“Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.” ~ Chinese Proverb
Prst. Std. U.S. Postage Paid Naugatuck, CT #27
FR EE
Bee Intelligencer Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume IX, No. 14
Friday, April 5, 2013
Middlebury budget hearing Wednesday By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Middlebury’s Board of Finance (BoF) will present the proposed 2013-2014 town budget to the public Wednesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the firehouse at 65 Tucker Hill Road in Middlebury. The public hearing for the Region 15 School District budget, which also affects Middlebury taxpayers, is the same night, but at 7:30 p.m., in the AP Room at Pomperaug High School. Due to the changes in Middlebury’s charter, Middlebury voters will vote on both the town budget and the Region 15 budget on the same day, Wednesday, May 8, this year rather than voting on separate days as was done last year. With a $645,854 increase, the town’s $10.1 million budget is almost 7 percent higher than the current $9.4 million budget. However, the BoF has cut roughly $1 million off the budget initially presented to it by the Board of Selectmen. Summary sheets of the proposed budget can be found in the public hearing legal notice on page 7 of this issue of the newspaper. Copies of the entire budget can be picked up at the Middlebury town clerk’s office. BoF Chairman Mike McCormack said his board worked to create a town budget that would result in no tax increase. The town budget increase would have been more than offset by an expected $808,862 revenue increase in property tax and supplemental auto revenue. However, Middlebury’s portion of the Region 15 School District budget is expected to increase by $681,008 to $19.8 million from $19.1 million. McCormack said he anticipates the combined
budgets totaling $29.8 million will result in a tax increase of approximately 2.5 percent for Middlebury taxpayers. McCormack said the $518,000 surplus from the 2011-2012 budget was applied to the 2013-2104 budget. “That was only right,” he said. “That was the taxpayers’ money.” When it came to reducing the proposed 2013-2014 budget, McCormack said, “We moved $160,000 right out of the budget with the thought there were reserve accounts to offset costs of roofing at Public Works and the Fire Department and general maintenance for the Historical Society building.” He said the BoF also eliminated salary increases for part-time personnel and lowered increases for fulltime personnel to 1 percent. “Most fulltime employees get longevity increases of a half to one percent,” McCormack said. First Selectman Edward B. St. John said Wednesday, “It’s always a difficult situation when you try to balance our needs against our ability to pay. There’s always a fine line there. We never get a budget we all are in love with.” He said this budget could be considered a starting point, and the town would see what happens at the public hearing next week. St. John said he didn’t like to second guess the BoF, but he was concerned the board eliminated overtime from departments like public works. He said some departments have to respond no matter when a storm occurs. “There is a certain amount of liability the town incurs if we are notified about a situation and we don’t respond,” he said.
EIDC reviews tax policy By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commission (EIDC) at its March 26 meeting reviewed its application experiences from the first two tax incentive program submissions and discussed progress on the nascent Guidebook for Commercial Development. Co-chairman Michael Kenausis asked commissioners to discuss possible areas for improvement in Middlebury’s Tax Incentive Program for business attraction, retention and expansion. An Oct. 1, 2012, town meeting approved a tax incentive for Wallingford-based Winchester Electronics to relocate to Middlebury, and an April 8 town meeting is set for voters to decide on a tax incentive for the rebuild and expansion of Shaker Family Ford-Lincoln into the Middlebury side of property that is partly in Middlebury and partly in Watertown. The previous building was almost entirely in Watertown. Co-chairman Gerry Matthews commented on several sections of the program that might be improved, including the list of factors commissioners take into account, the timetable for recommendations and the conditions necessary to begin the tax abatement first year. Commissioner Ted Manello
commented on the program being applicable to businesses simply preserving jobs, and Commissioner Frank Mirovsky commented on whether EIDC’s passing of completed applications to the board of selectmen should be considered a recommendation or simply vetting. Kenausis asked members to bring revision proposals to the next meeting for consideration in eliminating gray areas and better protecting the interests of the town. Work on the Guidebook for Commercial Development continued with a progress review of a draft document patterned after a similar guidebook from Georgetown, Mass. Members had been assigned areas to research at an Oct. 15 special meeting, with Kenausis taking on the Building Department, co-chairman Gerry Matthews doing P&Z, Commissioner Frank Mirovsky researching the Conservation Commission, Ted Manello doing the Water Pollution Control Authority, Mark Petrucci talking to the fire marshal and Joseph Salvini interviewing the town engineer. Commissioners agreed to set workshop meetings in May to continue work on the guidebook. The next regular EIDC meeting will be Tuesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall conference room.
Family members, left to right, Elizabeth Ferreiri, Olimpia Cristaldo, David Cristaldo, Sebastian Cavada and Aref Ahmed stand in front of the deli counter at Le Bobadel in Middlebury. The family opened the New York-style deli last December.
