Clock planned as tribute to late town historian

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
December 31, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD - Former town Historian Janet Gregan rarely left a meeting at Town Hall without saying that "every town needs a town clock," friend and Totoket Historical Society President Grace Marx said.

Now, Marx and other historical society members are working to fulfill that wish and honor Gregan, who died in October at age 70. The society wants to install a decorative clock in front of Town Hall, which sits on Route 80 at the intersection with Route 22.

"This is one thing she had always wanted," Marx said. "We wanted to do something special because she was a very special person."

Gregan had been town historian for more than a decade, Marx said, and was also the secretary and past president of the Totoket Historical Society. Marx said the Historical Society received several donations as a memorial for Gregan after her death, and members are continuing to raise money for the project before choosing a design.

"I would love a three-faced clock so you can see it all around, but it depends how much we can raise," Marx said, estimating that the clock will cost $5,000 to $10,000.

Marx and Gregan wrote two books on North Branford history together.

"She was really a wonderful, wonderful person, and her knowledge was just superb," Marx said. "I always called her the backbone of the Historical Society."

Gregan's husband, Bob Gregan, said that the couple moved to North Branford in the mid-1960s. They met when both attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I. They lived in the Northford section and Janet Gregan worked part-time in the school district after their three children were born.

"I think it's just an absolutely marvelous tribute and all of my children are just overwhelmed and so are our friends," Bob Gregan said. "She loved history…(and) she thought she could contribute to the town, and that she did in many, many different ways."

Gregan said that his wife was also the historian for the North Branford Congregational Church, of which they were members, and "she loved the town and she loved the people in the town."

He added that he does not remember Janet Gregan expressing an interest in a town clock, but the idea fits her personality.

"My wife always liked to go to meetings early and always to be on time and always early, and she always called me '10 Minutes Bob' because I was behind time," he said.

Marx said she hopes Historical Society members will settle on a design in the next few months and that it will be possible to install the clock in the spring. Town Manager Karl Kilduff said that he has spoken with Town Councilors about the project and they have expressed support for the idea. Once the Historical Society chooses a vendor and design, the town would ask for a formal presentation to the Town Council.

"It would be a nice addition to the community and certainly keep the Town Hall as an integral focal point on Route 80," Kilduff said. "Certainly a nice amenity."

Schools resume extended travel

Students pack for U.K., Caribbean, as terrorism fears diminish

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
December 30, 2007

The trip that some North Branford High School students will take this spring sounds like many people's dream British vacation: walking tours of London, a visit to Warwick Castle, seeing Shakespeare's birthplace and exploring Edinburgh.

The excursion, with a price tag of almost $2,150 per student, goes beyond the usual definition of a school field trip. The group will spend 10 days in England and Scotland during the district's April vacation.

Superintendent of Schools Robert K. Wolfe said the trip, which the Board of Education approved Thursday, is the first overseas travel the district has planned since Sept. 11, 2001.

While some school systems have long held annual European trips, many of them drastically cut down on the practice after the terrorist attacks.

East Haven's Board of Education recently decided to stop sanctioning overseas trips for liability reasons, Assistant Superintendent Arthur Martorella said. The board was worried about the liability for the school district if any students were hurt on a trip.

"A trip was proposed, it was a trip to Italy, and it was during the April vacation week, and one of the board members said, 'If we sanction this, does that mean we're responsible?'" Martorella said. "The answer is yes."

Since the change of policy, Martorella said, students and teachers have continued to organize overseas trips, but they no longer receive approval from the school board. The proposed trip to Italy went off as planned, but "it just wasn't board sanctioned."

Martorella added that the district has seen a decline in the number of multi-day field trips since 9/11. He was formerly the principal of Joseph Melillo Middle School, which canceled its annual eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., as a result of the attacks and has not held one since then.

"I think it's a condition of the world now," he said. "I know school systems still sponsor those trips - we don't do it here though."

The New Haven Public Schools also cut back on long field trips after 9/11, spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said. Previously, students and faculty took "pretty regular trips overseas," she said, but in the past six years the number has dropped.

"I wouldn't call it a policy - it's been more of a practice in the last few years," Sullivan- DeCarlo said. "I think probably most school systems really put the kibosh on it right after 9/11 and then eventually loosened up. I know that's what happened with us."

This year, she added, students went to Canada and the Caribbean, but there were no European trips.

Wolfe, the superintendent in North Branford, said the number of field trips declined after Sept. 11, but has been increasing again.

"Prior to 9/11 there were more trips proposed out of the country - there was always sort of a Spanish club and an Italian club trip - and beginning with 9/11 that was sort of decreased considerably," he said. "It's sort of slowly coming back."

This semester, North Bran-ford's Board of Education has approved eight out-of-state trips for middle-and high-school students, including the one to the United Kingdom. Three of them were one-day trips to New York or Boston. Wolfe said that one-day field trips are often requirements as part of the curriculum.

At Board of Education meetings since September, some board members have raised concerns about the trips over issues such as student supervision, the educational value and the interaction between students and parents who might choose to go on the trip as well. Wolfe said the board approved the United Kingdom trip on the condition that it includes two chaperones for the 10 students, although the district's usual policy is a ratio of one chaperone for every 10 children.

Earlier this year, the board approved a five-day trip to the Grand Canyon for seventh-and eighth-grade students. Some members initially expressed doubts about the trip and put off making a decision on it for a month.

