Welcome.  President Dave Bechtel opened the meeting at 7:07.

Announcements:

• Dave noted that public meetings on the Hamden Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) will be held on November 24^th and December 18^th. He urged members to attend and express their views.
• Dave noted that Wine 101 was celebrating their second anniversary with wine tastings on Friday and Saturday.
• Dave stated that the meeting at the Children’s Center had been well received and well attended. Connie Matheson noted that the October community meeting with the Children’s Center had been cancelled.  Updates on the Children’s Center will be presented as they arise.  Dave noted that the state’s only locked facility for minors is closed and that about 60 children who need that environment are being placed elsewhere in the system on a temporary basis.
• Dave and Mike Lockett (Ridge Hill Civic Association) met with Mayor Leng, who provided an update regarding the new street lights. An application has been made to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to permit towns to purchase their own street lights.  This may improve negotiations with United Illuminating in the future.

Committee Updates. WCA committee updates included:

• Treasurer. The WCA has $1,089 in the bank.  The Garden Committee has $347 saved.  All Whitneyville residents are invited to join the WCA as voting members.
• Library Committee. Connie noted the upcoming free, neighborhood gathering on November 29^th at 7:00 pm in the Whitneyville Branch Library.  Bruce Coffin will do a reading from his memoir, The Long Light of Those Days.  Snacks will be available.

Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD):

• The plan is revised every 10 years. Dave noted that the town’s November and December meetings are an opportunity for public input.  He then opened a discussion regarding what members of the WCA wanted to see in the plan.  A lively discussion by the membership ensued.

The following issues were raised in the discussion:

• Expanded regionalization of services. The regional Health District was cited as a successful example.
• Improved mass transit, including consideration of different modes, such as trolley and monorail.
• Improved parking in the business district, including the possibility of a parking structure with ground level businesses if a location can be identified.
• Traffic calming improvements on Whitney Avenue.
• Adding a left turn arrow at the intersection of Putnam Avenue and Newhall Street.
• Fill in of gaps in the sidewalk network.
• Improved access to the Farmington Canal State Park Trail.
• Examination of alternatives for the reuse of the Board of Education (BOE) Building should the BOE relocate.
• Public access to Lake Whitney, including kayaking.
• A town-wide tree planting plan.
• Continued farmland preservation in the town.
• Creation of passive recreational space on the Powder Farm property.

The discussion also included issues related to improving the Whitneyville community in general.  Suggestions included:

• A Halloween parade for children
• Movie Night at DeNicola Park
• A town-wide community calendar
• Business of the Month promotions
• A winter social event
• Possibility of making the Ralston Street New Year’s Ball Droop as an official event
• Consideration of possible locations for sledding

Future Meetings:

• Dave noted that he had invited Representative Mike D’Agostino to speak at the January meeting regarding the new gubernatorial administration and General Assembly. (Mike subsequently accepted.)
• Mark Foran has contact information for a retired Hamden firefighter who has a presentation on the history of the Hamden Fire Department. His recent appearance at the Dunbar Civic Association was well received.

Adjournment.  The meeting adjourned at 8:15.