Happy New Year !

Have a terrific New Year!

We hope you will celebrate this New Year in West Hartford style.

Wishing you happiness, and good health, and a fabulous 2008!

2007 Wrap-Up In West Hartford

Was it a good year for West Hartford? From rats, to taxes, to a new open air shopping mall (oops, we mean "mixed use living center") - let's take a walk down memory lane and take a look. (And thanks to West Hartford News online archives.)

January 2007

The State DOT unveiled plans for street improvements in Elmwood.

With the expansion of New Britain Avenue, it is expected that the state will purchase a piece of three residential properties and six commercial properties.
The project will include brick sidewalks, historic-looking light fixtures, landscaped street islands to calm traffic, and more trees planted along the sidewalks. Many of the utility poles will be placed underground to improve the visual appearance of the area.

How did that project end up?

February 2007

Legislators gather testimony for a school bus licensing bill.

The Connecticut General Assembly held a hearing in Town Hall to gather testimony regarding a proposed bill being crafted that would toughen the laws for people obtaining school bus driver's licenses. The proposed bill is in response to the recent accident that killed West Hartford resident Dean Carlson. Carlson was run over by West Hartford school bus driver Robert Fountain. It was discovered after the bus accident that Fountain had cocaine in his blood system and had a criminal background.

The town changed it's metered and surface lot fees.

Responding to the West Hartford Merchants Association's need to dissuade visitors to West Hartford Center from parking in front of stores for extended lengths of time, the town has decreased the amount of time from 30 minutes to 15 minutes for each quarter fed into a meter.

Ballfield project begins.

Driving by the corner of Trout Brook Drive and Asylum Avenue, it's easy to see that work has begun on the ball field project developed by the University of Connecticut, the town of West Hartford, and West Hartford's youth leagues.

March 2007
The beginning of a budget battle.

Revaluation sparks 71% grand list growth - showing 7 years of appreciation.

Francis said that the current mill rate of 46.19 will drop down to the 30 range. He said residents should not calculate the new assessed value of their homes by the current mill rate. However, Francis also said that even if this year's proposed budget remained the same as last year, with no increase, the average homeowner in town would still see a rise in their property tax because lower-end homes appreciated greater than higher-end homes....With a significant jump in the Grand List in town and an expected lowering of the mill rate, the Town Council has greater taxing income potential but still relies on the size of the proposed municipal budget to determine the new mill rate.
"The amount you are going to tax is based on the budget," said Francis.

Sklarz requests 7.59% increase in the school budget.

Superintendent of Schools David Sklarz presented the 2007-2008 proposed school budget to the Board of Education Tuesday night. He is requesting a 7.59 percent increase over the 2006-2007 budget, an increase of $8.61 million, for a total budget request of $122.1 million. The 2006-2007 budget was $113.48 million. In a review of the magnitude of the West Hartford Public Schools, Sklarz highlighted the numbers: 1,400 employees; 10,000 students; 5,800 students transported by bus; 184 school days; 6,500 lunches served with 1,485 receiving it for free or at a discount; 18 facilities; and 12 bargaining units of school district personnel.

Faith Kilburn was taken to court over having too many shitzus.

Faith Kilburn, a resident of Walbridge Road in West Hartford, was ordered two years ago by the Town of West Hartford to either get rid of her 22 shitzus or face stiff fines. The town allows residents to have a maximum of two dogs, three permitted with a kennel license, six months for new litters.

And how much did this silly lawsuit cost the town? Ms. Kilburn took great care of her dogs, and bothered no one.

Taxes looked like they would be going up 8.5%

This week, Town Manager Jim Francis requested a 5.9 percent increase to the municipal operations budget for 2007-2008, and a 1.9 percent increase to the Capital Improvement Plan. Combined with the recent request by Superintendent of Schools David Sklarz for a 7.6 percent increase in the education budget, a revenue increase of 8.5 percent is needed to meet expenditures, Francis said.

The Board of Education looked to cut it's budget

April 2007
Veterans Day debate - Should school be kept open or closed?

May 2007
School security was an issue with more than one article

School Budget Cuts began

Facing a $1.84 million school budget reduction forced upon them by the Town Council, the town's school administration this week presented ideas for potential areas of savings to members of the Board of Education.

The West Hartford Taxpayers Association gathered enough signatures for a budget referendum

In just over one week, the West Hartford Taxpayers Association gathered more than the minimum 2,280 signatures required by the town charter to bring the budget decision to referendum.

