Mark Boughton

Today I had an opportunity to participate in a meeting with Commissioner Marie of the State D.O.T. regarding the future of many projects in the Danbury area and the I-84 corridor.

It was a good news-bad news type of meeting. This state is delaying funding on a number of projects throughout our region as they come to gripes with the new economy-that’s the bad news, they have I-84 on their radar as well as some of our local streets that surround the area-that’s the good news.

So what does this mean? The State of Connecticut is taking a realistic approach to what is “doable” given the economics that we are living in and will prioritize some projects while defering others to a later date.

They will not waste staff time on projects that cannot be completed within the next several years.

This is the right approach. Since most state D.O.T. projects around Danbury require staff support, our engineering department spends a lot of time working on projects with the state that will never get built (think how long it took the state to widen Rt. 7-  about 80 years), and on projects that are too costly with little return.

We agreed that the focus for the state D.O.T should be I-84 from Danbury to Waterbury. The D.O.T.  has also agreed to continue the work at exits 1 and 2 as you enter our city.

This work will be critical as we are working on several new corporations that are considering a move to Danbury.

A well designed I-84 will allow us to market Danbury in the new economy.

We have some very, very intriguing companies who are past the tire kicking stage. Stay tuned….

Special thanks to State Senator Mike McLachlan for arranging our meetings.

Over the last 6 months my office along with the Office of Neighborhood Assistance has been conducting field surveys of various neighborhoods throughout Danbury.

The objective is to identify areas of concern related to quality of life issues in a neighborhood and then to develop a strategic plan to address the problems that our code enforcement task force (Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team or UNIT) has uncovered in it’s field survey.

Prior to the field survey, we mail letters to the neighborhoods informing the residents that we are coming, we organize a neighborhood meeting at a local school or church to review common zoning issues and violations and answer questions about our process and enforcement procedures.

So far our surveys have identified various issues in the neighborhoods  that we have surveyed. Things like parking on front lawns and sidewalks, litter, loud noise, commercial vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods as well as more serious violations like illegal apartments, and work performed on homes without the necessary permits.

Finally as we approach the colder months, we are also offering a new service for our residents. Our Fire Department will conduct a free fire safety survey of their home to look for any obvious fire safety issues. Our firefighters will test the smoke detectors, look for things like frayed extension cords, and help our seniors fill out a “file of life” magnet that stays on the refrigerator so that our public safety workers know what medications the resident may be on in the event of an emergency. Residents who want a fire safety survey for their home should call 311 for an appointment.

Promoting good neighborhoods takes work by all of us. By each part of our community contributing and taking responsibility for the quality of life in our community, we can continue to improve our neighborhoods and our city.

Every member of our community will always remember where they were on September 11th 2001. I think of that date and where I was often.

I was teaching my first period class at Danbury High School. It was one of my all time favorite classes. Good kids, solid students, who liked United States history, a class with a good, positive, personality.

I gave out our quiz, completed my daily attendance report, and turned on the computer. I immediately saw that the press was reporting a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I could tell that the plane was not a  small plane from the pictures posted on the web. I turned the computer monitor around to the class, asked that the students put down their pens, and announced that something serious had happened in New York City. From there we watched history explode before our eyes.

I think of the students who were in that room with me all of the time.

We share a moment in history.

Eight years have passed and those kids are twenty five. Some of them have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others have begun families and all have entered into adulthood.

Eight years have passed for us since that horrible day, yet 9-11 seems like it was yesterday.

I will always feel a bond with the young people of my first period class on the third floor in D-wing of Danbury High School.  A group of teenagers who aged quickly and who learned more about the world than they had bargained for when they walked into my classroom that morning in September.

The tragedy and the horror of the moment, the absolute fear that everyone of us felt during those desperate hours of the attacks. The quick inventory that is taken, where is my family?, is anyone in New York today? Do I know anyone who works at the World Trade Center? The Pentagon?

The wounds of 9-11 are still fresh for those of us who live so close to New York City.

