I went to Town Hall to drop off a letter to the selectmen today. As I entered, I expected to see the First Selectman’s door closed. It’s always been closed every time I’ve been to Town Hall in the six years I’ve lived here. I’m not exaggerating. I wasn’t even sure if that door opened at all.
Today, it was opened.
I received a phone call from Georgette, the owner of the Marlborough Bakery. She said that she’s been inundated with condolences and discussion about the bakery leaving town, due to the statement made by Bob Elliot at the recent BOF meeting, which I wrote about on this blog.
Georgette wanted to let me know that she is not leaving town, and not going out of business. She’d much rather get back to running her business than clarifying whether she’s leaving town. Therefore, I’m conveying this information to everyone who reads the blog, so that you don’t have ask her about it anymore.
While Georgette said that the sewer “is a mess”, and she doesn’t disagree with Elliot on the effect it’s having on businesses, the Marlborough Bakery is doing just fine and she has no plans on taking it out of town.
A meeting of the new Board of Selectmen is scheduled for tomorrow, November 15th, 7:00 PM at Town Hall. No agenda is posted yet, but I’ll likely be attending. It’s probably too soon to expect any of former Selectman Black’s messes to be revealed, but who knows?
Updated 11/14/11 5:50 PM: The BOS agenda is up and available here.
Robert Elliot did not show up for last night’s WPCA meeting. I surmise, like the rest of us, he feels rather helpless and is tired of banging his head against the wall. But, that’s just my opinion.
The meeting started late as the board was in an “executive session”, meaning they were discussing the lawsuits. Once the meeting started, chairman Jack Murrary moved around on the agenda to maintenance items like approval of minutes and public comments (there were none at this point). We then all sat there for several minutes waiting for Peter Hughes to give his report.
Hughes eventually arrived, and began reading off a status report on various items. Flow at the pump station was at 29,000 gallons per day, down from last month. Power outages during the Alfred storm required pumping of the grinder pumps on Lake Ridge, Cheney, and Denler. Hughes said at the WPCA will seek reimbursement from FEMA, as they did for Irene. The cost of pumping the grinder pumps during Irene was $3,000.
Attorney Robert Elliot
I expect to hear Elliot state everything he did last night at the Board of Finance meeting — but this time, he’s talking to the board directly responsible for putting him on the brink of bankruptcy.
It should be interesting to hear Peter Hughes lead the WPCA’s responses, if any, to Attorney Elliot. With Black now gone, will Hughes and this board actually reach out to a business owner whom they’re in the process of financially destroying, or will it be more of the same lack of response?
It may be too soon to tell, as the new Board of Selectmen hasn’t been sworn in yet, and hasn’t met with the WPCA. It’s likely they WPCA will continue on their path of indifference at this juncture. I expect that attitude to change, soon, though.
I urge the sewer district residents to go to tonight’s meeting as a show of support for our town. Elliot may not be everybody’s favorite guy, but, if he throws in the towel, I think we’ll be able to call ourselves a ghost town.
Last night’s BOF meeting was mostly Attorney Robert Elliot addressing the board. Elliot is the largest property taxpayer in Marlborough, and owns many properties in town, including the Dunkin Donuts plaza, and the adjacent plaza where the now defunct Marlborough Tavern and Marlborough Market lie vacant.
Yesterday, after my blog posts, I received a phone call from a sewer district resident. The resident opened the conversation by stating the s/he had read my blog and that I had made a huge mistake. “How so,” I asked? “By voting for Cathi. She is pro sewer expansion to the business park and has stated it publicly several times,” was the response. I stated, “That is not my understanding. My understanding is that Cathi supports expansion of the sewer to the commons, but only if a developer commits to funding a large portion of the expense. I don’t believe Cathi is in support of anything to do with the ‘business park’, other than selling it.”
“It boggles my mind that you would support her, and that more sewer district residents didn’t come out and vote,” stated the caller. I stated, “I can only make decisions on information I have. I have never heard Cathi state anything other than what I just told you.”
The conversation continued along these lines. Other topics were discussed. The conversation was interesting enough. Eventually, it ended with the caller stating, “I just wanted to call because it boggled my mind that you would support her. Time will tell which one of us is right.”
