PARTY FOR A CURE - Telethon changes, but local MDA ‘party’ goes on

As published in the Record Journal Friday August 26, 2011

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

Fast facts
What : “Party For A Cure” for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Where : Zandri’s Stillwood Inn, 1074 S. Colony Road.
When : 5:30 p.m. Sept. 4.
Cost : $50 donation to MDA.
Information, tickets, donations : Call Zandri’s at (203) 269-6695.

WALLINGFORD — Fifteen years ago, representatives of the Muscular Dystrophy Association came into Jim Zandri’s office looking for a donation, and left with much more. “MDA kind of became my thing,” Zandri said. “They were just asking for a donation, but I volunteered to host an event.”

Zandri’s Stillwood Inn, 1074 S. Colony Road, is hosting its 15th annual “Party for a Cure” fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 5:30 p.m. For a $50 donation, guests can enjoy an open bar, a buffet-style diner, entertainment and a silent auction.

The party will last until midnight and feature live cut-ins on WTIC-TV. The restaurant will be showing the telethon on a big screen TV, and those in attendance will have a chance to watch themselves on camera.

“The cut-ins are always a lot of fun,” Zandri said.

Zandri’s event is one of two MDA telethon parties being held in the state. The other event is being hosted at Mohegan Sun.

Zandri said he became involved with the MDA because he was always a big fan of Jerry Lewis, the comedian who hosted the telethon from its inception through last year. The MDA announced several weeks ago that he would no longer be part of the telethon.

John Sullivan, a town councilor and friend of Zandri’s, has been a regular at the event and helped co-host it over the years.

“It’s an incredible charity,” Sullivan said. “And the money raised stays in Connecticut.”

Over the years, Zandri said, $309,000 has been raised. Last year’s event alone raised $41,000. Much of the money comes from a silent auction of items donated by area businesses.

“This year we have a scooter, a recliner, Yankees tickets, Red Sox tickets,” Zandri said. One of the most popular items every year is a handmade afghan knitted by Joan Parisi, the wife of Town Council Chairman Robert Parisi, he said.

“There’s something for everyone,” Zandri said.

This is the first year the telethon will be held without Lewis — and strictly in prime time instead of spread over 22 hours — but Zandri said he doesn’t foresee that hurting the event. The most rewarding part, he said, is helping those in need.

“It makes you realize that you could be on the end where you’re in need of help,” Zandri said.

“Until you learn, you don’t realize how many different diseases fall under the umbrella of MDA,” Sullivan said. “Research to find a cure can’t be done without these events. I look forward to it every year.”

FROM WALLINGFORD - Vision and sophistication

This week’s from Wallingford is written by Stephen Knight and is presented as published in the Record Journal on Sunday August 21, 2011

Halleluiah! An agreement to extend the lease of the parking lot behind Simpson Court has been reached. Not only that, but the Town Council has very wisely voted to invest (more on that word later) almost $500K in improvements to the property.

But almost instantly, a group of people, all of whom cut their teeth on the Wooding- Caplan referendum of yore, took to the streets denouncing the agreement as contrary to the public interest because the money is to be spent on improvements to private property. I want to analyze their contention in three ways: the maintenance of a healthy downtown, the investment to the property and the use of public funds.

First of all, who benefits from the improvements? Opponents would have us believe that only the four property owners do. Nonsense. We all do, because a viable town center benefits each and every one of us, whether it’s in the property values of our homes or the quality of life we all wish to have. And that viability only exists because people want to come downtown. And they will only drive downtown if they know to a certainty that safe, convenient parking is available for their car. No parking? No people. No people? No successful downtown.

Secondly, let’s look at this investment. Yes, the Town of Wallingford is spending taxpayer money improving a piece of private property. But we are leasing this property. The owners are giving up control of the property. For thirty years.

Frankly, I think it took a real leap of faith on the part of the four owners to make this deal. Without the parking behind their buildings, their property is worth zilch. It is a credit to them, and to the town government, that there is enough trust between the parties to enter into such a sweeping and lengthy arrangement.

Lastly, let’s put two public investments announced in the same week side by side: the $500,000 for downtown parking, and the $323,000 for solar panels at Gaylord Hospital. Now before I go any further, let me just state that I think the world of Gaylord, its work and its management. This isn’t about them. It’s about comparing public benefits.

Okay, so the Town of Wallingford spends money on the parking lot. It directly benefits every single merchant downtown, and it indirectly benefits every single property owner in town because the downtown remains vibrant. You don’t need to be a professional urban planner to see the bright line connecting this investment with the benefits to the entire community. It’s obvious.

And yet, the same people of the same political persuasion that find this project such a breach of public protocol will hail handing a check for $323,000 of taxpayer funds to a private entity where the direct public benefit is virtually nonexistent, and even the indirect benefit of supposedly helping to save the planet is, putting it as kindly as I can, tenuous. With all due respect to Gaylord Hospital, all the benefits that will accrue from this government largesse will only benefit them. They will save $25,000 a year in heating oil cost, and this government handout will enable them to recoup their $550K investment in a reasonable nine years rather than the twenty-two years it would take if they had to pay for the entire project themselves.

When municipal governments turn their back on their downtown centers, the result is more than the sight of boarded up storefronts, empty streets, decaying buildings and economic loss. The real loss is in the sense of community that a strong, pleasant and inviting downtown brings to a town. Keeping that from happening takes both vision and sophistication: the vision to see the totality of the benefits and the sophistication to see that those benefits are accruing to all the citizens and not just a few. Surely the citizens of our town have both in abundance.

Small says Wallingford isn't on hook for $500,000

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday August 23, 2011
By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

WALLINGFORD - A petition drive seeking to stop the town from spending a half-million dollars on improvements to a privately owned parking lot could harm the town's ability to use the space for municipal parking while still leaving it responsible for maintenance, officials say.    
The Town Council recently approved a 30-year agreement with three property owners allowing the town to make repairs as needed to the group lot behind four uptown businesses on Simpson Court and North Main Street in exchange for the lot remaining open for free public parking.

The agreement, written by former Corporation Counsel Adam Mantzaris, updates a three-decade-long version of a year-to-year lease the town has had with varying configurations of property owners since 1961, said Town Attorney Janis Small.

If the petition is successful and the new lease is defeated at referendum, the town and property owners would revert back to the year-to-year lease, leaving the town responsible for maintenance, but without the same guarantees. Any party can back out of the year-to-year agreement at any time.

The council approved the updated lease agreement, but with dissent from two of its members, who said using public money to fix private property was a bad decision. A day later, Robert Gross began a petition drive to overturn the council's decision at referendum. As of Friday, Gross had collected 1,400 signatures, more than half the 2,491 he needs by Sept. 8.

"The whole purpose of getting the lease is so the town could justify making an investment," Small said. "It would be up to the property owners to decide if they want to continue with the status quo."

The council approved spending up to $500,000 on improvements to the lot, including paving and lighting, as part of Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.'s 2011-12 budget, passed earlier this year. The money would come out of the capital non-recurring fund made up of revenue from the Electric Division.

Small said the lease agreement contains no dollar amounts or spending stipulations and that it simply gives the town the option to make improvements as needed. The capital earmark and the agreement are two separate issues, she said.

