Wallingford Town Council - Swearing in Ceremony

Electronics recycling for local residents

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday January 26, 2012

WALLINGFORD — Town residents can drop off unwanted electronics at the town’s recycling center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at 157 John St.

Accepted items include computers, monitors, printers, TVs, laptops, keyboards, mice, fax machines, stereos, modems, telephones, as well as VCR, DVD and CD players.

There is no charge, but each household is limited to seven items per visit.

For information, call the Program Planning office at (203) 294-2060.

Special movie showing to benefit Tara Monroe

Saturday January 28 10:00am until 1:00pm

Holiday Cinemas 14 - Wallingford

970 North Colony Road, Wallingford, CT 06492

 

A special showing of "Batman: The Dark Night" will be held on Saturday January 28, 2012 at Holiday Cinemas 14 located at 970 North Colony Road in Wallingford, CT at 10:00am to benefit Tara Monroe.

Tara was recently in a car accident and due to the high costs of medical bills we will be donating ALL proceeds directly to Tara Monroe and her family.

You may purchase tickets now until the day of the showing either at the theater or through Tricia Estep (203) 901-3581 or Lisa Beichner (203) 687-6681 

 

* Due to the fact that this is a fundraiser ticket purchases may only be made by CASH OR CHECK ONLY! (See below for check info)*

If you wish, we are asking that you write a message to Tara and/or your name on the back of your ticket before handing them in at the theater.

**If you are unable to attend the movie and would still like to make a donation, you may send a check made out to " Tara Ashley Monroe Supplemental Needs Fund" to 57 Tremper Drive Wallingford, CT 06492. You may also give any donation to Lisa or Tricia at anytime. There will be a donation jar set up at Holiday Cinemas for the duration of the movie as well.**

Thank you all for your support and we hope to see you all on January 28th

Relay for Life plans fundraiser Saturday January 28

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday January 24, 2012

WALLINGFORD — Elks Lodge 1365 will sponsor its annual Relay for Life fundraiser beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday January 28 at the lodge, 148 S. Main St.

The menu will consist of chicken parmigiana and a dessert.

Entertainment will be provided by the band Freeplay.

Tickets may be purchased at the lodge. For information, call the lodge at (203) 269-7162.

Wallingford VFW Post 9965 plans Friday dinner

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday January 24, 2012

WALLINGFORD — Stanley Budleski VFW Post 9965 men’s auxiliary will sponsor a dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday January 27 at the post home, 424 Church St., Yalesville.

The menu will consist of lasagna, escarole soup and salad.

Admission will be charged. For information or to purchase tickets, call the post home at (203) 269-7110.

Sheehan High School cheerleader fundraiser

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday January 24, 2012

WALLINGFORD — The Sheehan High School cheerleaders will sponsor a fundraiser from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday January 25 at Burger King, 888 N. Colony Road.

Burger King will donate 20 percent of the evening’s sales to the team.

Also, the team will accept donations from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street in Yalesville.

For information, call Lisa Eroh at (203) 269-6161.

FROM WALLINGFORD – Education is a bargain

This was originally written by me back in 2009 and published in the Record Journal. I felt it timely to re-publish it with the upcoming budget hearings.

I am also considering writing a letter to the editor to update the numbers a bit.

As that comes out I’ll make sure to post it.

 

As published online via MyRecordJournal.com Friday August 28, 2009 for Sunday print publication in the Record Journal

I was engaged with someone in conversation recently about the cost of education in Wallingford as a reflection of the taxes we pay. Their chief comments were generically that about 60 percent of our entire budget went to pay for public schooling, and he felt that now that his kids were out of school he should pay a smaller portion of taxes.

I asked how long he owned his home in Wallingford, and he said, "about 30 years now."

When I asked how many kids he put through the school system, he said, "three."

His thoughts piqued my curiosity, so I looked into the details.

Here are the facts:

The FY10 budget for the Town of Wallingford is $140,379,869 and $85,057,113 (basically 60 percent) is for the Board of Education’s portion of the budget.

The expected student enrollment for FY10 is 6,573 for Wallingford public schools.

