By Meredith Crawford
Courier Associate Editor
It was a year marked by change for North Haven, which saw new directors of finance and community services and the unveiling of several retail stores at North Haven Commons. Meanwhile, the national economic downturn dug in on the local level as summer approached. Quebecor/Northeast Graphics closed its North Haven branch, leaving 308 area residents jobless, and Rabina Properties announced it would postpone indefinitely its ambitious redevelopment scheme for the former Pratt & Whitney site.
North Haven faces unprecedented fiscal challenges in the new year and the budget season is sure to include some hard-fought battles, but residents’ compassion for their fellow neighbors was undoubtedly a bright spot this past holiday season.
January
Democrats and Republicans exchange barbs when recently re-elected Fire Commission Chairman Pat Nuzzolillo (R) refuses to allow Democratic Town Committee Chairman and Fire Commission Secretary Pete Criscuolo to assume the role. Despite a shift to Democratic majorities on most boards and commissions following the November 2007 election of First Selectman Janet McCarty, the Fire Commission maintained a Republican majority. Criscuolo accuses Nuzzolillo of attempting to trade the chairmanship for a job for a friend. Nuzzolillo adamantly denies the charge.
The Board of Finance (BOF) receives the results of a supplemental forensic audit that gauges the extent of the damage wrought by former finance director Vincent Palmeri and former Community Services & Recreation director Joseph Ierardi and assistant director Patricia Ierardi. The trio was arrested in April 2007 on charges alleging the embezzlement and misuse of town funds and its cover-up. The supplemental audit gauges the estimated losses to the town between 1996 and 2007 to $142,000.
The Board of Selectmen unanimously approves embattled former finance director Vincent Palmeri’s retirement on the condition that he forfeit his $7,000-a-month-pension and “all benefits due or becoming due” if he is found guilty of any of the charges he faces.
The Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) begins its deliberations on Rabina Properties’ zone-change application for the former Pratt & Whitney site on Washington Avenue. The PZC expresses concern over several issues, including Rabina’s provision that North Haven extend Valley Service Road.
The Registrars of Voters report higher-than-ever voter registration numbers in advance of the Presidential Primaries
February
A Special Town Meeting approves approximately $570,000 in emergency capital expenditures for the Department of Public Works, Clintonville Elementary School, and the Police Department. Monies from the un-appropriated fund balance are used.
Montowese Elementary School celebrates its 50th anniversary.
North Haven’s Republicans support John McCain in the Presidential Primaries, while Democrats support Hillary Clinton.
North Haven receives a $15,600 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant for the construction of Ridge Road Elementary School’s new playground.
The Board of Education adopts a $42.89 million budget for fiscal year 2008-09 before passing it on to the Board of Finance. The budget reflects a 6.5 percent increase over the 2007-08 fiscal year.
Former finance director Vincent Palmeri files a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Town of North Haven and the Board of Selectmen (BOS). Palmeri alleges that the BOS violated the town’s pension plan and his rights when it voted to conditionally grant him a pension.
Rabina Properties withdraws its zone-change application before the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) for the former Pratt & Whitney site. The firm is disappointed with the conditions the PZC seemed about to levy on a potential application approval.
March
The Animal Haven celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The Board of Selectmen approves making the two registrar of voters positions full-time in a vote of 2-to-1 with First Selectman Janet McCarty opposing. McCarty supported a lesser salary increase. Registrar positions are set at $28,500 per year plus health benefits. The decision is later overturned at the behest of the Board of Finance. The positions are kept part-time and the salaries set at $20,000 each.
Gerardo Sorkin is hired as the new director of Community Services & Recreation. Deborah Ward-O’Brien is elected chairman of the North Haven Republican Town Committee for a two-year term.
The Board of Finance (BOF) approves an $81.1 million overall budget with an additional $1.68 million for capital expenditures, which were drawn from the town’s un-appropriated fund balance. Another $850,000 from that same balance covers one-time payments such as debt service for the high school. Minus the capital account, the proposed budget reflects a 4.5 percent increase over fiscal year 2007-08. A public hearing is scheduled for April, a referendum for May.
The Board of Education asks the Board of Finance (BOF) for $250,000 to prevent it from ending the fiscal year in the red, which is against state law. The deficit was caused by unexpected increases in special education enrollment. The BOF passes the motion and the matter is sent to referendum on the same night as the budget.
April
First Selectman Janet McCarty delivers her first State of the Town Address, painting a relatively optimistic picture for North Haven.
In an effort to crack down on out-of-towners in its schools, North Haven announces it will make incoming 6th and 9th graders re-register.
Public Works Director Richard Branigan leaves the position after 18 years to take a job as town manager of North Branford. Bob Kalm is named Branigan’s temporary replacement.
May
Quebecor/Northeast Graphics announces it will close its North Haven facility on June 30. Quebecor employed 308 workers, 10 to 15 percent of whom were North Haven residents, and contributed about $500,000 in revenue to the town. Local, state, and national leaders work together on plans of action to aid displaced workers.
Problems with North Haven High School’s athletic fields come to light and the Secondary School Building Committee hires a geotechnical engineer to determine the extent to which debris appearing on two of the fields indicate that the old high school on which the fields were built was not demolished according to specifications. Further problems are discovered during the removal of unsuitable soil.
The budget for fiscal year 2008-09 is unanimously approved by town referendum. About 14 percent of registered voters turn out. The mill rate is subsequently set at 23.5, down from the previous year’s rate of 25.44 mills.
18-year-old passenger Nicole Stepen is killed in a car crash on I-91 one month shy of her high school graduation. The driver, Jason Giardiello, is later charged with manslaughter in her death.
June
The impending health insurance switch estimated to save the town $450,000 angers municipal workers.
July
Republican Veronica H. Kivela announces she’ll challenge incumbent State Rep. Steve Fontana in the upcoming election.
After a federal court judge dismisses his lawsuit against the town and Board of Selectman, former finance director Vincent Palmeri files an appeal.
The state Supreme Court rules in favor of Dennis Loring, an adult-oriented book and video store purveyor who intends to open shop in Dell’oro Plaza against town wishes. The town’s motion to reconsider the decision is later denied.
Jonathan Bodwell is hired as town engineer.
The police department unveils its newest enforcement tool, a 2008 Harley Davidson Road King Police Special.
August
The remaining space of the former Stop & Shop distribution center is filled by Cheshire-based Bozzuto’s, a wholesale food distributor.
September
Citing economic woes and a saturated market, Rabina Properties announces it will postpone the redevelopment of the former Pratt & Whitney site indefinitely.
A Special Town Meeting approves Tax Incremental Financing for North Haven Commons retail development on Universal Drive. By November, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Best Buy open there.
October
The Joyce C. Budrow Senior Center receives a $750,000 Small Cities grant from the federal government for additions and repairs.
North Haven unveils a six-step energy savings initiative.
November
Eighty-three percent of the town’s registered voters taek to the polls on Election Day, supporting President-elect Barack Obama nationally and State Rep. Steve Fontana and State Sen. Len Fasano locally.
Thomas J. Morrison is named the new finance director.
Despite allegations of inadequacy, an investigation finds no flaws in the North Haven emergency dispatchers’ performance.
The Connecticut Consortium for Education Foundations names the North Haven Education Foundation among the best in the state.
December
North Haven Memorial Library Director Lois Baldini’s longtime secretary Raffaella Giordano is arrested for allegedly stealing from the Friends of the Library.
A Special Town Meeting approves a 10-year municipal solid waste contract with Covanta Energy, effective on July 1, 2010 at the expiration of a 20-year contract with Connecticut Resources Recovery Administration.