DEEP Best Management Practices for Disposal of Snow Accumulations from Roadways and Parking Lots

A letter has been sent to Henry McCully and Mayor Dickinson’s Office regarding snow removal over all in town and the use of the Garden Road property – you can follow this link to read it.

Below are the available DEEP Best Management Practices for Disposal of Snow Accumulations from Roadways and Parking Lots.

Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Best Management Practices for Disposal of Snow Accumulations from Roadways and Parking Lots

Purpose: These guidelines have been developed to clarify DEEP recommendations to state and municipal officials, and others regarding the removal and disposal of snow accumulations from roadways and parking lots. For purposes of this guidance snow accumulations refers to snow banks and snowpiles that are removed by front-end loader or by loading on trucks for disposal. This guidance does not apply to normal snow plowing operations that must, inevitably, discharge some snow into wetlands and watercourses.

Implementation: While following these guidelines does not constitute a permit or authorization, the Department recognizes there is a considerable need for flexibility in implementation of this policy, particularly in emergency situations. There is no intent to interfere with snow plowing operations. Where trucking and snow dumping operations are undertaken the Department recommends these guidelines be followed.

Problem: Current road maintenance activities include removal of snow accumulations from bridges, roads and parking areas for the purpose of providing more space for subsequent snow storms and for ease of travel and parking. Sometimes this snow is moved by truck or with a front-end loader and deposited directly into surface waters of the state including streams, wetlands and Long Island Sound. This practice is not recommended due to the presence of dirt, salt, litter and other debris, which are routinely mixed in the accumulated snow.

Under normal conditions of snowmelt, the majority of these contaminants remains on or next to the paved surface or may be captured in stormwater catch basins. These contaminants can then be swept from streets and bridges or vacuumed from catch basin sumps. However, when accumulated snow is collected and dumped into surface waters, this mixture of snow, sand and debris may smother aquatic life in the bottom of streams and rivers and degrade the aesthetics of the surface water with silt plumes and litter. Large quantities of snow (and the sand and debris) may also cause blockage of storm drainage systems, resulting in increased chance for localized flooding.

Recommended Management Practice: Snow accumulations removed from roadways, bridges, and parking lots should be placed in upland areas only, where sand and other debris will remain after snowmelt for later removal. Care must be exercised not to deposit snow in the following areas:

• freshwater or tidal wetlands or in areas immediately adjacent to such areas where sand and debris may be flushed during rainstorms;
• on top of storm drain catch basins;
• in storm drainage swales;
• on stream or river banks which slope toward the water, where sand and debris can get into the watercourse; and
• in areas immediately adjacent (within at least 100 feet) of private or public drinking water well supplies (due to the possible presence of road salt).

For Governmental Entities: In normal winter conditions, governmental entities should follow the recommended management practices outlined above. In extraordinary winter conditions, the commissioner may, upon public notification, offer governmental entities the flexibility of limited in-water disposal. When such flexibility is offered, governmental entities who have determined that extraordinary circumstances exist where all upland, land-based disposal options have been fully exhausted (i.e., disposal capacity is not available) and snow needs to be removed to meet public safety demands (i.e., clear access ways for police, emergency medical and fire responders), may use certain waterways for snow disposal in accordance with the following conditions:

• Upland storage and disposal of snow (i.e., athletic fields, parks and other flat, open-field sites) and other snow management methods (i.e., snow melting equipment) must be the first alternatives explored and exhausted. Environmentally sensitive areas must be avoided;
• This guidance applies only to snow and ice which is not visibly contaminated with material other than salt and sand from road clearing activities;
• For coastal communities, preference should be given to snow disposal in salt water where available;
• Disposal in rivers or streams must be limited to those water bodies that have adequate flow and mixing and are not prone to ice jams;
• The disposal must occur only in open water in areas that will not interfere with navigation;
• Disposal must be conducted in a manner so as to prevent ice dam formation or damage to bridges, docks or other structures;
• Disposal in ponds and lakes is discouraged;
• There shall be no disposal in coastal or freshwater wetlands, eelgrass beds, vegetated shallows, vernal pools, shellfish beds mudflats, public water supply reservoirs and their tributaries, or others areas designated as being environmentally sensitive;
• The activity must comply with local laws and requirements;
• Precautions must be taken to avoid shoreline or stream bank damage or erosion from truck/equipment activity; and
• Governmental entities must notify the Department by email (address email to kevin.sowa@ct.gov) prior to disposing of snow and ice in waterways or, if advance notification is not possible, then the Department must be contacted as soon as possible after snow disposal has begun.

Notification: Notification can be made by addressing an email to Kevin Sowa at: kevin.sowa@ct.gov. The notification must include the following: (1) the name of the governmental entity making the notification; (2) contact information for the governmental entity including name, email address and phone number; (3) the street address where the snow disposal activity will occur; (4) the name of the waterbody where the snow will be disposed; (5) the estimated quantity of snow to be disposed; (6) the dates during which the disposal activity will occur; and (7) a statement that the governmental entity has exhausted all disposal alternatives and snow management methods and will make best efforts to adhere to these snow disposal guidelines.

Information: For further information please call the Water Permitting and Enforcement Division Engineer of the Day at 860-424-3018.

DEP-PED-GUID-002 Revised 02/04/11

Opinions vary on wisdom of using arbitration in Wallingford Unions’ dispute

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday March 28, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD – Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said Wednesday that he’d rather resort to arbitration than deal with the ongoing cost of paying town employees every time Town Hall closes due to inclement weather.

Town Hall was closed on Feb. 14 as the cleanup effort began after the blizzard, and two days later Dickinson filed a memo stating that town employees who didn’t report to work that day must take a vacation day in order to be paid. Nonessential town employees had been told not to report to work that day, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy closed the state.

Personnel Director Terrence Sullivan said in early March that six of the town’s seven employee unions filed a grievance in opposition to Dickinson’s ruling. The police union did not file a grievance. Sullivan, who could not be reached Wednesday, said earlier this month that he had heard the arguments of several unions, but could not reach any compromise. He said he expected several unions to resort to arbitration,which Dickinson referred to Wednesday as “a one-time cost.”

“If every time Town Hall closes there’s a cost associated with that, that’s an ongoing cost,” Dickinson said.

Earlier this month, Sullivan said he still had to hear from two unions.

On Wednesday, Dickinson said, “I think it’s still in the grievance process,” so there’s no indication that any town employee union will decide to go to arbitration. Shelby Jackson, president of United Public Service Employees Union Local 424-14, which represents municipal managers, and Chuck Ballard, president of Local 1183 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union representing public works, clerical and sewer workers, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Sullivan explained in February that there are two options when settling a dispute through arbitration. Either the Connecticut State Board of Mediation & Arbitration or the American Arbitration Association can settle the grievance as a neutral party. Sullivan said settling a dispute through the state board is cheaper, but can take more time.

“The state board is flooded with grievances“ from both municipalities and private companies, he said. “It can take a year to a year and a half to get an initial hearing.”

There is a $25 filing fee when dealing with the state board, while the association charges between $250 and $300 to file a complaint, Sullivan said. Going through the association is much faster, he said, with an initial hearing usually held within 90 days, and a conclusion reached 30 days after the final hearing. But there could be arbitration fees of$1,500 per hearing when working with the association.

Town Councilor Craig Fishbein said there are two schools of thought when settling union complaints. The town can either “run and hide in the corner and agree” to what the union gives as their last offer, or “fight on behalf of the taxpayers,” a method Fishbein would agree with “more often than not.”

Fishbein said he’s been hearing in council chambers that “we’re just going to lose in arbitration,” but the councilor feels if the town doesn’t fight unions through arbitration, there’s no chance of winning.

Town Councilor John LeTourneau said fighting town employee unions through arbitration is a “huge mistake.”

