CITY OF NORWALK

FINANCE COMMITTEE & PLANNING COMMITTEE

PUBLIC HEARING on CAPITAL BUDGET

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Miklave at 7:40 p.m.

With this said he proceeded with the public hearing and asked the first public speaker to come forward:

Speaker #1 – Karen Doyle Lyons, 50 Springhill Avenue

Said the budget for building management was for $30k for fire proofing for the voter registration cards and according to state statute they should be stored in fireproof vaults but they are not. Per a letter received, building management has notification from the library with requirements to store records in the vault in the Town Clerk and Tax Accessor’s offices but the amount allocated would not facilitate the records. Letters have been sent to the Mayor to request inspection of the files and they will probably be found in violation again, records must be protected and they are requesting readjustment for the fireproof cabinets.

Speaker #2 – Nathan DeRuro, 76 Gregory Blvd.

Said he did a school project and in talking to other kids found there was real need for a skate park and he supports putting one in.

Mr. Miklave good-naturedly commented he gets pressure from his kids for a skate park as well.

Speaker #3 – Dan Peltz, 35 Lenox Avenue

Said he supports a skateboarding park because it is necessary for a lot kids that do it. He said if you go out you see ten or fifteen kids that need a place to skate safely, there are a few private ramps but no designated place for this activity and he feels it is a necessity and would be nice to have a place where they wouldn’t be bothered, he offered his advice on how to build a park that would be beneficial to the community.

Speaker #4 – Bill Nightingale Jr., 17 South Beach Drive

Said it is unfortunate the Mayor is having his first night out in Rowayton because he should be present for the budget. He said they should promote this meeting more and more press should be established. He stated they are suffering from high property taxes and after the fourth phase-in they will be 2.6% of the accessed value and in comparison to Stamford, Darien and Greenwich, Norwalk’s is highest, so the $72.5 million capital budget is up from $28.5 million, which is a huge increase and the capital budget should be carefully reviewed. The school systems need improvements but the $52million budgeted should be questioned of whether or not the Board of Education is ready to spend all the monies and he suggested that maybe the allocation should be spread out. He said they need a better system of how the process works and why it is implemented and should use caution when spending the funds because it also impacts the property taxes. The five-year plan went from $50.0 million to $31.7 million representing a 7.7% increase in the operating budget from last year, he noted this information was obtained from the website. He said they need to do more to restrain spending and mill rates are also affected by a large percentage and would be off the charts compared to other towns. He also questioned the police department budget that is now 50% over square footage so $9million is part of the budget for this. In ending, he suggested canceling all studies that are done and recommended the skateboard park be done as part of a Board of Education project, defer the fire headquarters and basically put the priority in the schools.

Speaker #5 – Laurel Lindstrom, 20 Raymond Terrace

Said the amount of funding that is in the budget is supported for full funding. She said there are fifty-five (55) streets for traffic calming and there is a real need for this and speed bumps and other streets are greatly in need of calming.

She spoke about the Norwalk Center budget for $5million and said she was at a meeting with Seligson Properties and was impressed by the questions set forth by the committee to the developers and since the $5million is a placeholder this is okay but if there is a definite commitment this would present a problem, she ended in saying there are other issues to address as well.

Speaker #6 – Tony Rossi, 19 Raymond Terrace

Said he was glad about the $100k allocation for speed bumps to preserve the integrity of residential streets and also since they are a city and not a town it is important to do right things for people to allow them to continue living here.

Speaker #7 – Wiks Moffat, 67 Quintard Avenue

Said five-hundred kids are in need of a skate park and the amount of support has been overwhelming, he coaches kids in various sports and said when his son and friend got together to do a petition and the outpouring was tremendous so there is no lack of support. He said he heard the park has been mentioned for four years and they should keep in mind the matter won’t go away because they need a place and a safe place to answer the need for kids.

Mr. Miklave suggested submitting the petition to him directly to be added to the record.

Speaker #8 – Diane Lauricella, 240 Chestnut Hill Road

Thanked the committee for scheduling this meeting. She stated she wanted to discuss the revenues in service charges and fees concerning which departments produce revenues, she said the enforcement of regulations was missing such as zoning regulations and associated fines that would create a lot of attention to coalition meetings for areas like Smith Street, Grosso Industries and Silvermine. She said violations and zoning enforcements are not working such as the Conservation Commission declaratory applications. She said only $300.00 was collected but there are a lot more violations that should have been found like Environmental Health with zero violations as well as the lack of enforcement from the fire department. She said for DPW there is a lot of dumping going on and if there were enforcements this could possible promote a new source of income tempered with diplomacy. They need more prioritizing and there is a need to look at the Board of Education budget but a lot of things were put off and if possible postpone some of the items by one year as this would help to put the funds where they are really needed. They also need accountability for the police department. She noted storm drainage was approved and should be especially for North Taylor Avenue. Tree planning had a $25k bump and they need to decide who should be responsible for the trees, Parks & Recreation or Department of Public Works, she said it doesn’t matter who is ultimately responsible but diligence should be given to the proper place to put them. Traffic calming needs more enforcement as well as education but all of the $100k may not be needed. She said Heritage Park was incompletely planned originally so they should restore some monies to fix what was left asunder. In regard to the Redevelopment Agency for the Norwalk Center Development Project, she feels it was an ill-conceived project by the Redevelopment Agency in that the public was not included in the beginning and this promoted ill-will and it is ill-conceived because the focus is on Wall Street which is the hub of the city and she is concerned the last administrations decisions are following into this administration.