The trip's itinerary says that the students will spend one day at the Grand Canyon sightseeing and hiking, a day floating on the Colorado River and a day in Las Vegas, among other activities.

Nate Bowers, the seventh-grade science teacher in charge of the trip, wrote in a request to the board that it "exposes middle school students to the wonders of geology, anthropology and evolution."

Bowers said the class has been studying topics such as plate tectonics and erosion, which will be on display in the Grand Canyon. Even though the trip includes time for shopping and sightseeing in Las Vegas, Bowers estimated that "easily 80 to 85 percent of the time … will be spent doing educationally valuable things."

"Nontraditional learning settings are sometimes where some of the best and most complete learning takes place," he said. "I think back to my education - it was those times that were different from the classroom that seemed to make the most impact on my learning. I think this trip and other trips like it are going to be good ways for that to occur."

Wolfe said that he and the school board have made an effort to tie field trips into the curriculum more closely. He added that he has some concerns about overseas field trips, but "ultimately the board has to make that decision and then parents have to make the individual decisions regarding their children."

"All the school rules apply, whether it be no drinking or no smoking, all those school rules apply," he said. "The students on a trip are really in an external classroom, no different. It's a classroom without walls."

Guilford weighs RTM form of government

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
December 27, 2007

GUILFORD - A final public hearing on proposals to revise the town charter drew only a handful of people Wednesday night, but proponents say they hope the changes will result in greater participation in town government.

The biggest change the Charter Revision Commission has proposed is a move to a representative town meeting form of government.

Currently, Guilford holds periodic town meetings - at which any registered voter or taxpayer over the age of 18 can cast a vote - to decide issues such as bonding and the town budget. The commission is proposing a system where residents would elect 25 representatives to serve two-year terms each.

Based on the commission's proposals, each of Guilford's five voting districts would elect five representatives and they would not have any party affiliation. One resident who spoke at the public hearing said he agreed with that concept.

"I don't want it to be a strongly two-party system that the representatives are going to come from," Joe Newton said.

Frederick Trotta, chairman of the Charter Revision Commission, said that the proposal includes a requirement that anyone interested in running for the representative town meeting obtain 50 signatures from registered voters in his or her district.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said he agrees with that plan, but thinks there might be room for the involvement of the Democratic and Republican town committees as well.

"For a Democrat or Republican, you (could) go the extra step and become the endorsed candidate for your party," Balestracci said. "I don't think some of us are ready to set aside the town committees' role in this process."

Doug Newman, another resident, said he thinks the Charter Revision Commission should have considered amending the charter to make the Board of Education nonpartisan.

The charter review has been in the works for almost 18 months. Other recommendations include the creation of a public works commission, the elimination of the office of town treasurer and a move to four-year terms for the Board of Selectmen from the current two-year terms.

The charter recommendations will eventually be presented to residents for a referendum. Balestracci said that, after the close of Wednesday's public hearing, the Board of Selectmen has 15 days to make recommendations to the Charter Revision Commission. After that, the commission has 30 days to present its final proposals back to the Board of Selectmen.

"We're going to have a major educational project in front of us to educate the voters about the enormity of the change, if in fact we recommend going to an RTM," Balestracci said. "It is a major step."

No. Branford government starts period of transition

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
December 26, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD - Town Manager Karl Kilduff is wrapping up his final weeks on the job and preparing the town government for a transition period that could last several months.

Kilduff announced in November that he had accepted a job in Darien as the town administrator. His last day in North Branford will be Jan. 4.

The Town Council recently appointed Michael Paulhus, the former first selectman of Windham, as the interim town manager. Kilduff said that a new, long-term town manager may not be in place until April or May.

The deadline to apply for the position is Thursday, and the town has already received about a dozen applications. The Town Council could begin conducting interviews in the early part of the year.

Kilduff said he has already delegated some of the usual town manager responsibilities to town department heads. For example, Town Engineer Kurt Weiss will oversee work on a sewer agreement with Branford, North Haven and New Haven.

"The goal is that everything that's in process does not lose time and can continue to move forward," Kilduff said. He added that Paulhus has not applied for the permanent position and has indicated that he does not plan to do so.

Paulhus' pay will be based on a $90,000 a year salary, although he will probably only work for a few months, Kilduff said. The town has advertised the full-time town manager position for a salary range of $100,000 to $130,000 a year.

One of the interim town manager's main responsibilities will be to lead the budget process, which begins in January. He will also work on the beginning of collective bargaining with the town's four unions, Kilduff said.

"Some of the other items in town … have been wrapped up or are in such a process that it only requires a slight guidance coming out of the interim manager," he said, citing the Smith Library construction project as one in which the town manager will not play as active a role.

For the short term, Kilduff will continue to work with the town as a consultant when needed. He has said in the past that he will also remain a North Branford resident.

"The council has agreed to keep me involved on a consultancy basis to provide assistance as appropriate and as necessary," he said, "so that things continue to make progress and the institutional memory of what I've collected since I've been here is not necessarily lost."

Green may soon have ice rink

Rachael Scarborough King; Register Staff
December 24, 2007

GUILFORD - The traditional downtown Green could soon play host to one of New England's traditional winter pastimes: outdoor ice skating.

The Board of Selectmen this week approved the installation of a temporary ice rink on the northeast corner of the Green.

Parks and Recreation Department officials had hoped to set up the rink by the end of last week, but the layer of icy snow on the Green delayed the process.

