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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2004
A Special Meeting of the Enfield Town Council was called to order by Chairman Tallarita in the Enfield Room, Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 at 6:07 p.m.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Councilmen Crowley, Edgar, Egan, Fiore, Mangini, Peruta, Tait and Tallarita. Councilman Kaupin entered at 6:10 p.m., and Councilman Dodd entered at 6:20 p.m. Councilman Reveruzzi was absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott Shanley; Director of Economic Development, Raymond Warren; Town Attorney, Christopher Bromson; Fire Chief Earl Provencher
MASS MUTUAL OVERVIEW
-Present from Mass Mutual were John Abbott, Vice President of Government Relations; Ronald Copes, Vice President of Community Relations; Nicholas Fyntrilakis, Communications Consultant for Community Relations; James Lacey, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications; Ricky Swaye, Vice President and Impact Executive Director of Mass Mutual and Carl Szlachetka, Vice President of Corporate Services Division
Mr. Abbott made the following comments before the Council:
The purpose of being here is to explain this move to the Town Council and answer questions. They looked at this property for about a year, the price was right, and they hope to close by the end of the month or beginning of May. Messrs. Szlachetka and Swaye are in charge of the move later on.
The initial plan is to begin moving people into this facility during the summer of 2005. They expect to have about 1,200 people working in this building in the beginning of 2006. They aren't sure which units will be moved into this facility. Eventually, they will have more room for more people on this campus.
They filed two zoning bylaw amendments as follows:
1) Parking - it's believed they could accommodate more parking, therefore, they requested parking spaces be narrowed.
2) Permit for a helistop - there's no intention to service or fuel the helicopter at this helistop.
The above items would be the two major changes being requested for this property.
The Zoning Meeting regarding the two above items is scheduled for Thursday of this week at 7:00 p.m.
Mr. Copes made the following comments:
They have academic achievement programs for students with a “B” or better average for consecutive marking periods. They have a $250,000 scholarship program. Students who are part of this program can apply for $5,000 scholarships. Benefits to students who qualify can extend into college years as well. Some scholarships have already been distributed to Enfield students, therefore, this program is not new to Enfield and will be expanded in Enfield. They want to come up with solutions to help students stay on track. They also run an annual professional development conference for students. They guide students in areas such as dress for success tips, resume writing, and how to apply for college. This has been very well received. Many parents attend this conference as well.
They also run an elementary level read aloud program and have celebrity readers brought in for this program. They also support local cultural arts programs.
They hope to learn more about what Enfield residents would like to see happen as concerns helping young people do well.
Life Bridge is a free insurance program for income eligible parents providing for a $50,000 life insurance policy which is placed in a trust fund which can only be used for education of a child or children.
Councilman Mangini thanked the Mass Mutual representatives for taking time to come before the Town Council. She stated her belief this will be a positive thing for Enfield.
Councilman Fiore voiced his support of Mass Mutual and noted this company has a great track record with their programs. He went on to raise the matter of the Towns investment in roads and sidewalks near this facility. Mr. Szlachetka stated they are working with Enfield and the State regarding traffic studies. He noted at this time they believe they're all set.
Councilman Kaupin questioned what other businesses have for parking width. Mr. Abbott stated they are nine feet in width at this facility, and they've drafted language for the zoning variance which isolates this request to this facility only. He noted they retained Attorney Susan Hayes who is helping in that process. Mr. Warren agreed with Mr. Abbott's comments.
Councilman Kaupin questioned how many additional parking spaces would result from a zoning change, and Mr. Szlachetka estimated about 100 more parking spaces. He pointed out this applies to a very large parcel.
Councilman Tait questioned if most of the jobs at this facility will be white collar positions. He also questioned if there's the possibility of entry level positions for Enfield residents. Mr. Abbott responded yes, but they can't guarantee that.
Mr. Szlachetka explained they're trying to put together business units that make sense. He added there would also have to be a large support staff in place and there should be some entry level positions.
Mr. Swaye stated they also work with a lot of vendors, i.e., food service, security, cleaning services, etc.
Councilman Tait welcomed Mass Mutual to Enfield and wished them luck.
Councilman Egan also welcomed Mass Mutual to Enfield. She questioned whether most of the parking spaces would be filled by full-time employees. Mr. Szlachetka responded yes and noted this would basically mirror their operations in Springfield and Hartford. He pointed out there won't be a lot of transient traffic. He added the incidence of transient traffic in the city is very low.
Councilman Egan questioned what route the helicopter will follow and Mr. Szlachetka stated they will aim for the best route for that property.
Councilman Peruta questioned how committed Mass Mutual is to the helistop. Mr. Abbott stated this is part of their Springfield operation and they've used it for 20 years and managed to operate it without upsetting the neighborhood. He added it's their hope they can do the same in Enfield. He pointed out they try to be good neighbors. He stated the FAA has the final say as to the route they must follow. He explained part of the difficulty is that they have not yet purchased this property and they're not certain where everything is going to be located on the property, but they would operate the helispot in such as way as to have a minimal effect on the neighborhood.
Councilman Crowley questioned whether most of the flights will take place in the daytime, and Mr. Abbott responded yes.
Councilman Crowley expressed his appreciation for the educational programs sponsored by Mass Mutual. He welcomed this company to Enfield.
Mr. Warren suggested Mr. Szlachetka discuss the quality of the building. Mr. Szlachetka stated they are in a due diligence phase. He noted they find the building is in generally good shape. He stated they will probably enlarge the cafeteria and other support services.
Chairman Tallarita questioned whether there will be opportunities for local contractors to work on this project. Mr. Szlachetka responded yes and noted they've done projects in other cities and all the contractors were local, as well as the suppliers.
Chairman Tallarita questioned the number of buildings owned by Mass Mutual. Mr. Szlachetka stated they have a training and conference center in Chicopee; the home office is in Springfield, and they own the Garden Street property in Hartford.
Chairman Tallarita questioned how many Mass Mutual employees live in Enfield, and Mr. Abbott indicated they can supply that figure.
Chairman Tallarita questioned whether Mass Mutual has an internship program or summer work for local young people. Mr. Copes stated they do offer this type of thing to academic achievement students and they do have internship opportunities.
Councilman Peruta questioned whether the day care will still be part of this facility, and Mr. Swaye stated they do plan on having a day care for their employees.
Mr. Shanley stated Mass Mutual has been a pleasure to work with and they know what they need to do and have provided whatever necessary so that Planning & Zoning can make a decision.
Chairman Tallarita expressed his gratitude for Mass Mutual coming to Enfield.
Mr. Abbott stated he has worked in a number of communities in the Northeast and Ray Warren and his staff have been the most professional he's ever worked with.
Chairman Tallarita commended Ray Warren and his staff for all their work.
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION #7087 by Councilman Mangini, seconded by Councilman Crowley to adjourn.
Upon a SHOW-OF-HANDS vote being taken, the Chair declared MOTION #7087 adopted 10-0-0, and the meeting stood adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
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