The Town Council sets the referendum date for June 12.

Town Council member Joe Verrengia switches party affiliation

Joe Verrengia, the Republican minority leader on the West Hartford Town Council, announced last week that he is switching his party affiliation to Democrat. He officially resigned as the Republican minority leader of the council this week but will keep his seat on the Town Council until November, when he will run for re-election as a Democrat. With Verrengia's party switch, there will be seven Democrats on the Town Council and two Republicans.

June 2007
Board of Education cuts their budget

... an effort to reduce next year's budget by $1.842 million.Responding to a request by the Town Council to reduce the education budget down to a 4.24 percent increase for 2007-2008.

Bloomfield girl found in West Hartford home.

The parents of a missing local 15-year- old girl feared murdered said they are happy and relieved she's been found alive while police are investigating more allegations that Adam Gault, the man accused of holding her captive in West Hartford for a year, may have sought other victims, police said.

The budget is defeated and a new budget would have to be crafted.

Out of 36,846 eligible voters in West Hartford, 7,893 voted against the proposed 2007-2008 proposed budget of $203.3 million this week in a townwide referendum. The number of residents who voted in favor of the proposed budget totaled 2,939....Slifka said that by June 26, the Town Council will adopt a new reduced budget."We don't take from this that our residents want a dismantling of the West Hartford schools," said Slifka. "There will be service reductions from this, though. The budget was defeated and now we start to make some difficult choices. There is no low hanging fruit."

Budget battle and negotiations begin

July 2007
The new budget is finalized by the Town Council and more
budget cuts are expected by the Board of Education.

Members of the Board of Education Tuesday made a final round of cuts, totaling $500,000, to bring their 2007-2008 budget down to $117,796,941.

Conard teen dies in shooting.

August 2007
Two teens were arrested - one on a bomb-making charge - Friday after they exploded a homemade device that threw shrapnel more than 30 feet.

An Anti-Semitic cartoon surfaces in town.

Joe Visconti collects signatures to force a Republican primary.

Visconti was not selected as a candidate for Town Council when the West Hartford Republican Town Committee nominated a slate of six candidates. In an effort to become one of the Republican Town Council candidates, Visconti is on a campaign to obtain 360 signatures from registered Republicans to force a primary.If he is successful, registered Republicans will vote in September to determine the Republican slate.

The West Hartford Town Plan & Zoning Commission undertakes an eight-month process to update the Town's Plan of Conservation and Development, a document that spans 2008-2018 guiding town leaders on decisions regarding land use.

Rats!

September 2007
The Town Council moved ahead with an initiative to establish a Commission on Veteran Affairs.

October 2007
Grandmother found dead in a West Hartford home. Marcia Maglisco, 62, of 210 Cherry Hill Dr., was charged by West Hartford police late Friday after her grandson was found unresponsive at his family's West Hartford home that morning. The boy was the victim of an apparent drowning in a bathtub while in Maglisco's care, police have said.

The West Hartford Chamber of Commerce begins celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

According to Executive Director Ed Pilkington, there are records held by the West Hartford Historical Society that show the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce was founded back in 1907.

Residents are upset over traffic congestion.

New Trash Collection system begins

Municipal elections were in progress - Board of Education and Town Clerk

800 people attended the grand opening of the Crate & Barrel store on South Main Street in West Hartford Center.

November 2007
Kingswood Market set to close its doors.

It makes a big difference when a retail business owns the building it operates out of. Such is not the case with Kingswood Market, a small family owned grocery store, located at 846 Farmington Ave. near Ardmore Road.By the end of November, the grocery store will most likely be closed. Owned by West Hartford resident David Borstein, 54, the Kingswood Market has been in the Borstein family now for 50 years.

Town files a lawsuit against Taubman (Westfarms Mall)-

At a special meeting last Thursday, the Town Council unanimously voted to file a lawsuit against The Taubman Company, the owner of Westfarms mall, to recover roughly $4 million in losses the town incurred when Taubman filed a series of lawsuits against the town.

Results of the municipal elections.

