Town Hall 5/21
Lotsa meetings at town hall tonight. The main meeting was the Council/Personnel meeting. We began the annual review / goals & objectives for the Town Manager. I arrived at the meeting a minute or two late though. So I'm uncertain if it was held in executive session. And if it was, I don't want say anything other than my own sentiments. Which are...
I've had some pointed differences with the Town Manager this year. But I don't feel it's appropriate for me to discuss that any further right now. One other point though... I made it quite clear that I felt we should have town meeting videos on the internet. And that investigating that possibility should be a high priority.
Also had an Energy Commission meeting. I think it's fair to say that the EC was upset that they had not yet received a copy of the pool consultant report. So I tried to allay their concerns by telling them I'm asking for a refund. One member asked me to mention that, with respect to energy, their report was probably better than the pool consultant report... I still can't believe we spent $20,000 on that thing... the EC also discussed the possibility of issuing an RFP for energy services townwide. I support that idea. If done well, we may be able to save money and energy... and wouldn't that be great?
Finally, there was an Historic District Commission meeting and a PZC meeting.
I didn't see much of the PZC meeting, but did catch some interesting comments from two members (Slocum, R & Ranando, D). Both of them asked questions which seemed as though they did not support the residential aspect of the development. And if you're counting votes, PZC is nine members with a 5-4 Democratic majority.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
53 comments:
There he goes again...
now he's spamming the same comments throughout the board. This thread is unrelated to NED.
Tim, you should consider deleting spammed comments unrelated to the topics at hand. He's abusing this board.
" I made it quite clear that I felt we should have town meeting videos on the internet. And that investigating that possibility should be a high priority."
That would be excellent. Thank you for making that point.
Also, 11:52, cut the crap. This is serious stuff and you know it. Your little verses might be fun, but they amount to bullying.
Tim, I agree with Craig. 11:52/1:11 is being personally abusive to others as well as off-topic. I say delete such comments.
Thanks Tim for keeping us informed. This persons (and I'm being kind) comments should be deleted. He will only learn this way so please delete asap. If you do this enough times he might learn to only make comments that are relevent. Thanks.
I agree.
11:52 & 1:11 are trolling.
Anon 11:52 The W/S express might be derailled and crash into something called "THE COURT SYSTEM". Screeeech
Get with it old timer
The cows will be fine
The chickens will be fine
The pigs will be fine
Even they want WS and all it means
GERTTTTT-coming soon to a town near you
WS and the boys give you sommmtin niceeee
Big and better stores
REst.
Gonna happens train rolls down the traqcks
Hey, shill....
Is it true that Matt Fritz of the DEP is Mary’s son and that he also worked on I-84? And that another Maguire executive, John Treichel, is related to Mary by marriage?
Is everyone in this mess related to Mary Fritz?
When will the FBI start handing down indictments for everyone related to this mess?
Heard Marty Coburn and the town planner are really trying to push the W/S's proposal through the P&Z with the 150 rental apartments and not wanting to limit store size to 50,000 sq ft. Just what W/S wants.
Better start widening Peck lane and rebuild Dickerman. These will get the heaviest traffic.
I heard the same thing, Marty Coburn was kissing WS butt all night. He's basically lying down and letting them run all over him. There were some members who raised serious doubts about the residential. At least we have a few on the P&Z with common sense.
If the P&Z lets the residential go through they must be selling Cheshire out. We need more residential in town like a whole in the head. This is not a money maker and apartment complexes are going to bring in more children than condos. Apartment complexes over time also become an eyesore. Our school system now represents over 70% of the town budget do we need it to go to 90%. Residential in a commercial zone is not smart planning.
I have one burning questions WHY is the town pushing so hard for the residential when the developer has stated he doesn't need it for the project to be viable. MAYBE WE SHOULD DO A LITTLE CHECKING.
I love the north end and it is gonna happen
The boys from WS gonna get ya gonna get ya
Something real niceeeeeee
Jump back old timer
gonna come right at ya
Protect local merchants and the nature of Cheshire by prohibiting "BIG BOX" larger than 50,000 sq ft. and supporting mixed-use in the town center.He listed these as his accomplishments. Guess who this P&Z member is. I was shocked when I read the Waterbury Republican today. Why the change of heart? The northend is not part of Cheshire? I would be furious if I was a local merchant.
