Shopping carts at City Hall

For at least the last few days, two shopping carts have been sitting in front of City Hall, empty and ignored. What makes them especially interesting, though, is that they are from Walmart. How on earth did they get from Walmart, way over on the Farmington town line all the way to City Hall. It's a 3.3-mile journey. And it's not an easy one. In between there are major roads, a pretty hefty hill or two, tons of traffic and, well, plenty of other stores. So how did the carts get to City Hall? Did somebody throw them in the back of a truck and dump them outside City Hall for some reason? And then there's the other obvious question: how come nobody's done anything with them? Are they an art installation that escaped my attention until now? Is the city using them for something? It was only a few years ago that city councilors showed much less tolerance for stray carts. A 2010 law allows police to charge anyone caught of-site with a shopping carts that belongs to a store with an infraction carrying a $90 fine. Property owners can be held responsible when a cart is found on their land. They, too, can be slapped with a fine. I'll let everybody know if the city fines itself.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Consultant: Move City Hall to Memorial Boulevard

A study on how the city should reuse aging school buildings recommends moving City Hall to Memorial Boulevard School, erecting a new police complex to replace Bingham School and renovating the central firehouse.

Memorial Boulevard School

The $57 million plan calls for selling the existing City Hall building, creating a neighborhood park at the O’Connell School site on Park Street and leaving the existing Beals Senior-Community Center where it is.

George Wallace, deputy public works director, said the city’s Building Committee recently received the draft study and plans to hear soon from the consultants. It has made no decisions and its members may or may not support the recommendations.

The $70,000 space needs study, which officials agreed to carry out last spring, is the product of an in-depth examination by experts from Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. of South Windsor who were asked to figure out how the city should best use its buildings, including schools that will be empty starting next fall.

City Councilor Henri Martin, who serves on the buildings panel, said the report is “sort of a general heads-up” about what’s possible.

He said officials are going to have to figure out how the proposals fit into the overall downtown revitalization effort. There are many options, Martin said, none of them certain. LINK TO FULL STORY.

Here is a link to a PDF of the consultant's recommendations.

Here is a link to a PDF of the consultant's figures on likely costs.

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Snow anger at City Hall (updated)

When the snow piled up last Wednesday in a storm that even the dumbest weather personality on tv could predict well ahead of time, the state, most big companies and many small ones simply closed up for the day.
After all, Gov. Dannel Malloy asked people to stay off the roads, saying it wasn't safe out there.
Of course, some people have to work. They perform the critical functions we all need to get through the storm safe and sound.
But most don't.
In our region of the state, nearly every municipality shut down for the day except for essential services such as snow plowing, fire and police.
But Bristol opened its door anyway.
At City Hall, by all accounts, the only people there were a smattering of enraged employees snarling that they shouldn't have been forced to come to work -- particularly when the public they serve wasn't about to brave the weather to come get a building permit, pay a tax bill, register to vote or anything else.
The libraries, thinly staffed, open to nobody. The senior center was silent, but open.
City workers were told they didn't have to come in if they couldn't, but staying home would cost them a vacation day (or, in the case of new workers, they could just go without pay for the day). So those who could make it, did.
But it's hard to say why.
They put their own safety at risk -- and they put others in danger, too, because every vehicle or pedestrian on the road that day contributed to the problem.
So why were they called in when most cities and towns told workers to stay home?
Because some Bristol workers who have to put in time during a storm get automatic overtime if City Hall closes. And that would cost a few extra bucks.
I can't say whether taxpayers would mind shelling out the extra money to keep Bristol's government workers safe, but I do know that it's crazy to insist people show up at work when there's little work to do and the governor himself is telling everyone to stay home for the good of the state.
This isn't how government should run.