"It was drafted in that manner so we wouldn't be in a position where the property owners dictate each and every thing the town did," she said. "There's this idea that the town is committed to spend that amount of money, but there's no such thing."

Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos, a Democrat, voted against the lease and has been helping Gross and others collect signatures around town. He said his decision wasn't made along party lines and that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

"I wanted to be my own person on this one and I feel very strongly about this," he said.

Councilor John Sullivan, also a Democrat, was not present at the council meeting when the vote took place. He said he would have supported the lease, however, because there's no contractual language forcing the town to spend all of the money it has already voted to put aside for lot repairs.

"The jury's out as to how much we're going to put into the property," he said. "The key to this lease is the language that states the town may make improvements. I understand some people feel we are making an improvement on property we don't own. But 30 years is a long time. But if that referendum changes the decision, this could cripple the downtown area."

Like Economopoulos, Town Councilor Craig Fishbein voted against the lease, but worried that a referendum could have negative consequences.

"Let's say there's no lease because the referendum is successful, but it doesn't challenge the expenditure," said Fishbein, a Republican. "Does the referendum address that at all? They're just challenging the lease. We'd still have that money we voted to spend on the lot."

Comptroller James Bowes was not available for comment.

Gross, who has set up an email address for his petition drive at parking500k@aol.com, said the money approved for the lot could be reassigned to other projects in town, such as fixing school buildings and the Parks and Recreation Department building.

"In this economy," he said, "it's just too much to spend on private property."

Is this a time for a COLA? - Some councilors question pension cost-of-living adjustment

As published in the Record Journal on August 21, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — The Town Council voted last week to approve a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase in pensions for retired town employees, but some councilors questioned the decision at a time when many current town employees face a wage freeze.

Personnel Director Terrance Sullivan said town employee union contracts require the council to consider a cost-of-living increase every three years. In the past, the increases have been 3 percent, but Sullivan said Tuesday the 1.5 percent figure was a compromise given tough economic times.

“We decided on an increase of less than 3 percent but more than zero,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said there are 406 retirees and beneficiaries in town, and 310 will be affected by the increase. The increase, which won’t go into effect until next year, will initially cost the town $93,215.

Councilor Craig Fishbein, a Republican, voted against the increase because he felt it wasn’t the right economic time for an increase in pension payments.

“We take the position of no wage increases for current employees, but increase pensions by 1.5 percent for past employees,” Fishbein said.

Fishbein also questioned the language of the contract, and whether or not it would be possible for the council to approve an increase, but delay the start by a year. Some councilors who voted in favor of the increase did so because they didn’t want pensioners to go five years without a cost-of-living adjustment. John LeTourneau, a Republican councilor, voted in favor of the increase.

“In these tough times, people living on a town pension, that’s all they get,” LeTourneau said.

As for the current employees with no wage increases, LeTourneau said that – for the people working – he felt the wage freeze will eventually be negotiated.

“They’re going to get their raises,” LeTourneau said.

Some councilors asked about an annual review for cost-of-living adjustments, but Sullivan said that, given the contract language, it wasn’t possible. Sullivan added that since the raises compound every year, a 1 percent increase for three consecutive years would cost the town more than a 3 percent increase every three years.

Fishbein said that he was worried the increases would affect the budget not just this year, but in subsequent years too. Sullivan said that his staff was still extrapolating the data to estimate how much it will eventually cost the town.
There hasn’t been a cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients since 2008, a fact that Fishbein said shows it’s possible for town retirees to get by on their current pensions.

“Look at all the seniors on Social Security who haven’t seen an increase in two years,” he said.

Nick Economopoulos, a Democrat, also voted against the cost-of-living increase.

“The people that are paying for this increase can’t afford to put food on the table,” Economopoulos said. “I just don’t think it’s the right time.”

LeTourneau said that in the grand scheme of things, the increase doesn’t result in a lot of extra money. Going five years without an increase, he said, is “just not right.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to penalize the retirees,” LeTourneau said.

Jepsen: Town will benefit from Covanta settlement

As published in the Record Journal Thursday August 18, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — State Attorney General George Jepsen told an audience at the Democratic Town Committee meeting Wednesday night that the town may benefit in some way through the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from a recent settlement with Covanta Energy over dioxin emissions last year. “As you might guess, we’re under a lot of pressure from the Malloy administration to put as much money as possible into the general fund,” he said. “Our lawyers wanted $200,000 to go to Wallingford and it turns out it’s hard to write a settlement that is so narrowly focused, and the DEP, as a matter of discretion, will be focusing on Wallingford.”

The trash-to-energy plant on South Cherry Street was ordered to pay the state a $400,000 fine stemming from high dioxin levels in one of its operating stacks last summer. Former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal brought the suit against Covanta on behalf of the DEP.
Town Councilor Vincent Testa Jr., who is running for Mayor, told Jepsen the council had recently voted to authorize Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. to send the DEP a letter requesting that Wallingford be considered to receive part of the settlement. “Since it happened in Wallingford, Wallingford should benefit from that fund,” he said. “It was also suggested that we ask for the whole $400,000.”

Committee Chairman Vincent Avallone, who had requested Jepsen’s presence at the meeting to answer questions about the Covanta suit, said the recent court ruling differed from other cases in which the company violated emissions standards and were only sued. This was the first instance of an enforceable court ruling, with stiff penalties for future violations.

“Covanta now sees this and they’re on their toes,” he said. “The penalties get worse and worse.”

According to the suit brought by the state, the plant was fully operational after officials discovered on May 27 that a stack was emitting more than twice the allowed limit of dioxin. The stack remained in use until Covanta shut it down. The lawsuit called for Covanta to pay a fine of $25,000 for every day the stack remained in use.

Under terms of the settlement filed last month in Hartford Superior Court, the company will pay $200,000 to the state treasurer and $200,000 to DEEP for a project to enhance environmental protection or conserve natural resources. They will also be held to more strict emissions standards for the next three years.

State Attorney General George Jepsen will be at the Wallingford Democrat Town Committee meeting tonight–Wednesday August 17, 2011

State Attorney General George Jepsen will be at the Wallingford Democrat Town Committee meeting tonight–Wednesday August 17, 2011.

The public is invited to come meet the State Attorney General as we welcome him back to Wallingford.

He is scheduled to speak regarding the recent judgment against Covanta Energy which has been ordered to pay a $400,000 fine and upgrade one of its incinerators as terms of a settlement with the state over emissions violations last summer.

The meeting starts at 7:30pm and is held at 350 Center Street in Room 212.

Sheehan High School cheerleaders plan fundraisers

WALLINGFORD — The Sheehan High School cheerleaders will sponsor the fundraisers in August and September to defray expenses for the season.

A fundraiser will be offered from 4 to 8 p.m. Aug. 18 at Burger King, 888 N. Colony Road. The restaurant will donate 20 percent of the evening’s sales to the team.

The cheerleading team will perform at the New Britain Rock Cats baseball game on Aug. 19. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

A bus trip to Mohegan Sun Casino will take place Sept. 24. A fee will be charged.

For information or tickets for the Rock Cats game or Mohegan Sun trip, call Lisa Eroh at (203) 269-6161.

FROM WALLINGFORD - I have a local list

This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD  was written by Mike Brodinsky who is a former town councilor, chairman of the School Roof Building Committee and host of public access show “Citizen Mike.”