LeTourneau said the cost of arbitration and personnel hours dealing with the grievance and arbitration process is wasteful and will end up costing the town more money than if Dickinson decided to change his mind and pay employees for the day Town Hall was closed.

“This is going to open up such a large can of worms that it will be years until it gets unwound,” LeTourneau said. “We’re paying (employees) to take time to file grievances. They’re on the clock.”

LeTourneau also said the town doesn’t do well in arbitration battles with town unions.

“It sounds good on the surface ... take a stand, don’t pay your employees,” he said. “But if you get into the weeds of this thing, it’s going to cost the town a lot of money. There’s a reason why unions are strong in this town, and this is an example.”

A town-wide health issue – an editorial by Eric Cotton of the Record Journal

As published in the Record Journal on Sunday March 17, 2013

Reach Eric Cotton at ecotton@record-journal.com or (203) 317-2344. Follow him on Twitter @ecotton3

Wallingford Police Chief Douglas Dortenzio last week recommended that people dispose of unwanted medication by simply throwing the drugs in the trash as opposed to the town creating a secure drop-off box in the police department lobby — even though similar drop-off boxes have been successful and uncontroversial in other communities.

While the town runs two drug take-back events per year, it’s just a bad idea for residents to leave items like powerful narcotic painkillers around the house until then — and it can be just as dangerous to throw them in the trash.

In fact, the Food and Drug Administration recommends AGAINST throwing many narcotic painkillers in the trash under ANY circumstances, even though the state Department of Consumer Protection website says it’s OK with proper precautions.

The FDA provides a list of painkillers that it says should never be disposed of in the trash, including Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Demerol, Percocet and morphine — the kind of opiate painkillers responsible for many overdose deaths.

In the absence of a community drug take-back option, FDA officials agree with the state DCP that other unwanted drugs may be thrown in the trash, as long as they’re mixed with undesirable substances like kitty litter or coffee grounds and placed in a sealed bag.

But “drugs such as powerful narcotic pain relievers and other controlled substances carry instructions for flushing to reduce the danger of unintentional use or overdose and illegal abuse,” according to the FDA website, which explains that the risk of accidental exposure or abuse outweighs environmental concerns if there’s no take-back option available. “For example, the fentanyl patch, an adhesive patch that delivers a potent pain medicine through the skin, comes with instructions to flush used or leftover patches. Too much fentanyl can cause severe breathing problems and lead to death in babies, children, pets, and even adults, especially those who have not been prescribed the drug.”

The FDA website quotes Capt. Jim Hunter, senior program manager on the administration’s Controlled Substance Staff: “Even after a patch is used, a lot of the drug remains in the patch so you wouldn’t want to throw something in the trash that contains a powerful and potentially dangerous narcotic that could harm others.“ Flushing isn’t a great alternative from an environmental standpoint, so why not create a secure drop box? Dortenzio says it would be too onerous for his staff, but Southington police say it only takes about 15 minutes a week to clean out the box they installed in December. That includes weighing the medication and filling out a brief form.

Dortenzio also claims that safely disposing of medication is a matter of personal responsibility and not the town’s concern, which is frankly insulting. If the state and federal governments can’t agree on a proper procedure, what’s the average resident supposed to do?

Federal rules say that, if a city or town opts to have a drop box, it has to be in the police department. But it’s not enough for Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. to simply defer to his police chief as if this were a minor matter of department administration. It’s really a town-wide public health issue and thus it’s appropriate for the mayor to overrule the chief.

Will the drop box solve the problem of local drug abuse? Of course not, but it’s a step in the right direction and an important resource for residents.

Wallingford Police Chief: No need for drug drop-off

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday March 14, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD – Residents should take personal responsibility and dispose of unwanted medication on their own, said Police Chief Douglas Dortenzio, who opposes a medication drop box at the police station.

While Dortenzio said he is “not opposed to the concept of disposing of drugs” for safety reasons, he said “the general public has been disposing of personal medications for decades without the assistance of law enforcement.”

The safest way to dispose of medication is to put it out with the trash, he said. “I can’t be a substitute for responsible citizens.”

Dortenzio was responding to a request from the Coalition for a Better Wallingford, which continues to push for a medication drop box at police headquarters.

A founding member of the group, Ken Welch, presented his case for the medication drop box before the Town Council on Tuesday night. Following Welch’s presentation, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said he would defer to Dortenzio on the question of installing and operating a drop box at the police station.

“The most common method that’s available to everyone is to dispose them in the garbage,” Dickinson said.

Welch said “there’s no good reason” to oppose a medication drop box at the department. He said the push for a drop box was part of the coalition’s work to stem the tide of drug use and overdose deaths in Wallingford. Welch said the Police Department considered a medication drop box months ago, but he “was told it was undoable” because of stringent requirements by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which oversees all medication drop box programs in the nation. At the time, Welch said the DEA required every pill in a drop box to be inventoried, which he agreed would be a tedious and wasteful task. Those requirements have been lifted, Welch said, and now the Police Department must only report the total pounds collected annually.

But Dortenzio said Wednesday that current requirements are impractical.

“The conditions of doing these drug boxes are more cumbersome than what we do on a daily basis,” Dortenzio said, explaining that when drugs are seized by law enforcement, they are easier to process.

To legally have a medication drop box, Dortenzio said, two officers must have independent keys to open the box. Every time the box is opened, he said, medication must be logged and weighed, and a case report must be filed. That doesn’t happen with other drug seizures, Dortenzio said.

Dortenzio also argued that the Police Department lobby is not suitable for a medication drop box because of its small size. Placing the box in the lobby would create handicapped- accessibility issues, he said. Dortenzio said parking is limited as well, which would make it difficult for people to stop by and drop off medication. Dortenzio said the medication drop box can’t go anywhere besides the lobby because at least one police officer must be able to see the box throughout the day.

“It’s got to be an efficient and effective means,” Dortenzio said, adding that the debate alone had been helpful in spreading the word to rid households of unnecessary medication.

Welch said the coalition can have the box paid for through a grant, and Covanta Energy has agreed to burn the medication free of charge. He said that labor expenses are the only issue the Police Department would have to deal with,and those expenses are “worth it.”

He said 27 towns in the state have already adopted medication drop boxes, including Cheshire and Southington.

Major pharmacies in town, such as Stop & Shop, Rite Aid and CVS on North Colony Road, and Walgreens on South Colony Road, do not have any drug take-back programs.

Since December, Welch said, the Southington Police Department has collected 400 pounds of unwanted medication. Southington Police Sgt. Mike Baribault said that department’s drop box is emptied monthly. Every time it’s emptied, he said, a police report is filed and the medication is stored in the evidence room until it is destroyed.

Dortenzio said that, whether medication is discarded in residential trash or in a drop box, it’s all burned at the same location, so there’s no point in a medication drop box.

Town councilors were more receptive to the idea, however. On Wednesday, Town Councilor Tom Laffin said that discarding medication in the trash isn’t the answer because people desperate to abuse medications can easily rummage through the trash and salvage what was thrown out. But Dortenzio said that “if a parent has a suspicion that their children do that, it’s incumbent on the parents to dispose of the medication when their children aren’t watching.” Laffin, along with a majority of the Town Council, showed support for the drop box on Tuesday night. The subject was tabled so that the council could obtain more information on the process.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Laffin said Wednesday. “I know there’s some work to do and logistics to go over.”

Town Councilor Rosemary Rascati said Wednesday that she also supports the plan, but wants more information because “I don’t know exactly what it entails.”

“My initial reaction is that it’s a great idea,” she said.

While Town Councilor Vincent Cervoni said Wednesday that he is “generally supportive” of the drop box, “I just have to figure out how to make it happen.”

“I don’t know that I’m sold (on) the idea totally at this point,” said Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, who cited accessibility issues and DEA requirements as potential roadblocks.

