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.

With same workers reading electric, water meters, billing cycles change

As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday June 20, 2012

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

Residents used to paying their water and sewer bills in June, September and February may find themselves writing those checks one to two months earlier than usual.

Two-thirds of the town’s water billing dates will shift this summer as the Electric Division takes over meter reading for the Water and Sewer Division. Public Utilities Director George Adair said the consolidation is a cost-saving measure that will avoid having the town perform redundant work.

“On the water side for billing we had several meter men who were going out reading water meters in the same place (the electric meter readers) were reading electric meters,” Adair said. “This was a move we made from an efficiency standpoint.”

The change allowed the Water Division to eliminate its one meter reader position this year — a vacant position at the time.

“We worked this out with the respective collective bargaining units,” Adair said.

The town’s five Electric Division readers now read household water meters monthly, at the same time they read electric meters. The new reading system started in May, and some residents will see bills from the new cycles as early as July, according to Roger M. Dann, the Water and Sewer Division General Manager.

One-third of the town, the East side, will retain the traditional schedule, with clients receiving their next water bill in September, said Dann; customers in the center of town, roughly Wilbur Cross Parkway to North or South Elm Street, will see an August bill; and the West side will see one in July. Before their first bill, residents will receive a notice informing them of the change.

Although electricity is billed monthly, the Water and Sewer Department will retain its 90-day billing cycle for the time being. Adair said the department may discuss moving the bills monthly, but any changes would be in the far future, and subject to public input. The change would require more funding in the way of staff time and supplies for putting together bills.

Utilities officials say the change will benefit users. In the past, water meters were sometimes read a full three months before a bill went out. For customers with unknown leaks and other issues affecting water use, that means it would sometimes take them several months to discover a problem. New monthly readings mean rates are measured just a month before a bill is issued — so residents can track their own usage. The Water Department also has a better handle on usage irregularities more quickly.

“A lot of the concerns we get relate to high consumption. Often it’s going to be the toilet leaking ... if you can catch that and stop it sooner, it’s good for the customer,” Dann said.

Adair said the department championed the change primarily for the sake of customers, but with monthly revenue now coming in, it was also good from a business standpoint for the town. “It also evens up our cash flow,” Adair said.

Blackout business booming in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday November 2, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — With large portions of Meriden, Southington and Cheshire still without power Tuesday after Saturday’s snowstorm, business was booming in Wallingford, where all but a few homes and businesses have their electricity back.

On Tuesday morning, more than 80 percent of Meriden remained without power, but as travelers on Route 5 crossed the Wallingford line, they saw working traffic lights, open businesses and long lines.

At the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1101 N. Colony Road, drive through traffic was backed up all the way to the road and the parking lot was full. Inside the restaurant, customers waited in a line that snaked throughout the lobby.

Victoria Brady, of Meriden, said she’s been without power since Saturday.

“And probably until the end of the week,” she added.

Brady saw the long line at the drive-through, and said she would rather wait inside the warm restaurant than outside in her car.

Throughout the outage, Brady said, she’s been stopping to get food “wherever I can find a place.”

While many customers without power were happy to find a place to get a hot meal or a cup of coffee, commuters on their way to work and regular customers were shocked by the increase in volume.

Lui Nobrega, of Wallingford, said he’d “never seen it this packed” at the North Colony Road Dunkin’ Donuts. Nobrega stopped at another Dunkin’ Donuts in town and turned away because of the line. Shortly after he entered his second Dunkin’ Donuts of the morning, he saw another extended line, turned around and left.

“It’s not happening,” he said. Jackie Branco, who works in Wallingford, also turned away from the North Colony Road Dunkin’ Donuts because of the long line.

“There’s lines like this all over, anywhere that’s serving breakfast,” she said.

Branco said she still had power at her Naugatuck home, so she didn’t mind a little inconvenience in her morning routine.

Maria Kyriakis, co-owner of Neptune House Restaurant and Diner, at 1086 N. Colony Road, said the restaurant has been “very busy” since the storm and she and her husband, Chris, were working around the clock.

“We’ve had people from Meriden, Cheshire, Southington, all the places that have been out,” she said.

