Guard dogs at the park

Interesting email exchange:
From Mayor Art Ward
To: Edward Krawiecki, city attorney
Cc: Park Director Ed Swicklas, city Councilor David Mills
Sent: Thu, May 20, 2010 6:35 am
Subject: Guard Dog
Ed, the potential of acquiring a guard dog for securing the perimeter of the an area such as the inside of the Page Park swimming pool was raised at last evening's Park Board meeting; would appreciate it if you could review/provide details as to any possibilities and/or any problems which might be associated with the idea.

Mayor Ward

From Mayor Art Ward

To Park Director Ed Swicklas

Sent: 5/20/2010 6:37 AM

Ed, please forward to members of the Park Board so that they are aware of the action to address the issue.

Thank you,

Mayor Ward

From: Lori DeFillippi, park commissioner
To: Park Director Ed Swicklas
Sent: May 20, 2010
Ed,

I am happy the Mayor is at least exploring the idea of enclosed guard dogs- after cutting me off during "discussions" on this matter, as the Mayor so rudely did at last nights Park Boad meeting. As Commissioners, we volunteer our time and commitment to the welfare of our City, as such, our time and comments should be fully respected. I felt the Mayor dismissed my discussion on this topic by moving ahead without allowing me to finish. I am not sure if this is the norm for the Mayor at board meetings when he feels its warranted. I afford the Mayor his time, his opinions, and his discussions during the Park Board meetings and  I feel he should afford the same to me, and all the Park Board Commissioners.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City must act fast if it wants house beside Muzzy Field

Unless the city’s Board of Finance agrees to move ahead soon with a proposal to spend $205,000 to buy a three-decker house in front of Muzzy Field, the old home may be sold to a private owner, said Mayor Art Ward.
“We have to act immediately or we’re going to lose it,” city Councilor Frank Nicastro said.
The city’s fiscal overseers put off the 262 Park St. purchase last year because, they said, they needed more information about plans for the property if the city bought it.
Park Commissioner Tom Ragaini said that buying the house and knocking it down would “really open up Muzzy Field” so the historic ballpark could be showcased more easily.
The house is one of two remaining buildings between the ball field and Park Street. The city has already purchased and razed several others during the past decade.
Buying the two remaining properties would “open up that whole strip,” said Nathan Peabody, another park commissioner.
Ward said the owner of the 262 Park St. house, Richard Ferrucci, said he would wait until the end of January for the city to act. After that, Ferrucci intends to sell it through a Realtor, the mayor said.
The Park Department has long talked of creating a plaza in front of the ballpark that might include a small building to house the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame and perhaps more. Buying the Ferrucci property and the a triplex at 216 Park St are necessary first steps, officials said.
Park Director Ed Swicklas said he intends to appeal to the finance board to move ahead with the purchase this month. He said that finance officials “want a little more bite” to the plans before they agree to sign on.
Swicklas said he can tell the fiscal overseers in greater detail the history behind the proposal and what to expect in years to come.
The city's Real Estate Committee agreed in March to ask the mayor to negotiate with Ferrucci, who is seeking $200,000 for the house. Finance officials were asked to tack on another $5,000 to pay for closing costs.Both the Park Board and the City Council have given their blessing to the proposal.The 216 Park St. triplex has not been offered to the city, but officials said they want to make sure they are ready to buy it when it becomes available.

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

Minor says he is seeking to defend taxpayers

City Councilor Craig Minor sheds more light on the appointments confrontation at this week's City Council meeting:

We explained to the Mayor prior to the council meeting that Park Revitalization is a major concern for us. For some reason (either he wasn't listening, or he did not take our concerns seriously) he chose to disregard the importance of this issue to us. It is unfortunate that this resulted in our having to take a stand to protect the taxpayers' investment in Rockwell Park. Hopefully in the future we can agree to disagree about what is in the best interest of Bristol and keep moving in the right direction.