UPDATE: The police contract, at least, does not require overtime for police if City Hall is closed because of the weather, according to the police union and others.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City eyes future of Memorial Boulevard School

With Memorial Boulevard School set to close in 2012, city leaders are taking steps to figure out its future.
City councilors unanimously agreed recently to devote as much as $72,000 to study the city’s space needs and determine if the building may be useful for municipal department offices, the police or the senior center.
“We have to start thinking about what we’re going to do,” city Councilor Cliff Block said Friday.
Spurring officials to take action is the necessity of dealing with major problems with the heating and air conditioning system at the Beals Senior-Community Center.  Click here for full story.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

No phones at City Hall

It took awhile, but I finally realized that the reason I couldn't get through to anyone at City Hall this morning on the phone is that the phones there are out.
When I finally reached someone who answered his cell phone, city Building Official Guy Morin, he told me the phones have been out all day.
He said he understands the city was switching carriers "and something went wrong."
So if you've been trying to call the city and getting messages saying the numbers are no longer valid, it's not a cost-cutting measure. It's just that something went awry and will, presumably, get fixed.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

No, they can't use politicians' hot air to heat City Hall...

The city is hustling to replace massive heat-producing boilers before the chill of winter sets in.
City councilors unanimously approved a contract Wednesday with East Hartford’s H.H.S. Mechanical Contractors for $147,000 to get the work done as quickly as possible.
Public works officials have been scrambling to deal with the two old boilers since one of them blew up in March, spewing asbestos throughout the basement furnace room and into the air ducts.
City Hall was shut down for a couple of days – on a weekend – so massive fans could blow any contamination out of the building. Specialized contractors cleaned up the sealed-off furnace room.
Mayor Art Ward said the last piece of the puzzle is to get the new boilers in place.
“It’ll be done before winter,” Ward said, because the timing is worked out.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said that if something does go wrong, the city has a backup plan to heat the building.
A temporary heating system can be used, said McCauley, who heads the city’s Building Committee.
The boilers have been in the building since its construction almost half a century ago.
The new ones should cut energy costs sharply, officials said, because of the greater efficiency of boilers made today. They will also use natural gas instead of heating oil, officials said.
A consultant recommended two years ago that the city replace the steam-driven boilers with ones that use warm water instead. But the cost and difficulty of removing the boilers put the project on the back burner.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City Hall to get new, efficient heating system by winter

The city plans to remove the boiler that blew up last month – as well as its aging twin – and to replace them with a high-efficiency burner that should cost considerably less to operate.
Public Works Director Walter Veselka said Thursday that natural gas would fuel the new burner rather than heating oil.
Officials plan to hire a design engineer in May and to bid out the project in July, with the goal of having the new heating system in place before winter.
Just in case, though, part of the deal will be to work out an alternative source of heat if the new system isn’t quite ready, Veselka said.
Mayor Art Ward said the city will be better off with a heating system that won’t break down and burns more efficiently. He said it’s possible that federal stimulus money may be available to pay for some of it.
Though officials have long eyed the possibility of replacing the aging boilers, they had put it off because of the expense.
But on March 20, one of the two heating boilers blew up, sending smoke and asbestos fibers through the ducts and knocking the door off the ground floor mechanical room.
City Hall itself had to be closed for a day, but since it happened over a weekend, it didn’t matter much.
The mechanical room remains sealed off as contractors continue to remove the asbestos.
Veselka said a request for engineering services has been published and a contract may be approved as soon as May’s City Council session.
The Building Committee plans to meet at 5 p.m., Monday, May 11 to endorse a contractor to the council the following day.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Report on the asbestos at City Hall

For those who want to know more, you can read a seven page PDF of Public Works Director Walter Veselka's report by clicking here.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Explosion at City Hall

Shortly after 4 p.m. last Friday, one of the city's two heating boilers blew up, sending smoke and asbestos fibers through the ducts and knocking the door off the ground floor mechanical room.

Air tests done on Saturday morning showed that asbestos fibers were hanging in the air at unsafe levels in at least a couple locations at City Hall, which forced the complete closure of the building while experts dealt with the problem, officials said.

What they did was to run high-powered fans with lots of filters on ever floor for a day to replace all of the air in the building several times over.

Tests on Sunday determined that the asbestos was gone, except from the mechanical room where the boiler is located. It is completely sealed off now.

