Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah

A very Merry Christmas from my family to yours or a very Happy Hanukkah. Enjoy this time of the season to appreciate the things that God has given to us and spend time with family and loved ones that you might not normally have the time to relax with. All the best in 2006 !

Sincerely,

The Lengs

First Meeting and School Building Committee

First Meeting and Info on the New School Building Committee

Season’s Greetings from the Leng Family!

I thought I would take a few moments to write about the first Council meetings of the new session for the 2005-2007 term.

The first meeting set-up the leadership - returning were the entire team from last term:

Al Gorman – Council President
Carol Noble – President Pro Tem
Matt Fitch – Majority Leader
Betty Wetmore – Minority Leader

The team is a good one, with dedicated, hard working council members and I think they will be great for the new Administration to work with.

At this meeting, President Gorman announced that he was appointing me as the School Building Committee Chairman. I was honored to be placed in such an important role of responsibility and look forward to working with school, Town and construction professionals to make sure that our School Building improvements occur on-time and on-budget. I am very much looking forward to this new assignment.

At the second meeting we got down to regular business and tackled the agenda that I posted here earlier. Nearly all the items passed, with the exception of a request for a large financial transfer for a “change order” payment for Center One construction that was approved for way more than it should have been by a previous Administration individual. The Council tabled this item pending some additional back-up.

We saw some significant comings and goings at the meeting, as well.

Longtime Traffic Director Lee Davies and Police Chief Robert Nolan, both excellent Department Heads, retired and collected their accrued benefits. I decided to abstain from the vote because there were some questions about the Comp Time policy that I don’t think the Town was able to answer clearly. Though I abstained, I think both of these men, along with the rest of the retirement group, Skip Dunham and others, were terrific Town workers and I hope they enjoy their retirement.

Coming onboard on the new team was Mike Betz, our new Finance Director, and Leslie Creane, the Assistant Town Planner who was promoted to Town Planner.


I look forward to working with both of them. They each have serious challenges to face in their respective Departments and I think they are up to the task. It was certainly nice to have a Finance Director with over a decade of municipal Finance Experience being recommended for assignment at our first meeting. This was an impressive beginning to the Henrici Administration.

In my next posting I will talk about my other Committee assignments so that you know what I will be working on and where I might be most helpful working with you.

As always, please continue to call and write – councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net .

Enjoy and be careful with the snow,

Curt

Council Agenda - December 5th

AGENDA
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
COMMITTEE-OF-THE-WHOLE
DECEMBER 5, 2005
1. CALL OF THE MEETING & TAKING OF THE ROLL
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MOMENT OF SILENCE
3. PUBLIC INPUT SESSION
4. CORRESPONDENCE
5. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
6. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
7. NEW BUSINESS:

1. REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES PAID PRIOR TO 7/1/05 (2)TOTALLING $173.86

2. REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES FOR CERTIFICATES OFCORRECTION ISSUED AFTER 7/1/05 (74) TOTALLING $22,630.94

3. APPROVAL OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS:Lee Davies (Traffic Dept.) $34,810.96Robert Nolan (Police Dept.) $75,759.63Richard Dunham (Police Dept.) $35,009.86Gustav Gertz (Police Dept.) $47,669.96James Kalkowski (Police Dept.)$14,878.01Frank Critchett (Fire Dept.) $20,970.48William Coppola (Fire Dept.) $44,632.56Robert Anthony (Fire Dept.) $38,142.72

4. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - L/C OFFICE - $312,000. (AccruedBenefits/Retirement) FROM E & C ACCOUNT

5. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - COMMUNITY SERVICES - $6,000.(Family Relocations) FROM E & C

6. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TAX OFFICE - $550.(Pay Differential)INTERNAL TRANSFER

7. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - BUILDING DEPT. - $500. (Temp.Wages)INTERNAL TRANSFER

8. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - L/C OFFICE - $65,184.35 (SpecialProjects) FROM E & C ACCOUNT

9. APPOINTMENT TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION (CathrynReynolds) for term ending August 31, 2011