I like lists. One of my favorites is the list of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time. It brings me back, way back. A list of the longest running Broadway plays is terrific reading, too. I want a list, it would be short, of the best, left-handed second basemen from Nebraska who played baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. That’s not for everyone. But here is a list I have wanted to write for you: (drum roll, please) a list of the most significant Wallingford news stories of 2011.

My rating system is not scientific. A story could make my list because of the amount of press it got. The impact of the news on Wallingford matters, too. A story could make the list because it may serve as a warning of things to come; or, it could be representative of a trend. The story could make the list only because it appeals to my quirkiness. The list will grow with each column I write. This is but my first installment.

Because of its impact on Wallingford, I pick the new commuter rail service as the top story of the year, so far. Facts about the plan are still evolving. Currently, the plan calls for 25 round trip trains instead of 6. I foresee lines of cars at eight signaled crossings, waiting for the gates to rise during rush hour when trains will be more frequent.

Emergency vehicles are in line, too, waiting. The trains could reach speeds of around 80 miles per hour in the Wallingford area. I see accidents, maybe around the two crossings without traffic lights. I see new passenger loading platforms, but I do not see a lot of passengers. I see the parking garage the State wants to build in the downtown area. I see that it doesn’t bring in taxes or create much downtown vitality.

The DOT and others predict huge benefits, and some public officials have, ahem, jumped on board, too. Together, they have heavily promoted the new train service, but their claims are theory. No one really knows what the total costs or specific benefits will be. Their speculation as to the benefits, which come at a very steep price, is an important part of this story.

The second top story is about roofs. The schools need to replace 11 of them. They are nearing the end of their useful lives and the Town Council has started a needed and costly replacement program to deal with the problem. It’s not just the school roofs that landed this topic on my list. In 2010, a Record-Journal headline warned, “Rain doesn’t wait for grants.” The story reported that leaky roofs had been a problem in the Parks and Recreation building. Money was put into the 2011 budget to fix the problem. Too little, too late? In June, another headline read, “Parks Rec roof still a mess; company has until July 5.” The headline was right. The rain didn’t wait. Almost a year later, the building had water damage. Also in June, we read that the police department roof had a leak. The Council authorized almost $100,000 to replace it. But, by then, water damage had already plagued the police department for months.

My favorite roof story, however, is about solar panels. Superintendent Dr. Sal Menzo, is investigating whether Wallingford could put solar panels on school roofs at no cost to the town. Some people will challenge this idea but the Council and Board of Education should support that investigation. This is more than a plan to save or spend a few dollars. It is about whether Wallingford has the spirit to do something bold and innovative. It’s a story about whether roofs with solar panels can be educational for students, and a message to prospective residents and businesses: Wallingford is a happening place. Join us as we move forward.

900 sign petition against Simpson Court plans

As posted online at MyRecordJournal.com and as published in the Record Journal, Tuesday August 16, 2011

Robert Cyr
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

WALLINGFORD - Town Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos was out on a rainy Monday afternoon, talking to voters in front of Stop & Shop on Route 5, but he wasn't campaigning to retain his seat on the council.

Economopoulos was collecting signatures, as were others circulating the petition to force a referendum on a council decision last week that entered the town into a 30-year, $500,000 agreement with four North Main Street businesses to pave and maintain their collective parking lot in return for free municipal use.

The intent is to create a safer, more attractive municipal parking lot that will continue to provide an alternative to the often crowded parking area in front of the Simpson Court businesses. Economopoulos, a Democrat, voted against it, saying the town should not pay to upgrade private property.

Robert Gross, a local man who has run for council, started the petition drive Wednesday and has until Sept. 8 to collect 2,491 signatures, or 10 percent of the town's registered voters. That's the amount needed, by town law, to force the council to reverse its decision within 30 days or go to a town-wide vote on the matter.

Economopoulos was in good spirits and said he's gotten a positive response so far. A small group of people had collected about 900 signatures over the weekend. In his hand were three full pages of official signature pages, with 50 signatures on each page.

"People have been great and they really want to find out what's going on," he said.

Holding more pages at the store's other entrance, local resident Robert Hogan said he was confident the signatures would come and a referendum would take place.

"Everyone I talk to has been unbelievably responsive to what we're doing," he said. "When we tell them what has happened, they are awestruck - they can't believe it."

Petition supporters, who have called it an example of "democracy in action," included 24-year-old Troy Livingston. While he works in New Haven, he was born and lives in town, he said.

"I don't think it's really necessary for the town's money to go to something like a parking lot," he said. "We could be using that money for something more important in town."

Scott McLean, professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, said Wallingford's case of petitioning for referendum has a rich tradition in American history and is an example of a government process that once astounded foreign visitors who were accustomed to turmoil in Europe.

Among visiting dignitaries was 19th century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, whose book "Democracy in America" is still read today.

"He thought it was remarkable that Americans were so involved in their municipalities," McLean said. "It was very different in Europe at the time, when revolutions were sweeping across Europe, but Americans put their political interests very close to home."

Whenever a community petitions for a referendum to overturn a government decision, they are evoking the spirit of early America, he said.

"Of course the right to petition the government is in the First Amendment and it's a very fundamental idea, a right that goes back to Colonial days," he said. "There's a long tradition of seeing petitions as vital to the health of democracy in America."

Simpson Court project may go to referendum

As published in the Record Journal Sunday August 14, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — Business owners are expressing support for the Town Council’s decision to make a half million dollars’ worth of improvements to the parking lot behind Simpson Court, while opponents of the project planned to spend the weekend collecting signatures in hopes of sending it to referendum.

The Town Council approved an agreement with four property owners last Tuesday night, giving the town the authority to make $500,000 in improvements to the lot while extending public use for the next 30 years. Under the agreement, the town will also provide maintenance, including snow plowing.

The intent is to create a safer, more attractive municipal parking lot that will continue to provide an alternative to the often crowded parking area in front of the Simpson Court businesses.

Debbie Pacileo, owner of Gaetano’s Tavern at 36 N. Main St., spoke to customers on the restaurant’s sunny sidewalk patio Friday afternoon, saying she had heard of the drive to reverse the council’s decision.

“I think anything they do uptown is good for the town, and everyone knows how bad the lot looks,” she said. “People tell me all the time they want to come here but don’t have the time to look for a place to park. Businesses are hurt in this town for a lack of good parking.”

The improvements, first planned more than a decade ago, will include paving, installing lights, marking off 130 parking spaces, and reconstructing a concrete wall that borders the lot and Holy Trinity School on Center Street. The project has stalled over the years because the building’s owners have not always agreed with the use agreement.

Next door to Gaetano’s, at 48 N. Main St., was a busy Half Moon Cafe, where tables were packed with local lunch-goers.

Amy Lipper, a Guilford resident who owns wholesaler Lipper International on Washington Street, said the improved parking would benefit not just the businesses abutting the lot, but would make it easier to access shops across the street as well.

“There isn’t a whole lot of parking in town, and that one gets a lot of use,” she said. “I realize it’s private, but it really services the whole town. If it wasn’t free to park there, I would expect who­ ever charged to park there to pay for the paving.”

