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Branford has a new commission and a new committee to serve the needs of the town. Five people were appointed to the Public Building Commission Wednesday, and five veterans were sworn in to the Veterans’ Advisory Committee at its organizational meeting later in the evening.
The newly created Public Building Commission will tackle the numerous building proposals that town officials have been grappling with over the past several years. Those projects include a new public works building, a new senior center, and the proposed multi-million dollar renovations to Walsh Intermediate School and the former Branford Hills Elementary School. The ordinance to create the commission was approved by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) six months ago.
The commission’s task is to manage and oversee projects assigned to it by the first selectman, according to the ordinance.
“There is no decision which project to do first,” First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove told the Eagle at last night’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting.
The Veterans’ Advisory Committee will oversee matters pertaining to local veterans and their dependents. The state requires municipalities to either appoint a town employee as its veterans’ service contact person, or to fund a veterans’ service officer, or to establish an advisory committee. The local ordinance creating the committee was unanimously approved by the RTM in December.
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The members were sworn in by Town Clerk Lisa Arpin.
Buildings On The Horizon
Establishing the building commission was one of Cosgrove’s main priorities in his first year in office. Click here to read the story.
About a year ago, Cosgrove submitted a draft ordinance for the new commission to the RTM’s Rules and Ordinances Committee. Cosgrove said the new commission would be “more efficient” and would provide better oversight and coordination than having separate committees for each project. He later presented a revised draft which was approved by the committee in May and by the RTM in June. However, the appointments took more than six months to materialize.
Cosgrove told the Eagle last month it wouldn’t be beneficial to establish the commission before any projects were on the horizon. Click here to read the story.
The BOS unanimously approved five members to the commission last night: Peter Banca, Paul Cianci, James Killelea; Marci Palluzzi, and Leonard Tamsin. The political make-up of the board is mixed: Banca and Killelea are Democrats; Palluzzi and Cianci are Republicans; and Tamsin is unaffiliated.
Banca is a former town treasurer who has had a long career in the banking and finance industry. Cianci is an engineer who ran for the state legislature in the 102nd District last year but lost to Democratic incumbent Lonnie Reed. Killelea, an attorney, is a long-time member of the Inland Wetlands Commission. Palluzzi, a realtor who has a degree in landscape architecture, is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Tamsin is a construction manager and a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The members’ terms of service are initially phased so that the entire commission won’t be up for reappointment at the same time. Cianci and Banca’s terms will expire in four years; Palluzzi and Killelea, three years; and Tamsin, two years.
In addition to the five regular members, two additional members may be added for a specific project. The commission can also serve as a school construction committee, which is mandated by the state Department of Education for any construction or major renovations of schools.
“This is a very important committee,” said Bruce Storm shortly before the vote was taken. He said his only concern was that the ordinance did not spell out all the rules and regulations but instead left that up to the commission to set.
BOAA Appointments
Diana Stricker Photo
In other business, the BOS unanimously approved the addition of three temporary members to the Board of Assessment Appeals. Their terms will expire at the end of September. The new members are Michael Milici, Jake Greenvall, and Barbara Maresca and they will serve for the 2015 revaluation appeals, which are expected to get underway in February.
Milici’s appointment to the tax appeals Board was questioned by a number of people when they learned afterward about the BOS action. Those in the tax and legal worlds familiar with the William and Dawn Massey property tax case expressed surprise.
Milici, who is the East Haven assessor, was working for Branford as a part-time contract assessor when he designated the Massey home as “custom,” a designation created by Vision Appraisal, the town’s revaluation company. It permits a house to be taxed higher than any other category and to be taxed for the life of the house. His “custom” designation led to one of the longest, most expensive tax and court cases in the history of the town. Massey, who acted as her own attorney, won. Here is an early story on the case.Their field card shows their home is now designated colonial. Milici is married to Trista Milici, the first selectman’s executive assistant.
According to the town charter, temporary members of the Board of Assessment Appeals can be nominated by the BOS and must be approved by the RTM.
Veterans Get A Boost
Five veterans were sworn in to office as the first members of the newly created Veterans’ Advisory Committee during the organization meeting last night. The members are Dennis Flanigan, who was nominated chairman; Richard Hansen, vice-chairman; Madeline Clem, secretary; Richard Dunn; and John Cooke.
“I want to thank you for serving your country and now serving in this capacity,” said Cosgrove as he addressed the group before outlining their duties.
Cosgrove said the committee may act as the coordinating agency for all issues pertaining to veterans and their dependents, especially in regard to reemployment, education and rehabilitation. The committee will also work with national, state and local government and veterans organizations to help secure services and benefits for the veterans. The duties were spelled out in the state requirements that were enacted in October 2013.
“This is a very important role,” Cosgrove told the veterans. “There are a lot of issues that veterans face.”
Cosgrove said a number of shoreline towns have advisory committees, including Guilford and Madison which have a joint committee. Flanigan, who serves as the Republican moderator of the RTM, said he would contact those towns to discuss their operations.
“There’s a lot of needs, whether it be education, or medical or housing or helping them to find jobs,” Flanigan told the Eagle after the meeting. He said veterans may contact the committee members through Town Hall. “All questions are welcome,” he said. “We’re open to all veterans who need our assistance.”
The committee will hold regularly scheduled meetings, and a list of those meetings will be posted on the town’s web site once the schedule is determined.
Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story.
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