April 2, 2008

More than $15 million worth of projects rejected

City leaders shelved more than $15 million in proposed projects for the next year after finance officials warned that taxpayers couldn’t afford them.
“We can’t just do everything,” said city Councilor Mike Rimcoski, a member of the project panel that weeded through the proposals Wednesday.
Left for the future were a wide range of proposals, including the $1.8 million streetscape project for Main Street and realigning the flood-prone Copper Mine Brook near Frederick Street.
“We have to be careful of the taxpayers’ dollars here,” said city Councilor Frank Nicastro.
The Five-Year Capital Improvement Committee decides annually which major projects will go forward during the next fiscal year as well as how they should be paid for.
Some projects could be covered with cash, state aid or other funds, but most of the proposals on the table could only be done by including them on the next municipal bond sale, to be paid for over the next 17 years.
City Comptroller Glenn Klocko warned that officials should not give the green light to more than about $7 million in projects for bonding out of the nearly $23 million sought. Otherwise, he said, the looming project for two new schools would send the mill rate higher.
With little room to maneuver, officials generally approved only crucial new projects such as a $5.5 million sewer line needed through Forestville, half of which will be paid by sewer users through a higher rate, and $2.5 million for the next phase of the Rockwell Park overhaul.
They turned aside efforts to study City Hall’s space needs, renovate a firehouse, improve Casey Field and make $2.2 million in improvement to the Beals Senior-Community Center.
The only contested votes came over the study of City Hall’s space, handicapped accessiobility and mechanical needs, which were supported by city Councilor Kevin McCauley and rejected by the rest of the panel.
The streetscape project gave the committee pause, but its members decided to wait for at least another year.
Mayor Art Ward said that with so many questions remaining about the mall site, it “would tend to agree” that waiting for the project is the best choice.

A sampling of approved projects
Rockwell Park renovations - $2.5 million
City Hall parking improvements - $150,000
Fiber optic connections to city buildings - $300,000
Allentown Road improvements - $600,000
New scale and gatehouse for transfer station - $160,000
World War I Memorial repairs - $32,000
Traffic signal repairs - $200,000
Tennis and basketball court repairs - $25,000



*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fiber optic connections to city buildings - $300,000

yeah, that's real important......

so the workers can surf the internet faster while not doing any "real" work.....

what a load of crap......

Anonymous said...

hey 946 why do you not do an FOI seeking the computer logs ?

Anonymous said...

Yet we can afford $75,000 for architects to start drawing up plans for a multimillion $ theater that has not been voted on by the public?

Odin said...

Hey 9:46, do you use the Internet at work? Do you have high speed access? I thought so. And I'll bet you complain that government should run like a business.

Anonymous said...

Re: 12:02 Blogger

You already voted on all of these projects assuming you voted in the last election. If the individuals you cast a ballot for, did not win, then you have another chance in the fall election. If the candidates you voted for did win, then you get what you deserve.

Governing by referendum is not governing at all. It's called pandering.

Anonymous said...

9:46

remember ...... the quicker those porn videos download , the sooner they get relief from their hectic schedules and can get back to serving the publics' interests .

Anonymous said...

I was more interested in the $32,000 for World war I repairs - in most towns things like this are handled by private funds - why are we taxpayers paying for it? Is it because of the veterans and their importance in this community or because its in a park?

Anonymous said...

Odin:
Gee you're smart...NOT.

Did you ever think that someone may be retired. Or perhaps people work second shift? Or
commie-heaven forbid perhaps someone owns their own (gag) business?

Here's the best point Mr. Dung for Brains. None of the above explanations are any of YOUR business, because most all are examples of private organizations(that word hurts you I'm sure). THE GOVERNMENT RUNS ON OUR TAX MONEY AND IT'S OUR BUSINESS!

Anonymous said...

$2.2 million in improvement to the Beals Senior-Community Center

and

$1.8 million street scape improvements.


JUST SAY NO!!!

Anonymous said...

4:22 - read before you make yourself out to be the a--hole whom everyone recognizes - those 2 projects were rejected.

Anonymous said...

Should stop the public works from doing any jobs that would be a big saving. Cut out overtime in the police dept and the savings would show.

Anonymous said...

Odin:

Yes I have high speed internet at work.

No I AM NOT ALLLOWED to use the net for personal use. (Unlike the city since Ward took over)

Anonymous said...

