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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Common Council Special Meeting – Questions to Directors Workshop – June 1, 2026

Common Council & Commissions — Monday, June 1, 2026

BodyMiddletown, Connecticut

SessionCommon Council & Commissions

DateMonday, June 1, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 46:25

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:05

Thank you.

0:06

Councilwoman Hart, if you leave us in the fledge, please.

0:17

One nation under God.

0:19

Indivisible with the Liberty and Justice World.

0:28

All right, welcome everyone.

0:30

Especially welcome our students from Beaman Middle School.

0:34

Mayor for the day.

0:36

Thank you, Mr.

0:37

Geary, for always providing this opportunity for our students and support the MC live and up and up front how our government works.

0:52

And now I'm going to have the uh council clerk read the call the meeting, please.

0:58

The chief of police of the city of Middletown greetings.

1:01

By authority of the state of Connecticut, you're hereby commanded to summon and notify Vincent J.

1:06

Lafredo, Jeanette Blackwell, Darnell Ford, Grady Faulkner Jr., Kelly Sweeney, Anthony Mangifico, Linda Salafia, Anthony S.

1:14

Gennaro Sr., Jonathan Polino, Leslie Spitola, Chine Fulton, Ava M.

1:18

Hart, members of the Common Council of the City of Middletown, to attend a special meeting of said common council for the purpose of holding the questions to directors workshop on department agenda items for the regular common council meeting.

1:30

Said meeting shall be a hybrid meeting to be held in the council chamber of the municipal building in said city and remotely via web exit, join a meeting event 2347594857 on Monday, June 1st, 2026 at 6 o'clock p.m.

1:45

Here of fail knowledge due service and return to the clerk of said city, three hours prior to the time of fixed meeting.

1:51

City of Middletown May 19th, 2026, attested by Honorable Eugene Pino Sarah Mayor, City of Middletown, May 28, 2026.

1:59

I hereby certify I've delivered an attested copy of the foregoing order and attached agenda of the common council meeting to each and every council member named above via electronic mail attested by Captain Michael De Sena, Middletown Police.

2:14

All right, thank you.

2:16

And now if I can have a motion to amend or accept the agenda.

2:31

Yeah.

2:33

So we're we're in question to the directors, and uh we're ready for for any questions.

2:42

And who's who is is just polino on line?

2:45

Um online we have uh councilman Darnell Ford and Councilman Jonathan Polino.

2:50

All right, thank you.

2:51

So mayor will need a motion to modify those so we can allow questions for the debate.

2:57

Yeah.

3:00

All right, so we have anyone who has any questions at this time.

3:10

Uh Councilman DeFredo, please, and followed by Councilwoman Sweeney.

3:16

Thank you, Your Honor.

3:17

Uh could I ask the chief of police to come to the podium, please?

3:22

Thank you.

3:31

Good evening, Council.

3:33

Student Council.

3:34

Good evening.

3:35

Good evening.

3:38

Thank you.

3:39

Um, one of our agenda items has to deal with uh the DOT project and the impact it will have uh in the downtown area, or at least getting a public hearing about all of that.

3:51

Um in the resolution, it mentions that uh by state law, any proposed changes affecting Middletown streets must be signed off by the city's chief executive office, which is the mayor, and the chief traffic officer in Middletown, the chief of police.

4:09

So requires both the office of mayor and the traffic department, and in particular this case, uh your responsible, I assume, mentions you specific that office in particular, the chief of police.

4:22

So specifically and trying to determine in part, you know, um what exactly by statute uh and by the rules of determining the impact on Middletown Streets, River Road, for instance, Union Street, Decoven Drive, Main Street.

4:46

What role, what what will what will you determine?

5:00

What process or steps will you take to determine whether or not you vote and correct me if we're all will it be you approve uh the proposed utilization of X, Y, and Z streets, or you determine that no, that's not appropriate, and you would be recommending uh that they not utilize those streets.

5:13

But that's why I'm asking uh you to come forward to begin to.

5:16

We've had the mayor talk about this, but you're the other party directly mentioned in the statute.

5:23

So any comments you can make to it toward enlightening us, your specific role and how you will uh determine uh whether or not streets being proposed uh are appropriate.

5:36

Absolutely, and then thank you for the question, and I understand the role.

