Common Council

BIENNIAL MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT NOVEMBER 15, 2011 Biennial Meeting The Biennial Meeting of the Common Council of the City of Middletown was held in the Auditorium of Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Wilderman’s Way, in the City of Middletown on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Present His Honor Sebastian N. Giuliano; Council Members Thomas J. Serra, Ronald P. Klattenberg, Philip J. Pessina, Gerald E. Daley, Joseph E. Bibisi, Robert P. Santangelo, Hope P. Kasper, James B. Streeto, Grady L. Faulkner, and Deborah A. Kleckowski; and Mayor-elect Daniel T. Drew; Council Members-Elect Thomas J. Serra, Ronald P. Klattenberg, Mary A. Bartolotta, Gerald E. Daley, Robert P. Santangelo, Hope P. Kasper, Grady L. Faulkner, Jr., Philip J. Pessina, Joseph E. Bibisi, Linda Salafia, Todd G. Berch, and Deborah A. Kleckowski; Board of Education Members-Elect Eugene Nocera, Edward McKeon, Ava Hart, Mitchell Wynn, and Cheryl McClellan; Planning and Zoning Members-Elect Joyce Rossitter, Richard P. Pelletier, Michael J. Johnson, and Molly Salafia; Planning and Zoning Alternate Member-Elect Gary W. Faraci and Elizabeth R. Emery; Board of Assessment Appeals Members-Elect Kathryn M. Antonucci, James B. Streeto, and Laura Gionfriddo; Acting Police Chief William McKenna and Council Clerk Marie O. Norwood. Absent Council Members David Bauer. and Treasurer-Elect Quentin W. Phipps. Also Present The Honorable Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman; Reverand John Hall, Reverend Moses Harvill, and 245 members of the public. The elected officials and guests are escorted into the auditorium by the Police Honor Guard, Mayor Giuliano. Presentation of the Flag The presentation of colors is made by the Police Honor Guard; Mayor Giuliano leads the public in the Pledge of Allegiance. The National Anthem is sung by Erin Gardell, Junior at Middletown High School. Call of Meeting Read Mayor asks the Council Clerk to read the call of the meeting. He declares the call a legal call and the meeting a legal meeting. Mayor Giuliano asks the Acting Chief of Police William McKenna to escort the Lt. Governor, the Honorable Nancy Wyman and Mayor-elect Daniel T. Drew to the podium. Invocation Reverend John Hall delivers the invocation. Oath of Office Administered To Mayor-Elect, Daniel T. Drew Mayor Giuliano introduces the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Connecticut, the Honorable Nancy Wyman who will deliver the oath of office. She thanks everyone around her for being part of this wonderful ceremony and thanks the outgoing Mayor for all he has done and his dedication to the City of Middletown. Lt. Gov. Wyman thanks everyone for putting themselves out and her hardest job was in local government and as a State official, if they don’t like me as the Lt. Governor in the town of Collinsville, I can come to Middletown. She thanks all of the family members who are here; without them we couldn’t do our job. She states, Dan, you are taking on a hard job and you are ready for it and you have a wonderful family to support you and I know you have a vision that will benefit the City and she wishes him the best of luck. She asks if we can have Dan’s family come up on stage to administer the oath of office. Lt Gov. Wyman administers the oath of office, saying Dannel and states she is so used to the other one. She begins the Oath of Office again, for Daniel T. Drew as Mayor. He responds I Do. She states you got it. Mayor Giuliano stands and congratulates Mayor Drew. Remarks by former Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano Mayor Giuliano makes his remarks congratulating the newly elected officials and best wishes for the office you are about to take and for the citizens of Middletown thank you for the honor you have bestowed upon me for six years. He states he took office on November 15, 2005 and departs from office on November 15, 2011; 6 years to the day, hour, and minutes. He told the City work force it was a perfect town because the citizens November 15, 2011 COMMON COUNCIL MEETING Page 2 of Middletown make it so. Time to celebrate and he, too, is celebrating. The office belongs to the citizens and they entrusted me with the office for three terms and now what they own, they entrust to Mayor Drew. We are just trustees for the time we hold offices and it is our obligation to act in the best interests of the City. I believe everyone sitting in front of me tonight is pledged to do that very thing. No one takes the responsibility without wanting to do the very best for the people. He has confidence and full confidence in those who will lead Middletown and has full confidence with the citizens because they always expect the best of their leaders and gives them support. Our best days are ahead of us. Thank you for the trust you placed in me. Mayor Drew you have the rostrum of the office. Mayor Drew states thank you for being here tonight and he thanks Mayor Giuliano for six years of service to the City and after a half day, he can see and understand how intensive the job is. He presents the Mayor with the gavel he used during his time in the office of Mayor. Mayor Drew requests the Police Honor Guard to escort, the members-elect of the Common Council; he calls them forward, individually, by name. Council Members Thomas J. Serra, Ronald P. Klattenberg, , Mary A. Bartolotta, Gerald E. Daley, Robert P. Santangelo, Hope P. Kasper, Grady L. Faulkner, Jr., Philip J. Pessina, Joseph E. Bibisi, Linda Salafia, Todd G. Berch, and Deborah A. Kleckowski; they were administered the following oath: Oath of Office Administered to Council Members-Elect "You, ______________, having been elected as a member of the Common Council of the City of Middletown for a term to November 12, 2013, do swear that you will faithfully discharge the duties of said office according to your best skill and judgment, so help you God." Each member so swears. Oath of Office Treasurer-Elect Treasurer-Elect Quentin W. Phipps is absent. The Mayor asks the Police Honor Guard to escort the Board of Education Members- Elect to the rostrum and administers the Oath of Office. He administers the following Oath of Office to Eugene Nocera, Edward McKeon, Ava Hart, Mitchell Wynn, and Cheryl