Maybe now Jonathan can and will concentrate on the SEBBP, and make some long awaited progress.

Seems like he has no other projects other than to finish up the North Main street project and the SEBBP.

Not bad for over $100K/yr.

Anonymous said...

Just say no! Yeah that's the answer. That's what Nicastro did and now we have to pay more for everything that was avoided while he was mayor. Don't fix anything. Don't improve anything. Just say no. You go Mike that's your mantra NO NO NO! Real easy. Meanwhile back in reality prudent people invest in maintaining their assets not sit and let them fall apart.

Screw the young families they don't need a nice place to live as long as the people who are retired don't have to pay more!

Anonymous said...

The previous administration did cut some costs: especiallly in Police and Fire overtime.

However they did put more effort into catching up on the infrastructure, especially roads.

No easy answer, especially when trends have been set.

Anonymous said...

Tennis and Basketball repairs for where?

Anonymous said...

April 3, 2008 5:50 PM:

I know that and I am agreeing with the decision you silly little a-hole.

Anonymous said...

$1.8 million street scape "improvements". ???????????


Does someone out there actually think what the city has done to North Main Street was an IMPROVEMENT ????? :-0

Anonymous said...

THE ONE THING NORTH MAIN ST DID IS TO INCREASE CERTAIN PEOPLES PROPERTY VALUES AND I BET THEY DONT PAY ANYMORE TAXES.

Anonymous said...

Oh lets not talk about that.

Anonymous said...

WE all know who benefitted the most on teh N. Main Street streetscape, don't we?

Now they want to spend $1,000,000.00 on a parking lot that is way too far away for where it will be needed.

Where is any common sense?

And yet, they are cutting back on Flood control, which was finally being worked on.

Where are our priorities?

Anonymous said...

Answer to where are the priorities? Sure as hell aren't coming from you babies. And sure as hell aren't on here. The only priority on here is from the faceless whiners that are against everything. How can you get a priority out of that? What a dummy !

Anonymous said...

And Flood Control shouldn't be a priority, after it was ignored for a dozen or so years?

And why are some of these projects being considered for bonding?
Thet seem to be regular budget items.

Another end around?

Anonymous said...

April 3, 2008 11:15 PM:

We're a young family and we're worried that our city leaders spend to much. We're worried that Bristol will become too costly for companies like ESPN. We're also concerned with our tax bill. We hate to see the city spend on wasteful, semi-worthless projects like overly decadent "street scapes" and dillusional, tunnel-vision projects like the silly community theater.

Anonymous said...

...but what's worse is when the city leaders pander to the "greedy geezers".

Anonymous said...

In Bristol, all that matters is sports and veterans, and city workers.

Anonymous said...

.....11:55pm, with all of the crying that you do, your tear ducts must be as dry as the Sahara Desert - let me shed a tear for your sorry butt also, in the hope that tears of joy will be yours to enjoy in the future - gag, gag, choke......get a life!

Anonymous said...

11:55 sounds exactly correct to me.

Anonymous said...

WE have no qualified dept heads to run the jobs so no loss.

Anonymous said...

"In Bristol, all that matters is sports and veterans, and city workers.
April 5, 2008 11:55 PM"


--You make a good point. It sure seems as though that is the case.

Odin said...

You think fixing up the downtown streetscape and the Memorial Boulevard School theater are bad investments? And you accuse other people of having "tunnel-vision"? Wow. If you think you can't afford Bristol, move to Plymouth. See what you tax dollars get you there.

Anonymous said...

I drove down N. Main St. today with the family. The street scape definitely improves the downtown area and it has slowed down traffic.

It was a wise move to put off the additional street scape projects for now because the development of the mall site may result in reconfiguration of the streets and improvements would need to tie in with what is eventually developed on the site.

Complain all you want but I am hopeful as to what eventually gets developed and look forward to having somewhere to take my family within our city.

Anonymous said...

.."Bristol is about sports, veterans and city workers"...well guys, sports helps pay our bills. It keeps our kids on track and our bodies in shape.

Veterans? Well, if you have a problem with them, then you've got a problem. The fact that we're proud of em and we celebrate that pride every chance we get...Hardly something to bitch about.

City workers? Well, why you think Bristol is all about city workers I'm not sure (I'm assuming it's because you're not one and you wish you were), but I'd like to see what you'd do without them...

Two generations of my family have called Bristol home (including many veterans, some sport nuts and even a city worker)...I LOVE THIS TOWN!!!