What happens next is that a cleanup firm is going to go in to the sealed off room wearing those spaceman-type suits and take care of the mess.

I'll have the details later about what seems to have happened, but it appears the city may have to replace one or both of its half century-old boilers at City Hall, a potentially costly necessity.

In the meantime, city officials say the building is safe for employees and the public.

More to come on all of this later. I only heard it about late yesterday but I've got a lot to pass on now.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Does anybody really know what time it is?

For those who say they can't even tell time at City Hall, it turns out you're right.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Ward says assistants a better answer than chief operating officer

Instead of opting for a new chief operating officer for City Hall whose pay, duties and ability to get things done remain murky, Mayor Art Ward said he’d rather see a couple of mayoral assistants added to the staff to help cope with the workload.

Ward said he’d consider backing a plan that would let the mayor hire an assistant and to have the City Council hire another assistant to work in the mayor’s office.

With more help, he said, Bristol’s top leader would have a greater ability to attend hearings in Hartford, send representatives to community meetings and more.

The possibility of adding assistants stands in sharp contrast to the controversial proposal offered in a Nov. 4 charter referendum that calls for creating a chief operating officer to oversee city department heads.

Supporters say that a professionally trained chief operating officer will bring more efficiency to City Hall, along greater continuity. They say they have no doubt the creating the post will save money for taxpayers.

Ward said that those pushing for the new post need to “tell the people exactly what is wrong with our present position” at City Hall.

He said that Bristol has a fully funded pension plan, a solid bond rating, a Board of Finance that has kept spending under control for decades and an educational system that is admired across the state for delivering high test scores despite “relatively low spending” on the schools.

“Nobody has demonstrated to me the dire need for reform,” Ward said.

Ward said that if the mayor’s job is so burdensome that it needs the relief offered by a chief operating officer’s help, then hiring a couple of assistants would accomplish the same result for less money.

New Britain, he said, has five assistants for its mayor and other cities the size of Bristol have much larger staffs for the mayor than Bristol, which offers him only an administrative assistant.

Under former Mayor Gerard Couture, who served from 2003 to 2005, the city had a part-time aide for the mayor as well, who earned $25,000 annually.

But Couture’s successor, William Stortz, opted not to fill the post.

City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the mayoral assistant’s position is no longer in the municipal budget.

Ward said that letting the mayor pick an assistant and having the council pick a second assistant would ensure that the choices “were not just dictatorial.”

He said that having assistants who could pick up some of the slack would allow a mayor to spend more time in Hartford attending key hearings and talking to the state officials who decide how much aid comes to Bristol and its projects.

Ward said there’s no doubt that it’s necessary “to tweak” city government regularly, to keep it functioning as well as possible.

But, he said, adding a chief operating officer whose focus would be solely internal wouldn’t be much help.

Ward said he sees merit in the argument that city needs greater continuity in its leadership, one of the reasons touted for a chief operating officer.

He said he would like to see mayors have four-year terms instead of facing reelection after just two years.

That would allow a mayor time “to accomplish a set agenda” before his term ends.

Ward said that city councilors should have three-year terms, with their terms staggered so that all of them would not be up for reelection in the same year.

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

Hire Bristol folks first?