McClellan. Oath of Office Administered to Board of Education, Members-Elect You, ______________, having been elected a Member of the Board of Education of the City of Middletown, for a term to November 10, 2015, do swear that you will faithfully discharge the duties of said office according to your best skill and judgment, so help you God." Each member so swears. The Mayor asks the Police Honor Guard to escort the Planning and Zoning Commission Members-Elect to the rostrum and administers the Oath of Office. He administers the following oath of office to Joyce Rossitter, Richard P. Pelletier, Michael J. Johnson, and Molly Salafia. Oath of Office Administered to Planning and Zoning Commission Members-Elect "You, ______________, having been elected a Member of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Middletown, for a term to November 12, 2013, do swear that you will faithfully discharge the duties of said office according to your best skill and judgment, so help you God." Each member repeats so swears. The Mayor asks the Police Honor Guard to escort the Planning and Zoning Commission Alternate Member-Elect to the rostrum and administers the Oath of Office. He administers the following oath of office to Gary W. Faraci and Elizabeth R. Emery. Oath of Office Administered to Planning and Zoning November 15, 2011 COMMON COUNCIL MEETING Page 3 Commission Alternate Members-Elect "You, ____________, having been elected as an Alternate Member of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Middletown, for a term to November 12, 2013, do swear that you will faithfully discharge the duties of said office according to your best skill and judgment, so help you God." Each member so swears. The Mayor asks the Police Honor Guard to escort the Board of Assessment Appeals Members-Elect to the rostrum and administers the Oath of Office. He administers the following oath of office to Kathryn M. Antonucci, James B. Streeto, and Laura Gionfriddo Oath of Office Administered to Board of Assessment Appeals Members-Elect "You, ______________, having been elected a Member of the Board of Assessment Appeals of the City of Middletown, for a term to November 15, 2011, do swear that you will faithfully discharge the duties of said office according to your best skill and judgment, so help you God." Each member so swears. Mayor Drew states the City Treasurer-elect is not with us and he will administer the oath of office to him at another time At this time, Mayor Drew recognizes Sandra Faraci, Registrar of Voters who has been absent due to illness and states we are honored to have you back; we love you. On a personal note, Mayor Drew thanks three people without whom he could not have run for office, his wife, Kate his Dad, and his Mom. He also recognizes two of his younger brothers in the audience. Thank you. He presents his wife and mother with flowers. Mayor Drew gives his inaugural address and begins Lt. Governor Wyman, Judge Marino, Judge Holzberg, Mayors Serra, Holzberg, and Thornton, Senator Ciotti, Senators Doyle and Suzio State Representatives Serra and Lesser, Deputy Mayor Santangelo, Colleagues on the Common Council, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning commission, and Board of Assessment Appeals, Honored Guests and fellow citizens. I stand before you today humbled by the responsibility of this office and honored by the trust you’ve placed in me to faithfully execute its duties. We face great challenges. The forces of a worldwide recession, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression, bear down on us each day. More people are falling away from the middle class into poverty or the ranks of the working poor. In the past several years, our community has been stricken by internal strife. These conflicts have absorbed our precious resources and eroded our sense of unity. But today is a new day, a day for us to throw down the bonds of our partisan labels and march together toward a brighter future. Now, our focus must be on the middle class, on doing our very best every day to ensure that the people of Middletown have the opportunity to realize the dignity of earning their daily bread, that life here is affordable for an average family, and that the parents of this community can rest assured that the quality of their children’s education is the top priority for my administration and the new Board of Education. th th My ancestors emigrated here in the late 19 and early 20 centuries from Italy, Russia, and Hungary. My great-grandfather Nathan was a Brooklyn tailor who arrived in Ellis Island on a cramped steamer, spoke broken English, and worked long hours to provide for my great-grandmother, great-aunt, and my beloved late Grandfather, Walter, whowent on to liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp and fight in some of the most vicious battles of the European Theater of World War II. I’m sure most of you have similar stories in your backgrounds. Our forebears created for us the opportunities we have before us. They made our cities, our state, and our nation as great as they are today. The people who came before us made Middletown the great place it is today. They were successful because they persevered through the immense challenges of the th 20 century, of leaving one place and starting from scratch in another. They never gave November 15, 2011 COMMON COUNCIL MEETING Page 4 up. Their can-do American spirit transcended the difficulties they faced, and they made this place a home – for us. I believe that spirit is imbued in us. It largely defines who we are. It’s incumbent on us now to carry forth that same spirit for the next generation and to make the decisions today that will enable them to start their lives from a more advantageous position tomorrow. Thank you, God Bless You, and God Bless the City of Middletown, God Bless the United States of America. Benediction and Closing The Mayor asks Reverend Moses Harvill. to come forward for the closing benediction. Meeting Adjourned Mayor Drew states he will entertain a motion to adjourn. Councilman Serra moves for adjournment and is seconded by Councilman Daley. The vote is unanimous to adjourn. The Mayor declares the meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m. ATTEST: MARIE O. NORWOOD COMMON COUNCIL CLERK