I will admit-I am really bad with budgets-so I was really thrown for a loop when the Cheshire Town Government proposed a zero budget increase for 2009-2010. I don’t see how they are going to do it-I mean the Board of Education budget is lean.

So in order to do this zero increase, the Democrats  and Republicans are going to prorate it between the town budget and the education budget. Two thirds of the savings will come from the Board of Ed!! That is in addition to the 1.1 million that Schools Supt. Greg Florio has ALREADY cut from the proposed budget.

THIS IS NOT ADVISABLE!!

This proposal is an election year stunt. I AM SICK OF IT!! The last time they had a zero year budget the following year was a “restoration” budget. And I don’t know HOW the town is going to do this with the State deficit GROWING EVEN WORSE!!

The town may be able to “slice and dice” this year and MAYBE NEXT-but after that?? WHO KNOWS!! If the town wants to cut back- REALLY CUT BACK AND NAME SPECIFICS- HERE IS THE QUEENS RECOMMENDATIONS!!!

The Board of Education needs to pare down from three to two vice-principals.

Also, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD-all town hires SHOULD BE PART TIME!!!

All Departments EXCEPT the TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE-should be taking a salary FREEZE!!

The pool should be closed for the next two  years and that money diverted to the pension fund!!

We are now going to stop  the CHESPROCOTT SUBSIDY at approximately $182,000 a year!!

Raise the Probate Court RENT!!

The town of Cheshire currently budgets approximately $5,400. I am pretty sure the town of Prospect which uses our Probate Court, gives Cheshire $6,000 for their use of the Cheshire office.

WHY ARE WE FUNDING A STATE AGENCY?? The Probate Court charges fees on top of it.

SOLUTION: VOELKER, MOVE IN WITH YOUR NAMESAKE IN THE PLANNING OFFICE!!

STOP STOP STOP FUNDING THE PROBATE COURT. THE PEOPLE WHO USE THESE SERVICES ALREADY PAY!! WHY ARE WE FUNDING IT!!

This town lets the state of Connecticut SHITE all over them!! END IT NOW!!

IF OUR TOWN COUNCILORS ARE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT SAVING MONEY THAN THEY NEED TO TAKE THESE ACTIONS IMMEDIATELY.

Now while I am on the subject of “phony,” I have been interested for years in the scuttlebut surrounding the manned spaceflights to the moon in the late 60′s and early to mid 70′s.

For many many years now, some people have claimed that man never landed on the moon and the entire program from Apollo 11 to 17, (excluding Apollo 13) was phony and took place on various “sets” in the deserts of the Southwest or even in a movie studio in England!!

I don’t believe any of it. AS I STATED BEFORE, I believe the USA went to the moon and back-several times.

First of all, the United States Government CANNOT KEEP A SECRET!! They are REALLY BAD AT LYING!!

And you mean to tell me all the people involved with NASA with their moon missions, WELL OVER ONE MILLION, not ONE would spill the beans!! Out of the million, there would have been at LEAST ONE OR TWO disgruntled employees, someone would have come forward.

I am going to run an article that discusses both sides: the moon missions were all faked and the moon missions were real.

I don’t buy some of their arguments-like the no stars theory.

Some of the skeptics state that the moon landings were on a set because there were “no stars.”

First of all, the lighting on the moon is so bright and the sky of outer space so dark, that the human eye cannot process these significant differences-hence, NO STARS!!

Case in point-go to Times Square in NYC on a clear night-look up. Can YOU see ANY STARS??

Secondly, I know for a fact that you cannot see stars in outer space and even sub sub space. HOW DO I KNOW??

Because in 1982, I actually FLEW on the Concorde SST out of JFK in NYC to Paris, France. Takeoff was at 250 mph. Cruising speed, OVER 1,200 MPH!!  ALTITUDE-OVER 60,000 feet which is 11 miles above the Earth.

At that altitude, you CAN SEE the curvature, ever so slight, of the Earth. THERE WERE NO STARS TO BE SEEN-NONE AT ALL!!

I do have photos and I will convert them to a CD and download them onto this blog. I have hesitated doing this I will admit, because these photos CANNOT BE REPLACED if they are lost!! I don’t have the negatives, so I am a little squirrely about putting them in someone else’s hands.

