2:30 p.m. UPDATE
Paul Timpanelli, chief executive of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, steps into the Pol Pod for an update about plans for a tri-community sewage treatment authority that would pipe effluent from the town of Monroe into Trumbull to be processed at the sewage treatment mothership in Bridgeport.
Quick background: Shelton-based developer Robert Scinto wants to build a new Jewish Home for the Elderly, located in Fairfield, in sewerless Monroe. Property Scinto owns in Monroe isn’t large enough to accommodate a stand-alone sewage treatment plant so in order to make the deal happen Monroe needs access into Trumbull’s sewage line that’s connected to Bridgeport.
The new authority would be a separate entity from city government in theory providing new revenues to the city. Timpanelli, former first selectman of Trumbull, has been at the center of the action working to broker agreements between the three communities. In an interview from his Bridgeport office Thursday afternoon, he provides an update about the timeline for creation of a regional authority, Trumbull reassessing its interest and what it means for Bridgeport and Monroe. It looks like, as Timpanelli shares, Trumbull will not initially be part of the authority but could join later.
State law allows two non-contiguous communities to create a regional authority so Trumbull becomes the meat of the sandwich, Monroe to the north and Bridgeport to the south. Irrespective of Trumbull entering the authority it’s still a major player because Monroe’s effluent must pass through Trumbull.
Timpanelli was also open about Scinto’s patience level to make the deal happen. Working through the political process in Bridgeport takes stamina, and Timpanelli explains that if Scinto should walk from the Monroe deal the regional authority may not happen. Scinto has the option to relocate the Jewish Home to Trumbull and should that occur, according to Timpanelli, Bridgeport would not enjoy the full economic stimulus if the home were relocated to Monroe.
Timpanelli also weighs in on the battle royal looming between Bridgeport and Stratford over control of the city’s municipal airport. Bridgeport owns the airport located in Stratford and the two communities have been at odds for decades about airport safety zones and expansion. The latest salvo came from Bridgeport when the city filed a complaint in federal court regarding a Stratford-controlled strip of property the city wants to use for a safety zone.
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Jeanne Gildea Brannelly
When I was a young reporter, John and Jeanne Brannelly were so generous to me providing many insights about the city, its neighborhoods and political community. We lost John, former Bridgeport city clerk, many years ago, and now Jeanne. My thoughts to City Council member Sue Brannelly and her family members including Cathy, Maura, Eileen, Patrick, John, Jeanne and Sheila. (if I missed someone, forgive me.)
Calling hours will take place Tuesday from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Abriola Funeral Home in Trumbull. For full funeral arrangements see link.
www.abriola.com/obits/obituaries.php/obitID/547602
Also, Black Rock District Leader Danny Roach, owner of Matty’s Corner, lost his dad Dave the other day. Our best to Danny as well during this holy weekend.
Not to be a sob, but then again if the shoe fits … riddle me this … if the lines of shit get brought up to dumping speed (an important thing of course) shouldn’t some be better than none? The former two adm. would be there with their hands out to pick the green outa the poopies and would have shit stains in their pockets … the Birdman seems to just want to balance a budget and leave the big poopies to the next mayor in 2 years.
To my friends who celebrate Passover and my friends who celebrate Easter, I wish you all a reflective and a spiritually renewing holiday.
To Bob Scinto, et al. (and I mean et al.) … I think what you are attempting to jam down our throats is an outrageous act of greed which is wholly inconsistent with my opinion that you are an accomplished and ethical businessman. The Bob Scinto I know would totally understand that this deal will cause great financial harm to the City of Bridgeport and disrupt our already inefficient sanitation facilities while allowing a chosen few to earn great profits. It makes me wonder if Scinto is acquiescing to the pressures of the new people in his organization who think they know more than he.
Now, the other thing. Who owns the frigging property Finch wants to grab to make the airport “safer”? How come nobody is answering this question?
