Public comment sought on new fees

Published: Saturday, February 28, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Town officials are considering raising building fees, and residents will have the chance to comment on the proposal at a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center.

The move is part of an effort to boost the town budget in the wake of a steep decline in building permit applications, Finance Director Sheila Villano said.

The town issued 35 building permits last month, down from 95 in January 2008, Villano said.

“In light of the decline in local revenues, we asked all the departments if they could take a look at areas where they could possibly consider raising fees,” she said. “We’ve always been very, very low compared to our surrounding towns on the building permit fees.”

The proposal would raise the fees for new residential construction to 60 cents per square foot of gross living space, from the current 50 cents. Commercial fees would be set at $12 for every $1,000 of construction, up from $10 per $1,000. Some fees for a certificate of occupancy also would increase, depending on the type of construction.

“We’re still on the low end” compared to other Shoreline towns, Villano said.

Town Building Director George Gdovin compared Guilford’s fees with 15 nearby towns, arriving at the proposed rates. The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to vote on an ordinance increasing the fees at Monday’s meeting.

Villano said she is now projecting that the town will collect $350,000 in building fees the fiscal year ending June 30, a decline of $500,000 from her original projection when the budget was being prepared last year. That is partly because the developers of Guilford Commons have pushed back some work until later in the next fiscal year.

“The activity is definitely way off from where we were last year,” she said.

More information on the proposal is available on the town’s Web site, www.ci.guilford.ct.us.

Bill allows for school board balance

Published: Friday, March 27, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Although nonpartisan boards of education are common in other parts of the country, they are almost nonexistent in Connecticut.

Earlier this year, state Sen. Ed Meyer, D-Guilford, introduced a bill that would give communities the option to make their educational bodies nonpartisan. He told a handful of town residents Thursday he did not think the bill has a strong chance of passing this year, but he would continue raising the issue in Hartford.

Meyer and Gary Brochu, chairman of Berlin’s nonpartisan Board of Education — the only one in the state — discussed the bill in an event presented by the Guilford Parent-Teacher Association.

The bill, “An act concerning members of local boards of education and repealing of minority representation requirements for boards of education,” was referred to the General Assembly’s Education Committee. Meyer said he hoped it would make it to the floor for discussion.

“This is a bill that looks to me as if it’s not going to be passed the first year,” he said. “People have to think about it, they have to take on a tradition, think about it in a broader way and see that nonpartisanship can be a good thing.”

The bill would allow municipalities to decide to have nonpartisan elections for the board of education, and would eliminate requirements limiting the number of candidates from one party on a board.

“It’s what we legislators call an enabling act — it’s not a mandate,” Meyer said. “It says among the choices you have you can do a nonpartisan board.”

Brochu said that Berlin has had a nonpartisan school board since the 1960s and was “grandfathered” in when the state passed laws requiring minority representation on the boards. He said he was not advocating that Guilford adopt a nonpartisan board, but that he is in favor of towns having the option to do so.

“I’ve seen wonderful partisan boards, I’ve seen horrible partisan boards,” Brochu said. “Things change — this is not any guarantee whatsoever.”

Brochu said that in Berlin, people run for the Board of Education by obtaining the signatures of 1 percent of residents; there is no nomination process for the positions. In Guilford and many other towns, local Republican and Democratic town committees nominate people for the posts.

PTA President Lisa Fiala said she thinks that — although independents can also run for seats by getting signatures from local residents — the party nominating process may discourage some people from running for the Guilford board.

“It’s very difficult, I think, to run and win a campaign in any town as an independent,” she said.

Meyer said that he hopes to continue the discussion about the bill even if it does not pass this legislative session.

Board looks at new high school options

Published: Friday, February 27, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Preserving 25,000 square feet of space at Guilford High School would only shave $2 million to $4 million off the more than $112 million cost of replacing the school, architectural consultants told the Board of Education Thursday.

Board members had hoped to significantly reduce the cost of a new school by incorporating the math and science wing built in 1998. Architects from Fletcher Thompson said Thursday they will continue analyzing the numbers and hope to reduce the price.

The architects offered the board two options for including the 25,000-square-foot wing and saving the football field and track.

The first, with a cost estimate of $108 million, would be more compact, but place classrooms on either side of the building. The second plan, with a preliminary price of about $110 million, would have classrooms closer together and a large interior courtyard.

