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Alders to appointees: attendance matters.
Dolores Colon usually grills Andrew Orefice at public meetings about how Yale-New Haven Hospital deals with the Hill neighborhood.
But when she vetted him Monday night for an appointment to a city commission, she didn’t ask about that. Instead, she noted that he has an excellent attendance record at Hill community meetings.
That was the main concern raised about several citizens appearing at City Hall before Colon and fellow members of the Board of Alders Alder Affairs Committee for, in essence, a job interview.
They were questioned at a hearing on proposed appointments to city boards and commissions, unpaid jobs that involve making important public decisions, often out of the limelight.
The committee ended up approving several nominees Monday night, forwarding their names to the full Board of Alders for a final vote. (The alders expressed support for the other nominee, too, but are seeking to clarify a technical point about the appointment, advancing the nomination without a recommendation.)
And the central concern in many cases appeared to be whether the appointees would show up to those sometimes long night meetings of the commissions on which they’d serve.
Colon, who represents part of the Hill, has in the past butted heads at such meetings with representatives of Yale-New Haven Hospital — including Orefice — over its employees taking street parking from people who live in the neighborhood. Orefice is a regular at community meetings, including Hill Community Management Team meetings, where he is often defending his employer’s parking policies.
Orefice faces a friendly firing squad.
Offering a little light ribbing, Colon Monday night reminded Orefice of their occasional differences on parking.
Orefice had been recommended by Mayor Toni Harp’s administration to serve on the New Haven Parking Authority board. Ultimately, Orefice’s 17 years of civic service and his stellar attendance tipped the scales — as experience did for other appointees — for Colon when it was time to vote.
“I think they’re good appointees,” she said. “I know Mr. Orefice has excellent attendance. He never misses a management team meeting.”
Colon also sought to make sure that Orefice would have no conflict making sound decisions about the fate of parking in the city. He assured her that he would have no such problem.
“We have discussed parking until we’re blue in the face so I think he is an excellent addition to this board,” she said. “We don’t always agree on everything, but he’s consistent.”
“It says a lot, being there,” she added.
The same question was raised during considerations for appointments for the Fair Rent Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals and a reappointment to the Aging Commission.
The alders made no recommendation on the appointment of local carpenter Ernest Pagan’s appointment to the City Plan Commission. Not because they didn’t think he could do the job. But because they asked for a clarification about whether his appointment would add one too many members to the commission. Aldermanic Committee Chair Rosa Santana said she anticipates having that information before the full board votes on the appointment.
Carolyn Scott, a member of the Aging Commission, was reappointed. She was given a ringing endorsement for her service — and stellar attendance.
Losty: Looking to bring landlord experience to the Fair Rent Commission.
When asked for his qualifications for serving on the Fair Rent Commission, Douglas Losty had plenty. He has been a landlord for more than 30 years, so, he said, he intimately understands the issues from a landlord and tenant perspective. He also understands that affordable housing is a top concern in the city and serves as a community representative to a legal studies advisory group at the University of New Haven, he said.
Losty leads the Greater New Haven Property Owner’s Association, which was slated to meet in City Hall just 30 minutes after the start of the Aldermanic Committee meeting.
Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton hit him with the big questions: Did he know when and what time the Fair Rent Commission meets? Will he be available?
“I don’t know the meeting times, but I will make myself available,” he assured her.
Stone: From Guilford to New Haven.
Anne Stone, who is slated to serve as an alternate member on the Board of Zoning Appeals, said she used to serve on Guilford’s Zoning Board of Appeals. In addition to regular meetings, that board had a practice of taking one Saturday a month to tour the properties where they were making zoning decisions. An attorney by trade, Stone has been in New Haven 19 years and actually enjoys the intricacies of zoning regulation, she said.
Santana praised her for being willing to take on the important work of New Haven’s BZA, noting, “I wouldn’t be interested.”
“I think you will be a great fit,” she added.
Way to go Andy! I've had the opportunity to work with Andy on a couple of projects and have been consistently impressed with his dedication & commitment. He also has the critical, reflective, & receptive tendencies that will serve him well in this new role in City Hall.
Thank you for stepping up to the plate of civil service.