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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

07.30.11 WRITE-UP HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION (at the end of the post).

I received a number of emails from people wanting to know more information regarding who’s responsible for the horrible clear-cutting the of trees on the corner of Kennedy Ave and Rose Street.

For those who are out of the loop, here’s a little video of the land in question…

The name of the developer responsible for this situation is ILO.ENTERPRISES LLC. The developer is in the process of building a four unit condo on at the site of the green building in the above photograph (located on Bells Lane) and has filed an application for a “BRT-type” seven year residential tax deferral for the property. A city council ad-hoc committee was recently established to look into the matter.

June 2011 City Council Minutes:

14 – COMMUNICATION – Deferral of Assessment Increase – 64 Bells Lane
Council Member Seabury requested referral to an ad hoc with Corporation Counsel Director of Finance, Director of Planning and Tax Assessor. Mayor Boughton so ordered and appointed Council Members Trombetta, Stanley and Visconti to the committee.

The developer’s property line DOES NOT include the area that was stripped; as far as I can tell, the property that was clear-cutted is owned by the city.

To make matters worse, just as with the case with the now infamous BRT-Hospital Ave development water runoff disaster, there appears to be no proper sedimentation controls established at the location, which could result water and debris running onto Kennedy Ave and Rose Street.

Here’s what happened when BRT didn’t install proper sedimentation controls after they clear cutter the land on Hospital Ave…

Since City Hall is closed on Fridays, I’ll have to wait till next week to talk to the Zoning Enforcement department about the situation but I do know that members of the city council are aware of the situation…

…developing.

UPDATE 07.30.11: The rabbit hole goes deeper…

Not only is the land in question CITY OWNED PROPERTY, on July 6th ILO Enterprises, LLC wrote a letter of inquiry to the city council regarding the possible purchase of the land.

City Council August 2011 agenda; Item 10 (pdf file):

Here’s lies the problem…since the land is still the ownership of the city (a.k.a. the taxpayers of the city of Danbury), the developer had no right tampering with the PUBLIC’S LAND.

Since this item is on the August City Council agenda, an ad-hoc committee still needs to be established to look into the matter. Also (and MOST IMPORTANT), because of State House Bill No. 5729 (introduced by State Rep. Joe Taborsak back in 2007 and eventually signed into law by former Gov. Jodi Rell), any selling of public land by a municipality would require a public hearing where residents would be provided an opportunity to have their say on the matter.

2007 Statement from State Rep. Joe Taborsak on HB 5729:

May 4, 2007

REP. TABORSAK HAILS PASSAGE OF CITY LAND SALES LEGISLATION

State Representative Joseph Taborsak (D-Danbury), hailed passage of legislation he introduced that will require municipalities to provide notice and hearing before voting on the sale, lease or transfer of municipally-owned property. “House Bill No. 5729 provides for greater protection of publicly-owned open space, parks and playgrounds, while insuring that the public will have their voice heard on land sales that might affect their neighborhoods,” Taborsak said.

“I am very pleased to see this bill pass the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority. This is a very important step for this legislation and I am optimistic that it will get out of Senate successfully,” Rep. Taborsak stated.

This legislation was in part a result of outcry from neighbors in the Bear Mountain area of Danbury who were unaware that the Danbury Common Council tried to sell a piece of land which would have impacted their neighborhood and another situation involving Teryville Park land.

Danbury’s lawmakers Bob Godfrey (District 110) and Jason Barlett (District 2) co-sponsored and supported the bill.

The council and the citizens of Danbury were not given their opportunity to speak in favor or in opposition in the selling of the now disturbed land. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think what the developer did was right and the city’s zoning enforcement department should investigate this matter ASAP.

…still developing.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

Really? Did the part-time mayor REALLY say this?

Boughton said after his acceptance speech he expects the city will spend the next 18 months focusing on the challenge of providing quality education in crowded schools.

Really?

Issues that will need to be addressed by city leaders in coming years, he said, include an increasing enrollment in Danbury schools…

Hmm…the last time I checked, Boughton has been in office for the last TEN YEARS. Therefore, the increased over-crowding of the schools on the city happened under HIS watch.