We flew so high that we were exposed to higher radiation levels then most conventional flights-but the entire trip was MIND BOGGLING and I will never forget it. Well, for nearly $7,000 it should have been!!

IT WAS!!

The main fact: People back then were smarter than today!! ACCEPT IT!!

Just because it was 40 years ago, does not mean people did not possess the skills to complete this task.

Look at the ancient Romans. THEY HAD HOT AND COLD RUNNING WATER, which they could and DID shut off if you did not pay your bill!!

They had elevators.

They painted in 3-D TRUMP L’OEIL, I KNOW I SAW THIS AT POMPEII.

They were able to flood the Roman Coliseum with water to stage naval “battles” and then drain the water away!!

If you ever went to the Pantheon in Rome, you then saw the LARGEST UNSUPPORTED CONCRETE DOME-38 feet across UNTIL THE YEAR 1958!! Yes, that is absolutely true.

So called “modern man” WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THIS FEAT UNTIL THE INVENTION OF COMPUTERS!!

The Romans had “computers” they were able to use them to raise and lower curtains at theater productions!!

The Romans had “dentures” In fact, the bridges we use today in dentistry WERE INVENTED BY THE ROMANS!!

They knew how to do plastic surgery.

THE ROMANS INVENTED THE BALL BEARING!!

They were able to move water over hundreds of miles on their aqueducts WHICH ARE STILL STANDING TODAY!! They knew how to tunnel through rock without the use of dynamite. They had fully functional hospitals!!

The shades they used to partially cover the Coliseum and keep people “cool” was so advanced even by today’s standards, it still isn’t clear how this was done!!

They even had a musical organ that played during events at the Coliseum. How did it play without electricity?? They used running water!! They knew how to pipe it several stories into the air!! They even had “cranes” to lift the massive stone up into the air to build their structures!!

So, don’t tell me peoples of ago were not as smart as the people of today!!

And now onto our talking point:

WERE THE MOON LANDINGS FAKED??

Click here for article

Apollo Reality

Occam’s Razor

OK IT IS APRIL 1st-APRIL FOOLS DAY SO I AM LINKING YOU TO THE TOP 100 APRIL FOOLS NEWS HOAXES OF ALL TIME.

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE PEOPLE ACTUALLY FELL FOR THESE STORIES!!

April Fool Hoax News

Well I just went down to Bank of America with my friend and of course GOT ABSOLUTELY NO RESULT!!

All she got was run around-They are ridiculous-ALL BANKS NEED TO BE CLOSED NOW!!

What is even worse is this asinine credit reporting bureau. Why is it asinine-because YOU CAN’T CONTROL WHAT IS PUT ON THERE!! ANYONE CAN SEND ANYTHING INTO THE CREDIT BUREAU AND IT STAYS ON FOR AT LEAST SEVEN YEARS!!

When I had the problem-I sent letter after letter to the credit bureau from a bank that I had a loan with-LIKE TWO TIMES I WAS LATE-WELL YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I AXE MURDERED THE BANK PRESIDENTS MOTHER!!

THIS “delinquency” stayed on for 10 years!! I COULD NOT GET A LOAN TO SAVE MY LIFE. Then on top of it-they had some nonsense-”not paid as agreed” WHAT THE F@@K does it matter HOW YOU PAID IT IF YOU PAID IT IN FULL WITHIN THE ALLOTED TIME FRAME AS I DID!!

After that, I told my friend, I TOOK ALL MY MONEY OUT OF THE BANK!! I DON’T HAVE ANY BANK ACCOUNTS NOTHING!! I told my friend to take her money out of the bank and use money orders-I DO. I DO NOT EVER EVER EVER USE A CHECK!!

She said she now knows why people steal other peoples identities!! IT IS WRONG, BUT CAN YOU BLAME PEOPLE!! These banks don’t play by the same rules and NEITHER DOES OUR GOVERNMENT!

THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THE USA CAN EVER PAY CHINA BACK FOR ALL THE LOANS IT KEEPS TAKING!! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE CREDIT BUREAU REPORT ON THE USA!!

Hey you know what-do what you have to do to get money-that is all I can say!!

I WILL NEVER fall for the Illuminati bank trap again!! THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO MAKE BIG CASH FAST SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH BANKS THAT CATER TO MR AND MS WASP!!