It was great to hear from Mayor Flush Timpanelli on the Pol Pod. So from what I gather if Scinto pulls out of the Monroe project and takes it to Trumbull the chances of the sewer regionalization is all but dead. This should raise a warning bell on regionalization.
From what I gather Monroe and possibly Trumbull are going to spend millions buying up the sewer treatment facilities and its assets so that the home for the elderly can be built. There is more to this than we are being told. If they need 85,000 gallons for the elderly home and that does seem high, why are we allocating 250,000 gallons of sewage from Monroe? Could it be for the future development of the route 25 corridor in Monroe which in effect will bypass any future development in Bridgeport? Time will tell.
What happens when you put the former First Selectman of Monroe in charge of Bridgeport government operations?
Nunn is vindictive and incompetent, and has teamed up with CC to cause a reign of terror in the Annex. Just ask poor John Gomes who has felt their wrath. So to answer the above question … SHIT happens.
In the absence of Ted Grabarz, CC has put Bob Kennedy and Tony DePrimo in charge of Public Facilities. Yes these are the same two guys who were involved in the biggest coverup ever at the Transfer Station. Gomes warned against them and tried to point out the many inefficiencies caused by them. Gomes was told to shut up. PF is one of the biggest depts in the city and there is plenty of room for improvement and cost savings but Big Charlie won’t listen. Like I said before, it is a contest of whose dick is bigger.
To reply to an early posting today by TC, are you telling us that Fabrizi took advantage of the $4 million in federal housing money to purchase that house on Heppenstall? Wasn’t that money meant for first-time homebuyers or to save people from losing their homes? Not for rental income for a man and his wife who take home over $200K from the BOE. Where is Alanna in all this? Wasn’t her dept in charge of that money? Is this right? Is this ethical? And I know for a fact that Fabrizi is rehabbing the house (is that with federal money as well?) and plans to rent to more than 3 unrelated college students. What is Zoning’s phone #? And should we ask HUD for an audit?
TC, what did Curwen say about this? I didn’t understand your earlier posting.
*** What’s Timpanelli get out of this now & in the future if it goes through? *** A new separate entity water authority run by who & how many jobs would it create? Seems there could be patronage jobs in the future if all goes well? *** None of the CitiStat or other newly created city jobs will amount to anything productive for Bpt.taxpayers in the future either, just smoking mirrors! *** ***
Andy Abate is a zoning official in Monroe
and
Andy Abate is the general manager of W.P.C.A. in Bridgeport.
and
Aquarion wants out of W.P.C.A. But it will cost $12 million according to the contract for Aquarion to get out of it.
and
Could there be some sewer connection (pun not/or intended) here?
and
According to Paul Timpanelli, Monroe and Bridgeport will be in a joint Regional Authority by the end of the year, if approved, followed by Trumbull at the end of next year.
I don’t understand this???
Will there be a Bucket Brigade; a line a politicans passing buckets of shit through Trumbull for a year since Trumbull will not immediately join up? I can think of no better “Bucket Brigade” than Abate, Timpanelli, Sal DiNardo (give him a job, so he can pay his taxes and is already well qualified for said job) and I guess you O.I.B. community members can suggest others.
So what is this, some sort of SHIT SANDWICH that Bridgeport is being offered by the former FIRST SELECTMAN of TRUMBULL Mr. Paul Timpanelli, who I wish to remind to pick up your $ 2400.00 weekly paycheck from Bridgeport, it’s payday.
City Hall: The city realized $4,000,000 from the sale of properties they owned due to non-payment of taxes or through foreclosure. They did not want this out but Curwen forced Nunn to admit where the monies came from. I think you are confusing the money aspect of this.This has nothing to do with first time home buyer program as far as I know.
I don’t know where Fabrizi came up with the money but I am pretty sure it is his own money. One does not find a house in the upper north end for $50K too often.