Hmm…the last time I checked, it was Boughton that continuously cut funds to education…which resulted in the elimination of para-professionals while classroom sizes increases AS WELL AS art classes being taught at Stadley Rough School from a CART!

Hmm…the last time I checked, it was Boughton and his ilk on the city council that demonized the decisions made by the Board of Education.

Hmm…the last time I checked, it was Boughton who “punished” the Board of Education by taking back money that was already allocated to them simply because you didn’t agree with the way the planned to use it.

Hey Mayor Dishonest! Remember this oldie but goodie from last year?

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton has gone too far and has overstepped boundaries in his attempt to cut the already approved education budget.

Boughton wants to take back the equivalent of raises given to four non-union administrators, and a salary for another.

The mayor has called the 2.5 percent raises to four people irresponsible at a time when an intermediate school is closing in the city and other cost-saving measures are being instituted.

He has a point. Every expenditure must be carefully weighed when it comes to educating children — no matter the frugality of the economic times.

But it is too late. The mayor and the City Council had their chance to review the proposed education budget; they took the responsibility seriously and allowed a less than 2 percent increase above the previous year.

It was up to the Board of Education to work with that amount, though the increase was only half of what was requested. Neither the mayor nor the City Council ought to have line-item veto power over the Board of Education.

[...]

Mayor Boughton’s suggestion, which was referred to committee last week by the City Council, amounts to posturing.

[...]

For trying to do so, Mayor Boughton, a former teacher, should get called into the principal’s office.

While I’m on the subject of the last honest man in Danbury “punishing” the Board of Education, remember this exchange the mayor had with another member of the Taborsak family over the matter…

Hmm…the last time I checked, it was Boughton who, due to his decreasing of the educational budget in 2010, forced the accelerated closing of Mill Ridge Intermediate School.

Hmm…the last time I checked, it was under Boughton’s leadership when it came to educational performance, Danbury High School received a failing grade.

Yesterday, the The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) released their 2010 School Rankings and when it comes to High School performance, the City of Danbury is an embarrassment.

Out of the 164 high schools in the state of Connecticut, ConnCAN ranks Danbury High 125 with only 30 percent of the students meeting state goals across all subjects (a drop of 2 percent from 2009).

Hmm…the last time I checked, under Boughton’s leadership, when it came to educational performance, most elementary and secondary schools in the city received a average of failing grade.

…and don’t get me started on the High School dropout rate in the city.

It isn’t like Lynn Taborsak doesn’t know these things (you know, the mayoral candidate whose husband is on the Board of Education).

I don’t know what I’m more excited about:

• Taborsak going after Boughton on his history of being dishonest with the residents of Danbury (now that’s gonna to be FUN),
• Warren Levy explaining his LONG record of criticizing the Republican Party and Boughton’s mayoral record,
• Michael Esposito explaining his Richter Park problem (which resulted in him not being placed on the Democratic city Council ticket two years ago out of concerns that the Republicans would being up the issue)…

I could go on and on but why spoil the surprises…it’s only July.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

After receiving the Democratic endorsement for mayor, I had a brief moment to Lynn Taborsak and talked to her about why she’s running against Mark Boughton.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

Today, members of the Danbury Democratic Town Committee will pick their candidates for the 2011 municipal elections.

I’ll be providing a live video stream of the event from City Hall starting at 7PM.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

I was on the interviewing committee…and this has nothing to do with the candidate, it has a lot to do with the process.

I think as leaders, at time point when the flaws came in this particular situation, that we should have stopped the process and started again.

-Comment from Board of Education member Gladys Cooper regarding
flaws in the principal search process, June 2009

I sat on the interviewing committee and my overall impression was that frankly, I felt pressured. I felt that it moved very quickly and it’s such a critical position and I had hoped that we would go out again and continue the search. However, this has nothing to do with the candidate, I’m just talking about process.

…the board of education does have the option to interview the finalists candidates, and I really wished we [the board] had this opportunity to interview Mr. Rossi…I know it’s impossible to go out again at this time, but I do wish we had more opportunity to interview Mr. Rossi.

