What a difference two weeks make. On February 17, the Parks Commission voted unanimously to reject Mayor Bill Finch’s proposal to construct thousands of solar panels on the old dump at Seaside Park. Monday night they had a change of heart unanimously approving a 20-year partnership with United Illuminating. The lease arrangement now goes to the City Council for approval.
Two weeks ago, attended by two dozen South End and Black Rock residents opposed to the plan, commissioners voted no to the city’s presentation with several saying they were not briefed in advance. Black Rock City Councilman Rick Torres had led the opposition. In the days after the vote, Finch and Parks Commission Chairman Mark Marko called a special meeting for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Morton Government Center. The commission meeting went late into Monday night. Two weeks ago commissioners had expressed concerns about the construction puncturing the cap on the former landfill that city and United Illuminating officials apparently addressed to their satisfaction Monday night.
Commissioner Ann Owens, who voted against the plan two weeks ago, was unable to attend Monday’s meeting. The other commissioners who had voted no reversed themselves Monday night. Dozens of residents speaking for and against the proposal attended.
On February 17, Associate City Attorney Ron Pacacha told commissioners that a title search showed the closed landfill is located on parkland.
As the City Council prepares to vote on this matter, likely at its next scheduled meeting March 17, a larger question looms: must the council approve this by a two-thirds vote or is a simple majority sufficient?
From the City Charter:
Section 13. Sale or lease of park land.
No parks or park land belonging to the city shall be sold or capital leased unless such sale or capital lease is recommended by the board of park commissioners and approved by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of the city council, both bodies having conducted a public hearing prior to taking any action. Any such approval may be disapproved by the mayor, in the manner provided in Chapter Five of this charter.
Last October Finch announced a city partnership with United Illuminating for the Green Energy Park renewable energy project, one of the initiatives proposed in the City’s BGreen 2020 sustainability plan to create jobs, save taxpayers money and fight climate change. The green energy project will cut down on UI’s dependence on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for citywide UI customers. The 20-year lease with UI calls for $7 million in payments to the city over the life of the arrangement.
More on Monday night’s meeting from CT Post reporter Brian Lockhart here.
Not at all surprised. I had to be there to believe it. Shame on the Parks Board. Even greater shame on Cruz Rosa and Labrador. I will no longer fly a Puerto Rican flag anymore to reflect the selling out of Puerto Ricans in city government. I will instead fly the Cuban flag in honor of Rick Torres for having the courage to fight for his constituents. For all those Puerto Ricans who have stood up and continue to do so, I’ll keep you in my heart. The battle continues.
Joel, you are a certifiable moron. Flying the Cuban (communist) flag is no way to honor Rick Torres or any other Cuban or Cuban/American for that matter. Cubans suffered greatly under the Castro regime and had to escape their country, leaving everything they owned behind in order to avoid persecution. Yet you think this will flatter him? How insensitive are you? Why don’t you just wear a t-shirt with Castro’s image on it and go visit Mr. Torres, I’m sure he’ll think you’re just swell. You may as well just amputate another finger, at least that way you aren’t hurting anyone other than yourself.
Go fly a kite.
Lennie, the fix was in. Councilmen Banta was the first to be allowed to address the crowd before leaving to attend the council meeting. He finished by stating: … when this project is approved …
I pointed that out when I came up to speak. Two experts talked about the capping of the landfill. They pointed out that one foot of dirt covers two feet of clay capping. They described how 9000 panels and their structures would be placed on the surface of the landfill. They told us a fence will surround the facility.
I pointed out there was a tremor years ago and asked if anyone ever bothered to check or ask about any cracking of the clay cap. I pointed out the cap is not below the frost line and gave an example of the cracked roads and sidewalks we see as a result of the frost. I told them when a fence is installed, one must dig three to four feet from the surface and that would require hitting the clay cap. The weight of the facility will cause sinking and more cracking of the already broken cap. Former City Councilmen Pat Crossin attended and took a cheap shot at me. He pointed out he lives in Black Rock, pays taxes, has a business in the city and has a boat docked at Captain’s Cove and all he sees when working on his boat or using it, is a dump. I listened and wondered if it ever crossed his mind his cancer may have a lot more to do with the contamination of the dump and other environmental pollution in our air and water. Enjoy the view of the Solar Panels on your future visits to Captain’s Cove, Pat Crossin.
Joel, what did you expect from Crossin, the second-biggest whore in Black Rock?
Remember Pat Crossin’s historic vision in Mayor Ganim’s time? Pat could not see almost $1 Million of budget dollars placed in the Harbormaster’s budget that ultimately sailed into insurance premiums for a select highly placed few. The single-premium policies were purchased and presumably rescinded later when the full story came out. (And a request for data on the 1099 reporting forms was never honored by the City to see if Finance had a handle on that at that time.)
Has his vision improved since then? Is he still supporting the few in their agenda against the common good? Time will tell.
To the park board or should I say the board of whores. How could you all completely change your minds in the course of two weeks? Was it a promises of free golf? Was it a reappointment for your already expired terms? You people are disgusting; no, I take that back; you are all beyond disgusting.