10. APPOINTMENT OF J. MICHAEL BETZ AS FINANCE DIRECTOR

11. APPOINTMENT OF LESLIE CREANE AS TOWN PLANNER

12. APPROVAL OF MODIFIED EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WITHANTHONY F. CIVITELLO AS THE TOWN'S CONSTRUCTIONMANAGER

13. APPROVAL OF BUSINESS INCENTIVE AGREEMENTS:(International Realty, d/b/a International Provisions(Food Manufacturing)(2373-2375 Whitney Ave., LLC - Renovations)(Karl Kieslich - Kieslich Realty - addition & siteimprov! ements)(Caring Bear Nursery LLC/Lenox Builders - Day Care)

14. APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED ILLUMINATINGCO. AND THE TOWN OF HAMDEN FOR INCENTIVES TO BE PAIDTO THE TOWN FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT MEASURES

15. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO APPLY FOR,ACCEPT & EXPEND FUNDING UP TO $8,500. IN STATEOF CT. LOCIP FUNDS FOR BROOKSVALE PARK IMPROVEMENTS

16. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO BORROWUP TO $44,148. FROM THE GENERAL FUND FOR ADVANCEMENT OFOPERATIONAL EXPENSES FOR SLEEPING GIANT DAY CARE,PENDING RECEIPT OF STATE FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006

17. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, THROUGH SLEEPING GIANTDAY CARE, INC TO APPLY FOR, ACCEPT & EXPEND A GRANT INTHE AMOUNT OF $176,592. FROM THE STATE OF CT. DEPT. OFSOCIAL SERVICES AND TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR ACHILD DAY CARE PROGRAM FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2006TO DECEMBER 31, 2006

18. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACCEPT AND EXPENDA GRANT FROM HOUSEHOLD HAZWASTE CENTRAL, A JOINT PROJECTOF THE REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY AND THE SOUTH CENTRALREGIONAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $500.FOR A COMMUNITY EDUCATION PILOT PROJECT

19. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO APPLY FOR, ACCEPTAND EXPEND A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,000. FROM THESTATE OF CT. OFFICE OF POLICY & MANAGEMENT

20 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTOA CONTRACT WITH THE STATE DEPT. OF MENTAL HEALTH &ADDICTION FOR ADULT MENTAL HEALTH

From the NH Register

Betz tapped for Hamden finance director


Michael Gannon, Register Staff
12/01/2005

HAMDEN — Mayor Craig Henrici is calling on an ally from his days as Legislative Council president to help whip Hamden’s finance office back into shape.
J. Michael Betz, who served as finance director from 1987 to 1990, has been serving as interim finance director this week, and his nomination will be sent to the council for confirmation Monday. He is coming from North Branford, where he had been serving as manager of purchasing, central services and risk management.
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"He has extensive experience and a distinguished career in municipal finance," Henrici said. "I first met him when he was finance director and I was president of the council. We became close friends and we stayed in touch. When he heard that I was running (for mayor), we began talking more and more. He’s very competent; he’s a good friend and he already has the department humming."Betz, 59, is an Ohio native who was raised in Hartford. He has lived in the New Haven region for the last 35 years. His other posts include that of deputy comptroller in New Haven from 1990 to 1995.The finance office has been subject to turmoil, having eight separate interim, acting or permanent finance directors since December 2003.Along with the revolving door Betz has staff vacancies that are not budgeted to be filled until at least January; an outstanding audit report that will be submitted beyond its Dec. 31 deadline, and a council that by some accounts could not be counted on to support the office in tough times."I didn’t think I was walking into a situation where these things couldn’t be solved," Betz said.He said the audit of the 2004-05 budget, which former director Don Gray said in the fall could take until June to finish, is on track to be done by the end of January.Henrici said part of the solution to the staffing and audit troubles has been the addition of Robert Tait. Tait, currently the comptroller for Fairfield, has been working on the audit after hours and on weekends on a contractual basis since October. He added that Tom Pesce, Board of Education business manager, has been lending a hand on the town’s side of the books.