-Board of education member Joan Hodge, June 2009

As a follow-up to my initial post regarding the questionable decisions made by the Board of Education that resulted in the hiring of DHS ex-Principal Robert Rossi, here’s a post from the HatCityBLOG archives that examined the disagreement among members of the board over the entire principal search process.

HatCityBLOG July 2 2009:

Although Danbury High School has a new leader, lingering questions remain in regards to the principal search process used by the Board of Education and School Superintendent Sal Pascarella.

Although the school board’s site visit trip to Arizona has certainly generated quite a deal of criticism, what I found most interesting had nothing to do with the amount of the trip or the number of people who went to Arizona, but rather the members of the board who were picked to go on the trip.

Unlike the school superintendent and members of the high school administration, the two members of the board of education who were picked to go on the trip, Democrat Rachel Austin and Republican Irving Fox, were not involved in any manner with the search process. What’s more intriguing is that the board members who were involved in the search process, Democrat Joan Hodge and Democrat Gladys Cooper, happened to be the most critical about the process as a whole and expressed their displeasure on the record.

From June 24th’s BOE meeting, here’s video footage of comments made by Cooper, Hodge, Austin, and Fox regarding the search process.

With such a difference of opinion between those who went on the trip and those who didn’t, after the meeting, I talked to one board member who went on the site visit trip, and one who didn’t go on the visit (but was involved in interviewing the principal candidates) to get their perspective on the the process as a whole.

Joan Hodge: Process was “very poorly organized”

Citing various concerns she had with the search process as a whole, in my interview with board member Hodge, she expanded on her displeasure with certain elements of the process, such as committee members who shared confidential information with members of the public, and legitimate questions regarding the site visit trip to Arizona.

Irving Fox: Process was a cost savings for taxpayers

Taking a different approach on the matter, in my interview with board member Fox, the one of the two individuals from the board who went on the site visit to Arizona defended the trip and highlighted the cost savings achieved by the direction the board took in the search process decisions.

In the end, whether or not the search process used by the board was worth the savings to the taxpayers (and the public outrage) is up for the residents of Danbury to decide.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

In honor of Danbury High School controversial principal Robert Rossi’s case of homesickness, lets take a look back at the series of criticism the Board of Education received by Republicans, Democrats, and members of the public over their hiring process that resulted in Rossi coming to Danbury in the first place.

I like to call this the 3,000 dollar screw-up mistake…lets begin.

News-Times, June 3 2009: Boughton and Common Council officials blows his gasket over BOE trip to Arizona

City officials were outraged this week to learn several school board members and school administrators traveled to Arizona — on the taxpayers’ dime — to interview a job candidate.

“We don’t need to go out of state to find qualified candidates to lead our schools,” said Mayor Mark Boughton. “This represents a disconnect the (education) board has with our financial situation we have now and going forward into the future.”

School Superintendent Sal Pascarella said five people, including himself, took the trip last Thursday to interview one of two finalists for high school principal.

Both candidates previously traveled to the Danbury for the initial stages of the interview process, he said.

Others on the two-day trip, which Pascarella said cost about $3,000, were two high school administrators and education board members Irving Fox and Rachel Austin.

[…]

Boughton said the money spent on the trip is important, but the message it sends is even more of a concern.

“I’ve said publicly before that I’m proud of the work the district has done to contain costs, but one trip to Arizona undermines all that,” he said. “I don’t think recruiting from outside the state demonstrates that you are committed to containing costs.”

Boughton, who was a social studies teacher at the high school for nearly 14 years before entering politics, said he knows for a fact there were “internal candidates who were discouraged from applying” for the job.

“That’s a problem,” he said. “I know these individuals and I know they are capable of leading that school.”

[…]

Common Council president Joe Cavo said he would like to get more information about the trip, but that sending five people to Arizona seems “ludicrous in this time, given how tight the budgets are.

“For them to take a trip like that is totally unreasonable. … I’m sure there are other ways they could have acquired that information.”

Council minority leader Tom Saadi said if a site inspection is a necessary part of the process, he could see sending one or maybe two officials to Arizona, but not five.

