Governor Rell in Middletown to Promote Food Sharing

Governor Jodi Rell appeared at the Middletown Fire Station on Cross Street to urge residents to participate in Connecticut Day of Caring and Compassion, this Saturday, November 7.

Rell said, "While there have been a handful of recent positive signs about the economy, there are still far too many people in Connecticut coping with the fallout from this terrible recession. Food banks in our state have reported a tremendous surge in demand."

Firefighters throughout the state are collecting non-perishable foods such as pasta, peanut butter, and canned goods.

Food donations can be brought to the Middletown Fire Department at 169 Cross Street at any time this weekend.

Hope for Change in Food Distribution Law Not Dead

To Senator Paul Doyle's credit, he was as good as his word when he promised members of Middletown's faith-based community that he would push for a change in a statute that prevents charitable distribution of food, not prepared in licensed kitchens, to those in need.

While Democratic leaders were too embroiled in a struggle to implement a budget, Doyle took the idea for a change in law to the governor's office.

Today, in a letter from the State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, representing the governor's office, Robert Genuario listed specific items in the implementer bill which the governor objects to.

At the end of the list, the letter concludes:

Finally, we have been informed that there is a need for a statutory revision to allow charitable organizations to provide to needy people, meals which have not been prepared in licensed kitchens. For example, many churches provide pot-luck dinners of the homeless which consist of dishes prepared by members of the congregation in their homes. This charitable practice technically violates section 19a-36 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Although not necessary, strictly speaking, to implement the budget, the Governor would support including in the implementer bill a revision to section 19a-36(a)(4) of the Connecticut General Statutes to allow this practice to legally continue.

"The key, and the blessing is that this indicates the governor will support the change," said Common Council Vinnie Loffredo Wednesday night. "The governor is on board to get something done."

Loffredo urged all those in support of the bill to contact State Senate and House Leaders, and all members of the Middletown legislative delegation to make sure language to change the statute is included in the implementer bill which will likely be submitted Friday.

Many members of the faith-based community addressed letters to Common Council members and the mayor urging them to forward the correspondence to the entire Common Council so that it may be part of their discussions at Monday's meeting.

Remington Rand Brownfield Cleanup to get EPA Funds

Governor Rell announced today that the City will receive $200,000 to help the city remediate environmental contamination at the Remington Rand site on Johnson Street. The funding is part of stimulus package dollars disbursed through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The state applied for $2.3M on May 1st, including $300,000 for Remington Rand, and was awarded a total of $600,000 in August. The State Department of Economic and Community Development selected the Remington Rand site, as well as a site in Montville and a site in Willimantic, for funding.

Almost all of the environmental contamination at Remington Rand is the legal responsibility of the Unisys Corporation, which bought Remington Rand. A remedial action plan submitted by Unisys to the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), with a total cost of $6M, was approved this summer, according to City Planner Bill Warner.

In their remediation plan, Unisys claimed and the DEP agreed, that a portion of the contamination occurred subsequent to 1974, when Remington Rand ceased to exist. Unisys estimates that this portion of the remediation will cost about $300,000. Rell, in a press release, said, "This latest funding will be used to actually do the environmental remediation that is needed at the former Remington Rand site." Warner said the City is also applying directly to the EPA for the additional funding.

Rell praised the conversion of a brownfield into land that can be used, "We are taking property that is not 'working' at its full potential and converting it into a community resource that reduces sprawl, preserves natural resources and creates economic opportunity for all."

The city hopes to sell the Remington Rand property to a private owner who would use it for a business. The city had a preliminary deal to sell the property for $1M in 2008, and the Common Council budgeted and spent the anticipated revenue in the 2008-09 fiscal year. Mayor Giuliano said that the deal fell through when the buyer became concerned about whether Unisys would follow through on its portion of the environmental remediation (Remington Rand Deal DOA?). Movement towards cleanup should make the city-owned property much more valuable.

Rally at Farm Hill in Support of Family Resource Centers

Parents, teachers and school administrators will meet with State Representative Matt Lesser and other officials at noon on Wednesday June 24 at Farm Hill School in support of Family Resource Centers at local schools.

The Family Resource Centers are on the chopping block in Governor Jodi Rell's proposed budget.

