Storm Damage and Software Upgrades Key Topics for Town Council

Ron Van Winkle told the Town Council Tuesday night that 20 significant trees had been felled by last week’s violent storm, 220 residents lost power, and three homes were hit by lightning.

The storm resulted in a “hazard for the community,” Van Winkle said, as trees that fell on Ellsworth Road, West Ridge Drive, Whiting Lane, and Brainard Road became entangled in power lines. “Four trees were down [from Thursday evening] until Saturday morning until Northeast Utilities could take the wires off the trees so we could clear them. They just didn’t have the crews available right away,” Van Winkle reported.

Because there were charged power lines on the ground, Van Winkle said that a decision was made to assign a police officer to remain at each site to ensure that no one went near the trees.

Other items covered in the Town Manager’s Report: the resounding success of the 25th anniversary of – which had one of the biggest crowds ever on Sunday – and the significant energy savings the town continues to accumulate based on conservation and the progress of the grant-funded regional energy manager.

The council approved several resolutions, including an increase in permit fees to $29 for pick up of bulk items. That cost is a direct pass through to residents of the $29 fee now charged to the Town by Paine’s Recycling & Rubbish Removal for bulky waste pick up; the cost for disposal of the items is not charged back to residents.

Other resolutions, which appropriated existing funding to cover incurred costs, were approved after a brief discussion intended to raise awareness of their associated initiatives.

West Hartford was the recipient of an $84,500 Federal Highway Safety Administration grant for “Distracting Driving Reduction Safety Initiative,” and the resolution approved funds from that grant to cover $75,574 in expenditures. Mayor Scott Slifka remarked that this noticeable effort was a great way to get people to pay attention to the issue.

Fees totaling $85,211 received from the 2010 Connecticut SWAT Challenge held at the MDC reservoir property were appropriated to cover expenses for the event, which is funded through sponsorships and participant fees. The SWAT Challenge involves approximately 40 teams from throughout the state and region, in what Van Winkle called an “Olympic-type event.”

The final resolution approved by the Town Council appropriated $65,000 to purchase Telestaff Scheduling Software for the . In his address to the council, Police Chief James Strillacci said that the software would automate the scheduling of shifts – now managed through a “cumbersome paper system” – and allow the department to efficiently fill overtime and private duty jobs in accordance with union rules that are imported into the software. It will also simplify billing and increase productivity.

The cost of the software, which includes annual fees for web hosting and maintenance, will be paid for out of the Drug Enforcement Fund and the Police Private Duty Fund.

In response to questions from council members Denise Hall and Steve Adler, Chief Strillacci said that the had also expressed an interest in using the software to manage its scheduling.