Marcia Chambers Photo
Branford Board of Selectmen
The town’s Public Works department has been housed in a temporary rental space on Route 139 since its North Main Street facility was torn down in March 2011 to make way for a new Fire Headquarters. This week its rental space was extended for at least one more year.
Efforts by First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and before him First Selectman Unk DaRos to find a new location for a public works building have so far not materialized even though the current rental facility at 137 North Branford Road is prone to flooding, accidents and injuries and has been deemed unsafe by the public works director.
Last Wednesday the Board of Selectmen extended the $10,000 a month rental lease for one more year and added a requested 2 percent increase in rent. Jack Ahern, the lone Democrat on the BOS and the town’s former fire chief, asked Cosgrove if the rental extension was for one year only. Cosgrove said it was. Then the board voted unanimously to extend the lease. There was no discussion about the condition of the building.
Marcia Chambers Photo
Bridge on Route 139 to be replaced.
The BOS decision to extend the lease came five days before the state Department of Transportation (DOT) holds an informational hearing tomorrow on a proposed state project scheduled to begin next fall to replace a bridge over the Branford River on North Branford Road. The bridge is located approximately 0.3 miles north of the U.S. Route 1/Route 139 intersection.
The new bridge construction, expected to take up to two years, will force the town’s public works trucks to take a detour to get to the town’s main roads. These workers are the town’s first responders to clear roads after a snowstorm. There was no discussion about the bridge project at the BOS meeting.
The cost of the state and federal bridge project is between $3.5 and $4 million. An informational meeting, sponsored by the DOT, is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 7, at Fire Headquarters at 7 p.m.
A Long and Winding Search
The Public Works department’s search for a new home has been a major issue, but one that seems to have taken a back seat to other projects. Efforts by Da Ros and a building committee to place a new facility on the town-owned Tabor site ran into public opposition. Other sites were considered but did not materialize before DaRos retired from office in 2013.
In an interview after the recent BOS meeting, Cosgrove told the Eagle that he has experienced similar problems in his quest to find a new site for the building. “I am facing the same problems as Unk. Unk tried, he made an effort to address it, and it is not as easy as everybody thinks.”
He said you need to find a piece of property “that is the right size and in the right location. It is a bit of a challenge and it is going to take a little more work. It would have been easier if we had approached this in a different way in the beginning,” he said of the initial decision to place public works in a rental facility.
“I don’t want to get stuck in a debate of the past, but it is important to know the history. It is still a priority that I have, as it was from the very beginning. I think we all recognize that we want to find a permanent home for public works. Because of the type of operation, it is a little more difficult to select a place.”
Over the years, Cosgrove has told the Eagle he was looking at several sites for a new building, but he has not been specific on possible locations or when a decision will be made.
Ethics Commission Appointees and Town Code
The appointments to town boards and commission continue to raise issues for Cosgrove, this time it was the Board of Ethics and the Planning & Zoning Commission.
A new appointment to the town’s Board of Ethics came as a bit of a surprise when it appeared on the agenda because in December Cosgrove recommended that Joe Cogguillo, former chair of the Republican Town Committee (RTC), be appointed to the Board of Ethics. And he was.
Cosgrove and Joe Higgins, Jr., the Republican selectman voted for Cogguillo. Ahern voted against him, saying he was a political appointee. But the 2-1 vote carried the day. When Cosgrove announced this week the recommendation of Kyle Nelson to replace Cogguillo, Ahern asked why Cogguillo had left the board after having just being appointed.
Cosgrove said that Cogguillo had moved. So the vacancy was returned to the RTC for a new nomination. Nelson got the nod. Ahern objected, saying the Democrats had put in names of two candidates and Cosgrove had interviewed neither. Cosgrove said one of the Dems’ candidates was a potential political appointee. Ahern pointed out the Cosgrove had not interviewed the other Democratic candidate.
Cosgrove noted there was only one slot open and when Cogguillo notified the RTC “that he had moved, a decision was made to replace him with Kyle Nelson.”
When Nelson’s name was raised, Cosgrove asked for a vote. “All Ayes?” he asked. Ahern said no. At that point Ahern passed a document to Cosgrove. It was the language stated in the Town Code for appointment to the Board of Ethics. Cosgrove then read that the board’s five members “shall be appointed by a unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen for terms of five years…”
It soon became clear that Cosgrove was unaware that appointment to the Board of Ethics required a unanimous vote. He turned to Ahern and when Ahern said no to Nelson’s appointment, Cosgrove said, “the motion fails.” Nelson’s appointment had failed because the vote was divided. Looking back, Cogguillo’s appointment by a 2-1 vote was in violation of local law.
P&Z Appointee
When it came time to vote for a new alternate to the Planning & Zoning Commission, the BOS was given the name of Chris Kelly, who turns out to be a new resident of Branford and a part-time realtor with Sette Real Estate in Hamden. He is also the manager of Cohen’s Bagel Company in Madison.
Ahern asked Cosgrove if he felt comfortable voting for a realtor to sit on the town’s main land commission. Cosgrove said, “I think if there is ever a conflict on any board or commission, the board member has a responsibility to recuse himself or herself.” Asked to vote, Ahern, who said he needed to know more about Kelly, abstained. Ahern had earlier complained that he was receiving resumes for appointees the day before or the day of the meeting. Cosgrove agreed that was a problem when he was the third selectman and also agreed there was a need to fix it.
The following night, the Planning & Zoning Commission welcomed Kelly, a Republican, to his new post. Kelly introduced himself and told the commission that he moved to Branford in April and wanted to get involved in town government right away. He served as an alternate on the Zoning Board of Appeals for about one year when he lived in the small town of Beacon Falls.
When it came time for the BOS to vote on the re-appointment of Susan Cosgrove Barnes to the Commission on the Elderly, Cosgrove recused himself. She is Cosgrove’s aunt. Cosgrove asked if another board member would make a motion to approve Barnes for another term. Ahern did and then he and Higgins voted in her favor.
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Marcia, it is fascinating that you have all of a sudden become the champion of finding a new home for Public Works. I would ask where all this passion was when the building was being demolished with no plan for where it would go. At that time, your passion was reserved for the new Fire House. We needed a new Fire House, the old one was crumbling and we needed it no matter what. When the Republicans raised the argument "What about Public Works?" you dismissed them as obstructionists. The "plan" to put it at Tabor was not a plan, it was a hope that that solution would materialize. There was no Plan B. But the Democrats moved forward regardless, and you didn't voice a word of concern about Public Works. And now that the prediction from Republicans has come true, you're criticizing them for not addressing the problem? There's plenty of blame to go around on the Public Works situation, Democrats, Republicans, Unk Daros and members of the media, like yourself, who never wrote an article titled "Whatever happened to Public Works?" while there was still a chance to have a comprehensive plan. All share blame. But your criticism is reserved for one person: Jamie Cosgrove. It is totally unfair.