While it is a short week due to the 4th of July holiday on Friday, there is no reason we can't have a week full of exciting meetings. Monday the Town Council kicks it off with a public hearing and special meeting on the new roofs and solar panels for some school buildings. The public hearing starts at 7PM and the Town Council meeting at 7:30, or immediately after the public hearing if the hearing runs past 7:30. The special meeting seems to be a combination of the regular meeting that was scheduled for the next night plus the roofing issue. Check out the agenda here. This promises to be a contentious meeting with opponents of bonding putting forth vigorous arguments against. Adding to the acrimony will the physical discomfort of holding this meeting in the Mario Giamo conference room at Town Hall instead of at the Senior Center. Putting the Board of Finance in that conference room is one thing. It raises the cramped and hot conditions to a whole new level when you stuff 15 members of the Town Council in there. I will be there taping the meeting and, with any luck, bringing you highlights that night or the next day.
On Wednesday there is the July meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. There are several public hearings that are scheduled and I will bring you a full list of them when I get to Town Hall on Monday to check the posted agenda.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Rotary Club Fountain Dedication - June 28, 2008
The fountain on Main Street, generously donated by members of the East Haven Rotary Club, was dedicated this morning. In attendance were members of the Rotary Club, political personalities and civic leaders. The dedication master of ceremonies was Carl Ruggiero. Short speeches were given by Representatives Lawlor and Candelora, Mayor Capone Almon and others.
Watch the entire ceremony here or watch it below:
Watch the entire ceremony here or watch it below:
Sunday, June 22, 2008
School Roof Construction
The Board of Finance met last week a day after a Special Meeting of the Board of Education. The Special Meeting of the Board of Education was held to review and approve the request for State grants for roof work. The most intense discussion at the Board of Finance meeting concerned the Mayor's plan to replace the roofs and add solar panels at 4 schools. The cost of the roofs and solar panels would be born, in large measure, by the State through school building and energy assistance grants. The Town would end up paying $1.2 million out of the Town budget and would receive $130,000 in reduced energy costs per year. However, as Board of Finance member Butch Geelan pointed out, even with the money received from the State there is a 10 year payoff period for this project which is significantly higher than most capital projects. Watch the entire discussion below:
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Meetings Week of June 16th
This is a light week for public meetings. The highlight will be the Special Meeting of the Board of Education on Tuesday. The Board will be discussing, and possibly acting on, making a request for money from the State to repair the roofs on various schools.
Tuesday June 17th
School Building Committee Town Hall 7:00 PM
Board of Education E.H.H.S. 7:00 PM
Wednesday June 18th
Board of Finance Town Hall 7:30 PM
Thursday June 19th
Hagaman Library Comm. Library 7:00 PM
Zoning Board of Appeals Senior Ctr. 7:30 PM
Tuesday June 17th
School Building Committee Town Hall 7:00 PM
Board of Education E.H.H.S. 7:00 PM
Wednesday June 18th
Board of Finance Town Hall 7:30 PM
Thursday June 19th
Hagaman Library Comm. Library 7:00 PM
Zoning Board of Appeals Senior Ctr. 7:30 PM
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Joe T. and the Board of Education
At the Board of Education meeting on the 10th of June, the Board of Education voted to approve the Middle Management union's contract. That contract contained an agreement to give Joe Travaglino, Director of Buildings and Grounds, $90,000 to just go away. Normally I do not write about Board of Education topics. However, there is so much politics involved in this issue that it falls well within the purview of this blog.