The city has been selling off many of the properties it has acquired very quietly. Many of these houses have been bought by LLC’s (Limited Liability Corporations) which means the principals of the LLC are not named. It is my understanding that at the very least there are 27 structures that have been sold by the city in this manner.
I understand. So former Mayor John Fabrizi used inside information to purchase a house in the upper north end for $50,000 in a neighborhood where houses are valued at over $200,000. And he’ll rent this house to SHU students, probably in violation of the zoning laws, and make himself a nice little profit. I understand now. Thank you.
Now I would like to purchase a house in that same neighborhood for $50,000. Only I would like to rent it to a family (preferably a single mom) so that they can live in a nice neighborhood and send their kids to a good school with a new playground, library and soccer fields nearby. I have a 10% downpayment and good credit and I would like to do this for a deserving family. How do I get the list of properties? Or have all the good ones been taken?
Does anyone else see something unethical here? Why wasn’t this list of properties in the newspaper so that qualified people could bid on them or have a lottery for them? Am I missing something here???
Next thing you know, Fabrizi will be contacting “flip that house” or one of those programs, trying to get his face on tv again.
Sorry to hear of Jeanne’s passing. The apples did not fall far from the tree with the great family that Jeanne and John gave us.
Danny’s Dad, Dave, was a good soul, and will always be part of the great family tradition of the Roach’s in Black Rock and Bridgeport.
In a way, it’s kind of appropriate that these two individuals passed during Holy Week. They came from families of great faith, and always accepted the cross, that sometimes they had to bear, because of their faith.
Paul Timpanelli is so Full of Shit, He is a Sewer Authority!
On the airport issue. Timpanelli has been a real “Nowhere Man”!!!
I’m off to the Stations of The Cross after my three-hour observance of silence. I love that beautiful hymn “Stabat Mater”.
Kid
Listen to the pol pod, Timpanelli to his credit mentions Bridgeport 10 times and context-wise mostly in a not too nice light.
On the other hand the ex FIRST SELECTMAN OF TRUMBULL, mentions that place 14 times and Monroe won first place, of his focused places 19 times.
I thought Bridgeport was Timpanelli’s bread and butter; it gets 10 sound bites and the other two places are mentioned 34 times, you know where his focus is!!!
I was told the poor old Timpanelli does not make $25,000.00 a year from Bridgeport (sad) but more like
$148,000.00 a year, so that is $2,846.00 a week, plus a BIG SUV kind of truck thing, plus medical, dental, pension, travel expenses … it goes on.
We get the SHIT.
Enjoy it.
The other thing that Flush Timpanelli does not mention is if Scinto moves to Trumbull and there is no sewer hook-up for Monroe then the Route 25 corridor in Monroe cannot be developed.
I believe that is the actual aim of Scinto & Company and the Old Age home is just a front for their master plan.
BTW Why is acting Police Chief Gaudett interviewing for the New Haven Police job? Has he already been told the Bridgeport job is not his?
Someone’s paying attention, thank God Almighty. Monroe has thousands of acres of raw land. The folks that own this raw land are just itching to cook it into developed property, e.g., strip malls, housing tracts, office space, etc. There are too many vacant store fronts in Monroe already. Does Timpanelli and his civic-minded colleague Bob Scinto honestly think that is what Monroe needs? There isn’t enough commerce to go around, and these two greedy bastards want to add to the haunted, “lights’re on but nobody’s home” aura that Monroe is fast acquiring.
