RTM Strongly Supports Pay-To-Participate

1. Today, scattered showers are expected, with a high of 62, according to the National Weather Service. Showers are expected tonight as well, with a possibility of thunderstorms, according to the service.

2. (largely last night), Patch reached out to as many of the Representative Town Meeting members as possible to hear their opinions on pay-to-participate before the board of education decides on the matter Thursday. Obviously, we would have loved to have polled the entire town, but that is impossible. So, we did the next best thing by contacting the people who theoretically represent the entire town.

Anyway, nearly every RTM member we contacted was for pay-to-participate, if sports programs would otherwise be cut. The overall vote was 12-2 (enough for a majority), with Moderator Sharon Palmer saying it was a decision for the board of education.

The most interesting conversation was with RTM member David Cattanach, a Democrat who was superintendent of schools before Randall Collins took over. Cattanach said that despite being philosophically opposed, he would favor pay-to-participate if it was the only way to save sport programs. However, Cattanach was very skeptical that was the only option.

“You are talking $40,000 (the amount expected to generated from pay-to-participate) in a budget of $42 million,” Cattanach said. “I’d be hard-pressed to believe that was the only option in saving these sports. In a budget of $42 million, I know I could find that small amount of money.”

For full results of our survey, person-by-person, check below.

3. Tonight, the planning and zoning commission will officially receive an application from Mark Steiner asking for . Steiner is asking to demolish the buildings and rebuild them, arguing it is not feasible to save the existing buildings. Also, he is asking that the housing no longer be restricted to people 55 and older. Steiner will still market to an older community, but he can’t limit his market that specifically and still make a profit, First Selectman Dan Steward said.

4. The board of finance also approved a $326,000 allocation to fix the HVAC system at the police department. The building is only 20 years old, but the system “is shot,” Steward said.

“This building has been trouble since day one,” board member George Peteros said, a statement Steward agreed with. The town tried to build a cheaper building, and is now paying for it, Steward said in an earlier interview.

5. On this date in 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King Of Italy after taking over the country. And on this date in 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are killed by police in a shootout. The duo robbed approximately 12 banks, along with many stores and gas stations, and killed at least nine police officers.

Quote of the Day

“To hold a pen is to be at war.”

-Voltaire

Trivia of the Day

If you are playing No Limit Texas Hold 'em Poker, what is the worst possible starting hand?

Yesterday’s answer: All three members of the Waterford Board of Selectmen, First Selectman Dan Steward and selectmen Paul Suprin and Paul Konstantakis, have mustaches.

Patch’s RTM Survey On Pay-To-Participate

We asked the RTM if it would prefer pay-to-participate and save all the sports programs or cut some programs and not have pay-to-participate. it picked:

Andrea Kanfer, Democrat Party Leader – pay-to-participate

Teresa Wilensky, Democrat - pay-to-participate

Dr. John Foley, Republican - pay-to-participate

Robert Brule, Republican - pay-to-participate

Richard Muckle, Republican - pay-to-participate

Theodore Olynciw, Democrat - pay-to-participate

Kimberly Alfultis, Republican - pay-to-participate

David Cattanach, Democrat - pay-to-participate

Rodney Pinkham, Republican - pay-to-participate

Gerard Gaynor, Democrat – pay-to-participate

Michael Hannan, Republican - pay-to-participate

Paul Goldstein, Democrat – pay-to-participate

Michael Cannamela, Democrat – cut programs; pay-to-participate is wrong

Thomas Ammirati, Democrat - cut programs; pay-to-participate is wrong; although survey the parents

Moderator Sharon Palmer, Democrat – It is the decision of the board of education.

Final Results – 12 – 2 – 1; there are 22 members in the RTM, so it is a majority.