Town Attorney Gerald Farrell Sr. said the council doesn’t have the authority to get the drop box installed. He said he couldn’t comment on whether the mayor could instruct the police chief to install the box because it is a hypothetical question. Dickinson said that theoretically he is the public safety director for the town and could direct the Police Department, but a medication drop box is “not the prime mission of the department.”

Dortenzio “is the person who knows best what needs to be done on a daily basis in order to accomplish any given task,” Dickinson said, adding that he understands the chief’s concerns.

While Dortenzio is against a medication drop box at the Police Department, he said the department takes part in a drug take-back program administered by the DEA twice a year. The next event is April 27, when he said a circular path is created at the driveway of the police station so residents can drive through and conveniently “just hand it off.”

Welch said he would continue to fight for the drop box. “We’ve dealt with each of the chief’s objections,” he said. “I would like to believe they’re putting a healthy effort into putting in a drug box ... It’s painful that you have to waste time on these arguments.”

Dickinson: No work, no snow day pay

As published in the Record Journal on Saturday February 16, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD - Since Town Hall was closed Monday during the blizzard cleanup effort, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. is asking town department heads, managers and employees who didn’t report to work to take a vacation day in order to be paid. Dickinson made the announcement in a memo addressed to all town employees on Thursday. Nonessential town employees had been told not to report to work on Monday.

“We believe that collective bargaining contracts do not require the payment of wages unless an employee has reported for work,” Dickinson wrote. “We believe that this is a fair and just resolution of the questions that arise when payment of wages to employees who have not work are raised by those employees who did work.” Some managers and employees were still asked to report to work on Monday to continue snow removal and support “public safety operations,” Dickinson said.

Shelby Jackson, president of United Public Service Employees Union Local 424-14, which represents municipal managers in Wallingford, said “members of our union have expressed concern and the memo is under review.”

He could not confirm if the union plans to file a grievance. Jackson said that, according to contract, the union has until Thursday to file a grievance.

Chuck Ballard, president of Local 1183 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union representing public works, clerical and sewer workers, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Dickinson explained his reasoning for the memo on Friday, stating, “I have a hard time feeling the town should be paying people when they didn’t work.”

“I don’t want to feel like we are giving money away when it isn’t warranted,” he said.

Dickinson said the employees who did have to work Monday feel “they should be paid something extra” for their time if those who were asked not to show up for work Monday are still paid.

Dickinson said he would have trouble explaining to the public “that we pay people when they are not working.”

In Meriden, Southington and Cheshire, municipal employees are not asked to use vacation days in order to receive payment for a day they were told not to show up. Those municipal governments were open on Monday.

“When we don’t open Town Hall, we don’t charge vacation days,” Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback said.

In Cheshire, Town Manager Michael Milone said charging vacation or personal time is against policy when Town Hall is closed.

“People would say to me, ‘I would have been at work if you didn’t close,’ ” Milone said. “And that’s probably true.”

Caroline Beitman, Meriden’s personnel director, said, “We cannot legally make our unionized employees use personal time if you send them home and shut down the work place.” However, she said, those who couldn’t get to work Monday had to use personal time.

According to the state comptroller’s office, hourly state employees are also paid for days they are asked not to report to work in circumstances such as Monday’s, when state offices were closed.

Workers at Wallingford Town Hall who have not accumulated vacation time will be allowed to make up the lost time. Jackson said two people in the assessor’s office, where he works, were hired recently and have no vacation time. After consulting with the town’s personnel director, Terry Sullivan, he learned that they will be able to work an extra hour per day until the lost time is made up, making Dickinson’s action “more palatable.”

FEMA funds to ease fiscal pain (snow removal from Charlotte)

As published in the Record Journal on Friday February 15, 2013

By Dan Brechlin
Record-Journal staff
dbrechlin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2266
Twitter: @DanBrechlinRJ

“Wallingford spent more than $800,000 on that storm (October 2011), and more than $900,000 on Tropical Storm Irene. Last weekend’s blizzard is expected to be a significant cost, though Wallingford avoided the added expense of hiring numerous private contractors. Just two pieces of equipment were rented, and one operator was hired.”

“Last weekend’s storm drew the quickest disaster declaration (for FEMA reimbursement)”

 

Municipal leaders will spend the next several days tallying pay, fuel, equipment maintenance, contracting, and other costs related to last weekend’s blizzard. The storm is expected to exact a heavy price.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama declared Connecticut a disaster area, meaning municipalities will be eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for expenses incurred during part of the storm.

The area is used to this. Since the beginning of 2011, it has qualified for FEMA reimbursement for an early 2011 snowstorm, Tropical Storm Irene, the October snowstorm of 2011, and Superstorm Sandy. Last weekend’s storm drew the quickest disaster declaration.

“Even before the beginning of the storm we started calculating our expenses, including pre-treating the roads,” said David Bowen, Meriden’s deputy fire chief and emergency management director.

Typically, FEMA reimburses for 48 hours of the storm and recovery costs, Bowen said. For last weekend’s snowstorm, because of the record-breaking totals, 75 percent of the costs were reimbursed over 72 hours.

The total costs associated with last weekend’s storm have yet to be determined, but they are expected to be significant. Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback typically budgets for about six storms a year, and said last weekend’s blizzard added up to several storms.

“Even with the FEMA reimbursement, this will account for two or three storms worth of expense,” Brumback said. “Without FEMA, this would be devastating.”

Southington’s budget for snow removal this fiscal year is $670,000. Like other municipalities, Southington paid a high fee for maintenance on its equipment because the large amount of snow caused numerous breakdowns and equipment failures. The long time spent on the roads also lead to high fuel costs and a significant overtime cost.

“We wanted to get our town back to normal as quickly as possible,” Brumback said, and that also added costs, including the hiring of additional private contractors.

Though he expects a big bill, Cheshire Town Manager Michael Milone said it will likely not be as high as the tab for the October snowstorm in 2011. That storm left heavy damage and thousands in the area without power.

“This will probably be $150,000 to $200,000,” after FEMA reimbursement, said Milone. “We were better off than most towns and still had four or five days of hard work. Some other communities, it will take a lot longer.”

Dealing with the October 2011 storm, Cheshire spent $530,000 before any reimbursement. In addition to cleanup, paying for town buildings to run on generators was a significant cost.

Wallingford spent more than $800,000 on that storm, and more than $900,000 on Tropical Storm Irene. Last weekend’s blizzard is expected to be a significant cost, though Wallingford avoided the added expense of hiring numerous private contractors. Just two pieces of equipment were rented, and one operator was hired.

Before this past weekend’s snowfall, Meriden had already used half of its $500,000 snow removal budget. In 2011, the city spent nearly $840,000 on the January snowstorm and more than $1 million on the October snowstorm.

“It was done fairly well; there’s no real way to clear aloof the streets in one day,” Bowen said, noting that sometimes events happen and bills have to be paid. “It’s just like if your roof at your house starts to leak and you have to get it fixed. You have to respond and that’s what it costs sometimes.”

Bowen said calculating the total cost is complicated because of the many types of expenses. Though municipal leaders expressed confidence in paying the high bill, Brumback said he is hoping that there are not any more significant storms in the near future.

“If we’re at all fortunate and Mother Nature smiles on us, we will still have the ability to have a budget for one or two more storms going forward,” he said.

Dickinson: Outside help is OK with me

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday February 14, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD — While Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. prefers that the town’s workforce clear its snow, he’s not philosophically opposed to bringing in outside contractors, and is, in fact, considering putting the service out to bid “if snow keeps coming down like this,” he said Wednesday.

Dickinson clarified his attitude toward private contractors after an article in Wednesday’s Record-Journal incorrectly stated that he doesn’t believe in using them. The town simply hires contractors for snow removal on an as needed basis and does not budget for them as some other cities and towns do.

“It’s not that we don’t ever do it,” he said. “We just do it when it’s necessary.”

