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During last night’s Ordinance Committee meeting on the ongoing effort to revise the city charter, Council President Thomas McCarthy, D-133, suggested inserting language requiring Mayor Bill Finch and future chief executives notify the council head when they leave town.

Under the existing charter, if Finch were incapacitated, McCarthy would run the show.

“I’m not looking to take over when the mayor goes to Fairfield for a cup of coffee,” McCarthy said. “(But) if he’s in Hawaii and there’s an airplane crash, I feel a responsibility to … act as the mayor.”

Ruben Felipe, a Charter Revision Commission member and Finch’s deputy chief of staff, said he was not opposed to requiring notification when a mayor leaves the state.

Those present agreed that it will probably only be necessary when a mayor goes away for 24 hours or more.

“It’s so the president is aware he might be called on,” Steve Mednick, the attorney assisting with the revision process, said afterward.

Some of my colleagues in the newsroom pointed out ex-Milford Mayor James Richetelli Jr. caused a controversy in 2009 when he mysteriously disappeared. He was in Maryland seeking treatment for what he said was a dependency on an anti-anxiety drug.

Richetelli in a speech delivered upon his return that February explained the circumstances and apologized for not giving his second-in-command, Aldermanic Chairman Ben Blake, a heads up:

“About my departure: it didn’t go well. As mayor, I regret that I did not first contact Aldermanic Chairman Ben Blake to apprise him of my imminent departure. This was not a deliberate decision. My thoughts as I was about to leave were entirely focused on where I was going, and that I was about to leave my family for some time. If I had to do this over again I would have called Chairman Blake at some point before leaving Milford so that the transition of power would have gone smoothly and without any confusion. I apologize to him and to the people of Milford. I appreciate Mr. Blake’s discharge of the office of mayor in my absence, and the kind words he offered me and my family in this difficult time.”

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If you’re thinking about heading to one of Connecticut’s state parks on Long Island Sound next week be warned.

If you get there late you may find that the park may have already reached full parking capacity. DEEP says that’s likely to happen next week as we head into warm summer weather and the July Fourth holiday.

Parks where that’s likely to happen include Sherwood Island in Westport, Hammonasset in Madison and Rocky Neck in Niantic.

With warm temperatures forecast next week and the July Fourth holiday, don't expect Sherwood Island State Park in Westport to look like this. In fact, Sherwood Island and other parks may reach full parking capacity.

“With the Fourth falling in the middle of the week, coupled with the warm weather that is forecasted, we expect our parks to be very busy.” said DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty said in a release. “I encourage residents to take in a park or two over the extended holiday week, but they should plan ahead and anticipate some traffic and crowds at some locations.”

“Go early, but before you head out the door and check Twitter for parking news and learn about other parks you may want to visit,” added Esty. “If your first choice park is full, seek out another in the area for an experience you will never forget. Connecticut parks are popular this time of year and sometimes parking areas fill to capacity –a testament to what a great value our parks provide for us all.”

Announcements of parks that are filled to capacity are made on Twitter the following addresses:

Twitter.com/CTDEPoutdoorrec – general information about the park system and outdoor recreation in CT including closures

Twitter.com/CTrockyneck – specific to Rocky Neck –Updates posted about activities at the park as well as parking conditions

Twitter.com/CThammonasset – specific to Hammonasset and activities for campers, folks looking to visit Meigs and general park conditions

I’m including the Sherwood Island Twitter address, but unfortunately there’s little activity there. As we headed into the July Fourth holiday week, the last tweet was on Aug. 31 … days after Tropical Storm Irene.

Twitter.com/CTsherwoodislnd – specific to Sherwood Island and activities at the park including parking

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Thirteen contractors showed up today near the intersection of Stratford Avenue and Pembroke Street within the vacant Steel Point redevelopment area to learn more about how to bid on $13 million worth of infrastructure upgrades.

“That’s a real good turnout,” said Steve Tyliszczak with the city’s office of economic and business development.

That’s him in the center of the circle, holding up the documents.

The fact the city is moving forward with the road, utility and other upgrades is another good indication that Steel Point, a mix of retail, office and residential space, may finally after several decades actually happen.

Of course it wouldn’t be Steel Point without some issue or another coming up (there’s a reason it’s 30 years in the making), and that’s what happened here.

The infrastructure work was initially put out to bid in May. A bunch of contenders showed up on the site, as they did today, and ultimately six contractors bit.

But Tyliszczak said two documents in the several-inches-thick stack of bidding papers contradicted each other, causing some confusion that ultimately required a rebid.

Work is expected to begin in August and last into the winter.

When one contractor asked about possible winter weather-related delays, Tyliszczak joked, “What winter?” hoping for a repeat of the mild, construction-friendly 2011/2012 season.

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Satkowski said a resident on Evergreen Terrace spotted the bear in the backyard, which abuts a large tract of woods, around noontime. “There were two bird feeders there and the bear devoured the food,” Satkowski said.

He said the bear was also spotted a short time later on Chestnut Street, which is about a half mile from Evergreen Terrace.

He said police are monitoring the situation and are asking residents to call police at 203-881-7600, if they spot the bear.

He said it’s a safety concern. “It is wildlife and there’s a potential danger to citizens,” he said.

Satkowski said there were also two bear sightings last week in the Rolling Hills Estates subdivision, which is in the same general area.

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“We allocated the money for use at the high school for code compliance,” Alderman John Anglace, board president, said Wednesday.

He said the city anticipates “a lot of work there” to bring the building up to code.

He had said the $62,000 was “seed money” to get the project started and most likely would be used for architectural and design work to bring windowless classrooms up to code.

Mayor Mark A. Lauretti, earlier this week, said about $10,000 would go to install sprinklers that are required in the school’s maintenance rooms.

An issue with fire doors throughout the building have already been corrected, according to Anglace.

The code violations were cited in a report released last July by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges which conducted an academic review of the high school. The report said the violations needed to be “addressed immediately.”

There has also been an ongoing investigation at the high school by the state Fire Marshal’s Office that was prompted by a complaint about the lack of inspections in several city buildings, including the high school. That report is expected to be released soon.

aamato@ctpost.com; 203-330-6496; http://twitter.com/annemamato