The job of town government is to protect and work for the benefit of the current citizens. It is not to help local and out of town realestate developers make money. It is not to provide housing for supposed empty nesterS or to provide housing to solve a brain drain of young people people 18-28.
The brain drain will be solved by high paying jobs, not with the usual no benefits part-time jobs
of mall stores and restaurants.
With housing hitting the skids, there are hundreds of houses and condos in Cheshire on the market. CHESHIRE DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE HOUSING OR A MALL.
The Calcagni and Bowman boys are still tearing down opposition flyers.
W/S has spent tens of thousands on consultants, lawyers, large full-time staffs, media coverage, glossy brochures, graphic artists, etc to promote their mall and housing development.
The opposition is not funded by anyone, it has not had any money to fund and media ads, never mind professionally prepared glossy brochures. The manpower is strictly from volunteers who have no economic interest and any supplies are out of the pocket expenses of the volunteers.
Having spent so much money to make millions, why are these people resorting to these actions of tearing down opposition flyers.
Show your opposition, write letters to editors, write and call your representatives and help put up flyers. For Info
email us.
stopthemall@hotmail.com
To May 23, 2007 7:43:00 PM: You must be one of The Magnificent Seven – Bisbort, DeVylder, Kleist, Korten, Kunde, Nero, and Schrumm.
In todays Republican-American article regarding changes to Cheshires plan of conservation and zone changes Mr Cobern is quoted as supporting housing in particular "apartments". This has nothing to do with the issue before him. There is no plan for apartments for him to vote on. This is only a text change to allow residential as a whole. He should know better. Hopefully someone points him to the subject at hand.
"The Magnificent Seven"
The people you mention are only a small part of the Magnificent Thousands who want to preserve the good things that we have, our community and its family values. Where trees and natural beauty are important. We want the center of our town to be vibrant with stores owned by our neighbors and not vacant because of the national chains that only sell high volume items and where you are treated with indifference by low paid part-time workers.
You on the other hand represent the "MAKE MONEY WITHOUT REGARD TO ANYTHING OR ANYONE", aka "THE PAVE CHESHIRE OVER GROUP" who want to pave over one of the most beautiful properties in Cheshire.
Matt Bowman is on the Inland Wetland Commission. Tearing down opposition flyers?
There are not thousands of you, you could not get people to come to the hearings, your dreaming.
Big Matt will be running for Council this fall, you can count on it! He is a Dem. He may be able to beat Rucco, if he runs at-large I think he may not make it. That would be too bad.
Anon 9:04 You had to spend thousands with the Cheshire Herald inserts and had a special meeting to get all the realtors to attend. The Pro turnout at the P&Z meetings was very poor also. The first two meetings the concerned group was much larger. But I have to wonder now that they are going to build apartments what are the realtors thinking.
8:51AM Yes, tearing down opposition flyers. He not only tears them down but comes to P&Z meetings and brags about it. He has run for council and was defeated.
But he will win this time, because of his support for the North End development.
Is it ethical for Matt Bowman, an Inland Wetland Commission member and brother of Paul Bowman, part owner of the 109 acres that W/S wants to develop, to be such an active supporter of W/S, passing out yes buttons at P&Z meetings and tearing down opposition fliers. He should resign from the Inland Wetlands and as chairman of the West Main streetscape. oommittee.
What is the Democratic party becoming?
It's rumored that he will run for council, will he be tearing down his oppositions signs and flyers?
Why can't he run he has no financial interest?
If people put illegal signs up, can't he take them down?
I am not sure what is your point about his public service?
He and his family have done great things for our town, why should he not serve?
It appears that we, the CAVE men will win. I think that P&Z will vote this down. It is a great day for us and Cheshire. WE DID IT.
Why can't he run he has no financial interest?
How would you know?
He has not been talked about as an owner of the property.
I guess some of The Magnificent Seven (Bisbort, DeVylder, Kleist, Korten, Kunde, Nero, and Schrumm) are out in force this evening.
What I don't understand is how the commission can make any decision on this with what they currently know. First of all, they have not assessed what the people of Cheshire want for the entire 400 acres. Do the people want 400 acres of shopping and housing? If they don't want the housing, do they want 400 acres of malls? And, what do the people of the Northend think, it's their back yard.
