Town Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome to our town council meeting. We're going to start with the first item on the agenda. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We'll continue with the roll call.

Sorry, can't hear you. Not on here. I'm here. Can you hear me? Yes. Oh, okay. Okay.

Councilor Cooper?

Present.

Councilor DeBetham-Browne? Present. Councilor Mahan. Here. Councilor Oliver. Here. Councilor Merritt. Councilor Waterhouse is not here. Councilor Darrell Goodwin is not here. Deputy Mayor Lloyd.

Present.

And Mayor Anthony Harrington is present. Present. We have one announcement, and that regards the upcoming Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce Bloomfield Food Truck Festival of 2026. It will be Saturday, September 19th, 2026, from 3 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. There is a rain date. In the event of rain, it will be moved to the next week, Sunday, September 26th. There will have food trucks, wine and beer, live music. vendor village and much more in an unforgettable afternoon of great food live music and community spirit we invite each and every one of you to come and take advantage of this very very special food truck festival thank you we'll now move to citizens statements and petitions So we'd want you to provide your name and address, and you'll continue for no longer than three minutes if you are a Bloomfield resident. If you are not a Bloomfield resident, you will have two minutes. Do we have?

Yes, we do, Mayor. So the first person is Robert Berman.

Robert Berman, 8 Hiram Lane, looking at the tentative minutes for last council meeting. It was moved and seconded for discussion and possible action regarding the appropriation of unassigned fund balance, the fiscal 2027 budget for Broomfield Access Settlement and BATV. That's the whole motion that was made. In the tentative minutes, There's also a resolution in there. That resolution was not in the material provided to the public, nor was it read at the council meeting. Therefore, I propose that these minutes are inaccurate and need to be corrected. The same issue holds the Discussion on Possible Action regarding Appropriation of Funds for the Chamber of Commerce. Please correct these so that it's done accurately, because if you view the YouTube video, you will see that the only thing done was a discussion possible action, and there was no discussion of dollar figures made. Now, a couple of council meetings ago, there was a discussion about dollar figures for these different agencies. That's fine, but it was not in the motions made. Therefore, I respectfully request you fix this problem. Thank you. My other issue has to do with food insecurity in Bloomfield. Councilman Cooper raised the issue that he wants to make sure that people in town have the ability to get fresh food and to get food, period. We have a food bank, and we have a food share that comes into town. Between the two, they service over 400 families every month. 400 families every month. Five years ago, that was 220 families. I checked. and the number seems to keep growing. I have never heard from anybody on this council mention supporting the food bank. I think it's important that in council comments, you start doing that, somebody, because they do need it. They have people coming virtually every day trying to get food. They have the food bank is open twice a week, people to come. Food share comes every other two Tuesdays a month. And I would say they are jam-packed. So please, put some money in the food bank. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Ms. Kay Sherman. Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Kay Sherman. I live at 1252 Blue Hills Avenue. And I'm here on behalf of people that are more mature seniors as we are called for the food share. And my reason is I know that it was tabled for the funds that was being requested for whatever the reasons are, but there needs to be another way that those funds can be put in something somewhere that someone can use it and divvy it out to the people that need it because what's given to you on that card is gone in two weeks because you're only getting $40 for a whole season. And that's not enough, especially for people who are trying to eat better, live longer, have better lives. And we're not doing anything to help us ourselves. And our farmer's market is in shambles as it is because it does not have a lot of people that come out to be a part of it. And we need to do something about that, getting more businesses that want to come out, that want to be part of our program and offer better foods for people that can have it and need it. And I'm just requesting that you look at the funds again. There has to be another way it can be done. Vouchers could be given out if that's the case. Don't have the farmer's market in charge of it. Have another agency in charge of it, even if it's social services. Have them give out vouchers to people or do the same thing that they do at the beginning of the year. Put so much on the card. Once it's gone, you can have so much put on again. Have a certain dollar amount put on there. There are other ways that things can be done if we want to take the time to look into it. And if you don't have the time, ask for volunteers who are willing to come in and help get us to that point. But and because I'm on the Commission on Aging, I've had several people complaining about it's not enough. I mean, you get a jar of honey, you've spent twenty dollars. That's all of your money on your card almost. So can you please just do something or reconsider, bring it up again and look at it and doing it a different way? Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Gail Riley.