Family Resource Centers at Macdonough and Farm Hill Schools have several goals aimed at fostering a healthy relationship between schools and families. Those goals include

• To provide a supportive environment at school where parent involvement is encouraged.
• To build and nurture school-home partnerships that support family literacy possibilities
• To articulate strategies designed to expand upon a family's strengths in creating language and literacy rich environments for their young children.
• To increase children's readiness for school entrance.
• To provide Information and Referral that help parents know where to turn in the community to find specific help.
• To provide parenting workshops and specific meetings on topics requested by parents and/or teachers.
• Offer to students a range of recreational and educational opportunities that support positive relationships with peers and adults.
• To increase availability of high-quality child -care (preschool and /or school-age before-and-after school).
• To enhance student achievement

Rell proposes cuts to Middletown bonds

The Hartford Courant reported in its Saturday edition that Governor Rell has proposed canceling state and local bonds to fund projects that have already been authorized. In Middletown, these proposed cuts include the following:

• Kidcity Children's Museum. $1,000,000 from the Commission on Culture and Tourism for construction of a new building.
  
• South Fire District. $475,000 from Public Safety for renovation of fire stations.
• Crystal Lake. $50,000 from the Department of Environmental Protection for watershed management.

The money for Kidcity is for an expansion to create more space for the very popular Middletown destination. The founder of Kidcity, Jen Alexander, told me, "Since the start of the economic downturn last fall, the number of visitors to Kidcity has gone up, and we are seeing more families travel here from outside of Middletown. We have never been as crowded as we were during the schools' February break this year."

Alexander is disappointed to lose the funding, she said in these economic conditions the state and federal governments should be investing in local projects that have long-term benefits, "This is the best time to be making investments like this, so cutting this is short-sighted." She said that if the cut in funding is approved, she will go back to the legislature to apply again for money to accommodate more visitors to the museum.

Kidcity brings in 100,000 visitors per year to downtown Middletown. The legislature will consider these cuts as well as all of Rell's budget proposals as they work on the state budget in the coming months.

Giuliano Reacts to Rell's Budget Address

"It's not great news, but it's not as bad as it could've been," Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said after hearing Govenor Jodi Rell's budget address today.

The mayor expects to receive $1.6 million less in PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes), from the state, but other programs like LoCIP, and especially the education grants (see previous posting), will receive the same level of funding.

"I heard word that the schools were expecting to have up to $2,000,000 cut, so this is a relief," Giuliano explained. "Just keeping the operation level. Not doing anything different, the school budget is about $4,000,000 higher this year. If the state had proposed cuts, it would have been a disaster."

On the city side, the mayor was not so sanguine. The cuts in PILOT reimbursements will take the city from a $4,000,000 gap, to a $5.6 million gap.

"The state traditionally underfunds PILOT," Giuliano said. "This year they're just going to underfund it more.

"What we are going to have to do in terms of process is to cover everything that is mandated first, and then look at every other program we've funded before, and see what we can put back in," the mayor said.

In her speech, the Governor urged the legislature to create a moratorium on unfunded mandates. They mayor said that if the legislature concurs, it will help close some of the gaps.

"Especially on the school side. If the legislature decides to put things like in-school suspension on hold, that will help the schools close some of the gap. And not having all those mandates will help on the city side too."

Giuliano has some doubts about how much help the stimulus package will have for the cities.

"The goal is to create jobs," Giuliano said. "Initially we proposed things that were already bonded because they were the only things that we could actually begin work on in 120 days. Now they're talking about accepting projects that will begin next year, or two years down the road. How is that going to help?"

Giuliano sees the need for cooperation, and the need for extraordinary action for the city to weather the economic hard times.

"I've met with the unions, staff and managers, and everybody understands that we need to be proactive. However, approvals are made by the Common Council, and so far they seem to want to be proactive."

Giuliano was disappointed that Democratic members of the Common Council snubbed his invitation to a discussion with unions and city staff about economic issues, and he still felt stung by criticisms directed him at Monday's Common Council meeting for presenting a union agreement with a two and a quarter per cent increase.