The cost of the project, which has more than doubled since the inception of a plan a decade ago due to material and added labor costs, will be covered by annual contributions the Electric Division makes to the town for capital improvements. The Public Works Department, which was once slated to perform the work, will be replaced by a private company that will be able to work on sections of the lot while businesses remain open. Ernest Frattini, treasurer of the Masonic Temple Corp., is one of three principal owners of the building that houses the Half Moon. He said the lot has been a municipal space since 1961 and the recent agreement is a continuation of that arrangement, which has so far benefitted the town.

“I believe it’s going to bring people in and give them a safe place to park,” he said. “I know the price went up, but my concern is our tenants. To shut the whole place down and repave it, they would be hurt. I think it will improve the town. If people see it, they might start redoing their own parking lots.”

Some who lived in Wallingford in the early 1960s remember the lot and its usefulness in accessing the shops along North Main Street.

Bart Bramby, 63, sat talking with a friend at a cafe table, lunching while visiting from Dallas, Texas to see his mother, Jean Bramby.
Bart Bramby said he left town for college in 1965 and returns often to visit family.

“My perception is that helping the businesses right here — this is a wonderful location — helps the town as a whole,” he said.

The deal was met with opposition a day after the council’s decision.

Two town councilors voted against it, and one who supported it, Jerry Farrell Jr., was accused by a local man, William Comerford, of a conflict of interest because his recently opened business is in one of the four buildings. Farrell said he has no relationship with John McGuire, the building’s owner.

“I’m there as a guest of the tenants, David and Jane Smith,” he said. “I don’t believe that my presence or absence has any effect on what gets paid to Mr. McGuire by the Smiths.”

Robert Gross, a local Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the council, started a petition Wednesday to get the issue sent to referendum to overturn the council’s decision. The argument against the project is that the town should not use its money to improve private property.

Gross has until Sept. 8 to gather signatures from 10 percent of the town’s registered voters, which works out to 2,491. He said Friday that he and others who circulated the petition had collected more than 100 signatures per day since Wednesday, and would be collecting more Saturday morning at various locations throughout town.

“It’s a tough battle,” he said. “We have to get a lot of signatures really quickly.”

Nothing new about parking plan - Simpson scheme has been around more than decade

As published in the Record Journal on Friday August 12, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — The recently approved project to rebuild the parking lot behind Simpson Court businesses has a history that stretches back more than 10 years, and the cost of renovations has nearly doubled since officials first looked at designs.

The Town Council approved an agreement with four property owners Tuesday night, giving the town the authority to make $500,000 in improvements to the lot while extending public use for the next 30 years. Under the agreement, the town will also provide maintenance, including snow plowing.

The intent is to create a safer, more attractive parking lot that will continue to provide an alternative to the often crowded parking area in front of the Simpson Court businesses.

Not everyone is happy about the deal, however. Two town councilors voted against it, and Robert Gross, a local Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the council, started a petition Wednesday to get the issue sent to referendum to overturn the council’s decision.

Gross and councilors Craig Fishbein and Nicholas Economopoulos said they oppose the project because they feel it’s inappropriate for the town to spend money to improve private property. But Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said the project is nothing new, having been discussed for more than a decade, and that the lot has long been dedicated to public use, which will continue over the 30-year life of the agreement.

“We’re getting back the value we’re putting into it,” Dickinson said. “How is that not a significant benefit to the public?”

The town budgeted $250,000 for the project in 2006, according to Record-Journal archives, but had to put it aside after negotiations fell through with businesses, some unable to decide whether they wanted to enter into a long-term agreement.

“Those are original estimates, and it was certainly an old number,” Dickinson said. “Once we had designs everyone agreed to, then a new estimate was put together.”

Town Engineer John Thompson confirmed the original $250,000 figure, which he said had doubled over a decade because the cost of materials and labor has continued to climb, and the Department of Public Works will no longer be doing the paving work.

“We felt that because the owners were imposing conditions about maintaining portions of the lot for use during construction, public works would not be able to phase the work like that,” he said. “This has more to do with the allocation of manpower. The project is essentially the same as it was.”

The project will be paid for out of the town’s capital nonrecurring fund, which consists of revenue from the municipal Electric Division.

For several years, a fifth business on North Main Street, the Wachovia Bank at 86 N. Main St., expressed interest in being included in the project, but it officially pulled out in 2009, causing Thompson to have to redraft the plans.

Jack McGuire, CEO of local insurance company Ferguson and McGuire, owns two of the four properties through a limited liability company, one at 2 N. Main St. and another at 26 N. Main St. He was not available for comment.

Masonic Temple Corp. of Wallingford owns 48 N. Main St., home to the Half Moon Cafe. Ernest Frattini, a principal of the corporation and president of Masonic Compass Lodge No. 9, did not return calls.

The building housing Gaetano’s Tavern at 36 N. Main St. is owned by Gail Debaise, Mary Lee Pimentel and Barbara Farrell. Farrell is of no relation to Town Councilor Jerry Farrell Jr., he said. Pimentel said the arrangement has been talked about for many years and stems from easements on the lot the town has held for 40 years.

“We are paid no rent, so the only thing we are getting out of this is maintaining what’s there,” Pimentel said. “I really saw this as a benefit to the town as well as the property owners.”

Tracking the rail project in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Monday August 8, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — Travel speeds, downtown traffic, land acquisition and changes in the Judd Square area are some of the concerns being raised by the public over plans for commuter rail service from New Haven to Springfield, Mass.

Plans call for upgrading signals along the 62-mile stretch, which could begin as early as next spring. But locally, the public voiced concerns at a meeting last week over a proposal to move the train stop to Judd Square, with an elevated platform and parking for 200 cars.

The state Department of Transportation held the first of many informational sessions last Thursday with residents and town officials over where and how to lay out the new station. The rail line will increase commuter and inter-city service while also providing high-speed Acela transit along the corridor.

Springfield will become a central connector with service to Boston, Vermont and finally to Montreal. The project consists of double tracking 62 miles of track, upgrading the signals, building new stations in North Haven, Newington and Enfield, relocating Wallingford’s station and building new elevated platforms, walkways and parking garages in each town.

“Nothing has been set in stone,” said DOT Project Manager John Bernick.
He asked town officials to create a panel to act as an advisory board throughout the project.

Wallingford has the most crossings of any municipality along the corridor — 10, eight with signals and two unsignaled gates. The most heavily trafficked areas are Parker, Hall, Ward and Quinnipiac streets. The town now has five or six trains passing through per day. The rail project calls for 25.

Public officials have said they are concerned that more trains, which can go as fast as 110 mph, would pose a safety threat to residents and disrupt nearby businesses.

City Councilor Jerry Farrell opposed Amtrak’s taking any land from Most Holy Trinity Church. Bernick assured him that wouldn’t happen.

Farrell also he had concerns about 25 trains roaring through a very densely populated section of town every day. The crossings are at grade. He was assured that just because the trains had the potential to reach 110 mph didn’t mean they would travel that fast through Wallingford or other high density areas. “No matter where you place it or combine it, grade crossings are going to be a problem,” Bernick said.

A traffic study conducted by Wilbur Smith & Associates reviewed the traffic signals at Parker, Hall, Ward and Quinnipiac streets and gave several of them failing grades should the anticipated commuter and intercity service start with no changes in existing traffic routes. Solutions include some road widening in certain areas, signal changes and right-turn-only lanes.