Oath of Office

Oath of Office

Today I had the honor, along with all of elected officials chosen to serve as our representatives within Hamden Town Government, to take the oath of office and officially become your 6th District Councilman.

I was humbled by the amount of support that you showed me on Election Day and throughout my career in government and as I accepted the responsibilities of the office with pride. I found myself thinking already about what we can accomplish together for our District in the years ahead.

As we’ve discussed during the campaign, I am looking forward to working for and accomplishing goals in the following areas:

- responsible financial management of our Town finances and construction projects
- 6th District commercial district improvements
- the creation of the first State Street Business Association
- the creation of Neighborhood Block Watch Groups where needed
- advocate for increased sidewalk and road improvements throughout our Town
- safety improvements throughout the District, especially regarding traffic calming
- being as accessible to you, my constituents, at public meetings, via e-mail and through this
BLOG and website

I take the oath of office very seriously. I understand what a responsibility it entails and am glad to accept it. I hope that I can work successfully to your expectation as I represent our District on the Legislative Council.

As always, please contact me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net if you need anything or would like to discuss an issue. I enjoy hearing from you and appreciate the feedback.

All the Best,


Curt Leng
Councilman, 6th District

Thanksgiving

Just a quick note to everyone who reads this site. I wish you and your family the best on Thanksgiving Day, a day when we should truly step back and reflect on the things we have to be thankful for. I'm sure that we all have a great number of things to be thankful for on this beautiful day.

I hope that everyone enjoys time with their family and friends over a nicely prepared meal. Take the time to relax. Way too many people, myself included at times, rush through everything so quickly that we hardly have a chance to realize its happening.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all and I would like to say thank you to all of the wonderful people in the 6th District who put their faith in me this fall. I look forward to working with you.

Best Regards,


Curt

Ankles and Economic Development

Well, I reinjured my ankle, the one that I hurt last year attending the opening of the new Nation's Market on State Street near the corner of State and Ride. X-Rays done, MRI to follow. Fun, fun.

This made me think of the Nation's Market and I thought that I would give you an update from what I know about the situation.

Nation's Market was doing very well and just didn't quite have the resources to make it to the point of profit that they needed to be at for a successful business plan. It has been said that the owner was only a month or two away, but it didn't work out.

Luckily, when the Town contracted with the landowner for the major improvements conducted with State Economic Development Grant funds, we included language that requires the owner to give the community a grocery store at this location for at least 5 years or risk having to pay the Town a portion of the funds back.

From what I know, the owner is working with our Economic Development Coordinator, Dale Kroop, in an effort to talk to several potential grocers. I will keep you posted here as soon as I hear of anything definitive.

In other Economic Development News, it was great news to hear that Panera Bread and Strawberries Record Store will be opening in the addition being constructed on the Hamden Plaza. Is the Magic Mile is showing glimmers of its old magic ....

A Special Thanks !!

A Special Thanks !!

I write today to say thank you. To all of the 6th District residents who put their trust in me as your District Representative, to the people of Hamden who helped me campaign and raise funds to discuss my message, to my extraordinary campaign team who were not only hard working, but true friends, to the Hamden Democratic Party who supported my candidacy and most of all to my family, who’s support and encouragement has been invaluable over the years.

Now that I have been involved in 7 elections, have worked in Town government and served Hamden for a decade, I have gained key experience and learned important lessons that will help me to work for the improvements that our Town and our District sorely need.I sincerely look forward to working with our new Mayor, Democrat Craig Henrici, an honorable man, who is set to start fixing our Town's financial and management problems. It will be a great change of pace to work in cooperation with an Administration, instead of having to fight, for the changes our Town needs.

As I've told you throughout my campaign - at your doors, at events or on my website - please call or e-mail me with questions, concerns, ideas and/or complaints. I am available to you. I want to hear from you because I will represent your voice on the Hamden Legislative Council.

