West Norwalk Association Board Meeting
December 7, 2009
Minutes of the West Norwalk Association
December 7, 2009
Those Board Members present were: Joel Zaremby, Galen Wells, Bob Wagman, Regina Krummel, Linda Forcellina, Jeff Danziger, Margaret Karl, Martin O’Connell, Ron Brown and Candide Valadares. Chris Potts, Bill Krummel, Larry Cafero, Kate Johnson, Jim Forcellina, Ron Paladino, Bill Mitchell, Lisa Consolati, Azzeim Mahmoud, Peggy Girard, Farham Memon and Gay Mac Leod were guests.
The President, Joel Zaremby, called the meeting to order at 7:40. Joel welcomed the Board and visitors to the meeting.
State Representative Larry Cafero made a presentation about the request made by Dolce to change the zoning at the Weed Avenue Dolce Conference Center to allow the facility to be used as a hotel. Dolce borrowed 3 million to redo rooms and make other improvements and lost 1.7 Million dollars last year. They are losing money and feel it is necessary to use the facility as a hotel to make ends meet. Larry recapped the negotiation last year to allow the use of the facility for 48 celebratory events a year. He then pointed out that a hotel is open to the public. Anyone can use it and a bar and restaurant can attract elements of the public that may not be appropriate for a quiet residential neighborhood.
A company names Broadreach owns 80% of the facility and wants to maximize use of the facility. Although the Dolces are good people, they do not call the shots and could be replaced if the facility continues to lose money. Regina Krummel suggested that the interested members present look into the Broadreach Company to see who owns them and what their business is.
Larry Cafero said he was against the zoning change and although there was no vote, it seemed that the majority of those present agreed and would oppose the request. Members of the Board agreed to attend a meeting to be held at Dolce on December 8th to discuss the issue.
Farham Memon then made a presentation about the proposal to build a Mosque on land purchased by the local Islamic community on Fillow Street. He showed a plan for the site and discussed the traffic and the type of use that neighbors could expect. There were many questions and the talk was quite informative.
The Minutes of the November meeting were presented. Bob Wagman moved to accept the Minutes as written. Linda Forcellina seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Linda Forcellina said that the insurance had been moved to State Farm. The Holiday Party was then discussed. The cost is $8.00 per person with a 20% gratuity. A decision was made to guarantee 100 people. A space on the second floor was reserved which had been used in the past. All agreed this was a nice space.
Members of the Board were asked to arrive at 6:00 to help set up. Peggy has nametags and will bring them. She also will organize signs. Ron Paladino agreed to organize raffle tickets.
Joel announced that Chief McCarthy is creating a grid showing how many hoses are necessary to connect each house in West Norwalk to the closest fire hydrant. He is then requesting monies in the capital budget to purchase the additional number of hoses necessary to reach the nearest fire hydrant. This will provide the necessary answer to any insurance question regarding the ability to fight any fires in our homes in West Norwalk.
The January meeting will be held on January 4th and we will then discuss whether or not to hold another meeting on the 21st at Fox Run School.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Galen Wells, Secretary