Board members did not make a choice between the options. Chairman William Bloss suggested holding a joint meeting with the boards of Selectmen and Finance next month to discuss a timeline for putting the project before voters at a referendum.

“I would remain hopeful that there is a greater savings” in preserving the existing space, Bloss said.

Initial estimates had put the cost of a new high school, built next to the current school and eliminating the football field and track, at $112 million. The school board voted last year to recommend replacing the school, and decided earlier this year to direct the architects to preserve the math and science wing and the recently installed football field.

The existing wing would need some renovations to make it part of the larger project, and there would be significant site work involved in replacing septic and sports fields, leading to the high cost estimates even with the reused space, the architects said.

The two options presented Thursday include between 220,000 and 230,000 square feet.

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said the initial goal was to look at the feasibility of building a new school off the math and science wing.

“I think we’re comfortable that it can be done,” he said. “We would hope to see more savings than $2 (million) to $4 million.”

Board members expressed enthusiasm about the architectural plans, but noted that they are likely to change. The current proposal has construction ending in 2012.

“I think that while this is all interesting, it’s still preliminary, and we still have a lot of work to do to move this forward,” board member Alan Meyers said. “What we end up with may not look anything like this.”

Board may borrow $1M for school projects

Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — The Board of Education is considering borrowing $1 million to improve the air quality at Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School.

Board members discussed the proposed capital projects at a workshop meeting this week and are scheduled to vote on them Thursday night, Board of Education Chairman William Bloss said. The work would require voters to approve bonding at a referendum.

When the Board of Education voted in September to replace Guilford High School and continue studying whether to rebuild Adams, board members agreed that it was necessary to complete some health and safety improvement at the middle school right away.

Bloss said air circulation is one of the major issues at Adams. Last year, the school district conducted extensive drainage work at the school aimed at solving a persistent flooding problem. So far, flooding has not recurred, although administrators have said they are waiting for the spring thaw to see whether the problem has been solved.

The possible new work would involve adding capacity to the school’s electrical system so it could handle more air conditioners and circulators, Bloss said.

“The old part of the building has no air circulation at all — it was built in the days before they had any kind of air handling system,” he said. The original part of the Church Street school dates to 1938.

The projects under consideration are expected to cost about $1 million, Superintendent Thomas Forcella said. The board is also considering asking voters to approve bonding to repair roofs at several schools, which is maintenance work that the district does annually.

The town’s budget referendum, which would include any bonding questions approved by the Board of Finance, is tentatively scheduled for April 14, according to the town Web site.

Bloss said there were projects left off the list because of the adverse economic climate this year. Last year, voters approved about $3 million in bonding for the drainage work at Adams, a new roof at A.W. Cox Elementary School, reconfiguring the parking lot at Abraham Baldwin Middle School and digging new wells at Melissa Jones School.

“There’s one roof at the high school that we think we can put off, and anything like that that we can do (we will),” Bloss said. “Anything that can be delayed without conditions deteriorating to a degree that far greater expense would be involved, we’re postponing.”

Also at Thursday’s meeting, board members will receive new proposals for the high school replacement that incorporate the building’s most recent addition, done in 1998.

The board has asked the architects, Fletcher Thompson, to preserve the 25,000-square-foot math and science wing in the hope of reducing the anticipated $112 million cost of the new school.

Thursday’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Adams Middle School chorus room.

Saybrook group wants revaluation put on hold

Published: Monday, February 23, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

OLD SAYBROOK — A group of residents is hoping to postpone the implementation of the latest revaluation, saying that the nationwide real estate slump has rendered the values inaccurate.

The Old Saybrook Taxpayers Association is asking the Board of Selectmen to delay putting the revaluation into effect, OSTA Chairwoman Jean Castagno said.

“What we’re asking the selectmen to do is to petition the (state) Office of Policy and Management to rescind the evaluation of 10/1/08 and/or delay it because the economy has changed so dramatically since last September,” Castagno said.

First Selectman Michael Pace said he considered options in case the revaluation was “severely flawed,” but after reviewing housing sales data since the revaluation was completed in October, he believes the values are accurate.

“I did have some concerns that we didn’t get caught in the middle of really a swing cycle here,” Pace said.