In an effort to better inform citizens of our Town on Hamden government, I will be writing on a BLOG on my website, http://www.curtleng.com/, throughout the next two years and beyond. This is an attempt to do my part to inform constituents about all of the important issues we face.Again, thank you, sincerely, for all that you have done.

Please keep in touch and let’s continue our discussion on how we can improve Hamden throughout the 2005-2007 municipal term.

Working for a Better Hamden,

Curt Leng
Councilman-At-Large
Councilman-elect, 6th District

Almost Time

Election Day is tomorrow. I hope that you will be out at the polls voting for the candidates that you believe will do the best for our Town and for our District in the coming two years. It has been my great pleasure to see old friends, make new friends and talk about important issues with you as I canvassed door-to-door throughout our District this year. I was successful in walking 90% of our District, going to almost every door. I plan on visiting a few more tonight and maybe can get that number to 95%. I am proud of my door-to-door work. This is the best way to actually talk to District residents and find out what Town concerns are important to them. I have a pad full of ideas and complaints that I intend to get working on right after the election.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow at Ridge Hill School. If we haven't met, please stop and say hi. If you've decided to vote for me this year I would like to extend my sincere thank you. If you are still undecided, I ask that you read my materials and consider me for your Councilman. You won't find a person that is more dedicated to improving this area than me - a public servant who has lived almost my entire life in the 6th and has now invested in buying my first home here with my wife, Stefanie. My experience in Town government can go to work for you .... from the very first day.

Please feel free to contact me, before or after election day. I look forward to continuing our conversation on how to improve our neighborhoods, commercial areas and safety concerns.

Sincerely,

Councilman Curt Leng

State Street Business Association

Special thanks to all of the people involved with our creation of a State Street Business Association this week. The Association, which will have leaders from key businesses in the State Street/Welton Street area, was incredibly well received and created a sense of excitement in the business community. Some of the businesses that have expressed interest in being involved included: Circle A Automotive, Facility Support Services, Frank's Autobody, SOZO Cafe, EZ Form Cable Company and more.

I was particularly appreciative of State Representative Peter Villano and State Representative Brendan Sharkey, who both attended the event and pledged support to the Association and State Street area improvements. I discusses setting up a meeting with them and our State Senators for after the election to see what we can accomplish together. It sounds like it will be a tremendous collaboration that will bring some serious progress to our District.

Special thanks also has to go out to my Leng for Hamden Team. The fundraiser was a great success and we enjoyed supporting a local State Street business, SOZO Cafe, as the location of the event. We will likely hold future State Street Business Association Meetings at SOZO.

This is the weekend before the election and I am looking forward to meeting many of you as I finish going door-to-door in our District. I want to again thank everyone for the hospitality, support and kindness that you have shown for me and the work that I am trying to do as I meet you at your doors. You can count on me to continue to fight for our District once the election is over.

If you have any questions, need a ride to the poll, would like a lawn sign or would like to volunteer over the weekend or on election day, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net . I look forward to hearing from you !

Lawn Signs and the Farmington Canal

I would like to thank everyone who has been so great about asking for or allowing our campaign to put up Lawn Signs. We have over 70 signs up in the District and more to come next week. This has been a great show of support and I want you to know that I really appreciate it.

On Monday there will be a Regular Council Meeting, one of the last of this term. Nothing very controversial on the agenda, but an important item regarding the funding of the Farmington Canal extension is on the Agenda, having passed unanimously in Committee. I plan to vote in favor of the Ordinance Monday night.

Please feel free to call me at 288-6258 if you'd like to talk about the meeting, the campaign or if you'd like a lawn sign. Look forward to talking to you.

Curt

Weekend

Thanks for all of the courtesy that you showed me and my team over the weekend as we worked on canvassing the District door-to-door. I also thank all of the residents that have asked for lawn signs ! If anyone else would like one, please call at anytime at 887-4599.

