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Efforts to create a Branford Arts and Culture Commission are moving ahead swiftly, but a proposal to establish a Public Building Commission is off to a slow start.
The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) is considering two new ordinances that would create the commissions. Both were discussed Tuesday at the RTM’s Rules and Ordinances (R&O) Committee.
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At last night’s RTM monthly meeting, both ordinances were referred back to the R&O Committee as expected. Rep. Richard Greenalch Jr. (pictured), the chair of R&O, first brought the RTM up-to-date on the committee’s work on the ordinances.
The RTM now seems settled into its new seating arrangement, a long “U” shaped arrangement. Democrats and Republicans more or less sat separately. Rep. Peter Black, for the second time in two months, sat with the Dems. But he was largely alone. The political merging of the RTM, originally sought by Republicans, has not materialized.
At the committee meeting, supporters of the proposed Branford Arts and Culture Commission (BACC) addressed the R&O Committee, and presented a draft proposal for the ordinance.
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“It can and will enhance the quality of life in town,” said Frank Carrano (pictured), the retired chair of the Board of Education and one of several people spearheading the plans. He said cultural commissions in other towns are very active. “What they do is facilitate and organize opportunities for the arts to be presented to the community.”
“I would urge the committee to support this. I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Greenalch said after the presentation. Greenalch, who chairs R&O, asked the committee to review the draft ordinance and possibly vote on the matter at the March 26 special meeting.
“I don’t know of a reasonable person who would be against an Arts and Culture Commission,” said R&O Committee member James Walker.
PUBLIC BUILDING COMMISSION
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Slower progress is being made on the more-complex issue of creating a Public Building Commission. Discussions began at the R&O meeting in January, but three subsequent meetings were cancelled because of snow. The talks continued Tuesday night, but no consensus was reached. The committee agreed to put it on the R&O agenda for April 15 because the March 26 agenda is already crowded.
First Selectman James Cosgrove told the committee that creating a commission is vital because “it allows for a more transparent process.”
The draft ordinance Cosgrove presented in January calls for a nine-member commission that would oversee construction and renovation projects that are assigned to it by the Board of Selectmen (BOS). It states that the BOS, assisted by the Finance Director, would be responsible for setting the general criteria of a project, including the estimated budget, site, purpose and space needs.
The draft ordinance stipulates that the BOS, the Board of Finance (BOF) and the RTM must grant approval before the commission awards contracts or proceeds with any step in the design and construction process.
The town is grappling with the possibility of several major projects—a new public works building, a new senior citizen center, renovations at Walsh Intermediate School and renovations at either Sliney Elementary School or the former Branford Hills Elementary School.
“The size and scope hasn’t been identified on all those projects,” Cosgrove said Tuesday.
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Cosgrove said he has been meeting with officials from other towns to discuss their building commissions and construction projects. He handed out copies of ordinances from building commissions in other towns. He said he particularly wants to look into state requirements for committees for school projects. “We want to be cautious with that when we’re going for state reimbursement,” he said.
R&O member Chris Sullivan said he had several questions about the draft ordinance. Cosgrove suggested he e-mail the questions to him, but Sullivan said he would like to discuss some issues Tuesday.
Sullivan said the draft does not include specifics about the commission membership, and does not spell out the length of terms.
Resident Jacey Wyatt asked if the nine members would include three Democrats, three Republicans and three unaffiliated.
Sullivan said another option would be to state than no more than five members from the same political party.
OPIE PRESSES FOR ANSWERS
John Opie, former first and third selectman and RTM member, said he sees an advantage to having an entity that would coordinate major projects, “rather than address projects Willy nilly.”
Opie asked if there’s any strategy as to choosing which project will come first.
He said the BOF is setting financial parameters. “The decision on which ones we spend it on is critical,” Opie said as he mentioned the various projects. “How are we going to choose which ones we’re going to invest in? We can’t do them all.”
“We do elect people to make decisions,” Cosgrove said. “That decision has to be made on a number of factors.”
