.
[1:04:35] Yeah.
[1:04:36] » Yeah. Matt, can you resend that POC?
[1:04:39] » Yep.
[1:04:40] » Send it right after meeting
[1:04:42] » And then uh and then I am interested in
[1:04:44] any kind of the traffic planning stuff
[1:04:47] or or even the trains. If you have that
[1:04:50] like already, just forward that to me.
[1:04:52] So, I want to try to figure out what our
[1:04:55] role is on that.
[1:04:57] » Yeah. And I can I'm happy to set up a
[1:04:58] meeting with you too, Dan, to come and
[1:05:00] talk with you more in more detail about
[1:05:01] it all.
[1:05:03] » All right. Okay. Awesome. Yeah, I I
[1:05:05] would like to talk to you about the um
[1:05:08] the taxes and the pilot too and I would
[1:05:10] like to get the exact language of how
[1:05:13] that works if you have it. Um
[1:05:16] » We have that we can get it to you.
[1:05:17] » I really want to study that like from a
[1:05:20] legal perspective. All right. Thank you.
[1:05:22] Thank you so much.
[1:05:23] » Did the chair make a motion to adjourn?
[1:05:25] Just let me just uh um go over the next
[1:05:28] meeting dates which are April 30th and
[1:05:30] May 28th and we'll wait to hear from you
[1:05:32] Matt whether we're going to be uh you
[1:05:35] know at the office next time or have a
[1:05:37] hybrid meeting whatever what however you
[1:05:39] know when you're up to date with the
[1:05:42] » We should be well in well back moved in
[1:05:44] by then. So hopefully that'll be good.
[1:05:46] » Okay. And uh Matt just real quick I
[1:05:48] sorry I had to hop off and get back on.
[1:05:50] Um were there any questions for CT dot
[1:05:52] from you or the board?
[1:05:53] » Nope. We're good. Okay. Gotcha.
[1:05:57] » Okay. Uh, can I get a motion to adjurnn,
[1:06:00] please?
[1:06:01] » A motion.
[1:06:02] » Thanks, Ken. Can I have a second?
[1:06:04] » Second.
[1:06:05] » All in favor?
[1:06:06] » I.
[1:06:07] » Okay.
[1:06:08] » Have a good one. to everybody.