If you simply divide the budget by the students this comes to just about $12,940.38.

If you were from out of town and wanted to pay to send your child to Wallingford Schools you could apply to do so and pay the per pupil expenditure/applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment, $9,743.00 for middle school, or $10,604 for high school.

According to the City Data website, the estimated median home value in 2007 in Wallingford was $303,694.

Houses equaled 17,306 (16,697 occupied: 12,132 owner-occupied, 4,565 renter-occupied).

For the sake of the remaining discussion, let’s use the smallest rate I can: the applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment and the estimated median value for a Wallingford home.

Taxes are assessed at 70 percent of the fair market value of the property at the time of valuation which we do every five years.

The current mill rate is set at 23.2.

70 percent of the estimated median cost of a home in Wallingford would be $212,585.80, and when you apply 23.2 mills you get a tax bill of $4,932 almost on the dot. (I am forgoing car taxes in this discussion.)

If we assume that the cost of taxes on homes would rise equally with the rise in the cost of education then we can just use constant dollars.

We can assume 2 children per household for households with children (and my friends would be quick to point out that my family is skewing that number).

Skipping kindergarten and assuming not repeating a grade, a child is in the public school system for 12 years.

12 years times 2 kids times the applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment (only) equals $226,920 in total education costs.

Divide $226,920 in total education costs by the annual tax bill of $4,932 means that in basically 46 years the cost of educating two children from the same household is covered in taxes collected.

Only that cost – no consideration for any other town services consumed in those 46 years – just educating those two kids.

I realize there are many variables, but for every pro there’s a con.

Businesses are taxed, but they don’t send kids to school; they may consume a larger portion of other town services.

Not everyone has children; those households pay into a pot they don’t use – many people are renters and the tax offset of the landlord does not equal.

I could go on and offset continually – the main point of the column was to bring the costs to the surface of what we actually get as a community for the taxes paid.

(By the way, 17,306 households times the median tax bill of $4,932 equals $85,353,192.)

Remember, the BOE budget this year was $85,057,113.

It is a community’s responsibility to educate its students – in the classroom and beyond.

You can’t put a price on an education. No matter how one gets it, by my math we are paying a bargain rate in taxes for the privilege.

The Mayor's follow up with the engineering department regarding Wooding-Caplan

Hi everyone - quick update regarding the Mayor's follow up with the engineering department regarding the Wooding-Caplan property.

As the Mayor promised, he did get in touch with the Engineering Department regarding getting some initial estimates and rough drawings with respect to possible short term work / improvements as originally requested by Councilor Fishbein.

The letter we received today as follow up from that request indicated that there should be something to review by March 20th.

I'll be sure to follow up with anything that is public information on this as I receive it. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr celebration scheduled Monday

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday January 12, 2012

WALLINGFORD — A celebration in memory of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 16, at the Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.

The program will be presented by the mayor’s office, Public Celebrations Committee and the Board of Education, superintendent’s office.

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo will offer opening remarks. Students from the Sheehan High School jazz ensemble will perform and stu­dents from Lyman Hall High School will read from King’s works.

Wallingford Briefs - As published in the Record Journal

Editor’s note: If you have an announcement you would like the Record-Journal to publish, you can e-mail it to: newsroom@record-journal.com. Or fax it to (203) 639-0210, or mail it to us at: In Brief, Record-Journal, 11 Crown St., Meriden, CT 06450.

Electronics recycling for local residents

WALLINGFORD — Town residents can drop off unwanted electronics at the town’s recycling center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at 157 John St.

Accepted items include computers, monitors, printers, TVs, laptops, keyboards, mice, fax machines, stereos, modems, telephones, as well as VCR, DVD and CD players.

There is no charge, but each household is limited to seven items per visit. Saturday is the next day to drop off electronics.

For information, call the Program Planning office at (203) 294-2060.



Yalesville LL registration set

WALLINGFORD — Yalesville Little League will accept registration for the 2012 Little League season in the Parker Farms School cafeteria according to the following schedule: 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 18 and 25, and 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 21 and 28.

