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| NORWALK HISTORICAL COMMISSION MINUTES |
APRIL 25, 2007
ATTENDANCE: Peter Bondi, Chairman; Gail Wall, Marilyn Robinson,
Eric Chandler, Charles Yost, Charles Lashley, David Park,
Kathryn Martino, Deborah Mathies, John Kurtzman (7:17 p.m.)
OTHER: David Westmorland, Marijia Bryant, Carol Ann Falsca, Tom
Soltes, Ralph Bloom, Matt Brislow, the Advocate.
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Bondi called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
CEMETERY RESTORATION – DAVID WESTMORLAND
Mr. Westmoreland distributed copies of his report on the Mill Hill Cemetery to the Commissioners.
Mr. Westmorland presented his report about the Mill Hill Cemetery Restoration Plan to the Commission members. He then outlined for the Commission how the restoration would be handled and the planned phases of restoration with the Commissioners.
Mr. Kurtzman arrived at 7: 17 P.M.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES – MARCH 28TH, 2007
The following corrections were noted:
Page 3, paragraph 9 line 2: please change: “We have fourteen (14) Norwalk 3R grade school” to “We have fourteen (14) Norwalk 3rd grade school”
Page 5, paragraph 2, line 1: please change: “Don’s mail has been stopped.” To “Val’s mail has been stopped.”
Page 6, paragraph 8, line 1: please change the following: “ Ms. Wall said she would like better education. This administration has not been in the best interest of the Historical Commission.” To “Ms. Wall said she would like better educated. This administration has not been acting in the best interest of the Historical Commission.”
** MS. ROBINSON MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED.
** MR. CHANDLER SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Ms. Robinson said that when she was chairperson of the Commission, she had it
set up so that when a meeting took place, an email was sent out to all the members
informing them. She said that she made a point of having the committee chairperson
attend the meeting with her. Since Mr. Bondi has assumed the chairmanship, Ms.
Robinson said that she has not been receiving regular emails about meetings
and being updated. When Mr. Bondi replied that he has been invited to attend
a meeting regarding the situation about the Curator with the Mayor, Ms. Robinson
replied that this was a separate, independent Commission that decides what it
wishes to do by voting. The Mayor should not be telling the Commission what
to do, nor is the Commission obligated to listen to the Mayor or Corporation
Counsel. Ms. Robinson stated that the Historical Commission has full authority.
Ms. Robinson said that it seemed to her that as a Commission that is charged
with being responsible for all these areas, it was not appropriate for just
the Chairperson to attend the meeting alone. Mr. Bondi pointed out that while
he was present, the Personnel Director, Corporation Counsel and the union involved
are the ones that will be making the decision. However, Mr. Bondi said that
the Commission could still voice an opinion. Ms. Robinson agreed and said that
previous meetings had been attended with that intent. She said that Mr. Haselkamp
had met with her at her office one time in order to find out her opinion and
other Commissioners had met with Mr. Haselkamp about this issue. Ms. Robinson
said Mr. Haselkamp would not hear the Commission’s opinion if Mr. Bondi did
not call the other Commission members to let them know about the meetings.
Ms. Wall said that with all due respect, Mr. Bondi had been in the position since January and there is a history with the Curator, her status and performance prior to Mr. Bondi’s appointment to the Commission. She reminded everyone that there was a vote of no confidence for the curator. Ms. Wall also commented that Mr. Bondi was friendly with the Curator. Ms. Wall said that quite frankly if any meetings take placed with Mayor, the Personnel Director or the Union, Mr. Bondi should keep the meeting fair and balanced by having one of the senior Commissioners there when discussing the Curator or any staffing issues. Mr. Bondi said that he would take it under advisement.
