Oh, those muddy waters

A sediment pond west of Rockwell Park leaked a large amount of muddy water into the Pequabuck River this week, officials said.

A city probe of the spill determined there must have been “seepage” from one of the large filtration ponds on Jay Dee Realty’s property near the park, Mayor Art Ward said Wednesday.

A video filmed this week by Carl Swanson, an environmental activist in town, showed water gushing through a culvert that leads from the site to Cuss Gutter, a creek that flows through the park into the river.

Where the muddy flow entered the river, it turned the clear water flowing in the Pequabuck to an ugly haze.

Swanson, who could not be reached, described the situation as disgusting. He uploaded three videos detailing what he witnessed onto YouTube on Tuesday.

Ward said he watched a short snippet of the footage Wednesday and immediately called two public works officials to his office to find out what the city was doing about it. After talking to the mayor, an assistant city engineer prepared a written report.

According to the report by Ray Rogozinski, an assistant city engineer, the incident was reported to the city on Tuesday.

David Clout, an environmental technician for the city, investigated the complaint and found that “the discharge was from an earth removal operation north of Farrell Avenue operated by Jay Dee Realty,” the report said.

The city contacted Blake DellaBianca, Jay Dee’s representative, to let him know about the problem and to tell him to prevent any more discharge, which was “associated with dewatering an area of the site.”

By Wednesday, the flow had stopped, the report said.

At a meeting Wednesday, DellaBianca was told that any discharge of water with high sediment content “is unacceptable and any future discharges will result in enforcement action from the Inland Wetlands Commission.”

The city plans to monitor the situation daily. If sediment is found, the report said, “a cease and desist will be issued” to Jay Dee.

DellaBianca did not return calls Wednesday.

The report said the matter will be discussed at Monday’s Wetlands Commission session, slated for 7 p.m. at City Hall.

If you want to see the videos, please be aware that Carl Swanson's language may offend some. If you're sensitive about cursing, please either don't watch the videos or turn down your sound.

Video #1

Video #2

Video #3

As an aside, what Swanson did is a terrific example of citizen journalism, though he probably should have watched his words a little better and might not have wanted to advertise that he probably trespassed.

In any case, anybody who get some footage of something newsworthy -- let's put those Flip cameras to good use, everybody -- should let me know when you upload it. I'm happy to share your work with the community at large. That includes tapes of candidates talking, fires and anything else that's at least vaguely 'newsy' some people might want to see.

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

Lawton calls for action on Bristol Hospital

Press release from independent mayoral candidate Gary Lawton: BRISTOL HOSPITAL SAVED FOR NOW Bristol Hospital certainly dodged the bullet this time, but I think we all know that if UCONN and Hartford Hospital want a new medical cetner they will pull out all the stops to get one. So what do we do now? I suggest that perhaps Bristol Hospital's President Barwis ,Representatives Hamzy and Nicastro and State Senator Colopietro meet with UCONN and Hartford Hospital to see if Bristol Hospital too, can be part of the relationship. I see a potential benefit for not only Bristol Hospital , but also for surrounding towns. I see us benefiting from the research and grant money that UCONN could provide and Bristol Hospital could not. The closing of Bristol Hospital would result in the end of local medical services and the loss of over 500 jobs, many of which are filled by people who live right here in Bristol. Bristol Hospital's presence benefits not only Bristol, but also surrounding areas not close enough to UCONN OR Hartford Hospital. So we not only owe it to ourselves to keep Bristol Hospital open, but also to those towns that do not have such an excellent resource.

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

Minor plans to stay active

Three-term Democratic city Councilor Craig Minor also completed his final council meeting this week.

He said Wednesday that he opted to step down because he believes it is crucial that the city have a regular infusion of “new blood and new ideas.”

Minor said that it takes a couple of years to learn the ropes, but after a couple more years it’s easy to “get discouraged” at the slow pace of change in government.

“You reach a point of diminishing returns,” Minor said. “Like most people, I don’t feel I accomplished as much as I hoped to.”

Mayor Art Ward said Minor compiled a solid record in office.

“Craig has done a yeoman’s job chairing the Ordinance Committee,” the mayor said.

City Councilor Kevin McCauley said Minor “helped initiate me” to the council and will be missed.

He said Minor should have free time for his hobbies, his family and more without the obligations of so many city meetings.

Minor said, though, that as a private citizen, he has no intention of slipping into the background.

He said he will be able to focus on projects that mean the most to him and to push the city to make them happen.

As a councilor, Minor said, he often had “to bite my tongue” but as a citizen he can say whatever he wants.

For instance, he said, as a councilor who wants to preserve the old South Chippens School building, he feels an obligation to figure out how to pay for it. As a citizen, though, he can push his ideas and tell officials they need to come up the cash.

