Volume 18, Number 25
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Hearing delayed for police station The Berlin Citizen
The preliminary cost for the new police station to replace the cramped 40-year-old facility currently in use is $21 million. The Town Council has not yet taken action on the police station, but scheduled a public hearing to begin the process during its July 15 meeting at the Town Hall. There was disagreement among council members about when to hold the hearing, which is scheduled for Sept. 16. Members of the police commission in attendance advocated for the police station to be updated, as did Police Chief Paul Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald said the needs of modern policing were not being met by the current station, which did not provide adequate facilities for interviewing victims of crimes, space for evidence to be properly stored and archived, a usable shooting range, and adequate facilities for dispatch, which, the chief said, was essential to remain undisturbed and functional at all times to connect residents to emergency services. Republican Council members Brendan Luddy, Charles Paonessa, and David Evans voted to hold the Public Hearing on Sept. 16. Evans pointed out that the cost for the high school renovations will hit tax bills next year, as well as an increase in water and sewer bills. Evans stated that he believed a public hearing in September
would be better attended that a hearing on July 29. Mayor Rachel Rochette (D) supported a hearing on July 29, because this would allow the timetable to proceed such that a referendum vote on the police station could take place on election day this fall. This would spare the town the expense of putting on a separate referendum, Rochette said. Councilor Peter Rosso (D) said that he believed holding the referendum during the general election would lead to a higher voter turnout. Paonessa countered that the police station was a “huge expenditure” and that the public should have a chance to voice their opinion. Rochette argued that an additional month and a half did not justify the expense associated with holding a separate referendum, and opposed a suggestion that the decision on the police station should be held such that the referendum on the police station occur during next year’s budget referendum. Rochette argued that interest rates will not get any lower, and construction costs will continue to rise. “At this point I would like this to go forward as quickly as possible,” the mayor said. “In September people are more connected and aware of what is going on,” said Evans, who added that many people are on vacation during the summer months. Paonessa argued See Delayed / Page 9
When the fishway is in season, fish proceed along this channel and are counted using a video camera behind the window to the right. | Connecticut Nature Conservancy Facebook
Fish head back to long-lost habitat StanChem President Jack mad.” According to Waller, the Waller recalled seeing a rainbow trout in the fishway, fishway has been visited by The StanChem Fishway at a fish that is not one of the local students and has even the High Pond Dam in East species DEEP tracks. “He was been shown to tourists from Berlin opened last May and is just sitting there, not expend- Kansas who were curious already seeing a huge amount ing much energy in between of use from fish and lampreys the baffles, and eating like See Fish / Page 10 according to reports from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The fishway allows diadromous fish – fish that travel We knock out the Competition LLC between saltwater and freshwater, generally spawning in one of those environments – MEMBER access to previously-closed off habitats. With Full Safety Inspection Hundreds of alewives NEW CONSTRUCTION • REPAIRS • REPOINTING have passed through the fishCAPS • LINERS • RESTORATION • STUCCO (All Types) way, as well as herring, shad, and some eels. The fish are counted by videotaping them through a viewing window FREE ESTIMATES / HIGH QUALITY WORK built into a shed-like strucGREAT PRICES ture located near the top of the fishway. The fishway reCALL TODAY: 860-594-8607 cently closed after a very CHECK OUT WWW.CHIMNEYCHAMPS.COM FOR SUMMER SAVINGS! successful season and will Fully Licensed & Insured # 628054 reopen in the spring. By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
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By Charles Kreutzkamp