Furnaces, Sex Shops, Choppers and Distributed Tax Breaks on Common Council Docket

Monday, the Common Council a number of ordinances which could be considered groundbreaking though they were all handled with businesslike efficiency.


Snuffing Out Dangerous Furnace Fumes

Resident Ann Hadley, of Sherman Lee Drive, and a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Manchester Community College explained to the Council that an outdoor wood burning furnance in her neighborhood was making life miserable for her family and her neighbors.  These furnaces, which are the subject of state legislation in consideration, burn wood slowly and cause billows of smoke.

"The smoke doesn't smell like wood smoke," Hadley said.  "It smells like noxious chemicals."

One of Hadley's children suffers from asthma which has been worsened by the effects of the smoke, and Hadley said that she and her neighbors cannot open windows or go outdoors when the furnace is smoking.

"We can't just run to the store and get some clean air to breathe," Hadley said.

The Common Council adopted an ordinace which allows the Fire and Police departments to work in conjunction to shut down such existing furnances, and to prevent their construction in the future.

Sex Sells, But Not Here

City Planner Bill Warner has been working for months on an ordinance which strictly regulates the sale of sexually explicit materials and performances.  Warner has closely watched the experience of towns like Berlin which have attempted to zone such businesses out of existence.  Warner presented the Council with a detailed, some might say explicit, ordinance which was adopted to prevent such businesses opening in town.

Motors on Main

Last year the Council heatedly debated the expenditure of city dollars on three Main Street events - the Annual Cruise Night, Motorcycle Mania and the 5K run, because of a tight budget in difficult economic times.  Middlesex Chamber President Larry McHugh spoke about the benefit of these events, and that they bring thousands of people to Middletown and help the Main Street retail outlets, particularly the residents.  While that is partially true, there are many stores and restaurants that believe the events are a detriment to their businesses because access to Main Street is limited by crowds who don't visit the stores, and an informal poll last year by the Eye showed that while some restaurants prospered during the events, others were empty.

This year there was no debate about the city's cost for these events (up to $10,000 each for Cruise Night and Motorcycle Mania, and up to $5,000 for the Fun Run), and the Council adopted co-sponsorship for each.


Distributed Tax Breaks

The Council also voted to adopt a plan which would allow the developer of a business facility eligible for tax breaks to distribute those tax breaks to business tenants, thereby creating an incentive for those businesses to come to town.

The Council also voted to accept the new lease for Lady Catherine Cruises which is docked at Harbor Park, and a set of new Park and Recreation regulations which had been sent back to committee after the last regular Common Council meeting for clarification.