Danbury lost its share of residents in the attacks, and has sent many of our young people across the globe in service to our republic. They have served our country with courage and with bravery.

Yet, eight years later, there is still an air of unfinished business. We have not put our finger on the spot that makes us feel that things have been set right.

Even after eight years our nation’s spirit is still wrestling with how to make things right .

But eight years ago, I was with a group of seventeen year olds, on a warm fall morning, and watched them lose some of their innocence, and saw fear in their eyes that was much more deep and sinister then anything ever imagined.

The attacks changed the students in that room. The world became a different place for those kids and for us. A darker place.

That is one of the reasons we still have to set things right..

May God bless our fallen Firefighters, and their familes.

May God bless our fallen Police Officers and their families.

May God bless our fallen EMS workers and their families.

May God bless our fallen Military Personnel and their families.

May God bless our America.

By passing a budget last night the Connecticut General Assembly punted on the tough choices that face our state. Borrowing to fund operational expenses and “securitizing” assets will not position us for the new economy nor does it address long standing systemic problems in the state budget.

Governor Rell had proposed some interesting and creative ways to begin to downsize state government and develop a state government that we can afford and a state government that will be sustainable-unfortunately, legislative leaders in the General Assembly decided to punt.

There is an important discussion in Connecticut that must happen, its one that nobody really wants to have, but the economics times that confront us demand that we have it.

It’s the Elephant in the room, the 800 lbs. Gorilla sitting in your kitchen or what ever metaphor you want to use.

It’s the downsizing state government, tackling property tax reform, redefining the core mission of state government discussion that strikes fear in the heart of ever big government advocate, and every legislator whose vision is clouded by whatever special interest group that is in front of them at the moment.

This is a difficult talk to have as a state legislator (as a former legislator, I can attest to this). Too often the conversation becomes about who wins and who loses. Once it is defined that way, it becomes a contest on who can advocate the best, and who can win the sound bite war.  The talk becomes shouting, shouting becomes screaming, and then everybody hunkers down to a sort of political trench warfare.

These are difficult times. It is time to have the talk. The talk about what we want our state government to look like, the talk that will set our mission and our goals for the new economy.

Our state budget is a two year spending plan. It is as much a policy statement as it is a spending document. The budget should reflect our mission, our goals, and what we value as a state.

Our state spending plan should reflect the deliberations and discussions of the various budget writing committee’s in the public, with public hearings and transparency.

There are momentous decisions being made behind closed doors without input from the public, but that is another column. The “talk” should include a discussion of the process (or lack of).

We cannot sustain our state government if we continue down this path.

It remains to be seen if the Governor will sign this budget.

But either way, let’s have the “talk”..

The agreement between the Danbury Police Department and ICE (Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement) of the Department of Homeland Security has been posted on the City of Danbury’s website .

The agreement is a “template” of the actual document that all organizations participating in the 287-G program are required to sign. In an effort to promote transparency and communicate to the public the nature of the agreement, we have asked the Department of Homeland Security to give us permission to post the MOA on the City’s website and they have agreed.

The Danbury Police Department will accept comments on the document up until noon on Sept 15th.

People who do not have access to a computer can request the document from the Danbury Police Department. Comments can be mailed to:

Chief Alan Baker

Danbury Police Department

375 Main St.

Danbury, CT 06810

Almost two years ago, the City of Danbury applied to join a federal program called ICE ACCESS that would train several police officers in immigration law.

Illegal immigration has been a hot topic in Danbury over the years and this request was not without its controversy.

Advocates are fearful that a program that grants local police such broad immigration authority would be abused and that racial profiling would be the result.

Proponents of the program, myself and Chief Baker included, saw this as an opportunity to have two of our detectives receive extra training in a rapidly expanding and extremely complex field.

We also see value in the access to tools that will help our Police Department identify those who are wanted by authorities in the country that they emigrated from, as well as identify criminals who exploit others in the immigrant community, and it will ensure that people who commit serious crimes in our city and are here illegally are prosecuted and then deported.

