Common Council Meeting 2/9/2010

Common Council MTG 2/09/10

Attending: Romano, Mount, McQuaid, Bonenfant, Tobin, Kydes, Straniti, Moccia, Maslan, Hempstead, Bondi, Conroy, Hilliard, Jaeger, King, Simms, Lindstrom

The meeting starts at 8:10 pm and there’s a moment of silence for the victims of the Middletown plant explosion. The Mayor announces that on Wednesday Governor Rell has authorized a moment of silence at 11 am.

They review the minutes Jaegar, and Kydes have some changes with Kydes going over in detail when he recused himself and when he came back. King reviews what was being said in the 15 minutes free parking nor the resolution on the issue.

There’s some issue about the intent of the resolution with King pressing for acknowledgement of having a resolution for today’s council meeting and the Republicans looking uncomfortable about following through on it now. [Could be because they were chastised by John Federici, chairman of the Parking Authority.]

Public Participation:

There is none

Resignations & Appointments & Reappointments:

Louis Bonsangue appointed to the Conservation Commission

They vote unanimously.

Joeseph Beggan reappointment to facilities construction commission

Straniti says nice things about Joe. So does Bonenfant and the Mayor. They vote unanimously.

Mayors Remarks:

Mayor repeats the day of mourning for tomorrow and that the Norwalk Schools have declared school is closed. People are allowed to park for free at Maritime and Webster because the city is in a snow emergency and that off street parking is not allowed.

Council President

Hempstead: Says that February 17th will the ad hoc committee with the board of education. Thanks the Chamber of Commerce and members of the council who came to the planning committee last Thursday. Says its important to have a cleaner more open way to make Norwalk more competitive against surrounding towns.

Announces the nomination of Karin Beggan to Assistant City Clerk.

They vote unanimously.

Then Hempstead reads the consent calendar.

They vote unanimously.

Land Use & Building Management Committee

Bondi: Items taken together (2-6) relate to purchasing equipment for the NHS world language lab. Reads them off and makes a motion to table. They make a role call vote.

Bondi Y

Hemptsteade Y

McQuaid Y

Roamno Y

Bonenfant Y

Tobin Y

Mount Y

Jaeger N

Hillaird N

Simms N

Kydes Y

Lindstrom N

Staniti Y

King N

Bondi: reads item 7 which is Partners for Architecture for an elementary school facilities study.

King: Asks why the architect firm was chosen.

Loh: Can’t answer the question.

Bondi: Suggests that the superintendent was familiar with their work from Stamford.

Conroy: Asks about the purpose behind this.

Loh: Says the purpose is to look at enrollment at the elementary level. Says there is $6 million left in the school construction fund.

Kydes: Asks if this went through the normal bid process.

Loh: confirms.

Kydes: Asks specifically if the purchasing department looked at this.

Loh: Says he doesn’t know.

Mayor: Points out that the BOE and the NFCC approved this.

Kydes: Says he’s concerned about following the process.

King: Wants to make sure that we weren;t using the cheapest bid and that the firm will address the enrollment issues.

They vote unanimously.

Bondi: Reads item 9 which is a contract authorization for guardian service industry incs building management and janitorial services. Motions to table.

Bondi Y

Hemptsteade Y

McQuaid Y

Roamno Y

Bonenfant Y

Tobin Y

Mount Y

Jaeger N

Hillaird Y

Simms N

Kydes Y

Lindstrom N

Staniti Y

King N

Public Works Commitee:

Conroy: Reads item on reducing the three tons free to one ton free.

Kydes: Is concerned about people who are renovating will have to pay to to dump trash.

Moccia: Explains that either they vote on it or not, but that they can’t do both nor can they keep the services with raising taxes. He says there must be a balance between services and fees. He thinks the DPW Committee and everybody involved worked out this compromise.

Kydes: Says he pays too much taxes and doesn’t want to pay more taxes. He claims that people renovating houses will now be taxed twice.

Conroy: Explains that this is not personal vehicles but people with combo or commercial plates.

Jaeger: Says we need to save money and raise revenues.

Straniti: Says was not in favor previously, and that a pickup truck or car with trailer and that those people will be penalized and wants to protect those people. Suggests that if people who don’t want to pay will dump their trash on the streets.

Hempstead: Says he thinks it should be zero. Says that that this is only when you go over the scales, not when people go to the dump with occasional trash.

Moccia: reiterates that this is a tough balance.

Hilliard: Says he is concerned and that there are other ways to raise revenues. Says we should look at other cities.

Bondi and Kydes vote against it. The rest vote for it.

Conroy: moves the extensions on the fourth taxing district from September 30, 2009 to Janaury 15, 2010.

Alvord: Says in an annual basis they will provide the list, and that anyone tied into the sewer system is by ordinance.

