Complaint accuses councilors of ties to Holy Trinity School

As published in the Record Journal Friday September 28, 2012

By Laurie Rich Salerno
Record-Journal staff
lsalerno@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@LaurieSalernoRJ 

WALLINGFORD — The resident leading the opposition to the town’s plans to repair the Simpson Court parking lot has filed an ethics complaint against two town councilors, saying they should not have discussed issues related to a retaining wall on Holy Trinity School property because of their affiliations with the school.

The retaining wall would be fixed as part of the town’s plan to repair and upgrade the Simpson Court parking lot, if it receives a grant the council approved applying for Tuesday night.

On Sept. 17, Robert Gross filed an ethics complaint with the town’s Board of Ethics and town attorney against Republican Town Councilors Tom Laffin and John LeTourneau. Both dispute Gross’ claims. A Board of Ethics meeting on the issue will be held on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 315 at Town Hall.

Gross could not be reached Thursday. LeTourneau said he’d prefer to discuss the matter in detail after the ethics panel meeting, but Laffin spoke freely, saying he felt the complaint was an ill-conceived and poorly researched political play by Gross, a Democrat.

The complaint says Laffin and LeTourneau should not have participated in conversations at two Town Council meetings, one on June 26 and another on Sept. 11, because of their connections to Holy Trinity School.

LeTourneau’s grandchildren attend the school. Though the complaint says that Laffin’s children also do, his 6-year-old son, Jack, only attends first grade Catholic education classes at Holy Trinity School, Laffin said. The classes are provided through Holy Trinity Church, not the school, and take up about an hour a week.

Laffin said he was frustrated that Gross appeared to have made a serious allegation against him without researching it.

“You’re calling into question my ability to serve? You did it based on a misunderstanding? You didn’t confirm (that my son goes to the school)?” Laffin said, adding that that Gross could have called the school or asked around to confirm his son’s involvement. “How am I going to take anything he says in the future seriously?”

The complaint cites the town’s Code of Ethics regarding conflict of interest and disclosure, which says: “No officer or employee shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties or employment. Interest shall be as defined by the Code of Ethics or other ordinances, as may be applicable to an individual case.” The code also requires that officers or employees who believe they have an interest to tell, in writing, “their affiliation to the chairman or agency, commission or board of which he or she is a member.”

In a letter to the Rev. Dean Warburton, chairman of the Board of Ethics, Laffin disputed the charge.“I will in no way, personally and/or exclusively benefit from any decision made by the town on the Holy Trinity wall. I will not receive monetary compensation or elevated status of any sort, should the town be involved in the wall’s repair,” said Laffin’s letter.

“Had I believed even in the slightest that my relationships … have any impact on my decision any more than my decision is impacted by the fact that I am a patron of all of the downtown restaurants and shops, I would have sought the opinion of the Board of Ethics in advance of any discussion or vote involving the wall.

At the June 26 meeting, councilors voted to have the town attorney’s office look into ownership of the wall to see if the town had any liability for it, after building the parking lot above in 1961. Corporation Counsel Janis Small said at the Sept. 11 meeting, that after researching the issue, she had determined the town is not responsible for the wall. The councilors discussed the Simpson Court project, which would include repairs to the wall, at the Sept. 11 meeting for the first time.

LeTourneau and Laffin, along with other councilors, disclosed their relationships with the church and school at the June 26 meeting, with the exception of Laffin’s son’s Catholic education class, because he was not yet enrolled. Laffin said he is a parishioner and had attended Holy Trinity School, LeTourneau said that he is not a parishioner, but his grandchildren attend the school and his daughter is going to be taking a seat on Holy Trinity’s school board.

Republican Councilors Robert Parisi, Rosemary Rascati and Craig Fishbein each declared that they are members of Holy Trinity Church, and others Thursday said that they’ve supported church fundraisers or had connections in the past, including Councilor Nick Economopoulos, a Democrat, whose wife worked as a teacher at the school more than 20 years ago.

Councilors defended their colleagues, many saying that the two have no conflict because they have no direct financial ties to the school, since it’s LeTourneau’s grandchildren, and Laffin’s child’s program is run through the church, not the school. Sister Kathleen Kelly, the school’s principal, confirmed that the Catholic education classes are run by the church, and just the school facility is used.

“He’s not the legal guardian; he did not direct them to go to the school,” said Councilor Vincent Cervoni, a Republican, of LeTourneau and his grandchildren. “I think the allegations are a real stretch, and that there’s an ulterior motive to me.”

Economopoulos, an opponent of the Simpson Court upgrade plan, says he doesn’t have an opinion on the ethics complaint, but he called the complaint more evidence that the parking lot project will pull the town apart.

Council wants more info on liability for school’s wall

As published in the Record Journal Wednesday June 27, 2012

By Laurie Rich Salerno
Record-Journal staff
lsalerno@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235

WALLINGFORD - Town staff will prepare an in-depth report on ownership of a retaining wall on Holy Trinity school property that supports a town-leased parking lot and get a legal opinion before deciding what to do concerning repairs.

