March 28, 2010

Rockville Landlord Accused Of Fire-Code Violations - Hartford Courant

Rockville Landlord Accused Of Fire-Code Violations - Hartford Courant

Rockville Landlord Accused Of Fire-Code Violations - Hartford Courant

Rockville Landlord Accused Of Fire-Code Violations - Hartford Courant: "Rockville Landlord Accused Of Fire-Code Violations March 26, 2010By DAVID OWENS, The Hartford CourantVERNON — — A 27-year veteran of Bristol's fire department is in trouble in Vernon, accused of not fixing fire-code violations at a rental property he owns in the Rockville section. Stephen Sanders, 54, of New Britain, was charged Wednesday with eight counts of violating state fire safety codes. His arrest followed several months of prodding by Vernon Fire Marshal Raymond A. Walker Jr. to repair a three-family home at 108-110 W. Main St., police and Walker said.
Sanders was released without having to post bail and is due in court April 6."

Sanders offers a different view of the situation. He said his arrest was prompted by complaints from a vengeful tenant he's been trying to evict since last summer for not paying rent. To make matters worse, Sanders said, he hasn't been able to make repairs in that tenant's apartment because he has been refused access.

"I can't just break into his apartment to fix fire-code violations," said Sanders, a lieutenant with the Bristol Fire Department.

Sanders also said the tenant, Corey Ouimette, 33, has threatened him.

Ouimette, a tenant for six years, agreed that problems began in July. He said Sanders fell behind on repairs, so he began withholding rent. He said Sanders didn't deal with issues and didn't respond to requests for repairs.

Another tenant, Ben Nicholoy, said he, too, complained to the local building department when problems were not corrected. The problems include what he described as dangerous spikes in water temperature. He has been a tenant since November.

The first-floor tenant, April Devaux, who has lived in her apartment for 14 years, said Sanders is a good landlord who makes needed repairs when asked.

Devaux said his problems with Ouimette relate to the eviction proceedings. "There were no issues until recently, when Corey started getting evicted," she said.

Walker said his request that Sanders be prosecuted is the first time he's taken that step since he arrived in Vernon during the summer of 2008.

"The goal is to seek compliance by a reasonable schedule," he said Thursday. "In this case, that broke down. The effort to reach compliance stopped occurring in any reasonable manner."

Sanders said he asked for reasonable extensions so he could to line up contractors and because some work couldn't be done in winter, such as pouring new concrete steps. Those requests were refused, he said.

The code violations that prompted the charges include obstructions in the rear hallway, missing or inoperable smoke detectors, an improperly vented clothes dryer, improper wiring of a gas heater, tripping hazards at exits, broken windows and missing covers on electrical panels, Vernon police Capt. Stephen Clark said.

Sanders said the smoke detectors had been removed by someone. He said he was trying to line up an electrician to make repairs, and was planning to take care of broken glass in two doors by installing new doors.

Vernon Connecticut FY 2010-11 Budget Deliberation and Annual Meeting dates

FY 2010-11 Budget Deliberation and Annual Meeting dates



TOWN OF VERNON

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO ATTEND THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS:

MARCH 2010 22 – Budget Deliberations – *Public Hearing
7:00 pm – Town Council Chambers, 14 Park Place
7:05 pm – Public Hearing

24 ‐ Budget Deliberations
7:00 pm – Town Council Chambers, 14 Park Place

25 ‐ Budget Deliberations
7:00 pm – Town Council Chambers, 14 Park Place

27 ‐ Budget Deliberations – *Public Hearing
10:00 am – Town Council Chambers 14 Park Place
Public Hearing and Budget Deliberations

31 ‐ Budget Deliberations
7:00 pm – Town Council Chambers, 14 Park Place

APRIL 2010
7 ‐ Budget Deliberations
7:00 pm – Town Council Chambers, 14 Park Place

27 – Annual Town Meeting – *Public Hearing
7:00 pm – Rockville High School Auditorium, 70 Loveland Hill Road
7:05 pm – Public Hearing

Please read my Mayor's message online.  You can also read the budget by going to http://www.vernon-ct.gov/budgets.html . We look forward to seeing you. 