The rink measures 50-feet-by- 100 feet, and will be able to accommodate about 30 to 40 skaters, Director of Parks and Recreation Rick Maynard said.

"There's so much crusty snow right now, I think we've got to get underneath that onto the grass to do it," Maynard said. "It's very important the rink has to be very level."

The skating area will consist of a plastic lining bordered by a rectangular frame that installers will fill with water and allow to freeze.

Guilford has two other skating areas that open based on winter weather conditions - at Bittner Park and Mill Pond - but Maynard said the temporary rink will be a good option for families.

"I think it's going to be something that will be very attractive to parents with real little kids," he said, adding that hockey playing will not be allowed."

The town has owned the portable rink for about two years, Maynard said, but the weather has not been cold enough at this point in the season to set it up in the past. The Guilford Savings Bank bought the rink in 2005 and donated it to the town, Senior Branch Manager Renee Pallenberg said.

The bank purchased the rink as part of its 130th anniversary celebration, Pallenberg said. But because that year saw an unusually warm winter, "we decided against putting in a swimming hole and donated the rink to the town for their future use."

Maynard said that the Bittner Park skating area may open soon, as soon as there is a base of 3 inches of ice. Mill Pond needs 5-to-6 inches of ice to open.

The Parks and Recreation Department is also planning to purchase a small ice resurfacing machine to keep the ice smooth.

3 Madison teens arrested in melee

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 21, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD — A shouting match involving about 120 attendees at a hockey game between Daniel Hand and Hamden high schools led to the arrest of three Madison teenagers Wednesday night, according to police.

Authorities said they threw about 25 people out of the game after the taunting and swearing at the Northford Ice Pavilion game escalated into a shoving fight between a few fans. Vincent Crisco, 18, and two 17-year-olds, all from Madison, were arrested, police said.

Crisco was charged with breach of peace, one of the juveniles was charged with breach of peace and interfering with or resisting arrest, and the third teen was charged with first-degree criminal trespass after he refused to leave the hockey rink, according to police. The 17-year-olds’ names were not released because of their age.

The fight occurred between fans in the stands arguing over the hockey game, Deputy Police Chief Michael Doody said Thursday. About 300 people were in attendance at the game, which Hamden won 4-0.

North Branford police called in North Haven officers because of the number of people involved in the fracas. One North Branford officer was hit in the back with a bottle, Doody said.

The Northford Ice Pavilion has been the site of several other police incidents involving hockey fans, players and coaches. In March, six people were arrested after a fight outside the facility. Two officials at a January game for 11- to 13-year-olds were also arrested after a brawl.

The police department in February announced a zero-tolerance policy for poor behavior at the rink, saying it would arrest people for crimes such as creating a public disturbance rather than just asking them to leave the building.

"Once in a while, you’ll get maybe one or two people you have to throw out, but (at the game this Wednesday) the Madison fans just got out of control," Doody said.

Crisco and the two juveniles were released on a promise to appear Jan. 2 in Superior Court in New Haven.

70 towns get cash in CRRA suit

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 20, 2007

The leaders of 11 area towns are receiving checks totaling nearly $2.6 million following a judge’s ruling to release $27 million to the 70 towns suing the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority.

Among those receiving the largest checks in Greater New Haven are Old Saybrook, with $584,995; Guilford, $334,175; and Clinton, $348,802. The checks were mailed Tuesday.

“It’s been a long, hard, complicated legal battle, but I’m really pleased that we’ve reached this point and that we get some redress,” Guilford First Selectman Carl Balestracci said. “The money is very important, but the other part of it that I feel is that justice is being done here.”

The 70 municipalities sued CRRA four years ago over a loan the trash authority made to energy company Enron. After Enron went bankrupt, the towns’ attorneys argued, CRRA raised the towns’ trash dumping fees to make up for the lost money.

In June, Superior Court Judge Dennis Eveleigh in Waterbury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered CRRA to pay them $36 million. After a series of motions from CRRA to stay the distribution of the money, the funds were sent out this week, minus $9 million for lawyers’ fees.

“This (money) represents just the increase that our taxpayers have had to pay since the situation,” Balestracci said.

Michael Pace, first selectman in Old Saybrook and chairman of CRRA, said the authority would have stabilized or lowered rates and eventually reimbursed the towns. CRRA’s trash disposal agreement with the municipalities lasts until 2012.

“The towns would have gotten 100 percent of their dollars,” Pace said. “Now, with this court case, it’s less whatever their attorneys’ fees were.”

Pace said that CRRA is continuing to appeal Eveleigh’s decision for the plaintiffs, primarily on the basis of designating the municipalities as part of a class-action suit. Pace said he will put Old Saybrook’s check in a separate account until the final resolution of the suit.

Balestracci said Guilford’s Board of Finance will determine how the money will be distributed among town departments.

David Golub, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the breakup of the $27 million was based on the tonnages of garbage that each town delivers to CRRA. The amounts range from $23,713 for Cornwall to nearly $3.6 million for Hartford.

“The appeal is still pending, and technically (CRRA) could win the appeal and the towns could have to give the money back, but we think that Judge Eveleigh wrote a very strong opinion,” Golub said.

The other towns in Greater New Haven that received checks are: Chester, $60,704; Deep River, $103,339; Essex, $159,118; Killingworth, $84,092; Madison, $278,789; North Branford, $261,878; Oxford, $156,580; and Westbrook, $184,065.