“As a private citizen, I don’t have to be objective,” Minor said. “I’ll just go to the other side of podium.”

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

Nicastro's final City Council session

After clocking 20 years at City Hall, city Councilor Frank Nicastro completed his last City Council session this week.

“I will miss it, but it’s time to move on,” said Nicastro, a former mayor.

Nicastro, a state representative for the 79^th District, has racked up one of the most impressive political records in the city’s history, winning every race except for a primary the first time he sought office a quarter century ago.

Nicastro, a former truant officer, served as a city councilor for six years beginning in 1987, then put in five consecutive terms as mayor, from 1993 to 2003, before stepping down voluntarily. Two years later, he ran again for council to add four more years to his City Hall resume.

“The city of Bristol is going to be a little poorer for not having him here,” said city Councilor Mike Rimcoski, a Republican who sometimes dueled with the veteran Democrat.

He said that Nicastro didn’t always agree with him, but he always listened to other points of view.

“He always tried to do the best for everyone,” said longtime Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski. “He’s been fair to everyone.”

City Councilor Ken Cockayne, a first-term Republican, said that Nicastro “got me involved in politics” by selecting him to serve on the Roberts property committee years ago.

Mayor Art Ward, who served on the council during Nicastro’s mayoral terms, said that the pair “had some good times” over the years.

He thanked Nicastro “for setting me up to this” as the city’s leader and never hesitating to offer guidance.

City Councilor Kevin McCauley said Nicastro served as a mentor for him, “grooming me so I can take over if needed.”

Nicastro may be leaving the stage at City Hall, but he remains in the legislature and said he has no intention of giving up his seat there.

“We have tough times ahead of us and I’ve got to fight for our interests” in Hartford, Nicastro said.

Nicastro said he’s learned over the years that even though politicians are “quick to criticize” when a municipal official errs, the city’s been blessed with “some of the finest people on the staff.”

In addition, he said, the elected officials he’s served with, from both parties, have always had their hearts in the right place.

“There isn’t a councilor here who doesn’t love this city,” Nicastro said.

And with his typical understatement, Nicastro called for God’s blessing “on the greatest city in the state of Connecticut.”

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

City selling more property, but not without dissent

The city sold $85,200 worth of surplus property Tuesday that will help fill dwindling municipal coffers during a tight budget year.

Councilors also agreed to sell a handful of other parcels, including one by Stafford School that city planners urged officials to keep.

City Councilor Frank Nicastro, who heads the city’s Real Estate Committee, said the city has managed to sell $800,000 worth of property in the last couple of years.

That money, he said, has helped hold down taxes while also increasing the Grand List by adding more taxable land and buildings to the rolls.

The biggest sale was a decrepit house at 406 Broad St. that the city acquired in June when its former owner fell way behind on taxes.

Councilors agreed to sell it to Michael Baillargeon for $55,200 on the condition that he keep it as a single-family house. Officials said he plans to restore it.

The only other bidder offered $30,000, Nicastro said.

The city also sold Lot 199 on Main Street, near the High Street library, for $30,000 to Joseph Geladino, a former Republican candidate for public office.

“This was the best offer we had,” Nicastro said.

What proved most controversial, though, wasn’t the sale of the two parcels.

It was instead whether to overrule the Planning Commission’s recommendation to hang on to a building lot on the east side of Morris Avenue.

Nicastro and other councilors said they are confident the city can sell it to someone who would build a house on it.

But planners said the city ought to keep it as a pathway from Morris Avenue to Stafford School, a route that children used in the past with some frequency.

As recently as 18 months ago, the Board of Education urged the city to keep it.

But this summer, educators said they didn’t care if it was sold because children don’t use it anymore and the addition of two new schools makes it exceedingly unlikely that Stafford School will ever be expanded.

Planners said, though, that the city ought to keep it anyway because conditions could someday change.

City Councilor Craig Minor said he thought selling it would be fine. But, he said, he was “really troubled” at the notion of overruling the planning board.

In the end, he voted to keep the land, a decision that city Councilor Mike Rimcoski also favored. Rimcoski said he hated going against the planners.

But on a 5-2 vote that saw the rest of the council reject the planning recommendation – more than the two-thirds required to overrule the panel – councilors agreed to try to sell the lot.

“Let’s get the money,” said city Councilor Ken Cockayne.

Mayor Art Ward said that officials have been eyeing the lot for possible sale for at least four years and because there is “no future use anticipated” it made no sense to keep it.

“It’s time to let the property go,” said city Councilor Cliff Block.

The city also intends to try to sell property on Belmont Street, Kilmartin Avenue, and Brewster and Town Line roads.