Mr. Park commented that since January Mr. Park thought that Mr. Bondi had been doing a very good job as Chairman of the Commission. He said that he had visited various locations such as cemeteries and buildings with Mr. Bondi. Ms. Robinson said that neither she nor Ms. Wall were saying that Mr. Bondi was not doing a good job, but she would like to see an email to all the Commission members saying that Mr. Bondi and Mr. Park were going to view a particular site and inviting others to attend also. All the Commissioners are present and volunteering their time, also,
Ms. Wall reiterated that there is a history with documentation; there is a vote of no confidence in the Curator. She stated that it would be important that everyone who is meeting understand the situation exactly that has been unfolding for several years.
Ms. Robinson then said that there were guests present who were attending in relationship to the Rodgers Ritch Merritt House. She said that when she was chairperson, she would often move the agenda items out of order so that the guests would not have to sit through the entire meeting.
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED SUSPEND THE RULES TO CONSIDER AGENDA ITEM 5D - SUB COMMITTEES
REPORT – THE REALLOCATION OF FUNDS ROGERS RITCH MERRITT HOUSE NEXT.
** MS. WALL SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Rogers Ritch Merritt House (RRM)- reallocation of funds
** MR. PARK MADE A MOTION TO REAPPROPRITATE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE ROGERS RITHC MERRITT HOUSE CAPITAL PROJECT WITH SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND TO THE MILL HILL COMPLEX FOR THE CEMETERY AND SMITH STREET, AND TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND TO THE CARRIAGE HOUSE AND GATE LODGE IN MATHEWS PARK.
Mr. Park said that he had inspected a number of the buildings and had found a lot of dry rot, particularly at the Fitch Law Office and the Schoolhouse. Recently, the sites were re-inspected and the deterioration had progressed since June 2006, when the first quote was done. Mr. Park said that he felt it was important to do the repairs before the winter as the situation will continue to get worse and the costs will increase. He stated that the Law Office and Schoolhouse are precious assets to the City and should be maintained. He also said that this was not an abandonment of the Rogers Ritch Merritt House, since fifty thousand dollars of the City’s money would be left in the account.
Mr. Park said that he also wished to respond to the earlier comment about the administration. He said that he had never received any instructions from the current administration as to what to say or do or anything else. He felt that this it would be common sense to take care of the buildings.
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED TO AMEND THE MOTION TO INCLUDE THAT THE RRM HOUSE IS STILL A VIABLE PROJECT AND THE RRM HOUSE SHOULD REMAIN AS AN OPEN PROJECT.
Mr. Lashley asked if the guests present would identify themselves. The various guests identified themselves and Ms. Robinson stated that Ms. Falsca was the former vice chair.
A question was asked if the funds that were being considered for reallocation
had anything to do with a recent letter from the Friends of the Norwalk Museums
or the Kiwanis Club. Mr. Bondi replied that this was a separate account.
A question was asked about what kind of plans were in motion regarding the Rogers
Ritch Merritt House. Mr. Bondi said that it had been stalled for five years.
He was then asked how by a member of the Commission. It was then commented that
removing the funds from the account would set the RRM even further back. Mr.
Bondi said it was important to fix the buildings that are already in place and
there has been no funding from the City. Several contemporary prints were recently
ruined by a roof leak at the Carriage House.
Ms. Wall said that with all due respect, after reading Mr. Hamilton’s email, Mr. Bondi was requesting two separate actions and that the Common Council had only approved one, but not the other. She said that if the money was requested, it did not mean that the money would then be reappropriated to Mill Hill or to other Historic Commission budget items. Mr. Bondi replied that if they did not appropriate the money to Mill Hill, then the funds would be returned to the RRM account. Mr. Park said that he had spoken with Mr. Wilms about this and had been directed to Mr. Hamilton for further instruction. Ms. Wall said that this was assuming that the Mayor concurs and Ms. Wall wanted to know if the Mayor is not in support of the request. Mr. Bondi replied that he could not guarantee anything, but the fact of the matter was that if the request did not pass, the funds would remain in the account. Mr. Bondi went on to say that Mr. Hamilton told him if the funds are not used in the near future, they may be removed from the account all together. Mr. Bondi said that there was something in the Charter that allowed this.