After the call, I was still confident in my decision to support Cathi… but the call, and an anonymous letter I received last month had planted the seeds of doubt.
So, to clear up the issue, I sent Cathi the following email:
For those of you who don’t know, Attorney Robert Elliot is Marlborough’s largest property (and likely sewer) taxpayer. He owns most of the property occupying the center of town. This includes the vacated Marlborough Tavern and vacated Marlborough Market. Elliot is listed on the BOF’s agenda for tonight’s meeting, as “Attorney Robert Elliott Agenda Request”. The agenda is located here.
I surmise that Elliot will be speaking to the BOF regarding his loss of revenue from these defunct businesses (primarily due to excessive sewer expenses) and either asking for help, or warning that he is on the brink of financial ruin. For clarity, this is only my opinion, and I have no knowledge that he is in dire straits, financially, or that this is why he’s listed on the agenda for tonight.
I will attend this meeting, as I’m more than curios to hear what Attorney Elliot has to say. I think it is fortuitous that Cathi is still BOF chair, and can take whatever information Elliot conveys along with her to her job as Marlborough’s First Selectman.
If I were on the BOF, I would request that WPCA chairman Jack Murray, and Town Planner, Peter Hughes attend the meeting to explain to Mr. Elliot (should my guess be correct) why they’re running him into financial ruin, and turning Marlborough into a ghost town.
The meeting is tonight, 7:00 PM at the Elmer Thienes-Mary Hall Elementary School Library.
Update: 11/9/2011 1:35 PM: It has been brought to my attention that Elliot has been on the agenda for several WPCA meetings and has missed them all. It is entirely possible he will not attend this BOF meeting as well. I still plan on going, in case he does.
Update 11/11/11 1:21 PM – Full election results available here.
Our new Board of Selectmen will consist of First Selectman Cathi Gaudinski, and selectmen Mike Gut and Dick Shea. I voted for Cathi and Dick. It took me a long time to choose between Dick Shea and Amy Traversa. I stood in the voting booth for a several minutes contemplating the choice. I really wanted someone on the board to represent the sewer district, but I also wanted Dick Shea on the board as I have never disagreed with anything the guy has said to me personally, or written in a letter to the Rivereast. He’s fiscally conservative and I am taxed to the max. I wanted someone who understands that. I surmised Amy did, but I knew Dick does. I figured Cathi would win, but Mike would get enough votes to get on the board, and I liked the statements he’s made about helping the sewer district residents. I think Cathi, Mike, and Dick will be a great team, but I wouldn’t have been disappointed if Amy had gotten in there somewhere as well.
First Selectman Elect, Catherine Gaudinski
On Friday, October 21st, Jack Murray representing the WPCA (and their attorneys) along with Peter Hughes attended a pre-trial conference for the five benefit assessment appeals filed against the WPCA. My attorney, three other plaintiffs, and I also attended this pre-trial.
The purpose of this pre-trial was to attempt settlement and save everyone legal fees. That includes the town. As everyone well knows, legal expenses were a hot topic at the last town budget vote, which caused it to fail multiple times.
Unfortunately, however, the current administration and board members of this town (Black, Murray, Hughes, et.’al) seem to be not terribly concerned with spending our tax dollars in court, as the WPCA refused to settle any of the cases.
I’m going to now tell you why this was the worst logical, legal, and financial decision the WPCA could have made.
Read more…
With snow on the ground and no power until 5:30 PM on Halloween, we didn’t have much of an event this year. Between 10 and 15 people showed up, and surprisingly, brought donations for the Food Bank (thank you!) But, normally, we get hundreds of visitors.
But, we couldn’t even allow people into the yard because of the snow. We had no sound effects, no fog, and minimal animatronics. The bulk of our hard work could not be enjoyed or viewed (thanks, Alfred).
To say the least, I’m not satisfied with this Halloween, so I’m doing it over.
I invite you to join me this Saturday night, November 5th between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend, with no chance of rain and highs in the 50′s. We’ll be collecting donations for the Food Bank, as well. Admission, as always, is free.
I hope you’ll join me for a good cause, and for some thrills.
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