Anonymous said...

Of course you love this town, you and your family are one of the people who actually gets a return on your tax dollars.

The point is that sports, veterans, and city workers are the only interests that the city leaders pay attention to. The other 90% of the population funds them and pays the price.

Only in Bristol would they put stop signs in the middle of a major expressway (The Blvd) because a small handful of people want to cross the road everyday. We have enough transportation problems as it is, and this only makes it worse. This makes the downtown even less desirable a place. But a few veterans wanted to cross a major street, so we accommodate them.

Anonymous said...

...12:50, The stop signs on Memorial Boulevard weren't placed so a "few veterans" could cross the street. Memorial Boulevard is a beautiful park and one of Bristol's show places. People of all ages utilize it...there are weddings, strollers, dog walkers, parades...It's a beautiful stretch of road enjoyed by many of our citizens. If an extra stop sign or two makes it a little safer for everyone...so be it.

The leaders of our city are paying attention to a lot more than just sports and veterans; the new downtown area, new schools, new highway...

Bristol is starting to come back to life...what's not to love???

Anonymous said...

Thank God for Glen Kloko.

Anonymous said...

I drove down N. Main St. today with the family. The street scape definitely improves the downtown area and it has slowed down traffic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahhhh ..... just what a developer is looking for . Who wouldn't want to invest millions of dollars to develop a market place in an area where the traffic is SEVERELY impeded ??


Yup ..... the future is looking bright for the downtown . I see vast numbers of "insurance fires " in it's future . Those should really brighten up downtown .

Anonymous said...

...Why wouldn't a developer WANT people to slow down in a market place area? Wouldn't it make it safer for pedestrian traffic into their business? Wouldn't the nice clean street scape be more conducive to their business than a thru-way with cars barreling by their business?

The crosswalks do not SEVERELY impede traffic flow...they merely SLOW IT DOWN so that people enjoying the newly developing downtown area won't get run over by some dingbat going 50...

Yup...the future is looking bright for downtown.

Anonymous said...

I ask the question again

Where are the tennis and basketball courts that are getting $25,000 repairs?

Anonymous said...

I'm curious ...... Do the blight nazi's retain their funding to perform their semi-legal assault against bristols' taxpayers ??

Anonymous said...

Gee 10:49, I sure hope so! Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if all of those blighted properties were returned to their former glory? Imagine homeowners who actually took pride in their property instead of letting it rot on the foundation while they made a quick buck...

Anonymous said...

April 8, 2008 11:56 AM
```````````````````````````

Please pay attention .....

The blight nazi's feel the proper way to handle it is to have their on-call contractor sneak in and tear the buildings down and place a lien on the victimized property.

Take a ride around and you will see quite a large number of newly cleared lots where homes and business recently stood and others boarded up awaiting the wrecking balls' arrival .

Anonymous said...

3:22....Please pay attention....Nobody snuck in and did anything. Before any blighted property is torn down, the owners (a.k.a. slumlords) have PLENTY of notice and time to react. If they choose to ignore the warnings....OH WELL....Hello wrecking ball....works for me!

Anonymous said...

April 9, 2008 10:26 PM
``````````````````````````

Court orders ........ NONE !!!!

Public notices in paper ..NONE !!!

Sneaking in is the only way the blight nazi's work .

Ethnic cleansing doesn't usually use the court system or announce it's intentions in the newspaper .

Anonymous said...

..11:07 - please seek out the next piece of property to be demolished and get in the path of the wrecking ball, at least then, we can all say that the blog blight has been demolished.

Anonymous said...

....10:26, What it comes down to is this...The home owner WAS notified of the city's intent well in advance. The home owner did nothing to correct the situation...The home owner was well aware of the consequences of his inaction. There was absolutely no "sneaking" involved....

Anonymous said...

April 10, 2008 1:19 PM
``````````````````````

Court order ?????

Public notice in Newspaper ???

Some things happen legally and some don't .

The blight nazi's have been fortunate/clever and only assaulted those w/o the financial means to fight back .

My fear is they will someday assault an individual willing to fight by other means , and serious bloodshed will follow .

Anonymous said...

....3:36, Anyone who's willing to shed blood because we're towing the rusty broken down buick out of his front yard needs some SERIOUS psychological help....

....Quick, look behind you, BLIGHT NAZI!!!!! (awww, just joshin).