Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said he was disturbed to read an account in the News Times and the Newtown Bee, saying the Board of Selectmen was kept informed of the rehiring process for the animal control officer.

He said that was absolutely false and he had no updates on her status.

Selectman Paul Mangiafico concurred and said Mr. Rosenthal's comments are correct. Mr. Mangiafico had a conversation with Chief Michael Kehoe of the Newtown Police Department earlier in the day regarding this matter and feels it can be put behind them at this point.

Moving on to the Capital Improvement Plan, First Selectman Joseph Borst indicated where he would agree with proposed expenditures and where he suggested lower expenditures in the CIP.

Mr. Borst felt it was important to replace old bridges and work on the water main in Sandy Hook.

Mr. Borst said that prior to Tuesday's meeting, he asked Public Works Director Fred Hurley if Mr. Hurley could work with $1.5 million instead of the requested $2 million.

Mr. Borst eliminated $1.5 million for renovating the Newtown Hook and Ladder facility from the CIP. He said it would make more sense to move the police department to the Fairfield Hills campus and then move the fire department to 3 Main Street South.

Mr. Borst referred to a letter from the Newtown Senior Center, indicating seniors are no longer interested in sharing a new space with the Parks and Recreation.

They would prefer to remain at 14 Riverside Road in Sandy Hook until they could have their own, stand-alone building.

He suggested cutting the cost for a new Parks and Recreation facility from the CIP.

Edward Marks of the Parks and Recreation Commission told the board he had asked O&G Industries to prepare revised numbers. The numbers are $5 million for the new Parks and Recreation building and $7 million for the pool.

Mr. Mangiafico told Mr. Marks that he would not support $12 million for the project because it did not reflect an effort to keep costs down.

Mr. Rosenthal agreed, saying the size of the building must be reduced.

Mr. Marks introduced Jeff Cugino from O&G Industries.

Mr. Cugino told the board that the price of $12 million is representative of what a building of the proposed size should cost. He emphasized that he was not telling selectmen whether or not they should like the number, but that it was fair.

Mr. Mangiafico said he agreed with Mr. Cugino's assessment and he did not think anyone could build a $12 million building for $9 million.

Mr. Mangiafico wanted to see the cost reduced by one-third and said the scope of the project would have to be reduced.

He suggested working with the Newtown Youth Academy because NYA could provide facilities such as a gym.

Mr. Marks noted that hours are a problem. Parks and Recreation programs for children are usually held after school, at the same time NYA is using its facilities for its own after-school programs.

He said they could reduce the space for the new Parks and Recreation facility to make it palatable for the board.

"It's not to say the space will meet the needs of the town."

Mr. Rosenthal suggested it might be less expensive to purchase time from NYA than to build.

"Let's work this out with NYA before spending millions of extra dollars."

Mr. Mangiafico said he's not convinced there's been an aggressive approach to investigating alternatives. He would not support spending $12 million to have two very similar spaces within a few feet of each other.

Mr. Mangiafico and Mr. Rosenthal agreed with Mr. Borst's suggestion of $9 million; $4 million for the building and $5 million for the pool. Mr. Mangiafico said he doesn't want the project to proceed without the pool.

Mr. Borst reported input from the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers addressing deferred maintenance projects in that building.

James Juliano said the building is nearly 80 years-old. Wiring is fraying and shorting out lighting fixtures, the south side of the building needs to have mortar replaced between bricks to keep out driving rains and damaging moisture, and the cupola needs to be painted.

He added that the heating boilers are original to the building and covered in asbestos.

Mr. Juliano expects expenses for the building to reduce once town employees vacate the building this fall.

Mr. Borst said the input was good but noted the information was not spread out over a five-year plan, nor was there any indication of priorities.

Mr. Rosenthal agreed, saying that the $1.3 million request was not large in terms of the entire plan but the ETH Board of Managers needs to prepare the information properly.

Mr. Mangiafico noted that the data was due two weeks prior.

Mr. Juliano said it was the Board of Managers' goal to bring these matters to the selectmen's attention. He had been told to prepare the information for September 8 and apologized for not having the data ready earlier.

Mr. Rosenthal asked about the time frame for these projects and noted the work detailed in the CIP does not start until the beginning of the next fiscal year, July 1, 2010.

He suggested that if there are projects that need to be done before then to avoid expensive damage to the building, they should be addressed separately.

He asked Mr. Juliano to prioritize the data using forms from Finance Director Bob Tait.

Selectmen would use that information to send a communication to the Board of Finance directly.

Mr. Mangiafico asked when Edmond Town Hall would be generating revenue and Mr. Juliano said, "When you guys leave, we can get some people in there paying rent."

Selectmen then discussed their priorities for each year in the CIP.

For all five years, selectmen felt replacing/renovating the town's bridges should be the highest priority. Once completed, the town would not need to address this project again, because the life span of a bridge is 50 to 75 years.

Selectmen agreed that bonding would be an appropriate way to fund the project because of the life span of the work accomplished would exceed the life span of the bond.

Roadwork was a secondary priority and the selectmen decided it was important to combine the Sandy Hook streetscape program with the water main project, completing the work already started. It would benefit the economic development of the area.

Work at Fairfield Hills was the next priority, completing utility infrastructure work and demolition of buildings.

Mr. Rosenthal noted Newtown Hook and Ladder would probably be requesting funds for a new building in the near future and agreed with Mr. Borst that it is unwise to spend money renovating a building the fire department plans to leave.

The Park and Recreation facility is included in the plan as a priority. Selectmen remained firm about the need to cut costs.

Mr. Rosenthal said that just as he would not support $12 million for a new Park and Recreation facility, he wouldn't support $12 million for a new police facility.

Mr. Mangiafico thought the police facility study presented to the board was detailed and well thought out. He added he understands Mr. Rosenthal's position and would support $10 million.

Mr. Borst agreed with Mr. Mangiafico.

The selectmen unanimously approved the changes to the CIP, identifying priorities and suggesting $80 million in spending compared to the $95 million originally stated in the CIP. The total amount to be bonded is a tentative $69 million.

The board then went into executive session to discuss the addition of Maggie Shaw to the support staff for the Tick Borne Disease Action Committee.

The members of the committee are: Mark Alexander, Kirk Blanchard, Pat Boily, Neil K. Chaudhary, David Delia, Dr. Robert Grossman, Kim Harrison, Dr. Peter Licht, Michele McLeod, George Miller and Mary Gaudet-Wilson.

The support staff includes: Donna Culbert, Health Department; Rob Sibley, Land Use Agency; Captain Jose Rios, police/deer kill; Joe Tani, highway supervisor/deer kill; Judy Blanchard, school district; Amy Mangold, Parks and Recreation; Scott Sharlow, GIS manager; Dr. Tom Draper, Bob Eckenrode, Maggie Shaw and David Shugarts.