The top vote-getter overall was Mayor Scott Slifka with 9,591 votes, followed by Tim Brennan, a Democrat running for his first seat on the Town Council, who received 8,889 votes. Following were: Chuck Coursey (8,833), Joe Verrengia (8,774), Shari Cantor (8,760), and Carolyn Thornberry (8,491) in voting totals for the Democrats. Verrengia, an incumbent Republican, changed his party affiliation to Democrat for this election...Out of the six Republican candidates, Steve Adler, Leon Davidoff, and Joe Visconti won seats. Adler received 4,662 votes followed by Davidoff (4,616), and Visconti (4,563).

A new hotel is considered for West Hartford Center

December 2007
Gas explosion happens at Blue Back Square.

Lux Bond and Green generously donates and dedicates a clock to West Hartford.

A Disgraceful Display

Dear Mr. Mayor, Rep. Bye, Rep. McCluskey, Rep. Fleischmann and Sen. Harris, and other town elected officials:

Do you think you can manage to get a new CT State flag to replace the ripped and tattered one that is currently flying over Goodman Green these days? It truly looks awful and should be retired.

Thanks.

Congratulations And Kudos To Officer Todd Myers

Officer Todd Myers (second from the left)
is recognized for his response during
the fatal crash on Avon Mountain.

We are fortunate to have Officer Todd Myers on the West Hartford police force. This from the Hartford Advocate:

To Protect And Serve (Really)

We rip on authority figures pretty consistently here at the Advocate, but also like to give credit where it's due. With that in mind, let's hear it for West Hartford police officer Todd Myers, who went to the White House on Dec. 12 so the president could present him with the National Medal of Valor, the country's highest award for a public safety officer. The honor stems from Myers' actions during the tragic 20-vehicle pileup that killed four people on Avon Mountain on July 29, 2005.

According to a press release from Chief of Police James Strillacci, "Officer Myers, off-duty and on his way to work, witnessed the accident, used his portable police radio to summon help, and began aiding survivors. He suffered burns while rescuing a woman trapped in a burning car, helped drag a bus driver to safety, did CPR and other first aid, but ignored his own injuries until all survivors were rescued and treated."

A more detailed letter Strillacci wrote earlier to nominate Myers for the award mentions that Myers suffered first- and second-degree burns (in addition to other injuries), but refused to leave and get medical attention for himself until several hours later, after the accident was under control.

Sincere congratulations to Officer Myers and his colleagues at the WHPD. (We still think your drunk-driving and seatbelt checkpoints are bogus, though.)

— Jennifer Abel

Here is what President Bush had to say when he met with Public Safety Officer Medal of Honor Recipients in the Oval Office 12/12/07:

"You know, one of the wonderful experiences of being a President is to welcome citizens who have served their communities with valor and compassion. And General and I are surrounded by four such gentlemen who have been heroic in their duties. They will tell you they were just doing their job; I'm telling you they did their job with extraordinary courage. And so it's been an honor to award them this precious medal. And I want to thank you all very much for joining us. Proud to call you fellow citizens."

Congratulations Officer Myers!

Elimination Of The Phase In Of West Hartford Tax Asessment Being Considered

Talk is that the phase in of our revaluation is being reconsidered. It is possible that a new valuation of residential properties will be done yielding new assessments and the elimination of the 5 year phase in which the town began this past summer. WHTalk has heard that the Town Manager is looking into the possibility of doing this and may be running some models.

Apparently, the new revaluation would cost the town $88,000 to do.
There was much controversy over the way the last revaluation was done. It was done in-house versus having an outside independent firm do it. As we understand from some sources, it was for the most part a statistical valuation versus a physical inspection valuation.

We'll definitely have to find out more information on this one.

With higher MDC costs staring us in the eye, possible increases in teacher salaries, the possibility of new construction to mitigate school crowding, and increased energy costs there will be lots in the mix. Probably even more than the items mentioned as well.

It will be an interesting budget cycle that's for certain.

News Affecting West Hartford Children

If you live in West Hartford, here are two items that may affect your child's learning experiences in the next few years:

- Former Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan was named CEO of the Children's Museum Here's an excerpt:

"Now, at a time when science and environmental awareness are more important than ever, I am excited about this opportunity to work with outstanding staff, volunteers and board members," he [Sullivan] said in a statement.

"Together we will create a new home for the museum, enhance our resources, renew our programs, broaden our educational mission and make the Children's Museum an even more exciting and fun place for kids and families to learn about science and nature."