The restaurant had extra employees working and was ordering extra supplies.

Kyriakis said her staff was trying to strike a balance between handling all the new customers as well as the regulars.

“The people we know, they’re like family,” she said. “We can only do so much. We’re trying the best we can.”

At Duchess Restaurant, at 124 Church St., Meriden resident Bob Martin was in a crowd of people stopping by for something to eat Tuesday morning. Martin said he had been without power since Saturday night at 11 p.m. Martin, who works in Wallingford, said he had made trips to other towns several times for gas and food.

“Pretty much only Wallingford has power,” he said. “About the only thing open in Meriden is the McDonald’s.”

Everywhere in the area he had been that had power was crowded.

“The lines are unbelievable,” he said.

At Holiday Cinemas, at 970 N. Colony Road, visits to the theater were up.

“It’s been a little crazy,” said Naomi Corso, a manager. “It’s more like what we see on the holidays.”

Corso said residents without power were coming to the movie theater to warm up, and with all local schools closed Tuesday many families with kids were stopping by.

“ ‘Puss in Boots’ sold out,” she said, referring to the children’s movie about a sword wielding cat.

Wallingford Electric Division, the municipal utility that covers the town, reported only 4,000 outages of the town’s 25,000 ratepayers at the peak of the storm. In a statement, the utility said it expected to restore power to all but 100 customers by midnight Tuesday. There is no estimate for when power will be restored completely.

By comparison, peak outages topped 24,000 in Meriden, 13,000 in Southington and 10,000 in Cheshire. Connecticut Light & Power Co., which covers the three municipalities, had not provided an estimated time for complete restoration as of Tuesday.

Wallingford Electric Division outshines the big boys

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday November 1, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

WALLINGFORD — As larger electric companies in the state continue to report record-breaking power outages after the weekend snowstorm, Wallingford’s Electric Division has kept the lights on for most of its customers and has made the town something of an oasis for other communities without power.

The storm has been called far more severe and unexpected than Tropical Storm Irene in August, and Wallingford residents once again fared better than those of Connecticut Light & Power, which was working Monday to restore power to 60 percent of its customers, or 753,289 households statewide. At the height of the storm, about 4,000 customers of Wallingford’s public utility were without power; that number had been reduced to Monday morning, just 4 percent of the Electric Division’s 25,000 ratepayers.

Director of Public Utilities George Adair said there’s no secret to the division’s success, but he credited some of it to ongoing efforts to upgrade electric poles and aging hardware. Trees that could pose problems are also trimmed on a four-year cycle, he said, but he said he’s not certain that other utility companies don’t do the same thing.

“From the standpoint of the system itself, I think it’s well maintained,” he said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily unique. You start with the primary stuff and work your way out. We were fortunate in that we still have transmission service and we haven’t lost our ability to receive energy.”

The division buys its power from the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, but it is not a member. The cooperative, based in Norwich, provides electricity to more than 66,000 customers throughout the state.

Being in one of the few area towns with power has its advantages for some business owners.

Ray Porto and his grandson, Tom, were a busy duo on Monday at the Citgo service station at 480 N. Colony Road. Ray Porto said he’s owned the station for 65 years and would likely run out of gas today if his delivery was late.

With cars lined up and down the road to the station’s lot and blocking the bay doors, he was unable to open his garage to get cars in for service or get fixed cars out.

“This is unbelievable. I never went through what I’m going through right now,” he said. “People just want to get in here because they don’t want to run out of gas.

Tom Porto, working the counter, said he had customers drive from as far as Canton for gas for their cars and generators.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” he said. “We quadrupled our business, at least.”

Division officials said they hoped to get outages below 500 before the end of the day Monday. Crews from Groton Utilities helped Wallingford workers through Public Power Mutual Aid.

CL&P customers in Southington experienced 12,512 outages, or about 64 percent of the town. Almost all of Cheshire’s 11,236 customers — 92 percent, or 10,421 customers — were without power. Meriden also experienced widespread outages. As of Monday afternoon, 24,377 out of 27,670 customers had no electricity, according to the CL&P website.