Mayor JASON L. McCOY, ESQ.
14 PARK PLACE, VERNON, CT 06066
Tel: (860) 870-3600
Fax: (860) 870-3580
E-mail: jmccoy@vernon-ct.gov

    

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GOP Mayors To Offer Reform Ideas

2nd District Tea Party Blog: "GOP Mayors To Offer Reform Ideas
Republican Mayors and First Selectmen met at Republican State Party headquarters Saturday to exchange ideas and to brain-storm on ways to meet the state budget crisis and to prepare for the 2010 Election.

'Republicans are the party of ideas and solutions and we will make our case to people who are tired of the same old failed leadership,' said Vernon Mayor Jason McCoy Saturday. 'The quicker we put the facts on the table and show we have the answers.'"


GOP Mayors To Offer Reform Ideas
Republican Mayors and First Selectmen met at Republican State Party headquarters Saturday to exchange ideas and to brain-storm on ways to meet the state budget crisis and to prepare for the 2010 Election.

"Republicans are the party of ideas and solutions and we will make our case to people who are tired of the same old failed leadership," said Vernon Mayor Jason McCoy Saturday. "The quicker we put the facts on the table and show we have the answers."

Old Saybrook Michael Pace said Republicans must come up with an honest plan to control spending and to reach out to all groups for support, even those who have traditionally not supported Republican candidates.

"There is no money, the state is bankrupt," said Pace. "We need to get down to basics. If we do that, our state will be a better place."

Other Mayors who participated included: Mayor Tim Stewart of New Britain, Mayor Jeff Wright of Newington, Mayor Ryan Bingham of Torrington, Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury, Mayor Scott Kaupin of Enfield, First Selectman Tim Herbst of Trumbull, First Select Laura Francis of Durham, First Selectman Lisa Pellegrini of Somers, First Selectman Daniel Steward of Waterford, First Selectman Paul Formica of East Lyme, First Selectman John Adams of Granby, Pace and McCoy.

Leaders were briefed by State Central member Rebecca Adams briefed leaders on the Freedom of Information Act and the use of social networking tools to build public support for thier programs and policies.

March 25, 2010

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

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Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

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Vernon Connecticut 2010- 2011 Budget Article | ReminderNews

Article ReminderNews: "Vernon — 03/23/2010
Budget owes increase to healthcare"




BY STEVE SMITH Staff Writer
We’re in a situation where there is going to be no more state money,” said Vernon Mayor Jason McCoy, as he began the presentation of his budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. “The state doesn’t have any money. They’re broke,” he said, at the Town Council meeting last Tuesday .

Click the thumbnails above to see the full size pictures.McCoy said the budget of $78.7 million has an increase of $787,000 from debt service due to bonding that was done in 2004 and 2005 for road and school building improvements.

An increase in health insurance premiums for all town and Board of Ed. employees adds about $2.29 million – most of the total increase of $2.66 million from the current year’s budget.
The increase is divided between the $229,000 for town operations and $1.7 million for the Board of Education.

“The budget that I’m presenting,” McCoy said, “keeps the same level of services to Vernon citizens and taxpayers that they’ve received over the last 10 years.”

McCoy said this year has been one of looking at ways of reducing spending without a reduction in services. The budget would seem to reflect a commitment to education.

“This year’s proposed budget supports good quality education for our children,” McCoy said, “with no pay-toplay programs, along with no cuts of extra-curricular activities. The budget requires no layoffs of town employees, no layoffs of teachers, and no layoffs of school administrators.”

Labor costs, which have been an issue of contention for critics of McCoy’s administration, are decreased overall. McCoy said they have been mitigated through several negotiations with employees , both union and non-union , over the past year.

The health insurance premiums from Aetna had been at a fixed rate until this year. After sending the plans out for bids, the average increase from insurance companies was about 47 percent.
“The lowest ones were about 31 percent ,” McCoy said. “I hate to say it was a successful negotiation when someone tells you it’s [still] going up 20 percent.”

McCoy said there are areas of the town budget that reflect investments that will save the town money in the long run. Recycling, and the new compacting system that reduces tipping fees for the town’s refuse are some examples. “The use of trucks with automatic arms will reduce labor costs and workers’ compensation costs, and speed up delivery and services,” he said, adding that the savings is already about $300,000.
Fiber-optic systems that connect town offices and emergency services are also reducing phone bills.

McCoy did not miss the opportunity to push again for an energy commission , which would save the town money with new, green technologies and grants that are available for them, and help attract new businesses to town.