Residents and the Board of Selectmen discussed the revaluation at the board’s meeting last week.

State Rep. Marilyn Giuliano, whose district includes Old Saybrook, has introduced a bill to allow towns to postpone revaluations. The bill, which has been referred to the Committee on Planning and Development, does not specify whether it would include towns that recently completed a revaluation.

Pace said he testified before the General Assembly regarding the legislation earlier this month.

State statute requires municipalities to conduct regular property revaluations. A town’s legislative body can choose to phase in the increased assessment over a period of time, according to the statutes.

Property values rose 32 percent in the October revaluation, Assessor Norman Wood said. The process was a statistical revaluation, meaning that it did not involve a physical survey of properties. The revaluation takes place every five years.

Wood said he has monitored prices on the roughly 30 home sales in town since October, and the town’s revised values from October were “within 2 percent of what they sold for.”

“During the summer, it was obvious that the sale prices were sliding a little bit ... (but) it hasn’t been as bad here along the shoreline as it has been across the country,” he said. “I started tempering the values in July because it was obvious something was going on.”

He added the town already has a large increase in homeowners appealing their revaluations, with 1,500 people making appointments to discuss the values. Following the last revaluation in 2003, about 550 people appealed, Wood said.

Pace said there would have to be evidence that the revaluation was off by more than 5 percent to ask to delay the implementation.

“Looking at what is the current law to vacate, I don’t think there is any standard that would allow me to go to OPM and say, ‘This revaluation was flawed,’ because the numbers that (the assessor’s office) just did show that it’s not,” he said. “If it’s within the legal ranges, then that’s a decision that I’ll have to make. You don’t always make popular decisions, but you have to make legally correct decisions.”

Castagno said the OSTA group is continuing to meet and is encouraging more residents to get involved. The members meet every Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Acton Public Library, she said.

The group is looking into whether residents can directly petition OPM about the revaluation, Castagno said.

“The interest in delaying this is very, very strong,” she said. “People are very, very angry about the whole thing.”

Land trust buys ‘Soundview’ with intent to sell to state

Published: Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — The Land Conservation Trust has completed the purchase of the “Soundview” property near the mouth of the East River, but is planning to sell the land to the state in the near future.

Stephen Besse, president of the Land Conservation Trust, said that the organization moved to buy the land, fearing that a deal could fall through while the state Department of Environmental Protection waited to secure funding for the purchase.

The 45-acre parcel of salt marsh and forest is surrounded by the East River Marsh Wildlife Management Area, which the DEP owns.

It lies south of the train tracks near Soundview and Saw Pit roads.

The Land Conservation Trust has agreed with the DEP to sell the property to the state once it secures funding.

“This has been a priority piece for the DEP for a long time, but they don’t stay as up on local things, so it was really the Land Trust that approached the owners and put the deal together,” Besse said. “We talked with DEP, but DEP wasn’t willing or able to close on it in the time frame the owners wanted.”

The Land Conservation Trust paid $360,000 for the property and the DEP has secured a $261,250 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service toward the purchase, but the money has not yet become available, Besse said.

He added that he expects the trust to sell the land to the DEP for $360,000 later this year.

Several other groups have also committed funds toward the state purchase, including the Land Conservation Trust and The Nature Conservancy, both of which have pledged $15,000, Besse said.

“This is not really a public-access piece so much as it is going to be wildlife preserve,” he said. “It’s wonderful habitat.”

The property is also known as the “Guilford Sluice” and “Saw Pit,” according to the Land Conservation Trust.

A proposal was put forward several years ago that would have seen the land developed with high-end housing, but there were issues with access to the area requiring a bridge over the railroad tracks, Besse said.

“The project didn’t go forward at that time and so we approached the landowners and came to terms with them,” he said.

The area is visible from the Guilford marina at the end of Old Whitfield Street.

“It’s a view that people probably take for granted but it would certainly be very missed,” Besse said.

Town releases e-mail addresses at resident’s request

Published: Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

OLD SAYBROOK — A local man who requested a list of all the e-mail addresses that have been entered into the town Web site said he did so to make a point about the availability of government-related information.

Richard Goduti requested the e-mail addresses late last year, and the town posted a notice on its Web site last month saying it had released them. Goduti said he has not used the addresses and has no plans for them.