Take ALL your money out of Webster Bank, Peoples Bank, Bank of America, and that biggest hardball bank of all CHASE!!

UPDATE: I JUST WANTED TO LINK YOU ALL TO A VERY SAD STORY OUT OF CHESHIRE:

APPARENTLY THE CHESHIRE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER IS REPORTING A LARGER THAN USUAL AMOUNT OF DOGS BEING ABANDONED IN TOWN. THE LATEST BEING AN OLDER DOG WITH TUMORS THAT WAS ABANDONED AT THE NOTCH. THIS IS BEYOND SAD.

THE OWNERS PROBABLY COULD NOT AFFORD THE VET BILL, BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY TRIED TO GET A HOME EQUITY LOAN WITH A CERTAIN BANK AND MAYBE BECAUSE OF A LATE PAYMENT THEY MADE 55 YEARS AGO THAT IS STILL ON THEIR CREDIT REPORT, THEY WERE DENIED!!

Click here for abandoned dogs story

My friend who reads another local blog, said someone made a comment that JP Morgan went to Cheshire Iluminati Breeding Ground Academy!! IT FIGURES!! I WOULDN’T BE PROUD TO SAY A MURDERER WENT TO CHESHIRE ACADEMY!!

A murderer you ask?? Yep-J.P. Morgan is responsible for the Titanic!! THAT LOSER!!

If you take a loan with CHASE and you miss ONE PAYMENT OR ARE LATE FOR ONE PAYMENT-YOU BETTER CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT!!

READ “CROOKS AND LIARS”

So I know my friend is getting together with several people and going around to banks in the area with signs that say: US GOV’T CLOSE ALL BANKS and TAKE YOUR MONEY OUT NOW!!

Good idea!! And if these Republicans go ahead with this Tea Party thing, you can be dead on sure I will be out there with my signs AND THEY WON’T LIKE IT!!

DONT DO BUSINESS WITH BANKS ANYMORE. I DON’T

I WILL BE HONEST-I WOULD RATHER ENGAGE IN  THOSE OTHER MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITIES THAN HAVE TO EVER TAKE A LOAN FROM ANOTHER STEALING LYING BANK AGAIN!!

P.S. I forgot to mention that when I called B of A to say I was going to come down there (I did not specify an exact time), the bank representative asked my name. I said ‘Cindy” and SHE SAID OH CINDY KLEIST”

HMM!! I WONDER how she knew my name!! And when I walked in the bank several hours later-a woman came from behind the desk and said “are you Cindy Kleist”

HOW DID SHE KNOW WHAT I LOOKED LIKE?? I DON’T GO TO THAT BANK AT ALL!! ANSWER: A LITTLE BIRD TOLD HER!!

It is almost pathetic to the point of comedy how I CAN MANIPULATE AND CON CERTAIN PEOPLE IN TOWN!!!

MORE ON THIS ONGOING ISSUE LATER!!

I met someone from the Town Council in the supermarket over the weekend. We started talking about the budget-and for some reason a line from the “Godfather” that was used several times throughout the movie came up-Michael Corleone uttered it and so did Tesio before he was “taken away”

“It’s not personal, its just business.”

Well that is exactly what I am doing when I speak about issues in town-it is something I did for a living and enjoy doing-I enjoy analyzing and researching-that is what interests me. If I lived somewhere else, I probably would be doing the same thing in that city or town-SO GET OVER IT!!

So, I did want to come up with some final recommendations before the final public hearing on the budget which hardly any of you will attend!!

Number one: Cheshire (and other towns) need to get rid of ALL OVERTIME!! I know you think this is impossible, or an overreaction-but this country is in trouble.

The economy is in the bin-and it is going to stay that way-The balance has shifted-PERMANENTLY. All second and third world nations are producing the goods!! Why-because they are cheaply made and cheaply priced!!

No unions, no overtime-no nothing!! People are just happy to have jobs-PERIOD!!

Do you Republicans GET IT?? It is the Illuminati!! NOT BUSH NOT OBAMA NOT MICKEY MOUSE NOT ANYBODY.

Any person put into the White House is put there under the control of the Illuminati Central Banking Cartel. These people RUN the United States!! I have had plenty of videos explaining this.

The Illuminati DON’T CARE WHO IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE OR HOW THEY MAKE MONEY-They just care about lining their pockets!! First they lined their corporate pockets with cheap immigrant labor that came to the United States in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century.