A new bid to have the city hire more Bristol residents is likely going nowhere.
City Councilor Mike Rimcoski said that he wants the personnel office to give city residents a leg up when it comes to claiming entry level jobs on the municipal payroll.
Rimcoski said he can’t understand why the city would put its own residents on an equal footing with people who live elsewhere, at least when it comes to entry level positions that don’t require special skills.
At least some of his colleagues disagree.
“I want the best person for the job,” city Councilor Craig Minor said.
He added that historically, officials have shown “a penchant for corruption” in hiring locally rather than taking the most qualified applicant.
Two other councilors, Cliff Block and Ken Cockayne, said they agree with Minor’s position.
Neither Minor nor any other official wanted to explain the corruption comment, but officials and city workers have said over the years that employees have been hired because they had relatives in positions of power.
The Salary Committee is going to look into Rimcoski’s proposal to see if it makes sense.
“It can’t hurt to discuss it,” city Councilor Frank Nicastro said.
Mayor Art Ward said that given the hard economic times that are socking many families, “consideration should be given” to hiring locally when possible.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said that if two people are equally qualified and one is from Bristol, it should matter. Residents contribute more to the city as a whole, he said.
Minor said he agrees that the salary panel ought to take up the issue “so it can be discredited and put to bed.”
Rimcoski said that Minor’s view may be “colored somewhat” because he holds a full-time job as the town planner of Cromwell.
Rimcoski said that if wanted a city job in an entry level post, he ought to get it before someone from another town.
“Let’s face it. I could be a laborer or a custodian,” Rimcoski said.
“I’d hire you,” Minor said in response.
“So you could fire me,” Rimcoski fired back.
“Or work you to death,” Minor answered.

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

Service with a smile ... at City Hall?

Throughout city offices, double-sided yellow signs are going up this week that say, “Welcome to the City of Bristol – How may we help you today?”
The idea, said Mayor Art Ward, is to let the public know “we’re all here to be consumer-friendly.”
The mayor said Tuesday he gave out about 100 placards so that every city office would have at least one in the hope that it would create a mindset among employees and residents that city government exists to serve the public.
“Wherever there’s a city office, there will be a sign,” Ward said.
“It creates a sense of mutual cooperation,” Ward said.
The initiative isn’t costing taxpayers much – just some copies and plastic stands to hold them up – but if the mayor’s right, there may be a payoff in terms of improved attitudes among both municipal workers and the people they serve.
Ward said that almost every city employee “has the intent of doing the job” to benefit the community that pays the bills. He said most enjoy working for Bristol’s government.
But, he said, it doesn’t hurt to remind everyone that the goal is to aid residents who need the city’s assistance.
Ward said the department heads who received the signs during a meeting Tuesday had a “very favorable” reaction to the initiative.

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

City Hall may be doomed

City Hall could be on its deathbed.
Though officials haven’t said much in public for a few years, there’s a growing awareness that the city’s main office building needs a costly overhaul – or perhaps, some day, it ought to be replaced entirely.
City Councilor Craig Minor highlighted the concern recently when he mentioned during a Building Committee session that he wants the city to spend as little as possible on renovations to the building.
“Especially if we don’t keep this building more than another 10 years or so,” Minor said, it doesn’t make sense to pour money into upgrades.
“The quick and simple solution” to immediate needs in the building is best, Minor said.
“I think cost is what should control it,” said City Councilor Mike Rimcoski, who also urged officials to spend as little as they can on the building.
Though there aren’t any plans on the table, one obvious option is to have city government move into Memorial Boulevard Middle School if education officials follow through on a scheme to shut down the school.
Officials have said that a study to determine the needs at City Hall would cost about $78,000.
There are millions of dollars worth of renovations and updates needed within the building, they said, and it may be cheaper in the long run to erect a new City Hall rather than tackling the issues piecemeal.
“We need to get a plan about what’s going to happen in general,” said George Wallace, assistant public works director.
On the table at the moment is how to provide more space for the city’s probate court and corporation counsel’s offices.
It appears that the cheapest option is to have the city’s purchasing office move into the former youth services space on the second floor so that the two third floor offices can carve up the purchasing office for their own needs.
Wallace said the current setup includes “an inefficient use of space” and the change ought to provide the court and lawyers the additional room that they need.
The purchasing office would wind up with even more space than it has now, officials said.
The shift would not cost much, officials said, and would resolve the immediate problem.
Wallace said that public works estimates a building study would cost $78,000 but it could perhaps be combined with a $50,000 study of police space needs that’s also in the works. That might make the overall total less.
A number of officials, including Mayor Art Ward, have said they don’t want to repeat the decision they made a decade ago to pour $4 million in police renovations that are no longer adequate to the department’s needs.
A new building may make more sense financially than trying to overhaul the 45-year-old office building on North Main Street, particularly with the mall property across the street offering the potential of more lucrative commercial uses for the building or its site.

