Daily Five: Stonington Institute Decision Delayed

1. Happy May! And a nice way to start the month. Today should be sunny, with a high around 61, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low around 42, according to the service.

2. Originally, it was expected that the Zoning Board of Appeals would vote on a proposal by The Stonington Institute to turn 171 Rope Ferry Road into a boarding house for up to 144 men recovering from drug addictions Thursday night, but that decision has been pushed back.

This week, Peter Bendfeldt sent Waterford Patch a Facebook message saying that the Zoning Board of Appeals would not vote on the proposal at their Thursday meeting, as originally expected. Instead, there will be a special meeting sometime in May to vote for the proposal, Bendfeldt said.

The Zoning Board of Appeals met last week in executive session with a lawyer who specializes in the American with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act. Although many members of the public and the board members themselves have expressed issues with the application, many fear that if they reject it, it will not hold up in court because rejecting it would violate the ADA or FHA.

The group will discuss the matter again in executive session Thursday night. It will still hold its regular meeting Thursday night to hear other applications, and there will be time for public comment at the beginning of the meeting.

3. The Lowe’s in Waterford has donated some evergreens for a memorial at the Waterford Police Department, according to the department’s Facebook page.

The Waterford Police Department is building a memorial to honor every police officer who has ever worked at the department. As part of the effort, the Lowe’s in Waterford has agreed to give the department several evergreen trees, for no cost.

There will be a ceremony for the memorial on May 11. 

4. There is one meeting tonight in Waterford Town Hall. The Flood and Erosion Control Board meets at 7 tonight in Town Hall’s auditorium.

Also, the Representative Town Meeting Republicans and Democrats are both holding their own caucuses tonight. The RTM will meet next week to finalize the town’s budget for next year. The budget proposal before the RTM increases spending by 3.86 percent over this years’ total.  

5. On this date in 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was killed. And on this date in 1956, the polio vaccine was first made available to the public. 

Quote of the Day

"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."

-Warren Buffett

Trivia of the Day

Who developed the polio vaccine?

Yesterday’s Answer: Thomas Jefferson was the president when the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.