But when these immigrants had children and the children got wise to the Illuminati games, guess what?? Yep, you guessed it-in the mid to late 60′s and early 70′s you started to see “made in Japan” Why-CHEAP LABOR-no unions no overtime no nothing.

Well, THESE peoples kids got smart to the Illuminati corporate games and NOW GUESS WHAT?? We now see “made in China” “made in Sri Lanka” “made in Indonesia”

GET IT!!

People-most of the jobs lost in this country ARE GONE FOR GOOD!! This is not like the mid 50′s when there was a brief economic slowdown and companies temporarily laid off workers only to bring them back months later-THESE JOBS NOW ARE GONE FOREVER!!

Do you remember a few days ago, I had the video on the AMERO?? This is coming true now isn’t it. These phony illuminati drug war games with Mexico is just another way for the Illuminati banking cartel to bring about one central currency-this way they can control YOU!! MONITOR YOU!! IT IS STARTING TO HAPPEN!!

There will be chaos in the U.S. and other first world nations within the next two years-THEN THE ILLUMINATI will take away ALL of our rights and we will be no better off than North Korea!!

And guess what-YOU WILL WELCOME IT!!

You know, we don’t have to look far to see how the Illuminati operates-we have them in control in Cheshire!!

Oh, come on, those Town Council meetings are all REHEARSED in advance. And every once in a while, the Democrat Illuminati and the Republican Illuminati will “bring in” speakers to take up their issues and back them up!!

There is NO spontaneity and that is the way the Cheshire Illuminati want it!!

Speaking of Illuminati, one of the tools they use to control people-is their law enforcement-THIS IS WHY THEY ARE NEVER QUESTIONED!! THEIR BUDGET IS NEVER CUT IN CHESHIRE!!

So, I am going out on a limb here-and advocating that the 2009 FY estimated expense for $250,000 IN OVERTIME  in the Patrol Division be eliminated by using Supernumary Police officers!!

Cheshire used to have them, and I know several Connecticut towns still use them: they are akin to a substitute teacher-they are only paid when used (and at a much LOWER rate of pay) and they are used to direct traffic at events in town or provide a security presence at a low key event.

Southington has supernumary police. Here is a description:

SUPERNUMERARY POLICE OFFICER:

Are police officers working part-time. They have the same powers and certification as the regular/full-time police officers but do not have the same benefits as a regular officer. They are not part of the Union bargaining unit. They are covered by Workmen’s Compensation benefits. Supernumeraries are paid as follows:

· $15.00 per hour when on beat duty and/or training.

· $21.00 per hour when working cruiser patrol duties.

· $41.35 per hour when working duty hired out by private concerns.

Ok, the rate for the “hired out by private concerns” may be a little high, but what do we care, the “private concern” will PAY THE RATE-not the taxpayer.

It is a waste of money to pay a regular police officer $44 an hour for overtime!! USE THESE SUPERNUMARYS!!

Also: $11,000 for ammunition!! I have a question-FOR WHAT?? DID THE POLICE USE IT ALL!! DOES GUNPOWDER GO BAD!! WHAT GIVES!!

Solution: use wadcutters for target practice!!

FYI: I have a friend that works for Remington-I will see what I can do!!

Two other items under the “Police Department” that is OUT OF CONTROL-$50,000 for “telephone, toll, cellular mobile connection, DSL-GET RID OF THE CELL PHONES!! OR GET PRE PAID CELL PHONES. USE 1-800 FREE 411!!

OR TRY THIS MIND BOGGLING INVENTION-A ROLODEX!!!

Also, gasoline-$72,000-YES-STOP USING THOSE BIG EXPLORER GAS GUZZLERS FOR ONE!!

Another item that caught my attention under “Town Council” was the “food for meetings, binennial dinner”

Solution: McDonalds Dollar Menu OR have you people heard of potluck??? TRY IT!!

I do have one turn about-WE NEED TO IMMEDIATELY RAISE THE SALARIES OF EVERYONE IN THE TOWN CLERKS OFFICE!!

STOP all these training conferences. USE VIDEO PROFESSOR!!!

OH AND THIS TEA PARTY THING I READ ON THE INTERNET!! IT IS JUST ANOTHER ILLUMINATI TRICK!! LOOK WHO MOST OF THE PARTICIPANTS ARE!!

