Delinquent Sewer Accounts Subject of Town Council Discussion

The generator station for the sewer plant next to the McDonald's drive-in on Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike - a frequent target of errant motorists. Note the skid marks in the gravel left by a driver. Town Council voted last week to fund construction of a protective wall for the station. PETER PROHASKA PHOTO

Life in elected office isn’t always glamorous, even when sitting up on the dais as a Town Council member. The January 12 meeting of the Southington Town Council was a good reminder that elected officials sometimes have to think about things like human waste in order to fulfill their duties to the town.

Following the recommendations of the Sewer Subcommittee chaired by Tony Morrison, the Council unanimously approved several projects aimed at ensuring the ongoing capabilities of the Town to manage and process solid waste. One approval was for $136,000 to construct a new protective wall for a generator at the sewer plant that has been damaged by drivers from a nearby McDonald’s drive-in – damages only partially covered by the drivers’ insurance.

A second approval was for gunite repair at the water treatment plant, in the amount of $79,640. A third will cover Microsoft server upgrades for managing the plant at a cost of $49,500. Sewer service maps will also be revised and communicated to the state.

Councillor Kristen Guida, a newly-appointed member of the Subcommittee, touched off a lengthy discussion about the sewer bill payment system and unpaid bills. She said that she was concerned to learn that members of Town staff were not yet adequately trained on the billing software, and that between $250,000 and $2 million in overdue sewer bills had not been collected.

Morrison chimed in to point out that “you can’t turn off sewers” in the way you can with unpaid water bills. Although the Town has the users’ addresses, reaching them to collect payment still poses a challenge. While the Town has the ability to put a lien on delinquent properties and generally charges 12% interest on overdue accounts, the desire is not to drive people out of their homes. He also commented that receivables are treated as positive in accounting, so the lack of payments doesn’t pose a immediate fiscal issue.

Town Manager Alex Ricciardone added further perspective on the problem, which he characterized as a longstanding one. He said that because of a state law that extinguishes liens after 15 years, some delinquent users had simply refused to pay their share. Back in his time as Town Attorney, he found that about a dozen Southington residents had bills over ten years overdue and the Town did attempt to contact those individuals to collect, with mixed success.

He also said that the town’s new Collector of Revenue was still learning to work with the MUNIS billing software, and would address the situation of past-due receivables as she got more familiar with the platform. He noted that the MUNIS system can be “a bear,” and that the company behind it is often rather sluggish when answering requests for training help.

During the public comment session of the meeting, one resident came to the podium to discuss another issue related to waste disposal. She said that sections of the Linear trail she walked were often covered in pet waste, especially from Plantsville Center to West Street. “You can’t walk 20 feet,” she said, “without having to walk around dog poop, and it’s disgusting.” Council member Mike DelSanto later spelled out a message to pet owners: “pick up after your dogs.”

Questions of Self-Insurance and Board Appointments

Towards the end of a long meeting, the complex and politically-charged business of appointments to boards and commissions again led to some partisan sniping.

Democratic Minority Leader Chris Palmieri and Republican Council Chair Paul Chaplinsky disagreed over the Town Manager’s appointment of members to the Housing Authority. Palmieri maintained that there would not be sufficient minority-party representation after the new appointments, since there would be no Democrats on the board; Chaplinsky argued that one of the appointments, who is unaffiliated, would qualify as a minority-party member, per the requirements of the Town charter. Chaplinsky also noted that because of the membership criteria, it was not easy to find qualified and willing volunteers for the position.

Palmieri further expressed concern about a recommendation from the Board of Finance that would see a $2.9 million increase in self-insurance costs. (Self-insurance is a pot of money the Town sets aside to cover potential payouts from lawsuits or other liabilities.) He suggested that the Town Council’s dissolution of its Self-Insurance Committee had played a role in that hike. “This is concerning that already we’re having that (increase),” he said.

In reply, Chaplinsky asked how, in Palmieri's view, the reassignment of self-insurance oversight from Council to Finance could have contributed to the hike. Morrison, who had been the driving force behind the switch, reiterated his frustration at getting a quorum for Self-Insurance Committee meeting in recent years. But he also suggested that the increase was a good reason to keep examining self-insurance matters.

Democratic Board of Finance member Katie Wade then came to the podium to say that Finance had essentially convened a Self-Insurance Committee during its meeting. She encouraged Town Council members to join future meetings and weigh in with concerns.

“The instinct to keep an eye on self-insurance is a good one because it’s complicated,” Wade said.