Council has plans for ex-Town Hall site

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 15, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD — The town is moving forward with plans to redevelop the old Town Hall site and relocate Wall baseball field, in an effort to improve the tax base and create centrally located park space.

Town Council members agreed at a meeting this week that they want the five-acre former Town Hall location on Foxon Road to become a commercial development, not to be used for a mix of residential and commercial property. They also said they would prefer to preserve the open space in front of the building, but would not make that a condition for developers.

The town offices moved from the site near the intersection of routes 80 and 139 more than four years ago, and Town Manager Karl Kilduff said Wednesday that officials are working to complete environmental and wetlands evaluations on the property. After that, his office will ask for development proposals from private companies interested in buying the land.

Kilduff said that, rather than “just putting a ‘For Sale’ sign on the property,” Town Council members said they would like to have more control over what kind of business goes on the site.

He added that he has had some conversations with developers about the site, and thinks it would be most appropriate for a number of smaller stores with midrange retail or commercial services, rather than a big-box store.

Mayor Michael Doody said Wednesday he thinks a pharmacy or medical complex could be successful in that location and would benefit the community.

“That would be a home run for the town,” Doody said. “A greater percentage of our town is residential and you need that commercial tax base to ease the residential taxes, so that’s why the town is very serious about economic development.”

Kilduff agreed, saying that one of the goals with the redevelopment of the former Town Hall site is to return a municipally owned property to taxable status.

“North Branford does not have an ample supply of commercial property, so the opportunity to take something that was off the tax rolls and put it back on the tax rolls, and it’s not necessarily a residentially zoned property, provides us with a unique opportunity,” he said.

With the redevelopment of the land, Wall Field, which is also on the Town Hall site at 1599 Foxon Road, will have to move. The baseball diamond with concession stand is primarily used for Little League games, and it will be affected by the state’s planned widening of Route 80 in the next few years.

The town owns 84 acres behind the Police Department on Forest Road that it has targeted as the future home of the baseball field.

Kilduff said that initial estimates for the project put the price tag at about $1.3 million, but he is hoping to cover much of that cost with grants or donated services. A $400,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection will go toward the project, and officials also plan to apply for a Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant from the State Bond Commission.

The council’s long-term plans for the Forest Road land include other playing fields, communal green space, a stage for the town’s summer concert series and walking trails.

“The broader vision starts to build a nice center point on that property for passive and active recreation,” Kilduff said. “North Branford doesn’t have that traditional New England Green fronted by a white church. … This creates the opportunity to have a Green, but perhaps not in the traditional New England sense.”

Wetlands panel OKs ‘rock pile’ retail plan

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 14, 2007

GUILFORD — A controversial proposal to build a shopping center on the “rock pile” site on the Boston Post Road won Inland Wetlands Commission approval late Wednesday.

It was the second time the commission has voted on DDR Guilford’s plan to develop 28 acres near Exit 57 off Interstate 95. In April, commissioners rejected the application in a 4-3 vote, saying they thought the development would pollute the nearby wetlands and stream and add paved surfaces without adequately dealing with storm water runoff.

The developers modified and resubmitted the proposal in July, setting off a new round of hearings and deliberation. On Wednesday, commissioners, by a 5-2 vote, approved a permit for DDR Guilford to build the shopping center.

According to the permit, construction on the shopping center, which the plans say will be called Guilford Commons and will include about 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 680 parking spots, must start within one year. The proposal also must gain approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, which is holding public hearings on the plan.

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The Inland Wetlands Commission’s resolution of approval included 40 conditions and stated that as long as the developers follow those measures, the project is “not reasonably likely to cause an adverse impact to the surrounding wetlands and watercourse.”

Much of the debate in months of public hearings on the project concerned the Zenon wastewater treatment system, which opponents have said would introduce harmful levels of nitrogen into Spinning Mill Brook.

In their discussion Wednesday night, several commissioners focused on the conditions attached to approval that concerned the storm water system, saying they think that the regulations will be sufficient to protect the stream and wetlands.

Those conditions included a requirement to inspect the Zenon membrane system weekly, an agreement with the town Water Pollution Control Authority that it can require the owners to stop discharging storm water if it exceeds certain limits, and a provision that the owners will hire a scientist who specializes in fresh water bodies to monitor Spinning Mill Brook.

“I think that this particular permit is the most detailed and stringent in the state of Connecticut at this point in terms of what it asks the applicant to do,” Commissioner Jerry Silbert said.

Commissioner Lois Smith, who voted against approval, said she is worried by the past compliance issues of other advanced wastewater treatment systems, like the Zenon system, in Connecticut. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit for DDR Guilford’s use of a Zenon system.

“Any organization can plan and can promise, but if you want to assess probable outcome, you look at track record,” Smith said. “Approval of this application to me essentially would make Guilford the site of a research and pilot study which would be beneficial to Zenon (and) to DEP.”

Charles Magby, director of the Committee to Save Guilford Shoreline, said he was not surprised by the outcome. The committee filed as an official intervener to the application and presented its own scientific evidence during hearings. Magby said he is not sure what the committee’s next steps will be. Opponents have 15 days to appeal the decision, but Magby said he does not think an appeal is likely because of the cost.

Some towns locking in fuel prices

By Rachael Scarborough King
Dec. 12, 2007

As wintry temperatures settle in around the region, homeowners are layering on sweaters and installing double-glazed windows in an attempt to avoid rising heating oil costs.

