Volume 18, Number 27
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Police station hearing re-rescheduled By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
A referendum on the new police station may be back on the ballot this November after the events of a special meeting called July 29. The previous decision about when to hold the public hearing for the new police station was reversed at a special meeting of the Town Council July 29 when the council Democrats rescinded the motion passed by the three council Republicans at the previous meeting, when the Republicans held the majority due to the absence of two council members. The preliminary cost for the new police station, which will replace the current 40-year-old facility, is $21 million. Police Chief Paul Fitzgerald said at the previous meeting, July 15, that the police station is not meeting the department’s needs, lacking adequate facilities for interviewing victims of crimes, space for evidence to be properly stored and archived, a usable shooting range, and other depart-
ment needs. The public hearing will now be held Aug. 12 rather than in September, which will allow a referendum on Election Day this year if a citizen gathers enough signatures to call for a referendum. The council expects a referendum to occur, as Republican Town Committee Chair Anne Reilly spoke in favor of holding a referendum during Audience of Citizens at the last meeting. Councilor David Evans inquired about the motion to rescind the Republican’s decision on when to hold the hearing. Town Attorney Robert Weber explained that a special meeting can be called by the mayor or deputy mayor with 24 hours notice. “It was done properly, is the short answer,” Weber said. Mayor Rachel Rochette said she had “thought long and hard” about whether holding the hearing in September was “the right thing to do for the town.” Rochette said she concluded that it is in the best interSee Hearing / Page 7
A crowd gathered at a McDonald’s in Waterbury to meet the children they would be hosting for the Fresh Air Fund host family program. | Charles Kreutzkamp / The Berlin Citizen
Inner city youth see their first stars By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
Families across the state are taking in children from the inner city for a couple of weeks to communities including Middlefield, Berlin, and Newtown as part of the Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit dedicated to bringing New York City kids from low-income families who have never experienced life outside the inner city free summer experiences with carefully vetted host families. The organiza-
tion also runs summer camps. This is the first year in the program for Tancy Gemza of Danbury. She said she’s excited to meet 5-year-old Suenaya and 11-year-old Thaily, who will be spending the next two weeks at her home. Gemza said she plans to take to the kids blueberry-picking at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield – something the youngsters have never experienced. Gemza said she knows one of the kids likes to bake, and hopes to make her grandmother’s blueberry tea-
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cake recipe together. “I think it’s really great,” said Jennifer Carroll-Fischer of Berlin. This is Carroll-Fischer’s fourth year in the program. Her daughter, an only child, relishes the chance to have a sister for two weeks, Carroll-Fischer said. Once the relationship is established, families can keep in touch with the children they host throughout the year, even inviting them to visit See Program / Page 8