Minutes

Present: P. Barry, T. Callahan, E. Daniels, R. Hudd, R. Miller, AJ Pappanikou,

E. Paterson, L. Schilling,

Absent: A. Barberet, B. Clouette, W. Simpson

Staff: M. Berliner, S. Cox, M. Hart, G. Padick

1. Opportunity for Public to Address the Committee

None. Martin Berliner introduced Sergeant Sean Cox, Mansfield’s new resident trooper sergeant. SGT Cox has previous experience working as a resident trooper in Mansfield, and is a town resident.

2. July 13, 2004 Meeting Minutes

Philip Barry made a motion, seconded by Chief Hudd, to approve the minutes from July 13, 2004 and to add a discussion of spring weekend to the next agenda. The motion passed unanimously.

3. Update re: Mansfield Downtown Partnership

Betsy Paterson reminded the committee that the Partnership’s Festival on the Green is scheduled for September 18^th from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., following the Know Your Town Fair. Depending on the weather, the Partnership may move the event to the rain date on September 19^th.

Martin Berliner reported on the recent public presentation concerning the Storrs Center project, conducted by Storrs Alliance and the development team. The presentation was well attended, and staff has received favorable comments. Tom Callahan added that the Partnership and the development team have met its objectives with this first presentation, and that the organization has laid out what is expected to occur next.

4. Update re: UConn 2000 Act Projects

Larry Schilling provided an update regarding the following key projects:

· Student union – the university has begun phase II, and expects to complete the entire project by September 2005. The theater has opened and has shown its first film.

· Pharmacy building – the project is ahead of schedule, and staff expects the building to open by fall of 2005. The university will demolish the older buildings, and leave that portion of the site as green space.

· Cogeneration facility – there are approximately 10 months of work left on this project. The university hopes to test the facility in April/May 2005, and to be fully operational in August 2005. Staff anticipates that the work on the gas line will continue for another month or so.

· Burton football complex and adjacent athletic facilities – the start of construction is targeted for mid-October, and staff hopes to complete the project by July 2006.

5. Community-Campus Partnership on Substance Abuse

Martin Berliner reviewed the fact that President Austin had commissioned a task force to develop recommendations to deal with substance abuse issues, and that the town and the university had committed to establishing a partnership committee to carry the task force’s recommendations forward. The town has identified its representatives for the partnership, with the mayor serving as co-chair, and has passed that information on to Tom Callahan. Tom reported that President Austin has asked interim Dean of Students Julie Bell-Elkins to serve as co-chair, and that she has identified potential university representatives.

Mayor Paterson asked if the university representatives would be decision makers. Tom replied that they would be, with respect to substance abuse issues.

6. Community Quality of Life Issues

AJ Pappanikou asked if the new council Committee on Community Quality of Life is similar to the Community-Campus Partnership on Substance Abuse. The Mayor said that it was not. The council committee has been established to serve for only a short period, and is looking at other matters beyond substance abuse. AJ stated that he thought the council committee had done a good job identifying the various problems.

AJ Pappanikou asked if the community-campus partnership would be designed to address tangential issues as well? Martin Berliner replied that he could not prejudge, as the partnership has not met yet. AJ also inquired about the recent law enforcement activity at Carriage House Apartments and in the Hunting Lodge Road area, and whether this was expected to continue. Marty explained that law enforcement personnel was working proactively with the landlords, and that hopefully the problems would abate with the onset of colder weather.

7. Other

Rich Miller reported that, in response to requests from residents, the university would be holding another public hearing on Burton Football Complex project. The public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on October 21, 2004, and will be held at the Bishop Center. Mayor Paterson commended the university for its efforts in this regard.

Matt Hart extended regrets from Bruce Clouette that he was not able to attend today’s meeting, and that Bruce had asked Matt to distribute copies of the minutes from the recent meetings of the Committee on Community Quality of Life.

Tom Callahan asked about the reasons why the town wished to amend the Ordinance Regulating the Possession of Alcohol by Minors. SGT Cox explained that the town needs to lower the fee slightly in order to bring the citation down to the level of an infraction, which is easier for both the officers and the court to administer.

The committee adjourned the meeting at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Matthew Hart

Minutes

Assistant Town Manager