Sullivan began in the new job Monday. Former museum president and CEO Edward J. Forand Jr. retired earlier this year. The museum on Trout Brook Drive plans to relocate to the Elmwood section of town in the next few years. The state bond commission recently approved a $500,000 grant to help with the relocation.

A previous post about this is here.

- The West Hartford Board of Education addressing issues of overcrowding at our elementary schools, and discussion about the recently published West Hartford Public Schools Strategic profile (which happens to be very interesting reading!)

Regarding overcrowding - here is what was reported:

Braeburn, Bugbee, Duffy and Whiting Lane schools are overcrowded, enrollment data show, and school officials' projections show the schools could get even tighter by the end of the decade. Those same projections show the space crunch should not affect the town's middle and high schools.
...A report included in Tuesday's agenda estimates construction costs to ease the squeeze at the four schools each would range from about $100,000 to more than $2 million. Projects would add rooms or modify existing space to create more instructional space.

An addition of three to six classrooms at Bugbee, for example, could cost $1.2 million to $2.2 million. Further modifications to the school — to comply with building codes — could significantly add to the cost of construction, according to a report from Chip Ward, the district's director of finance and planning.

There were many options presented to address the problem. The board is considering raising school class sizes, moving special education classes to other buildings, and redistricting. We foresee some major arguments in the community to ensue as a result, along with the issue of how to afford additional school construction. (State Grants? Higher taxes? It'll be interesting)

Blew Back Square

The Connecticut Post and other AP outlets reported today about the explosion that rocked the new Blue Back Square shopping area. Channel 30 News and other TV stations also reported on it.

West Hartford fire officials say an explosion at the new Blue Back Square shopping area left a construction worker with minor injuries and sent two other people to a hospital.

Authorities believe a natural gas leak caused the explosion shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday in the penthouse of the Rutherford Building on Memorial Drive.

The building houses retail shops, offices and surgical suites.

Fire Battalion Chief Mike Yacovino says it happened as the construction worker worked on gas-fired furnaces in the penthouse. About 70 people were evacuated from the building for about 45 minutes.

Yacovino says two patients who might have been undergoing surgery in the suites at the time of the incident were taken to Hartford Hospital.

Officials are working on determining the explosion's cause. Gas company workers were called to the scene.

Channel 8 News posted this with a flyover by their Chopper 8.

West Hartford (WTNH) _ An explosion in a roof-top boiler caused the temporary evacuation of workers in a building at West Hartford's Blue Back Square.

It happened just before 1 PM today at the Hartford Medical Building between Memorial and Raymond Road.

Pictures from Chopper 8 over the scene show firefighters on the roof of the building.

News Channel 8's Bob Wilson reports there has been one minor injury reported to a construction worker.

Workers were expected to return into the building shortly.

Here is the video from WTNH Chopper 8. (Windows Media Player)
Here's the video from the Hartford Courant.

Glad to see that our West Hartford Firefighters were equipped to handle this situation, and that no one was seriously hurt.

This Just In -

West Hartford Public Works sent this notice out via the Listserv:

"Bagged leaves will be collected on your refuse collection day through Friday, December 21st. Please have your leaf bags at the curb by 6 AM on your refuse collection day. Only leaves in 30-gallon bio-degradable paper leaf bags will be collected."

That is - if they can find them under the snow banks.

Generous Giving In West Hartford

"Kingswood-Oxford School officials announced Tuesday they have received $4 million from the Chase family and an anonymous donor to be used toward the private school's planned, state-of-the-art math, science and technology center." (Hartford Courant, Dec. 12)

AND

Many said Lux Bond & Green was the catalyst for the rebirth of the center, which back then didn't have any of the restaurants or many of the shops that can be seen today.
The Green family has always taken pride in what it does and in planning the remodel of its 46 LaSalle Road store, the family knew it had to be special and it had to have an impact for the entire center. The family discussed community spirit and the multi-generational customer relationships it cherishes as part of its fifth generation, 109-year family business. Traveling around the world on buying trips for its jewelry, watches and gifts, especially in Europe, the family has seen that street clocks add so much to the ambience of the streetscape.
They set out to search for a clock and found a fantastic company here in New England which builds these wonderful clocks the old-fashioned way. From a Massachusetts foundry to the very specific details for the dial and the clock, they worked with the town of West Hartford to build a centerpiece clock for the next 100 years. The clock is located in front of the beautifully remodeled store almost in the middle of LaSalle Road, and had Rolex, the foremost Swiss timepiece company in the world, carefully placed on the dial. The family is proud to dedicate it to the town of West Hartford.(West Hartford News, Dec. 11)

Many thanks are due to these folks who have made such wonderful contributions.

