Public Information Meeting Prompts Discussion on Taxes and Fire Districts
In the quarterly Public Information Meeting, residents discussed a number of issues with the newly installed Town Council and Enfield staff including taxes, fire districts, and emergency response.
Roughly three dozen residents, elected officials, and Town of Enfield Staff gathered at Henry Barnard School Monday evening to participate in the quarterly Public Informational Meeting to discuss goals and issues facing Enfield. It was the first such meeting for the newly elected Town Council and was held in advance of their upcoming goal setting meeting.
The issue of the snowstorm and power outage last month was prominent in the minds of residents, who both praised the town's emergency preparedness, and offered suggestions for improving communications in the future. With phone, internet, and electricity all knocked out by winter storm Alfred, getting emergency information to residents was a challenge.
Mayor Scott Kaupin, who served as moderator for the meeting said the Everbridge notification system worked well, especially if the notifications were sent to multiple email and telephone accounts. He also noted that updates were relayed to WTIC AM 1080 for those relying on battery powered radios for information. The Asnuntuck radio station received power on the Saturday following the storm so could not be used effectively.
“We need to find ways, out of the box, to communicate,” said Mayor Kaupin. The idea for generator operated message board was floated. Kaupin also said that ham radio operators were used in the latest outage.
Enfield resident Pam Townsend praised the emergency contact system which allowed her to relay information to her mother via cellphone during the outage.
“We were in Florida during the storm, but my mother resides with us, she's 83 years old, and she was stuck in the house. If I hadn't connected with the email and emergency services she would not have known what was going on,” Townsend said.
Always on the mind of residents and brought out several times during the meeting was the issue of budget and taxes. In a moment of great coincidence or supernatural intervention, the easel holding the pad upon which Kaupin took notes on the meeting tumbled at the precise moment Charlie Woods recommended the budget be passed by town referendum if the increase exceeded a certain percentage.
Though many in the audience called on the town to hold the line on spending, a couple of dissenting voices urged that spending keep pace so that services do not dwindle. Of particular concern was education spending, and the need to continue and even expand the services offered by the library. Consolidation of the high schools will be a priority in the coming years, and the possible use of one of the buildings to house a community center and expanded library will be considered.
The need to provide a business friendly environment to keep and attract industry and development was raised. The issue of vacant and dilapidated houses sparked a discussion on the topic of redevelopment. Dominic Alaimo spoke of the need for private business to take the lead in renewal, specifically in Thompsonville.
“There is a proof about spending government money, it was called urban renewal. It never got done, it was a waste of $50 million, it's called urban destruction,” Alaimo said.
On the topic of taxes, the issue of the fire districts was raised. Enfield has five separate fire districts each with taxing authority. Kaupin explained the Town Council has no authority concerning the districts, and any changes to the structure would have to take place on the level of the districts. Changing the structure would require a grassroots movement to dissolve a district, and petition to have the existing properties brought into another fire district's purview.
“The authority for changing the fire districts rests with you [the residents], if you want to change the fire districts, do it. It's not the town's responsibility, it's not the State's responsibility. Everyone thinks the town can wave a magic wand, but each district has its own commissioners,” Kaupin said.
John Foxx
10:21 pm on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
This article really could have expounded more on the dissenting voices and not just presented the meeting from a completely conservative view point. The following points missing from the article were also suggested to the town council:
1: Build a legacy for future residents to look back on as the beginning of educational improvement.
2: Develop a community Facebook group or town sanctioned internet forum where people can talk about issues like: politics, education and emergency preparedness.
3: Start aggressively collecting money from delinquent tax payers.
4: Invest in cultural arts by starting a community day for all community groups to increase public awareness.
5: Maintain funding for education and do not produce a zero percent budget increase on the backs of students.
As for Dominic Alaimo's comment, please try mentioning that it was within the scope of an early question as to why our town has spent nothing to improve Thompsonville after the initial 50 million dollar investment. Money spent on Freshwater Pond Apartments was claimed to be urban destruction and that isn't a view shared by those who would like to see more money invested in Thompsonville.
Tune A Fish
10:55 pm on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
This article really does not represent all the residents in attendance, nor all the issues discussed. A transcription of the meeting would go a long way.
James Bailey Brislin
1:46 am on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The urban renewal project was urban destruction. It tore the heart out of Thompsonville; it demolished over 200 buildings in Thompsonville and replaced them with HUD Housing. Most of the buldings destroyed were commercial buildings-- with them went dozens of small businesses. In my book, tearing down businesses and replacing them with HUD housing is not a success. When the urban renewal was originally proposed, Paul Fox sold it with architectural models of high-end high-rise buildings around the pond. Instead some of the most scenic and valuable property in town got taken off the tax rolls and turned into government housing. This is not smart urban planning
John Foxx
3:30 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Was the Enfield Mall partly to blame? Just as the super centers are sapping commercial retail from local shops today?
James Bailey Brislin
1:55 am on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
There is a fairly conclusive consensus that 1960's style urban renewal proved to be a grand disaster that delivered no economic results. Jane Jacobs and her ilk correctly criticizd the auto-centric autocratic planning models employed by the government at that time--that the key to healthy neighborhoods was organic growth.
Much of the antipathy and concern about additional government spending is grounded in the methods used during the urban renewal era--namely the wholesale seizure of dozens out buildings via eminent domain and the massive corruption that proceeded from it-- connected insiders getting tips about which property is
James Bailey Brislin
2:00 am on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Was under consideration, buying out, and reselling it tko the government for double or triple what they paid one to two years later.
The problem is that the money spent was from the federal government, which is broke and the town's grand list is shrinking. Where still well they get the money to fix Thompsonville when they's re struggling to pay teachers?
cephus
9:41 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy...
Why do you always spew rhetoric and speak in tongues?
When you start paying property taxes and stop living with mommy and daddy, you can have a voice in how Enfield spends its money.
Patrick Droney
12:09 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
I believe most people agree that urban renewal was an abject failure. If you look at what was once a vibrant, busy downtown area, the wrecking ball taken to downtown Thompsonville in the late 60's/early 70's left us with a desolated area with empty lots, shuttered buildings, and no life. For those of us who grew up in Enfield in the 60's and 70's, the "urban destruction" that took place in the name of renewal is heartbreaking. They once had a diorama in town hall showing high rise apartment buildings, businesses, etc all clustered around Freshwater Pond. Contrast that with what is down there now. Renewal of Thompsonville has been talked about for going on forty years, yet look where we are. I'm not sure who's fault it is but know that despite the best efforts of a lot of different players, we are still stuck in neutral.
John Foxx
3:29 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
I've heard the same things said about Hartford then versus now, but there has to be a way in both cases to create a vibrant community.
Patrick Droney
6:37 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The mall was partially to blame sure. But taking a wrecking ball to an entire downtown area sucked the life out of it. Hopefully there is a way to bring it back, but there are a lot of competing interests. Absentee landlords are a huge problem downtown because they are not personally invested in the area, only financially. I think we're all on the same page here. Just not sure personally if a transit center is the correct first step. But we've got to start somewhere.