There’s lots of moolah in the processing of human waste, especially if it’s done through a regional authority. For a few years now Bridgeport and Trumbull officials have been trying to hammer out details for the creation of a regional authority, in reality a mini municipality, that would process sludge via three communities including the town of Monroe. Negotiations have given some officials the cramps as efforts to structure a deal have crapped out. Now they’re at it again.
Trumbull has sewers but no treatment plant that’s costly to build with all kinds of environmental issues. Its poop is processed at Bridgeport’s sewage treatment system. Monroe has no sewers and needs them to attract more development. Bridgeport and Trumbull residents are charged for usage through their respective water pollution control authorities.
A regional authority, however, would be independent of the respective municipalities, but comes with a nice payoff if structured correctly. The assets of the respective sewage treatment systems would be purchased by the regional authority. Bingo! Instant dough for the municipalities that can be used to keep down taxes. Everyone’s flush! So Monroe would build sewers piped into Trumbull that’s been piped into Bridgeport dating from the 1960s.
This stuff gets tricky in negotiating the actual wastewater usage rates. Bridgeport residents pay this and Trumbull residents pay that and Monroe this, yadda, yadda. Lawyers try to figure it out and bring back to respective chief officials such as Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst. Finch and Herbst aren’t the best of buds, but hey, can’t they all get along in the name of poop and pounds?
Ah, the sweet smell of success … if it happens. What’s wrong with holding your nose every once in a while?
I was wondering when this subject was going to appear on the “Coming Events” board once again. Last time I attended a meeting on the subject, Andy Nunn was representing the administration and was accompanied by legal counsel in the person of Ed Maley who was earning about $7,000 per month from the City at that time along with lawyer Beccaro. But that stopped quickly.
Maley has staying power, because he was available to another ‘flop site,’ that of the Charter Revision Committee. Personally I am appreciative of the time and effort of the CRC members. However, when you substitute the Mayor’s framework for a situation (as well as his solution, before you begin work) and they did just that by closing out research on how broken our governance system is with Mayor and Council not attending to one or more parts of the Charter year in and year out.
So the citizens were heard and the mandate negated the CRC effort including the advice of Mark Anastasi, Steve Mednick and Ed Maley. And how much did the latter two legal minds bill the City for their time and effort?
Back to real poop, at least old poop, it seems a Regional compact, with or without Monroe, Fairfield or Stratford, might allow the City of Bridgeport to “sell” its sewer lines and treatment plants as they are to a Bridgeport Regional Authority (BRA) … just testing the acronym. That BRA would have representation from towns and cities and make the rate structure for all those using the system. And citizens cannot go BRA less. And last time we looked, the City happily would receive $40 Million … and what could this administration do with $40 Million??? … without OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE or TRANSPARENT structure, framework and governance??? Keep your eyes open sports fans, though you may wish to don some protective clothing and a face mask once we begin to hear the discussions about flows.
What do you know about our own mini-model authority, the WPCA? Been to one of their meetings? Understand their entity financing you pay for with your WPCA fees? Who are the current Board members from Bridgeport and how many serve an expired term? When does the Trumbull current agreement end? And what is recourse for a community that finds itself in that troubling situation? Time will tell.
Ed Maley is still on the scene.
Would this be considered a “Flush” or “Slush” Fund?
Is Rob Russo still on this Stool Case?
*** WISH IN ONE HAND AND SHIT IN THE OTHER, THEN SEE WHICH ONE COMES FIRST? ***
Bridgeport can only lose by accommodating suburban development through the “sharing” of its municipal infrastructure.
Such “sharing” of our sanitary sewage system with Trumbull led directly to the development of Trumbull Shopping Park and the subsequent relocation of our downtown retail sector–a mighty piece of tax base–to Trumbull.
The ill-conceived 25-8 Connector (a companion part of the parasitic plot by the ‘burbs to parasitically exploit Bridgeport) was, perhaps, the coup de grâce for Bridgeport, leading to the direct obliteration of a huge part of our tax base (and park land), which was replaced by a non-taxable road.
The once-prodigious Bridgeport industrial-commercial tax base was further decimated by the indirect effect of the accommodation of convenient relocation/exodus from Bridgeport of much of its remaining tax base up the Route 8-25 corridor. Bridgeport is still losing out on potential tax-base growth (regrowth) due to the effects of access to Bridgeport’s sewer system by Trumbull and the access to Bridgeport services/consumers/workers of prospective businesses allowed by Route 25-8. (The region’s problematic suburban sprawl was also accommodated largely through these two ill-conceived situations.)
There is no amount of money that can compensate Bridgeport for the effects of accommodating development in the surrounding suburbs.
“Regionalization” is simply another way of saying “let’s (the parasitic suburbs) suck on Bridgeport some more–there’s still a drop or two of blood left.”