Registration is open to any child who will be 5 by April 30 and not older than 16 by the same date. Children under 12 are must live west of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, Route 15. All other ages including Challenger players may live anywhere in Wallingford.

For information, call Ray Gomes at (203) 265-7580.



Poetry group to meet Saturdays

WALLINGFORD — The Wallingford Public Library’s poetry-writing group, Saturday Mornings with Poetry, will meet from 9:45 a.m. to noon this Saturday and Jan. 28 in the library board room.

Teen and adult poets and poetry lovers are invited.

At each meeting, participants are welcome to read original poems and share their writing experiences with fellow poets. For information, call the library at (203) 265-6754.



Knights of Columbus sets roast beef dinner

WALLINGFORD — Knights of Columbus Pinta Council 5 will sponsor a roast beef dinner at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21, at 190 Ward St.

Admission will be charged and the deadline to purchase tickets is Saturday. For information, call Ralph Mingione at (203) 600-8281 or Charlie Lombardi at (203) 793-7369.



Book club meets at library Jan. 19

WALLINGFORD — The Wallingford Public Library’s Thursday Night Book Club will discuss the science fiction novel, “The Sparrow,” by Mary Doria Russell, at 7 p.m. Jan. 19.

“The Sparrow” tells the story of Jesuit priest and linguist Emilio Sandoz, who leads a 21st-century scientific mission to a newly discovered extraterrestrial culture.

All are welcome to read the book and join the discussion.

Books will be available from the library’s information desk. The Thursday Night Book Club is an informal gathering for fans of fiction and popular nonfiction. Each month a book is selected for group discussion and all are welcome to come and share their thoughts about authors, writing styles, plots, and themes.

No registration is necessary. For information, call the library at (203) 265-6754.



SHS cheerleaders’ fundraiser Jan. 25

WALLINGFORD — The Sheehan High School cheerleaders will sponsor a fundraiser from 4 to 8 p.m. Jan. 25 at Burger King, 888 N. Colony Road.

Burger King will donate 20 percent of the evening’s sales to the team.

Also, the team will accept donations from 6 a.m. to noon Jan. 28, at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street in Yalesville. For information, call Lisa Eroh at (203) 269-6161.



Relay for Life fundraiser Jan. 28

WALLINGFORD — Elks Lodge 1365 will sponsor its annual Relay for Life fundraiser beginning at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28, at the lodge, 148 S. Main St.

The menu will consist of chicken parmigiana and a dessert. Entertainment will be provided by the band, Freeplay. Admission will be charged and tickets may be purchased at the lodge. For information, call the lodge at (203) 269-7162.



Library program on headaches set

WALLINGFORD — Neurologist Dr. Justin Montanye will present a program on the common causes and treatment of headaches at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Wallingford Public Library.

The presentation will include a discussion of tension headaches and migraines and the traditional and complementary therapies used to manage headaches at Mid-State Medical Center’s headache center.

The program is part of the “Dessert with a Doc” series and will be cosponsored by Wallingford Public Library and MidState Medical Center. Advance registration is suggested. For information or a reservation, call the library at (203) 265-6754.



BNI Group sets business expo

WALLINGFORD — The Silver Cities Wallingford chapter of Business Networking International will sponsor a visitors’ day and business expo from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Feb. 17, at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn, 1074 S. Colony Road.

Business professionals of all types are encouraged and welcome to attend. For a reservation, call Liz White at (203) 317-2226.

Live from the 01/12 Wallingford Town Council Meeting

If I can and as applicable I’ll tweet things over on my Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/#!/gunderstone

AGENDA–WALLINGFORD REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

Town Council Chambers

TUESDAY

JANUARY 10, 2012

6:30 P.M

AGENDA

Moment of Silence

1. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call

2. Correspondence

3. Consent Agenda

3a. Consider and Approve Tax Refunds totaling $15,332.57 (#384 - #440)Acct. # 001-1000-010-1170 - Tax Collector

3b. Acceptance of a Grant Award from 3M Foundation and Appropriation of $1,000 to Miscellaneous. Revenue Acct # 1009052-47040 and to Operation Expenses Acct # 10020150-58735 – Fire Department