Residents of Judd Square and the nearby area expressed concerns that their parking, already in short supply, would be impacted. Bernick said no parking would be taken away and Amtrak plans to use land now housing a warehouse for that purpose.

There were only rough schematics of the site, parking garage and walk-up from Route 5 because project leaders hope to gather more public input on the location of the new train platform and design specifications. Judd Square is not a definitive site — moving the stop several blocks to the north has also been discussed — but is the best for the project, Bernick said.

Councilor Craig Fishbein questioned the cost of the project and the amount Amtrak receives annually in subsidies to support its operation. He said that without an obvious demand by people working in other towns, he didn’t see how the operation could sustain itself. The cost of the project is set at $647 million, and a $110 million shortfall is expected for the Hartford-to-Springfield leg, which planners expect will come from the federal government.

“You would be better off giving the money to the people,” Fishbein said.

Bernick replied that demand has already been proven and the project will offer significant economic development opportunities to communities with train stations. He also said increased usage of Metro-North has made it the most profitable service in the U.S.

Other benefits are that the ability to travel to Boston and New York in one to two hours could make office space in Meriden or Wallingford more attractive. Shuttle buses to and from industrial parks are also a possibility and the station will connect with the public service bus lines.

The public meetings in the cities and towns along the rail line will become part of the environmental impact study expected this fall. Upgrades to the signals could begin as early as next spring, Bernick said.

Gail DeLucia, president of the Judd Square Homeowners Association, got on board with the project after she learned the residents would not lose any parking. She was careful to say she was speaking as an individual and not for the group. But the sluggish economy and job market offer more reasons to invite commerce and create jobs.

“We have to look to the future,” DeLucia said, “or we don’t get any solution.”

Muscular Dystrophy Fundraiser - No more Jerry, but Jim Zandri is still raising funds for MDA

As Published in the Record Journal, Tuesday August 9, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — Jim Zandri said it was Jerry Lewis who inspired him to start his own muscular dystrophy fundraiser, which continues for its 15th year next month.

“His involvement inspired me to do what I did,” Zandri said.

Lewis, who has been the face of the Muscular Dystrophy Association for nearly 60 years. won’t be hosting this year’s national telethon for the first time since 1966, but Zandri said he doesn’t think the departure will hurt fundraising efforts.

“The cause is still there, this is still needed,” Zandri said.

Before last week, when Lewis’ departure was announced, the MDA had already prepared changes to this year’s telethon. The event, which used to last 21 hours, will shift to prime time, from 6 p.m. to midnight on the Sunday before Labor Day. Traditionally, the telethon began Sunday night and continued into Monday.

Steve Fredrickson, executive director of the MDA’s New Haven district, said the changes were adopted for a number of reasons.
“We wanted to bring it into prime time,” Fredrickson said. “It’s the 21st century; we’re trying to capitalize more on Internet donations.”

Fredrickson has been with the MDA since January. He said he joined because he believed in the organization’s mission.

“Sunday I had my first chance to go to an MDA summer camp, and really see our funds at work,” Fredrickson said.

Zandri said that Lewis’ departure didn’t change too much in the planning of the event, and that he’d expected Lewis, 85, to step down from the association in the next few years.

“At some point it had to continue on without him,” Zandri said.

In a statement, R. Rodney Howell, MDA chairman of the board, said, “Jerry Lewis is a world-class humanitarian and we’re forever grateful to him for his more than half century of generous service to MDA. We will not be replacing him as MDA national chairman, and he will not be appearing on the telethon.”

The MDA has become synonymous with Lewis, Zandri said, but it was important that the organization create its own identity. It’s been a slow transition, but Zandri said that he thinks people are aware of the MDA for reasons other than Lewis.

“There’s a need for a transition,” he said. “It’s a new generation. My kids don’t know who Jerry Lewis is.”

Zandri expects turnout for the event to be the same as in years past.

“Most people come regardless,” he said. “I don’t expect anybody to abandon the cause because Jerry Lewis is gone. People support the cause because they’re affected personally by it.”

Fredrickson said that the MDA is expecting viewership of the telethon to be up this year because of the primetime hours.

Zandri’s telethon party will be hosted at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn, 1074 S. Colony Road, from 5:30 p.m. to midnight on Sept. 4. For a $50 donation to the MDA, guests have access to a buffet, an open bar, dancing and a silent auction. Zandri said that in 14 years, the local event has raised more than $300,000.

“There’s no gimmick,” Zandri said. “It’s just a donation, and it’s a good time.”

Lemonade? Don’t try it!

This op-ed piece was written by Rich Lowry who is the editor of The National Review. It was published in the Record Journal on Sunday August 7, 2011

There’s no more poignant symbol of American childhood than the lemonade stand, evocative of long, lazy summer days and pie-in-the-sky entrepreneurial dreams.

It inevitably was a subject for a Norman Rockwell print, with a brassy kid confidently hawking cups for 5 cents each. If Rockwell were to update the image today, he might have to include an officer of the law nosing around the stand to ensure its compliance with all relevant ordinances.

In various localities around the country this summer, cops have raided and shut down lemonade stands. The incidents get — and deserve — national attention as telling collisions between classic Americana and the senseless pettifogging that is increasingly the American Way.

There should be an easy rule of thumb for when enforcement of a regulation has gone too far: When it makes kids cry.

Setting up a lemonade stand has always been the occasion for early lessons about the importance of hustle and perseverance, and some business basics — like location, location, location. It shouldn’t be the occasion for dealing with the unreasoning dictates of The Man.

Police in Coralville, Iowa, a few weeks ago conducted a sweep and shut down three lemonade stands, some within minutes of their opening. The offenders had started their renegade operations the weekend of an annual bike ride across the state. The town requires vendors to have a permit during the days of the event. None of the perps did, including one 4-year-old girl who shamelessly made $4 before police intervened.

One mother said she could only laugh when the police told her the cost of a permit was $400. Uncomprehending, her kids cried. They figured only the inadequacy of their handmade signs could have made the city’s law enforcement want to put them out of business.

A Coralville civic eminence subsequently explained that the ordinance was in place to protect the health of the bike riders, who are apparently robust enough to bike 472 miles but might be felled by 6 ounces of lemonade.

In McAllen, Texas, two kids were shut down and their grandmother threatened with a fine on similar grounds. Audaciously, the youngsters started selling lemonade for 50 cents a cup in a park without a health permit or licensed food handlers to prepare or serve their lemony libation. Hoping only to fund the upkeep of their two hermit crabs, these two children had stumbled into a murky world way over their heads.

In Midway, Ga., three girls were told they needed a business license, peddler’s permit and food permit to set up a lemonade stand on their front lawn. It might have taken all summer just to navigate the bureaucracy necessary to begin selling the lemonade. The chief of police explained why she had to act to protect the public from the unauthorized sale of the unknown substance purporting to be “lemonade”: “We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with.”

Chances are that it was made of the usual dangerous cocktail of lemon juice, sugar and water. If children — or their parents — aren’t to be trusted to prepare lemonade, presumably people lured by the prospect of a cool drink on a hot day can calculate the risks on their own and take their pocket change elsewhere if they feel safe only with professional-quality product. Invariably, the parents of illicit lemonade stand vendors protest to the authorities, “but they’re just kids.” That should be a clinching, self-evident argument. But not when an unbending legalism is ascendant, and there’s a law for everything. It’s in this spirit that we pat down children in the security lines of airports.