The town’s Web site has a section called “Subscribe to News” that allows people to enter their e-mail addresses in order to receive the minutes and agendas for boards and commissions.

“I don’t think it’s information that the town should have and not share,” Goduti said. “If it was available to the town, it should be available to anybody.”

Goduti added that, as a registered Democrat, he thought the addresses should be equally available to all political parties.

The addresses did not have names attached to them, Goduti said. He added that he has not counted the number of addresses, especially as there may be duplicates for the different boards and commissions.

Roland Laine, executive assistant for the selectmen’s office, said that he did not know how many addresses were released. He noted there were more than a dozen people on the list to receive agendas from the Board of Selectmen, and 30 to 40 people receiving the board’s minutes.

Laine said the town has had the e-mail option on its Web site for “at least three years.”

The town received a request for the addresses after Goduti contacted the state Freedom of Information Commission to see whether the information was public under the Freedom of Information Act, Laine said. He added that he spoke to an official at the commission before releasing the lists.

Laine said he had not previously considered whether the addresses would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The act states that “all records maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person shall have the right to (1) inspect such records promptly during regular office or business hours, (2) copy such records ... or (3) receive a copy of such records.”

The town has not changed the input section of its Web site to explicitly inform residents that the names are public information, Laine said.

“I hadn’t thought about that, but it’s probably something we should do,” he said. He added that he had received one inquiry about the issue since informing people about it through the Web site.

Goduti said he was not sure why the town put a note on its Web site about his request.

“Any and all information is available through FOI, and it bothered me that they even bothered to put that up on the town Web site,” he said. “(That) basically is the reason that I wanted it to begin with. It keeps them clean, that’s all.”

N. Branford planning new use for grant

Published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

NORTH BRANFORD — Town officials are considering ending the program that has provided funding for businesses to redo their fa硤es, and using the money elsewhere.

Town Manager Richard Branigan said at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting that interest in the fa硤e program, which began in 2006 with a $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant, has faded in recent months.

“The interest in it seems to be sliding off as we go,” he said.

Branigan said he recently met with officials from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to discuss continued funding for the fa硤e rehabilitations.

“The recommendation that I received from the DECD was that the fa硤e program should wind down in the next six months or so,” he said.

At that point, Branigan said, the program is projected to have about $230,000 remaining in it.

The town could then reapply for a new STEAP grant to use that funding toward a longtime goal: moving Wall Field and renovating the town property next to the Police Department on Forest Road.

Branigan said it is best to apply for the grants with a project that is close to “shovel ready.”

“The more complex the project, the longer it takes, the more difficult it may be to get approval or the more strings that may be attached,” he said.

The state issues STEAP funds for capital projects, including those aimed at economic development, which was one of the goals of the fa硤e program.

Town estimates have put the cost of moving Wall Field at more than $1 million, and the town is expecting about $400,000 in funding from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Branigan said the STEAP and DEP money would cover the first phase of the project. He added that the town Public Works Department has already done preliminary site work at the location for the new field.

With the state looking to expand Route 80 beginning in 2010, the town has been planning to sell the old Town Hall site at 1599 Foxon Road and move the baseball field that is next door.

Town Council member Vincent Caprio said he would like to see the relocation project get off the ground before the Department of Transportation begins work so that the field is not eliminated.

“We already don’t have enough fields for our kids as it is,” Caprio said.

Guilford gets FIT, as town employees compete for prizes

Published: Monday, February 16, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Some town employees are hoping to walk and diet their way to prizes from local businesses in the town’s ongoing wellness challenge.

The program, which officials are calling Guilford FIT — Feeling Invigorated Together — sets up a point system to encourage participants to exercise and eat better. Fifteen teams of between four and six employees are in the second week of the challenge, which is scheduled to last 10 weeks.

Selectwoman Cynthia Cartier, who is in her first term, said she was interested in starting an initiative to help workers improve physical fitness. A wellness committee began meeting last summer and the current challenge kicked off two weeks ago with a wellness fair that attracted 100 town employees.

The town has about 175 employees, not including the school district.

“Everybody’s really jazzed up about this,” Cartier said. “This is such a positive thing.”