For this past weekend’s blizzard, Dickinson said, the town rented a front loader that came with an operator, as well as another piece of snow removal equipment that was operated by a town employee.

“This time we got some equipment, but we didn’t reach a point” where the town needed to bring in outside contractors, Dickinson said.

Dickinson used the Department of Public Utilities as an example of the town bringing in outside contractors to assist during emergencies. George Adair, the department’s director, said the town hires outside help for “two primary areas.”

Adair said Asplundh Tree Expert Co., of East Windsor, performs zone trimming annually. The company trims vegetation on one-quarter of the town’s roads. Adair said Asplundh is also brought in to do “spot trimming on an as needed basis.”

Another example is Thirau LLC, an electrical contracting company based in Newington, which is brought in to help the Department of Public Utilities, mainly during emergencies, Adair said.

The company provides linemen, who are “utilized and often pre-positioned prior to major events” such as Hurricane Irene or Superstorm Sandy, Adair said.

Adair said companies are hired on multiyear contracts through competitive bidding. He stressed that the town is capable of repairing power lines and trimming trees, but that hiring outside help is crucial so “we don’t have to maintain folks just for those purposes.”

There are “times when we don’t have enough people to respond to an emergency event,” he said.

Dickinson said he may look into hiring contractors to remove snow through the bidding process. In Southington, 10 to 15 private contractors have been on the road helping clear snow in the past few days, according to Town Manager Garry Brumback. The town secures snow removal contractors every year by putting the service out to bid.

Dickinson said Public Works Department staff and town officials will have to assess if putting snow removal services out to bid is a good idea.

“We may already have some capabilities with existing bids” through the Board of Education, Dickinson said.

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said the district signed a three-year contract with a snow removal company last spring. The district puts the work out to bid every three years, but “sometimes extensions are granted,” Menzo said. “We’re very satisfied with what was done this storm,” Menzo said.

Dickinson said that, if the school system has successfully hired a contractor for snow removal through the bidding process, the town might be able to “just use the existing bid.”

Outside help’s OK in three of four "Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. does not believe in hiring outside contractors to help clear snow"

As published in the Record Journal on Wednesday February 13, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz


Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. does not believe in hiring outside contractors to help clear snow, but Meriden, Southington and Cheshire are employing several companies.

As a general rule, Dickinson said, the town doesn’t use outside contractors, but equipment has been rented this time around. Dickinson said the town “rented some equipment, including a pay loader that came with an operator.” Another piece of equipment was rented as well, “but our personnel are driving it,” he said.

“We feel we have the adequate manpower to handle our needs. The town has always approached it from that standpoint and it has worked,” Dickinson said.

Meriden is receiving aid from several private contractors and Northeast Utilities.

“We have about 50 percent additional to our normal complement,” City Manager Larry Kendzior said. In an email, Kendzior wrote that in addition to the city’s regular private contractors, equipment and operators from La Rosa Construction, Cariati Developers, Suzio York Hill are on the job, as is a contractor from Norfolk.

“That’s something Wallingford needs to do,” Wallingford Town Councilor John LeTourneau said. Le­Tourneau said he hopes to bring public safety officials together once everything has settled to “find out what we can do better” after future snowstorms.

Kenzior said Meriden used three pieces of equipment from Yankee Gas on Tuesday. The crew began work on Church Street and moved toward Dove Drive, he said. The aid will be free of charge, said Theresa Gilbert, a spokeswoman for Yankee Gas’ parent company, Northeast Utilities.

About 50 pieces of CL&P and Yankee Gas snow removal equipment, including backhoes, dump trucks and trailers, were deployed, along with more than 40 employees to operate the equipment, on Monday. The effort was coordinated through the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Crews were dispatched to Meriden, Hartford and Waterbury first because Northeast Utilities has work locations in those cities, which made sense “from an efficiency standpoint,” Gilbert said.

The company is donating its services as a way to thank municipalities for working hard to make roads passable. Going forward, Gilbert said the state will further assess which municipalities need assistance from the company.

“There’s obviously a great need,” Gilbert said.

Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback estimated that 10 to 15 private contractors were helping to clear areas in town. Combined with town equipment, Brumback said there were over 40 vehicles “still on the road opening stuff up” on Tuesday. Southington secures snow removal contractors every fall by putting the service out to bid.

As in Wallingford, Cheshire officials traditionally don’t bring in outside contractors, Public Works Director George Noewatne said.

“We pretty much do our own snow plowing and clearing,” he said. But similar to the October storm in 2011, the town has decided to hire contractors in order to use their heavy machinery.

“We brought in a couple of private contractors to clear sidewalks and intersections” to improve sightlines for motorists, Noewatne said.

With high snow banks, “safety is a concern for drivers,” he added.

A.J. Waste Systems and Excavation Technologies, both of Cheshire, were hired, Noewatne said.

Snow removal companies are having issues of their own.

Rick Macri Jr., owner of Affordable Home Improvements in Wallingford, said the greatest challenge was getting out of his own driveway, not plowing others’.

“We couldn’t even get to customers,” Macri said, explaining that his street wasn’t plowed until Monday.

While Macri’s company serves both commercial and residential properties in the area, he’s taking it slow so as to not wear out his equipment.

“We’re trying to take it easy, telling customers they have to be patient,” he said, adding that equipment breaks down more quickly in heavy snow. “Slower equipment is better than no equipment.”

Taffy Guest, whose husband, David, runs Total Maintenance in Southington, also said getting to customers was the biggest issue.

“It’s hard to get to customers until town roads are plowed,” she said.

The company does 95 percent of its work in Southington, Guest said, including plowing the Southington Library parking lot for the town.

While people may think private contractors are cleaning up financially, Guest tells a different story. “Storms of this size lose money,” she said. “We don’t make money at all.”

Between fuel costs, which grow because of the extended hours crews are putting in, and the wear and tear on machinery, many contractors won’t profit from this storm, she said.

Dealing with angry residents has also been a problem, Guest said. While some understand why they’ve had such a long wait to get out of their homes, and even bring out coffee or food to crews working on their driveways, “others want to rip you from one end to another,” she said.

“I don’t think the public understands.”

Zandri begins campaign; Dickinson undecided

As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday January 16, 2013

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
Twitter:@RussellBlairRJ

WALLINGFORD -  Democrat Jason Zandri knows the introduction of new technology to Town Hall alone isn’t enough to defeat longtime Republican Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.

In November, the 44-year old town councilor announced his intention to seek his party’s nomination for mayor. In past elections Democrats have tried, and failed, to paint Dickinson as out of touch with modern technology.

“Yes, technology is going to be part of the platform but I am far from laying all of my bets on that; leveraging technology for more ease of access, more open government, more services available will come as part of a calculated effort to streamline work that needs to be done and make our government more efficient,” Zandri wrote recently on his blog.

Zandri’s mayoral campaign held a kickoff meeting last week attended by about 20 supporters, he said.

Dickinson said Tuesday he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run again for the seat he’s held since he won his first election in 1983.

“Right now, especially going into budgets, I’m just swamped,” he said. “It’s a decision I have to make at a point when I’m not quite so overwhelmed. Each thing has it’s time. It’s not time for me to deal with that yet.

Zandri said he wants to tackle many issues with his campaign, including the introduction of more affordable housing and lowering the income requirement for seniors to qualify for a tax credit from the town.

He’s adopted a campaign slogan of “Moving Wallingford Forward,” and is working on developing a strategic plan of where he’d like to see the town in 10 or 15 years, with visions of a proposed Incentive Housing Zone and a new commuter rail line rejuvenating the downtown.

Democratic Town Chairman Vincent Avallone said there are other important issues besides technology.

“The Incentive Housing Zone is a huge issue, the railroad is a huge issue,” Avallone said.