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

The clock really did stop in Bristol

I know many people think the clock stopped in Bristol half a century ago, but it hasn't been that long.
On the side of City Hall is a peculiar-looking clock that's been stuck at 6 for weeks or maybe months. It's only right twice a day, which probably makes it one of the more accurate functions of city government.
But officials have noticed that it's not moving.
"The clock on the wall no longer works," Assistant Public Works Director George Wallace told the Building Committee last week.
Officials have plans to spend about $4,500 to replace the clock's innards one of these days.
Given that Bristol is known in the rest of the world for clocks and ESPN, it's probably not such a good idea to have a dead clock on the outside wall of City Hall.
It doesn't send quite the message that our leaders want.

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

City Hall is giddy today

I've talked to a few folks there this morning about the mood. All report smiling, happy employees.
It's like a cloud of tension has lifted, they said.
Democratic mayoral contender Art Ward, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, is wandering around the halls a bit. Workers clapped when they saw him.
Several department heads said things have been kind of somber in the corridors of government in recent days as the primary approached, but today it's just giddy there.
"It's like someone took weight off their shoulders," said Comptroller Glenn Klocko.
From talking to municipal employees for a long time, I am sure the vast majority wanted Ward to win, as their union endorsement indicated. That's mostly because they've known Ward for years as a friendly, easy-going guy and they expect him to be no different as mayor.
Ellen Zoppo, who lost the primary, had the respect of many for her work ethic, her knowledge and her drive to get things done. But she probably bulldozed too many along the way -- and the workers saw that, too. That's where the tension came from, the fear that if they got in her way somehow, they might get hurt as well.
But why so much happiness?
Because nearly all of them figure a Ward victory is certain in November -- and they're sure life will be sweeter with him as mayor than with Republican Mayor William Stortz.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Zoppo accused of "made up" stories by 'Fab 5' in 2005 letter

Click here for earlier blog post, with more detail, a copy of the letter and many comments

