September 28, 2006

It will threaten the great recreational and significant historical resource of the canal trail. The so-called "ponds," left after the mining is completed, will pose a safety hazard to neighborhood children.

This proposed mining operation is completely contrary to the town's Plan of Development, which calls for low-impact development and open space for the northern portion of the town's Whitney Avenue corridor. It is obviously inappropriate to permit an industrial operation to exist in the midst of a quiet residential neighborhood. The dozens of heavy trucks that will enter and exit the site every working day will play havoc with traffic on already-crowded Whitney Avenue, and will pose a significant safety hazard.

Indeed, I will be interested to hear, at the public hearing scheduled for
Oct. 10, whether the proponents can come up with a single positive feature -- other than their own enrichment at the expense of the health, safety and welfare of the Mt. Carmel neighborhood and the towns of Cheshire and Hamden. I hope that as many concerned citizens as possible turn out for this hearing. You do not need to be a resident of Hamden to attend and make your opinion heard.

Many proposals for development are hard to decide, involving a careful
balance of pros and cons. But this is an open and shut case. I urge the
Hamden Planning & Zoning Commission to do the right and lawful
thing: Deny this application for a special permit.

Johnny Faragher
Brooksvale Avenue

September 27, 2006

As proposed, the mining excavation of 250,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel will last two years and dramatically change a now pristine wetland area. The loss of habitat for over 10 species of animals and native fish along with plant life in this area will be catastrophic.

According to results of an independent review of the project, the local water table will also be disrupted so the area will likely lose most surface water during the drier parts of the year. Residents who rely on artesian wells are also fearful of water contamination.

September 25, 2006

September 21, 2006

We have been honoring the month in Hamden for the past seven years. This year, with the lack of volunteers and family illness, we were unable to host a ceremony but we would like everyone to take a moment on Sep. 26 and remember those little ones and their families who have been touched by cancer.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death during childhood, exceeded only by accidents. Each year about 2,300 children and teenagers die from cancer. The median age of diagnosis in children is 6. Every year more than 12,000 children and young adults are diagnosed with cancer. On any school day, that's approximately 46 children or two classrooms of students.

We need to work together towards the ultimate solution -- A CURE! We can only do this by first bringing awareness to this problem. We are asking everyone -- schools, places of worship, government and the private sector -- to take a moment on Sept. 26 to remember these forgotten heroes.

You can help further by donating blood or signing up to be a bone marrow donor. This is what saved our son Jordan's life in 1996. We are happy to say that Jordan is 10 years cancer free this year. We are planning to have a ceremony next year for the 10th anniversary of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Thank you and God bless you and yours.

Paul and Leslie Jacques
Hamden
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We Must Curb Spending

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In Defense of Gambardella

I find it quite remarkable that Councilman Fitch would have the audacity to criticize Councilman Gambardella for being close-minded and neglecting to do his homework regarding the recent issue of a revaluation phase-in.

Did they gather up their data and present it early on to the fiscal authority of the town? Was the Legislative Council presented with the choice of pursuing the issue or rejecting it 10 months ago when the experienced finance director came on board?

Did Mr. Fitch and his fellow councilpersons conduct their own examination of the possibility of a phase-in when there was still time to initiate one? Or did they just take it on blind faith that the administration knows best? It is my understanding that the Legislative Council, not the mayor's office, is the determiner of fiscal policy. Mr. Fitch was always willing to clash swords with the Amento Administration over its fiscal policies. Why not in this case? Was it because his mind was already made up? Or was he just following Henrici's lead like a good little soldier?

I think Mr. Fitch's concept of democracy is the one that is lacking. Not Mr. Gambardella's. The people depend on their elected officials to look out for their best interests by being open to ideas and by being well informed. The Council, by its own admission, had next-to-no knowledge about the possible benefits of a phase-in from the moment they took office to the time budget deliberations began. In December when there was still a chance for a phase-in, did they request an analysis from the administration?

If they did and the response was negative, did they initiate any
investigation of their own? Did they seek public input in any way? The Henrici Administration, when put on spot about the issue, offered up a litany of excuses why it couldn't be done, and in truth, some of them were quite valid. Due to their unilateral decision early on not to consider a phase-in, there was simply not enough time to implement the program and that reason was legitimate. Others were not. For instance, the lack of computer capacity. I find it very hard to believe that there are no accounting companies out there that could accomplish the task on an out-sourcing basis.

The fact that the Council felt that it had to hold a meeting after the
budget had been set just to gather information about the phase-in
proposals says a lot about how much they knew about it from the start.
The Council's own chairman of the Finance Committee and the overseer
of the whole budget process voted against his own budget due to the
flawed nature of the process leading to its creation, and the inability
or refusal of the Council to entertain new ideas.

I have no opinion for or against the phase-in concept so I consider myself to be an impartial observer. However, it is obvious to me that the phase-in concept was never seriously considered by the Council at a time when its relative merits or disadvantages would have made it more than an academic question.

Finally, Mr. Fitch's supercilious remarks about how Mr. Gambardella and Mrs. Wetmore are only on the Council because of the charter are
insulting and uncalled for. In a town comprised of mostly Democratic and
unaffiliated liberal voters, the Town Charter is the only guarantee that one party will not totally squash any opposition or opposing viewpoint.