The first thing that I noticed was the total lack of any public statements about the issue by any member of the Board. No one said anything about handing over the money to Mr. Travaglino. No one said that they were attaching an agreement to the union contract. And no one said anything about where the money was going to come from to pay him to leave. The public should get some idea from the Board what they are doing. Watch the entire "discussion" and vote after the Board returned from the Executive Session where they discussed the contract:
The second thing I noticed was the vote on the contract. The Board met behind close doors for a long time and when it was over the Democrats voted to approve the contract. The Republicans, with the exception of Mr. Finkle, voted against the contract. Mr. Finkle abstained from voting since his wife is in the Middle Management union. Mr. Hennessay and Mr. DeNuzzo do not want to clean up the mess caused when they were in power. Apparently, playing politics with this is better than making sure there are adequate controls over the contracts let out by Buildings and Grounds. I probably should not have expected more out of them since they were the ones that let the problem fester for so many years while they were in control of the Board.
Finally, I turn to Mr. Finkle. While he did not vote on the Middle Managemet union contract, he did sit in on the Executive Session where the contract was discussed. Taking any part in such discussions, whether or not he voted on the contract, is a conflict of interest. His wife was directly effected by the passage, or non-passage, of the contract. There is no excuse for Mr. Finkle to take part in that discussion. He should have excused himself from the Executive Session and let the members without a conflict make the decision.
One last note, the maneuvering to replace Mr. Travaglino has already begun. Stay tuned for updates on that issue as it heats up as summer days grow hotter.
The first thing that I noticed was the total lack of any public statements about the issue by any member of the Board. No one said anything about handing over the money to Mr. Travaglino. No one said that they were attaching an agreement to the union contract. And no one said anything about where the money was going to come from to pay him to leave. The public should get some idea from the Board what they are doing. Watch the entire "discussion" and vote after the Board returned from the Executive Session where they discussed the contract:
The second thing I noticed was the vote on the contract. The Board met behind close doors for a long time and when it was over the Democrats voted to approve the contract. The Republicans, with the exception of Mr. Finkle, voted against the contract. Mr. Finkle abstained from voting since his wife is in the Middle Management union. Mr. Hennessay and Mr. DeNuzzo do not want to clean up the mess caused when they were in power. Apparently, playing politics with this is better than making sure there are adequate controls over the contracts let out by Buildings and Grounds. I probably should not have expected more out of them since they were the ones that let the problem fester for so many years while they were in control of the Board.
Finally, I turn to Mr. Finkle. While he did not vote on the Middle Managemet union contract, he did sit in on the Executive Session where the contract was discussed. Taking any part in such discussions, whether or not he voted on the contract, is a conflict of interest. His wife was directly effected by the passage, or non-passage, of the contract. There is no excuse for Mr. Finkle to take part in that discussion. He should have excused himself from the Executive Session and let the members without a conflict make the decision.
One last note, the maneuvering to replace Mr. Travaglino has already begun. Stay tuned for updates on that issue as it heats up as summer days grow hotter.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Meeting This Week
Not much in the way of meetings this week with the exception of the Board of Education meeting. The Board is meeting on Tuesday at 7 PM at the Board Room in the High School. Items on the agenda include the custodians contract and the middle management contract. The Joe Travaglino issue might also be addressed at the meeting. It will be an interesting meeting to watch and I will be there to catch everything that happens in open session. Much of the discussion, however, will happen behind closed doors in Executive Session.
Without further ado, here is the list of the meetings for the week:
Monday June 9
Civil Service Commission 7:30 PM Town Hall
Counseling & Community Services 7:00 PM 595 Thompson Avenue
Recreation Commission 7:30 PM Senior Center
Tuesday June 10
Board of Education 7:00 PM High School
Wednesday June 11
Inland Wetlands Commission 7:00 PM Senior Center
Without further ado, here is the list of the meetings for the week:
Monday June 9
Civil Service Commission 7:30 PM Town Hall
Counseling & Community Services 7:00 PM 595 Thompson Avenue
Recreation Commission 7:30 PM Senior Center
Tuesday June 10
Board of Education 7:00 PM High School
Wednesday June 11
Inland Wetlands Commission 7:00 PM Senior Center
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Planning and Zoning Meeting - June 4, 2008
The PZC held their June meeting last night. It lasted about 15 minutes and there was not much in the way of action. The Commission set several public hearings for July 2nd and allowed a hair salon to be put into the old Consiglio's Florist location on North High Street. Here is the video or watch it below:
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Police Commission Special Meeting - All Over But the Whining
Tonight was the beginning of the end for the holdovers from the Maturo administration on the Police Commission. It was like old home week for the wretched losers. There were the 2 remaining Maturo-appointed Commissioners, Pat Romano and Sandra Wright, and there was a guest appearance by former Town Attorney Larry Sgrignari. Notedly absent was Chief of Police Lenny Gallo who was, I believe, at the Town Council meeting.