The message of technology has been lost with voters in previous elections, Zandri said. It’s not just about adding email and Internet access, it’s about using technology as a tool to make workers more efficient, and when possible,consolidate jobs or reduce positions through attrition.

But Dickinson said he wasn’t so sure that technology expenditures would result in savings.

“It’s something that has to be closely analyzed,” he said.

Zandri has named 25-year old David Leonardo as his campaign manager. Leonardo, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the Board of Education in 2011, previously interned on John Larson’s congressional campaign and helped with the mayoral campaigns of Dan Drew in Middletown and Vincent F. Testa Jr. in Wallingford.

“I wanted a younger individual tapped into that age group that’s not represented well at election time,” Zandri said.

MY TAKE - New concerns about old lampposts

I have a new post over on Wallingford Politico written by Laurie Rich Salerno from the Record Journal titled New concerns about old lampposts.

I am working on collecting some additional information I want to review and I will want to most likely wish to discuss at the next or immediately following Council Meeting.

At the end of the day it is really this: the Town Charter and the Wallingford Code are pretty clear on what is supposed to occur and in what fashion:

“The Purchasing Agent shall have the authority, with the approval of the Comptroller and the Mayor, to dispose of all unsaleable or unsold supplies, material and equipment.”

Not anyone else.

And the approval seems to require both the Comptroller and the Mayor (not “or” but rather “and”).

This was not the case as the Purchasing Agent was not aware that this activity was going on when I called Wednesday afternoon as he had indicated to me that “normally as part of his duties as the Purchasing Agent that he would otherwise handle “surplus property disposition” whether the decision be to recycle the materials or to try to sell them.

He also indicated on Thursday morning on a follow up call that to find out any further, specific details around the present situation that I should follow up with Mayor Dickinson.”

So this would seem to be yet another case of departments in the town doing what they want at will without respect for what the Charter and the Wallingford Code outlines especially now that I am watching the wagons get circled.

Sad part it – it wasn’t supposed to be a witch hunt; I was trying to get to the bottom of why there was no perceived value to these lights and all of a sudden when I asked why Purchasing wasn’t involved everyone got tight lipped and then suggested I call the Mayor.

There is a quote in the article that reads as follows:

Amadeo says the decision is up to Adair.

“It’s his call; if he’s saying it’s scrap, it’s scrap,” Amadeo said of Adair. “Stuff that is deemed saleable, they would send back to us to sell.”

So let’s take a look at the beginning of the Wallingford Code at 43-14:

The Purchasing Agent, with the approval of the Mayor, shall transfer to or between departments, office and agencies, or sell supplies, materials and equipment, determined, after consultation with the head of the department, office or agency concerned, to be surplus, obsolete or unused.

The Mayor gave no approval as the Purchasing Agent told me on the phone that he wasn’t full aware of the activity going on as the Public Utilities Director hadn’t been in contact with him regarding the work and that the Public Utilities Director was handling the activity and that if I wanted more details I would have to contact him.

Additionally, the way this reads, even if a prior discussion occurred the task should have been handled by the Purchasing Agent and not the Public Utilities Director or the staff.

The Purchasing Agent, with the approval of the Mayor, shall transfer to or between departments, office and agencies, or sell supplies, materials and equipment, determined, after consultation with the head of the department, office or agency concerned, to be surplus, obsolete or unused.

In my opinion the conversation, that never happened, should have gone like this according to our own ordinances, code and charter:

Public Utilities Director: “Hey Mr. Purchasing Agent, “We (the Wallingford Electric Division) don’t consider (these assets) suitable. We (the Wallingford Electric Division) do not want to perpetuate the use of them. We (the Wallingford Electric Division) consider them truly to be scrap.”

Purchasing Agent: “Thanks Mr. Public Utilities Director, let me get a hold of the Mayor and get the approval to surplus these obsolete assets.”

Purchasing Agent (dials the phone): “Mr. Mayor – I have the Public Utilities Director here in my office and he wants to recycle these obsolete assets; according to the Town Charter and the Wallingford Code, I need the “OK” first before I take on this effort”

Mayor: “If the Public Utilities Director says that they are inadequate, they are the department in charge of that asset, so I am good with that assessment and you can perform the duties as assigned.”

Purchasing Agent (to the Public Utilities Director): I have the approval to do this work; we can go ahead with the recycling if you think that is the best, most cost effective way to deal with the asset that is being retired.”

As to whether these assets really are “truly to be scrap” and have no value all I can say is “one battle at a time.”

Stay tuned.

New concerns about old lampposts

As published in the Record Journal Saturday October 27, 2012

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

WALLINGFORD — Jason Zandri has joined a small group of town councilors in questioning the decision by the Public Utilities Department to sell used ornamental lampposts for scrap instead of reselling them intact or reusing them elsewhere in town. Some other councilors say they trust the department’s call. Zandri has been talking to town staff and blogging in recent days about the lights, saying that he believes purchasing agent Sal Amadeo should have been the one to make the call as to whether the lights could be resold as is, not the Public Utilities Department.

“To me, the procedure should be that those are assets, the purchasing agent should have said these are scrap and then (utilities Director) George Adair should have been able to scrap them,” Zandri said.

Amadeo says the decision is up to Adair.

“It’s his call; if he’s saying it’s scrap, it’s scrap,” Amadeo said of Adair. “Stuff that is deemed saleable, they would send back to us to sell.”

The town-run Electric Division has been working to replace 37 ornamental lampposts that were originally installed during streetscape projects in the 1980s and 1990s. Adair says the poles are operational, but in poor shape, having been damaged by snowplows and weathering over the years. He said their construction also makes it difficult to get to wiring inside the base, forcing workers to lift the 50pound aluminum base to get inside.

The new poles have an access panel at the base. They cost just more than $3,000 apiece, and though a Wednesday Record-Journal article erroneously stated that that the funding for them came from a yearly town allocation, the replacement poles are part of normal operating costs that actually come from Electric Division revenues, Adair said.

The old poles are being disassembled and sold to a scrap dealer under a contract the dealer holds with the town.

Town councilors Craig Fishbein, a Republican, and Nick Economopoulos, a Democrat, said Tuesday that they felt the department could have reused the poles for other projects in town, such as the temporary Wooding-Caplan parking lot that is being constructed, or resold them intact for a higher price than they believe scrapping them would fetch.

Adair says the poles are basically unusable. “These are beat up; they’ve done their duty, they’ve seen their day.” Zandri said he believes the lights could have a higher resale value intact, comparing them to computers he has resold.

“A computer that might be scrap to me ... because I’m a power user ... I can rebuild it and sell it to somebody for 100 bucks because they just want to use the internet and do email on it,” Zandri said.

Other councilors said they had faith in the Public Utilities Department’s decision.

“I hope George Adair is making the best decision for the town of Wallingford, both from a fiscal standpoint and using good judgment here — and I’m sure he is,” said Councilor John Sullivan, a Democrat.

His Republican colleague, Tom Laffin, agreed, saying he doesn’t believe in micromanaging town staff.

“I trust the experts that carried us through the last storm and will this storm to know what they’re doing,” Laffin said, mentioning Hurricane Sandy, which is predicted to hit the area early next week.

Zandri said he wants to know what the actual procedure in place is and whether it’s being followed consistently by town employees and said he plans to continue to follow upon the issue, possibly requesting the issue to be placed on a future Town Council meeting agenda.

The town’s purchasing ordinance says that the purchasing agent has powers and duties, with the approval of the mayor, to sell “supplies, materials and equipment, determined after consultation with the head of the department, offices or agency concerned to be surplus, obsolete or unused.”

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said he thought the old poles were handled appropriately.

“I don’t think very many people would see a used street light pole and fixture as something that would have general value,” Dickinson said. “If you have a table or a chair — that people can use — they can offer to other departments, they can be auctioned. In this case, I just don’t think there’s a market for used ornamental light fixtures that the department in charge of them are saying are inadequate.”