You people were the protectors of all the parks and you sold out, shame on you. I guess there is no one left to protect the parks. What part of the parks are you going to give away next? WHEN YOU SELL THE NEXT PARK PROPERTY I HOPE FINCH GIVES YOU MORE THAN YOU GOT TODAY. Amazing, just freaking amazing, a group of mostly men with no balls to stand up to the mayor, not one person.
I’m sick and tired of people in Bridgeport being upset with somebody and trying to take out what they feel about them on the rest of us,” said Carl McCluster, a community leader in the South End, where the landfill is located.
Asked before Monday’s vote if he still believed the Parks Commission played an “advisory” role, Anastasi said, “I think it’s a moot question, if they pass it.”
Two of the biggest clowns to comment last night and hey McCluster, don’t you live in Monroe or somewhere in the ‘burbs?
I asked Carl McSuckster if he had given back the money he stole from the Park City Hospital project over 14 years ago. He asked me if I got my finger back. It was my finger and I still have nine left to type with. The money he stole and used to pay his church staff was not his to spend on church labor. Can anyone see the difference here?
Isn’t that the same person who was against a huge halfway house in the West Side, but then was offered money by the developer and then supported the project?
Same guy. Is as dishonest as the day is long and gets up and preaches every Sunday. There’s a special place for people like him.
Wow! You guys are stoked … I would say … and rightly so. Even if this could possibly be a good idea, industrializing the beach, it stinks to the heavens of the type of corruption that goes on in all politics today, and probably yesterday, where the twisting of arms behind the scenes now has a visible component in the twisting of the law in plain sight. I agree, it is really pathetic to see men who have no balls.
Mayor Snowflake Bill would lease Newfield park if someone told him you could make green electricity from chicken shit. Mark Anastasi would make up a legal reason why this could be done. Mark is coming off receiving the National Lawyer’s award for the most made-up decisions in 2013-2014. Snowflake Bill would receive an award from the National Chickenshit Association for the most innovated use of chicken shit.
We will then hear from that shithead from Trumbull Paul Timpanelli on how having all the chickenshit in America sent to Bridgeport will certainly aid in redevelopment.
The board of whores, I mean Park Board will do as the mayor asks and the people’s wishes be damned and they will lease Newfield Park to this new chickenshit company.
Silent in all this is the common council who has to pass all of this park leasing. Are there seven of them with the guts to tell Mayor Snowflake they won’t sell the park? How many of the new council people will stand up for what’s right or did we make a mistake in electing them?
Bill Finch is the most morally and politically corrupt mayor in the history of Bridgeport, which comes in handy if you are also the most incompetent person to ever hold the office.
And yet the dips#!+ zombie voters in this city will re-elect him soon. Shame on the park board. I wonder what promises were made to them to sell out? Solar power is a scam as is “global warming,” but treehuggers like Mayor Grinch will have you believe the sky is falling. Liberal thinkers keep voting for these frauds who tell you you can keep your insurance company and doctor then stick it up your bum. Stop voting in these frauds who tell you when it snows in the middle of winter, it’s because of man-made global warming or a hurricane during “hurricane season.” Been on this earth for many seasons and guess what Greenjeans, it snows in the winter! When I watch the Walking Dead on Sundays, it reminds me of Bridgeport voters on their way to vote. Shame on you, Benji!
Now that the Parks Commission has approved putting the panels in Seaside Park, the focus should be on getting the City Council to require the lease be more equitable to the City of Bridgeport. There should be restrictions as to height, noise and lighting for the panels. And more importantly, UI should be accountable for any additional environmental problems caused by the installation, as well as any issue caused by their piercing the cap on the land. They should also take on the liability for any illness, accidents or otherwise to their employees and contractors who work on the site. Write to your council people and ask them to protect the City in this transaction.
Now that the minions have acted, we must take a careful look at what is about to happen with the cove. The project will increase the weight on the land and will greatly displace the groundwater flow in the whole area around the cove. This will require a further study and increase the soil and water monitoring for years to come.
The large plume under the “park” will have no way to go but into the water all around the cove. I question what studies have been completed in the most recent years. I would demand a new Phase III study on the Park and the area leading toward the cove before anything is constructed on the site.
Lennie, I wish to correct a very important item from your otherwise brilliant synopsis: “dozens of residents speaking for and against the proposal attended.” Most of those speaking “for” were NOT residents but paid out-of-towners and Finch’s Environmental Suburban Fan Club. The few residents speaking for are mostly on the payroll. This really is important to recognize. Shame on this commission, they betrayed their own people.
It’s going to be a great summer once they start building the solar farm at Seaside Park. Watching the construction workers unloading 9000 solar panels and all the switch gear for the solar farm, all the steel and concrete for the mounting of the panels. There will be at least 100 worker or more on site once they get started building the solar farm. It is going to be some sight watching it being built, I wish the city council would suspend the parking fee for at least a month so people could drive by and watch the solar farm taking shape while it’s being built, then people would be able to witness firsthand the new energy technology for the 21st century being built here in Bridgeport.