“It’s completely unacceptable given the economic straits that we’re in,” he said. “Especially at a time when we are asking all employees, unions and department heads to look for cost savings. Ultimately, it’s the city of Danbury taxpayers that will have to pay this bill.”

June 2009 Common Council meeting discussion on BOE’s irresponsible trip to Arizona:

And who could forget this gem of a post I did on the irresponsible trip that took the level of outrage to a new level.

HatCityBLOG June 5 2009:

Okay, follow me down this road of logic…

From Eileen FitzGerald’s interview with Danbury Superintendent Sal Pascarella regarding the now infamous school board “principal search” trip to Arizona.

The school district was harshly criticized by Mayor Mark Boughton and the Common Council this week for spending about $3,000 for five people to travel to Arizona to visit Rossi’s school last week.

Okay, based on the article ALONE, we now know that last week, Pascarella, assistant high school principals Gary Bocaccio and Jesse Ballenger, and school board members Rachael Austin and Irving Fox, went to Arizona to visit the candidate’s [Robert Rossi Principal, Desert Edge High School, Goodyear, Ariz] place of employment and do some observations.

Well, Desert Edge High School has a website…and here’s what they have to say (note the section in the black rectangle).

Okay, lets recap:

The Superintendent of School, two assistant principals and a Democratic and Republican member of the Board of Education took a trip to Arizona to visit and observe a candidate for principal of Danbury High School last week (May 24-May 30) YET, based on it’s own website, Desert Edge High School had no kids or staff as of May 22nd?

…and of course, the News-Times article makes no mention of this FINE detail.

In closing, a quote from Dr. Sal.

“That’s why we go and make site visits,” he said. “We do Google searches, check things out, and then go face to face, he said. “We want to get the best people in the position.”

[...]

“Because we’ve had such a high turnover (of leaders) at the high school, it was important to have veteran high school administrators there [at the Arizona visit].

In 10 years, we have had five principals at the high school. I needed to have their (assistant principals’) input and their eyes.”

Random thoughts:

1. I don’t know how one “check things out” when the school you’ve visiting is closed.

2. I don’t know how assistant principals give their input when the STAFF and KIDS at the high school are gone for the summer (i.e., NO REGULAR CLASSES ARE BEING TAUGHT).

As every day goes by, more questions pop up regarding this entire fiasco…hopefully, soon the public will be provided answers from ALL PARTIES involved in this situation.

Take 2 coming soon…somewhere Tim Salem is having a good laugh.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

At a press conference this morning, Joseph Winters announced the acquisition of the Transfer Station previously owned by James Galante.

Although few details were disclosed at the presser, such as the purchase price of the facility or the details regarding the partnership agreement with the city (a memo of understanding is still pending), Winter’s purchase officially closes the book on the Galante empire in the city.

From earlier today, here’s video footage of the Q&A section of the presser.

I’m certain there will be more questions regarding the city’s role in the partnership as well as concerns among residents in the neighborhood as we move forward (i.e., I’m in the process of going through my archives and re-post the Common Council video footage of the creation of the Solid Waste Authority).

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Being that I’m a HUGE fan of organic food, this is great news…

City Center Press Release:

DANBURY FARMERS’ MARKET COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE (DFMCC) ANNOUNCES MAJOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND FRESH FOOD ACCESS INITIATIVE

The Greater Danbury Farmers’ Market Community Collaborative (DFMCC) today announced receipt of a $10,000 donor-advised grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation. Granted now for the second consecutive year in a row, these philanthropic funds from the Community Foundation, these philanthropic funds from the Community Foundation will support the return of DFMCC’s major initiative to promote health and nutrition while expanding opportunities for families with limited resources to obtain local fresh foods; increasing their purchase power for health. Once again, because of the Community Foundation’s support, the value of government food benefits will be doubled and SNAP/EBT food stamps will be accepted. A new program, the fruit and veggie voucher program will enable those with limited income but not receiving benefits, to obtain extra market dollars from some of the collaborative partners. In addition, debit cards will now be accepted. This year, to greatly enhance accessibility to the market, HARTransit is providing program participants free bus passes for their return trips.

