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July BOS Meeting: Shoreline Greenway Trail Onward and Fitzgerald Lane to Become Road

Ongoing property issues between the town and resident Wayne Cooke also were discussed at the Board of Selectmen meeting.

Posted Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 1:21 pm ET|Updated Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 7:20 pm ET

The Board of Selectmen voted to accept Fitzgerald Lane as a town road. The road was completed as part of a subdivision in the late 1990s, explained Town Engineer Janice Plaziak. However, the process of formally adopting it as a local road was never completed. The matter will now go to the RTM for its endorsement.

The board voted to move forward with plans to design and construct a section of the . That section will stretch from Young’s Pond Park to Tilcon Road. The completed trail will run through East Haven, Branford, Guilford and Madison. Some $630,000, mostly in federal funds, has been allocated for the Branford portion. The funds should be enough to complete all planning and execution aspects of the roughly half-mile section of trail, including design, reviews and construction, said Town Engineers Janice Plaziak. “It’s a good section of trail because it will connect to a highly used existing trail,” Plaziak said. She added that the Dept. of Transportation will oversee the project.

Tax abatement for property acquisitions was approved. Those properties are located at 99 Laurel Hill Road, 629 Leetes Island Road, Cherry Hill Road and 108 Stony Creek Road and 22 Fir Tree Drive North.

The board authorized First Selectman Anthony J. DaRos to act on behalf of the Town of Branford regarding executing and delivering documents to the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The action was needed for the town to apply for federal/state funding from the Department of Homeland Security. Such funding currently is under consideration by the town, although no grant applications have been submitted to date.

A request to allow the Branford High School Concert Choir to perform an Aug. 12 concert on the Town Green was approved. The event, which will take place 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., will benefit the . Concert admission will be free, but CDs of a May choir concert at Yale’s Woolsey Hall will be sold to generate funds for the center. The rain date is Aug. 13.

Another Town Green event, this one sponsored by the , also was approved. Titled “Let Freedom Fly,” the event will take place Sept. 11 from 1 to 2 p.m. It will be a day of remembrance of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The program will include a musical tribute, color guard, speeches and butterfly release.

The board addressed correspondence from Wayne Cook expressing his concern about what he deems lack of response on the part of the town counsel to his attorney regarding ongoing , including matters currently in litigation. To try to expedite the resolution of at least one of the issues – a settlement agreement involving a parcel at 573 E. Main St. – Selectman John Opie suggested the board vote to recommend that the assessor review paperwork for the case. Selectman Francis Walsh indicated he was adverse to making such a recommendation with an issue that was not on the agenda. No vote was taken. Cooke then requested that his cousin, John Cooke, take the floor to inform the board about long-standing property concerns that extend back even further than Wayne Cook’s disputes. First Selectman Anthony DaRos said he would like to meet and talk further with John Cooke. “I think that you have a legitimate argument” regarding land-use concerns, DaRos said. However, Wayne took the floor again to express his displeasure with DaRos for being sympathetic to his cousin’s plight while apparently remaining unmoved by Wayne Cooke’s own situation.

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