*** Other than Bpt. getting a “$” bite out of this sewer deal, it’s a win-win situation for Monroe & Trumbull in the end. And with the future jobs, “$” & bragging rights that will come out of this as well, I can’t see where the real interest overall & after everything is said & done will be Bpt. *** How about the 10% increase for the new CitiStat project, which from the beginning has had to operate with a hands-tied policy, while other depts. that have proven their worth get cuts? *** Also, like I blogged months ago, after the re-value “$” increase= budget cushion for local elections= lower mil rate for July 1st 2009. Add on 10% budget cuts across the board, big sale of city foreclosed properties, quick fix “$” deals like Pleasure Beach, tri-community sewer deal, local airport deal and anything coming from the government stimulus package! All makes the beat go on, along with plenty of Barnum’s side-show P/R smoke and mirrors, all in preparation for the future Mayor’s race in Bpt. *** Only problem is, if the economy does not get better by the end of ’09, “things will get worse before they get better”. *** Wise words to remember, “got to get under, before you get over”! ***
Can someone explain to me what Mojo just posted?
*** In english or spanglish? ***
Let’s not lose sight of the central point of this sewage treatment issue: An agreement could, in fact should, benefit all the parties involved. Although perhaps not in equal measure.
That said, reaching a successful conclusion requires compromise as well as smart negotiation. The fact is, this IS a negotiation, plain and simple. The party with the clearest goals, best strategy and toughest negotiating team clearly has the edge.
Now consider this. Bob Scinto is one of the areas most successful developers and entrepreneurs. He’s a superb negotiator and runs his business (RD Scinto, Inc.) with two overriding objectives: generate profits AND satisfy his customers (tenants). He does both exceptionally well. But neither of these objectives necessarily addresses the interests or needs of the citizens of Bridgeport. That shouldn’t come as any surprise.
Paul Timpanelli, as CEO of the BRBC, plays a role as the broker and intermediary trying to balance the goals of the principals (Scinto, Bridgeport, Monroe, Trumbull) in the negotiation. Setting aside any personal bias, his involvement is legitimate and undoubtedly very useful.
So what about the interests/objectives of Bridgeporters in this negotiation? Who’s responsible for maximizing the long-term and short-term fiscal benefits to the taxpayers? Who has the job of ensuring the agreement serves the city’s strategic interests for smart growth and development as the primary, regional resource center? The answer is simple: Mayor Finch and his team.
Only the Mayor can deliver an agreement that’s structured to maximize the benefits to Bridgeport. Only the Mayor can negotiate with the objective of receiving MAXIMUM VALUE for the city’s assets and services.
And only the Mayor, not Bob Scinto or Paul Timpanelli, has the responsibility for making Bridgeport the principal benefactor and beneficiary of this regional initiative. This is a great opportunity for the Mayor and for the City of Bridgeport. Lets hope it works.
*** Yes, yes, yes, and most Bpt. taxpayers that believe everything you just said about Scinto, Timpanelli & the Mayor’s team also believe in the good fairy, the great pumpkin & in keeping with the Easter spirit, the Easter Bunny too! ***
There cannot be a sewer deal with Monroe and/or Trumbull that is good for Bridgeport. The present sewer deal with Trumbull (in conjunction with the 25-8 Corridor state/federal mandate), struck in the 1960s by traitorous Bridgeport politicians in league with treacherous regional politicians, sounded the death knell for Bridgeport’s tax base. The sewer deal was a reverse flush–Bridgeport’s thriving Downtown and much of its thriving Main Street and East Main Street retail sectors were ejected into the Trumbull Mall through a subsidized sewer connection to Bridgeport–in return we received sewer debt and Trumbull’s shit, which currently backs up into many Bridgeport basements when it rains …
When 25-8 was built, much of Bridgeport’s manufacturing went north, as it still continues to go–into the Trumbull Industrial Park and Shelton.