WALLINGFORD – Parking report for Wallingford Center

At the recent Council meeting I asked if we ever did at needs study specific to the parking lot and the need for public parking in Wallingford Center with specific reference to the private property lot at Simpson Court.

While I could not seem to get a straight answer I already knew of an older report that reviewed parking in Wallingford Center that was done in 2004 (with a few updates as of 2007) done by the Planning and Zoning office and staff titled “Parking in Wallingford’s Central Business District” which I have scanned and posted online.

That document can be found via “main document” page at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/main_document.pdf

I am not going to go into my interpretation of the details of the parking needs assessment, I will do that at the Council Meeting on Tuesday September 25th as I do expect an addendum to discuss this matter again.

I will point to the “PARKING NEEDS” assessment as outlined from pages 3 to 10 as well as the results and further details on pages 11 and 12.

There is additional information within the report (details of the parking space turnover study, etc.).

There are also other items broken out in their own documents such as the Downtown Street Parking at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Downtown_street_parking.pdf as well as the “Parking space occupancy and major downtown employers” at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Parking_space_occupancy_and_major_downtown_employers.pdf which shows the Parking Space Occupancy Rate and then finally there is the Parking Space Occupancy Rate update from May of 2007 available via http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Parking_space_occupancy_rate_May_2007.pdf 

I am sure the conversation is going to be plentiful on Tuesday September 25th – be sure to be there or watch it on Government TV Channel 20.

WALLINGFORD - Simpson lot plan: ‘Deja vu,’ some say

As published in the Record Journal Wednesday September 12, 2012

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

WALLINGFORD - Town councilors argued with town staff Tuesday night about a proposal to apply for a state grant to repair the Simpson Court parking lot, with councilors calling the conversation “deja vu.”

“It’s actually a slap in the face to our taxpayers, who resoundingly defeated the last plan,” said Councilor Craig Fishbein, a Republican, referring to a previous Simpson Court lot upgrade proposal using solely town funds that was overturned in a referendum last November.

Councilors are expected to vote on whether to apply for the grant at their next meeting, on Sept. 25. There is no assurance that the town, if it applies, will get the grant.

Tuesday night, the mayor and town staff presented two items related to the Simpson Court lot: Corporation Counsel Janis Small’s opinion that the town is not liable for repairing a deteriorating retaining wall for the lot that abuts Holy Trinity School, and a plan to repair the wall and make other improvements to the lot by applying for a $500,000 state grant.

Town Engineer John Thompson and Small explained why they believe the retaining wall was not built by the town. They said that architectural plans for a 1961 Parking Authority project that created the Simpson Court lot — or rather, extended an existing lot — mention an existing concrete retaining wall. Holy Trinity school officials and others had speculated that the town had built the wall during the construction of the lot.

“Based on examination of these documents, it’s very clear to me that the wall existed in 1960-1961,” Thompson said.

After reading the bid documents from the 1961 project provided by the town and a letter from land surveyor Rosalind Page — commissioned by the school to look at the documents — that said the town built the wall, Councilor John LeTourneau, a Republican, disagreed with that conclusion.

“I think there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done to this,” LeTourneau said, explaining that a number of questions still need answers.

The discussion moved on to the repair project.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. presented his plan to have town staff apply for a $500,000 grant from the Main Street Investment Fund grant program, through the state Office of Policy and Management. The grant would pay for repairs to the retaining wall and other improvements to the lot, which is owned by abutting business owners but has been leased to the town annually for public parking since the 1960s.

Sept. 28 is the deadline to apply for the grant. Abutting property owners would be expected to pay $20,000 for repairs to the lot and would be reimbursed $10,000 through the grant money. Holy Trinity School would be asked to pay $10,000 and would not be reimbursed.

“It really means an improvement of the area, making it safer, providing lights, amenities, really an extension of the streetscape program on Center and Main Street,” Dickinson said.

Three councilors — Democrats Jason Zandri and Nick Economopoulos and Fishbein — opposed applying for the grant, saying the new plan was a rehash of the town’s proposal of a year ago.

Fishbein asked Dickinson why the town would choose to use the grant funding for just the Simpson Court property and no other lots, mentioning a March letter from Wallingford Center Inc. that said repairing town-owned parking lots is one of the town’s top priorities for downtown businesses.

Dickinson said that surveys and plans for the Simpson lot were already in place, and that the town would not be able to do the same preliminary work in time to meet the deadline on other parking lots.

“We will not qualify for it trying to suddenly do some work on other areas that have not been surveyed,” Dickinson said. “It takes six months or more to put together a project plan.” Dickinson said the town became aware of the grant in August. Zandri said the town should ask for more money from abutting businesses.

“They get their property completely refurbished. Every other business in this town collects their rent, puts some of this aside for maintenance and upkeep — these businesses don’t have to,” Zandri said.

Councilor Tom Laffin said the council should discuss appropriate fees for the business owners, but said he felt it was important for the town to retain and upgrade the lot.

“It needs to be easier to go out — downtown needs to be easier,” Laffin said.

Ron Hansen, president of the local Masonic Temple, which is one of the surrounding property owners, asked the council whether each business’ property used by the town since 1961 was taxed by the town. Dickinson said it was, but that he did not know at what rate.

Then, Hansen said, “Was it really in fact a free lease?” Hanson supported the town’s bid for a grant.

In other business, the council approved the Board of Education’s contract with its school nurses 6-1 with Economopoulos opposed. The contract runs from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015, and gives the nurses a 1.5 percent-plus-increment wage increase the first year, and a 1 percent-plus increment increase for each of the second and third years of the contract.

Little time to apply, so councilors suspicious

As published in the Record Journal Thursday September 13, 2012

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

WALLINGFORD - At the center of the Town Council’s current debate on rehabbing the parking lot behind Simpson Court is a state grant — town officials said they acted on it quickly once they learned of its availability, but some councilors believe it could have been looked into earlier.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. sent a letter to the Town Council last week asking it to allow the town to apply for a $500,000 state grant to repair and upgrade the privately owned parking lot behind businesses on Simpson Court. The application is due Sept. 28, and councilors are slated to vote on pursuing the grant at their Sept. 25 meeting.

The town built the lot and has leased it from the businesses for public parking since 1961 for a nominal fee. A plan to upgrade the lot using $500,000 of town money last year was shot down by voters in a November referendum. Under the new plan, the state funds would cover most of the cost, and Simpson Court commercial property owners would pay $20,000 for the project and be reimbursed half, while Holy Trinity School, which abuts the lot to the west, would pay $10,000 and receive no reimbursement.

The grant in question is part of a newly established Main Street Investment Fund. The fund was created as part of a state legislative business incentive package called the Act Promoting Economic Growth and Job Creation in the State, and was signed into law in late 2011. The fund is expected to provide $5 million in municipal and private business grants in fiscal year 2012-13 and another $5 million in 2013-14. The top amount a grantee can receive is $500,000.

The money is intended to go toward town projects that help improve local commercial centers to attract new businesses and keep the centers attractive to shoppers. Examples of projects include streetscapes, decorative lighting, landscaping and cosmetic and structural building improvements, according to a fact sheet for the program.

“It’s to promote business in town commercial centers — if there are sidewalks that are falling apart or if you have a green that is unmaintained, that is not attractive for businesses to come in and expand,” said Dimple Desai, community development director for the Office of Policy and Management. Desai administers the fund.

This month is the fund’s first deadline for grant applications, Desai said. She said she did not know how many organizations would apply, or whether there would be more than one opportunity to apply in this fiscal year.

Some Wallingford councilors criticized the mayor Tuesday night for mentioning the grant with less than a month to apply, saying the town was purposely creating an urgent deadline situation to push through a pet project.