Gail Riley, 8 Maple Avenue. Tonight, I want to talk about the Charter Revision Committee and the charges and the timeline. I saw the post on the town of Bloomfield on Facebook, and I made a comment. My comment was, everyone needs to read the Charter Revision Committee's charges and the new timeline they are proposing. We may not have a new charter until July of 2028. It's very disappointing. There was a lot of back and forth with different people on that website making comments. And one of them was Counselor Cooper. And his comment like got to me, got under my skin. So I replied back to him because he tried to insinuate that This charter revision had been going on for 10 years. Nobody did anything for 10 years. And then another eight years went by and counselors never did anything. And he ended up saying his last comment or one of his comments was that As I stated, the charter is currently being addressed by the council. I do wish that this very same effort and energy was directed toward those who hadn't addressed the issue. This council has now taken up the derelict action and will get it done. Thanks for engaging. That was his comment to me. And I had responded to him by saying he tried to insinuate that, at least in my opinion, he tried to insinuate that that the reason why nothing ever got done the last time was because you guys were so busy with the budget and the budget deliberations. So I wrote back and said, let's be real, Councillor. The charter revision was approved by the council back in 2025. The council approved the wording of the ballot question, which was posted on the town website. It never made it on the ballot. Why? I recall at a town council meeting, the town manager said he delayed it. Again, I ask, why? What did he not like in the revision that the majority of council had approved? He works for you, meaning you, the town councilors, and me. You don't work for him. Stop using the tough budget season as an excuse. I want the truth as to why it never made it to a townwide vote. You all claim you are transparent. If this is transparency, y'all better look up the meaning of transparency. So I did. I looked it up. I go, transparency in government refers to the principle that government actions, decisions, and data must be open and accessible to the public. This concept is essential for fostering accountability and trust between citizens, and their leaders. It ensures that citizens can obtain valid and timely information about government activities, which is crucial for democratic governance and public participation. I am the first to admit, and I've said it before, I never got involved in town politics until COVID. I thought things were running smoothly. I was bored. I started watching meetings on YouTube and realized how wrong I was. Things aren't running smoothly. I didn't realize we had a charter. I never knew that it needed to be redone every 10 minutes. But I want to ask Mr. Cooper, how long have you been in this town and involved in politics? How long have any of you been involved in politics in the town and didn't know that it should have been redone every 10 years? Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Shelby Young.

Hello. My name is Shelby Young. I live at 31 Alexander Road, and I'm owner of Cottage Grove Business Park, located at 112-116 Cottage Grove Road in Bloomfield. The reason why I'm here, I'm just here to invite everyone to come and join in on the focus groups that we've been having. We had two fantastic focus groups for the town of Bloomfield. On July 28th and 29th, great turnout. People had different opinions, but everybody got along. And it was, I mean, it was comments back to us about, oh, this is great. You know, we can talk about our differences without getting upset. So I just wanted to let you guys know, the next one is for August 18th. We will be sending out a notice. The notice will be coming from, is in sponsorship from Advocacy to Legacy and HeadCo. HeadCo is the community engagement consultant firm that's helping us. I've invited all of the town council to Cottage Grove Road. And most of you guys have been there. So again, I just got through talking with Shamar. I want you to come out too. It's 14 businesses that support our community. I mean, I see Suzette and all the rest of you guys, Tony and the deputy mayor and Todd Cooper and all of you guys. So it would be really nice to come out. I really do appreciate it because it's good that the town is being able to have a voice And it's not based on politics.

All right. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Erin Berenger.

Good evening. My name is Erin Berenger, 28 Kenmore Road. Good evening, mayor, town council members. I'm actually here tonight because I'm excited to share the results of our dunk your local leaders for Bloomfield, a fundraiser that raised $1,000 for Interval House and $1,000 for Bloomfield teachers to help offset any out of pocket CLASSROOM EXPENSES. THIS WAS REALLY TRULY A COMMUNITY EFFORT, AND I'M GOING TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO THANK THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE. FIRST, I'D LIKE TO THANK MAYOR HARRINGTON AND DR. YOUNGBERG, BECAUSE THEY SAID YES TO BEING DUNKED BEFORE I EVEN WENT TO GET APPROVAL FROM TOWN MANAGER SCHWAPP. Your willingness to participate helped get this event off the ground, and I'm grateful. Mayor Harrington was dunked numerous times, and we all laughed, cheered, and there was a long line of children waiting to dunk the mayor.

Thank you. We're going to give you 15 more seconds. Oh, I'm sorry.

My time just started, I thought. I thought I just said...

I'm sorry. I thought I just said hello. The thing.

All righty. I want to say a huge thank you to Dave Malesko and Matt Mase from Leisure Services for all their help into Blue Hills Fire for filling the dunk tank. I want to recognize our local businesses who generously donated gift cards and other prizes. We had over 14 raffle prizes valued at over $1,700, including two generous donations from Makerspace Connecticut valued at $350 and $600. And I mentioned Makerspace as their workforce development programs that were presented in July. is on the agenda for tomorrow's subcommittee. So I would urge people to tune in or come in person. TJ Burritos and Best Cut Barbershop also came together to sponsor the actual dunk tank, which was a tremendous help. So I urge residents, if you haven't Bented TJ Burritos or Best Cut, seek them out. Beyond the support of our town and local businesses, I want to thank really the Bloomfield residents who generously donated before, during, and after the event. Your support was incredibly meaningful. And I'd like to give a special shout out to Essie Libro, Wendy Williams, Dwight Bolton for volunteering your time, your ideas, and your hard work to help make this event a success. But most importantly, this was a community-led fundraiser, not a town-sponsored. It showed really what can happen when residents come together local businesses, town leaders, community organizations, we can make great things. And I was inspired just like what you were saying. So I'm glad I went after you. So I really hope this initiative inspires other residents to volunteer. Can I finish my one sentence, Mayor? Sure. I really hope that this inspires our residents to volunteer, to support local organizations and find their own ways to get involved with Bloomfield to make us an even stronger community. So I thank you again to everyone who donated, volunteered, supported, and showed up because your generosity made a difference.

Thank you very much.

Rick for current.

I'll get my, I was about to make a comment while you were walking.

