COGCNV STAFF Peter Dorpalen, Executive Director Samuel Gold, Senior Planner Joe Perrelli , Senior Planner Pat Gallagher, Regional Planner Glenda Prentiss, GIS Coordinator Aaron Budris, Planning Assistant, GIS Lauren Rizzo, Administrative Assistant Patricia Bauer, Financial Manager COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS Municipalit y COGCNV Member Alternate Beacon Falls Gerard Smith Dominick Sorrentino Bethlehem Jeff Hamel Ellen Samoska Cheshire Timothy Slocum Michael Milone Middlebury Edward St. John Joseph Salvini Naugatuck Robert Mezzo Tamath Rossi Oxford George Temple Joanne Pelton Prospect Robert Chatfield Tom Galvin Southbury Edward Edelson Carol Hubert Thomaston Edmond Mone Roger Perrault Waterbury Neil O’Leary Ronald Pugliese Wat ertown Raymond Primini Charles Frigon Wolcott Thomas Dunn Vacant Woodbury Gerald Stomski Barbara Perkinson REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION Municipalit y RPC Members Beacon Falls David Chadderton, Richard Minnick Bethlehem Maria Hill, Ellen Samoska Cheshire Martin Cobern Middlebury Mary Barton, Ken Long Naugatuck Anthony Malone, Joseph McEvoy Oxford Harold Cosgrove Prospect Gil Graveline Southbury Leslie Maclise ‐Kane, Nancy Clark Thomaston Robert Flanagan, Bill Guerrera Waterbury Geoffrey Green, James Sequin Watertown Ruth Mulcahy, Rosalie Loughran Wol cott Steven Bosco, Cathe Sherman Woodbury Martin Overton Annual Report 2011 ‐2012 Naugatuck River, Thomaston. Photo courtesy of Rivers Alliance 49 Leavenworth Street, Suite 303 Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-757-0535 Fax: 203-756-7688 Email: cogcnv@cogcnv.org Website: www.cogcnv.org Beacon Falls Bethlehem Cheshire Middlebury Naugatuck Oxford Prospect Southbury Thomaston Waterbury Watertown Wolcott Woodbury Long Meadow Pond Brook ERT Field Review. Photo courtesy of CT ERT The Council of Governments (COGCNV) is the regional planning organization for the Central Naugatuck Valley Region. The CNVR, consisting of 13 municipalities in the greater Waterbury area, is one of the 15 state ‐ designated planning regions in Connecticut. The mayors and first selectmen of the member towns make up the Council. A Re gional Planning Commission, with two appointed representatives from each town, serves as the planning advisory group to COGCNV. COGCNV will be relocating to a new office on 49 Leavenworth Street, Suite 303 in Waterbury in February 2013. REGIONAL PLANNING Land Use Planning and Referrals COGCNV coordinated regional involvement in the planning process for Connecticut’s new Conservation and Development Policies Plan, including holding a planners workshop and a public hearing, presenting the draft plan to planning and zoning commissions, and submitting comments and updated maps for the draft State Plan to the Office of Policy and Mana gement. Staff also assisted Southbury, Beacon Falls, and Thomaston with their new plans of conservation and devel ‐ opment. In April 2012, staff participated in an ERT field review of the Long Meadow Pond Brook in Naugatuck. Under state statutes, COGCNV staff reviews proposed zoning text and map cha nges that affect property within 500 feet of municipal boundaries and subdivisions which touch or cross town lines. Last year, COGCNV received 50 referrals and responded to 10. Regional Animal Shelter Study The towns of Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Southbury, and Woodbury would like to establish a regional facility to re duce their municipal animal sheltering costs. COGCNV submitted an OPM Regional Performance Incentive Proposal to conduct a study to evaluate site and management options for a regional facility in sufficient detail to enable the participating towns to move forward with the study’s preferred recommendation. Grant award is anticipated in Au gust 2012. Economic Development COGCNV refers business requests from the state Eco ‐ nomic Resource Center to local economic development commissions and coordinators. Staff tracks economic trends and, with GIS mapping, the location of major employers, industrial and commercial areas, and other economic development information. COGCNV is seeking funding for a ne w regional economic strategic plan. Regional Data COGCNV provides census and other statistical informa ‐ tion to municipal, non ‐profit, and private organizations in a variety of forms, including its website. An updated Profile of the CNVR , which presents Census 2010 and American Community Survey 2005 ‐2009 5‐year estimates, was distribute d to municipal officials in the region. American Community Survey 2006 ‐2010 five ‐ year estimates data were downloaded and compiled when they became available in December 2011. HHW and Electronics Recycling Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collections were held in Waterbury, Middlebury, and Woodbury. A total of 1,171 vehicles brought in 75 ,500 pounds of hazardous waste, including paint, pesticides, and other flammable or corrosive materials. COGCNV staff worked with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority to organize three consumer electronics recycling events in Watertown and Southbury. Residents from CNVR municipalities disposed of over 42,300 pounds of electronics, including televisions, computers, and monitors durin g the three events. COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS CENTRAL NAUGATUCK VALLEY As of January 2013 87.6% 0.3% 3.6% 8.5% 14.7% 4.3% 8.5% 52.3% 20.0% 0.2% EMERGENCY PLANNING COGCNV continued its role as the fiduciary agent in CT Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Region 5. Items purchased for Region 5 included license plate readers for law enforcement, ham radio equipment for local emergency operations centers, and Cambro feeding system equipment for shelters throughout the region. As of Au gust 1, 2012, the Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials took over as the fiduciary agent for Region 5. Staff assisted in submitting applications for an update of local Pre‐ Disaster Mitigation plans under a CT DEEP grant and FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant that followed disaster declarations in 2011. Municipalities applied to upda te their plans under three separate grants. Each grant will be managed by a single municipality. Waterbury Bus Ridership Map G EOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) COGCNV staff compiled a database and map layer of all bus stop signs along the bus routes operated by CT Transit Waterbury. An updated regional bus system map was prepared showing the cumulative ridership for each bus route. Mapping was also provided for a Regional Water Authority grant, a Hazard Mitigation grant, Waterbury’s traffic signal system, and the location of 2012 ‐2015 TIP projects. Staff performed a region ‐wide build ‐out of residential popula tion using buildable land and current zoning. Using CommunityViz, a detailed residential population build ‐out was completed for Beacon Falls. In addition, COGCNV staff updated its GIS datasets and assisted municipalities with specific GIS requests. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING Freight Planning COGCNV staff identified and mapped motor freight hazards in the region such as low‐ clearance bridges and high‐ accident locations, and made recommendations for improvement. Staff also summarized conditions for rail freight and included maps that identified rail ‐accessible parcels in the region that could attract manufacturers and freight distributors who are interested in an alternative to the state’s con gested highway system. Congested Intersection Studies COGCNV staff initiated the congested signalized intersection study to identify deficiencies in the highway network caused by intersection delay. Staff collected turning movement counts at 9 locations, including several intersections along Route 10 in Main Street Streetscaping, Southbury, Photo courtesy of Don Antilla America’s Great Outdoors celebration of the Naugatuck River Greenway Cheshire. Data will be analyzed with a signal timing program. Staff will recommend improvements at these locations based on the signal timing analysis and the analysis of accident data. Transportation Funding Programs Staff solicited and ranked new projects for the STP ‐ Urban program, the Local Road Accident Reduction Program, the Congestion Mi tigation & Air Quality Program, and the Transportation Enhancement program. Projects consisted of safety and capacity improvements to the highway network, transit en ‐ hancements, and greenway trails. TIP 2012 ‐2015 COGCNV staff updated the four ‐year Transportation Improvement Program. The TIP is a federally ‐ required four ‐year funding schedule of hig hway and transit projects paid for by federal, state, and local funding sources. Some of the projects included in the TIP are the Naugatuck River Greenway trail, the I‐84 upgrade in the eastern Waterbury, the re‐ construction of Christian Street in Oxford, and the repair of four bridges on the Waterb ury Branch Line. Greenways The Naugatuck River Greenway was recognized in the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative by the U.S. Department of the Interior as one of the top 101 outdoors projects in the country. COGCNV worked with the National Park Service and the municipalities along the river to coordinate events celebrating the planne d greenway trail. Staff assisted the City of Waterbury in its Waterbury on Wheels event around The Green as part of the AGO celebrations. COGCNV also helped organize the first annual bike to work day in May 2012. Public Transit Evening bus service started in October 2011 in Waterb ury. Ridership ranges from 700 to 900 riders per night. Paratransit services for people with disabilities were expanded to provide transportation to Southbury, the Gaylord Rehabilitation Hospital, and evening non ‐ ADA paratransit trips outside of Waterbury. Public Participation Plan / Title VI COGCNV staff updated the agency’s Public Participation Plan to lay out the public involvement process for transportatio n planning activities. The new plan calls for an increased use of visualization techniques and consideration of the effectiveness of communicating COGCNV activities using social media. In addition, new procedures were put in place to document complaints under Title VI. FINANCIAL STATEMENT Revenues $2,080,659 Expenses $2,036,165 Federal $1,822 ,231 State $75,081 Other Govt. $177 ,705 Agencies Mis cellaneous $5,642 Total $2,080 ,659 Salaries $298 ,898 Subreci pients $87,021 Consultants $173 ,055 Other $1,064,796 Indirect Costs $408 ,193 De preciation $4,202 Total $2,036,165