There are a lot of people doing very good things around town. One does not have to give millions or even give money to good causes to accomplish good things. This year make a commitment to give your time and your talent to organizations around West Hartford that need you. It's always nice to be able to write a check, but personal involvement is also important. Volunteerism is good for you and for the community.

A good place to start is here.

West Hartford Is Due Money From CRRA Lawsuit, But When Will We Ever See It?

The Hartford Courant reported on Dec. 8 (by Staff Writer, Dan Uhlinger),CRRA Ordered To Make Payouts To Towns. That could spell very good news for West Hartford as we are supposed to receive a few million as part of this settlement.

West Hartford Town Manager, Jim Francis, had even figured $500,000 of the anticipated settlement from the state's trash authority into the revenue for this year's 2007-08 budget, which was one of the factors that helped lower our mill rate! So it is hoped that this thing doesn't drag on ad nauseum, and we get our settlement money as the court has ordered.

Here is what the article said:

A Superior Court judge ordered the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority on Friday to distribute $36.7 million immediately to the 70 municipalities that bore the cost of a failed deal between the authority and the now-bankrupt Enron Corp.

Judge Dennis Eveleigh also approved the towns' motion that they be allowed to pay $8.9 million to the four law firms that represented them in their successful lawsuit against the quasi-public agency. The legal fees would be paid out of the $36.7 million.

Calling the ruling significant, Joseph Meaney, one of the lead lawyers for the towns, said he hoped CRRA would comply with the latest order in the case.

"We are hopeful there will be no more delays in distributing the money to the towns," Meaney said. "The money can and should be in the towns' coffers by next week."

Paul Nonnenmacher, a CRRA spokesman, said the agency has not decided what its next move will be.

"We have 20 days to appeal and we have a meeting on Dec. 20. We're going to evaluate our options until then and make a decision," Nonnenmacher said.

"It's unfortunate they're taking that position," Meaney said. "We will address that next week."

The towns were the ultimate losers in a $220 million failed agreement in 2001 between CRRA and Enron Corp. The authority lent the money to Enron, which stopped paying the money back a couple months later when it filed for bankruptcy.

New Hartford and Barkhamsted sued CRRA in 2003 and in 2006 the action was certified as a class action in behalf of all 70 municipalities that make up the agency's Mid-Conn Project.

On June 19, Eveleigh awarded about $35.8 million to the towns, but CRRA appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court and refused to pay. The appeal is still pending.

Despite the appeal, Eveleigh heard arguments last week on a motion by the towns for an immediate distribution of the June 19 award. In his decision Friday, Eveleigh added more than $800,000 in interest to the original $35.8 million award.

On Oct. 25, Eveleigh also ordered CRRA to make adjustments in its 2008 budget and reduce by $7 million the tipping fees that the towns have to pay for CRRA's disposal of their trash. CRRA sought a stay of the order from the Supreme Court, but last week the court rejected that request.

Lawyers for CRRA have said that the towns, in effect, have sued themselves because CRRA is a quasi-public agency that was organized to serve the towns. Any money that CRRA recovers in lawsuits from the law firms and banks that were involved in the Enron deal would go back to the towns and be used to lower their tipping fees for trash disposal.

New Hartford First Selectman William Baxter, whose town is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the municipalities deliberated for more than a year before making the decision to sue CRRA.

The decision was made because CRRA would not give concrete assurances that any funds recovered from the Enron deal would go back to the towns.

Lawyers for CRRA dispute those contentions.

Well CRRA, it seems it is time for you to "show us the money".

Musings About What's New Around Town

The new restaurant, Ichiro Hibachi and Sushi has opened next to Max's in the Center.

The holiday stroll was great fun. There was certainly lots to see and do, and Saturday's weather was just spectacular.

We saw a lot of "Help Wanted" signs in store windows but we also counted four (4) empty storefronts at the height of the holiday shopping season in the Center (LaSalle Road and Farmington Ave. area).

Kingswood Supermarket is now vacant and "For Rent" signs are up .

On the post election front: There is going to be a state audit of our Nov 6 municipal elections at Town Hall on Dec. 11 from 9 am to 5 pm at the West Hartford Town Hall. You can call the registrar of voters for more information at 521-7450.