Anyway, good evening council. We're in the thanking mood tonight. I want to start off by thanking both. Councilor DeBetham-Brown and Mahon, Councilor Mahon for hosting a community event where residents had an opportunity. I was out of town, missed it, but I will be there at the second one because I think it's important and everything I hear tonight, residents are getting involved. That's key to any vibrant community, being active in your community, knowing what's going on, knowing how your taxes is calculated, knowing how resources being allocated are key elements to a successful community. So I wanna thank both of you and everyone else within the community who are taking those initiatives to lend their voices to the process. I just wanna make a comment as well on the charter revision. And I hope there will be a little bit more clarity tonight on that agenda item, but I must add to a former speaker who spoke about comments that I also saw from Councilor Cooper, and I think there's some confusion. A charter revision, there is no mandate from the state that you have to revise or do a revision on your charter revision. I mean, charter in period. What it says, what the law says is once you engage that process, there's things and timelines that any municipality has to meet those requirements and as the previous speaker said, we had that in 2024, I think when it started, it should have went to the ballot in 2025, it didn't. So that still needs to be clarified to residents on what was the reason for it not being placed on the ballot. We still haven't received full insight to that. So I think that will be important. In addition to that, I think the agenda item also needs to be clarified because that charter revision committee that was put together again reinstated last year was supposed to provide a report based on state statute once you you took that initiative that we're supposed to provide a report in May of this year. That didn't happen. So I think there's some confusion. I think you may have to start all over again. So just hopefully the council tonight will provide some clarity on that. That's the only agenda item. So I hope there'll be some discussion. And just one more thing, just walking into the room tonight, and I served on this council before, it's disappointing that members are not at the meeting. Through COVID, Zoom option was an option. Now it shouldn't be a routine. Everyone was elected. They took a note of office. And I think being present at council meetings, unless there's something that prevents you from doing that, but I think you should be at the meetings. So hopefully this council will start showing up at the people's house and conducting its business instead of doing it online. Thank you. Thank you.

Mayor, that's all that's in the room right now that's signed up. Is there anybody online that would like to speak at this time? I have no hand. Oh, sorry. Elizabeth Lane, Director of Library Services.

Thank you. My name is Elizabeth Lane. I serve as Bloomfield Public Library's director. I wanted to let the public know that yes, McMahon-Whittenberry Library's exterior is being worked on, but it is also open to the public during this time. I know it looks like it's not open, but it is indeed open. Number two, we publish our annual report in June. It is available online. And we also have physical copies in each location for people to look at. So you can see what's going on year round in our libraries. And that's it. So thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay. There's no, hold on one second. One person. And that's Dr. Beffer.

Yes, thank you. James Biffer, 17 Terry Plains Road. I hadn't planned to speak, but hearing some of the comments tonight and seeing the agenda item on the charter revision, I just want to point out that the minute that the charter revision commission did not give their report on May 11th, that committee dissolved. And by your new procedures that all of you passed some months ago, you can't just reappoint the five people, even though you may want to, to the charter revision commission. You have a process that you all approved that says applicants go before the committee on committees and then you can choose. Now, you may subsequently choose the five people that you want, but you still have a process. And for months and months, you've heard people talking about the process. Many of the things you do are fine, but you just didn't follow the process. So you have a process. You should now follow it. The other thing is looking at the charge for the Charter Revision Commission. You really need to remember the charter is the local constitution. It is the people's document. I don't care what you counselors want. I don't care what the town manager wants. I don't care what the staff wants. And yet you've got them explicitly listed in the charge. What matters is what the people want. It is the people's document, the powers and authorities we are willing to grant to our elected bodies. That's all it is. It is not your document. It is not the staff's document. It's not the TM's document. It's the people's document. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any more residents interested in speaking? Going once, going twice, going three times. Citizen statements and petitions, excuse me, citizen statements and petitions are now closed. We'll now move to the next item, report from council subcommittees. I will start with governance, policy, and economic development. We had a meeting this prior week. We heard from Director Dave Malesko, who is putting forth the information regarding Rockwell Park project, $4 million. We did find out that most of that information has been completed and they anticipate beginning to deliver $4 million. uh, RFPs for the work to be completed. Uh, but it probably won't begin until, uh, October or so. There is another either eight or $11 million that they will be seeking in addition to what we currently have, uh, to complete all the phases that they're looking, uh, to, uh, to complete on the project. We also spoke with Director John Coleman regarding several projects that are going on throughout the town. There is progress going on at the facility on College Grove Road, which will house four businesses, two of which are People's Bank and Sherwin-Williams. They're looking for two more businesses businesses to join. There is also work continuing to be completed at Bulls Avenue, Arbella. They have found a a person to compliance officer. So they will be expected to meet the goals and expectations that we've put forth initially in the contract. Op eyes is still a problem. Mr. Coleman has reached out to the national director and did find some leeway with this individual. So there is expected to be some, they claim that the problem has been with MDC. We don't know because nothing has been really taken place, but he says that he does expect some work to be completed, especially the cleanup of the facilities, because that was one of the major issues being talked about. We still continue to prepare for the CIF grant. I think we spoke to some extent before. We're looking for CIF to provide infrastructure and public improvements needed to unlock more than $85 million in private development. The RFP has been submitted for developers, and I believe it will close in September. So we're anticipating A number of responses. This will also create new housing jobs and businesses and restore help restore the town center as a place where residents can gather, connect and take pride in Bloomfield. It will. be approximately 70,000 square feet of new or improved commercial space. And the hope would be that it would move from fewer than 15 today to an estimated 20 to 25 businesses. Construction activities will bring in 24 temporary construction jobs, and once completed, will support approximately 115 permanent jobs across retail, restaurant, office, and service sectors. We also anticipate a housing impact of approximately 195 to 260 jobs. new residential units, and the project includes approximately 30 affordable housing units. New housing will help support local businesses, increase foot traffic, and strengthen the town center as a walkable mixed-use district. There is more, but basically we're just hoping that we are successful with this project moving forward. And now we will move to finance. Sure, sure.

So thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Before that, even though I was in the meeting with that robust capture, This $85 million, I keep on hearing about this $85 million in private development. What does that look like? And I've been asking a question about it, and I don't seem to be getting an answer. Because we are talking about it, we are using it as talking points, this concrete number of $85 million in private development.

I don't think any of it is concrete, but it's anticipated that it will cost roughly about $100 million to do work with the infrastructure and with the involvement with the developers. So I'm sure the RFP that's gone out, they're looking for the developer to show that they have the capacity to manage or handle

A job project that big, so how did in once again, how did we come up with the $85 million.

I believe that is a combination of ideas from our director john Coleman, as well as going to New York okay.

Okay, thank you appreciate that.

there's another question from. counselor Cooper.

Never mind, Mr. Mayor.

Okay. Thank you. We will now move to finance, budget, audit, and bonding with Deputy Mayor Cindy Lloyd.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Nothing to report as we did not have a meeting last month. We will be reconvening this month on the 17th, next week, Monday at 6 p.m. At 6 p.m. next week, the 17th of Monday. Thank you, sir.

You're welcome. And we move forward with public health, safety, and environment. Counselor Todd Cooper.

Thank you, Ms. Mayor. So we had a report from our police department. Captain Zachary Klonberg came in and provided a report and also introduced us to our newest police Police dog friend, Luna. Captain Comberg was nice enough to give Pride a few patches of Bloomfield, which was a great thing. He gave his normal report. There didn't seem to be any things that were over and above, but he did talk about training opportunities for CPR. I know that was concerned by some of the committee members, I think, about having the training available to town staff And he was going to look in on all of that. We had a couple of reports from the fire districts, nothing extraordinary. And EMS also, they did not meet. And so they did talk about the, I guess it's the ambulance that through volunteer funds and donations has been set. And so they're going to be receiving a new ambulance in not too long. Conservation, Energy and Environment. Paula Jones talked about recycling and things. And we had a talk from a Mr. I'm sorry. Okay, I'll get it in a minute. But we had to talk about plastics. and how we can best recycle and or rid our town of those things. Some things that I will hopefully bring forward about plastic knives and forks and things of that nature when you receive food from different establishments. Do you need them is the question, I guess, that you ask. And if you don't, they don't hand that stuff out. So try and clean up the environment. uh, West Hartford Bloomfield health district, um, in the normal talks about vaccinations and the health services that they provide. And then there was ongoing out community community outreach, uh, no additional, uh, infectious disease trends because, uh, uh, cyclosporia or, um, whatever that thing is now, uh, was up after that. Um, We were supposed to get an update on the Maple Avenue traffic project, which should be a monthly update, including the progress challenges and bidding information. That did not happen. It will take place at the next meeting. And again, it was Brad Huskinson who spoke about the plastics and things of that nature. And that, Mr. Mayor, is it for that report.

Thank you. We move now to education, workforce, youth development, and community services.

Councilor Michael Oliver. Thank you, Mayor Harrington. I apologize for not being in attendance tonight. I got stuck late at work. I do not have my last month workforce's report with me. But we did talk with Makerspace. There is plans to discuss more about that. We are supposed to have a meeting tomorrow. There's election day. So I talked to a few of the other counselors that sit in the committee. I didn't get in touch with everybody. um and i decided that we're going to cancel it due to the election and if the town staff has the availability i'm going to try to move it to next week on the 20th which is next week thursday thank you okay thank you uh counselor cooper you have yes yes i'm sorry mr mayor but uh and i also wanted to add that we um timing for the next

public health and safety subcommittee will be changing because there is also a meeting of committee on committees. And based on the election day, we were told to move things around. I will have concrete dates be announced as soon as we receive them. Okay.

Okay. Thank you. Now move to committee on committees. I believe. I'm sorry.

I just want some clarification. So council Cooper, your meeting for this Wednesday is canceled.

It is not canceled. It's going to be moved. I will circle back with you before this is over. Lynn Weissel reached out to me and Councilor Goodwin on timing. And I need to go back through my emails and I will definitely give you what she said. Thank you so much. Yes, ma'am.

We move now to Committee on Committees. Councilor DePete and Browne.

Thank you. Counselor Goodwin is not able to be here this evening, so I'm going to provide this update. Committee on committees, we do have a slate based on the interviews that have happened thus far that will be submitted to the council, hopefully at the next council meeting. We will also have interviews on this Thursday, 8-13. So hopefully we can add to that slate. So hopefully at the next council meeting, we will start seating some committee members. So thank you for your patience with us. Thank you to those who have come out and have interviewed. And I know that we have, I think, maybe another 20 for this Thursday. Thank you.

Thank you. So that completes the report from council subcommittees. I do want to add, if I can, in response with regard to food bank, we do work with food banks Geislers and Stop and Shop. I guess we'll need to expand some of our requests from them to see if we can get more. The Lions Club generally does some fundraising and many of us on council have contributed to that effort, but I do certainly understand that we need to do more. So, um, On my end, I will communicate with those two organizations and then with the Lions Club, find out when their next effort will be made. And then possibly if there's anyone on council that has ideas about how we can assist further, that would be great. We move now to new business. 202703. consider and take action regarding the request to extend the submission deadline for the Charter Revision Commission's draft report to the town clerk. Do we have a motion?