Here's the version that appeared in today's paper:
Just before the polls closed on Election Day two years ago, five city department heads wrote a scathing letter to the city’s personnel director claiming that city Councilor Ellen Zoppo had subjected them “to lies, misinformation, innuendos and made-up stories.”
“We believe that this has contributed to a very hostile work environment that should not have been tolerated by any city employee,” said the letter signed by Fire Chief Jon Pose, Comptroller Glenn Klocko, Park Director Ed Swicklas, Police Chief John DiVenere and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director.
Four of the five signers said Tuesday they have not had problems with Zoppo since 2005. The other, Pose, was the driving force behind the letter, said both Zoppo and Tom Bentivengo, the fire union president.
Bentivengo said there was “no substance behind the letter” and that Pose took a dislike to Zoppo because in her role as liaison to the Fire Board she insisted he follow proper procedures.
Zoppo, who is locked in a close mayoral primary with fellow Democratic city Councilor Art Ward, dismissed the letter as “a blatant attempt” by Ward’s backers to discredit her. Pose is one of Ward’s biggest backers, said Bentivengo, who supports Zoppo.
Both Zoppo and Ward, who said he had nothing to do with release of the letter, are vying for the support of the party’s rank and file in the Sept. 11 electoral showdown for the right to take on Republican Ken Johnson in the Nov. 6 general election.
The signers said in their letter that Zoppo, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, had referred to them as the “Fab 5” or the “Fat 5” and “publicly stated that she is going to get us fired for various unwarranted reasons.”
“In addition, she has spread lies and misinformation to the employees who work for and with us,” the letter said.
Calling the situation “intolerable,” the five supervisors asked Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to do something to help.
It is unclear what, if anything, Ferguson did in response. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Rosenthal said the letter was “was not meant to be a political issue then or now” which is why it was sent after the 2005 campaign was over.
Klocko said Tuesday he signed the letter “slightly kicking and dragging” because he’d heard secondhand “from several different sources the same exact thing” about what Zoppo had been telling people.
“That had to cease,” Klocko said, so he agreed to take what he considered a serious step.
“It was a big misunderstanding at the time,” DiVenere said.
“Whatever issues there may have been have been resolved,” he said.
“I think there were some miscommunications and they’ve been resolved,” Rosenthal said. “I think it resulted in clarifications that were important and positive.”
Since the letter, Klocko said he has had “no issues with Councilwoman Zoppo” at all.
“She’s been cordial to me,” he said, and supported his reappointment.
DiVenere said that he has confidence in Zoppo now and that he has had no issues with her since the letter was sent in 2005. Rosenthal, too, said he’s had no problems with her.
Swicklas said, “I can tell you that our relationship now is very good.”
“The parks are moving along and we have established a good dialogue, working relationship and mutual respect. I have no concerns with Councilwoman Zoppo," Swicklas said.
Klocko said that when the five signed the letter, they were worried about retribution against them. That never happened, he said.
“There was no backlash to us,” Klocko said.
He said he suspects the letter “focused her attention” on the problem of talking harshly about city workers and probably helped resolve the situation.
Klocko said he feels “positive” about his relationship with Zoppo these days.
Klocko also said he doesn’t see the letter as meaning too much any longer.
“I dismiss it at this time because it’s the silly season,” Klocko said.
He said that from his point of view, he will work with “whoever the citizens to tell me to” when they vote in November.
Klocko said that he hopes that a decade from now “the Fab 5” can get together and chuckle over the letter they felt they had to write.
In their letter to Ferguson, the department heads said they expected that Zoppo, who won her third term as a councilor the same day they wrote their concerns, would not be assigned as the liaison to any of the boards or commissions overseeing them “because of her obvious hostility.”
They said in the letter that they wrote it “to follow up on numerous conversations and complaints that we have lodged with your office and with the mayor’s office over the past several months.”
“We thoroughly enjoy the work that we do for this city and try to conduct ourselves in a professional manner,” the five wrote. “We try to do our jobs to the best of our ability, but find the present situation unacceptable.”
A signed copy of the letter from the five department heads to Ferguson, and other related material, is available online at reporter Steve Collins’ Bristol Blog at http://bristolnews.blogspot.com.

Zoppo’s response
Why am I not surprised that this letter has surfaced three weeks before a primary?
This is a blatant attempt by supporters of Art Ward to discredit me before the primary. There would never be a letter from department heads complaining about Art Ward because he is not capable of holding them accountable, because he does not have a grasp of the issues to know how to hold them accountable. He is more concerned about being their buddy.
This is the same man who is afraid to debate me in public on the issues, but his supporters will dust off a complaint that was found to be without merit two years ago. This is clearly a desperate move by the Ward campaign to keep the focus off the issues and make it personal instead. If Art had the nerve to meet me face-to-face in a debate, we would not have to air these issues via the newspaper.
The city has a talented set of department heads with whom I have good working relationships, and who care about Bristol and do their jobs well. My concern for the taxpayer, and the safety of the line firefighters, as it related to Chief Pose's disregard for policy and procedures set us on a path to confrontation when I was on the Fire Board.
I expect that department heads adhere to a high standard because that is what leadership is all about. It is unfortunate that in Chief Pose's need to go after me, he involved other department heads. Chief Pose's complaint had no merit then, and still doesn't today.




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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Zoppo blasted for "lies" and more by 5 department heads

** BRISTOL PRESS EXCLUSIVE **
-- Story is still developing so check back later --
** Check Wednesday's paper for the final version of this story. But go ahead and read this entry, too, because there's more here than could ever fit in a newspaper story! **