"That pay raise really amounts to less than one per cent," Giuliano explained. "When you understand that they agreed to freeze steps. And this is the working class union - the janitors, and the clerks, the school cooks, the sanitation workers. These are the people who need it. These are the city employees who live in town. It seemed like a no-brainer to me.

"They talk about being proactive, about not taking precipitous action, but they want me to create a proposal that they can criticize, that they don't have to take ownership of. That's the definition of reactive."

"If we're going to get this solved, we've all got to help out." Giuliano said. "We all need to be able to take unprecedented action."

Giuliano letter to Rell about Shovel-ready Projects

Click on the image to read the correspondence between Mayor Sebastian Giuliano and Governor Rell.

Governor announces open space grants for Middletown

City Planner Bill Warner notified the Eye that Governor Rell has assigned $3 million dollars of a statewide $10 million open space grant fund to Middletown. Here is the governor's press release:

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced $10.2 million in grants to help purchase or preserve approximately 2,440 acres of open space in 29 cities and towns across Connecticut. Money for the grants comes from previously approved bond funds.

"Preserving open space is vital to protecting the natural charm and scenic beauty of our state and is a key building block in my 'Responsible Growth' program," Governor Rell said. "We are striking the right balance between economic growth and development while protecting our state's irreplaceable land and natural resources.

"One of Connecticut's greatest strengths - and its greatest attractions to employers and employees alike - is its multitude of places for people to explore and enjoy," the Governor said. "From the beach to the back country, from rustic farm country to rolling hills and forests, our small state has it all, and all within a few minutes' drive. While I am dedicated to keeping and growing every job possible in our state, we cannot do that at the expense of one of the state's greatest assets. These open space grants help us to protect that asset for our own use and for generations to come."

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy said, "The properties in each town are identified by those who know best - local people who wish to preserve land that is highly valued in their community. Preserving these properties will help preserve the character and beauty of Connecticut's communities."

The 33 projects funded under this year's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program, include:

Sponsor: City of Middletown
Acres: 46.5
Title: Brock Farm Easement
Town: Middletown
Grant: $500,000
Contains 44% prime farmland soils and 33% farmland soils of statewide importance. Long Hill Brook flows through the property along the western boundary, providing a habitat for various aquatic species and is a water source for the watershed. Preservation of this farm will further preserve and protect a farmland which has been farmed for generations. The predominant crop is corn and produces one of the highest yields per acre in the state. Public access will be a walking trail alongside Route 17 & Long Hill Brook.

Sponsor: City of Middletown
Acres: 130.92
Title: Hubbard Property
Town: Middletown
Grant: $500,000
A predominantly forested parcel, this property includes Chestnut Mountain with panoramic views from the highest geological feature in the Sumner Brook Valley/South Farms section of the City. The pinnacle of the mountain is an old orchard which is fairly clear and level, providing additional wildlife habitat benefits in its meadow. Daniels Farm (another OSWA project) is across the street. An old farm road and small trails traverse the property and lead to the summit that will be cleared for hiking, biking, cross country skiing and nature viewing.

Consensus builds for Cucia Park

Click document to enlarge.






Proposed Common Council Resolution







From Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz













From Governor Jodi Rell to Army Secretary Geren

Rell to visit HS today

News and commentary.

Governor Jodi Rell will be visiting the new Middletown High School today at 12:30 pm today, particularly to view the energy components.

[UPDATE, 11:59 AM on Wednesday: Governor Rell has cancelled this trip to Middletown.  The Governors' office did not provide a reason and did not know if the trip would be rescheduled for a later date.]

Though I'm forced to read between the lines in this morning's news reports (I'm in Maine on vacation), it's seems evident that Rell is the force behind a continued search for a site for the Army Reserve Training Center in Middletown. Perhaps her High School visit is a good time to pepper her with questions about why she downsized the site size so the search could remain in Middletown, and why she hasn't appeared at a single one of the meetings on the topic. And finally, we might ask, why Middletown should bear the brunt of another tax-free facility when the state (that's you Governor Rell), has not paid the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), to Middletown for all of the state facilities here. As Commander-in-chief of the Connecticut Guard forces, she was able to downsize the site plan, certainly she could redirect a search to a town where the facility would fit better, or insist that it be build on a brownfield site.

Remind me, do we have a Republican mayor?