So moved.

Is there a second? Second. Discussion or debate? I see two, Councilor Merritt and Councilor DeBethan-Brown. And then... Councilor Mahan.

I cannot support this. I don't understand why our charter revision that we voted on as a council didn't go through, didn't get onto the ticket. I hope it was just an error by the town clerk. We were changing town clerks at that time, and I hope it was just that it was an oversight. That I can forgive. If it was intentionally stopped by somebody, that I can't forgive. And I can't understand why... After we jumbled it up, all sorts of different, tried to add people, tried to change things, tried to add issues. Why we just didn't put the same five people in and have them go through it and have it at least for this fall to vote on it. But we failed to do that as well. So I just have too many things I don't understand about this and I'm not prepared to support it. I think we need to look at the whole thing and how it's been messed up. frankly, over the last year and before we move ahead on it.

Thank you. As I continue to acknowledge our councillors, let's stick strictly to the question at hand. I appreciate your information, but let's stick to the motion. So we now move to Councillor DeBethin-Browne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So before I start, right, because the question is considering take action regarding the request to extend the submission deadline for the Charter Review Commission's draft report to the town clerk. In order to speak on the item, Mr. Chair, there's background information that I believe Mr. Merritt Per parliamentarian rules, you can bring in background information to discuss an item. So because I'm going to bring in background information, I just wanted to make that clear. I, too, do not understand how come the question never made it to the ballot. I attended all, if not most of those meetings where deliberation was done in regards to the first charter revision commission. I remember debating and giving thoughts and ideas and disagreeing, but I also remember the council, which I was not a part of at the time, came up with the question for the ballot and it never made it. So the town spent money and time, energy and effort on that charter review commission. We discussed it when I got back on council. We thought, I thought we were going to expand the commission. Nothing happened. Then to come back and now say that we're going to reappoint the same people without a process is, and basically regurgitate what was done before. I don't think that's a good use of time or money. If we are going to look at the charter, there's other things that need to be looked at in the charter. I think the items that were specifically identified is a little bit self-serving. So I can't support extending the draft report, especially if we're going to now push it out to almost a year. So I would love some answers to some of the questions. I think our residents would also like that to make the process seem open and transparent. And once again, if we're going to open it, let's open it. Let's not just pick out the pieces that we're interested in, i.e., what's listed here. Thank you.

Thank you. No offense to council Mahan, but I'm going to ask if there are any others that are in support of the measure, because we want to basically work with both. This is according to a parliamentary procedure.

Mr. Chair, that would have had to have been made upfront. How are we going to handle it? If we're going to do it against and for that decision would have been made before we began debate.

And if I could... Go ahead. Thank you. Okay. All right. So I won't have to add anything. Okay. So, yeah. On this particular matter, I'm also going to bring in some pertinent background knowledge on it because we did discuss this issue in length. We had a lengthy process. Actually, in fact... Before we even embarked on the charter revision process, I advocated for us to have a longer revision process because I thought that the initial timeline that we had was too short to get the job done effectively. They still went through. They were able to comb through the items and pick out their charges and move them forward with their recommendations. So I guess that job was done by... I felt like we needed more time to actually do a thorough review of our charter. After all, it is our constitution, our governing document. So... It deserves that gravitas. But like my fellow colleagues that have spoken before me, I also cannot support this item because if we are to go through this process again and then push it out even further after our residents did not get the opportunity to even vote on it, I think we're going to be doing our town, our community a major disservice. Our residents deserve the opportunity to vote on this charter. That's what was supposed to happen, regardless of how it didn't make it on the ballot, which we do need answers to. And through you, Mayor Harrington, I'm hoping that the town manager can provide a brief or something of the sort on an email to us with an answer on that item. That's a question as well that our residents have had out there for quite some time that's been unanswered, and it's not fair to our community. So we do need answers on that. I cannot support this item. And ultimately also a question that I asked previously, I'm sorry, I'm a little all over the place, but there's a lot of components to this. I would like to know how much will this cost? We did increase the town attorney's budget to compensate for us going into this charter revision process during our previous budget sessions. We increased the town manager's budget to compensate for it. At least that was the justification that was given. will we have to pay that? I think it was $100,000 increase or something of the sort. Will we have to pay that amount all over again? Or regardless, how much will this charter revision process cost us in attorney fees? And we also need the answer to that. So through you, Mayor Harrington, if we can ask those two questions to the town manager, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Lloyd.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for recognizing me. I do understand the questions that are being asked, and I do think it's fair to get some answers around those, although I will state for the record that many of those answers have been provided, except the question on how much will this cost us, which is a really good question. the finance chair right now. So I appreciate that question. At this point, it sounds like there's still some information needed by this council before we can move forward. I make a motion to table. We could.