More on the budget in the next post!!

If you have ever watched that TV show “Hell’s Kitchen” you will recognize the above phrase.

It’s what Chef Gordon Ramsay utters when he thinks a food item that an inspiring chef has prepared is not up to his standards-to put it nicely.

Well, I am going to do a Gordon Ramsay, but instead of food-it will be certain proposed budget items in Cheshire’s 2009-2010 “proposed financial plan.”

If I like the budget proposal I will say “NOT IN THE BIN”

If I don’t like it: it is “IN THE BIN”

FYI: “Bin” is English for trash can!!

Now many of you have contacted me and expressed your “concern” regarding the Town Manager and Police Chief’s salaries.

OK, well, so let’s take a look at them-let’s compare the T.M and Police Chiefs salary with one of my favorite towns-TRUMBULL.

I am really picking Trumbull because it is basically the same land area size as Cheshire and its population is several thousand more-approximately 35,000 compared to Cheshire at 29,000. So it is NOT that big of a difference-it is nearly the same NOT the same, I said NEARLY. And the per capita income is ALMOST the same.

The difference, is that Trumbull IS located in Fairfield County and Cheshire is in New Haven so a lot of folks expect Trumbull’s municipal salaries to be higher. OKAY-let’s see.

Now let us look at the Cheshire Town Managers FY 2009 salary appropriation: $130,955; The FY 2009 Estimated Expenditure is $131,551; Department Request: $131,551.

Click here to see Trumbull First Selectmans FY 2009 salary appropriation

Did you see it? That is not a typo-WHATS UP WITH THAT??

All I can say is: IN THE BIN TOWN OF CHESHIRE-IN THE BIN!!!!

NOTE: IF YOU SCROLL DOWN  ON THE ABOVE LINK YOU CAN SEE ALL THE TOWN OF TRUMBULL DEPARTMENT REQUESTS AND COMPARE THEM TO CHESHIRE IF YOU HAVE THE BUDGET BOOKLET.

Now let’s compare the Cheshire Town Attorney to Trumbull’s Town Attorney’s budget.

FY 2009 Appropriation: $312,517; FY 2009 Est Exp: $391,880; Fy 2009 Department Request: $311,000; FY 2010 Manager Recommended: $306,000.

Now apparently Trumbull has FOUR attorneys acting as their Town Attorney-FOUR!!

Current hourly rate for Atty #:1: $34.24; Atty 2: $32.37; Atty 3: $32.37 and Atty 4: $31.43.

Dept Request for ALL FOUR ATTORNEYS-$136,614!! First Selectman request-$136,614!!

IN THE BIN CHESHIRE-IN THE BIN!!!!

Now as far as the Police Chiefs salary request goes-it really depends on what town you are in: to be honest, the request is not that much out of line-BUT I believe the Chief should stay where he is right now. It is more than fair.

Let us compare:

Town of Cheshire Police Chief: FY 2009 Estimated Expenditures: $99,354; FY 2009 Appropriation: $102,631; FY 2010 Department Request: $99,375.

Town of Trumbull Police Chief: CURRENT ANNUAL SALARY: $105,995; Department Request: $105,995; Selectman Request-$105,995.

NO INCREASE!!

So Cheshire Police Chief-Stay where you are for now because your increase is IN THE BIN!!

When you click on the above link to Trumbull’s Proposed Budget for 09/10 SCROLL DOWN TO PAGE 17 through PAGE 19 and you will be able to see the Police Officers Rank and File salaries.

All I can say is: the Rank and File in Cheshire are A BIT LOWER.  The Trumbull officers make in the mid sixties, but it is not that bad.

Don’t forget-Trumbull IS IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY AND PRICES ARE HIGHER AND SO ARE SALARIES.

I would support the CPD rank and file making a bit more money and in exchange for overtime-ALL OVERTIME NEEDS TO BE ELIMINATED. GIVE THE CPD OFFICERS AN EXTRA STEP. AND STOP USING OFFICERS AS DISPATCHERS.

I mean Trumbull DOES HAVE more commercial development, they have Trumbull Shopping Park  and everything but being a police officer ANYWHERE IS DANGEROUS!!

So I am going to say INCREASING the rank and file salaries of the CPD and adding another step:

NOT IN THE BIN!!