Friday, July 8, is opening day for the CityCenter Danbury Farmers’ Market. Everyone is invited to Opening Day Ceremonies, which will begin at 10:45 am and end with Mayor Boughton ringing the opening day bell at 11. The market is open every Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Oct. 28 in Kennedy Park at the corner of Main Street and Kennedy Avenue. The downtown market offers a huge selection of very fresh Connecticut Grown fruits and vegetables, shoreline shellfish, baked goods and other specialty food items. This year, an added feature is the presence of Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance (HVCA) artists who will be participating in ‘plein air’ painting while displaying their artwork for purchase during market hours.

The Danbury Farmers’ Market Community Collaborative is composed of more than 30 local private, public and non-profit organizations dedicated to expanding utilization of the Danbury Farmers’ Market, encouraging access to fresh foods by all members of the community and enhancing health promotion efforts to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Born out of the desire to provide equitable access to fresh fruits and vegetables for all in Danbury, promote health and nutrition, help sustain Connecticut farmers, and increase economic development downtown, the program incents recipients of federal food assistance programs and those identified through community programs, to buy fresh produce. By accepting EBT cards for those on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and providing dollar for dollar matches, up to $6 per market, for SNAP and the Farmers’ Market Nutrition programs for WIC and Seniors, the DFMCC will enhance the purchasing power of the community’s most needy and encourage the buying of fresh fruit and vegetables. Complementing this effort will be food education, health cooking demonstrations, health screenings, fitness and wellness activities and a variety of arts and cultural experiences designed to promote an engaged, healthy and active lifestyle.

CityCenter Danbury Executive Director Andrea Gartner, whose organization serves as the farmers’ market manager, stated: “We are excited to be part of this cooperative effort that will encourage economic activity in downtown Danbury while addressing serious health needs in the community. This idea started among three of us looking to really have an impact in the community and it has truly blossomed. It speaks volumes about what we can accomplish when we work together. We are especially grateful for the support of our financial sponsors: Fairfield County Community Foundation, the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, the Danbury Housing Partnership and the HARTransit – Housatonic Area Regional Transit. ” Gartner noted that CityCenter Danbury will donate the services of a staff member to help manage the program.

The program builds on a successful pilot program introduced by Peggy Zamore in 2009 in response to a large increase in demand for SNAP benefits in the Danbury area and increasing concern about the need to address nutrition related health issues including diabetes and childhood obesity.

Danbury Housing Partnership Chairman Mark J. Nolan applauded the collaborative’s effort: “This innovative initiative will give an economic boost to our downtown while addressing the nutrition and health needs of vulnerable populations in our community as called for in Danbury’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.” Mr. Nolan singled out the Partnership’s Social Services Co-Chair Denise Valeri for her efforts in working on this project. Mr. Nolan also noted the efforts of Partnership Vice-Chair M. Carolyn Sistrunk as well as Board Chairman Domenico Chieffalo of the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury for their support of the program.

An anonymous donor with a fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF) is the major financial contributor to the project, with additional funding coming from the Danbury Housing Partnership and the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury. The Fairfield County Community Foundation promotes the growth of community and regional philanthropy to improve the quality of life throughout Fairfield County. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Foundation also provides philanthropic advisory services, and develops and leads initiatives to tackle critical community issues. It is in compliance with the Council on Foundations’ national standards for community foundations. The Foundation has awarded over $110 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org.
“The Farmers’ Market in Danbury has many positive impacts. It brings people to downtown Danbury and provides fresh produce from local farms to area residents, including low-income residents and senior citizens,” said Karen Brown, Vice President of Programs at the Fairfield County Community Foundation. “We are also impressed with the number of local nonprofits working together to make this another successful season. The Foundation is pleased to be a member of the Collaborative and to support this initiative for the second year in a row.”

Donations to Danbury Farmers’ Market Community Collaborative can be made through The United Way of Western CT, 85 West Street, Danbury, CT 06810. Further information on events and activities connected with the Danbury Farmers’ Market will be posted online at www.citycenterdanbury.org. For more information please call the CityCenter Danbury office at 203-792-1711.