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Monday, April 29, 2013

MY TAKE - Trail grant is a win for Wallingford

Over on the MY WALLINGFORD blog I have a post titled Trail grant is a win for Wallingford which was published in the Record Journal Sunday April 28, 2013 by Mary Mushinsky and Cathy Granucci.

Rep. Mary Mushinsky and Cathy Granucci are co-chairs of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail Advisory Committee.

I was contacted directly as were other Councilors and I am more than willing to publicly weigh in on this ahead of the vote. Below is my response to that email:



 

Hi Catherine,

Thank you for taking the time to send this email today.

Since $1 million has already been raised through previous budget appropriations and the final million will be coming from a reimbursement grant recently awarded by the state (all we have to do is appropriate the money now and it will be reimbursed to us later) I see no real reason to not support this.

We cannot use the grant funding for anything else and if we would not accept it for the planned use, the second choice on the list would get it.

Additionally, what has already been raised through previous budget appropriations would not be redirected to any other capital / non-reoccurring work, so if it will not be used for anything else that is needed then this is as good a use as any.

While the economy slowly recovers and with the whole mindset of “getting up and moving around” as a way to combat the obesity issue I see the trail as fitting both efforts – a place to go that has limited added cost for those that use it and is fully suitable to promote wellness and exercise.

Wallingford made a commitment a long time ago to support this project. The longer it takes to complete it, the more it costs in the end. Engineering and materials go up and sometimes, as we saw with Community Lake, you reach a point when costs become unattainable and / or permission to do the work becomes denied due to legislation or some other rules and regulations.

If we consider the economy to be still soft, now is a better time than after it picks up speed, to get us the materials and resources necessary to build out the project. Future demand and inflation will be more, not less.

Since Wallingford has made this commitment I say we see it through to its completion as we can and as we are able.

So to reiterate what I mentioned prior – the previous budget appropriations have been set aside and we have won the grant; let’s move forward.



Friday, April 26, 2013

Sullivan on the mend, grateful for support

As published in the Record Journal on Friday April 26, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD — On April 11, the day Town Councilor John Sullivan walked into the Weill Cornell Medical College at New York- Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan to have an operation for the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with a year earlier, his nerves were a wreck.

But nerves did not get in the way of a successful surgery. To the excitement of Sullivan’s family and friends, he can say “they got it all.” Sullivan says he is cancer free.

“People have been so kind to me,” Sullivan said. “I don’t deserve it.” Sullivan, who announced his condition to the public in a Record-Journal article that ran the day of his surgery, was supported before and after surgery by his wife, Sue. On the day of his surgery, Sullivan said, he was surprised that he was not wheeled into the operating room on a stretcher, as is routine on television. He remembers feeling strange walking into the room and lying himself down on the operating bed.

“You had a look of a puppy dog that was about to be euthanized,” Sullivan recalls his wife saying about his demeanor just before the operation.

Sullivan remembers being cold. Once he was unconscious, five robotic arms operated by Dr. Ashutosh Tewari did the work of removing Sullivan’s cancer through dime-size incisions. All the while, taped to his chest — over his heart — was a picture of his wife and daughter, Riley.

“For me, it was seconds,” Sullivan said of the surgery. “But it was three-and-a-half hours.”

After the operation, Sullivan was in pain. He said that during the surgery, his body was tipped so his head was far below his feet, forcing the blood from his organs. He was also pumped full of gas that made for a “very painful post-op,” Sullivan said.

Life is now beginning to return to normal, he said. After staying in New York City the Friday night after his surgery, the Sullivan family returned home to Wallingford. His wife is back to work as a full-time substitute teacher at Moses Y. Beach School. Sullivan said he’ll be resting at home for at least another week before he returns to his job at AT&T on a part-time basis. He’s also excited to soon return to his seat on the Town Council, although he’s not exactly sure when. “People didn’t elect me to hang around the house,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he’s heard from all his colleagues on the council, calling them a “caring bunch.”

He doesn’t see party lines on the Town Council. “I look at this as one body,” he said. Sullivan, a Democrat, is especially thankful for the support of Town Council Chairman Bob Parisi and Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, both Republicans. Sullivan said they have known about his illness from the beginning and have been there for him without hesitation.

“I’m very excited for him and very pleased,” Parisi said. “John and I have been friends for a long time. He’s doing well, and he’s got a good attitude and taking care of himself.”

Cervoni said his conversations with Sullivan about the recovery process have been encouraging.

“I’m thrilled that the prognosis is good,” Cervoni said. “I’m happy for him.”

Town Councilor Jason Zandri, a fellow Democrat, has stayed in touch with Sullivan via email.

“I’m happy to hear he’s doing better,” Zandri said. “It’ll be nice when he’s back up to speed to have him back on the council.”

From the experience over the last year of being diagnosed, preparing for and receiving surgery, Sullivan said he’s learned and wants to pass on that “men need to take their health into their own hands.”

A powerful experience for Sullivan came on Tuesday, when a man who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer gave him a call to talk about what comes next.

“He was so happy to talk to someone,” said Sullivan, who referred the man to several doctors. “I know what it’s like to feel alone in this. I hope I helped this fellow.”

Sullivan is extremely thankful to his wife and daughter, and also appreciates the support of his in-laws, Bob and Ann DeMarchi, as well as the understanding of his employer.Friends such as Joe Gaetano and Shane and Chris Lachance have also been important to Sullivan, among dozens of other people.

From here on out, Sullivan will be checked every six months to make sure the cancer does not return.

“I’m just appreciative of all the support,” he said. “I do not have cancer anymore.”

Monday, April 8, 2013

PUBLIC HEARING on the 2013-2014 BUDGET

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

Special Town Council Meeting

WEDNESDAY

APRIL 10, 2013 - 6:30 P.M.

Town Council Chambers

PUBLIC HEARING

on the

FY 2013 – 2014 BUDGET

AGENDA

1. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll Call

3. PUBLIC HEARING


Ambulance/EMS Transport Fund
Animal Control

Board of Assessment Appeals
Board of Education
Board of Ethics
Board of Selectmen
Building Department

Cafeteria
Capital Appropriations Reserve
Capital and Non-Recurring
Capital and Non-Recurring Fund
Civil Preparedness
Conservation Commission
Contingency Account

Debt Services

Economic Development Commission
Employee Insurance and Other Benefits
Engineering Department

Finance Department
Fire Department
Fire Marshal

Government TV

Health Department

Inland Wetlands
Insurance-Property & Casualty

Law Department
Library

Mayor

Parks and Recreation
Pension Fund
Personnel, Pensions, & Risk Management
Planning & Zoning
Police Department
Probate Court
Program Planning
Public Utilities Commission
Public Works Department

Registrars of Voters

Six-Year Capital
Social Services Contributions

Town Council
Town Clerk

Utilities –Electric, Water & Sewer Divisions

Veterans Service Center

Youth & Social Services Bureau

Zoning Board of Appeals