5:39

Um you kind of explained it perfectly.

5:41

Um the executive officer being the mayor and myself do um being the Lidley traffic authority in this in the city um to sign off to to finalize the project.

5:50

Um the mayor um also has the authority to continue on this project, which is a phased project if you're not aware of that.

5:58

Um right now we're somewhere around 30 percent um uh signed off on that phase, which you kind of see some of the construction going on here.

6:06

You mentioned a number of streets that are going to be impacted from this project.

6:10

But my overall um responsibility as a chief of police is this on?

6:15

Yes, okay, yes.

6:16

Um overall responsibility chief of police is is the public safety and when it comes to travel in the city.

6:23

Um there is no question.

6:25

My former position in the Connecticut State Police was the commanding officer of the Troop F in Westbrook Barracks, which covers um Middlesex County to include Middletown.

6:33

Um the majority of Route 9 um from um the connectors uh to the bridge is covered by the city of Middletown, but everything at that and everything else is covered by the Connecticut State Police.

6:44

Um the connectors, which is covered by the state police, is um one of the highest motor vehicle crash locations in the state of Connecticut.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████33%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%

Procedural███████████11%

Public Engagement█████████9%

Public Safety███████7%

Public Health Awareness███████7%

Budget Equity Analysis████4%

Procurement Policy████4%

Fiscal Sustainability███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Common Council Special Meeting – Questions to Directors Workshop – June 1, 2026

The Middletown Common Council held a special meeting on June 1, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber and remotely via WebEx. The meeting was a workshop for council members to pose questions to city directors regarding items on the upcoming regular council agenda. No formal votes were taken; the session focused on discussion and clarification.

DOT Route 9 Project (Traffic Light Removal and Street Reconfigurations)

Councilman DeFredo asked the Police Chief to explain his role as the city’s chief traffic authority in approving the proposed state road changes, including making Rapallo Avenue one-way and adding a traffic circle on River Road. The Chief stated his decision would be based on public safety and community input, and he expressed support for public vetting.
The Chief acknowledged concerns about cut-through traffic on residential streets in the north end, but noted that state simulations show improved traffic flow and reduced accidents on Route 9 after removing the traffic lights. He emphasized the need for more community meetings before his final sign-off.
Councilwoman Blackwell asked if the Chief had seen the designs; he confirmed he had been involved from the start and supported a public hearing.
Fire Chief was asked about emergency response impacts on narrow streets like Green and Ferry under the proposed one-way flow. He said his department had not been consulted on street width or aerial truck clearance in recent meetings, but he would raise those concerns at future DOT meetings. Councilman DeFredo stressed that fire safety was critical and that the Fire Chief’s independent assessment should not be overshadowed by DOT’s traffic goals.

Saybrook Road Reconstruction and Pedestrian Access Project

Acting Deputy Director Brian Gardner and Acting Director O’Brien answered detailed questions about the multi-million-dollar project, which has been in development for over a decade.
Gardner stated that the LOT SIP grant award is approximately $3.7 million, while estimated total project costs range from $5.0 to $5.3 million. The deficit would be covered by pre-existing road bonds or revenue from the speed camera program. No LOT SIP funds have been drawn yet; the city has spent roughly $686,000 on design from its own coffers.
Councilwoman Blackwell asked about communication with the Complete Streets committee regarding the elimination of bike lanes. O’Brien confirmed that the committee supported the revised plan, including a bituminous multi-use path instead of on-road bike lanes, which was deemed safer.
Several council members expressed frustration that key information (e.g., sketches of the new road footprint, feasibility study) was not yet available. O’Brien promised to provide the feasibility study and all supporting documents to the council.
Councilwoman Blackwell noted that the scope of work has changed over nine amendments; she requested clarity on what sections of Saybrook Road would be reconstructed (from East Main to Tryon Street, with additional improvements near Aircraft Road).
Councilwoman Salafia noted that the city has held the state grant since 2019 and may lose it if the project does not proceed soon.
Councilwoman Hart echoed concerns about receiving information late, but acknowledged that the current pivot in design (reducing scope to save construction costs) could enable the project to move forward.