An upward trend in the price of fuel also affects local municipal governments, which have to heat town and school buildings, as well as put gasoline in police cars and diesel in snowplows.

Some towns “lock in” fuel prices early on the assumption that they can only continue to rise, while others use a system that fluctuates with the market.

By locking in, town officials can be sure of a certain price for a set period of time, but may face jumps when they have to sign new contracts.

Guilford’s Board of Selectmen this week authorized the first selectman to lock into fuel prices for fiscal 2008-09, which starts in July.

Town officials said they signed agreements last week to lock in at a price of $2.60 per gallon for heating oil, $2.73 per gallon for diesel and $2.52 per gallon for unleaded gasoline, not including some extra taxes that the energy companies charge.

The town is paying $2.08 a gallon for heating oil, $2.22 a gallon for diesel and $2.13 a gallon for gasoline.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said the fuel company, East River Energy, requires officials to sign an agreement within 24 hours of quoting a price “because of the volatile market.”

“It’s an increase, but not a terrible increase, so we thought it would be prudent to get it while we can,” Balestracci said

He added that the agreement to lock in the price is an extension of contracts that went out to bid for this fiscal year.

As fuel prices rose through the year, Guilford saved money because of the contracts, he said.

“We did very well last year. The price that we locked in at is much lower than what it is today,” he said. “It’s always kind of a 50-50 chance.”

Judy Doneiko, Milford’s finance director, said this year the city decided to switch from premium to regular gasoline to cut costs, decreasing gasoline expenses by 21 percent.

However, the price of diesel rose 4 percent, she said.

Doneiko said other budget items in Milford had to be cut in fiscal 2007-08 because of rising fuel and other costs, but did not provide any specific examples.

She added that the benefit of locking in a price is the “certainty involved,” although there is still a risk that the market price could drop below the fixed one.

If market prices for heating oil fall below the locked-in price, lock-in customers’ costs will not drop as a result. That is because state law requires heating oil dealers to buy nearly all of the oil they need to cover lock-in contracts at the time those contracts are signed. Therefore, by the time market prices drop, oil dealers have already bought and paid for the oil to cover contracts — and paid previously higher prices to do so.

North Branford Town Manager Karl Kilduff said that locking in to a price allows the town to forecast its budget, even at “times of year when fuel commodities go through the roof.” North Branford pays a small fee to be a member of a cooperative of Connecticut towns that negotiates with fuel companies, aiming to get a lower price through buying larger quantities.

Kilduff called the concept of locking in fuel prices a “conservative budgeting approach.”

“In recent history, I think we’ve all seen that gasoline does not go down all that much — it always goes up,” he said. “When you start seeing prices creep at the pump, obviously we have to be prepared to deal with it the next time the bid goes out.”

The city of West Haven uses a system for purchasing gasoline in which it locks into a state index that charges based on the average daily price for New Haven County, plus about 3.5 cents. Finance Director Bob Barron said that the city paid an average of $2.01 a gallon for fiscal 2006-07 and bought about 120,000 gallons. Currently, the price for gasoline using the state index is about $2.30 a gallon, according to the state Department of Administrative Services.

John Smith, facility manager for Branford, said the town decided not to lock in prices for fuel this year. The budget projected spending $1.85 a gallon for heating fuel, but the last bill included a price of $2.65 a gallon, Smith said.

“You’re doing your guess right now as to which way it might go and basically we didn’t do too well for this year,” he said. “We’ve been looking at energy-efficient (features) and consumption issues to try to make it a little better, but there’s quite a gap.”

Smith said the town is now using biodiesel with a 5 percent soybean mixture at the same price as regular heating oil. He is also installing computerized thermostat systems to cut expenses.

Branford Finance Director Jim Finch said that, in the past few years, the town has sometimes locked in fuel prices. The municipal government buys 40,000 gallons of fuel each year, he said. About four years ago, the town allocated part of the contingency fund in its budget for times when fuel prices overrun the projected costs. He added that he thinks the expenses even out in the long run.

10,000-wreath caravan plans Saybrook stop

By Rachael Scarborough King
Dec. 11, 2007

OLD SAYBROOK — Trucks loaded with 10,000 holiday wreaths bound for Arlington National Cemetery will stop here tonight and Wednesday for events featuring local and state officials, veterans, high school students and Coast Guard members.

The Wreaths Across America caravan will spend the night in Old Saybrook as the main stop in its trip through Connecticut. The program, which sends wreaths from Maine to the cemetery in Virginia, was started 16 years ago by Morrill Worcester, the owner of Worcester Wreath in Harrington, Maine.

Max Sabrin, media relations/special events coordinator with the Fire Department, said that members of the Coast Guard, Fire and Police department color guards will welcome the participants at the Green on Main Street at 5:30 tonight. Some will then attend the girls’ basketball game at 7:30 p.m. at Old Saybrook High School.

On Wednesday, the high school will hold an assembly open to the public that starts at 8:15 a.m. Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal are expected to attend the assembly, Sabrin said.

A representative for Wreaths Across America said that the caravan was a mile long when it left Maine and has grown. In addition to the two tractor-trailers carrying the wreaths, it includes members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a nationwide motorcycle group.

“People have no idea how great this is going to be,” Sabrin said. “We’re just hosting them to get them comfortable, feed them and have a special assembly ... thanking them, because it’s just truly important, the message.”

Sabrin said that one wreath will be placed on the veterans’ memorial at the Green.