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

Breaking the tie

City Councilor Ken Cockayne said he changed his vote on the reappointment of three park commissioners last night after receiving assurances from Mayor Art Ward that a new Park Revitalization Committee would be named in January.
Once he had that assurance, Cockayne said, "I was fine with going ahead with the appointments."
"The mayor's word is good as gold with me," Cockayne said.
He said that he feels strongly the park revitalization panel should be put in place again because of its importance in overseeing the multi-million dollar park project.
Cockayne said he recognizes that he is likely to be a swing vote between two factions on the council, but he won't play politics.
"I owe nobody nothing," Cockayne said, adding that when he walks into the council chambers, he's going to do whatever he thinks is best for Bristol and its citizens, not what politicians might want from him.

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

DeFillippi speaks out on Park Board appointments

Mayor & Council members,
It has always been with a sense of pride and dedication that I have served as a member of the Bristol Board of Park Commissioners; to the members of the Bristol City Council who supported my reappointment at last evening's City Council meeting, I say "thank you" for affording me the privilege of continuing as a member of the Bristol Board of Park Commissioners; for those council members who opted not to support my reappointment, I would only request, in your future decisions regarding (re)appointments, that you display the decency to obtain adequate information on the contributions of volunteers to city boards and/or commissions before deciding to use these individuals as "political pawns" for your own self-serving agendas, as you did with the me and the other two members of the Board of Park Commissioners last evening. Elected officials should not hinder volunteers from wanting to serve their community by such public displays.

Sincerely,
Lori DeFillippi
Park Commissioner

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

Park appointments go through after all

After my press deadline, city councilors emerged from an executive session to learn from a city lawyer that the charter requires that park commissioners be appointed this month.
Of course, that didn't mean it had to be done tonight.
But city Councilor Ken Cockayne switched sides this time around to allow a 4-3 vote to reappoint Lori DeFillippi, Tom Ragaini and Pat Nelligan to the Park Board.
The three holdouts -- Councilors Craig Minor, Kevin McCauley and Cliff Block -- wanted to wait for another meeting later in the month, still hoping to force Mayor Art Ward to remake the Park Revitalization Committee.
Ward called the whole episode "unbelievable."
And so we know now that Cockayne is already the swing vote, the one guy everyone needs. That makes him a pretty powerful figure for a freshman Republican.

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

Ward's honeymoon over

Mayor Art Ward’s honeymoon is already over.
Shortly after the City Council tabled the mayor’s request to reappoint embattled economic development director Jonathan Rosenthal, councilors rebelled against Ward’s effort to reappoint three Park Board members allied with the mayor.
Councilor Craig Minor said he would not support the reappoint of any of the trio until Ward recreates the Park Revitalization Committee that has spearheaded the multi-million project to overhaul key city parks.
Though Ward said he intends to form the panel again, Minor got three other councilors to support his bid to block the reappointment of park commissioners Tom Ragaini, Lori DeFillippi and Pat Nelligan.
As long as the trio are not replaced, they’ll continue to serve in their volunteer positions.
Rosenthal, who is paid more than $90,000 annually, has been serving in his position since April 2006 without reappointment.
Former Mayor William Stortz refused to bring Rosenthal’s name to the council or to make an effort to replace him.
Ward vowed to bring Rosenthal’s appointment up for a vote, but he has yet to say whether he’ll support another term for the economic development director who has served since 1994.
The only councilor to vote against delaying any move on Rosenthal was Frank Nicastro, a former mayor who originally appointed him. Ward joined the rest of the council in tabling the decision.
Several insiders said that if a vote had been taken at Tuesday’s council meeting, Rosenthal would not have garnered the support of a majority.
But Councilors Cliff Block, Kevin McCauley and Mike Rimcoski each said they would not discuss their reasoning in public because it was a personnel matter. McCauley made the motion to table Rosenthal.
On the park board reappointments, Minor secured the backing of McCauley, Block and Ken Cockayne.
Nicastro, Ward and Rimcoski voted against the delay in reappointing the park commissioners.
On one other vote, Minor alone voted against Ward’s request to appoint Mitzy Rowe, the Bristol Housing Authority director, to serve on an arts and culture committee. Minor said a BHA representative wasn’t needed on the panel.


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