There’s some discussion on what district changes occur when a house is sewered.

They go into executive session

They vote on the results of the executive session unanimously. The end result is zero salary increases for city administrative heads and no ste increases. The giveback is a promise of no layoffs.

Before ending the night, the Mayor says some nice things about former assitnat city clerk Darlene Young who will now administer the Summer Youth Jobs Program which is funded by grants.

They move to adjourn.

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  • Aaannd They’re Off!

    Let party line bickering begin!

  • Thanks Darlene

    Just a note of thanks to Darlene Young for her help and hard work as Assistant City Clerk. Glad to know she will still be around in some capacity, but she will be missed in that office. Job well done, Darlene.

    • Rev. Phyllis Y. Bolden

      Thank you Darlene Young for your tireless, excellent service to the city of Norwalk, to the Common Council, the Summer Youth Program, the annual Kawanzaa Celebration, all of your facilitating deeds; assisting with the Community Meeting for the Homeless – your coordination and expert help on NORWALK 101 Open Government Awareness and Presentation – THANK YOU. (So much more I can’t recall at this moment)
      I am very sorry that the Republican Party did not look beyond your party affiliation and keep you on board as the Assistant City Clerk according to your dedication, hard work, nonpartisan approach and excellent output in all that you do. We kept Mary Roman (R) on because she was excellent at her tasks and because she wasn’t a Democrat did not supercede what she brought to the table – too bad you didn’t get the same consideration. This really saddens me. You are a fabulous mother, a Norwalk homeowner, community participant, mover-and-shaker and you are tossed aside out of your livelihood. As some say – ‘that’s politics’.
      Pitiful.

      Darlene, I wish you all the best. Everything that you put your hands to will flourish because what is inside you — no one can take that from you, ever.
      Be blessed and keep it movin’ -!

  • tim

    Parklover you are so right. Watching these council folks debate silly stuff instead of making Norwalk move forward is eye opening. I’m glad they broadcast these meetings on cable, but I want to see them right away. I found this site looking for Norwalk Common Council meetings and like what I see.

  • Sharrel

    We need more ppolice in the streets.

    • Apathetic Voter

      When are people going to wake up and realize that even if Norwalk immediately hired another 200 cops, it wouldn’t do a thing to STOP crime? Yeah, it’ll slow it down some, but it doesn’t matter how many cops are on the streets. Crime will always find a way around them. It always has, and it always will – here in Norwalk, and across the USA. People who believe in simplistic solutions are doomed to see their solutions go up in smoke. It’s going to take a whole lot more than just throwing cops and more money at this problem; and this has been proven over and over again for so many dozens of decades that it is inconceivable that here in 2010 people STILL believe that this is the only solution that can work! Not for nothing, people, but you have to start at the ROOT of crime before you can even hope to eliminate it. You have to change lifestyles and community culture, for starters; and that’s virtually impossible.

  • Realist82

    THE COMMON COUNCIL IS A JOKE! This is what happens when you elect people with the intelligence of a house plant and give them authority and power over people when they completely lack any ability to exercise judgement and wouldn’t be able to think if their lives depended upon it!

    • Apathetic Voter

      Can you do better? How about giving us some examples, based on provable fact? It’s easy to be dismissive and critical when it’s not YOUR head on the line, and a lot harder to come up with solutions that you can prove have worked and can actually be put into practice

  • mark

    Why picking on a realist. Prove to us that anyone on the council has more on the ball than a houseplant and maybe we’d agree.

  • OLD TIMER

    How come nobody told Mr Kydes that the transfer station does not take trash from renovating your home ? That is construction/demolition rubble and has to go somewhere else. Most people, doing any amount of work, get a dumpster service to haul away that trash, and will not be affected by changing the first three tons free policy.

  • Joe

    Agreed OT. Plus you can’t dump sheetrock and ceramic tiles there.

    • Anon

      Joe: You can if your an uninformed blowhard politician. Or, you can even get the City to buy a property from you, because you can’t rent it, for a profit! And the citizens of a struggling city shouldn’t give a hoot or a holler. Dude shouldn’t even be on the Council. period.

  • Just me

    While you may have a problem with one or two of the council people, there is no reason to trash people as you so many times do. Here’s a thought, why don’t you run for office so we can trash you? Running the city for a bunch of ungrateful, sniveling fools must be so rewarding. Perhaps getting something to fill your otherwise boring lives would be a good thing! Every single person who volunteerts for a board, commission or council should be commended for their efforts. And yes, the council is basically volunteer. If you take the $50.00 stipand they recieve per month and divide that by 2 caucus’ a month, 2 council meetings a month and usually at least 4 committees each plus special meetings etc? That my friend is volunteering. If you can do better then please do so and stop your constant nastiness towards these people.