During the challenge, the town is offering $5 healthy lunches twice a month, health seminars and fitness classes, Cartier said. She added that she is hoping to continue the wellness initiative following the challenge period with a “boot camp” in the spring, and yoga on the beach in the summer.

Cartier said the efforts have no cost for the town, and prizes for the challenge will be donated by local businesses.

Human Resources Director Mitch Goldblatt said the program could also have a financial benefit for the town.

“We want our employees to be healthier for their own good and to reduce sick time and things like that, but on the other hand with health care costs and medical costs rising so quickly, the healthier we can keep our employees the better,” Goldblatt said. “Hopefully we’ve got less injuries on the job, less workers’ comp claims in the long run.”

The challenge includes employees from all town departments, Goldblatt said, and many of the participants are now wearing ankle pedometers to track their number of steps each day.

“People talk about how their whole families are into this, too,” he said. “There’s no quick fix here, but ... if people are feeling better about themselves and feeling healthier, it’s going to transcend throughout their work productivity, as well as their own personal lives.”

Phys ed class packed with new routines

Published: Friday, February 13, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Pupils at Calvin Leete School are patting themselves on the back this week after wrapping up their annual series of gymnastics performances.

Physical education teacher Debbie Golembieski started the program about 10 years ago, and she said it is now “one of the biggest events in school that kids get so hyped up about.”

This week, each physical education class presented a dance and gymnastics performance for parents and other community members. The event is scheduled to wrap up today with a schoolwide assembly.

Golembieski said she choreographed 18 class performances this year. The pupils also break into small groups to plan their own routines.

“The reason why I do it is not just for the skills,” she said. “I do it so they can interact with one another, gain self-confidence, come up with ideas, learn to accept one another’s ideas and problem-solve together.”

In addition to the kindergarten through fourth-grade pupils, members of the Guilford High School dance team and two North Haven students performed.

Golembieski said that many pupils look forward to the annual event, which she called “our own little ‘American Idol’ show.”

“Even the boys, where years ago traditionally boys would never get up there and dance (and) do gym — it was always this typical stereotype of being a girl thing — the boys just took onto it and love it,” she said. “They’re so enthused to get up there in front of the audience and perform for people.”

Guilford selectmen OK $27 million town budget

Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to forward a $27.28 million 2009-10 budget for town operations to the Board of Finance.

The budget maintains a flat level of funding from the 2008-09 budget. But Finance Director Sheila Villano said she is still expecting the tax rate to rise, as revenues are projected to decrease.

Selectmen said Monday night they cut $1.4 million from the budget requests town department heads submitted earlier this year. Several also expressed concern that the budget proposal would defer necessary expenses to future years.

Villano said she had cut about $880,000 in capital expenditures — including items like replacing emergency and social services vehicles — from the budget. A request for four half-year firefighter positions was also removed, which Selectwoman Veronica Wallace said worried her.

“I think this is dangerous and I would almost have preferred that we at least cut two or keep two at least to move the department forward,” Wallace said. “I’m concerned that we’re taking a chance with safety.”

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said the need to keep taxes down as much as possible necessitated the cuts.

“We know that it’s a calculated risk, we know that this is not good budgeting ... but these are extraordinary times and this is what we have to do,” Balestracci said.

Selectman Joseph Mazza added: “Revenue is down $2.4 million, plus we want to start building up a fund balance, so this has got to be the year where you bite the bullet.”

The Board of Selectmen recently instituted a policy of adding money back to the fund balance in the hopes of improving the town’s credit rating.

Selectwoman Cynthia Cartier said she thought the town should look at items like wage freezes or worker furloughs to save further funds.

“I feel like a lot of this could have been avoided with some efficiency over time,” Cartier said. “I think we’re being faced with challenging times and this is step one.”

But Balestracci disagreed, saying that national and state conditions had contributed to the economic crisis. “This is an economic situation that we couldn’t have planned for,” he said. “This isn’t any poor planning on the part of Guilford.”

The Board of Education is proposing a $49.84 million budget that includes a 3.46 percent increase over the 2008-09 budget, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said Monday. Both the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education are scheduled to present their budget proposals to the Board of Finance on Thursday.

Combined, the town and school district budgets would amount to $77.12 million and represent an approximately 2.2 percent increase over the 2008-09 budget. By comparison, the budget increased 5.72 percent between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 fiscal years.