Ms. Wall suggested that Mr. Bondi ask for a meeting with the Mayor and the Grants Coordinator to develop an RFP to at least put the shell of the building up. Mr. Bondi reiterated that this project had been going on for five years. Mr. Bondi then said that he had met with the Grants Coordinator two months. Ms. Wall then asked why Mr. Bondi had not taken another member of the Commission with him. Mr. Bondi said that he was trying to get the buildings repaired and be proactive.
Ms. Wall said that she had been working on proposals for two years with the Curator and she had personally have gone through two years of proposals which sat on the Curators desk or there has been one sand bag after another. Ms. Wall said that the Commission had been working very actively and had accomplished quite a bit. Ms. Wall said that she did not appreciate Mr. Bondi’s attitude.
Mr. Bondi pointed out that the bids had not been filed properly with specs. Ms. Robinson said that the Curator was in charges of the bids. Ms. Robinson said that the Curator had not been able to facilitate any of the proposals, which is why there was a no confidence vote taken about the Curator. The projects that the Commission wished to move forward, the Curator would not follow through and often would additionally complicate matters.
Ms. Bryant said that she had many emails from the Curator about the various bids with the Finance Department. Mr. Bondi then reviewed the bid process with the Commission.
Ms. Mathies asked if Capital funds could be used for repairs. Ms. Wall replied that the Commission was handing the money back to the City with no documentation that the Mayor supports returning the same money back to the Commission. Mr. Bondi said that the money would be reallocated back to other Commission projects. Ms. Mathies then asked if the repairs were considered Capital projects.
A discussion about the allocation of funds and the history of the RRM followed.
** THE MOTION FAILED WITH THREE IN FAVOR (BONDI, YOST, AND PARK) AND SEVEN AGAINST (ROBINSON, WALL, CHANDLER, LASHLEY, MARTINO, MATHIES AND KURTZMAN).
** MS. WALL MOVED THAT THE CHAIR OF THE HISTORIC COMMISSION AND AT LEAST THREE
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ASK FOR A MEETING WITH THE MAYOR TO DISCUSS THE ROGERS
RITCH MERRITT PROJECT AND BUDGET FUNDING.
** MR. LASHLEY SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SEVEN IN FAVOR (ROBINSON, WALL, CHANDLER, LASHLEY,
MARTINO, MATHIES, AND KURTZMAN) AND TWO AGAINST (BONDI AND PARK) AND ONE ABSTENTION
(YOST).
REPORTS: BOARDS
Friends of the Norwalk Museums
Mr. Bloom distributed copies of the monthly report to the Commissioners. He then reviewed the highlights of the report with the Commissioners.
Norwalk Historical Society
Ms. Wall distributed copies of the monthly report to the Commissioners. She then gave a brief overview of the schedule for the Mill Hill complex. Ms. Wall said that Mr. Ventry had sent out for bids on lighting at the Town House and the first has arrived.
Greenwich Public Schools have recently inquired about doing a tour of the complex. She then reviewed the third grade program for some of the Commissioners who are new to the Commission.
Lockwood Mathew Mansion
Mr. Hempstead was not able to attend the meeting
SUBCOMMITTEES (Cont’d.)
Finance - No report.
Building Committee - Mr. Kurtzman said that there was nothing new to report.
Carriage House
Mr. Bondi said that he had been contacted about a leak at the Carriage House, which destroyed some contemporary prints. Mr. Bondi said a temporarily fix for the roof would cost $4,000 and replacing the roof would cost $28,000 according to the quotes Walter Construction gave Mr. Bondi. A call has also gone out to Rick’s Main Roofing about the job. Mr. Bondi said that there was $45,000 in the capital account that was allocated last year for either roof repairs or painting and wood repair.
