Mayor's Neighborhood Preservation Commission

Mayor's Neighborhood Preservation Committee 10/07/09 Minutes (Final) CITY OF NORWALK MAYOR’S NEIGHBORHOOD REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 7, 2009 ATTENDANCE: David Shockley, Redevelopment Agency; Christine Abraham, West Main Street N.A.; Hal Alvord, DPW Director; Julie Burton, CNNA; Maribeth Becker, Wall Street; Helen Bryan, West Main Street N.A.; Katherine Griffing, Golden Hill Association; Georgianna Hanrahan, Flax Hill Neighbors; Thomas Hanrahan, Flax Hill Neighbors; Glenn Iannaccone, Norwalk Fire Department; Tony Capuano, Health Department; Michael Mocciae, Recreation and Parks Director; Christine Names, NASH; Marcia Powell, Village Creek Homeowners Association; Mark Pierce, Wilton Avenue N.A.; Lt. Paul Resnick, Norwalk Police Department; Nancy Whitmore, West Main Street N.A.; Brenda Hrtanek, Planning and Zoning; Ron Muller, Village Creek N.A. STAFF: Connie Blair, Customer Service CALL TO ORDER Mr. Shockley called the meeting to order at 10:05 p.m. He announced that the Mayor had a conflict in his schedule and was not certain he would be able to attend. REVIEW AND APPROVE SEPTEMBER 2, 2009 MEETING MINUTES The following change was noted: Page 1, under ATTENDANCE: please change “Helen Bryant, West Avenue Street, N.A.” to “Helen Bryant, West Main Street, N.A.” ** MS. GRIFFING MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 2, 2009 AS CORRECTED. ** MS. POWELL SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER UPDATE Mr. Alvord reported that the DPW Open House had been very successful. He said that the date for the Open House was either the last Saturday or the first Saturday of October, depending on the Oyster Festival. City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 1 Ms. Blair explained that there was now a green bin for mixed paper, junk mail, office paper and paperboard. Many people had been having difficulty getting brown paper bags to put the paper in. She said that the blue bin could be placed on top of the green bin to keep all the paper inside the bin. She said that the enhanced recycling program was moving forward. Mr. Alvord said that Norwalk sells its recycled items and could double the revenue for the City. Ms. Burton asked about the recent State law passed about a deposit for the water bottles. A discussion followed about people who go through the bins for soda cans and water bottles. Mr. Alvord explained that there was a City ordinance about this. Mr. Muller reported that there was a broken up sofa just about 100 yards off of Long Shore Road in the marsh water that needs to be removed. Ms. Blair made a note of it. ANNOUNCEMENTS City Staff: Keep America Beautiful Norwalk Affiliate update Mr. Shockley gave a brief overview of the program so far and said that there is a need for volunteers to do a litter hot spots index. It is a one day effort and a certain procedure that must be followed. Mr. Shockley encouraged anyone who would be interested to contact him. The Volunteers ride around 20% of the City to identify hot spots and then the areas are checked later to chart the progress. Pepperidge Farm is being very helpful in supporting the City with this. Fire Marshal Iannaccone reported that the Fire Department had their Open House on October 3rd, which was the first Saturday of the month. October is Fire Prevention Month. It was well attended. Fire Marshal Iannaccone said that the department was acquiring a new piece of equipment that will train people how to use fire extinguishers. Once the equipment arrives, he’ll be working with those who are interested in learning how to use fire extinguisher. He also announced that the Rotary Club of Norwalk will be honoring Rev. Lindsay Curtis on the 15th. The funds raised will go to support literacy. Neighborhood Representatives City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 2 Ms. Hanrahan from Flax Hill said that there would be a meeting tonight at Brookside School with the political candidates and that all were welcomed. Golden Hill – Ms. Griffing said that the Golden Hill Picnic was on Saturday. The political candidates were in attendance. A good time was had by all. Ms. Griffing said that litter was still a problem and that the mowers had cut the grass at Benjamin Franklin and also mowed over the water bottles and other trash. Mr. Shockley asked how the new notice about garbage in both English and Spanish had worked. Ms. Griffing said that she had heard back from one resident about it. Ms. Becker said that the Wall Street neighborhood picnic had been rained out. Mr. Pierce reported that things were quiet on Wilton Avenue. He said that the speeder were still a problem, but the police were working on it. Ms. Burton announced that there would be a community dialog on Saturday, Oct 17th at NCC about ways to create student success in Norwalk. Pre-registration is necessary. She encouraged anyone who wished to attend to email her for a registration form. Ms. Abraham said that West Main had no problems but she had noticed that there was a particular two family house that had six names on it for the second floor. Health Department will look into this. The next West Main Street meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Water Department. There were also concerns about a resident who is a registered sex offender and where he is currently living. Ms. Becker said that on October 29th and on November 19th, there will be two ArtSpot events. The SONO train station Café will host the event on the 29th at the Café, the second event will be at Columbus Magnet School. There was a question about recycling paperboard. Ms. Blair said that cereal boxes, pasta boxes and boxes that come around packs of soda cans are acceptable. There were few questions about Styrofoam being recycled. The rigid plastics like little tables and chairs can’t go in the bins, but there is a container at the transfer station. Items that are marked with the triangle and a number from 1-7 can be recycled. Styrofoam and waxed paperboard can not be accepted for recycling. Mr. Pierce asked where the garbage was going. Mr. Alvord said that currently, the garbage goes to the burn plant in Bridgeport at the daily spot rate. Electronics (computers, keyboards, computer mice and other computer components) can go to the transfer. The City currently pays for their disposal. After March, the manufacturer will be responsible for their disposal. There is an aftermarket for the electronics. City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 3 Officer Resnick said that now that school has started, the Police Department has been enforcing the stop law on multi-lane highways. The only exception is when there is a median divider. Speed and radar enforcement has been focused on. Ms. Burton asked about yielding way to emergency vehicles. Officer Resnick said that DMV law was still in effect. The new law focuses on shifting over a lane when on 95 when an officer has a vehicle pulled over. Approaching vehicles need to shift into the next lane to allow the officer and the driver to deal with their situation and for everyone’s safety. Fire Marshal Iannaccone said that the Fire Department was enforcing fire lanes regulations. Mr. Pierce asked about blocking the box ordinances. Mr. Alvord said that this was a State law and it allows the communities to enact this if needed. Mr. Alvord said that unless the intersections were painted and an officer was present at the intersection, it doesn’t work. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Shockley adjourned the meeting at 10:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services City of Norwalk Mayor’s Neighborhood Regular Meeting October 7, 2009 Page 4