People in authority are afraid ever to be caught rendering common-sense judgments.

For now, the lemonade-stand crackdowns are a bridge too far. They usually bring cries of public outrage and embarrassed backpedaling from officials. So belly up to the lemonade stand — while you still can.

Some object to Simpson parking deal - Petition campaign seeks to force referendum

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday August 11, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — A group of residents is trying to collect thousands of signatures to fight the town’s half-million dollar investment to improve an uptown parking lot during a 30-year use agreement.

The Town Council approved the agreement with four property owners Tuesday night. It gives the town the authority to make improvements worth $500,000 to the lot and make it available for public use, but it also requires the town to provide maintenance for 30 years. Robert Gross, who has run unsuccessfully for the council as a Democrat, began a petition drive Wednesday to overturn the council’s decision under the referendum provision of the Town Charter. He has until Sept. 8 to collect signatures from 2,491 voters — 10 percent of the registered voters in town. If he meets his goal, the council has 30 days to rescind the vote or else the matter will go to a town wide referendum.

“I don’t care who owns the property — I don’t feel that the town should pay to pave and maintain a privately owned parking lot,” Gross said. “It’s up to the people to decide whether this is a reasonable issue or not. This is just democracy at work.”

But there’s more at stake than the town simply sprucing up the 130-space parking area behind four businesses on Simpson Court, off North Main Street, said William Comerford, who keeps close watch on town government and is a member of the group Concerned Citizens of Wallingford.

Comerford claims the business relation­ship between a town councilor and one of the property owners involved in the agreement represents a conflict of interest.

“We feel the people need to know what’s going on,” he said. Town Council Vice Chairman Jerry Farrell Jr. recently opened a law business on the second floor over TD Bank North, 2 North Main Street, adjacent to the parking lot. The building is owned by a limited liability company that owns a portion of the lot and lists John McGuire as its principal. McGuire is also listed as principal of the company that owns a neighboring building, home to Body & Soul Day Spa, 26 N. Main Street, according to state records.

Farrell denied any conflict, saying he doesn’t pay rent on the business space he has been using for the past two months for his legal consulting firm.

“I’m not Jack McGuire’s tenant, I’m there as a guest,” Farrell said. “I don’t pay him any money, so I don’t see any particular gain or advantage for me to voting on it.”

Town Engineer John Thompson said Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. told him to hold off on any improvements to the lot until the matter of a potential referendum is cleared up, but to continue preliminary work. The council approved the project with a bid waiver, allowing the town to get started right away without a competitive bidding process, Thompson said.

The first step in repairs will be to fix a long section of concrete wall that supports the lot and has been damaged by freezing and water. Work will also include paving, grading and drainage improvements.

“If the wall failed for some reason, it would compromise our whole investment,” Thompson said.

Dickinson said the project is being paid for by revenue from the Wallingford Electric Division, and the town pays nothing to use the space. The town has traditionally plowed and maintained the lot, along with three others it leases, he said.

Republican Councilor Craig Fishbein voted against the lease agreement, and said it was unwise to invest town money in a privately owned property.

“In this economy, $500,000 is a lot of money, and I think it could’ve been spent better elsewhere,” he said. “It’s a tough decision because you’re trying to portray a safe, well maintained downtown area, but the long-term outlay is bad. On top of the outlay, we have the ongoing cost of maintenance.”

Democrat Nicholas Economopoulos was the only other councilor to vote against the lease.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to improve private owners’ property; they’re some of the more affluent people in town,” he said. “There is not one item of proof, one report, that those improvements will help the town or increase people shopping in that part of town.”

But Mario DiNatale supports the agreement. The local businessman owns East Side Market on East Center Street and the former Town Hall at 350 Center St., now occupied by offices.

“The lot is used by everybody, so maybe it’s not so bad,” he said. “They’re not paying anything, so if the town’s going to use it, they should fix it.”

Parking is already available in the lot behind Simpson Court, but the area is in poor condition and not well lighted. Still, Don Blynn wonders why the project is necessary, since the lot is already getting a lot of use.

“I’m going to vote no on the half-million dollars,” said Blynn, who was having dinner with his wife Ginny Wednesday at Half Moon Cafe on Simpson Court. “The parking lot fills every night anyways.”

Ginny Blynn also thinks “the money could be spent better somewhere else,” she said, “like paying for sports or schools.”

FROM WALLINGFORD - Truth overtakes rail project

This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD was written by Stephen Knight

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday August 7, 2011

I have been a student of the railroad industry for my entire adult life; as a student in graduate school, as a keenly interested observer, and as a professional transportation consultant. So I write this column with considerable angst, because it is my conclusion that the proposed New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail project that will run through Wallingford is a boondoggle of fantastic proportions. My inherent predisposition to support this project is overwhelmed when confronted with the 1) downright mythical speed and service projections, 2) wildly optimistic ridership projections and 3) blindly underestimated capital and operating expenses.

Speed and service projections: In a May 9 press release, Gov. Malloy stated that these trains would reach “speeds up to 110 miles per hour.” I say: only if you catapult the trains from every station like they do jet fighters off an aircraft carrier. Why? First of all, there will eventually be 11 stops in the 62 miles between New Haven and Springfield. That’s an average of less than six miles between stops. So where exactly will these trains do 110 mph? And — are you ready for this? — the service will commence with hand-me-down equipment from Shoreline East. According to their latest schedule, those trains, making all the stops, move between New Haven and New London averaging less than 50 mph, and do so on the most advanced, best maintained railroad track in America. Secondly, this speed in a corridor with thirty-eight grade crossings? Really? So calling the NHHS project high speed rail is utterly fictitious.

Ridership projections built on the sentiment “Build it and they will come”: in calculating potential ridership, the numbers presented assume a) many more daily Amtrak trains running on the line; b) enormous numbers of passengers feeding the line from the so-called “Knowledge Corridor” line in central Massachusetts which has yet to be rebuilt; and c) thousands upon thousands of people willing to live in this corridor and work 2 ½ hours away in New York City. In other words, the number of commuters between New Haven and Springfield that is supposedly the driving force behind this project could never, ever justify the price tag, so numbers assuming a complete northeastern United States rail system build out are used to puff up the stats.

Capital and operating expenses: The price tag for rail line and station construction alone is $647 million, and the project is counting on huge support from the feds. Here is the latest fed response: State of Connecticut request — $227 million. Fed grant: $30 million. Result: the project has already contracted to providing trains only during peak commuter times. And how much money is allocated to purchase rolling stock — the stuff you ride on? Zero. As mentioned above, the plan is to use the existing Shore Line East equipment until, well, who knows?

As for operating expenses, somehow the project is making revenue estimates, but they haven’t even set the fare schedule. How do you do that? But even assuming (do you see that word a lot here?) their revenue and ridership projections are accurate, there is an inherent, unavoidable, inevitable huge annual cash subsidy. This is not unusual. This is the norm, but could someone in Hartford admit that?

So here’s the rub. Even more than I love railroads, I love the truth. The unvarnished, straight up, tell-it-like-it-is, we can take it truth. And we aren’t getting it. We are being fed pretty pictures, fantastic blue-sky fuzzy numbers and gauzy descriptions of an idyllic life in a future northeastern U.S. economy that seems farther from reality every single day.