So now will you PLEASE take down the Cindy Kleist dartboard in your break room?? THANK YOU!!

As far as working the Fall Festival and the MS RUN-CHARGE FOR THESE EVENTS.

In all honesty, HOW MANY OFFICERS NEED TO BE AT THE FALL FESTIVAL?? It is such a hotbed of anarchy isn’t it. PLUS, like Police Headquarters is right down the street. IF something happens-they can respond almost immediately.

Just have two officers at all times-not half the department!! Let us get serious about cutting costs-NAIL THE CELL PHONES TOO!! STOP PAYING FOR THEM TOWN OF CHESHIRE AND ALL OTHER TOWNS.

STOP USING GRANT MONEY AS AN EXCUSE TO LINE POCKETS WITH OVERTIME MONEY. IT IS NOTHING BUT A FRONT!!

Here are a few examples of other cities and towns Police Chiefs salaries:

Gallup, New Mexico (FYI) The Police Chief makes $68,000 and the Manager makes $100,000!!

Richmond, Virginia

New Haven Independent

City of Milford, Ct

But on the other side of the coin:

Redding Ct.s Police Chief makes about $95,000 and oversees a 15-officer department in the 8,900-person town.

The first issue I wanted to get out to you involves the proposed  14 units of affordable housing in front of Beachport on Rumberg Road.

Apparently this proposal was DEFEATED by the Cheshire Planning and Zoning this past Monday night.

I don’t have all of the details and I am sure the local paper will expound on this, but it had something to do with the developers wanting a variance regarding setback. THAT PART OF THE SITE PLAN WAS DEFEATED.

The zone text change from R-20 to affordable housing was passed by the P&Z but because a requested variance on setback was not passed, the SITE PLAN could not be passed because the three buildings would violate the setback requirements.

The applicants: TO Design have five years to come up with a different site plan.

Click here for minutes of the P&Z hearing of March 23, 2009

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on what side you are on, the developers needed a minimum amount of units to get grant money to fund the project, so they might not be able to eliminate one of the three proposed buildings.

We will just have to wait and see.

Now the next issue was the budget hearing session on the Community Pool. You know, I like the pool-I go to it winter and summer, mostly in the summer because I can just walk in with my bathing suit on-dry off in the sun and then go home without having to change in the lockers. TOO MANY STEPS for me. I like it simple.

Plus, I just love showing off my fantastic bod in public. It looks really good considering I AM an old lady!!

When I look at some of the budgets for these departments, especially the salaries, I can see WHY we are having monetary problems. AND NOT JUST IN CHESHIRE-MOSTLY ALL MUNICIPALITIES OVERPAY-especially for starting salaries.

These cities and towns could get PLENTY of applicants, even if the starting wage was $12 to $14 per hour-EVEN WITH NO BENEFITS.

Case in point, not that long ago, a local home improvement warehouse was hiring and they literally had to beat people off with sticks!! Several hundred showed up for 25 slots!!

I know it sounds bizarre, but let’s face it-if beginning municipal salaries were reduced to what the public sector is paying-most cities and towns WOULD NOT be having a budget crisis!!

Back to the Community Pool-as I stated before-I like the Cheshire Community Pool-I like Sheila Adams and Bob Ceccolini. Both do a fantastic job and very dedicated. But this pool is costing more and more money just to keep it going,

Now, the pool has to be resurfaced-the bottom of the pool and the sides. When the pool first opened, it was painted-I DON’T KNOW WHY?? They should have installed the vinyl siding right off the bat-it lasts 25 years!!

The painting only lasted six!! That is because of the chlorine which eats through the paint and causes it to flake and chip off.

Apparently, the vinyl siding is the cheapest way to go-according to Park and Rec Director Bob Ceccolini. He estimates the vinyl siding which comes in sheets and is glued onto the bottom and sides of the pool, would cost between $95,000 to $100,000. This sounds extravagant, but the vinyl lasts 25 years.

In comparison, to “paint” the bottom and sides of the pool would cost $60,000 and according to Ceccolini, that estimate is two years old!!

One of the Town Council members asked if the pool bottom and sides could have been left “bare” just concrete. Both Ceccolini and Adams said that was not possible because the chlorine would eat through the surface and destroy it. So that was NOT an option.