Selectman Salvatore Catardi said he thought the school district’s budget could be reduced more, which the Board of Finance may do at its meeting Thursday. Catardi added that he was glad the town was able to approve a budget with no increase. “I never, ever expected we’d be where we are today with a zero percent increase,” he said. “I think this is fantastic that we could get this far.”

N. Branford plans emergency team

Published: Monday, February 9, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

NORTH BRANFORD — Town officials are moving ahead with plans for a new Community Emergency Response Team that would act as a first-response group for natural or man-made disasters.

The Town Council recently endorsed the program following a presentation by Fire Chief William Seward III.

Seward said Friday that he was still in the application process for the program, which would receive federal funding if approved. The Town Council endorsement is necessary for the application, he said.

CERT is a program through the federal Department of Homeland Security that trains local residents to respond to emergencies and provide assistance in their towns. Seward said that many Connecticut communities, including Branford, Orange and Hamden, have already established the teams.

“The objective of a CERT team is to support emergency responders like fire, police and EMS during large-scale incidents (and) to be able to provide assistance to their neighbors before emergency responders arrive,” Seward said.

Two of the main functions of the team would be to assist at emergency shelters and “points of distribution” where members would hand out supplies, Seward added.

“In small communities there’s not enough (emergency response) people to do that,” he said. “Our assets are limited and in a large-scale incident they would be dedicated to priority work.”

The team members could also help with crowd control at events like the annual Potato and Corn Festival.

The CERT group would be made up of volunteers. Seward said he is hoping for at least 25 people to fill the first class.

The funding provides $65 per participant and additional money for training twice a year. The federal dollars are administered by the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

The CERT system began in the Los Angeles Fire Department in the 1980s and expanded nationwide, coming under the purview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and later the Department of Homeland Security. The North Branford Fire Department would administer the town’s program if it receives approval.

Town Manager Richard Branigan said the Town Council unanimously endorsed the concept at a recent meeting. Seward said he expects the application process will take another six weeks to two months, at which point he hopes to begin recruiting volunteers.

“The individuals who participate in the program undergo about 40 hours of training,” he said. “When they complete the program, they become sworn members of a local civil preparedness force under Connecticut general statutes.”

Parent charged in Guilford laptop theft

Published: Friday, February 6, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — Police Thursday arrested a West Haven woman in the theft of six laptops from local elementary schools late last year.

Eliana Perez, 25, is a parent in the Guilford public schools, according to the school district.

Perez faces charges of third-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and second-degree criminal trespass related to four incidents at Calvin Leete School, Guilford Lakes School and Abraham Baldwin Middle School.

The laptops were taken from unlocked classrooms at the schools Dec. 4, 11, 17 and 18, according to police. Each was worth about $1,000, and police later recovered two, but do not expect to recover the other four.

The school district had issued the laptops to teachers, and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said last month the computers did not have sensitive information on them.

Forcella said Thursday that Perez has at least one child, who may have a parent who lives in Guilford, in the school district.

The first theft, at Calvin Leete, occurred on a day when school was not in session, but there were workers in the building, while the other incidents took place after school.

Teachers noticed that Perez looked out of place in the schools, leading police to focus on her as a suspect, Forcella said.

He added that since the thefts, the school district has implemented several safety improvements that had been in the works before the incidents.

“We have installed at four out of the seven schools electronic swipe-card entrance to the front door and the recess doors,” he said. “As of the February break, three of the schools will be utilizing the swipe cards by staff.”

The swipe-access system will allow teachers to lock doors when they leave the building. Abraham Baldwin Middle School is also set to serve as a pilot program for a buzzer system that would require all visitors to ring it at the front door.

Teachers were also reminded to keep their doors locked following the thefts.

Perez was arrested Thursday morning on a warrant and released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in New Haven Feb. 17.

Hughley packs Quinnipiac

Published: Friday, February 6, 2009
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

HAMDEN — Students and others lined the walls of Quinnipiac University’s Alumni Hall Thursday to hear comedian D.L. Hughley speak about the election of the first black president and its importance for the country — which he did in his own distinctive way.

“I have seen things that I never believed I would see,” he said. “We got a black president, the white people finally got O.J., so Santa brought everybody a little something.”

The 1 1/2-hour talk was part of the university’s Black History Month celebrations, which take place each February.