Mill Hill Repair estimates
Mr. Bondi repeated that the estimates that had been done previously are no longer accurate for a number of reasons. Mr. Bondi said that he had approached Mr. Carney at Redevelopment for architectural specs to move forward.
Cemetery Reports
Mr. Park said that he met with Mr. Westmoreland on April 6th. The work that Mr. Westmoreland has been doing at St. Paul’s on the Green has basically been volunteer work. Any costs has incurred has been applied towards the backhoe and other materials needed. Many of the simple breaks and straightening at Mill Hill can be done by Mr. Westmoreland. More complicated projects will require other methods.
Mr. Park said that he had also spoken with Mr. Westmoreland about Brookside Cemetery. It was suggested that perhaps the Boy Scouts might be able to help out under Mr. Westmoreland supervision. Mr. Park also mentioned that some of the raking and simple tree work might be also included. Mr. Mocciae should be ultimately responsible for tree trimming.
Ms. Wall commented that the same situation had happened at Mill Hill. Ms. Wall said that requesting Mr. Mocciae to take care of the trimming is fine, but that the budget is about to be finalized and if the project is not included, it might not get done. Mr. Bondi suggested that the Commission and Mr. Westmoreland survey the trees that they feel need to be trimmed and tag them.
Ms. Mathies commented that there was a tree at Pine Island that is growing into the stonewall and pushing the wall out of alignment. She said that she had been asking him to remove that for years without success. Ms. Mathies commented that she had gotten a call from Mr. Rumer about a group willing to clean up the trash at Pine Island from 9-12 on April 28th.
There was a question about the new parking lot behind the Lockwood Mathews Mansion. Mr. Bondi said that he had told the crew to save the old stones and the stones will be placed by the Carriage House wall. There was also a discussion about three cemetery stones that were found by the back of the police station. Mr. Westmoreland will be doing some research on the stones to determine where they belong.
Ms. Wall asked about the hat molds that had been discussed at the last meeting.
Mr. Bondi said that the donors names had been put on them and they were placed
in the agreed upon spot. Ms. Wall asked if a thank you letter had been done.
Mr. Bondi said that he had written a letter.
OLD BUSINESS
There were two questions about the RRM; whether the funds had been carried over from the previous year and whether the zoning permit needs to be renewed. Mr. Bondi said that he would check on the zoning permit.
NEW BUSINESS
A two minute video of the 1955 Flood was donated to the Museum by Attorney Sparh. Mr. Bondi said that he would like to put it on the website.
** MR. PARK MOVED TO ACCEPT THE TWO MINUTE VIDEO OF THE 1955 FLOOD DONATED
BY ATTORNEY SPARH.
** MR. CHANDLER SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
** MS. ROBINSON MOVED TO ALLOW THE VIDEO TO BE TAKEN TO THE IT DEPARTMENT FOR ADDITION TO THE WEBSITE.
Committee Assignments:
Mr. Bondi announced the following assignments:
Building Committee: John Kurtzman, David Park, and Charles Lashley
Cemetery Committee: David Park and Debbie Mathies
Museum Committee: Charles Lashley and Eric Chandler
Finance Committee: Kathryn Martino and Charles Yost
Mr. Bondi said that he would also like to form the ad hoc committee to meet with the Mayor. Ms. Wall, Mr. Lashley, Mr. Chandler and Mr. Bondi will be setting up
** MS. ROBINSON MOVED TO ACCEPT THE FOUR PERMANENT COMMITTEES AND THE ONE AD
HOC COMMITTEE.
** MS. WALL SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
There was some discussion about forming a committee for the RRM House. Mr. Lashley, Ms. Robinson, Ms. Martino and Ms. Wall.
** MR. CHANDLER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE ROGERS RITCH MERRITT HOUSE COMMITTEE COMPOSED
OF MR. LASHLEY, MS. ROBINSON, MS. MARTINO AND MS. WALL.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADJOURNMENT
** MR. PARK MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MR. CHANDLER SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Soltes
Telesco Secretarial Service
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