As a lifelong Democrat, I have no great love for the Republican Party
but I do recognize the need for a loyal opposition. The old adage that
"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" has never
been truer.

We have only to look at national politics to see what one-party
domination of the House, Senate and presidency has done to the nation.

Ed Beaudette
Hamden

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Gambardella Hasn't a Clue

Councilman Ron Gambardella’s recent column was utterly lacking in substance and truth. His imagination produced absurd and deliberately false arguments, supposedly by his 13 Democratic colleagues. Naturally, Mr. Gambardella chose not to identify who said what. What was clear is that Mr. Gambardella does not have a clue as to how democracy works, or how a legislative council caucus comprised of more than two members might function.

Mr. Gambardella complains about what he perceives to be a lack of open-mindedness among Democrats, but he apparently defines open-mindedness as agreement with his position.

It is Mr. Gambardella who suffers from closed-mindedness; he is the councilperson who walked into the Council Chambers that evening with his mind made up. It was apparent to anyone attending the meeting that Mr. Gambardella didn’t bother to listen to any expert advice from town officials, and his column ignores 100 percent of the information they provided. After listening to the concerns of town officials, most Council members clearly understood the complex issue of a revaluation phase-in and decided against it. I can assure you that the only agenda for Democrats that evening, as every evening, was getting it right for the town and its taxpayers.

Sometimes that means making tough decisions that are not popular, instead of grandstanding, because we believe it is simply the correct long-term choice. Perhaps the most ironic statement of the evening was his opinion that this phase-in could be accomplished because of the great skill and professionalism of our assessor and tax collector. While I certainly agree that these two professionals are experts in their fields, these were the same two town officials advising us that this was a bad idea. Apparently, Mr. Gambardella’s great respect for their abilities does not include listening to their counsel.

Mr. Gambardella did not understand this complex issue, and his behavior that evening -- alternatively trying to provoke or demean town officials -- was an embarrassment to everyone present. It appears he believes that bad manners are appropriate for an elected official. What he fails to grasp is that elected officials have a responsibility to represent the best interests of their constituents, to work cooperatively with their colleagues, to make our community a better place. I am proud that my colleagues on the Council understand and appreciate that concept. Moreover, it was readily apparent that he didn’t even do his homework on this issue. Instead, when questioned on specifics, he admitted that he was relying entirely on documents provided to him by a citizen’s group.

It is regrettable Mr. Gambardella is so angry. Perhaps he fails to understand that we have an obligation to govern first. It is very easy for him to rant and grandstand about this issue. After all, if we attempted this questionable and risky strategy and failed, no doubt he would bash the implementation of it by the administration. Perhaps Mr. Gambardella fails to grasp that obligation. Unlike the Democratic caucus, all of whom were elected by a plurality of the voters, Mr. Gambardella holds his seat because of a provision in the town charter that guarantees minority representation despite vote outcome. Seventy-five percent of the voters voted against him last November.

It is perhaps fitting that his next crusade will be for charter reform, because he would like -- you guessed it -- more guaranteed minority seats. With his conduct on the Council and his championing for more guaranteed seats, it seems obvious that Mr. Gambardella’s first priority is to himself.

Matthew Fitch
Democratic majority leader
Hamden Legislative Council
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What Happened to My Hamden?

I have lived in Hamden for over 30 years. Hamden in earlier times was probably one of the most desirable towns, more so than North Haven, Madison, Guilford, Cheshire, etc.

Not so any more.

What has happened? Look at what has recently happened over the tax issue. Our elected mayor and Council have hit us with the largest tax increase in Hamden history. Incidentally, the assessment appeal process to challenge your assessment is essentially a rubberstamp for the assessor. The mayor and Council would not even allow a property revaluation phase-in to blunt the hurt it would impose on the elderly and others. This would have been the decent thing to do.

Once elected these people have no respect or compassion for the citizens. Why does that happen? These people are not bad people. They cave in to the special interest and those who get the fat paychecks because the public is not there to put pressure on them to ask tough questions and protect the taxpayer from having their pockets picked.

I have been a registered Democrat for many years, but this party has failed Hamden. I would recommend that you not vote for anyone who voted against the phase-in the next election. More importantly, we need charter revision to give the people more say in their government. Maybe Hamden can come back. 

Vincent Ferraro
Hamden

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I was very disappointed with the comments made by Legislative Council President Al Gorman in the article "Touch The Charter?"  While claiming he would keep an open mind on charter revision, Council President Gorman repeatedly made comments which reflect insincerity on the issue including, among other things: (1) accusing another councilman of making it a political issue if a revision exploratory committee was not appointed; and (2) making incendiary comments that charter revision could result in the elimination of minority representation. 

T. Scott Cowperthwait
Hamden
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September 13, 2006

Many of us see state representatives serving their constituents part-time because the compensation is part time. Al Adinolfi, who represents Cheshire, Hamden and Wallingford in the 103rd Assembly District, serves us fulltime all year long. Al has an excellent record of committee votes, public hearing attendance and a 100 percent voting record on the floor of the State House.

September 11, 2006