I second that motion.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Aye. The motion is tabled. At this time, We will have a report from our interim, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, our finance director on behalf of our town manager.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and good evening, Council and Bloomfield. It's a pleasure to be before you, as always, this evening, standing in for Town Manager Swapp while he enjoys some much-needed leave. Just a couple of remarks. As we all are aware, the town is continuing its preparation for the remaining retirements of several of Bloomfield's longest-serving leaders at the end of September. In addition, we are at various stages of filling and filling vacant positions with seven positions posted and five positions in the interview stage. For the town's audit, we have made significant progress with regard to the 2025 audit. The week of July 13th, we uploaded our trial balance to our external auditors, CLA. and then began uploading what are approximately 81 supporting documents to CLA's portal. The 21 remaining documents will be submitted in the coming days and weeks, understanding that several of those items will only be uploaded towards the very end of the process once the majority, if not all, of the audit work is completed by CLA. We are anticipating completing and filing the fiscal year 2025 audit in mid-October. After the filing of the 25 audit will transition immediately to the 26 audit and what in what is much more of a workable timeframe closer to the state statutory filing deadline of December 31st. But given the delays in the 24, the 25, as they all ratchet forward, We are currently anticipating that the 2026 audit will be completed in March of 2027, which will be the soonest since 2020, which will put the town back on track for timely filings going forward. The last point I'll share is the town is at a, A milestone for the first time ever, starting tomorrow, the tax collector's office will begin accepting credit cards and tap payments at their window in town hall. Previously, it was only cash and check. So with that, Mr. Mayor, that concludes the town manager's report.

Excuse me, excuse me, I'm sorry for the delay. I wanted to make sure that I acknowledged a gentleman from our community who had received an award at the West Indian Foundation Golf tournament this past Friday, Mr. Desmond Collins. And he came back from Jamaica here for that event. And it was well attended. They, have given, I believe, up to $50,000 in scholarships through the years. And some of the scholarship recipients were there. So Bloomfield was in the house, and it was a very nice event. I also want to give, you know, homage again to Ms. Berringer because I think... if we do this next year, we can do it on a grander scale. And I hope that you'll still, you know, be involved. Much of what I would have had to say was in my report for governance policy and economic development. I'm just hoping that we can get together with our legislative body to still drive home the importance of us getting the CIF approved. grant money. And I'll move to council comments. I had a minute. Oh, that's right. There was a question. I'm sorry. Councilor Mahoney.

Thank you. This is actually a question for our finance director. So we received a couple emails from OPM regarding our delinquent fiscal year 2025 audit report. there was an email sent from council to beat them Brown, ensuring that, or requesting and myself requesting that any communication is shared with the full council, but that email was not answered. Now, the only reason why I'm bringing up at this time is because we do need an answer to that email. Can you commit to ensuring that communication regarding your, the fiscal health of our towns communicated to the entire council and not just the mayor and deputy mayor because we're one council one vote for each of us so can you commit to that finance director councilman thank you for the question um i'm going to say no

And there are reasons why. As one of the town's senior administrators is responsible for the town's fiscal affairs, protection of the town is one of my responsibilities. And the email you're referring to is a communication with the State Office of Policy and Management. The response was provided to OPM with the mayor and deputy mayor on copy. You may have thought that the deputy mayor on copy was because she's the deputy mayor and the mayor leads the council. And when the council speaks, the council speaks through the mayor. I copied the deputy mayor because she is the chair of the council subcommittee for finance and audit. I did not copy the other seven intentionally. Over the two years that I've been here, I have seen a lot of things that are very challenging for me professionally, including the willingness of, I'll say, some of our elected officials to comment in emails with regulators, rating agencies, all of which is inappropriate for a legislative body. That is the administration's responsibility.

I'm not sure what comments you're referring to. But nonetheless, if you do have them, pull them up.

Videos for all meetings.

Yeah, you said an email with regulators. That's exactly what you said. So I'm commenting on that. Anything in meetings, it's our job as elected officials to make these determinations and decisions based off of the town's fiscal health. Now, we cannot make sound decisions if we are not in the loop. And it's not your job to determine which members of the body get that information. You have to relay that information to everyone on this council because our job to make those decisions, not a debate. That's just what it is. And I mean, subsequently you did share the response, which is what it should have been from the beginning. So moving forward, if we can continue that practice of full disclosure, and that'll be through you, Mayor Harrington. Because if the finance director is following that charge of the mayor is the sole person to speak for the council, as if we are all here without our singular votes, then it's up to you to ensure that the finance director fully communicates with the remainder of the council. I mean, I certainly will be pressing for it. Mr. Mayor, how many- Thank you. I'm not looking for a debate or- That's why you asked the question, though.

Let us continue. That discussion can follow after and we'll discuss. We're into council comments. We will start with Councilor DeBeath and Brown.

Thank you, sir. I do have some words, lots of words. Wow. So I'm going to, I know that at one point in time, the West Hartford Bloomfield Health District was looking at ordinances for the town of Bloomfield. And one of those ordinances was a blight ordinance. I'm hoping that we can pick that up in public safety because we do have some residents who are raising some issues. And I think we need to revisit that as far as blight and property maintenance. I am really just a little taken aback. Like, I feel like I just got the wind knocked out of me with this last discussion here between the finance director and counselor Mahan. And the only thing I'm going to say about that is the council has the council in its entirety have one employee. And that employee is a town manager. And that's why I directed my inquiry to the town manager. So, Councilor Mahan, we would definitely need to have a conversation with the town manager, right? Because that's the proper channel. And I'm hoping that we can resolve any misconstrued thoughts and opinions about how the governance of the town works. I know I've been out of the loop for two years. I wasn't on the council, but I was keeping watch. And I think that some things are a little upside down. There's like a million shades of gray. And I think we need to clear that up. So that the council can function properly and the employees can function properly. And we need to turn the ship. But I think we have to write the ship before we can turn the ship. So I'm going to leave it at that. I'm a little taken aback that we're not having an executive session because there's things happening. things that we need to discuss in the executive session. Council conduct is one of them. I saw the email that you sent with your thoughts and opinions about a procedure on how the council is going to function. I don't think that's the right way for us to do it, right? I think we need to sit down as nine individuals who were duly elected and come up with some ground rules for counselors. One of my biggest things is you're giving counselors less time than you're giving residents to speak. back into the parliamentarian class, you can't hamper the member, which are the counselors, without discussion and quite possibly a vote. So I'm hoping that we can stand on principle, because I think it would help us to run our meetings better. It would help us to serve our residents better. So I'm going to ask that we take up some of these things in council executive session. We're looking, we need to set goals for the town manager. None have been set. And we're almost at the end of the year.