The motions to approve the Board of Finance recommendations passed 6-3 along partisan lines.

Other News Items

In computer-related news, the town's rebuilt website, https://www.southingtonct.gov, is now fully live. Ricciardone mentioned that the upgrade not only improves the user experience, it will also keep the Town in compliance with a state mandate that all towns use a .gov address to enhance security.

A series of tax abatements was approved by the Council, involving BMS Aerospace, Namtec Industries and Lazy Lane Industrial Associates, per the recommendation of the Southington Enterprise & Economic Development Committee. According to the Town Manager, these abatements will help incentivize improvements and investments in the community.

The Ordinance Committee will be considering new laws relating to ebikes, the chalking of public spaces, and reimbursement for Fire Department services on local highways at its January 22 meeting.

Finally, the meeting began with a presentation from Sober Southington’s Shane Shackelford, who was recently profiled in the Outsider.

Gov. Lamont and Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz Visit Southington's F & F Concrete

In the foreground: Gov. Ned Lamont, Rep. Chris Poulos, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Lauren Forgione, Dan Forgione. PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

The front office of F & F Concrete was packed Wednesday morning as Lauren Forgione, the president of the company, and her brother Dan welcomed Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz on a tour of their business.

The visit was arranged by 81^st District State Representative Christopher Poulos, who made introductions and moderated a discussion, the express purpose of which was to help state and local officials better understand what small businesses need to grow and succeed.

In the foreground, Poulos, Bysiewicz, and Forgione.

F & F Concrete was established 73 years ago by a pair of veterans, Ralph Forgione and Jack Foley, who served together during WWII. The concrete plant facility was originally located on Buckland Street while the garage was at 110 West Main.

In 1982, Ralph bought out Jack and continued to run the business with his son David. As it grew, it offered new varieties of concrete, and expanded into areas such as materials recycling. The concrete batching plant that is visible from downtown Plantsville, with its impressive tower and conveyor belt, was constructed in 1989:

Lauren, Dan, and their brother David Jr., who are Ralph’s grandchildren, now run an operation that has some 60 employees and 30 trucks. They said that they are always on the lookout for qualified mechanics, truck drivers, and other machine operators. The jobs are well-paid, with starting salaries of $35 per hour for workers with little prior experience; at the same time, the jobs can be very stressful, and require mastery of technical skills.

Much of the conversation in the office revolved around steps the State of Connecticut could take to put F & F in touch with prospective employees. Bysiewicz asked whether veterans would be a good fit for the company, given how many of them have experience operating large, expensive pieces of equipment, and was answered in the affirmative.

She also asked Lauren about the prospects for women in the industry. Lauren commented on how much things have changed over time: when she started her career, she said, she was usually the only woman in the room, but now she often encounters two or more other women at a site or in a meeting. Bysiewicz expanded on this observation by noting how high school ‘Girls in STEM’ programs (STEM standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) can be a win-win for everyone, as they open up a new pool of potential employees for firms like F & F, and prepare women for well-paid jobs in a flourishing industry.

Lamont for his part observed that Connecticut is an “old state” with aging roads and bridges that is going to need companies like F & F as it goes through the long process of updating its infrastructure. He also said that if you are driving a cement truck, you can be pretty sure AI is not going to take your job.

Dan added that concrete is likely to be in demand as a building material for a very long time, given its combination of strength and versatility at a relatively affordable price.

The group then moved outdoors so visitors could observe F & F’s concrete plant in action. One driver had the honor of loading up his truck as the State’s top two executive officials looked on:

While the tour was taking place, the third Forgione sibling, David Jr., was up in the control room of the plant overseeing the machinery that injects special additives into the mix and keeps it at optimal temperature. David offered the Outsider a quick tour of the structure, which is believed to be the tallest building in Southington and has a good view of Plantsville:

After the Governor and Lieutenant Governor departed, a smaller group of visitors went with Representative Poulos to visit F & F’s new truck garage. A massive structure, it has radiant-heat flooring and the capacity to house several of the firm’s trucks at once. There Poulos asked Lauren and Dan more questions about F & F’s needs and opportunities, and their role in the Southington community.

According to Poulos, this will be the first in a series of small business tours in Southington.

Board of Ed Begins Consideration of Superintendent’s Budget

PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

Southington School Superintendent Steven Madancy presented a “high-level” version of his proposed budget for the first time to the Board of Education during its January 8 meeting.