A new agreement or MOA has been crafted by the Obama administration.

The purpose of the agreement is to“enhance the safety and security of communities by focusing resources on identifying and processing for removal, criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or danger to the community.”

The new MOA prioritizes enforcement action with violent crime being the highest priority.

The MOA also requires that the police pursue the original charges that started the investigation.

This requirement is designed to prevent racial profiling because the arresting agency must follow through on criminal charges hence making it difficult for an agency to engage in frivolous traffic stops based on ethnicity.

Danbury has enjoyed a remarkable run in terms of low crime rates and safety over the last several years. One of the reasons for our exceptionally low crime rate is because our police department has been proactive in its approach.

The ICE partnership is just another tool in our toolbox to ensure that Danbury remains a safe city.

Several months ago I was approached by a representative of Danbury Hospital who asked if the City of Danbury could designate the sidewalks around the hospital as a smoke free zone.

Other cities and towns have set up similar zones around their hospitals.

After all, who wants to exit the hospital after having surgery or an illness and enter into a cloud of second hand smoke? The area immediately around Danbury Hospital should set the tone for healthy behavior, and everybody (including smokers) agree that smoking is unhealthy.

After reflecting on the request I decided to move forward with a smoking ban on the sidewalks that surround the hospital and added in Library Plaza adjacent to the Danbury Public Library.

Smoking is already banned in public buildings and schools in Danbury, but Library Plaza is not included in the ban and it attracts a significant number of smokers. In fact during a recent community celebration at the plaza,  I noticed cigarette butts scattered all over the plaza.

I also noticed the children walking in out of the building and socializing in the plaza as well as many seniors doing the same. In many ways, Library Plaza has become a natural extension of the library.

Finally, the question was raised by my staff whether we should ask for an ordinance with fines attached, or take a softer approach with a resolution adopted by the Common Council.

I recommended the latter because I want the City to make a statement that smoking is not appropriate in these areas, but would leave the enforcement to signs that will be posted and staff to request the offender to either put the cigarette out or smoke outside the area.

The request was referred to committee by the Common Council, and I am sure that there will be some discussion about which approach to take and further study on the idea.

As someone who lost a loved one to lung cancer caused by smoking- and watched that person smoke right up until the day they passed, all the time wanting to quit, I know how difficult it is to quit.

I also recognize that some people just want to smoke.

That’s why I chose to ask the council to consider the softer approach.

Nobody is saying that you can’t smoke, just light up a little farther away from Danbury Hospital and from Library Plaza.

Since 2007 my office has been actively monitoring the development of the SMP (Shoreline Management Plan) for Candlewood Lake.

The SMP is a long term plan to manage the lake and to develop a common platform that all five communities that surround the lake could use for land management decisions as well as steps that the towns can take to preserve one of our most important assets. I believe that it is important to have a long term management plan for the lake, but I was not happy with the original plan.

The original SMP proposed a fee to be charged to all of the residents that surround the lake to support the plan, in addition, there were onerous regulations regarding the placement of docks that had been in the lake for decades as well as other buildings and structures that encroach on the land that surrounds Candlewood Lake.

Thanks to the cooperation of First Light, the owners of the lake, we have crafted a plan that protects and preserves the lake for generations to come, and eliminates some of the most controversial parts of the plan.

Specifically the new plan:

1. Eliminates the charging of annual fees to the residents living on the lake.

2. Gives the option to First Light to  impose a fee for violations of the licenses by shoreline residents and for property reviews and transfers.

3. Puts in place stipulations for vegetation maintenance and removal.

4. Establishes vegetation buffer zones.

5. Adds boat overcrowding restrictions.

These are just a few of the benefits of the new SMP.  If you want more information, you can view the plan in its entirety at www.firstlightpower.com.

Special thanks to First Selectman John Hodge of New Fairfield for his hard work on this issue.