We have some work to do.

I ALSO WANT TO TAKE A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT ON THE COUNCIL AND I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY OF THIS. BUT I'VE SEEN REPORTS FROM, IS IT THE S.E.E.C. OR ELECTIONS COMMISSION IN REGARDS TO COUNCILOR MAHAN AND THE INVESTIGATION THAT WAS DONE WHETHER HE LIVES IN BLOOMFIELD OR NOT. I KNOW HIS GRANDMOTHER WAS INTERVIEWED, HIS MOTHER AND HIS SISTER. Undue stress right to serve and then this thing with former counselor curtain that we put on the agenda about an incident that happened, a while ago we are impacting people's lives. We as individuals, we have said that we were going to run. When you drag families into it, then it becomes another, it becomes a horrible situation. So I want to personally apologize to Councilor Mahan and former Councilor And here's the thing. I understand how all of this affects you because there's something that affected me. And I'm going to have to make a decision how I'm going to move forward with it. But it's horrible because we're taking our time, our energy and our talents to serve. And because of personal vendettas. personal situations, we're doing a disservice to each other, to our community, to our town, and everybody's watching. We want to attract businesses. We want the state to give us money. And if I was on the outside looking in, we got to do better. Educated people, residents, we've got to do better. And it seems like every time we get up here, we do this. I'm not doing this. But I'm a part of this council. So I have to take the good and the bad as the facts of life. So I'm asking publicly, my colleagues, we got to do better. And here's the thing. I think if we can... have caucuses, it might be helpful. Let's fight behind closed doors. And then let's come out and agree. Whatever we fight behind closed doors, whatever it is that we commit to, we come out and we get it done. We get the work done. When I was going through treatment, I came to council to get the work done because life is precious. So I'm asking us, please, let's try to do just a little bit better each and every time that we meet. And then by the time you know it, we'll be doing great and wonderful things for the town that we serve. Thank you.

Thank you. I do have a question for our clerk of counsel. Are we keep, we're going with three minutes. I know, I know. But here on, we'll do three minutes, okay? Yes. Councilor Cooper.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I want to start by saying that like everyone else here, I was elected to serve on the best capacity that I could. And so I do some things and say things that I am going to actually stand on. Because the weathering of what you get, what we have to ingest at sometimes is a lot, right? But that doesn't mean that the work is not going to be done. And it will be, right? Everything is not going to be perfect. And that's been clearly pointed out to us by a number of people. But I am people. I am a neighbor. I am a resident of the town of Bloomfield. The only difference is I was voted in as a counselor to serve on this council. I am no different from anyone else. I see things as I see them. I serve for the betterment of the community. And that's my reason for being here. We can disagree. But if I tell you what I see and I tell you what I know, from being on this council. That's exactly what it is. It's factual truth. And so I want to move past that. Let's get our charter done. As Councilor DeBethan Brown said, let's get the other work done for this council. And when I say that I don't want just lip service, as far as us working together, I'm going to say it again. I don't want lip service. This is not for the public. You can give the public what you want, But if you give it to them and then you serve it to us, we are still in the same spot. So my hope is that we can sit down, be invited to each other's different functions and meetings, and come to some compromise on the things that we want to have and need to have for the residents of the town of Bloomfield. I'm not here to play. I'm here to actually do work. You can keep the politics to the side. Let's do the work, make it better for the town of Bloomfield. Let's make it better for the children of the town of Bloomfield. Let's make it better for the people who want to come to the town of Bloomfield. Let's make it better for the businesses that are here, the businesses that want to be here. Let's do that. Let's take self outside of it and what our agendas are, what our futures are. Let's do today's work right here, right now. And for me, I pledge to do today's work. And so when someone says to me about what I talked about yesterday, I do. You know why? Because it affects today. I'm sitting here having to table something, but that's okay too. I think that we can be on the right path if we choose the right path. Mayor, thank you so much for letting me speak.

You're welcome. Councilor Oliver.

I have no comments. Thank you very much, Mayor. You're welcome.

Councillor Mahon.

Thank you, Mayor Arrington. First, I want to actually start off by thanking the Police Department first responders for the national... Do also... want to um i want to thank actually the finance director for uh the update on the audit because that was uh much needed um and i also want to thank council to beat them brown for uh extending that up even though you were not on the council and i'm sure we're not part of the conversations that um initiated uh any investigation into my residency i want to thank you for extending that apology because it was taxing on my family. And I even had a member of staff come up to me and yell on my face saying, I do not pay her salary and I need to watch myself due to that. And so, you know, and I haven't received an apology on that end. So, you know, these things do have their impacts. And, you know, nonetheless, I'm here to serve. You know, I put myself forward when I was 23 years old, so I'm 28 now. You know, time flies. Because I care about this town. I love this town. I was born and raised in this town. Still live in this town. Thank you very much. And, you know, I would like to continue to do that for as long as, you know, God gives me the inspiration and the wisdom to do that. So with that, I'll conclude my comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Merritt.