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

New Tattoo issue has range of stories

This week's edition of The Tattoo features a variety of pieces -- a talk with a space shuttle pilot, a review of "The Reader" and a look at the colorful Hindu holiday of Navarathri.
Youth Journalism International newcomer Francis Byne, a Connecticut seventh grader, talked to a NASA astronaut in Bristol about what it's like to blast off into space and to see the world from the heavens. He also has a first-person reporter's notebook.
Caroline Nelissen,a Youth Journalism International reporter who lives in the Netherlands, chips in a spendid review of "The Reader," just in time for the DVD release of the movie.
And from India, YJI reporter Janani Ramachandran provides a glimpse into the Hindu holiday of Navarathri, her favorite.

See this week's issue by clicking here.
You can follow Youth Journalism International, our educational wing, on Twitter @yjinternational and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Youth Journalism International.

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

Bristol's legislators prepared to fight for courthouse

Bristol lawmakers said Friday they’ll fight any effort to repeal a statute that guarantees the city’s courthouse will remain open.
“It would be crazy for anyone here to vote against it,” said state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat.
State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat and former mayor, said he would “fight tooth and nail to keep that law on the books. I’m going to protect our city as much as I can.”
Legislators said they’re ready to fend off efforts by judicial officials who said this week they’d seek to wipe from the books the law protecting Bristol’s courthouse. Judicial officials argue that to meet required budget cuts, they need to shutter the downtown courthouse as one of many spending cuts.
State Rep. Chris Wright, a first-term Bristol Democrat, said the city already lost its priority school funding this year “so it’s not like we’ve gone unscathed” in the budget process.
He said that targeting the courthouse goes too far.
“It seems Bristol is beging asked to give more than most,” Wright said. “It’s a question of fairness. It’s a question of equity.”
The speaker of the state House, Democrat Christopher Donovan of Meriden, said Friday that Gov. Jodi Rell “assured us there would be no courthouse closings.”
“We’re certainly not talking about overturning a law that keeps” the Bristol courthouse operating, he said. “We want to keep the Bristol courthouse open.”
State Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose district includes a portion of Bristol, said he’s glad the judicial branch recognizes the law guaranteeing that Bristol’s courthouse will operate at least 40 weeks per year. It should stay in the statute books, he said.
Donovan said the governor shouldn’t have vetoed the budget measure last week that ensured enough funding for Bristol’s courthouse.
“What we are talking about is overturning the governor's veto of legislation that would have protected this courthouse,” he said, “and we could use the help of Representative Hamzy and others to override that veto.”
“I doubt we’re even going to have that veto session,” Hamzy said, adding that he wouldn’t vote for the measure anyway given the extras the Democrats larded it with.
Nicastro said he would talk with other legislators in the month ahead to make sure they support Bristol’s position.
“I’m not going to have Bristol singled out,” Nicastro said.
Colapietro said it’s crucial to keep the courthouse open.
“I just don’t want to see a ghost town here,” the senator said. “Everything is going to New Britain. What are we going to call ourselves? New Bristol?”
He pointed out that Bristol has already lost its unemployment office, social services office and more to the slightly larger city.
“What are these poor people do to? Go to New Britain?” Colapietro asked.

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

More debates possible, if anyone's willing to sponsor them

All three mayoral candidates said they are willing to debate more if a sponsor turns up for additional showdowns.
“I’m open to anything that’s being assembled,” Mayor Art Ward said Friday.
The only scheduled debate is set for Thursday at a breakfast meeting of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce for which people who want to attend have to pay. It will be taped and televised later, however.
Republican mayoral hopeful Mary Alford said it would be nice to have “a Lincoln-Douglas style debate “where the candidates actually face off within a timed comment-rebuttal structure.”
“It’s a bit trickier to set up and manage but I think it might be exciting,” she said.
Independent mayoral candidate Gary Lawton, who rounds out the field, said he’s willing to talk to any group that’s interested in hearing what he has to say.
Ward said he hasn’t learned of any potential debates other than the one put together by the chamber.
“Time is getting real short,” the mayor said, but if someone else wants to sponsor a session, he’d try to get there.
“If my schedule is such that I can be there, it sounds good to me,” Ward said.
Alford said she recognizes “that time is short and financing a challenge, but if there is anyone or any group willing to sponsor such a debate, I say let’s do it.”
In past municipal races, forums and debates have been sponsored by a variety of organizations, including the Federal Hill Association, student groups at the high schools, senior advocates and others. But it doesn’t appear any have plans to step forward this year.
Lawton said it is “unfortunate” the chamber is charging for attendance at the sole debate on the calendar.
The mayoral debate, moderated by television newsman Tom Monahan, will be broadcast on Comcast channel 96 and AT&T’s U-Verse channel 99 at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19 and again at 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 1.
There is also a City Council debate, which is free to attend, that begins at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20 at City Hall. Bristol Press Publisher Mike Schroeder will serve as its moderator.
The council debates will be shown live on the same channels as the mayoral contest. It will be shown again at 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 25 and at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The election is Tuesday, November 3. Mayors and councilors serve two-year terms.

