Odor From Nestle's Farms

From parents and children at the ballfields, from the Recycling Center and from as far away as Old Stilson Hill Road, there have been many complaints about the odor from the Nestle's Farms' composting facility. It travels with the wind.

The Town's Health Department has no jurisdiction over the matter although Director of Health Mike Crespan and the Mayor are well aware of the problem and have spoken to the owner repeatedly. "They've been very cooperative and concerned, Mike said, "They may not be able to resolve the problem immediately but they are working on it." And so is the State DEP.

Lou Santos, a DEP Air Pollution Control Engineer III, is investigating the problem. He said today that he has yet to officially declare Nestle's Farms as the source of the odor. While it seems apparent to all of us, he explained that he must rule out all other potential sources before making that formal declaration. The odor may very well be coming from the composting facility," he said, "I am doing air inspections and will do a compliance inspection later next month."

Mr. Santos also said that he will also be referring the matter to the DEP Water Department because he saw some leacheate from the area where restaurant food waste is dumped. The facility has a Permit to accept the food waste which is then mixed with brush and other organic materials before it is composted.

I am assured that the odor is not toxic and results from the composting process.

Murphy/Jankowski Cut Costs

It's amazing what you can find out if you just ask. Kostes, are you reading?

Last week, Mayor Murphy's and Finance Director Ray Jankowski's vigilance saved taxpayers more than $700,000.

First, a call date with regard to 1999 School Bonds allowed refinancing and a savings of more than $650,000.00.

Second, they took advantage of a brief opening that permitted a renegotiation of the Town's electricity costs. Savings? $65,000.00.

Great work.

The Mouse Roars

Citing fiscal mismanagement, Mayoral wannabe Bob Kostes who, you may recall, failed to vote on the Budget, called yesterday for the resignations of Mayor Pat Murphy, Councilman Roger Szendy and Board of Finance Chair Bob Sherry.

It's quite a list considering that the responsibility for the fiscal health of the Town resides not only with the Mayor but with the entire Council, the entire Board of Finance and the Finance Director. Why did he cherry-pick these three? Maybe because he didn't want to include a call for the resignation of all of the Members of these bodies because it would include the likes of friend Mary Jane Lundgren who knows as much about finance as I know about nuclear fusion.

Although he ran for Mayor, what, exactly, did Kostes offer but a wild idea about pension investment and a spending plan that would have resulted in a double-digit tax increase? His idea of educating himself about the Town's finances is a five-minute meeting with the Finance Director. Bob, where have you been for months? Have you gone to one Town meeting? Have you even been in Town Hall since you lost the election?

Kostes, if you are really interested in what's going on, speak to Department Heads whose Budgets are scrutinized daily by the Mayor. Speak to the people in Town Hall. You'd be doing the taxpayers a great service if you'd dig in to the BOE Budget where many expensive secrets are hidden.

This Duchy won't capture the Q-Bomb.

"Cash" Price for Gas at Hess Station

For the past week or so, the Hess station on Route 7 has been offering a "cash" price and a "credit" price.

I'm not sure what the State Legislature had in mind for its new Bill. Some said that the intent was to save us money by allowing stations to give a discount for cash. However, it appears that neither laws nor franchise agreements ever barred stations from doing this.

But what Hess is doing is absurd. Instead of offering a cash discount, it is simply charging more to customers who use a credit card. It's "cash" price is just about the same as every other station on Route 7.

In addition, a person using a debit card won't get the "cash" price at Hess even though money is taken from a debit account immediately, is riskless and doesn't require human time for handling and deposit.

The invention of the debit card was the darling of retailers who were anxious to find a quick, guaranteed way to get paid. Now it's a dirty word?

So far, this is the only station in Town that's playing this game. Buy your gas elsewhere.

Jankowski v. Turk, $1,832 Apart

Ray Jankowski, Town Treasurer and Director of Finance, makes $96,200.00/year and John Turk, Board of Education's Director of Fiscal Services, makes $94,368.00. The former has been working for the Town for 18 years, the latter, 3.

What am I missing?

The Budget: Which Candidates Didn't Vote?

It's too big a task to go through the entire electorate so I decided to start with the list of candidates in the last election. Here are the candidate no-shows, starting from the top of the ticket:

Bob Kostes (Mayor, NMF)
Bill McLachlan (Council, R)
Mary Patricia Issavi (Council, D)
Eileen Monaghan (BOF, NMF)
Al Brant (Assessment Appeals, R)
Bob Rush (Planning, D)
Jerry Monaghan (Planning, NMF)
Kevin Jackson (Zoning, D)
Charles Bogie (ZBA, R)
Keith Iaia (ZBA, R)
Lisa Alexander (ZBA, D)
Matt Pruss (ZBA, D)
Richard Dugdale (ZBA, D)

You mean to tell me that New Milford First wizards Kostes and Monaghan didn't bother to vote? Yes. Shame, shame, shame.

Guendelsberger Sues Town

In a Superior Court action entitled Guendelsberger v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of New Milford and GMLR LLC, local attorney and Town Council Member Bob Guendelsberger is suing the ZBA because it "improperly granted [a] variance relying on uninformed [sic] restrictions that wetlands will presumably apply, and by the elimination of access from an adjoining road." The papers are tough to follow and often redundant but apparently Bob is upset about a variance that was awarded with regard to a property across the street from his office at 28 Park Lane Road aka Route 202.

Route 7 Construction Update

How aggravating is it to watch this project held up by work on that little bridge just north of Still River Road? That's a rhetorical question. Commuters and non-commuters alike are "angry as hell" and "don't want to put up with it any more." (Network was an excellent movie, wasn't it?)

So here's an update from the Route 7 project's Chief Inspector, Mark Vinisko. "The wings have been poured and the parapet wall will be poured tomorrow," he said a few moments ago. "Traffic will be switched on Friday, the remaining overlay will be done the first week of July and there'll be four lanes by mid-July."

None too soon.

Should Seniors Be Tested for Driving Competency?

I say absolutely yes.

The News-Times is reporting that it was Bill Webster, 92, who was driving the car that struck and killed a woman on 202 yesterday evening long before dark. According to the report, Webster, a long-time Fire Company devotee, said that he was "unaware" of the incident.

This is a perfect example of why seniors should be subject to testing.

Here's how the State of California handles the problem.

At 70+, the California Department of Motor Vehicles require that renewal licenses be obtained in person. There are vision and written tests. In addition, Police Officers may request that a senior take a test if he or she thinks it is necessary. Doctors must report certain listed illnesses that may impact a senior's driving ability and friends and relatives may also ask the DMV to require testing.

According to the California DMV, "DMV may issue a license to a customer who has a physical and/or mental condition if that person is able to demonstrate, during a driving test, that he/she compensates for the condition and can drive safely. The driving test you will be asked to take is called a Supplemental Driving Performance Evaluation (SDPE). In certain situations, if the Supplemental Driving test is too difficult for your abilities, you have the option of taking an Area Driving Performance Evaluation (ADPE). You and the DMV examiner will pre-determine the driving test area and if you pass that driving test, your driver license will be restricted to that area."

Makes sense to me. I doubt that Bill Webster has had a driving test in 75 years.

Town To End Fiscal Year With 4-5 Million Dollar Deficit

"It appears that we will be ending the 07/08 fiscal year with a deficit of between four and five million dollars," said Ray Jankowski, Town Treasurer and Director of Finance. "We're not exempt from what's going on out there."

"This results from a number of factors," Ray explained, among them the Town's yield on investments is down $500,000, conveyance fees are down $200,000 and the State ECS (Education Cost Sharing) is down $566,000.

"We need to contain costs," he said.