New Haven Independent

At a standing room only meeting of some 60 residents Wednesday night that lasted until 1 a.m, the town’s two former First Selectmen and the RTM Republicans battled it out with the Cheryl Morris-Ed Marcus administration. In the end the RTM established its right to approve the transfer of town property, a right the Board of Selectmen (BOS) must give the RTM under section 73-3 of the town code.

However, the Board of Selectmen in a 2-1 vote involving the future of the Stony Creek Quarry had refused to do so, acting on the legal opinion of Shelley Marcus, one of the town attorneys, that this was not a new lease, but “an addendum to a lease.”

The evolution of the new lease, which began after Cheryl Morris was elected First Selectwoman in November 2006, the secret agenda for the August 29th BOS meeting where the lease was first aired, and the refusal of the RTM Moderator, James Bruno, to post a special RTM meeting, all combined to create an outcry of protest.

What is ironic here is that Ed Marcus, the town’s counsel, put in motion public scrutiny of the Stony Creek Quarry lease when he decided to link it to the ongoing Granite-gate hearings. He said he wanted to show the context in which he requested the police to investigate granite stored at the business of former First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos. What then is the public to think when it discovers that a new lease, one with significant changes to the quarry’s operation, was created without citizen oversight through the zoning process and RTM approval?

Kurt Schwanfelder, the Republican Minority leader, wasted no time in taking command of the meeting. Right after Bruno read letters to the audience, some from Stony Creek residents demanding RTM review, Schwanfelder announced the Republicans had hired their own attorney to represent them because they did not believe the RTM was being “represented properly” by the Marcus Law Firm.

He then orchestrated the passage of a resolution that requires the Morris Administration and the Marcus Law Firm to “reverse any steps to make the Lease effective” until the RTM has considered it. Since the lease was sent to an RTM committee, that might take some time.

The resolution, copies of which Schwanfelder distributed immediately before the vote, was adopted 13 -11, with Democrats Gail Infantino and Hillary Kiskaddon joining the Republicans. The resolution requires the BOS to acknowledge that the RTM has “sole authority” to approve the lease, and if the BOS fails to do so in one week, then two RTM members will seek injunctive relief in Superior Court to stop the lease’s enforcement. A lawsuit could be avoided if Anderson agrees in writing that the lease is not effective until the RTM approves it.

What impact these actions may have on Anderson’s effort to secure the quarry is not clear. Under the new terms, Anderson will have the ability to obtain collateral in the amount of $2 million. Anderson is also the president of Anderson-Wilcox, a housing development company in Branford.

Ms. Marcus told the audience the contract has been signed but not yet recorded, because “quite frankly, the lender’s counsel” is concerned about community reaction. In the meantime, she said the Marcus Law Firm would hold the documents in escrow. This latest development with Anderson’s bank raised the specter of yet another assignment of the lease. “What if Doug Anderson handed it off to someone else?” asked Republican RTM member Ron DeFord. That question hung in the air, unanswered.

These questions were pertinent, but were not uppermost in the minds of the Stony Creek residents who attended the meeting and whose own Association may well fight the lease. At this point in time, what they wanted was the ability to examine the impact of the new lease on their village.

“I was the one who wrote section 73.3,” Schwanfelder said of the 1997 addition to the town code. He said it applies precisely to this type of situation. Ms. Marcus has disagreed. For the record, Ms. Marcus now says she didn’t deny the special meeting, a remark that elicited boos in the room. That left the poor perplexed moderator James Bruno, who had called for her legal advice, wondering what to do next. He finally admitted he had made a mistake in not calling the special meeting. Bruno knew he could have faced an ouster. So he gamely retreated and Schwanfelder held the floor most of the night.

“I ask you Mr. Moderator to recognize our attorney,” Schwanfelder said with a flourish. “Yes,” said Bruno, appearing somewhat baffled by the turn of events.

Enter Attorney John R. Lambert of North Haven. Lambert shifted the legal argument from whether this was a new lease or an addendum to the principle that the town’s representatives should be heard. With all of Ed Marcus’s prior experience in the state legislature, Lambert said, he of all people should know that it is a good idea to get approval by a majority. “There are rights and needs to be mitigated.”

He pointed out that allowing storage and redistribution of what has come to be known as Non-Stony Creek Quarry materials, was banned by town law. “How can the Selectmen approve a use that is prohibited? This goes to planning and zoning first, not afterwards,” he declared as the audience cheered.

“This is a non-conforming use of the quarry,” citing Anderson’s plan to use the quarry as a place to redistribute sand and gravel from another sand pit he has in Haddam, Conn. Lambert said the conflict between “process and power” was at the heart of the problem.

The two prior First Selectmen, John Opie, the Republican and DaRos, the Democrat, both from Stony Creek, stood side by side in the aisle waiting to be heard.

Unk asked: “Are you changing the use of the property? You shouldn’t make this a political thing as far as community is concerned.” The audience applauded.

Opie, now the Third Selectman, was next: “The quarry is the people’s land. They own it. You have a room full of people very concerned about changes.” He observed that a new language of legalese had invaded town life. “This is nonsense. The people want some voice in this…This isn’t about money. It is about the heritage, the stone.”

Both he and DaRos said the current contract needed to be fixed. Both endorsed the idea of a new quarry operator and thought Anderson would do well. Opie urged that the lease go through the committee process. “Then bring it back to the body. The people want you involved,” he told the RTM. The audience applauded with enthusiasm. .

Anderson also spoke. “It is not our intention to run a garbage operation,” he said. In fact, he said, as part of the due diligence, he had cleaned up the debris, the garbage, the gate and access issues, “on our dime.” As for secrecy, he took the blame. “I asked Cheryl to keep it confidential,” he said, explaining this was an obvious advantage from a competition standpoint.

Why Anderson may have received this special treatment is a question for another day. Schwanfelder said he was thankful that Bruno had sent the lease issue to committee, the first step in RTM review.

Anderson has previously met with some residents to try to allay their fears. A second meeting is planned at the Willoughby-Wallace library in Stony Creek on Wednesday, Sept 20th, at 7:30 p.m. He has indicated he would be willing to modify the section of the lease pertaining to outside materials. There were even signals over last weekend that Shelley Marcus might be inclined to go along.

But Ms. Marcus showed little flexibility at the RTM meeting and wanted to stick to her legal points. For a small town where issues can be worked out when people are of good will, the latest developments at the RTM meeting can only be attributed to a fundamental lack of trust in the Morris administration. .
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