Speaker #9 – Tod Bryant, 23 Morgan Avenue

Said he agrees with a lot that was said regarding the Norwalk Center Development and they should start with Wall Street and not create a competing commercial zone on West Avenue; the $5million placeholder is okay but if this amount is actually spent there would be a problem, he would like restraint in spending this money and would like a portion earmarked for historic preservation. There are some vital issues in Norwalk such as the cost increase that should be looked at for the police station and demolition of houses would be a mistake.

Speaker #10 – Marisa Bryant, 23 Morgan Avenue

Spoke about the $5million placeholder for the Norwalk Center Development and the developers’ position only to develop but they are not really concerned about preserving the historic value or adding to the community. She asked that the committee look at the project to assure it is developed properly as this area is the "Heart of the City".

Speaker #11 – Mark Wilson, 137 Washington Avenue

Said Mayor Knopp talks about using models in managing government and he agrees with this and he also agrees with all the comments made tonight in terms of property taxes; he spoke about condominiums value and paying more than the fair share but with the phase-in a couple of thousand dollars would be lost. The bond rating is disputed and non-profits are hurt by this and hearing that the tax base would increased is also disputed due to the infrastructure and the $5milion put aside is considered "developer welfare checks". He said they should fix what Norwalk has and should repair the roads, put the funds on the profit making people because citizens pay for all this and ultimately if something isn’t done it would be like Stamford streets with clogged congestion and pollution. He reiterated to fix what we have and said he was tired of supporting the developers and putting money in their pocket.

Speaker #12 – Gene Horn, 24 Newfield Street

Said he was the President of Kendall School and thanked the committed for putting the school into the budget for building renovations and he said he wants to assure the $1.5million and $1.6 million is going through to the planning stage and supports it, in ending he thanked the committed again.

Speaker #13 – Lorraine Dobson, 10 Harstrom Place

Said Norwalk is what Rowayton is and where decisions are made. She spoke about item #17 per the budget for sidewalks and the decreased allocation for the sidewalks between Highland and Roton Avenue; she said sidewalk safety is a priority and asked the committee to reinstate the funds because kids constantly use the area.

She also spoke about the Norwalk Center Redevelopment project and she presented forty (40) names and four (4) letters into the record opposed to the project. She said she hopes with planning the right thing would done and monies allocated reflecting what the people care about as people have been outspoken about the issue particularly traffic concerns.

Speaker #14 – Steven Dixon, 63 Quintard Avenue

Spoke about the skateboard park and said they put together a petition and got a lot of support and since so may kids skateboard and with the younger kids seeing this, this will generate more kids who want to do it. He said there is nowhere to skate now.

Speaker #15 – George Hemby, 1 Morningside Place

Said skateboarding is popular but they get kicked out of a lot of places and need a place to skate but people make up excuses regarding safety but they are just looking to kick them out.

Speaker #16 - Gordon Tulley, 6 Walnut Avenue

Stated that as architect development drives the health of the city albeit would be nice to fix all and put a hold on development but he said that in five years he saw Norwalk change from a "donut to a hole in the center " and they shouldn’t stall development; he recommends reinforcing selling Norwalk dearly because it is a gold mine and a lot could be done and there is also a lot of community interest to access quality development to gauge the impact. He offered his services and asked the committee to spend the $5million carefully and should possibly put a hold on spending this amount for one year.

Speaker #17 – Hayes Anderson, 81 Murray Street

Said he reinforced Ms. Lindstrom’s comments regarding street calming particularly on Murray Street. He said Ms. Lindstrom has done a good job to support this need. He stated enforcement is a temporary fix and since they can’t be present every day they end up right back where they started, so for the safety of every man, woman and child this issue should be given some level of concern and he requested consideration.

Speaker #18 – Warren Tanaby

Said he supports the skate park in view of public safety because currently it is a nuisance because a lot of young children participate but a lot of streets don’t have sidewalks so they skate in the street that is dangerous; it has become a public nuisance at the Post Office and is annoying to people trying to get their work done. He said that he has 10-12 kids outside his home daily and would love a place they can go and be among other annoying people (said with humor) but the $10k should be allocated to get it done.

*A petition with thirty-three (33) names opposed to the Norwalk Center Redevelopment Plan was entered into the record.

Hearing no one the public hearing was closed at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane Graham

Telesco Secretarial Services

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