Health Insurance RFP and Contract Extension

Councilman DeFredo questioned the proposed resolution that would authorize the mayor to execute the health insurance contract and approve up to two one-year extensions without further council approval. The RFP was for a three-year term with two optional one-year extensions.
The acting director responded that the extension language was included in the RFP to attract better bids and is standard practice. DeFredo argued that this language bypasses council oversight and proper checks and balances on large expenditures.
The discussion highlighted that three bids were received for medical coverage and four for dental. No decision was made; the item is expected to come to the council for a vote in July.

Key Outcomes

No formal resolutions were adopted during this workshop. The council heard presentations and asked questions to inform future votes.
A subsequent workshop will be scheduled later in June to continue discussion on the Saybrook Road project, and council members were asked to submit specific questions in advance.
The health insurance contract and the DOT Route 9 resolution (which includes a public hearing) are expected to be voted on in July.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Councilwoman Hart, if you leave us in the fledge, please. One nation under God. Indivisible with the Liberty and Justice World. All right, welcome everyone. Especially welcome our students from Beaman Middle School. Mayor for the day. Thank you, Mr. Geary, for always providing this opportunity for our students and support the MC live and up and up front how our government works. And now I'm going to have the uh council clerk read the call the meeting, please. The chief of police of the city of Middletown greetings. By authority of the state of Connecticut, you're hereby commanded to summon and notify Vincent J. Lafredo, Jeanette Blackwell, Darnell Ford, Grady Faulkner Jr., Kelly Sweeney, Anthony Mangifico, Linda Salafia, Anthony S. Gennaro Sr., Jonathan Polino, Leslie Spitola, Chine Fulton, Ava M. Hart, members of the Common Council of the City of Middletown, to attend a special meeting of said common council for the purpose of holding the questions to directors workshop on department agenda items for the regular common council meeting. Said meeting shall be a hybrid meeting to be held in the council chamber of the municipal building in said city and remotely via web exit, join a meeting event 2347594857 on Monday, June 1st, 2026 at 6 o'clock p.m. Here of fail knowledge due service and return to the clerk of said city, three hours prior to the time of fixed meeting. City of Middletown May 19th, 2026, attested by Honorable Eugene Pino Sarah Mayor, City of Middletown, May 28, 2026. I hereby certify I've delivered an attested copy of the foregoing order and attached agenda of the common council meeting to each and every council member named above via electronic mail attested by Captain Michael De Sena, Middletown Police. All right, thank you. And now if I can have a motion to amend or accept the agenda. Yeah. So we're we're in question to the directors, and uh we're ready for for any questions. And who's who is is just polino on line? Um online we have uh councilman Darnell Ford and Councilman Jonathan Polino. All right, thank you. So mayor will need a motion to modify those so we can allow questions for the debate. Yeah. All right, so we have anyone who has any questions at this time. Uh Councilman DeFredo, please, and followed by Councilwoman Sweeney. Thank you, Your Honor. Uh could I ask the chief of police to come to the podium, please? Thank you. Good evening, Council. Student Council. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. Um, one of our agenda items has to deal with uh the DOT project and the impact it will have uh in the downtown area, or at least getting a public hearing about all of that. Um in the resolution, it mentions that uh by state law, any proposed changes affecting Middletown streets must be signed off by the city's chief executive office, which is the mayor, and the chief traffic officer in Middletown, the chief of police. So requires both the office of mayor and the traffic department, and in particular this case, uh your responsible, I assume, mentions you specific that office in particular, the chief of police. So specifically and trying to determine in part, you know, um what exactly by statute uh and by the rules of determining the impact on Middletown Streets, River Road, for instance, Union Street, Decoven Drive, Main Street. What role, what what will what will you determine? What process or steps will you take to determine whether or not you vote and correct me if we're all will it be you approve uh the proposed utilization of X, Y, and Z streets, or you determine that no, that's not appropriate, and you would be recommending uh that they not utilize those streets. But that's why I'm asking uh you to come forward to begin to. We've had the mayor talk about this, but you're the other party directly mentioned in the statute. So any comments you can make to it toward enlightening us, your specific role and how you will uh determine uh whether or not streets being proposed uh are appropriate. Absolutely, and then thank you for the question, and I understand the role. Um you kind of explained it perfectly. Um the executive officer being the mayor and myself do um being the Lidley traffic authority in this in the city um to sign off to to finalize the project.

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