Family runs New York-style deli By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Le Bobadel, the New Yorkstyle delicatessen that opened at 819 Straits Turnpike in Middlebury last December, is the joint venture of a mom, her husband, her daughter and her son-in-law. Chef Olimpia Cristaldo, who for many years was a chef and caterer in Larchmont, N.Y, moved to Waterbury four years ago. For four long years after the move, she drove back and forth to Westchester County to work. “I was so tired, I decided to open my store with my kids,” she said. And so she sat down with her husband, daughter and sonin-law, and they drew up plans to open their own deli and catering business close to home. The result is Middlebury’s own New York-style deli. Olimpia brings to the business more than 30 years of experience as a chef and caterer. She grew up in Portugal, and the deli name, “Le Bobadel,” comes from a place near Lisbon. Daughter Elizabeth, who usually can be found behind the cash register at the deli, said of Olimpia, “Her passion is cooking. Saturdays used to be our family day. She would cook a feast at our house.” Elizabeth formerly worked in medical records during the day, but over the years helped her mother at many catering events. Now she is working fulltime in food service, and she said she loves it. “I found a new love of food. I’m very close to my family, and I love working with them all day,” she said. Olimpia’s husband, David, brings to the deli his experience as a butcher and meat department manager at supermarkets. He supervises meat and fish purchases, handles inventory control and pitches in wherever help is needed.
Baked goods made by Chef Olimpia await purchase at Le Bobadel. (Marjorie Needham photos) Son-in-law Aref Ahmed brings years of experience as a business manager at P.C. Richard & Son to Le Bobadel. At P.C. Richard, he oversaw as many as 50 people, and he helped open four Connecticut stores for the company. Le Bobadel serves breakfast, lunch and take-out dinners and caters events like parties, weddings and Seders. It is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast is available all day, and the breakfast menu features pancakes, waffles, eggs with home fries and toast, egg sandwiches and assorted rolls, bagels and muffins.
Lunch and dinner dishes include Portuguese dishes like kale soup, paella, rice pudding and semi-frio along with deli hot and cold sandwiches and specialty salads. Quiches and individual and family-size chicken pot pies are prepared fresh daily. Aref said their Dec. 19 opening was much later than initially planned. “Hurricane Sandy pushed us back about two months,” he said. Despite the late opening, they delivered two big catering orders just days later, one Dec. 24 and one on Christmas Day. Recently, they catered a Passover Seder for a New York synagogue.
With the first three months on his new job behind him, Aref said, “I like it. I’m still getting used to it. The best part is dealing with people and getting to know them.” As the company’s business manager, Aref said, “When it comes to quality, we are not going to negotiate.” He said that is why all their cold cuts are Boar’s Head brand. And the deli’s bread is delivered daily from a famous Italian bakery in Port Chester, N.Y. Aref said the most popular sandwich is the Italian combo with four kinds of meat and provolone cheese. For breakfast, the bacon, egg and cheese on a roll has been a big hit. Post University is across from the deli, and students are frequent customers. Aref said 40 Post baseball players recently stocked up on breakfast sandwiches to go before getting on the bus for an away game. In addition to the eat-in or take-out food, Le Bobadel stocks specialty items such as Colombian coffee and imported jams, teas, cookies, pastas, mustards and olive oils. It also has a small section of gluten-free pasta. Brands include Piacone and Lensi from Italy and Esparguette from Portugal. The family says its focus is on providing the warm and fuzzy feeling of a home-cooked meal for all of the deli’s customers. “Right now, our main goal is to have the community get to know us and trust us with their catering needs,” Elizabeth said. Business has been booming. “We’ve surpassed our expectations,” Aref said. The location on a busy road has helped tremendously, he said, but the good cooking and good service they offer are equally important. For more information on Le Bobadel, call 203-528-4061 or visit www.bobadelmarket.com.
Inside this Issue Library Lines.................... 2 Nuggets for Life.............. 6 Obituaries....................... 5 Puzzles........................... 7 Region 15 Calendar........ 2 Senior Center News......... 3 Sports Quiz..................... 6
Editorial Office: Email: mbisubmit@gmail.com Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com
saturday Upcoming Events
Adoptable Pets................ 8 Classifieds....................... 7 Community Calendar....... 2 Fire Log........................... 5 In Brief............................ 4 Legal Notices.................. 7 Library Happenings.......... 2
April 6
MONday
April 8
wednesday
April 10
Middlebury Easter Egg Hunt
When: 1 p.m. What: Easter Egg Hunt for Middlebury children ages 3 to 10 Where: Shepardson Community Center Field at 1172 Whittemore Road
Town meeting to vote on tax incentive
When: 7 p.m. What: Vote on Shaker Automotive tax incentive application Where: Shepardson Community Center Auditorium at 1172 Whittemore Road
Middlebury annual budget hearing
When: 6:30 p.m. What: Middlebury Board of Finance presentation of proposed 2013-2014 town budget Where: Middlebury Firehouse at 65 Tucker Hill Road
Published weekly by The Middlebury Bee Intelligencer Society, LLC - 2030 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762 - Copyright 2013
Dancemakers invite public to final workshop
Page 8
Send mail to
P.O. Box 10, Middlebury CT 06762
203-577-6800
Visit us at: 2030 Straits Turnpike, Suite 1