“Community input is a crucial part of the budget process: to hear what people have to say (and) what they value as they live in our community,” Madancy emphasized, encouraging citizens to attend public comment sessions in March and April, and to make their voices heard.

Madancy’s initial ask is for $130,299,074, which represents a 6.89% increase over last fiscal year. He pointed to rising labor costs as a primary driver for the higher budget, as well as the current financial environment. Other factors cited include higher energy, transportation and rubbish removal costs.

The Superintendent also pointed out that funding from state and federal programs had diminished over the past year. “The minimal aid we receive from these sources places a disproportionate burden on our community,” he contended.

His presentation showed that in FY 2018-19, state and federal funding for education constituted 21.2% of the district operating budget. Last year those same sources covered only 17.1% of the budget, as the funding failed to keep up with escalating costs. This year Madancy said he expects to be “flat-funded,” and to receive only about 16% of his operating budget from state and federal sources.

About 61% of the proposed budget – $79.9 million – goes toward staff salaries. Benefits (21%) and services such as the aforementioned rubbish collection and transportation (15%) constitute most of the remainder.

“A lot of what you’ll see in this budget is closely associated with priorities in the strategic plan,” Madancy said.

Southington's public school system is one of the ten largest districts in Connecticut, with over 6,000 enrolled students. The percentages of English language learners, students with disabilities, and students qualifying for free or reduced price meals all have increased year-over-year, per district data, contributing to costs.

“We’re a big district, so these are not small numbers, and that’s one of the challenges associated with this budget,” Madancy said, referring to costs associated with technology for staff and students.

Madancy pointed out that Southington remains one of the lowest districts in the state when it comes to per-pupil expenditure; the figure, $19,930, puts the town 132nd out of 160. The average number in Connecticut is $24,270. However, he added, “we are doing a good job for what we spend on our students,” with schools offering a full academic curriculum.

Madancy suggested that the Board of Education was “wise” to wait until the Governor’s budget was unveiled before voting to approve spending. “You don’t want to adopt your budget and have a surprise on the legislative side of things, (such as) unfunded mandates or large changes coming our way that we’re not prepared for,” he said.

Madancy also thanked district staffers, who have been at work preparing the budget since mid-October. He said they managed to reduce a first-pass requested increase of 9.51% to the current request of 6.89%.

The Board will now scrutinize the budget books and weigh in at workshops on January 13 and 15.

Curricular Actions

As if to prove Madancy’s point about Southington schools offering a wide curriculum, the Board at its meeting voted to approve classes including pottery, equine science, and wildlife, as well as field trips for qualifying students to Italy, Texas and Vermont.

As the Board approved a new Emergency Medical Technician course, member Joseph Baczewski praised the district for adding it. He pointed out that students who are interested in health services careers, including nursing, physician’s assistants, and medicine, need to build up patient contact hours as part of that training, which the course will help them acquire.

“This is just another testament to how (the schools) provide a service for our community,” Baczewski said, noting also that students could earn wages in those learning hours.

An archery unit for the physical education curriculum had garnered some criticism due to safety concerns. Following a motion from Curriculum Chair Bob Brown, a vote was taken to postpone approval until the curriculum sub-committee has had a chance to address those concerns.

A Barn Raising

Board Member Lisa Cammuso, who chairs the Board’s Finance Committee, reported the Committee’s recommendation that an agricultural science barn be built near DePaolo middle school using a grant from Connecticut’s ASTE (Agricultural Science and Technology Education) program. Centers such as this one “prepare students for college and careers in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, mechanics, food science, biotechnology and the environment as part of their high school program,” according to the Department of Education, and are available to interested students whether or not their district offers the program.

Money for this construction does not come from the operating budget, Madancy stressed, adding that the district had been accruing funds for the barn’s construction over the years when alternate sources become available. He said that the construction could include features such walking paths and community garden spaces which could be used by members of Calendar House, for example.

The $803,990 will go toward “paving, enhanced roof warranty, a fire alarm system, partial concrete slab installation and a performance bond,” according to Cammuso.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.

Madancy also mentioned that a school meals debt of $10,492 had accumulated through November 2025, but that the district received a holiday donation from a resident in the amount of $1,500 to help pay down unpaid balances from students unable to afford the meals.

“Food services is a self-sustaining system and is not part of the Board of Education operating budget,” Cammuso noted.

Editor's note: the article has been corrected to reflect the fact that Bob Brown proposed to table discussion of the archery course until the committee could further consider the issue; the original had him objecting to the postponement.