Second, the commission has to talk about what the real pluses and minuses are for the entire 400 acres. They have to talk about traffic, schools, fire, police, property values .... in real terms and to not minimize these issues like W/S and their consultants do. They have to get opinions from the heads of our town departments, that's also part of their jobs to do assessments.
This is serious stuff, and the zone text change does effect all 400 acres forever and if anyone says different, they don't know what they are talking about or they want to mislead you.
P&Z has to talk about all 400 acres and not focus on what W&S wants to do.
Right now the people that were involved with the town pool had so much more real information about the pool than the P&Z has about an this. We hired a consultant for the pool, but for this much larger issue, we don't?
10:54AM RIGHT ON TARGET!!!!!
This action does not approve anything. All it does is allow people to submit an application for a project which then will be approved or rejected based on all the issues that you bring up. The P&Z has the final say about any project that is proposed they keep that right.
No lies just facts.
"This action does not approve anything. "
Totally false - The text change is the key. If the text change allows it, anyone can get the same thing as W/S and if P&Z say no, then the courts will allow it. You want the town to go to court for all the applications that want the same thing as the good ole boys from W/S, Bowman and Calcagni got?
Voelker is not a lawyer.
"had a special meeting to get all the realtors to attend"
Do you have details of this meeting? The papers reported nothing strange about the pro turnout. Were visions of $$$$$$$$ thrown out? The 5/7 meeting looked like a realtors convention with all the yes buttons properly displayed.
WRONG - P&Z CAN REJECT ANY APPLICATION AT ANY TIME AFTER THE ZONE TEXT CHANGE.
tastes great!
LESS FILLING!
If this is approved with residential the developers will line up with projects for the remaining 300 acres. Residential land is expensive and if they can build residential on cheaper commercial land they will make a fortune. If we deny a developer after we make the change for WS the town will be taken to court. Why would the courts side with us?
Because we have local control over our zoning. Unless we have voliated laws the developers will not win.
As was stated at the P&Z meeting "residential is a slippery slope". Why should we even go there? What is the benefit to Cheshire? - more costs to the town? Check out Old Saybrook their going through this problem right now. Once we have made the change to allow residential we lose control - simple and factual.
Tell me where the change was made and now the land in question is not as the local P&Z wanted it.
Or even better where the courts forced something that the local P&Z had rejected.
"Because we have local control over our zoning. Unless we have voliated laws the developers will not win."
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha
Not only are you trying to make big money on this deal of a lifetime, your a real joker.
But, maybe you're right if the we is the developers have control of the zoning.
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha
You and people like you are why I am trying to push this to be approved. Because you can't produce any facts to back-up your positions. You can't name a town that lost control, you don' trust anyone who makes more than your $40,000 a year and you don't want 'those people' here. Go crawl back under your rock, your friends are waiting.
The time has come I hope that it passes, not the end of my world if it fails, but the time has come.
Old Saybrook for one. After the barn door is opened it can't be closed. No town will win and affordable housing will become a reality with the state dictating how many or what percentage. I have nothing against affordable housing but I do object to the state mandating to our town and the developers. The bar will be lowered. What will be the function of our P&Z then?
It seems to me that there are many laws and regulation which creates a giant maze for the town, land owners, developers and the citizens to follow. Somehow this hinders rather than simplifies the issue and process. I feel sorry for all parties. I'm sure everyone is trying to follow the best they can and working within the guidelines. Maybe the process should be reviewed. It's obviously a problem in many other communities as well.
"had a special meeting to get all the realtors to attend"
Anybody have details of this meeting before the 5/7 P&Z meeting?
It's important, get it public.
Tim:
Get rid of this racist post.
"Saturday, May 26, 2007 9:17:00 PM"
In the May 30 New Haven register it says that part of the new CVS will occupy the former site of McPhee Auto Body which was purchased by owners of the Cheshire Shopping Center in spring 2006 for $1.5 million. That's not counting the cost that it will take to demolish the building and do site preparations.
Now do you see how much money can be made by changing the zoning of the 400 acres of the Interchange Zone to allow retail?
That's why they want to steam roll this in. It's not what's good for the town. It's what's good for the developers. It's for the money.
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