Feathers Don't Fly At Council Meeting

Council watchers were waiting for a spirited debate about a revised health ordinance concerning the housing of animals on property in Middletown, but these same Council wonks were disappointed when the ordinance in question was tabled and sent back to committee for study.

But the otherwise routine evening was punctuated by moments of drama, first, as local gadfly Sal Caracoglia was ejected from Council chambers for carrying a protest sign which impugned the reputation of a Council member. Caracoglia later made an impassioned speech, after the Council meeting was adjourned, during the public hearing for items not on the agenda, in which his accusations were amplified with a drama that was as forceful as Lear railing against the storm.

More drama was reserved for a lively exchange about whether the city's Showmobile should be used by groups for events in which all charges are waived. No one on the council could remember a time when the Council voted against waiving of fees. The showmobile is a portable stage on wheels used at outdoor events.

Council member Vinnie Loffredo offered a substitute resolution in which he suggested that the Council should waive no fees, in the upcoming fiscal year, for Showmobile use.

"In light of these difficult times, we should not be expending money we have not accounted for," Loffredo argued.

Public Works director Bill Russo noted that in the last fiscal year the account for the Showmobile ran a $16, 380 deficit due to the waiving of fees.

While several Council members agreed with the tenor and sentiment of Loffredo's resolution, some argued with the need for it when the Council is already charged with the responsibility to waive fees or not.

Council member Phil Pessina expressed the idea that fees should be waived for citywide events but that non-profits who are supporting their organization should pay the fees.

"Through the years we've seen the waiver become the rule as opposed to the exception" Council member Gerry Daley said. "But the fees are inconsequential to the costs when we waive fees for events where we see no benefit to the city. And I'm afraid that supporting this (Loffredo's) resolution would impose costs on some very worthwhile events."

Council member Tom Serra agreed.

"In the last year we had 28 functions where the Showmobile was used and these functions served the public well," Serra said.

Council member James Streeto agreed with Serra that waiver of fees should continue for all events, or for none, but to pick and choose would be "silly." Streeto got off the line of the night in his argument.

"The problem we've encountered is that all the groups that come before us are worthy groups," Streeto said. "People are not coming in here to ask for the Showmobile are not the Reformed Church of Satan. Well, I suppose I just lost the vote of all the Satanists out there."

In the end the replacement resolution to ban waiver of fees was defeated, but the two request to waive fees before the Council, one for the Fellowship Church, and one for Unity Day, were both defeated. Streeto and Serra voted in favor of waiver in both cases.

Another debate centered on the repair of a well at Ron McCutcheon park after a state inspector cited the city for a violation. The well in question had been in operation for a year, and the state required reconstruction of the well-head, which in turn required the re-construction of parking spots, curbs and sidewalks.

The Council also voted for a hike in fees for bulky waste pick-up. The actual fee, estimated at $75, will be set by the Public Works department.

A job freeze, which has already been in place for six months, was extended by the Council for the entirety of the coming fiscal year. The freeze excepts fire, police, dispatch and Water and Sewer Department officials.

The Council also informally honored Police Chief Lynn Baldoni, who will be retiring in a few days, for her years of service in the Police Department. The Council led a standing ovation for Baldoni.

Council Passes Series of Energy-Saving Ordinances

In what might have been the most tedious exercise in legal requirements and Roberts Rules of Orders, the Middletown Common Council passed a number of expenditures ordinances which fund energy-saving and money-saving advances at all Middletown Public Schools. The savings, achieved school-by-school through a number of improvements ranging from new energy-efficient windows to photo-voltaic cells, are projected to be large enough to provide full payback for initial expenditures.

Both Councilman David Bauer and Vinnie Loffredo questioned why what appears to be one large money-saving, energy-saving project was being broken down for expenditure school-by-school. But Attorney Joe Fasi, hired to prepare the contracts, noted that any expenditure of more than $500,000 must be approved by referendum. Each of the projects, notably, is below that figure.

The Council tabled another set of ordinances to create a new parking authority because there were not enough council members present at the time of the vote to achieve the supermajority (9 votes) needed to pass the ordinances. These ordinances will be considered at a special meeting on June 22.

The Council did approve the expenditure of $2.5 million to pay retroactive salaries for police officers negotiated last year.

In a response to a question, town Attorney Timothy Lynch explained that although the Council passed a resolution that a portion of money earned from the sale of Cucia Park to the Army must be set aside for open space, that the council was free to pass another resolution to repeal the original resolution. In the recently-passed budget, Council members assume that up to $1.5 million of revenue from the sale of Cucia Park, for which the Army is reported to have bid $2 million, would be returned to the General Fund for expenditure next fiscal year.

For at least the first half of the meeting, each Council member and the mayor was shadowed by a student from Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Students fled the chamber during a break in the reading of the energy-saving ordinances.

The Council honored Martin Reardon for his service in the Marine Corps, his work with veterans and for his longtime chairmanship of the Memorial Day Parade.

The Council also commended the Police Department for their prompt reaction, and ongoing work after the murder of Johanna Justin-Jinich, and for their part in the capture of her alleged assailant, Stephen Morgan.

The Council also tabled approval of the waiving of showmobile fees for Fellowship Church.

Not a week after the majority Democrats on the Council returned spending to the budget for items such as July 4 fireworks, and pottery classes for senior citizens, Councilman Ron Klattenberg proposed a ban on waiving of showmobile fees.

"I can't remember the last time we charged for use of the showmobile," Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said.

"I think the Council should set a new tonewith the waiving of showmobile fees," Klattenberg said. "I suggest that we reject all requests for waiver of showmobile fees."

Klattenberg cited the tough economic times as a basis for his proposal.