Last year, Sabrin said, town officials had hoped to play host to the Wreaths Across America tour, and some high school students and firefighters held signs supporting the participants as they passed through town. That led organizers to decide to spend the night this year, Sabrin said.

“Last year, being involved with it last minute, I didn’t realize it, but I got the chills and I got tears in my eyes,” he said. “It was very emotional.”

Before arriving in Old Saybrook, Wreaths Across America will stop in Groton at about 4 p.m. today, according to the organization.

From Old Saybrook, the caravan will continue on Route 1 through Greater New Haven Wednesday.

Sabrin said that fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles will line up along the road through the area to see off the cars and trucks.

“So, if you can’t come to Old Saybrook High School Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, at least line up on Route 1 and wave to them, because it’s going to be a beautiful, historic event,” Sabrin said.

The caravan will also make stops in Fairfield at around noon Wednesday and in Darien at about 3 p.m. that day, according to Wreaths Across America.

Guilford to weigh costs, options on building new schools vs. repairs

By Rachael Scarborough King
Dec. 10, 2007

GUILFORD — Residents may soon have the opportunity to weigh in on what the district should do to fix ongoing facilities problems at two schools.

Board of Education members and a facilities task force have identified Guilford High School and Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School as needing renovations. Both schools have outdated ventilation systems and lack the space for technology equipment.

At the high school, the population has so outgrown the cafeteria that students have to eat lunch in waves starting at 10 a.m.

At Adams, some classrooms in the middle school basement had to be closed for a time this semester because of a mold problem caused by flooding last spring.

Board Chairman William Bloss said that work on the schools is in “extremely early” stages, and the alternatives could range from doing nothing to building new schools. Other options include modest renovation or a “renovate as new” project.

“Fundamentally, it’s a cost-benefit analysis (as to) where on that spectrum does it make sense to land,” Bloss said. “That’s the whole point of the investigation that we’re going through.”

The facilities task force is working with Shelton-based architectural firm Fletcher Thompson, Superintendent of Schools Tom Forcella said. The architects are developing plans to show the costs and improvements associated with the different levels of work possible at each school.

He added that the architects have placed the price for a “renovated as new” high school at about $90 million. That would include a new auditorium, a completely renovated interior and moving the cafeteria from the basement to the first floor.

The cost of a similar project at the middle school, with a new two-story structure for additional classrooms, would be about $58 million, according to Fletcher Thompson.

Forcella said that the definition of a “renovate as new” project is that the building would last another 20 years. The scope of the project would entitle the district to a 30 percent state reimbursement of the cost, he added.

In comparison, the architects put the price for a new high school at $115 million to $120 million and for a new middle school at $67 million.

“These are the most expensive options, and what they’ll do is then work their way down from there to see what the compromises might be to provide them the best bang for their buck that will serve the community well and the schools well for the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

In January 2003, residents defeated a $55 million proposal to renovate Abraham Baldwin Middle School and replace Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School with a new building.

Adams is about 70 years old and has been expanded several times over the years. The high school was built in the 1950s, and most recently expanded in 1993.

“The (high school’s ventilation) system is just basically opening the windows,” Forcella said. “The windows are all single-pane glass, so that, again, is in need of some infrastructure upgrades.”

Bloss said that he hopes the process of identifying alternatives for discussion will be completed soon and the district can begin to hold public hearings in the next couple of months. The board’s timeline includes having a proposal by 2009 and starting work in 2011 or 2012.

He added that Guilford has spent less on school buildings in the past than comparable districts across the state.

“That doesn’t mean that we should build a new school, but it does mean that we’ve been very frugal with our building funds, and at some point we have to determine if we can continue to spend at that very low level,” Bloss said. “At some point, deferring maintenance and deferring renovations winds up creating greater expense in the future.”

Annual fundraiser makes a splash in E. Haven

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 9, 2007

EAST HAVEN — The slightly warmer temperatures Saturday morning may have been most welcome for the roughly 100 people in assorted swimming apparel standing on the shore of East Haven Town Beach.

With a call of "Plunge!" from the loudspeaker, most of the hardy souls raced into the water and immediately turned around to head for dry land. But one group — made up of soldiers from the 102nd Infantry of the Army National Guard — stayed in the water for nearly a minute while three men took the oath to reenlist.

"I thought you had to pass a psychological exam to reenlist," joked one onlooker as participants in the annual Penguin Plunge, which benefits Special Olympics of Connecticut, ran into the frigid water.

Staff Sgt. Michael Kaman, Sgt. David Nastri and Pfc. Christopher Grimes all said the water was so cold it was difficult at first to say the words of the oath. The soldiers, in full camouflage gear and boots, were joined by several others from their battalion during the ceremony.

"We thought it would be motivating for the other soldiers," Nastri, 46, said. "At first I couldn’t talk, it was so cold — I was trying to say ‘I’ and it wouldn’t come out."

Kaman said he dedicated the morning’s efforts to his younger brother, David, who is currently serving in Iraq.

"It’s something I’ll always remember," he said. "It was fun. I’m glad I did it."

Janet Cianelli and her daughter, Kim Coppola, took part in the event for the fourth year in a row. Cianelli said that the pair chooses a different theme each year, and on Saturday they wore matching Statue of Liberty crowns.

"We didn’t know that the National Guard was taking the oath, (but) it was kind of patriotic," Cianelli, 58, said.

Coppola, 34, said that she and her mother compete each year to raise money in honor of her 9-year-old nephew, who has Down syndrome. This year, Coppola raised $1,500 and Cianelli raised $1,700, they said.