“Most importantly,” McCoy said, “is retaining existing employers. There’s a heck of a lot more that goes on in this town than government. There’s a lot of people that are unemployed. We have a real problem.”

The grand list, which has only grown by .36 percent, is the big problem, the mayor said, adding that the efforts to market the community to developers and investors is very important.
“We need jobs in this community, and we need to grow our grand list,” he said, “Otherwise, we can’t provide the services anymore.”

The budget deliberations and will continue on March 24 and 25. The Board of Education is expected to present its itemized budget to the Town Council at the March 24 meeting. A public hearing will also take place at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 27.

Further deliberations will take place on March 31 and April 7. The final town meeting on the budget is April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Rockville High School auditorium .
The mayor’s budget message is available on the town’s Web site, www.vernon-ct.gov.

Vernon To Begin Automating Trash, Recyclables Collection - Courant.com

Vernon To Begin Automating Trash, Recyclables Collection - Courant.com

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Vernon To Begin Automating Trash, Recyclables Collection - Courant.com

Vernon To Begin Automating Trash, Recyclables Collection - Courant.com: "Vernon To Begin Automating Trash, Recyclables Collection"


VERNON — - Automation is about to change the way trash and recyclable items are collected in town.

Starting in May, the department of public works will begin using automated equipment instead of brute strength to collect trash and recyclables at curbside.

Mayor Jason McCoy said the changes will begin with a new automated recycling program that will affect 4,000 residential homes. The program is being designed around the current collection schedule.

The town has acquired a truck equipped with a mechanical arm that lifts and dumps special containers into the truck without the driver's having to leave the truck's cab.

The containers, one for refuse and the other for recyclables, have lids to reduce the likelihood of refuse falling out and blowing around. The automatic equipment is expected to reduce the potential for injuries to workers.

The larger recycling containers enable single-stream recycling, which should make recycling easier and save money by reducing the amount of waste the town must dispose of at waste processing facilities like the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority incinerator in Hartford's South Meadows.

Each residence selected for the first phase of automation will receive at no cost, a 64- or 96-gallon blue recycling container. Containers are available for inspection at the public works facility at 375 Hartford Turnpike. Recycling personnel will be available to help residents decide which size best suits their needs.

The new containers will be delivered in April and left in the suggested weekly pickup location. The containers should be put out, if possible, only when they are full.

The program ultimately will be expanded to the entire town, McCoy said.

For more information, residents may call the public works department at 860-870-3500.

Vernon Connecticut Roosevelt Mills Groundbreaking Slated For March 30 - Courant.com

Roosevelt Mills Groundbreaking Slated For March 30 - Courant.com: "Roosevelt Mills Groundbreaking Slated For March 30"

The long awaited groundbreaking for the anticipated transformation of the former Roosevelt Mills into an apartment and commercial center will take place March 30.

Mayor Jason McCoy and Joan McDonald, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, will be on hand for the 1 p.m. ceremony.

The Roosevelt Mills, where textiles were once manufactured, has been vacant since 1998 when it was designated a Brownfield site by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency. Before anything could be done with the 5.9-acre site at 215 East Main St. , which was contaminated with chlorinated solvents including tetrachloroethene, a cancer-causing chemical that was used to dry-clean sweaters.

The mill was built in 1906 and was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in the country. It was the last of the 14 textile factories in Rockville, once known as the Loom City, to go out of business.

Joseph Vallone, a Westport architect and principal of Loom City Lofts LLC, plans to convert the complex into 68 apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial space that will be known as the Loom City Lofts.

Loom City Lofts took ownership of the mill complex in October 2007.

Vallone has estimated the project's cost to be in the neighborhood of $12 million.

— Joseph A. O'Brien Jr.

Roosevelt Mills Groundbreaking Slated For March 30 - Courant.com

Roosevelt Mills Groundbreaking Slated For March 30 - Courant.com

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Vernon- Connecticut Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com: "Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town"


VERNON— - The businessman who recently lost a bid to open a seasonal concert venue in town said he has big decisions to make — not only about a possible appeal, but also about the future of his Vernon-based ticket broker and software company.

Don Vaccaro, CEO of TicketNetwork, said Wednesday that he must expand the corporate headquarters of the fast-growing company, which was launched eight years ago with two employees and is now an international business with 240 employees. The expansion, however, might not happen in Vernon, Vaccaro said, because he cannot get fair treatment for any development plan from the current planning and zoning commission.