The only way the suburbs should gain access to Bridgeport’s infrastructure is by agreeing to be annexed and taxed by Bridgeport as part of Bridgeport proper.
The fact “negotiations” are taking place between Bridgeport and the ‘burbs, pursuant to “regionalizing” our sewer system, is proof the Finch Administration and the Democratic Machine are serving as surrogates for the Gold Coast and the ‘burbs. (Indeed, it is also proof the Bridgeport Democratic Machine (as well as the BRBC) serves as a political Trojan Horse for the Gold Coast/’burbs allowing them–in a virus-like way–to use our own body politic to control us for their malevolent, parasitic interests.)
The people of Bridgeport must just say NO! to “regionalization” of any Bridgeport municipal assets, just as they did on November 8 when faced with the similarly outrageuos prospect of giving up their voting rights.
2013 is a municipal election year; any councilpersons supporting regionalization of Bridgeport’s sewer system–for any price–must be replaced.
Bridgeport is closer to death than most of us would like to believe; accommodating any further exodus of business from the city will more than likely kill it. Accommodating any prospective businesses in choosing the ‘burbs over Bridgeport will keep us from ever recovering.
Bridgeport must guard and husband all of its assets jealously–it is truly a life-or-death choice for us to do so.
I agree with Mr. Kohut. This is also a national phenomenon and the FHA was also set up to encourage “white flight” from the cities. “Redlining” and “block busting” were also part of the equation. People such as BRBC don’t see themselves as “shapers” but are “reactors” to what they see as the reality of the situation … sad.
Boy, any closed-door meetings with Nunn and Finch involved truly scare me.
In many places in Bridgeport, our sewer lines and our storm drain lines share the same line. Because of this many homeowners and businesses have had the great displeasure of sewage backing into their homes when there is a big runoff … it comes into basin sinks, washing machines … it starts at the lowest level and can even go to the level above that. As a consequence of this, homeowners in Bridgeport can no longer obtain sewage line protection via Aquarion:
www .aquarion.com/CT.cfm/section/safetyvalve/page/Homeowners
Too many claims. We have an antiquated system that needs to be fixed, which means separated out. The WPCA of Bridgeport spends a lot of money to make sure our drains are cleared (if you are on their list) so that backup does not happen … they send out trucks and men to perform maintenance on the lines (they suck out debris). My guess would be homeowner claims in Bridgeport exceed those in other towns due to policies that cover sewage in a home, which most do. And what in turn happens is insurance companies sue the city because it is clearly the fault of the city system. Too many of those claims and you know what comes next for Bridgeporters … So here’s the deal, neighboring towns … and Bob Scinto who may still be someone who is trying for this as a solution to building his home for the elderly in Monroe? The deal is … if you want to have this conversation … and if you want to play ball with us … you can foot the bill to give our streets one line for sewer and one line for water … otherwise, go somewhere else … the inn is full here.
AllforOne,
You make a clear statement of a long-term problem, the unitary sewer system that handles street runoff as well as sewage from homes and businesses.
What is the long-term WPCA plan in the City? How many years will it take to get both lines in the ground and working? What costs does that generate and is it all handled outside the City tax system by ratepayers?
Since Trumbull is already connected to us, and may be able to count on such favored status by State health authorities (though not necessarily the more favorable rates they reportedly pay), what is the fairest and least costly option going forward for the City? Where are the info sources? We need more comprehensive info and thoughtful reflection on the entire subject. Time will tell.
The backups come largely in neighborhood sewage lines that are the responsibility of the city to identify and fix.
Most, if not all, of the stuff coming down from Trumbull et al. is in large lines city lines may or may not already dump into. I do not think the capacity of the sewer lines from Trumbull are the issue. The snag is the sewage treatment plants.
The suburbs suspect, I am sure, that Bridgeport is looking for a payday for just hosting the sewage treatment plant well over and above actual costs.
It’s the mayor’s job to make sure Bridgeport doesn’t get snookered by the ‘burbs, but getting an additional host tax is tricky, methinks. I’d like to hear more on that topic.
Making up for past Bridgeport mistakes that benefited the suburbs and left the city holding the bag is very tough. Route 25/8 was an economic killer to the city, more so than the Trumbull Shopping Park. If the Trumbull Shopping Park didn’t happen, something like the Trumbull Shopping Park would have happened. It’s a free market. Bridgeporters and suburbanites alike preferred to shop in Trumbull over Downtown.
Sad. 25/8, sewer lines, malls, sprawl, government subsidy of all this, including all the wasted infrastructure into suburban cul-de-sacs, have laid waste to our environment and our waterways. People may not like cities, but they are actually more environmentally friendly than suburbs and sprawl.