When asked Tuesday why they chose Simpson Court, town staff said that having little time to apply meant the town could only seek funds for already well-planned and surveyed downtown projects — Simpson Court, they said, was the only parking lot that had all the preliminary work completed.

Councilor Nick Economopoulos, a Democrat, said Wednesday by phone he felt the mayor neglected other possible projects and purposely shortened the deadline with the mindset of, “How can I do this instead to get what I really want done?” He also said that he was rebuffed when he asked the town for proof of when it received information on the grant.

The town’s program planner, Don Roe, who is in charge of writing and obtaining grants for the town, said the first he’d seen of the grant was a press release that came out in June, but he and other municipal officials got details of the grant in one of five workshops OPM held in late July and early August.

Desai and OPM literature both corroborate the time of the initial press release and the grant workshops.

“We waited for the workshops; there was that recognition this was a new initiative from them, that a lot of questions were getting asked, from staff people in communities near and far,” Roe said. He attended an Aug. 3 workshop, he said, and brought the information back to the town, heartened that the grant addressed partnerships between municipalities and private businesses. “I think there’s a clear recognition that downtowns take a collaborative effort — it’s not something that’s exclusively government, and not something that’s exclusively private,” Roe said. The grant application requires that town government leaders officially approve the project prior to submission. And one portion says it has to have local and regional support.

Economopoulos said the project doesn’t have public support, evidenced by voters quashing the initial project in referendum.

Desai said local and regional support means the town has already allocated funds to the project or other phases of the project, or planning and zoning has approved it.

When asked whether having a contentious project such as Wallingford’s with a previous referendum vote against it would hurt the town’s chances, Desai said she couldn’t comment on specific cases.

“We’ll review everything, make sure that everybody complies with what is required with the statutes,” Desai said.

Either way, Roe said he would mention the referendum in the grant proposal, if town staff end up getting the OK from the council to submit it. “I think the interest has been to put together a proposal that is quantitatively different than the past one, but still looks to address what are critical issues for downtown and downtown’s vitality,” Roe said.

As for the town’s chances to get the grant if they apply? Dickinson said he felt they were good.

“The support for a number of different elements are good, it’s a commercial area, it’s also got a school, I think that makes it a bit interesting,” Dickinson said.

Wallingford: ashamed – my letter to the editor regarding the veterans and the Wallingford ShowMobile

As published in the Letters to the Editor section of the Record Journal on Sunday May 27, 2012

Editor: Regarding the recent issue with Mayor Dickinson’s decision to deny the use of the showmobile to the veterans, I came to the Wallingford Town Council meeting expecting this to be solely a cost issue where Dickinson didn’t want to expend additional funds. I came prepared to make that payment to the town as I received pledges of a donation as part of the effort to resolve this issue and get the veterans use of the equipment.

The end result, when I specifically asked the mayor: “if there is a way to remove the additional financial component of using the showmobile for the ceremony, can the vets get the permission to use it?” — was that Dickinson responded “no.” His reason was “he doesn’t believe using the showmobile as a reviewing stand is the proper use for the stage” — but why does that matter? If the vets want to use it, and it is going to otherwise sit in mothballs for the day unused, and we had people willing to make the donation to remove additional monetary burden from the town, then why not let them use it?

The veterans served this country, protected its freedoms, and preserved this way of life we have today. All they asked for extra this day was the use of the showmoblie that is otherwise going unused. At the time they served, they were asked to give their everything — and, if needed, their lives. “All gave some, some gave all,” but Wallingford will not lend them use of a portable stage, now that they are in their 70s, to have them be a little more comfortable on a day we are supposed to be paying thanks to them and remembering the fallen that never returned.

That is not my Wallingford — and I am ashamed.

My follow up email to the Council Chairman regarding the denial of use of the Show Mobile to the Veterans Memorial Committee for the Memorial Day services on May 28th at Doolittle Park

Please see the prior post at Letter to Mayor Dickinson from the Veterans Memorial Committee regarding his decision to not to let the use the Show Mobile for the Memorial Day services on May 28th at Doolittle Park for the details.

I sent the following via email to Council Chairman Parisi:

 

Mr. Chairman,

It is too late to add this item for discussion to the agenda formally but I believe we can waive rule 5 to add it for discussion.

If I am remembering this correctly then I would like to do this at tomorrow's meeting.

If this cannot be done via rule 5 please let me know and I will speak about it during public question and answer as a resident if necessary.

Thank you

Jason Zandri
Wallingford Town Councilor

 

We’ll see how I make out.

If this is something that concerns you or that you might support I encourage you to come to the Wallingford Town Hall tomorrow Tuesday May 22nd at 6:30PM for the regular Town Council meeting.

Letter to Mayor Dickinson from the Veterans Memorial Committee regarding his decision to not to let them use the Show Mobile for the Memorial Day services on May 28th at Doolittle Park

This is not an item on the agenda but I will be bringing it up at the Council meeting on Tuesday the 22nd to discuss as the Memorial Day services are less than a week of way.

More lead time would have been nice but I just got this via email tonight and they might not have gotten much lead time on this either.



WALLINGFORD VETERANS MEMORIAL COMMITTEE

May 17, 2012

Honorable William W. Dickinson, Jr.
Mayor, Town of Wallingford
45 South Main St.
Wallingford, CT 06492

Dear Mayor Dickinson,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Veterans Memorial Committee. The committee recently had a discussion regarding your decision not to let us use the Show Mobile for our Memorial Day services on May 28^th at Doolittle Park.

We used the Show Mobile two years ago for our services. It not only gave our older veterans and members a shady place to sit with a flat, roomier surface to walk on, it lent a more “finished” appearance to the service.

We would ask that you reconsider your decision, as we feel this is a justified use for the Show Mobile, and there is overtime already being paid for chairs and podium to be put out, police services, etc. We appreciate all your support for the veterans over the years in Wallingford, and feel this small investment will produce a better experience for our aging veterans.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Elise M. Gallup
Secretary
303 Bassett Road
North Haven, CT 06473
(203) 605-8580
cc: Patricia Lizotte, Chairman, Veterans Memorial Committee
Wallingford Town Council

July 4 display again raises controversy

Fishbein balks at town’s different treatment of fireworks and ‘Celebrate’

As published in the Record Journal Thursday April 12, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

Dickinson Fishbein Zandri

Photos courtesy of the Record Journal

WALLINGFORD — One of the town councilors who helped launch a fundraising effort to save the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration claims the town doesn’t treat all nonprofit organizations it works with equally.

Republican Town Councilor Craig Fishbein said that the fireworks are being treated differently from events such as Wallingford Symphony Orchestra concerts and Celebrate Wallingford, which is put on by Wallingford Center Inc., the downtown business advocacy group. The town budget allocates $8,500 for an outdoor summer symphony concert that Fishbein said draws only hundreds of people, while the fireworks celebration draws more than 10,000 and receives no funding. For Celebrate Wallingford, Wallingford Center Inc. is able to contract with vendors, Fishbein said.

Fishbein and Democratic Town Councilor Jason Zandri founded the nonprofit Wallingford Fireworks Fund in 2010 after the town dropped funding for the show from its budget. They’ve butted heads with Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. during the planning for this year’s celebration. Zandri and Fishbein raised several issues during a council meeting Tuesday.

For the last two years, Zandri has negotiated with vendors. He said the arrangement allowed a certain flexibility on costs, through discounts from the vendor, and room to accommodate last-minute donations that could improve the show. But this year that process is being handled by the Parks and Recreation Department.

“The town doesn’t contribute one red cent, yet the mayor feels the (donors) should have no part in the coordination,” Fishbein said. “We don’t want total control ... we’re willing to work with them.”

Liz Landow, executive director of Wallingford Center Inc., said the events are treated differently because the town, not the fireworks fund, ultimately puts on the show, even if the fund provides the money. She said Wallingford Center Inc. wasn’t getting special treatment.