- So what else is new?

West Farms Scores A Gem!

Yes, Tiffany's is coming to West Farms Mall !!
This announcement was on Marketwatch.com

Tiffany To Open Store In Central Connecticut Retail Center
Jeweler set to enter Westfarms luxury retail center in May 2008

NEW YORK, NY (November 1, 2007) — Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) today announced plans to open an approximately 6,000-square-foot store in Westfarms, central Connecticut’s premier luxury retail center, in May 2008. Owned and managed by Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE:TCO), the center is bounded by West Hartford and Farmington, Connecticut.

“Westfarms is ideally situated to serve our growing customer base in the important New England market, and now these customers will have the convenience of shopping at Tiffany closer to home,” said Beth O. Canavan, executive vice president of Tiffany & Co. “We look forward to serving them, as well as visitors to the area, with the product quality and craftsmanship for which Tiffany is renowned.”

“For generations Tiffany has defined elegance, style and service,” said William Taubman, chief operating officer of Taubman Centers. “We are thrilled to bring this iconic retailer to one of the leading shopping centers in the country.”

Tiffany & Co. operates jewelry and specialty retail stores and manufactures products through its subsidiary corporations. Its principal subsidiary is Tiffany and Company. The Company operates TIFFANY & CO. retail stores and boutiques in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and engages in direct selling through Internet, catalog and business gift operations. Other operations include consolidated results from ventures operated under trademarks or trade names other than TIFFANY & CO. For additional information, please visit www.tiffany.com or call our shareholder information line at 800-TIF-0110.

Taubman Centers, a real estate investment trust, owns and/or manages 24 regional and super regional shopping centers in 11 states. The company is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Additional information about Taubman Centers can be obtained from the company’s website at www.taubman.com.

Absolutely awesome!

Blue Back Revenue Is Looking Good So Far

So far with the grand opening and holiday shopping, Blue Back Square seems to be on track to help pay off the $48 million in bonding taken out by the town.

The Hartford Advocate reports this:

There's a level of low-grade irony present when a new development touted for its walkability derives most of its profits from car-parking fees.

But parking money spends as well as any other kind, so West Hartford's Budget and Finance Committee concluded, at its Nov. 28 meeting, that the recently opened Blue Back Square development is on track to being a financial success.

... snip ...

But so far, it appears this financial gamble is paying off. "Over Thanksgiving [weekend], we took in almost $21,000 in [parking] revenue," Jim Francis, West Hartford's town manager, said at the committee meeting.

However, the lion's share of town Blue Back revenues thus far stem not from parking fees, but interest earned on the $48 million in bond revenue. A chart Francis made available at the meeting shows that the town's made upwards of $166,000 per month. "Interest from arbitrage has been higher than expected," Francis said, even when the federal government's share is taken into account.

(A word about interest payments: federal laws limit the amount of money a town can make from interest on tax-exempt bond proceeds. West Hartford would have even more money in its budget, if not for the fact that some of the interest from bond investments had to be given to the feds rather than refunded to town taxpayers. Ludicrous though this appears at first glance, it's actually one of the few financial laws that make sense under close scrutiny: the arbitrage laws are designed to make sure municipalities don't use their ability to sell tax-exempt bonds solely for the purpose of re-investing the money to earn interest.)

Interestingly enough the town made a lot of money while the project was delayed because it earned well over $700,000 in interest on the amount of the bonded money that was not used. We may not have been making money on the garage revenue stream but we didn't lose out entirely since we were accruing interest on that $48 million.

Which then begs the question, why are we spending potentially hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit against Taubman/West Farms Mall? The town obviously wasn't harmed that badly from a delay in opening (they were accruing interest on the bond money); a delay that obviously even had merit in the courts since the Supreme Court was willing to hear the case. In any case, it seems unlikely that any judge will rule in favor of the town since it can be proven that we were not harmed entirely after all. It would make sense to drop this lawsuit that has the potential to be dragged out ad nauseum and be a very costly venture in and of itself, with possibly very little to gain from it. Mayor Slifka should take a hint from Moby Dick's Captain Ahab and let this white whale go. After all, didn't our town leaders at some point say they wanted to let bygones be bygones? Let's just move on already and concentrate on maximizing parking revenue, while we work on important, and much needed development, in other parts of town.