If these words seem harsh, they spring from disappointment.

Disappointment that this project is not a practical, financially sensible fit for the market in which it is to operate, and disappointed that you and I are, yet again, being treated like proverbial mushrooms: kept in the dark and covered with . . . well, you know what I’m saying.

School website gets smarter - New Wallingford site more compatible with smartphones

As published in the Record Journal Thursday August 4, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — As more parents turn to the Internet for information, the Wallingford school district is overhauling its website to make it more user friendly and accessible for parents.

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said the new site, which launched Aug. 1, offers a cleaner, professional look, in addition to a mobile-friendly version.

“We’re excited,” Menzo said. “This gives parents the opportunity to stay connected. The first place people often turn to for information is the website.”

Randall Backus, director of Information Technology Services, worked with Menzo and a consultant from finalsite — a private web development firm — to overhaul the website. Backus said the project started last fall and cost a few thousand dollars.

“People are relying more and more on the website,” Backus said. “They check there first for information about delays and cancellations. We get calls if we don’t have that information up by 5:30 in the morning.”

Menzo said the new website focuses on a number of target audiences, including parents, members of the public and employees. The student section includes information such as summer reading book lists, the parent section has bus routes and registration information and the public section is geared toward Board of Education and budget information.

The mobile site is formatted for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users. The mobile-friendly website loads more quickly and is easier to use on mobile devices, Menzo said. Buttons direct users to the most-requested information, including school lunch menus, bus routes, calendars, delays and closings and a staff directory.

The district has also implemented a QR code for the website. QR codes are barcodes that, when scanned with a smartphone, direct the user to a specific website. Menzo said he hopes to have the QR code on all documents and letters sent home to parents to give them easy access to the website. In the future, it’s possible each school could have its own QR code to attach to school-specific documents, Menzo said.

Backus said the website gets a lot of hits not just locally, but from across the country. Menzo said that when many people are considering moving to a town, one of the first things they check is the school district’s website.

“You only get one chance to make a first impression,” Menzo said.

The old website faced complaints that it was cluttered and inconsistent. Backus said different school pages used different font sizes and colors, taking away from any sense of uniformity. The new website uses the same template across all pages. Backus said the layout of the site hadn’t been changed since it was first launched 10 to 15 years ago. The conformity will allow for more “branding” of the schools. Menzo said that he plans to bring back the Wallingford Public Schools seal on the website and use it in all official school communication.

Other changes include a reduction in the number of pages.

“When websites first launched, people wanted to put everything out there online,” Menzo said. “But we’ve learned less is more.”

Menzo said improving the website was part of the district’s five-year strategic plan in the areas of technology and communication.

“A district our size should have a vibrant website to celebrate the successes of our students,” he said.

Visit the Wallingford Public Schools website at
http://www.walling ford.k12.ct.us/, or scan the QR code in this story with your smartphone to be taken to the website.

Scan this QR code with your iPhone, Android or Blackberry to get easier access to the Wallingford public school system’s website, www.wallingford.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=10859.

AGENDA - SPECIAL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

SPECIAL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

Town Council Chambers

TUESDAY

AUGUST 9, 2011

6:30 P.M

AGENDA

Opening Prayer – Reverend Dean Warburton, First Congregational Church of Wallingford

1. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call

2. Correspondence

3. Consent Agenda

3a. Note for the Record – Mayoral Transfers FY 2010-2011

3b. Note for the record – Anniversary Increases FY 2010-2011

3c. Consider and Approve Tax Refunds (#20 - #75) totaling $10,085.99 Acct. # 001-1000-010-1170 - Tax Collector

3d. Consider and Approve Use of the Parade Grounds by the First Congregational Church for the Annual Catch the Spirit Sunday on Sunday, September 11, 2011 from approximately 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. – Chairman Robert F. Parisi

3e. Consider and Approve Rescheduling the November 2011 Town Council Meetings to November 15, 2011 and November 29, 2011 – Chairman Robert F. Parisi

3f. Consider and Approve an Appropriation in the Amount of $528 to Council on Substance Abuse to Expenditures Acct # 23240150-58830 and to Revenue Acct # 2324002-49000 FY 2011-2012 – Youth and Social Services

3g. Consider and Approve an Appropriation in the Amount of $210 to Youth and Social Services Special Fund Operation Fuel to Donations Acct # 2324002-47010 and to Expenditures Acct # 23240100-58830 FY 2011-2012 – Youth and Social Services

3h. Acceptance of Donation from Wallingford Foundation and Appropriation in the Amount of $1,500 to YSS Science and Technology After School Club (formerly Young Astronaut Club) to Donations Acct # 2264002-47010 and to Expenditures Acct # 22640150-58830 FY 2011-2012– Youth and Social Services

3i. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $350 FY 2010-2011 to Telephone Acct # 001-5015-201-2000 from Utilities Acct # 001-5015-201-2010 – Public Works

3j. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $5,579 FY 2010-2011 to Town Clerk-Wages $3,616 Acct # 001-6030-101-1000 and to PUC-Wages $1,963 Acct # 001-7045-101-1000 from Health Insurance Acct # 001-1602-800-8300 - Comptroller

3k. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $540 FY 2010-2011 to Regular Wages & Salaries Acct # 2030-101-1000 from Replacement Pay Acct # 2030-101-1500 - Fire Chief

3l. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $875 FY 2010-2011 to Professional Services-Ambulance Revenue Recovery Acct # 2030-901-9035 from Utilities Acct # 2030-201-2010 – Fire Chief

3m. Set a Public Hearing for September 13, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. to consider Repeal of existing Ordinance and enactment of revised Ordinance regarding Open Burning, Chapter 93 of the Code of the Town of Wallingford - Co-Chairmen Cervoni and Farrell, Ordinance Committee

3n. Set a Public Hearing for September 13, 2011 at 7:15 p.m. for Repeal of Ordinance #513 dated 2003 leaving in its place the new Private Sewage Disposal Systems Ordinance #566 adopted on September 28, 2010 – Town Attorney

3o. Consider and Approve a Budget Amendment in the Amount of $21,840 to Appropriation from Cash and to Outside Services Acct # 43100923 – Water Division

3p. Consider and Approve a Budget Amendment in the Amount of $18,540 to Appropriation from Cash and to Outside Services Acct # 43100923 – Sewer Division

3q. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $3,400 FY 2010-2011 to Taxes Acct # 408 from Interest on Customer Deposits Acct # 431 - Electric Division

3r. Consider and Approve a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a contract with the Connecticut State Library for a State Public Library Construction Grant - Grants Administrator

3s. Consider and Approve a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into a FFY 2010 State Homeland Security Grant Program Region 2 Memorandum of Agreement regarding use of state funding and custodial ownership of regional assets in Region 2 – Fire Chief

3t. Consider and Approve an Appropriation in the Amount of $36,250 to School Roof Committee Acct # 100800350-58835 from Contingency-General Acct # 10019000- 58820 – Chairman, School Roof Committee

3u. Consider and Approve an Appropriation in the Amount of $36,250 School Roof Projects (New Fund) to Revenue-Trans in from G/F Acct-new line to be established and to Owner’s Rep (Expenditures) Acct-new line to be established – Chairman, School Roof Committee