The meeting opened, or didn't depending on who you talk to, with the Chairman saying he did not think it was a legal meeting under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). That seemed a pretty bizarre claim to me since (1) the meeting notice went up last week; and (2) there was a quorum (actually, all members) present. Those 2 items are the basis for a legal meeting under the FOIA. Nonetheless, the Commissioners carried on and voted to appoint a committee to rewrite the policies and procedures manual, withdraw the appeal of the Nappe case to the Supreme Court, rehire Nappe, and request a certified list of candidates for Detective from the Civil Service Commission.
The Maturo gang is doing everything they can to hold on to the last remnants of power they still have. However, their slide into irrelevance is irreversible. Look for a complaint to be filed soon by some "concerned Republican citizen" with the Freedom of Information Commission and the Republican Commissioner's attorney to file a motion with the Supreme Court trying to block the withdrawal of the appeal on the grounds that the FOI Commission may find there was an illegal meeting and order the actions taken tonight to be reversed.
The thing that absolutely infuriates me about this situation is the money being wasted by the Republicans for political purposes. As most of you know, I have a show on ETV called Inside the BOE. I have a very keen interest in improving the education system in East Haven. We just went through a bruising fight over the amount that will be put into next year's education budget. But the Republicans are wasting money on this appeal that could be better spent on the children. Next time the Board of Education has to cut a program, call Sandra Wright, Pat Romano or Larry Sgrignari and ask them why they are taking money from the students in our schools.
Since the meeting lasted 16 minutes, I had to break it into 2 parts before uploading to youtube. Watch those two parts here and here or watch the 2 parts below:
Part 1:
Part 2:
The meeting opened, or didn't depending on who you talk to, with the Chairman saying he did not think it was a legal meeting under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). That seemed a pretty bizarre claim to me since (1) the meeting notice went up last week; and (2) there was a quorum (actually, all members) present. Those 2 items are the basis for a legal meeting under the FOIA. Nonetheless, the Commissioners carried on and voted to appoint a committee to rewrite the policies and procedures manual, withdraw the appeal of the Nappe case to the Supreme Court, rehire Nappe, and request a certified list of candidates for Detective from the Civil Service Commission.
The Maturo gang is doing everything they can to hold on to the last remnants of power they still have. However, their slide into irrelevance is irreversible. Look for a complaint to be filed soon by some "concerned Republican citizen" with the Freedom of Information Commission and the Republican Commissioner's attorney to file a motion with the Supreme Court trying to block the withdrawal of the appeal on the grounds that the FOI Commission may find there was an illegal meeting and order the actions taken tonight to be reversed.
The thing that absolutely infuriates me about this situation is the money being wasted by the Republicans for political purposes. As most of you know, I have a show on ETV called Inside the BOE. I have a very keen interest in improving the education system in East Haven. We just went through a bruising fight over the amount that will be put into next year's education budget. But the Republicans are wasting money on this appeal that could be better spent on the children. Next time the Board of Education has to cut a program, call Sandra Wright, Pat Romano or Larry Sgrignari and ask them why they are taking money from the students in our schools.
Since the meeting lasted 16 minutes, I had to break it into 2 parts before uploading to youtube. Watch those two parts here and here or watch the 2 parts below:
Part 1:
Part 2:
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