    • Anon

      Umm, correct me if I am wrong, but are they forced into these positions? And if you choose to run for Public Office you are open to criticism. And some do run for influential gain or insight. As was clearly the case with Mr. Kydes as he recluses himself from meetings involving insider deals with the City regarding property he owns. That’s not a conflict of Interest. Dude shouldn’t be on the council. You’ve got reduced Police patrols yet we can give this guy almost $2 million for a building he CAN’T rent. I guess the City of Norwalk can find a tenant, right?

      • Umm, correct me if I’m wrong

        but nobody forces you to vote for these people either. So if you find yourself complaining about them, either support other candidates during election times, or put yourself up – that is, if you think you can do a better job, or your skin is thick enough to withstand insults from nincompoops like yourself who have nothing better to do than piss and moan about everything.

  • longtimer

    Why shouldn’t we be able to criticize our volunteer council. They are showing their incompetence on television, they make statements about city operations that are false and they are the ones representing us? We’re supposed to feel bad for them? I don’t want my only solution to be run for office. I pay a significant amount of taxes here. That makes me a customer with a big complaint. If I don’t like the service I get in a restaurant I shouldn’t have to open a restaurant to get better service. I can make my comments here just like any other site that collects customer reviews. Unlike every other review site our volunteers don’t respond here. It is a shame Michael Geake lost his seat, he was one of the few who did.

    • Sure, you can criticize

      But if you’re going to criticize your “volunteer council” that YOU VOTED FOR, then be certain that you can back up your complaints with traceable, provable FACT. The problem with most complainers is, they’re only spouting off their uninformed opinions. Most complainers don’t have a clue about what it takes to run this city or how hard these “volunteer council members” have to work. These complainers would rather prove their know-nothingness than go out and do a little research to find out if their opinions hold any water before they start their complaining. It’s just so much easier to scratch their fat bellies behind their keyboards while they point their greasy fingers. And the majority of these people wouldn’t be able to do this job if it was handed to them. They’re the LAST people who should be complaining about anything.

  • Just me

    Then if you believe mr. Kydes is infact at fault for all you say you should send a letter to the ethics board and the mayor and not lambast the entire council.

  • Fed Up

    Just Me,
    No need to single out Kydes, the problem is much bigger than just one corrupt, pathological liar who bullies his way around city hall like a deranged pit bull. His fellow republicans are afraid of him because he gets nasty and vengeful, and so he knew he could get his family to name their price on the Globe Theater and bully the council to go along. Next time around, I can assure you the dems will use Kydes like a flaming tire around the necks of his fellow republicans, whether they deserve it or not. You’re only as good as the company you keep. When he lied about East Ave. widening, lied about the homeless shelter, lied about official city business at the norden hearing in violation of ethics codes, not a peep out of fellow repubs. Oh but he did accomplish one thing-got his mug in every ribbon-cutting photo op.

    No, the problem is much bigger than one corrupt embarrasing official.
    The city is broken, and has been for decades. Now we can see it clear as day, as cities around us with similar problems are facing them head on, such as Stamford, after scrapping their old dysfunctional governing systems that operated just like ours does now. We need a charter revision, to change the weak mayor/strong council to a strong mayor, with a 4 year term, and replace the responsibilities of running the departments away from the council, and add a permanent well-paid experienced city manager with complete authority over the department heads, and their employment contracts, to start disciplining them so they stop acting like a bunch of stingy children protecting their own turf, and their own jobs, at the expense of the city, its residents, and their quality of life.

    We need a Dan Malloy, as soon as possible.

  • Just me

    Perhaps then the council members should just stay home and do nothing. There are always going to be times when we don’t agree with a decision made by someone, however, the way we criticize speaks volumes about our own inability to get out of our chairs and off of our couches and get involved in the process instead of complaining about. I would say that the good these people do certainly outweighs the handful of things we don’t agree with. You have 15 completely different personalities and mindsets on the council…some who are in it for the good of the city and the citizens, some who are in it for party poltics and some who perhaps do it for the grandstanding and getting their names on the front of the paper for things they had nothing to do with. You have those who are able to make up their own minds without worrying about what others are going to say and then you have those who are afraid to buck whichever system they follow. I would imagine though that most go into this with the belief that they are going to do great things even though they’ve heard the crap about the bloggers and the naysayers. Ya gotta have tough skin but sometimes people systematically peel away that skin and get to the not so tough interior and are able to break people into believing and following. For the most part I think these people do one heck of a job…do I always agree? Oh nooo, but do I belittle them on a blog and call them disparaging names? No, I e-mail them and I tell them of my concerns.

    • Observer

      That, my friend, is the vast difference between you and the repetitiously posting brain-dead zombies, many examples of whom can be found quite easily on The Hour website at the bottom of any article in which a crime has been reported.