Just before the polls closed on Election Day two years ago, five city department heads wrote a scathing letter to the city’s personnel director claiming that city Councilor Ellen Zoppo had subjected them “to lies, misinformation, innuendos and made-up stories.”
“We believe that this has contributed to a very hostile work environment that should not have been tolerated by any city employee,” said the letter signed by Fire Chief Jon Pose, Comptroller Glenn Klocko, Park Director Ed Swicklas, Police Chief John DiVenere and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director.
They said in the letter that Zoppo, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, had referred to them as the “Fab 5” or the “Fat 5” and “publicly stated that she is going to get us fired for various unwarranted reasons.”
“In addition, she has spread lies and misinformation to the employees who work for and with us,” the letter said.
Calling the situation “intolerable,” the five supervisors asked Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to do something to help.
Here's the letter:

To see the letter much more clearly, go here: Flickr link

10:20 Update:
City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said Tuesday he signed the letter “slightly kicking and dragging” because he’d heard secondhand “from several different sources the same exact thing” about what Zoppo had been telling people.
“That had to cease,” Klocko said, so he agreed to take what he considered a serious step.
Since the letter, Klocko said he has had “no issues with Councilwoman Zoppo” at all.
“She’s been cordial to me,” he said, and supported his reappointment.
Klocko said that when the five signed the letter, they were worried about retribution against them. That never happened, he said.
“There was no backlash to us,” Klocko said.
He said he suspects the letter “focused her attention” on the problem of talking harshly about city workers and probably helped resolve the situation.
Klocko said he feels “positive” about his relationship with Zoppo these days.
Klocko also said he doesn’t see the letter as meaning too much any longer.
“I dismiss it at this time because it’s the silly season,” Klocko said.
He said that from his point of view, he will work with “whoever the citizens to tell me to” when they vote in November.
Klocko said that he hopes that a decade from now “the Fab 5” can get together and chuckle over the letter they felt they had to write.

10:45 Update:

“It was a big misunderstanding at the time,” Police Chief John DiVenere said Tuesday.
“Whatever issues there may have been have been resolved,” he said.
DiVenere said that he has confidence in Zoppo now and that he has had no issues with her since the letter was sent in 2005.

11:10 a.m. Update:

Both Park Director Ed Swicklas and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city's economic development director, said they haven't had any problems with Zoppo since writing the letter in 2005.

Pose said the letter speaks for itself.

I haven't heard back from Zoppo or Ferguson.

11:15 a.m.

From Ellen Zoppo, minutes ago:

Why am I not surprised that this letter has surfaced 3 weeks before a primary?
This is a blatant attempt by supporters of Art Ward to discredit me before the primary. There would never be a letter from department heads complaining about Art Ward because he is not capable of holding them accountable, because he does not have a grasp of the issues to know how to hold them accountable. He is more concerned about being their buddy.
This is the same man who is afraid to debate me in public on the issues, but his supporters will dust off a complaint that was found to be without merit two years ago. This is clearly a desperate move by the Ward campaign to keep the focus off the issues and make it personal instead. If Art had the nerve to meet me face-to-face in a debate, we would not have to air these issues via the newspaper.
The city has a talented set of department heads with whom I have good working relationships, and who care about Bristol and do their jobs well. My concern for the taxpayer, and the safety of the line firefighters, as it related to Chief Pose's disregard for policy and procedures set us on a path to confrontation when I was on the Fire Board.
I expect that department heads adhere to a high standard because that is what leadership is all about. It is unfortunate that in Chief Pose's need to go after me, he involved other department heads. Chief Pose's complaint had no merit then, and still doesn't today.

