Finance Committee — 03/16/2022 Page 6
challenge that in court before I’d spend the money paying for that. Other redactions you want to do | get. That's fine but |
feel that we haven’t even addressed the cost of that making it happen.
Miss Kleiner had told the Finance Committee back when this was getting going that the Legal office was spending up to
four hours to redact 100 pages. Well if you're still talking now about 300,000 pages, you’re still talking a tremendous
amount of redaction time before the records are available. It just seems like we can never really get a straight answer or
input on that and it always comes after there is some fight or kind of blowout that happens when the community asks and
the administration...
Alderman Comeau
30 seconds
Laurie Ortolano
...because the question was raised. So | hope we can get some straight answers on that and know what’s happening
with those records and what is actually really publicly available on a digital basis. Thank you.
Mayor Donchess
Any other members of the Public wish to address the Committee?
REMARKS BY THE ALDERMEN
Alderman Thibeault
Thank you Mr. Mayor. Since | know we don’t usually do this because public comment isn’t really a question and answer
but since we have Director Cummings and Director Kleiner, is it possible to get them to maybe to answer those?
Especially Mr. Cummings | think those questions are probably pretty easy as far as is this the first time that was done -
this is going to be done, this clean up and does the Public Works have any say in it? Are those questions we can have
answered?
Mayor Donchess
Yes, if you’d like. Mr. Cummings?
Tim Cummings, Economic Development Director
Thank you Mr. Mayor. Through you to the Finance Committee. Tim Cummings, Director of Economic Development. The
first question - has the Doty Group done any landscaping, maintenance out along the riverfront over the last few years?
The answer to that is yes they have. However, it’s not been in such an organized fashion with the contract multi-year
where we're going to have an expectation that they will be out their regularly maintaining the property. We made a
commitment when we did the TIF that we would maintain the riverfront. Up until now it wasn’t as stabilized. We had a lot
of trees removed one year. The following year based on budget availability, we then did stump grinding. It didn’t make
sense to put forward such an organized contract as you initially approved this evening because we weren't ready for it yet
but now we are. We issued the RFP and I’m looking forward to having that ongoing regular maintenance.
That is separate from the invasive species removal that we’ve also done along the riverfront. That has been an ongoing
fourish year exercise that has been lead by the Community Development Department but, again, it does to the spirit and
commitment that we would maintain the downtown riverfront because we did institute the TIF.
And then to the second question about whether the DPW has any purview or jurisdiction? When we instituted the TIF, |
believe it was Alderman Dowd very specifically asked the question whether any town services would be expected to take
on the additional responsibilities and development that would be occurring down there. We gave a commitment at that
time that we would not expect that additional burden be put on the operational budget. It would be an eligible expense
through the TIF and we’re seeing through on that commitment. | wouldn’t suggest that the DPW wouldn’t have any type
of purview because I’m there will be stuff that comes up along the way, but we’re doing the best that we can to have it
done by a 3” party not to put that ongoing operational expense on the operational budget. Thank you.
