West Norwalk Association Board Meeting
November 4, 2002
Minutes West Norwalk Association Board of Directors Meeting
November 4th, 2002
President Peter O’Hare called the meeting of the West Norwalk Association to order at 7:40pm
Board Members Present: Peter O’Hara, Manuel Llorca, Tina Staples, Penny Hoffman, Sam Jones, Chris Bryan, Skip Wilhelm, Alan Murnick, Gigi Schmidt, Bob Wagman
Presentations
Paul Cantor’s Letter to the WNA: Paul Cantor’s letter addressed the Oak Hill situation and also stated his opinion of the duties of the West Norwalk Association outlining three ideas for change:
- Not vetting resumes for electing directors to the West Norwalk Association
- A suggestion that WNA write a letter to The Hour supporting the Mayor’s decision on Oak Hills.
- A suggestion of recognizing that perhaps a better attempt was needed in determining residential response to issues before the WNA Board.
Peter O’Hare reiterated the openness of the board and thanked P. Cantor for coming forward with his suggestions. Alan Murnick confirmed the lack of residential participation in community issues unless it was in their backyard and hoped for better participation and overall consensus.
Neighbors’ comments on Velocity Sports: A letter from neighbor Craig Hiltz, who was unable to attend, was handed out with regards to Velocity Sports movement into the TransLux building. Mr. Hiltz questioned security, construction, wetlands, and quality of life for the Velocity transition. David Waters a local attorney representing Velocity spoke on Velocity’s behalf presenting the proposed zoning changes to the board and addressing point by point Mr. Hiltz’s concerns. Manuel Llorca asked Velocity and David Waters to write a letter to Mr. Hiltz addressing his issues and copy the WNA board. Gigi Schmidt and Skip Wilhelm mentioned concern of neighborhood traffic with Gigi making a wish to see a traffic study. Velocity and David Walmsley re-iterated the idea was that it was not a gym, but a private professional personal conditioning facility with a maximum capacity of forty-five and would make available such information. Penny Hoffman then questioned the current situation of TransLux itself. Michael Descala representing TransLux stated that the building is for sale, but is pursuing other options such as the sub-leasing to Velocity.
Neighbors’ comments about Kohl’s: Jim McEvoy a neighbor on Olive Road and close neighbor of Kohls spoke about Kohls’ trash compactors and sound ordinance disturbance. He was concerned by possible breaking of ordinances by Kohls in regard to its compactor hours of operation. J. McEvoy was pursuing his known channels by calling Kohls with little resolve. J. McEvoy questioned proper procedure for making a formal complaint. Skip Wilhelm suggested getting a copy of the local ordinances for Kohls in terms of delivery times and the compactor hours of operations.
Woodlands Coalition (woodlandscoalition.com): Robert Forrester Vice President and Co-Founder of the Woodlands Coalition made a presentation asking for financial support with regards to helping prevent or stop North East Utilities proposal to run a powerline “superhighway” through the heart of Connecticut. R. Forrester stated the possible premise of North East Utilities upgrade was possibly resell the unused electricity to Long Island. R.Forrester also asked for the Woodlands mention in the WNA newsletter. Penny Hoffman author of the WNA newsletter agreed to receive the information so that it can be published.
Connecticut Alliance of Casino Expansion (connecticutallinace.org): Penny Hoffman asked for financial support for the alliance from the WNA board in the amount of $500. The alliance is against the expansion of casinos inside Connecticut.
Regular Meeting
Acceptance of Special Meeting Minutes of October 7th: The minutes of October 7th 2002 were presented. A motion was made by Penny Hoffman and seconded by Alan Murnick to accept the minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Acceptance of Board Meeting Minutes of October 7th: The minutes of October 7th 2002 were presented. A motion was made by Tina Staples and seconded by Manuel Llorca to accept the minutes with an agreement to change the date noted to November 4th instead of the 7th as mentioned by Bob Wagman. The motion passed unanimously.
Correspondance: A letter was presented and handed out from S. Starkman asking to address the issue of cars speeding where Fox Run intersects with Fillow. A discussion followed and the issue was given to the Public Works Committee.
Treasurer’s Report: A motion was made by Penny Hoffman to accept the Treasurer’s report which was sent out prior to the meeting. It was seconded by Skip Wilhelm. The motion passed unanimously.
Committee Assignments: Sam Jones mentioned receiving an email from Nancy Ruther stating she did not want to be the chair on the nominating committee. Sam Jones agreed to head the Nominating Committee. Committee assignments were accepted as presented. Peter O’Hara asked directors to submit requests if they wished other assignments.
Election of New Officers: A discussion of West Norwalk Board of directors and officers arose. Peter O’ Hara stated that Diane Winston had sent a letter of resignation to the committee. Elizabeth Jackson should be contacted to determine if she will continue as a director.
Tina proposed the new slate of officers. At this point the meeting was turned over to Alan Murnick for the vote. Sam Jones made the motion that the officers be accepted, seconded by Gigi Schmidt. The motion passed unanimously.
President – Peter O’Hara
Vice-President – Penny Hoffman
Treasurer – David Frishkorn
Secretary – Chris Bryan
Tina Staples and Skip Wilhelm proposed that the size of the Board might be too large. There was discussion of not filling vacancies until a report is made by the Nominating Committee.
WNA Newsletter: Penny Hoffman wanted to finalize the issue of the WNA newsletter schedule it was suggested a quarterly release would be prudent with a December deadline for the first issue.
Board Discussion on Presentations
Velocity Sports: The WNA postponed any discussion on Velocity Sports lease of TransLux pending a traffic study, security issue, and verification of certain neighborhood concerns. Further discussion debated other possible outcomes of a TransLux transition to other businesses given their “light Industrial 2” zoning.
Woodlands Coalition: It was agreed that a feature would be put in the newsletter with information to contact the coalition to learn more about it. The Board did not vote for a contribution to the Coalition.
Neighborhood Comments on Kohls: The board determined that this was an ongoing process and was not limted to Kohls directly but other retailers in the area such as Grade A Plaza, Home Depot and the incoming Walmart. The question was raised if Walmart, with its outdoor Gardening center, was expanding the building more than was allowed in its zoning agreement. Further diligence was determined necessary by the board.
It was agreed that Alan Murnick would examine the ordinances covering time limits on truck deliveries for delivery and sound disturbances by the retailers.
Paul Cantor Open Letter:
1) The board agreed that resumes would continue to be submitted and was fair course for candidacy determination.
2) A WNA letter would not be submitted to The Hour regarding Oak Hill development since the Mayor has announced his decision.
- It was discussed and agreed that the WNA has taken diligent courses of action with regards to the current situation with Prudential; a wait and see action with regards to their proposal for zoning and planning changes is ongoing.
Connecticut Alliance on Casino Expansion
The Board agreed that this was a serious issue for all residents of southwest Fairfield County and suggested an article be placed in our next WNA newsletter. The Board did not vote funds for this alliance initiative.
Other: Tina Staples brought up a suggestion from her neighbors for covering the tennis courts at Oak Hills to allow for winter play. It was recommended that neighbors who are interested should make a formal request in front of the board.
A motion to adjourn was made by Tina Staples and seconded by Sam Jones. It was unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Bryan