Cosgrove To Negotiate New Public Works Site

Third Selectman James Cosgrove, who has opposed building the new public works facility on the Tabor property, has offered to look into the feasibility of using the Cherry Hill Glass site as an alternative.

“I feel I can negotiate a pretty good deal and come back and present something to this board,” Cosgrove said at Wednesday’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting.

Although no official motion was made, First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos said Cosgrove (at right in photo) may proceed with his inquiries. The site in question is located at 20 Elm St. at the corner of North Harbor Street near the train station. DaRos told the Eagle today that
​“it has to be a good deal to take these buildings off the tax rolls.”

The board has already voted 2 – 1 to build the facility at the town-owned Tabor property, but Cosgrove, the sole Republican on the board, voted no. DaRos has not yet sent the proposal to the Board of Finance (BOF), stating he wanted to address Tabor neighbors’ concerns first. The process could be delayed by Cosgrove’s request to negotiate the Cherry Hill Glass site, which has not yet been thoroughly analyzed by the consultants.

At the November BOS meeting, Second Selectman Andy Campbell discussed the three top sites in terms of residential impact and he said the Cherry Hill Glass site was densely populated. Campbell said the nearest homes to the Tabor parcel are about ¼ mile away, and that would include 10 homes. Campbell said there are about 100 homes within a quarter-mile of the Northeast Industrial Road site, and hundreds of homes within ¼ mile of the proposed Cherry Hill Glass site. In fact, there is a home directly next to the site.

Also during the 15-minute BOS meeting Wednesday, the selectman unanimously approved the appointment of Armand Joseph Joncas Jr. to fill a vacancy on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM). 

DaRos also took the occasion to ensure residents that the Public Works Department will be in full swing during this weekend’s predicted blizzard. He cautioned residents to be patient and careful in the storm which weather forecasters say could dump up to 2 feet of snow.

In an announcement via the B‑Informed system Thursday night DaRos added that the projected blizzard is expected to produce coastal flooding of up to four feet above normal high tides. Town Hall was opened today until noon. DaRos declared a state of emergency at noon. 

SITES FOR PUBLIC WORKS

The BOS voted 2 – 1 to build the public works facility at Tabor at the November meeting. Click here to read about the vote (link to Nov. 9, 2012) The project has to be approved by the BOF and the RTM.

The Public Works Building Committee, which has been searching for sites for two years, has twice unanimously approved the town-owned Tabor site as the best location. When public hearings were held last year, Tabor neighbors objected to the plan, and DaRos agreed to ask the committee to look at additional sites.

The Cherry Hill Glass site was one of the three additional locations, making a total of 10 sites that have been evaluated over the past two years. The results of a preliminary screening conducted by the consultants ranked Tabor first, and the Cherry Hill Glass site on Elm Street as second. The committee has been assisted by the consulting firm of Weston & Sampson, a firm that has designed 60 public works buildings from Maine to New York.

However, the consultants have not done a detailed independent analysis of the Cherry Hill Glass site like they previously did for the Tabor and the Northeast Industrial Road sites. The committee expended all its funds and would have needed additional money for the consultant to do more studies. Since the Tabor site was again ranked first in the preliminary screening, the BOS voted in November to approve the Tabor site, rather than spend additional funds to review Cherry Hill and the two other new sites.

“The committee made a recommendation and I disagree with the recommendation,” Cosgrove said Wednesday. Cosgrove said that since DaRos has not yet sent the proposal to the BOF, he would like to take time to look at the alternative.

“I would like to represent this board and go forward and meet and negotiate,” Cosgrove said, adding that he will pursue the proposal with Kevin O’Neill, who is president of Cherry Hill Glass Company.

Following the meeting, Cosgrove told the Eagle that he will talk with O’Neill about the site, which includes two buildings that would have to be renovated to fit the needs of the Public Works Department. One building is Cherry Hill’s distinctive large glass building. 

The Cherry Hill Glass site is owned by Elm Harbor Realty LLC., a corporation headed by O’Neill. The site is the location of the former Nutmeg Steel Castings company. Two years ago, O’Neill purchased the former Atlantic Wire company at the intersection of Meadow and Montowese streets to expand his glass company. 

According to town records, the 4.59-acre Elm Street property is appraised at $2.7 million.

The site is zoned industrial, as is property across the street. The property to the rear is zoned business residential and nearby areas are zoned residential.

Tabor neighbors have attended recent BOS meetings to voice their opposition to putting public works on the Tabor site.

Ray Ingraham, an RTM member who represents the Tabor district, has been conducting an online petition drive and campaign to express neighbors’ concerns. Ingraham, who is chair of the Republican Town Committee, sent updated data to the BOS Wednesday.

According to Ingraham, the new data shows 593 people throughout the town are opposed to the Tabor plan, and that they expressed their opposition either by signing a petition, or by e‑mailing their concerns, or by placing a sign in their yards. A chart that Ingraham included with the data shows 46 percent of those in opposition are Democrats, 38 percent are Republicans and 16 percent have no party affiliation. 

When asked by the Eagle how the party affiliation was confirmed, Ingraham said he has a database of voters and landowners and he uses that information to determine the party and voting district. However, he did not say if takes into account that there are typically changes in voter registrations, especially before and after a presidential election. 

NEW RTM MEMBER

The selectman unanimously approved Armand Joncas Jr. (pictured) to the RTM. He will fill the 6th District seat that was vacated when Anthony Giardiello resigned in September because he was moving to East Haven. Giardiello served on the RTM for almost 12 years and was the Democratic Majority Leader for five years.

Joncas retired from Information Technology Services at Yale University, where he served for almost 30 years as a senior programmer and analyst. He served from 1970 – 72 in the U.S. Air Force as a special agent in the Office of Special Investigations. He has a Bachelors degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.; and a Masters Degree in social psychology from Yale University. On his resume, he said he has been a registered Democrat since the age of 21. 

“I’ve lived in Branford for 40 years, and we raised two kids here. My wife and I love this town and I want to give back,” Joncas told the selectman.

At last month’s meeting, Cosgrove made a motion that his aunt, Susan Cosgrove Barnes be appointed to the RTM for the 6th district seat. The motion, which was not on the agenda, died for lack of a second. DaRos suggested Cosgrove have his aunt contact the Democratic Town Committee (DTC). DaRos said since the RTM is an elected position, the nominee should come from the DTC.

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