KENT, Conn.—The Selectmen will set a new date for a town meeting when they meet on Tuesday, Oct. 7. They moved last week to postpone their monthly meeting and the town meeting set for tomorrow (Oct. 2) because of its conflict with Yom Kippur.
The selectmen’s meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m.
Even though Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, will conclude at sundown on Oct. 2, First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer said the 7 p.m. town meeting would have been too close to the religious observance. “We want to be open and accessible,” he said. “The town meeting would be an encroachment, even after sundown.”
He said that cancelling the Oct. 2 town meeting will probably require another public hearing to discuss the proposed town ordinances because of the time requirements between a public hearing and a town vote.
There are four ordinances that face a public vote. A hearing was held Sept. 18 and attracted only a handful of residents to comment on ordinances that would: prohibit commercial buses from using South Kent Road; depositing materials such as lawn clippings and snow on town streets; increase the spending levels for municipal purchases to $25,000 before a the bidding process is needed, and an ordinance regulating cannabis retail sales.
In a special selectmen’s meeting last week, Lindenmayer suggested that there is no urgency in passing the bus, material in the public ways and purchasing ordinances and said they could wait until the January annual town meeting. The selectmen will set a definitive date for the votes next Tuesday.
The fourth ordinance, concerning cannabis, will be separated from the other three and taken to referendum on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 4. Persons who pay at least $1,000 in taxes in town but who are not registered electors will be able to vote on the ordinance, but not for municipal officers.
The cannabis ordinance, which would restrict retail sales but not medical dispensaries in the town, will go to referendum because the Selectmen feel that will give a wider range of voters a chance to weigh in on the decision.
Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington said she believed the RFP purchasing ordinance should have earlier action. “I think we have uncovered something that needs to be addressed,” she said.
At present, different departments can make purchases up to $10,000 without bids. With the costs for materials and repairs going up, the selectmen are seeking to raise the amount that can be expended to $25,000, the amount now used by the state.
The current ordinance also calls for the Board of Selectmen to oversee the bidding process but over the years a formal opening process has been abandoned. The new ordinance would require the board to be involved when purchases are more than $5,000.
During the public hearing, resident Matt Star said the public should be able to attend the bid openings as well “I don’t think it is professional for a couple of people sitting at their desks to open the bids,” he said. He noted that in the past, all bids received were posted on the town’s website, a practice that has lapsed.
He further said he believes local businesses that pay taxes in the town should be awarded the contracts if their bids are only slightly higher than the lowest bidder.
Joseph Agli asked how raising the spending limit would affect the Board of Finance’s role. Lindenmayer said that all spending would come from within a department’s budgetary allotment that had been approved by the Board of Finance and passed at town meeting.
The board is collecting all the contracts held by the town so they will have an overview of what is current and when they may renew. Lindenmayer said that Administrative Assistant Joyce Kearns will have them available for the Oct. 7 meeting.
“There is nothing now that needs to be decided right now,” he said.