Hughley is host of the CNN show “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News” and starred in the sitcom “The Hughleys.”

Early in the evening, a child in the audience asked Hughley — who alternated between serious and funny modes when discussing current events — why it is important for “kids just like me” to learn about the historical significance of President Barack Obama’s election.

“You literally live in a world where you can shape your own destiny ... and I think it’s so important that you understand that,” he told her. “You can embrace things that I never thought were possible and I hope you do.”

Hughley stressed the importance of speaking one’s mind and creating opportunities through hard work. In response to a question about political correctness, he called it “the bane of our society.”

“I think that people aren’t allowed to feel how they feel,” he said. “We don’t have honest dialogue because people are afraid to be vilified for what they feel.”

He carries that philosophy to his CNN show, he said, where he combines comedy, news and analysis.

“At the end of the day, I hope that I say the things that annoy people, I hope I say the things that I believe, I hope I say some things that make me nervous that I believe,” he said.

He added: “I don’t sit behind a keyboard and blog, I say what I see and deal with it head-on.”

Hughley also answered questions on the importance of voting, efforts to cut arts education, the proposed economic stimulus package and the recent vote banning gay marriage in California.

Hughley repeatedly expressed his admiration for the university students in the audience. “I always feel like a liar when I come to a university because I never was formally educated,” he said, noting that he learned to read at 19. “When I look around and see so many bright individuals I say, ‘(Expletive), I shoulda done this.’”

Guilford passes blight law

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 6:29 AM EST
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — The Board of Selectmen approved the town’s first blight ordinance Monday night after hearing from about a dozen residents during a public session.

The body split on the question, voting 3-2 in favor of the ordinance, with Republicans Cynthia Cartier and Joseph Mazza dissenting.

Most of the residents who spoke at the hearing said they were in favor of the proposal.

Mazza said he did not think Guilford had enough of a problem with blight to warrant a new ordinance.

“I understand there are a couple of properties in town that could be eyesores or could be a problem for the neighbors, and I’m sensitive to that, but I don’t see a need to put another ordinance on the books,” he said. “I’m worried about over-regulation, (and) I’m worried about property rights.”

But Selectman Salvatore Catardi said he thought the ordinance would assist town staff.

“I don’t think this ordinance is intended to be punitive in nature,” Catardi said. “The fact that there are fines will help move people along in compliance.”

When dealing with blighted properties that posed a health risk in the past, officials said, the town has taken owners to court. The new ordinance would make the process more straightforward and faster, allowing the town to levy a fine of $90 per day for a house deemed to be blighted.

The definition of housing blight in the ordinance includes property that “is in a condition which poses a serious threat to the safety, health, and general welfare of the community;” attracts illegal activity; is exposed to the elements, dilapidated or infested with animals; is “chronically neglected or abandoned;” or has garbage or unused equipment and vehicles in an area visible from the road or neighbors’ property. The ordinance says that the town’s zoning enforcement officer, health director and police officers will enforce the act.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said that Guilford has had a few abandoned or trash-filled properties in the past that neighbors complained to the town about, but it took years to solve the problems in the court system.

“It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does happen we want to have something that has teeth so we can remedy this in a timely manner,” he said.

The ordinance also sets up a three-person Blight Appeals Committee to hear appeals of decisions.

In response to questions from residents, Cartier, who ultimately voted against the ordinance, said that it would not deal with “aesthetic issues” such as the height of grass or the color of a house.

“It’s addressing issues that were harmful to the community or harmful to the property itself,” she said.

Resident Carolyn Cooper said she thought the ordinance was both too narrow — in excluding commercial properties — and too broad in the number of enforcement officers who could determine whether a property should be considered blighted.

“Enforcement of the new ordinance as currently written risks several unintended and negative consequences to the welfare of the town,” Cooper said. “It is, frankly speaking, an open invitation to NIMBYism by neighbors who are intolerant of different lifestyles and it is an invitation to snobbery.”

Several residents of Mulberry Point Road spoke in favor of the ordinance, saying a property near them had been abandoned for decades, an issue they hoped the blight ordinance would address.

Joan Hickey said she thought having a blight ordinance could take the burden off residents in dealing with problems.

“When neighbors try to do this — that’s another thing the ordinance will help — it causes a great deal of antipathy,” she said. “Somebody loves that junk.”