3c. Acceptance of a Grant Award from the Connecticut Fair Plan and Appropriation of $496 to Miscellaneous Revenue Acct # 1009052-47040 and to Operation Expenses Acct # 10020200-58735 – Fire Marshal

3d. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $15,000 from Contingency Acct # 10019000-59820 to Professional Services-Lawyers (Workers Compensation legal fees) Acct # 10010300-56710 – Law Department

3e. Reappointment of Matthew J. Furman to Personnel and Pensions Appeal Board for a five-year term effective immediately and expiring December 31, 2016 - Mayor

3f. Set a Public Hearing for January 24, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. with regard to the Repeal of Ordinance #345, “Article V, Insurance Commission.” The Town Council repeals Ordinance No. 345, “Article V. Insurance Commission”, adopted on August 7, 1986, as stated in §8-10 through §8-13 of Chapter 8, Boards, Commissions and Committees, of the Code of the Town of Wallingford

3g. Consider and Approve minutes of Regular Town Council Meeting of December 13, 2011

3h. Consider and Approve minutes of Special Town Council Meeting of December 20, 2011

3i. Consider and Approve minutes of Swearing In Ceremony of January 2, 2012

4. Items Removed from the Consent Agenda

5. Executive Session pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §1-225, §1-200 (6)(E) and §1-210(b)(7) to discuss estimates and evaluations for construction contracts relating to the school roof projects – School Roof Building Committee

6. Consider and Approve a Resolution that the Wallingford Town Council commits to the total funding of the school re-roofing projects upon receipt of public bids and adoption of a funding ordinance as required by the State of Connecticut, Department of Education.

7. Hold a Public Hearing at 7:00 P.M. to Consider and Act upon the following proposed Ordinance: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AN ORDINANCE APPROPRIATING $370,000 FOR PLANNING AND DESIGN OF THE TOWN OF WALLINGFORD 2011 SCHOOL ROOF PROGRAM AND AUTHORIZING THE ISSUE OF $370,000 BONDS OF THE TOWN TO MEET SAID APPROPRIATION AND PENDING THE ISSUANCE THEREOF THE MAKING OF TEMPORARY BORROWINGS FOR SUCH PURPOSE

The purpose of the amendment is to increase the appropriation and bond authorization by $7,630,000 from $370,000 to $8,000,000, to provide for construction and roof related energy improvements, and to ratify, confirm and adopt all prior authorizations and ordinances in connection therewith.

8. PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD

9. Consider and Approve a Resolution adopting the USCM Deferred Comp Program and its group flexible purchase payment deferred variable annuity contract and hereby establishes the Town of Wallingford Deferred Comp Plan for the voluntary participation of all eligible employees belonging to the Managers Union and non-bargaining unit managers and to authorize the Mayor to execute such agreements and contracts as are necessary to implement for the Program - Personnel

10. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the Town owned parcel(s) located to the east of North Main Street, known as the Wooding-Caplan Property – Councilor Craig Fishbein

11. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the property located at 390 Center Street – Councilor Craig Fishbein

12. Executive Session pursuant to §1-200 (6)(D) of the Connecticut General Statutes with respect to the purchase, sale and/or leasing of property – Mayor

Swearing in ceremony - Wallingford Town Council Jan 2, 2012

Pictures from the Swearing in ceremony for the Wallingford Town Council can be seen via my Facebook page as well as publicly over on Live.com on my SkyDrive.

Hope to see you tonight at the Swearing-in Ceremony

http://jasonzandri.blogspot.com/2012/01/reminder-special-town-council-meeting.html

If you are out and about at 8PM hope to see you at Town Hall.

Town Council auditorium
8 p.m.
Town Hall
45 S. Main Street Wallingford

Thank you for all the support to date with the election but my work is just getting started

REMINDER - Special Town Council Meeting - Swearing In Ceremony

Hi everyone.

Just a quick reminder that tonight (Monday January 2, 2012) is the Special Town Council Meeting - Swearing In Ceremony.

The full details are in a prior post but the summary information is:

Town Council auditorium
8 p.m.
Town Hall
45 S. Main Street Wallingford

The meeting is a public meeting so all are invited to attend.