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

Wright fires back at Mocabee

State Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat, took note the other day of Republican operative Art Mocabee's potshots at him.
But he shrugged them off.
"Art Mocabee could not be more irrelevant to the people of Bristol and the people of Connecticut if he wanted to be," said the first-term 77th District representative.
Wright said this morning that Mocabee "is a chihuahua who thinks he's a pit bull. He goes around biting ankles and thinks people are afraid of him."
He said that Mocabee "is just somebody who has an overinflated opinion of himself."
Wright said that he never tried to follow Mocabee's Twitter feed -- apparently, a fake Wright Twitter feed concocted by the Republicans is what Mocabee actually noticed -- and wouldn't follow him.
"If I was following Art Mocabee, I'd have to lose elections," Wright said, instead of winning them.

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

Parenti eyes treasurer's office

Press release from GOP city Treasurer contender Rose Parenti:

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the citizens of Bristol. I’m Rose Parenti, I am running for City Treasurer on the Republican Ticket.

I am the owner of Computer Development Systems, Inc., a local Computer company that my husband Rick and I started 28 years ago. We moved our business from Terryville to Bristol in 1984 because we felt Bristol was a tremendous city to operate our business in. When my husband passed away last year I made the decision to continue the business with the support of my employees to provide computer support to Bristol and the surrounding area.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, moving to Terryville, CT after the company my father was employed by, the Accurate Forging company relocated from Brooklyn to Bristol. I have two sons, Bill & Tony, they along with their wives and children live in Bristol. My grandchildren attend school in Bristol.

Having lived in Bristol since 1992, I have been involved in many organizations including Quota International of Bristol of which I have been a member for 20 years, being its treasurer, vice president and president.

Bristol has been good to me and my family, I feel that with my business experience and knowledge, serving as your treasurer would be one way to repay you and help Bristol grow.

As treasurer I will do my utmost to safeguard our investments and to maximize the return on the investments. Although I will be limited by law, I will stay on top of all activities providing support and help to the city’s full time staff.

I hope I have given you enough information so that you feel comfortable voting for me on November 3. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 860.583.5993.

Please remember Rose Parenti, 2A on the ballot on election day.

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

Ward investigates talks with Cockayne

After learning last week that some city workers may have talked extensively with a city councilor while they were on the clock, Mayor Art Ward ordered an investigation to try to find the culprits.
The probe got nowhere, however, because city Councilor Ken Cockayne refused to provide any names.
Cockayne, a first-term Republican, said he spoke with a number of municipal workers months ago about their concerns surrounding contract concessions sought by the city and other issues.
“I don’t know how long the meetings lasted. Could have been 10 minutes, could have been two hours,” Cockayne said Wednesday. “I never felt at any time that anyone did something wrong.”
He said he felt “flabbergasted” when he learned that Ward was probing the talks to see if he could catch some of the workers who talked to Cockayne.
Ward said he heard last week that Cockayne told union leaders at a political endorsement meeting that the employees had to come to his office driving city vehicles during working hours.
The mayor said that after Cockayne refused to tell him whom he had met with, he asked city Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to investigate.
Ferguson said she called Cockayne.
“He didn’t have any information” that he would share, she said, “so that’s it.”
She closed the probe, Ward said, because she had no leads to pursue.
“I don’t understand why there’s an investigation,” Cockayne said.
Ward said Cockayne and the workers who talked to him had bypassed a “procedure that needs to be respected” for negotiations between the city and its workforce.
He said every councilor has short conversations with city employees at times. There’s nothing wrong with that, Ward said.
But in this case Cockayne went too far, the mayor said.
Ward said the councilor “should have moved in a direction that would have avoided prolonged conversations” during a ticklish time when the city was trying to convince unions to agree to take less than contracts had called for.
Cockayne said many of the concerns he heard were from rank-and-file workers who weren’t happy with union leaders.
“The people who came to me did so in confidence and I will not betray their trust,” Cockayne said.
He said he never asked if someone was on break or personal time when they came to speak with him.
“I’m here to serve my constituents and anyone who wants to talk to me at any time knows how to get a hold of me,” Cockayne said. “I try to make myself available day, night, afternoon, anytime. I do my best.”
He said he thinks the root of the problem is that municipal union leaders are upset that employees reached out to him.

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

Bristol Fire videos

Poking around the web today, I ran across a whole bunch of YouTube videos from someone calling himself "tylerweatherman," who shoots footage of fire-related incidents in Bristol. He calls his channel "Bristol Fire News."

I found them oddly interesting. Check them out here.

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