Revamped Northford library opens

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 5:45 AM EST
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

NORTH BRANFORD — After more than a year of construction, the Edward Smith Library in the Northford section reopened Monday to a steady stream of visitors.

At the same time, officials are preparing for the Atwater Memorial Library on Foxon Road to undergo a similar expansion and renovation in the coming year.

The size of the Smith Library, which had not been expanded for more than 40 years, nearly tripled to 12,000 square feet, Library Director Robert Hull said.

The new library features a children’s section that is larger and handicapped-accessible, a community room with a kitchen and rest rooms, and wireless Internet and additional computer terminals.

“The expansion itself was needed just for the pure fact that we were so totally crammed in with the old library,” Hull said. “There wasn’t any room for growth; there was no room for programs.”

The library dates from 1956 and underwent an expansion in 1967 that brought its size to about 4,600 square feet, Hull said.

“Since 1967, it hasn’t been touched, so it’s been a long time in coming,” he said.

The library’s full collection is now available at the Old Post Road location.

The original section of the library will serve as a reading room and house nonfiction materials.

In addition, Hull said, residents will be able to use the community room outside of library hours.

“It makes this building more than just a library, but a community resource even when the library is closed,” he said.

While the Smith Library will now be open with normal hours, the Atwater Library will be open only for limited hours on Mondays and Thursdays. The Library Board will make a decision later this month about whether Atwater will remain open in March or close to get ready for construction, Hull said.

Town Manager Richard Branigan said the Atwater project is in the design stages and he is hoping that building work will start this summer.

“It should be out to bid by the middle of May, and we’re hopeful to start construction on or about July 1,” Branigan said.

The total budgeted cost for the two projects is $9.5 million, and the town is hoping to receive about $1.5 in state grants, he added.

The Atwater library is set to grow to about 12,500 square feet from its current size of 6,800 square feet, Hull said. Most of its collection will be in storage during the construction, but the large-print, DVD and audio-book collections will be available at Smith Library.

Hull said the library had many visitors Monday who explored the new facilities.

He added the library staff has been working steadily to get ready for the opening and there did not seem to be any snags on the first day.

“We’ve had lots of people coming in today — patrons have brought us food and flowers and all the well wishes, and everyone seems to be very, very happy with what they’re finding here,” he said. “We just have people wandering around the whole library saying, ‘This is so nice.’”

Guilford to see savings on power, selectmen’s pay

Monday, February 2, 2009 6:24 AM EST
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff

GUILFORD — With budget season under way, town officials are hoping to trim costs in several departments to confront a difficult financial situation.

The town recently locked in a new electricity price that is expected to save nearly $350,000 over the five-year contract. Members of the Board of Selectmen also agreed to not take raises this year, and department heads have been instructed to examine every dollar in their budget requests.

Purchasing Agent Pam Millman said the town decided to go out to bid for electricity prices after seeing them drop in recent months. The town, participating with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, solicited bids on Jan. 20 and signed a contract with TransCanada.

The new contract will go into effect Feb. 1, Millman said, at a rate of about 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour. With Connecticut Light & Power, the town would be facing a rate of about 12.5 cents, she said.

“We’re going to be able to get this new rate and our projection at least for the year is more than $40,000 worth of savings,” Millman said.

The town purchases electricity for 20 municipal buildings. The new rate will be locked in for five years, and officials are predicting a savings of $343,000 over that period based on a comparison with the CL&P rate.

Millman said that going out to bid with the CCM allowed the town to obtain a lower rate by buying in bulk.

The Board of Selectmen has already held several budget workshop meetings, and members have said they are hoping to put forward a smaller-than-usual budget increase this year. They have asked department heads to reduce requests in areas such as office supplies and capital investment.

“The town is trying to save money any way it can,” Millman said.

First Selectman Carl Balestracci said the five selectmen all decided to not accept previously scheduled pay increases this year.

Their pay would have risen by roughly 3 percent, Balestracci said.

“The entire board has given up their pay increase for the 08-09 year,” he said.

The Board of Selectmen’s raises would have gone into effect Dec. 1, Finance Director Sheila Villano said. Balestracci’s salary is $95,000 per year and the four members of the Board of Selectmen earn $9,300 per year.