I had an opportunity this weekend to attend Willie Mewborne's fundraiser, the Democratic 5th District candidate, and spend some time with the candidate. I think that Willie has the chance to make a great District Councilman, he had an understanding of the community and was ready to work on some key projects that will help area residents. I look forward to working with him and Gretchen Callahan, endorsed Democrat for the 4th, in a strong 4th, 5th and 6th District representative block working for improvements to the southeast portion of our Town.

Sunday night was the traditional Vera "Cake By The Lake" event. It was a well attended event, as always, and it was a good chance to spend some time with some friends that I haven't talked to in a while. It was one of the first events where I have seen both "sides" of the Primary together again and it went well -- showing that people can move past a hard battle and proceed with friendships or at least professional relationships.

I'm enjoying this use of technology to talk to you. I hope that you are enjoying it as well. Expect a combination of long policy statements and questions from time-to-time, event announcements and some babble of non-political stuff from time to time.

See you soon.

Curt

It was also my last day of sweets, as this Monday is Day One of the South Beach Diet for me .... no carbs, no sugar .... I wonder how crabby I'll be in two weeks.

Door-to-Door

The rain this week and a busy work schedule has kept me off of the road for a good part of this week, but it was great seeing so many old friends and new supporters in my door-to-door canvassing last weekend. I look forward to seeing all of you as I work EVERY street in the District between now and election day.

I am also very proud to begin a new constituent tool that I will be using. Instead of the more formal Neighborhood Office Hours, I will be hosting "Coffee with Curt" where I will be available to meet constituents who have questions, suggestions, problems or would just like a good cup of coffee. I'm hoping to have these small get-togethers at SOZO Cafe on State Street, a great new coffee and iced tea cafe that opened in the 6th District.

I'm hoping that this will be a good tool to meet and talk to neighbors, not only during the campaign, but throughout my term if you are kind enough to select me as your representative on the Legislative Council again for the 2005-2007 term. Please feel free to e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions or ideas about the Town or my campaign. I look forward to talking to you.

Keep an eye here for some upcoming events, such as "Coffee with Curt", which will be posted here !

Finance

The Finance Department took a real hit this week, as Deputy Finance Director Steve Hoff took a 9-week unpaid leave of absence.

This comes after the Finance Director, Don Gray, left abruptly about three weeks ago.

Without a Finance Director, Dep. Finance Director or Budget Coordinator, the Town's Finance Department is in rough shape. The Mayor's temporary plan is to bring back Joe Celotto, a good manager, but a person with no municipal finance experience.

I urge the Mayor to work with the Democratic nominee, Craig Henrici, and the Legislative Council, to come up with a meaningful solution to these issues, before there's any more damage done to the Town's finances.

The condition of the Town's finances are not something that should be used as politics. Let's take off our gloves and cooperate for the good of the Town.

- Curt

Red Sox Nation

A sad day in Red Sox Nation ...

95 wins, but no "back-to-back".

Let's enjoy our last couple of weeks as the reigning World Champions.

There's always next year !

Good evening friends

Good evening friends,

Our Council Meeting was moved from Monday until Wednesday, October 5th, due to the Jewish Holiday observed today and tomorrow.

On the agenda will be the important Hamden High School air conditioning project. The Council is being asked to increase funding for this item for various reasons, including the delayed construction time and a serious design flaw from the previous construction company. I plan on voting for this item because the Hamden High School classes without air conditioning (only portions of the building) are just not conducive learning environments for the students. I’ve been told that some of the windows in these rooms won’t even open properly for cross ventilation. It’s time for us to bite the bullet and get it installed. It's a worthwhile long-term investment.

If you have any thoughts on this project or any other Council item on tomorrow’s agenda, please feel free to e-mail me at Councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

Hope to see you at the meeting.

Curt

Councilman Curt Leng 

Thank You for Your Support

I would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who helped make the Ziti Dinner fundraiser such a great success. My team was just top notch, going above the call of duty to make this event work so well. I especially want to thank everyone who attended and everyone who so generously donated to support my candidacy. Your support will not soon be forgotten.

I will be beginning my door-to-door campaigning this week. I look forward to meeting as many people as possible as I knock on every single door in our District.

~ Curt