The Town Council tabled the issue at its meeting Tuesday night and will await the results of the report.

“It’s so important that now we do some research and we find out once and for all what is the town liable for on the retaining wall for your school,” said Town Councilor John Sullivan,a Democrat. The issue revolves around who is responsible for a retaining wall that divides the school’s playground from a parking lot behind building son Simpson Court and North Main Street that is used for public parking through a lease with the town. Church and school officials say the structure is deteriorating, with cracks and chunks of it falling onto the playground, and it needs to be reconstructed.

Church officials say the wall was built by the town on their property in the early 1960s, either with or without the agreement of the church, and believe the town should be part of its maintenance. But no documentation has yet been found regarding its construction.

Parish priest the Rev. Thomas Walsh and school Principal Kathleen Kelly presented the issue to the council at the meeting.

Walsh read a prepared statement saying that the parish did not know that the wall was considered Holy Trinity’s property until a survey prepared a few years ago declared it to be.

“It was news to us that this wall, by a matter of inches, was on school property,” Walsh said. “Try to understand that this issue is more complex than who owns the wall … who does the wall benefit and who should be involved in its maintenance.”

He said he believed the wall was likely built by the town, as it was constructed during a time when the town had a parking authority that was involved in creating lots. He also said that agreements found for other projects during the time did not include maps, leading him to believe that the wall was built on their property in error.

Walsh also said that he believed work done on storm drains by the town that routed water to the wall was aiding in its destruction.

Sullivan asked to address the “elephant in the room.”

“You’re here hoping to get some money from the town or service from the town,” he said, and referenced a referendum last November in which Wallingford voters rejected a proposed $500,000 in improvements to the parking lot in question. The improvements would have included construction on the wall.

“A lot of people had issues with the town putting money into privately-owned property,” Sullivan said. “So we’re in a different place, but we’re in the same argument that was made when the referendum was defeated.”

Town Councilor Jason Zandri, a Democrat who was elected for the first time last November, said he voted against the project as a resident, because only the town was spending the money, but would reconsider if there was funding from the church as well as the businesses that abut the lot.

“If we had equal skin in the game from everybody that would benefit,” Zandri said.

Several of those involved with the school spoke in favor of repairs during the public comment period.

“Another winter is coming upon us in a few months — another winter of storm drains,water runoff. The risks that are posed to that playground, while not imminently dangerous, pose some concern,” said Christine Mansfield, a member of the Board of Education who has three children in the school. “No numbers will matter if one deplorable accident happens.”

Marybeth Applegate, addressing a statement by Councilor Nick Economopoulos — a Democrat — that whomever owns the wall should be ashamed by its condition, said the church had attempted to patch the wall for years. Applegate is a staff member at the school.

“As soon as you get rains and things, those patches come popping right out of that wall,” she said.

Councilors closed the meeting on Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.‘s assurance that the issue of ownership would be looked into.

“I’d like to see something happen sooner or later based on some of these factors,” Zandri said.

As for the school, Kelly said it would await the results.

“Our first dialogue with the town occurred in 2006, so we are patient people,” Kelly said.

In other business, the council:

- approved a new position for the school district, a technology/ administrative application technologist;

- accepted several education grants regarding electronics and agricultural education;

- routed to the school district $113,626 in additional state funds for tuitions for out-of district students who attend the district’s vocational-agriculture program.

A wall in disrepair between the Simpson Court parking lot and Holy Trinity School in Wallingford as seen on Friday.

File photo – Courtesy of the Record-Journal

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McGuire’s letter to Holy Trinity

As published in the Record Journal on Saturday January 28, 2012

Editor’s note: This is the text of a letter sent by Ferguson & McGuire to Holy Trinity School:

January 4, 2012 We regret to advise you that as of this date, we will no longer be able to allow your parishioners, faculty and parents to use our parking lot located behind TD Bank at 6-28 North Main Street.

Because of the town referendum, this property is considered private and no longer a municipal parking lot. Accordingly, our insurance company does not want us to assume liability for any accidents that may occur on the parking lot property. When the lot was considered public, the Town of Wallingford assumed all responsibility for accidents and agreed to hold Ferguson & McGuire harmless for accidents that happened on it. This is not the case at this time.

When the lot was considered municipal, it worked well for all of us, and we were in favor of it remaining that way and being expanded by the town. Unfortunately, that cannot happen at this time. Also, the Town was supposed to maintain the lot, and as you know, other than plowing it, they have not done so.

We hope that you will advise the Mayor and Town Council about your need for parking in the Simpson Court area and request that they reinstate our lot as a municipal facility.

Yours very truly, Ferguson & McGuire, Inc.

Jack McGuire, Chairman John McGuire, President Christopher McGuire, Vice-President