HOW MANY WORKERS WHO WORK ON THIS PROJECT WILL COME DOWN WITH ONE ILLNESS OR ANOTHER FROM THE CONTAMINANTS BELOW GROUND?
Here is another thing, these workers will come from the unions and most will not be residents. Let’s get Fairfield to suspend their beach sticker program so we can see this travesty being built.
James, aside from the fact you are repeating what you’ve already written elsewhere, it’s funny at Harborview Market you are regularly mute and barely speak, but you gloat like an adolescent online. Of course, you would want the parking fee suspended since you don’t live in Bridgeport. If you can’t support the city any other way, at least be willing to pay the non-resident price to watch that abomination.
Sheep–I agree, I see and read the same thing. Clearly James is a very disturbed and troubled man.
Why don’t you educate us, you enlightened, magnanimous individual?
Just heard Tom McCarthy is insisting on hanging frilly lace curtains all around the project. He can’t wait to please his boss and ram this vote through council now, everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves.
*** It’s not the first time the Parks Board has reconsidered an item after getting more time and info concerning the subject at hand. Some of the complaints against I’ve read concerning the solar panels were not really good reasons overall. Nor the other ideas about what to do with the current compost landfill instead of the solar panels. Bottom line is, I guess I don’t know enough inside-the-box information concerning the project to make a better logical decision on what to do with that property other than just grow grass and trees on the site, period! *** AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE PARKS BOARD IS PERSONALLY PICKED, APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE MAYOR! ***
FROM THE CITY WEB SITE:
“Parks Commission
Mayor appoints two members for four year terms every December, per City Council approval
Eight members total
No more than 5 members of any one party
Members serve until a successor is appointed and has qualified.”
I have no problem with the Mayor selecting the best unconflicted and energetic citizen volunteers he can find to serve on Boards and Commissions. I will indicate this Parks Commission has a slightly different directive to the Mayor in that he is to select TWO MEMBERS for FOUR YEAR TERMS every December. Has he done that if the seven sitting members are serving expired terms and the most recent expiries are from 2010 expiry?
The Mayor failed in this specific duty. Why? Not enough time? Many other Boards and Commissions do not indicate that specific responsibility. It may be those who drafted the language did not want the age of the Commission members to be older than the average age of trees in the parks.
Age can produce wisdom, but that was not in evidence last night. And one question that was frequently asked by speakers last night focused on: What change of facts or understanding had occurred in just two weeks to deliver this ‘super-experienced’ Commission to revisit and indeed totally reverse their decision? Could it be that they had not heard the call from the coach in the first meeting? After all they were all on the same page … even if it was the wrong page as far as Mayor Finch is concerned! While so much discussion was on the solar panels, the fuel cell installation is certainly an industrial use, on parkland, and the justification please? Time will tell.
Time for charter revision dealing with appointments to boards and commissions.
*** I would say at least 50% of the present active sitting members on the city’s parks commission were picked during the Fabrizi admin. The same would probably go for other city commissions and boards! Which says the focus and importance of these boards and commissions are not a priority with this present administration and the present members are pretty much pro-administration regardless of who’s the Mayor or they would have been gone by now, no? ***
Just so everyone knows, this bill will be sent to the council as a regular lease. It will not go in as a capital lease, thus it only requires a simple majority to pass.
… just got to keep hammering away at these bastards, slowly but surely … maybe the public will learn. They are not serious about anything long-term, and are concerned with their own egos and the here and now, at all costs. They do not give a damn about the real concerns of the residents, and feel they can get away with anything, because they have. It’s making promises they won’t or can’t keep because they’ll be long gone before any ramifications are evident, but now folks are starting to know what they are up to and a groundswell, or a mogul, of grassroots efforts is beginning. Our commissioners and board members are so pitiful and transparent, don’t they know their friends are laughing at them? Selfish bastards .. .all of ’em!
Pat Crossin speaks and turns around Parks Commission vote on Solar Farm Project. Good job Patrick, you are good for labor in Bridgeport and jobs for labor in Bridgeport this summer, thank you again.
Has anyone wondered why the contract is so heavily weighted in UI’s favor? Hold harmless clauses, low rent and the list goes on. The UI is a reluctant party in this solar farm BS.
They knew they had to do something to up their public image, they just did not know what. Here comes Snowflake Bill with a proposal so heavily weighted in the UI’s favor they could not say no. You can thank Finch and his dumbass advisers for this bad deal.
Rick Torres again did an excellent job. He does his homework. Why doesn’t any of the media report on his findings the City hired a real parks planner, Rickter and Cegan who did a plan for Seaside Park recommending greenspace and nature walkways atop the former land fill? A second plan was then done by Sasacki and that planner is quoted as saying Ted Grabarz and Finch ordered the solar array be put on the hill, against the recommendation of Sasacki. Good job, Rick! I hope the concerned citizens of Bridgeport are taking note. Shame on the commissioners and the highly paid numerous “suits.” I hope I don’t ever again have to hear the phrase: “taking us into the twenty-first century” ever again.