In addition to losing our tax base because of the sewer link-up/25-8 conspiracy–largely hatched by the forerunner of today’s BRBC (same ship, just some different pirates)–a tremendous amount of potential tax base has been diverted (and continues to be diverted) into Trumbull and Shelton that would otherwise have gone to Bridgeport …
As Town Committee pointed out, the sewer link-up for Monroe is not intended for the new facility for the elderly–which is probably actually planned for the area next to Scinto’s property adjacent to Beardsley Park in Trumbull in what is left of Bridgeport’s decimated Fairchild Wheeler Park (the state took some for 25-8, along with part of Beardsley; the new magnet school will get some more, and now it looks as if the remainder will be sold to Scinto for the new facility for the elderly–it makes sense since it’s much closer to the two “regional” hospitals in Bridgeport and the area already has sewer access). The real reason for the Monroe sewer hook-up is, indeed, to develop the Route 25 corridor through Monroe and into Newtown …
If the sewer link-up with Monroe happens, what little remains of Bridgeport’s commercial-industrial tax base will be sucked up Route 25 and any potential desirable tax base that might relocate to Bridgeport will surely go north …
This sewer deal is a traitorous act on the part of our elected officials–at best, it is extremely short-sighted and incompetent. Bridgeport will be permanently and severely damaged by any sewer link-up with Monroe.
As far as any “smart-growth” aspect to this proposed link-up; encouraging any further development along the Route 25 Corridor spells only environmental disaster for the region, with a suburban-sprawl inductive effect that can only further skew the commercial and residential transportation/tax base dynamic that already threatens to cripple commerce throughout Connecticut and render the urban centers of Southwestern Connecticut unlivable. Smart growth, indeed!!!
Truly, Bridgeport should not only refuse to allow Monroe to link-up with our sewer system; we should also put Trumbull on notice that they are going to be disconnected at a set time in the relatively near future in order to level the economic playing field for Bridgeport and permit our recovery.
True “regionalization” without a strong form of county government is an impossibility–regionalization can only mean destructive exploitation for the urban centers, which will be prevented from realizing socioeconomic economic recovery and realizing their full potential under such an insidious system … Regionalization guarantees suburban sprawl, with all of its environmental destruction and horrific waste of human and material resources.
A series of public hearings in Bridgeport on the whole issue of the regionalization of Bridgeport’s sewer system must be held before any deal is seriously considered by our elected officials. Truly, this is a matter for referendum. This time, the people must have a chance to be informed and have a voice before they are once again sacrificed on the BRBC altar to satisfy the suburban development gods!
Never again!
*** It should be when Bpt. does better, Monroe & Trumbull benefit, not the other way around! *** Forget about it! ***
Yaaawn … all this talk about crap is sooo boring …
*** Wake up, it’s not donut break time yet, dude! *** Go to the park & read a book, drink a lite beer, get some sun & chase some bunnies! ***
LOL … no donuts … got to keep that figure so I can serve and protect the fine people of a not so fine city!!!
If Scinto wanted the elderly home in Trumbull it would have been there already. He wants that sewer connection in Monroe so that the condos or McMansions he plans to build on the same tract of land the elderly housing is on can get tied into the sewers. He also wants to open the Rt 25 corridor.
Scinto I am sure has other plans for the Trumbull property. With Trumbull nearing its contracted sewage amount it’s time to turn up the heat on Trumbull and insure that they pay a healthy increase in their sewer fees to Bridgeport. It’s time that the Trumbull residents pay more for this service than the residents of Bridgeport pay. Presently we pay a slightly higher fee than Trumbull residents pay.
With Finch, Feeney & Nunn handling this problem we are going to get screwed, of that I am sure.
WTF … I can’t respond to the April 13th post.
Just finished signing my 2008 Return and signing the checks that go with them. As an American, I am gratified on this day that I can contribute monetarily my fair share for the resources that are necessary to fund all of the amazing programs that my leadership thinks will better America and then the World.
Speaking of BULL SHIT … regarding Ganim’s latest filing:
I think it is amazing that a bunch of bullshitters call each other a bullshitter over a bunch of bullshit.
See ya in 2011 Mr. former mayor. I agree with Lennie, one mea culpa from Ganim and he’d already be firmly in place as the dogcatcher in Waterbury furthering his political career aspirations.
One more thing … Why the hell do we need Timpanelli?