The Children's Museum To Be Under New Management

The Children's Museum in West Hartford apparently will have a new director soon. The former Lt. Governor of CT, Kevin Sullivan, will be appointed executive director of the Children's Museum in West Hartford according to this announcement from HartfordBusiness.com

Kevin Sullivan expected to head The Children's Museum (posted Yesterday at 12:09pm)

The Children's Museum in West Hartford is expected to announce the appointment of Kevin Sullivan, former lieutenant governor and state legislative majority leader, as its next executive director.

The museum is currently working out final contract details regarding the post with Sullivan.

Sullivan, a West Hartford native, has served in public office for more than two decades. He was lieutenant governor with M. Jodi Rell in 2004 following the resignation of former Gov. John Rowland, and was first elected as state senator in 1986. He led the senate as its president pro tempore from 1997 to 2004.

Here is a list of the current Board of Trustees:

* Ellen M. Brown - Secretary
* Alice L. Baxter
* David E. Baxter
* Robert Brody
* John C. Clark III
* Glenn M. Cunningham
* Toni M. Fatone
* Larry Hartshorn - Treasurer
* Richard E. Heapes
* John J. Kumpa
* Rick S. Liftig
* Worth Loomis
* Elaine McDonald - Chair
* John G. Mele - Vice Chair
* Constanza G. Paramo
* John J. Patrick, Jr.
* Nancy Rankin- Vice Chair
* Chris Riley
* Steve Roslonek
* Howard Shafer
* Al Turco

Could it be that they are getting their ducks in a row for the big move to Elmwood?
That was reported in the West Hartford News on May 10 2006:

"The Science Center has long been a part of this community and their plans to relocate to Elmwood in the coming years will be a catalyst to strengthen the neighborhood and encourage further economic development in that part of town," Slifka said. "It is with great pleasure that we proclaim May 10 to be 'The Children's Museum Day' here in West Hartford."

You can check out the Museum's past press releases here.

West Hartford - Town or City?

Things have certainly changed in these parts. While we are used to saying the Town of West Hartford, it looks to many of us that we might just have morphed into a city. We consulted Webster's Dictionary for a clue. We probably should have consulted West Hartford Financials and/or Population numbers. For what it's worth here's what we found at Webster's.

Source: Merriam Webster's Online Unabridged Dictionary

Pronunciation:\ˈtau̇n\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tūn enclosure, village, town; akin to Old High German zūn enclosure, Old Irish dún fortress
Date: before 12th century

1. dialect England : a cluster or aggregation of houses recognized as a distinct place with a place-name : hamlet

2.
a: a compactly settled area as distinguished from surrounding rural territory
b: a compactly settled area usually larger than a village but smaller than a city
c: a large densely populated urban area : city
d: an English village having a periodic fair or market

3. a particular town or city under consideration

4. the city or urban life as contrasted with the country

5.
a: the inhabitants of a city or town
b: the townspeople of a college or university town as distinct from the academic community

6. a New England territorial and political unit usually containing under a single town government both rural areas and urban areas not having their own charter of incorporation; also : a New England community governed by a town meeting

7. a group of prairie dog burrows
— town adjective
— on the town: in usually carefree pursuit of entertainment or amusement (as city nightlife) especially as a relief from routine

And here is the definition of City:

Pronunciation: \ˈsi-tē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural cit·ies
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English citie large or small town, from Anglo-French cité, from Medieval Latin civitat-, civitas, from Latin, citizenship, state, city of Rome, from civis citizen — more at hind
Date: 13th century

1.
a: an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village
b: an incorporated British town usually of major size or importance having the status of an episcopal see (c)capitalized
(1): the financial district of London
(2): the influential financial interests of the British economy
c: a usually large or important municipality in the United States governed under a charter granted by the state
d: an incorporated municipal unit of the highest class in Canada

2. city-state

3. the people of a city.

4. slang : a thing, event, or situation that is strongly characterized by a specified quintessential feature or quality

Well, maybe that answers it. West Hartford is officially a city, because we certainly are not a group of prairie dog burrows!

West Hartford Gets A Break On Flood Insurance

According to the November 30, 2007 edition of Council Briefs,

FEMA issues West Hartford a Class 8 status: The Federal Emergency Management has determined that West Hartford will increase to a Class 8 in the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System. The floodplain activities used by our community qualifies it for a 10% discount in the premium cost of flood insurance for policies issued or renewed in Special Flood Hazard Areas on or after October 1, 2007. This savings is a tangible result of the flood mitigation activities West Hartford has implemented to protect lives and reduce property damage.