There just was NO planning with this pool- I am sorry, there wasn’t. This town could have driven 20 miles down the road to Milford to see what the Milford/Orange YMCA had done.

They also had an inflatable bubble up to a few years ago. They now have a clear polycarbonate glass enclosure that opens on all four sides and the top for summer use. In the winter the top and sides are closed up and this acts sort of like a greenhouse and heats the pool.

Unfortunately, the price tag on this structure was WELL over a million dollars-and with the economy in a mess and state funding up in the air-it would not be prudent AT THIS TIME to construct this type of permanent structure.

Possibly that inflatable dome that I had highlighted several months ago when the Pool Bubble Study Committee met to discuss possible alternatives to the inflatable bubble, would be the right path at this time.

I know the company that manufactures these domes is located in Canada, so the structure would be able to handle any type of snow load.

The town of Cheshire dropped the ball on this pool. They did not research-they hurried it up and now we are paying the price.

Case in point, and I have stated this before, the town has to pay a company approximately 38,000 thousand dollars a year to put the bubble up in the fall and take it down in the late spring (around Memorial Day).

The Milford/Orange Y had VOLUNTEERS take their bubble up and down and no cost. Why you ask, can’t the town of Cheshire do this?? THE DESIGN STUPID!!

The cement “wall” has a hinge of some sort that requires a professional. This is rediculous. Spending all this money for nothing. If the town had consulted with the Milford/Orange Y and copied their design, this money would not be flying in the wind in plain English!!

STOP EVERYTHING-OMG!! DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR!! CHESHIRE HAS AN EVIL COMMUNITY POOL TWIN!!

Click here for story

Also, brought up was fees. The Town Manager did admit that the  original day pass fees at $4 a day and the family pass at $275 for the year which was set six years ago when the pool opened-was too low.

So, when the town tried to raise rates-people balked. And that is understandable. The town SHOULD HAVE DONE what the Southington Y did. They charge $10 for a daily pass and approximately $500 a year for a full membership-this includes their pool, which is indoor, their gym, ALL THE AMENITIES.

That is another thing, Cheshire SHOULD have had a fitness center included with this pool. Then they could have justified charging what the Southington Y charges.

So, what makes more sense at the Southington Y-paying $10 for a daily pass or a little over $500 a year for the membership?? Of course-paying the full membership!!

A question came up about making the pool one season-of course that went over like a pork chop over Palestine. But economically, it doesn’t make sense.

I guess both Adams and Ceccolini felt that even more revenue would be lost-the swim teams would not use the facility. Both Adams and Ceccolini said the pool took in approximately $180,000 in swim lessons  last year. A good part of that revenue would be lost if the facility was just a summer use pool.

It seemed that Adams, Ceccolini and our Town Manager (who does start to crinkle his face when he doesn’t want something-or should I say WANT SOMETHING)-are dead against a one season pool.

Adams said she has a waiting list for swim lessons, and for the first time in the pools history, had to turn people down.

So, the idea of a one season pool-is floating down the river of no return. What to do??

WHO KNOWS!!

Now moving on to another topic: Police Reporting Systems.

When I attended the Public Safety Budget workshop, I THOUGHT I heard the Police Chief speak about the “reporting system” they were using and that it might not be suitable anymore.

I know when I covered Orange for the Amity Observer, I would go to the records room and the secretary would print out the “list” of calls the department would respond to for the day. This was the police log.

In other words, every dispatch sent out to the officer-would be logged onto this computer: i.e., 9 a.m. burglary reported at so and so address; 15:30 p.m.-car accident; 16:00 break in at 123 Main Street and so on.

OK HERE IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS HOW THE BERLIN POLICE DEPT. DOES THEIR DAILY BLOTTER.

Click here for March 25th

FYI: BERLIN, LIKE ORANGE, HAS A POLICE COMMISSION. AND BERLIN HAS A TOWN MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT!! This is what I want to see from Cheshire-NOT THAT RED RACE SHEET BOOK!!

Well, I did some research  into this and came up with a few suggestions:

Hunt Computer Designs

NexGen Reporting System Software

Presynct

Hopefully,  the Police Chief will give me some more info on our reporting system-if he can. But I think he is mad at me because I wanted a sign in the back of the police cruisers that said “YOU ARE BEING RECORDED”