“It’s a Wallingford Center production,” she said of Celebrate Wallingford. “It’s put on by Wallingford Center; we hold the insurance. We have the freedom because of the way it was established.”

Dickinson, a Republican, has maintained that the town must handle the purchasing process for the fireworks, and said that comparisons to Celebrate Wallingford aren’t fair.

“The fireworks are clearly put on by the town,” he said. “For Celebrate Wallingford, Wallingford Center provides insurance; they are the hosts of that. They are a separate entity from the town that provides all the groundwork.”

Several members of the Wallingford Center board have Republican ties, including Republican councilors John Le-Tourneau and Rosemary Rascati and former Republican Councilor Stephen Knight. Landow is Rascati’s daughter. But Zandri said he doesn’t believe politics plays a role in the perceived different treatment of the fireworks and Celebrate Wallingford.

“I like to look above and beyond that ... I think it’s not politically motivated,” Zandri said.

Zandri said that he hasn’t thought about the fund taking total sponsorship of the event, but said that if he is continually denied input, it’s an option he may consider.

“I suppose there’s ways to do it,” he said. “But it’s a manpower issue. Right now it’s just me, my father and Craig (Fishbein). It’s hard to say it, but if I have to go that route someday, maybe I will.” Jason Zandri’s father, Geno Zandri, a former six-term Democratic councilor, helps organize fireworks fundraising.

The fund would have to get permission from the town to use the school grounds and pay directly for the cost of the town services including police, fire and public works, and the fireworks. Currently, the town makes the payments and arrangements after receiving a check from the nonprofit.

Democratic Town Councilor John Sullivan said that he thinks Fishbein, Zandri and Dickinson need to sort out their differences, and not at a council meeting.

“We have two sides working toward a common goal,” he said. “They need to sit down, communicate and work together.”

Councilors want say on fireworks, but they’ll have to meet with mayor

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday April 11, 2012

By Mary Ellen Godin
Record-Journal staff
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255

WALLINGFORD — They might be from different political parties, but the town councilors who founded the Wallingford Fireworks Fund joined Tuesday in the hopes of getting more say in choosing vendors for the annual Fourth of July display.

Democrat Jason Zandri and Republican Craig Fishbein wouldn’t accept the explanation by Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. that only the Parks and Recreation Department could handle vendor negotiation and the purchasing process.

“Without a formal process it could unravel as quickly as it came together,” Dickinson said. “You can’t have multiple people representing the town.”

Dickinson added that he knew of no other organization that allows event planners to negotiate contracts on behalf of the town. Town Council Chairman Robert Parisi, a Republican, said he understood the liability and logistical reasons behind Dickinson’s stand, but he said he could see Zandri’s and Fishbein’s point. Parisi even agreed with Democrat John Sullivan that the interested parties need to meet in the mayor’s office and settle the matter.

“The fund would like to have some input,” Parisi said. “They want to hear the final negotiation and bless it. When you’re into it, you’re taking ownership. You want to have a little bit of yourself in it. I share their passion.”

Zandri and Fishbein started the Wallingford Fireworks Fund in 2010, the year the town dropped funding for the $30,000 celebration from its budget. The nonprofit organization has raised enough money to pay for the show in each of the last two years.

Until this year, Zandri has negotiated quotes with vendors. He said the arrangement allowed certain flexibility on costs, through discounts from the vendor, and room to accommodate last-minute donations that could improve the show.

This year, the town has been seeking quotes without Zandri, who said the price and the quality of the show could suffer if he can’t be at the negotiating table.

“I’m looking for that flexibility,” Zandri said. “I want to try to figure out how to do that.”

Fishbein disagreed with Dickinson that other groups don’t hire vendors, and he pointed to Celebrate Wallingford. He also asked when the town would ever contribute to a fireworks display that draws 10,000 people versus a symphony concert and other events that bring in fewer people.

Zandri also said he wanted to extend the fundraising deadline to allow more contributions to make a better show, but was told by Dickinson that a range on costs could be written into the contract, and that the need for police and fire service demanded a deadline.

Other councilors, including Republican Thomas Laffin and Sullivan, said the Town Council isn’t the proper place for airing the grievances. They said the parties should meet in the mayor’s office to reach a partnership agreement with the Parks and Recreation Department.

In other business, the Town Council approved several appointments to boards and commissions and set a public hearing for April 24 on a 2012 Small Cities Community Block Grant, an ordinance concerning food service establishments, changes to sewer and drain ordinances, and a restriction on employees contracting with the town.

Dickinson

Zandri

Fishbein

Photos courtesy of the Record Journal

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Wallingford Councilors start getting through to mayor on Web’s benefits

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday March 15, 2012

By Dan Ivers
Record-Journal staff
divers@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2275

WALLINGFORD - An influx of technologically-savvy town councilors may be pushing the town closer to embracing the Internet and other advancements.

Last week, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. broke from his usual stance on technology when he allowed the town’s current operating budget to be posted on its website. The move came after public pressure from councilors, including Republican Craig Fishbein, who has advocated for greater transparency in the budget and tax collection processes.

At a Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Fishbein and a bipartisan group of councilors continued the push by asking Dickinson to make his upcoming budget proposal available online after it is released April 1. Dickinson resisted, but promised to weigh the benefits of the posting against the lost time it might create for town employees.

Technology Director Donald Rowe, summoned by the council to explain what posting the budget might require, said it would take about 10 minutes uploading an existing electronic copy.

The embrace of technology, or lack thereof, has long been an issue in town. Dickinson, a Republican in the midst of his 15th term, prefers to keep access to technology at a minimum in Town Hall, where internet access is available in offices only if required by state or federal law.

Dickinson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but admitted at Tuesday’s meeting that he is in the minority on the issue.

“It’s got to meet a useful process. It’s got to meet a useful endeavor for the people,” he said. “I obviously do not march to the step of perhaps the rest of the world on this issue ... We don’t jump just because someone else does it. We take our time and think it through.”

Historically, his position has been divisive in town and on the council, but many current officials agree that support for advancements may be at an all time high, partially due to a group of councilors that openly questions the mayor’s resistance.

Democrat John Sullivan, who joined the council in 2009, said he believes the change is partially due to the addition of Fishbein and other Republicans, who may be more willing to challenge Dickinson than some of their fellow party members.

“I think we’re witnessing a real change in the so-called Republican paradigm,” he said. “We just have some people who are now used to working with technology either at home or through their jobs.”

The current group of Republicans also includes newly elected Thomas Laffin, who is the youngest member of the council at 32 and described himself as in favor of incorporating more technology into the town’s operations. He and Democrat Jason Zandri, a 42year-old information technology worker, replaced veteran councilors Vincent Testa and Jerry Farrell Jr. last year.

“I think there’s a way to advance everything,” said Laffin. “But it’s not going to ever happen at a council meeting. That (discussion) was a waste of time. It has to be done through education of the administration.”

While many councilors agreed that the town should go further with its use of the internet, they praised Dickinson for his willingness to post the operating budget to the town website. While councilors can look to pressure him, the decision is ultimately his, and some believe his cautious approach will be an asset moving forward.

“He’s the mayor, and the town is in great shape,” said Laffin.

Sullivan also praised Dickinson for his relatively favorable response to the latest calls for a change in philosophy.

“We’ve moved the rock up the hill farther than we’ve ever moved it before at this point. At some point we’ve got to be satisfied with the direction we’re moving in,” he said.

Republican John Le-Tourneau said he did not believe that more support for advancements among Republicans would have any major influence over Dickinson’s approach.

“I see this as a bipartisan effort to do what we can to get the information out to the public,” he said. “It really is not politically driven.”

“We’ve moved the rock up the hill farther than we’ve ever moved it before at this point.”
—Town Councilor John Sullivan

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Sullivan

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Fishbein