"We think the likelihood of us being able to expand has greatly diminished in Vernon," he said. A neighboring town — which he would not name — has tried to woo him to move his corporate headquarters there, Vaccaro said.

On March 11, the planning board rejected TicketNetwork's application for an outdoor amphitheater off South Frontage Road, on the same large parcel as the company's headquarters. The commission cited problems with noise and traffic and dangers posed by crowds of concertgoers.

But Vaccaro said the panel accepted inaccurate testimony from opponents while challenging anyone who spoke in favor of the proposal. Asked if he would submit an alternative plan or appeal in Superior Court, Vaccaro said he was considering several options and will decide sometime next month.

As for the future of TicketNetwork in Vernon, Vaccaro said the decision on when and where to expand will be made by the end of June.

"We like Vernon; we want to stay in Vernon," he said. At the same time, however, Vaccaro said he is concerned that the planning board will shoot down any expansion plans he submits.

Neither the town planner nor the chairman of the planning board could be reached Wednesday.

Mayor Jason McCoy said he did not want to comment in detail about the panel's decision.

"I think they did the best they could do, based on what they had in front of them," he said of the board.

As for Vaccaro's comments about expansion, McCoy said that TicketNetwork is a valued business and that he hoped the company would stay and grow in town. Expanding the tax base is vital, McCoy said, citing weak growth in the most recent grand list and soaring costs, especially for public employees' health insurance.

But it is inaccurate to say that the planning board is anti-business, the mayor said. While hearings for the concert venue were being held, the panel approved applications for a propane distribution facility near TicketNetwork's property and a 140-room Marriott Hotel off Hartford Turnpike, he said.

Mark Boyer, an opponent of the concert venue application who lives near the proposed site, said he did not think anyone was against development on the parcel, but the noise and traffic that an amphitheater would bring were not welcome in the rural area.

"It just doesn't fit," Boyer said.

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

Vernon-Based TicketNetwork Weighs Its Future In Town - Courant.com

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March 17, 2010

McCoy proposes $78.8 million plan for 2010-11 Journal Inquirer > Towns > Vernon > McCoy proposes $78.8 million plan for 2010-11

Journal Inquirer > Towns > Vernon > McCoy proposes $78.8 million plan for 2010-11:

"McCoy proposes $78.8 million plan for 2010-11"

VERNON — Mayor Jason L. McCoy has proposed a $78.8 million budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year that he said will handle increased labor costs and maintain essential services while leaving room for further reductions in energy expenditures.

In a presentation to the Town Council on Tuesday night, McCoy said the $2.7 million increase, which represents an increase of 3.5 percent over the current year, is driven mainly by a 20 percent rise in health insurance premiums.

Some $2.03 million is for additional health care funds and accounts for 76 percent of the total budget increase over the current year.

Health insurance contract negotiations reduced costs by 10 percent.

......

He highlighted several other money-saving programs in a statement to the council, including the installation of fiber optic cables between town buildings, a reduction in the school board’s electricity costs by $85,000 thanks to energy-saving software, and a move to automated trash and recycling pickup, which took advantage of public works retirements and will save the town costs on tipping fees.

The generation of revenue also was a key part of the mayor’s statement, and McCoy made it clear that he feels attracting businesses will be the key to Vernon’s future success.

“The major issue that this community is confronted with is that it has had very little economic development. Our grand list has only grown by 0.36 percent,” McCoy said.

“The grand list isn’t going up, so the choice is to either pay higher taxes or be more receptive to commercial development,” he added today.

He highlighted current projects such as a $15 million dollar development for apartments and retail space at Roosevelt Mills, another $15 million building project at the Marriott Springhill Suites hotel on Hartford Turnpike, the potential for an equestrian center, and the expected end of the long-running Home Depot legal battle that would result in a new store at the former SportsPlex location.

Additional revenue would make budgeting town expenses easier, but for now, McCoy warned that further reductions could harm essential services, which, he said, have been unaffected by the current proposal for the next fiscal year.

“We have a decent budget. I wish it could be a flat-line budget, but the increase is almost entirely attributed to health insurance. The other portion is debt service, but people in this town chose to bond debt, so now we have to pay it back,” McCoy said.