3v. Approve minutes of Regular Town Council meeting of July 12, 2011

3w. Approve minutes of Special Town Council Meeting of July 19, 2011

4. Items Removed from the Consent Agenda

5. PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER

6. Report out from the Chairman of the Wallingford Housing Authority Board – Councilor Nick Economopoulos

7. Consider and Approve Request for Proposal-Defined Contribution Plan Service Provider for Town and Board of Education - Personnel

8. Consider and Approve Request for Proposal-Legal Services for Defined Contribution Plan Provider – Town Attorney

9. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $158,000 FY 2010-2011 to Self- Insurance-Workers’ Compensation Acct # 0011602-800-8310 from Property/Casualty Insurance-Gen. Gov’t $44,000 Acct # 001-1603-800-8250 and from Property/Casualty Insurance-Education $14,000 Acct # 001-1603-800-8260 and from Police Heart and Hypertension $100,000 Acct # 001-1602-800-8400 -Personnel

10. Discussion and Possible Action on Pension Cost of Living Adjustment of 1½% - Personnel

11. Consider and Approve an Appropriation of CRRA Funds in the Amount of $142,463 to Roof-Fire Headquarters (Expenditures) Acct # 200803505700010011 from CRRA Distribution –Revenue Acct # Fund 200 – Fire Chief

12. Consider and approve 30-year lease agreements with four property owners in Simpson Court authorizing the Town to construct rear parking lot improvements - Mayor

13. Consider and approve a temporary construction easement as shown on the attached map and approval of a Bid Waiver to allow Department of Engineering to engage contractor to undertake minor wall repairs to existing retaining wall between Holy Trinity School property and Simpson Court rear parking lot - Engineering

14. Report on the Wallingford Landfill and CRRA property contamination issues - Councilor Vincent Testa, Jr.

15. Discussion and possible action on adding language to the School Roof Committee's charge regarding energy conservation measures and incorporating solar energy technology - Councilor Vincent Testa, Jr.

16. Discussion and possible action to request that the Town petition the State D.E.E.C. to earmark all, or a portion, of the fund established from the recent Covanta $400,000.00 fine for energy conservation projects in Wallingford. - Councilor Vincent Testa, Jr.

17. Consider and Approve a $21 Million Refunding Bond Resolution with respect to the authorization issuance:

RESOLUTION WITH RESPECT TO THE AUTHORIZATION, ISSUANCE AND SALE OF NOT EXCEEDING $21 MILLION TOWN OF WALLINGFORD GENERAL OBLIGATION REFUNDING BONDS, AUTHORIZATION COMBINING INTO ONE ISSUE AND MAKING DETERMINATIONS WITH THE REFUNDING BONDS ANY OTHER AUTHORIZED BUT UNISSUES BONDS OF THE TOWN, AUTHORIZING AGREEMENTS FOR THE INVESTMENT OF REFUNDING ESCROW AND ITS REINVESTMENT OVER ITS TERM, AND REPEALING ALL PRIOR REFUNDING BOND AUTHORIZATIONS

-Comptroller

18. Consider and Approve a Bid Waiver to negotiate directly with the leading underwriting firms - Comptroller

19. Executive Session pursuant to Sections 1-200(2) and 1-225(f) of the Connecticut General Statutes with regard to strategy and negotiation with respect to Collective Bargaining – Board of Education

20. Executive Session pursuant to §1-200 (6)(D) of the Connecticut General Statutes with respect to the purchase, sale and/or leasing of property – Mayor

21. Executive Session pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §1-225(f) and §1-200 (6)(B) to discuss the following cases:

DiNatale Realty LLC v. Town of Wallingford

Ives Road LLC v. Town of Wallingford

22. Possible Action on DiNatale Realty LLC v. Town of Wallingford; Possible Action on Ives Road LLC v. Town of Wallingford

REMINDER - Information meeting set Aug. 4th regarding the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail project

As published in the Record Journal Friday July 22, 2011

WALLINGFORD — The office of Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. will sponsor a public information meeting at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Town Council chambers at the Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.

Representatives from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and their consultant team will provide an update on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail project and its impact on Wallingford and possible station locations, including the property on South Cherry Street next to Judd Square Condominiums.

After the presentation, a question-and-answer session will be open to all attendees.

For information, call the mayor’s office at (203) 294-2070 or the engineering department at (203) 294-2035.

FROM WALLINGFORD - One guess

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday July 24, 2011

This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD was written by Stephen Knight.

Covanta, the operator of the Wallingford trash-to-energy plant, is handing over $400,000 to the State of Connecticut as a result of its plant having emitted levels of dioxins at twice the permitted level, according to an article in the July 16th Record-Journal. $400,000 that the company could have and should have used to prevent the problem in the first place now goes to Hartford. Half will go right to the general fund and the other half direct to DEEP for them to use in a “project to enhance environmental protection or conserve natural resources.” Read: to sustain the bureaucracy.

But the story does not end here, and this is where the residents of Wallingford should take note. In an almost “oh, by the way” manner, the article tips us off to the most onerous provision of this settlement: “The settlement also stipulates that the entire plant be shut down the next time an emissions violation is found.”

Here we wander into “the law of unintended consequences” territory, where big government and preening politicians so, so often find themselves – and we dragged right along with them. No doubt DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty thinks of himself as one tough hombre for nailing this big, evil business (those previous two words are synonyms at the DEEP) and forcing them to sign a document pledging to commit corporate hari kari should their people make another error operating the plant. That’ll show ’em! But now think about the real consequences here. Covanta somehow screws up and another release occurs. In rides sheriff Esty and his posse of pasty-faced bureaucrats and they actually shut down this plant. Now what? We’re not talking about a package store caught selling beer to teenagers here. Shut that down and only the owners suffer the consequences. Shut this plant down and now five towns have to find a way to dispose of the trash generated by over two hundred thousand people.

This plant was built and operated for the purpose of incinerating thousands of tons of trash every month. It was placed here because Wallingford is centrally located and therefore all this stuff can be transported most cost-effectively. Pull the plug on this plant and all this material must be trucked elsewhere at much greater cost. And who do you suppose ultimately pays for that? One guess.

And this assumes that there is a place nearby for all this material, which there is not. So now it gets trucked out of state. Now we’ve defeated the whole point of having the plant in the first place – to reduce the volume of the trash in order to reduce the amount of transportation required to get rid of it all. And those trucks all emit what? One guess.

Here’s another consequence: The Town of Wallingford receives over $1 million per year for hosting the facility. Okay, the plant gets shut down. No plant? No payment. And who do you suppose ultimately pays for that loss? One guess.

My point is this: we expect significant consequences for those that do not comply with these regulations. But take-no-prisoners decisions like this tell us that the mission of protecting the environment has been supplanted. Because the State of Connecticut is populated with people who have a visceral, deep-seated hostility toward business and industry, sticking it to business and forcing them to their knees to bow low to the state has become the endgame. And while the agencies and the commissions and the lawyers and the bureaucrats all make their pronouncements and hold their press conferences and announce their “settlements,” all of us in towns like Wallingford are left with the fallout.

By shutting down this plant, Commissioner Esty will have another “Gotcha” trophy to show his fellow environmentalists. But the rest of us here in Wallingford will be left scrambling to deal with the resultant chaos that ensues.