East Haven Mayor April Capone Almon and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also were on hand for the event.

"Going in isn’t that bad, it’s coming out that’s the tough part," Capone Almon said. "Special Olympics, I mean, you can’t say enough about what they do for our community. … It’s a great cause."

Debbie Horne, director of development for Special Olympic Connecticut’s Southwest Regional Office, said the Penguin Plunge raised about $11,000 online before the event, and more people walked in on Saturday to participate. The swimmers paid a $50 registration fee and raised money by asking people to sponsor them. All of the money goes toward athletes with intellectual disabilities in the southwest Connecticut region.

This is the sixth year the group has held the event, Horne said.

"It brings the community together — so many people have a hand in volunteering (and) plunging," she said. "It’s just a feel-good, family-friendly event."

"We thought it would be motivating for the other soldiers," Nastri, 46, said. "At first I couldn’t talk, it was so cold — I was trying to say ‘I’ and it wouldn’t come out."

Kaman said he dedicated the morning’s efforts to his younger brother, David, who is currently serving in Iraq.

"It’s something I’ll always remember," he said. "It was fun. I’m glad I did it."

Janet Cianelli and her daughter, Kim Coppola, took part in the event for the fourth year in a row. Cianelli said that the pair chooses a different theme each year, and on Saturday they wore matching Statue of Liberty crowns.

"We didn’t know that the National Guard was taking the oath, (but) it was kind of patriotic," Cianelli, 58, said.

Coppola, 34, said that she and her mother compete each year to raise money in honor of her 9-year-old nephew, who has Down syndrome. This year, Coppola raised $1,500 and Cianelli raised $1,700, they said.

East Haven Mayor April Capone Almon and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also were on hand for the event.

"Going in isn’t that bad, it’s coming out that’s the tough part," Capone Almon said. "Special Olympics, I mean, you can’t say enough about what they do for our community. … It’s a great cause."

Debbie Horne, director of development for Special Olympic Connecticut’s Southwest Regional Office, said the Penguin Plunge raised about $11,000 online before the event, and more people walked in on Saturday to participate. The swimmers paid a $50 registration fee and raised money by asking people to sponsor them. All of the money goes toward athletes with intellectual disabilities in the southwest Connecticut region.

This is the sixth year the group has held the event, Horne said.

"It brings the community together — so many people have a hand in volunteering (and) plunging," she said. "It’s just a feel-good, family-friendly event."

Teacher’s aide on leave after drug arrest

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 8, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD — A teacher’s aide at Guilford High School was placed on administrative leave after North Branford police arrested him early Friday on charges of possession of crack cocaine, according to the Police Department and school officials.

Jeffrey Sullivan, 25, of Guilford, was a passenger in a car that officers pulled over for speeding on Route 80 at around midnight Thursday, according to police. The driver, James Colonese, 22, of Guilford, tried to elude police by pulling into an industrial site, Detective Ken McNamara said.

When the officers stopped the car they found a small plastic bag containing a white powder, which tested positive for properties of crack cocaine, on the car’s passenger-side floor, police said. Because neither man claimed ownership of the bag, both were arrested and charged with possession of narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Colonese was also charged with speeding and failure to obey an officer’s signal to stop. Both men were released on a promise to appear Dec. 19 in New Haven Superior Court.

Sullivan has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached for comment. A call for comment to Colonese’s house was not returned.

Guilford Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said he learned of the arrests Friday morning. After meeting with Sullivan, he placed him on administrative leave pending an internal investigation of the allegations.

Sullivan has worked as a para-educator, a teacher’s aide position that covers a variety of responsibilities, at Guilford High School since September, Forcella said.

He began work in September as a substitute para-educator and got the full-time job on a more permanent basis in October.

Forcella said that the school district has a zero-tolerance policy regarding drug use for employees, all of whom are required to sign a form establishing the district as a drug-free workplace.

Caregiver charged in ID theft; Elderly woman’s credit card used for $18,000 in purchases

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 5, 2007

NORTH BRANFORD — Police are accusing a New Haven woman of stealing a credit card from an 88-year-old resident of the Evergreen Woods senior complex and using it to charge $18,000 worth of goods.

Police said Tuesday that Maria Severino, 41, ran up the bill at stores in half a dozen towns across the region. Severino was employed as a caregiver by Farmington-based home-care service Companions & Homemakers, and was working with a woman who lived at the Evergreen Woods residence off Notch Hill Road, according to police.

Severino was fired by the private company she worked for after officials from the company conducted an internal investigation two months ago, an attorney for the company said Wednesday.

The head of security at Evergreen Woods said he was not previously aware of the arrest and had no comment.

After the elderly woman’s daughter noticed the credit card charges, she contacted detectives, who began an investigation. They obtained a videotape of Severino using the credit card at a Lowe’s home improvement store, police said.

Severino allegedly used the elderly woman’s credit card to buy groceries, cigarettes and electrical equipment, according to police. Detectives also said she took two checks from the elderly woman’s checkbook and used them to pay for the credit card bill.

She was charged Monday with one count of first-degree larceny, eight counts of illegal use of a credit card, eight counts of first-degree identity theft, 10 counts of third-degree forgery, one count of third-degree larceny and one count of theft of a credit card. She was released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in New Haven on Dec. 13, police said.

Martin Acevedo, general counsel for Companions & Homemakers, said in an e-mail that the home-care company terminated Severino’s employment in October.

