Politics & Government

Letter To The Editor From Vincent Cimino: Vote No Wednesday

"There will be a town meeting [Wednesday] night at 6:30pm in the Green Room at Town Hall to vote on whether or not to give our $200,000 grant to this hockey rink group. I ask that you please join me in voting "NO". "

Letter To The Editor From Vincent Cimino, the Clinton First Party candidate for First Selectman: 


The State of Connecticut is awarding the Town of Clinton a $200,000 development grant.  I've spoken with Lilia Kieltyka, Program Manager with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. She informed me that the grant is not site specific. 
 
I feel strongly that this grant should be used to assist the owners of either the Unilever and/or the Bostitch properties in evaluating the condition of those sites.  Those two properties remain vacant for one simple reason; they have contamination issues.  Those sites will remain dormant until the contamination is evaluated and addressed. We should be working with the owners to do so. 

Two weeks ago, I also learned at a Selectmen's meeting the town is earmarked for a $1.5 million brownfield remediation grant.  That grant should be used to help clean up the Unilever and/or Bostitch sites.  It's also been confirmed that the new high school site is contaminated. That soil should be removed, not "spread around", to prevent future health issues and potential town liability.

The administration has a different plan for that grant money that makes no sense at all.  Two individuals, Greg Gallo and Joe Defillipo, came forward and said they were interested in building a hockey rink on the heavily contaminated former town dump on Old Nod Road.  They requested a $1 lease of the property, but told us they would be paying for all testing and evaluation of the soil.

A year later, they haven't done that evaluation and testing, but requested another year extension for $1 more, which the Board of Selectmen somehow approved.  Gallo and Defillipo have given the town $2 to date, but they're currently asking the town to give them our $200,000 state grant.  What happened to they were going to pay for all evaluation and testing themselves?  Furthermore, two weeks ago, I learned that First Selectman Willie Fritz is planning to give this $2 company our $1.5 million state remediation grant!

I've also learned that Greg Gallo isn't actually involved in this hockey rink deal, other than he is an attorney representing a group.  That group has refused to open its books to either the state or the town.  The $200,000 grant requires that complete financials be provided to the state.  According to Lilia Kieltyka, the state has never vetted this group and knows absolutely nothing about them.

The cover story in the August issue of Connecticut Magazine is titled, "Why Can't We Reel In Corruption?  Ten Years after John Rowland went to prison, you can still buy politicians."  The article lists 7 changes necessary to reform the system.  Number 3 is, "Require transparency of private interests that receive taxpayer dollars."  It continues,  "Require a strict set of reporting requirements be attached to any government grant."  "If businesses are unwilling to open their books, they shouldn't be allowed to receive tax dollars."  

I totally agree.  We should not be giving our $1.7 million grant money to a group who refuses to completely open its books so we can see who we're giving this money to and if they have the financial wherewithal to do what they say they're going to do.  They haven't even paid for the evaluation and testing.  They apparently need our tax dollars to do it.

Selectmen's minutes from June of last year indicate that Defillipo's group owns a rink in Northford and pays $94,000 per year in taxes to that community.  I've spoken with Northford town officials and learned that was a complete fabrication.  They've never heard of Defillipo's group, which has absolutely no ownership or management or any other interest in the Northford rink.  And, Defillipo's group has certainly never provided a single dollar of tax revenue to the Town of Northford.

There will be a town meeting tomorrow night at 6:30pm in the Green Room at Town Hall to vote on whether or not to give our $200,000 grant to this hockey rink group.  I ask that you please join me in voting "NO".  Let's tell the administration that we're opposed to this entire concept, which could really open a Pandora's box of potential liability for the town.   This $200,000 grant, as well as the $1.5 million remediation grant, should be directed toward far more important properties.
 
Vincent Cimino
 
 
Vincent Cimino is the Clinton First Party candidate for First Selectman


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