Yesterday, I announced today the creation of a new Scofieldtown Area Remediation Task Force to provide guidance to City boards, commissions, and administration in dealing with the problems presented by contamination in and around the former Scofieldtown dump.
I am establishing this ad hoc task force because it is clear that this issue will require coordination, community input, and complex decision-making for years to come. It is my hope that this task force can be a group that advises the City’s elected boards, advocates for solutions in the public interest, and provides the next Mayor and his staff with a helpful, independent perspective on this issue. I also believe that it can be a way for those members of the community who are so powerfully affected or concerned by the contamination to have their voice be heard.
The Task Force consists of six members. They include Board of Representatives members Harry Day, Randall Skigen, and Mitchell Kaufman; Board of Finance member Joseph Tarzia; Environmental Protection Board member and local resident Leigh Shemitz; and local resident Yossi Stern. The Mayor identified Director of Operations Ben Barnes, City Engineer Lou Casolo, Health Director Dr. Johnnie Lee, and Environmental Protection Board Executive Director David Emerson as staff available to inform and assist the Task Force.
The first meeting has been set for November 16, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at a location to be determined.
Mr. Mayor,
Appreciate the task force since I have one of the homes with a contaminated well and appreciate all the energy put in to completing a task that should have been done years ago.
I hope that along with ensuring that city water reaches all the homes shortly that some learnings will be made. First, communications is essential and the city should assign someone to be a communications director….for example last night the Board of Finance who actually suggested the idea of the taskforce 4 weeks ago had no idea it had been formed!
Second, protocol and process may need to be followed obviously to avoid pitfalls but the public has a right to know what that protocol and process is. Finally, no one on the city staff seems to have the experience to know the health risks nor the environmental risks associated with this tragedy and in the same manner no one has addressed the mental anquish this has caused…..did the city ever call the Red Cross to let them know that Dr. Lee had declared this a Public Health Emergency ….lots of steps were missed if this was a demonstration of Emergency Preparedness.
Tom Moore
Comment by Tom Moore — October 28th, 2009 @ 11:08 am
shame The Advocate can’t provide some interaction with its readers,the same thing is now going on in Norwalk.Go to Topix for the real deal.
Comment by Mr Greenpeace — November 16th, 2009 @ 10:09 pm