Acevedo said that Companions & Homemakers performs a thorough background check on every employee it hires. He added that the elderly woman’s family is continuing to employ another caregiver from Companions & Homemakers.

“I think this is just an unfortunate incident that it is absolutely impossible to predict,” he said by phone Wednesday.

Acevedo said in the e-mail that the company carries liability and employee dishonesty insurance that may cover the losses if the credit card company does not do so.

In March, a former employee of Evergreen Woods was charged with impersonating a family member of an elderly woman and taking two rings, worth $1,500, off her fingers. Last year, a health care aide who worked at the facility and her son were arrested on charges that they embezzled $57,000 from a female resident.

No foul play suspected in deaths of 2 housemates

Different diseases ID’d as cause of men’s demise

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 4, 2007

OLD SAYBROOK — Two men whose bodies were discovered in their home at 14 N. Meadow Road both died of natural causes, a spokeswoman for the state chief medical examiner said Monday.

Ronald Gebo, 70, died of artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease — a hardening of the arteries — with alcoholism listed as a significant condition, based on an autopsy the medical examiner’s office performed Monday. Eugene Amoroso, 62, died of broncho-pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition that results in an obstruction in the flow of air into and out of the lungs.

The two men were housemates who rented their home, Lt. Michael Spera said. A family member of one of the men went to the house Sunday after not having heard from him in a couple of days and found both men unconscious and unresponsive, Spera said. She called 911 at about 7:30 p.m., and Old Saybrook officers found both men deceased when they arrived.

Police initially called in the Old Saybrook Fire Department to perform an air quality test, which showed that carbon monoxide poisoning was not a factor. Town police also requested assistance from the state police Major Crime Squad.

Spera said the department has closed its criminal investigation, but will continue an untimely death investigation. He said he did not know exactly when anyone last spoke to either Gebo or Amoroso. The autopsies performed Monday did not pin down the time of death for either man. That should be revealed in toxicology reports that will be available in 12 to 17 weeks.

“One of the lingering questions is who passed away first and how long they had been left in the house,” he said.

The spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said the timing may have been a “coincidence.”

Police worked through Sunday night and Monday to collect evidence and interview neighbors, Spera said.

“This case (was) extremely unique in that two people passed away in a home around the same time,” Spera said. “We want to stress that all signs point that this was non-criminal in nature, so residents should feel safe who live in the area.”

Spera said Amoroso and Gebo were friends, but he did not know how long they had lived together. There was a dog found in the house. It is healthy and was placed with a family member, Spera said.

Amoroso had worked at Town Fair Tire in Old Saybrook for about 15 years, store Manager Tom Powell said Monday. Amoroso was a delivery driver and “a very important part of our operation here,” Powell said.

He added that Amoroso was a “very pleasant” person who rarely missed work.

“He came to work, he worked hard ... He always had a smile for everybody,” Powell said. “He always cared about other people more than he cared about himself — there’s no doubt about that.”

Powell said Amoroso was out sick with the flu last week, and the last time anyone from the store spoke to him was Thursday. Powell added that he did not know Amoroso had a chronic medical condition.

Relatives of Gebo could not be reached for comment Monday.

Guilford mails out revaluation notices

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
Dec. 4, 2007

GUILFORD — Revaluation notices are arriving in property owners’ mailboxes as part of the every-five-years process to adjust property values for tax purposes.

Jennifer Bernardo, assistant to the town assessor, said the process seems to be running smoothly so far, and most people have already received their notices.

There was one error on the notices that the private company conducting the revaluation, Total Valuation, corrected with a second postcard to homeowners: The phone number to contact the company should start with a 1-866 exchange, not 1-800 as listed on the notice.

The assessor’s office is asking people with questions about their revaluation notices to call Total Valuation, not the town office.

The goal of the revaluation is to “bring equity to the town … so that everyone’s paying their fair share,” Bernardo said.

The revaluation notice includes an estimated fair market value for the property, and the town’s tax assessment of the property is 70 percent of the fair market value. Town officials will start their annual budget process in January, and should set tax rates by May.

Bernardo said she does not think the current housing slump — which is affecting properties across the state and country — should have an impact on the revaluation.

“When you’re saying a housing slump, you’re just more or less talking about the lack of sales — the values are still up there,” she said. “Our job is just to establish a fair market value for the properties.”

Bill Gaffney, president of Waterbury-based Total Valuation, said the company mainly used sales values from 2007 in determing fair market value for properties in Guilford. The revaluation included about 7,800 residences, 447 commercial and industrial properties, and 650 condos, he said.

Total Valuation has already begun holding hearings for people with concerns about their valuation figures. The hearings will go on for three weeks, Gaffney said. He added that appointment times for hearings for waterfront properties filled up quickly, but more spots have been added.

“Mainly, people are concerned about what’s going to happen to their taxes,” he said. “That we really have no control over — it’s just the value of the property (that we determine).”

Anyone who thinks their revaluation notice is not an accurate reflection of fair market value should first contact Total Valuation for a hearing, according to the assessor’s office. If the property owner is still not satisfied with the figure, he or she has until Feb. 20 to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. The documents for that process will be available on the town’s Web site and in the assessor’s office starting in January, Bernardo said.

Residents with more questions about their revaluation notices can visit the town of Guilford’s Web site at www.ci.guilford.ct.us and click on the link titled “Revaluation Information.”