Opie said that didn’t really answer his question, but that he is in favor of one commission, rather than a committee for each separate project.
“It takes a long time to get anything done,” Opie said.
In a subsequent interview after the RTM meeting, Cosgrove told the Eagle that which project goes first will be left to the Board of Selectmen, the first step in the process. Throughout the building process, he added, the commission will return to the BOS or the BOF as need dictates. Whatever the project, he said, would need “public support and the support of the board of selectmen.”
As for progress on finding a permanent site for the public works building, Cosgrove said “we know we need a certain amount of acreage. Should it be centrally located? Should it be on the East side of town? There are benefits to both,” he said.
He said there were four or five viable sites, adding “there are property owners who have interests and we have to respect that.”
He said he had not yet hired a consultant. “The $7,500 we were given by the Board of Finance was to give us some flexibility in case there were any questions before we could make a decision. A lot of work has already been done on identifying the sites,” he said.
At the R& O Committee, Greenalch asked members to look at the draft language and send suggestions and questions to Cosgrove by e-mail before the April meeting. “Perhaps we can get some language together so that we can vote on it,” he said.
The entire RTM would vote on ordinances after the R&O makes recommendations.
ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSION
The purpose of the Branford Arts and Culture Commission, according to the draft proposal, would be stimulate, facilitate and coordinate all type of arts and cultural events, and to act as an information center.
Carrano said there are more than 100 artists in Branford but they have limited opportunities to showcase their work in town. He said the commission would “provide our community with better access to the arts and culture.”
He said the commission would not ask for an annual budget, but may ask the RTM for funds for a special project, and would also rely on fund raising. Carrano and a group of residents and artists have been meeting for several months to discuss establishing the commission.
Carrano also described how members would be appointed. “We would like it to be an apolitical commission,” he said. He said that although he was a former chair of the Democratic Town Committee in Branford, he feels that people applying for this commission should be “qualified and interested” in the arts and should not have to go through the political vetting process. Typically, appointees to committees and commissions are recommended by the Democratic or Republican town committees, or by one of the selectmen.
Carrano said the founding members would make the initial recommendations for commission membership. The proposed ordinance states that the nine-member commission would then be appointed by the RTM, with the approval of the first selectman. It also says that subsequent appointments would be based on recommendations from the arts commission to the RTM.
“We didn’t want to exclude anybody who doesn’t have a political affiliation,” Carrano told the R&O.
Debi Caron, director of technology in Branford, said she was sad when she moved to Branford seven years ago and realized she had to go to another town for an art festival. Caron, a former professional artist, said more than 50 towns in the state have arts commissions, including East Haven.
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Rev. Sharon Gracon, rector of the Trinity Episcopal Church on the Branford Green, said that putting more emphasis on arts and cultural events in Branford would spur the economy and help the town to become more of a destination. “We would be foolish not to take advantage of the arts and culture that is already here,” said Gracon, who was the program director of an arts council in Indianapolis.
Ray Ingraham, Republican majority leader of the RTM, said the Arts and Culture Commission would support local talent and help with scheduling and coordination of events. “These groups need a guiding force in town,” he said.
All proposed ordinances and rule changes must be recommended by the R&O Committee, and then deliberated by the entire RTM. Greenalch said it looks like the committee will be busy in the next few months.
He is right. At the end of last night’s RTM meeting, Rep. Josh Brooks of Stony Creek, asked Greenalch to put back on the call a proposed ordinance regarding flood plain management and the raising of homes on the shoreline.
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Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story.
Branford needs to take a more comprehensive approach to problems related to coastal flooding than just an ordinance regarding elevating buildings. We need to identify those community assets, public and private, that are vulnerable and to set priorities for reducing those vulnerabilities. Residents throughout Branford will be affected by the cost of making our shoreline more resistant to damage and the potential shift of the tax burden onto inland properties if the values of shoreline properties fall due to increased exposure to storm damage and rising insurance rates. The entire Branford community needs to engage in a broad-based effort to protect ourselves from the increased threats of storm and flood damage as many other shoreline towns have already begun to do.