That's good news for our town. It would be interesting to know exactly what those "flood mitigation activities" were. They don't seem to be posted anywhere on the town web pages. How were those activities paid for? By the West Hartford taxpayer, by the MDC, by the State? It would also be interesting to know how many man hours it took to file the information necessary to FEMA to obtain this rating. We all know how much paperwork these kinds of filings can be. Also what percentage of our citizens obtain this discount for their benefit?

Communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program are rated as a Class 1 through 10. A Class 1 community receives a 45% reduction on flood insurance on properties within the floodplain and a Class 10 receives a 0% reduction. The Community Rating System was initiated by FEMA in 1990 as a way to reward communities for their increased efforts in reducing damage and loss attributed to flooding. Here is the CRS homepage.

In 1968 the U.S. Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) making flood insurance available to residents of communities that adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances. The NFIP Program is a part of The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The NFIP - CIS (Community Information System) is an official record of the National Flood Insurance information.

The CIS, as the database system is commonly called, provides information about floodplain management, mapping and insurance for the NFIP communities. The CIS includes demographic, engineering, insurance and community specific information for jurisdictions in the United States that are identified as floodprone.

Here is FEMA's list of CT communities participating in the National Flood Insurance program. You can look at West Hartford's Flood map information here at their CIS homepage.

Cheaters In West Hartford Center

So what to do about the parking problem in West Hartford Center? People are trying to avoid paying the high cost of parking in the new garages. That is nothing new. It was a huge problem brought up during the Blue Back Square hearings (page 37) - in a question brought up by Councilman Spada:

MR. SPADA: Mr. Van Winkle, and you may
have, through the hours and hours of these, you may have addressed this, but if you could just repeat the answer. There was a concern that some of us jaded souls have that people would park and then run into the library and grab a book and validate the ticket and then spend the day in the Center. Do we have any strategy to combat that, or is the strategy not to combat that and live with it, and if so, have you put forth an estimate into the projections of the revenue on that sort of an impact?

MR. VAN WINKLE: Well, of course, although I am certain people will do that, some people will do that. The great majority of us all are not cheaters, and, you know, I don't expect people to cheat the system as a regular basis, but I do think we will find people who will go in, visit the library, and then go up to a desk and ask to have their card validated. The validation at the library is a two-hour validation and they would get that off. If we had an excessive use of that, we would have to find some way to adjust it. Maybe there is some card swipe as you walk in, so we know how long you've been in the library. So you take your card, you come in through the library, and it tells when you enter and when you leave, it tells you. There is certainly ways to deal with it. Certainly, again, the great majority of us are honest, and we are not the kind of people who will do those sorts of things, but we will find people who do it. We have people now who feed meters in the Center. We have people who park in our parking lots and swap a ticket with someone on the second shift. So the person on the first shift comes in, they get in at 8:00 in the morning, they work all day. The person in the second shift comes in, they swap tickets. The
person on the second shift would go out free, on the first shift would go out free. The person on the second shift would go out after we close our booth. And we had people doing that. So we started watching for it. We started trying to find ways to do it. We kept our booth open longer. There are methodologies we can obviously do as we see this development, I think that's what we will do. I don't have a particular answer for how many cheaters we have in West Hartford that will employ that system, although once they get in the library, then they will find that there is a lot going in the library, and it will increase the use of the library for a very good reason, so it might also be a nice incentive.

MR. SPADA: I appreciate your optimism, I would agree with you, you just confirmed it.

Well, we think the proof is in the pudding. It was talked about and is currently happening. It is nice to have had some optimism, but the truth is that we are losing parking revenue. Mr. Van Winkle never did answer Mr. Spada's direct question about "have you put forth an estimate into the projections of the revenue on that sort of an impact?" We would like to see a report from the town about the parking situation. How much of the revenue being brought in by the parking garages is due to the employees that work there versus the people who come to visit and shop? How much revenue is being lost by those who are parking at Whole Foods and surrounding streets? What is the plan Mr. Van Winkle has to address this issue, especially since parking revenue is an important piece to help us pay off the $48 million in bonding for this project.

It's nice that they thought that the majority of people would be honest though. (wink)