12:30 p.m.
Tom Bentivengo, president of the firefighters union, said that Pose wrote the letter and convinced the other four department heads to sign it.
“He’s behind the whole thing,” Bentivengo said.
He said that “there’s no substance to that letter” and that Pose didn’t like Zoppo because she insisted he follow the correct procedures and policies within city government.
Moreoever, Bentivengo said, Pose is a big supporter for Ward.
“He is his number one backer,” Bentivengo said. “He is his number one advisor.”
In his off-hours, Pose even helped get signatures for Ward, the fire union president said.
He said the problem between Zoppo and Pose began because Pose “has no patience” and did not want to follow the sometimes cumbersome procedures to get new equipment for a fire department that needed updating.
Zoppo “was like guiding him through the process and procedure” of how to get what the department needed, Bentivengo said.
But Pose didn’t listen to her and wound up delaying things by mishandling them in his rush to try to get what the department needed, Bentivengo said.
Pose “started to say Ellen was interfering with him. He wanted to do it his way” and not wait for the proper approvals, Bentivengo said. “He wanted it done today.”
“Everything fell apart” between Pose and Zoppo, he said, because of the chief’s impatience. “He thought it was all her and, of course, it was not.”
About the time of the letter, Zoppo was also holding other department heads to account, Bentivengo said, because they were acting too much like a city manager and not necessarily following procedures. Some were overstepping their roles, he said.
“At that particular time, things got a little shrill,” Bentivengo said. The department heads “were in a panic mind.”

1:50 p.m.

From Art Ward: "I would appreciate it if you were to inform Ms. Zoppo-Sassu and anyone else of the same mindset, that I was not the person to provide you with the letter in question and that I will state, unequivocally, that I did not have any knowledge of it being presented to you.These preconceived rants and rages of Ms. Zoppo-Sassu are completely in concert with the reasons that I don't believe that a debate would provide any positive assurances of respect or decency that the voters might utilize to arrive at their ultimate decision on Primary Day, Tuesday, September, 11."

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Who does the city attorney represent?

The Freedom of Information complaint brought by resident Jay Meisinger against a handful of top city officials highlights one of the things that's always struck me as wrong about government.
At tonight's City Council session, the city attorney, Ed Krawiecki, Jr, called the complaint "a contested, adversarial case" that required the same vigorous defense that lawyers offer in typical lawsuits brought against the town.
But it's not.
In this case, unless I'm off my rocker, what residents want isn't to win the case. It's to find out the entire truth of what happened and determine whether or not any local officials violated open government laws.
The city's lawyers shouldn't be treating this as "a contested, adversarial case" because the people who pay their salaries aren't interested in beating Meisinger in a legal showdown. They're interested in candor, openness and a decision that determines whether anybody did anything wrong.
Why, for example, would Krawiecki tell Mayor William Stortz and city councilors not to discuss the complaint at all? Is he worried they'll let something out of the bag that might make it less likely the city will "win?" So what? Why should he even care?
The city lawyer said that Bristol's attorneys "need to develop our defense" in order "to protect all of your collective interest."
That might be the most telling comment of all.
Because Krawiecki is not saying that his office is trying to protect the "collective interest" of Bristol as a whole, merely the officials who are accused of doing something improper.
It strikes me, as it always has, that taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for lawyers to defend officials in open government matters. Where is the public interest in that? What is the rationale? Isn't what we all want simply the truth, unvarnished?
What's happening here is that municipal lawyers are mistakenly acting as if they represent the mayor and a handful of city councilors rather than representing everyone in town. I always thought that the interests of the people whose taxes pay the attorneys should be front and center.
For now, at least, they aren't.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Graduation? What graduation?

It's that time of year again, when seniors don caps and gowns so they can sweat together through a ceremony they can barely hear in order to get that little piece of paper that attests to the world that they are, sometimes against long odds, high school graduates.
But you wouldn't know it from Bristol's school websites.
On the Board of Education's website, there's apparently nothing at all to indicate when and where graduations take place this week. Ditto for Eastern and Central's websites.
The next upcoming event listed on the district's website is the July 11th Board of Education meeting, which will likely attract at most a half dozen people. But the events Tuesday that will bring out mobs? Not a word.
At Central, they even have a link for Graduation, but all it contains are photographs of past graduations, stopping in 2005. I kind of like the idea of the pictures, but why let these websites languish like this? They're meant to be a source of information, not just a meaningless gesture to show that, yes, we are living in a new technological era and the schools are right there on the web with Google and YouTube.
C'mon, folks, let's get it right. Update the sites. Fill them with information. Make it all USEFUL.
And, by the way, City Hall, someone can take down the upcoming June 9 auction at the mall from the city's home page. It's over.



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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com