I congratulations on being 28 years old. I started on the council when I was about that age. Anyway, I agree with what's been said. I think we need to be a little friendlier with each other. And I think one of the problems, I agree. one of our town managers who had over 30 years experience as a town manager, whenever he got a question from one councilor, he would also send, even though it just came from one councilor, his answer would go to everybody. And that's very important. And that keeps us from operating in silos. And wondering what the heck's going on. So all council needs to be informed. So I would suggest that we suggest that to our town manager and staff that if you answer one clerk, one counselor, you should answer all counselors. I also think there's not a bad idea having processes, but we don't want people starving to death while we come up with a process, which I'm sure would take a long time. So I would suggest those who are pushing processes, write some processes up and we'll have a committee look at it and see if we can agree on what the process should be. But let's not let people starve to death while we're coming up with processes. I really don't have anything else to say except Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Deputy Mayor Lloyd.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and to my fellow counselors, as well as the resident who spoke about the necessity of the food, the food market, the farmer's market. as well as a food pantry, both a significant necessity. And as relating to a process, I do concur a process should ensue. And in actuality, there was a process that was facilitated through leisure services. And so at this point, I've asked that we could continue to work with leisure services and loop social services in so that we can get a process quickly and very quickly vouchers were mentioned and other things of that nature it's evident there was a process because the farmers market director or coordinator had been paid on previous occasions so there is a process but again I specifically asked if they could work on refining it so that we could get it solidified and get these vouchers or whatever mechanism we're going to come up with ASAP sooner versus later to our residents. So I wanted to say that publicly. I wanted to thank Ms. Young for her comments. I'm pleased that she, as well as the other businesses, have been benefiting from some interaction with HEDCO. They're doing great work here in Bloomfield and I suggest any other businesses that are in need of some assistance or guidance to reach out to them as well as other organizations that exist to help them do so.

I would also say that

Better relationships are needed. But what happens is when we have comments that are the antithesis of the behaviors that follow, that's a challenge. So if we're saying we're going to be respectful, then the behaviors that follow need to be respectful. And I don't always see that. And so I would encourage all of us to do less soapboxing for the public and to do the actual work and in sincerity to engage with each other with respect, not the next day and the day after, cut and tear somebody down. publicly, Facebook, how about calling them first? How about emailing them? How about a text to begin that dialogue, right? Because that's true sincerity of wanting to break down barriers and build up good working relationships. So I hope to see that happen. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. I'd like to now continue. Ms. Young, thank you for those focus group presentations. What I would like is I was told that I was sent information about the, the charts that were completed, but I didn't get that. So when I get it, I can kind of spread it among the counselors so they can possibly have some ideas about how they would like to address some of those concerns and issues that were brought up. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Okay. What struck me tonight is, you know, the food bank. And we need to do something like now. I'm not sure exactly what that would be. I'd like to follow the deputy mayor's lead to kind of connect with leisure services and human services to try to come by because they did have a process. But in addition to that, I think we should still reach out to some of the neighboring companies that have been providing services on an ongoing basis. They don't provide unless we actually go there and ask. So that's what I was doing. I need to initiate that again. That's only one person. So we need a lot of support throughout. At least if we could start with the council, that would be great. In terms of relationship building, look, Y'all can come to my house as long as it's not a rainy day. And really, honestly, I would like to see each and every one of us have an opportunity to speak with, you know, personality containment, you know, and just have a good time. Look, you know, I got coffee. I got creamer. You know what I'm saying? But seriously, seriously. You know, I'm not going to, I can't buy from this gentleman's warehouse stock of all of those, you know, things. But anyway, no, seriously, seriously, I really think we need to do just as what has been said. We need to get together and talk. We're human. We have worked together, I don't know how many years, you know. Oh, yeah. So I just want to make that suggestion. I will do it at my house. Let's just, you know, get together. I know bringing Republicans and... democrats together that that that may be considered mean so we we can start first with the democrats and then we'll we'll talk to to the republicans you mentioned everything except for food you know if we're gonna is there gonna be i will have food i will have food no i will have food i will have food i promise yeah i don't want anyone to say i charged anything to the town i'm this is out of my pocket But thank you very much. I think we are complete with all of the agenda items that we had planned. Our new parliamentarian, would you like to?

I think that all the items have been addressed.

I can't hear you. There's a hand.

Oh, put your mic on. Yeah, we can't hear. Motion to adjourn.

Mr. Mayor?

I'm sorry.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes.

I'm sorry. I did have just one question. If you can have the food catered, I'm okay with that.

Thank you.

Wait, it's not going to be all West Indian food now?

No, as long as it's catered, I'm good. I'm just saying. Okay.

Okay. Thank you. Listen, listen. Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen. I would be remiss. Tomorrow, if you have not voted yet, please, please, please come out to your polling places and vote. Whomever you choose to vote for, for governor, for state senator, and for congressman, please come out and vote. 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. everybody come out. If you are eligible to vote, please, please, please come out. And thank you very much. And since we have completed all of our agenda items, we are now stand adjourned.