Board of Selectmen Meeting March 10, 2014 My Comments

Board of Selectmen March 10, 2014

At a recent Naming Hearing, State Representative John Hampton stated that he lived at 33 Canal Street. It appears from the public record that this home has a medical office and apartments in an R-15 residential zone and therefore is in violation of Simsbury’s Zoning regulations.  According to town records Dr. Owen Murphy lived in and had a medical office in the building. In 1972 Dr. Murphy retired and lived with his daughter. It appears that the house was vacant. According to town records in 1976 the house was designated home occupation, doctor’s office, 1977 an applicant applied to ZBA for use variance to allow expansion of medical practice – denied, 1979 applicant applied to Zoning for Zone change from R-15 to PO ( professional office) - denied, 1979 an applicant applied to ZBA for use variance for pediatric  facility- denied.  On November 17, 2008 both Tom and Cheryl  Vincent  (499 Hopmeadow Street)and Dr. Toscano appeared before the Zoning Commission asking for a Zone change,   for the use to their respective buildings .  Chairman Barney stated, “There is no obligation on the part of the Town to change a zone just because the owner’s circumstances change” – denied . All Town professional staff and elected officials have written that 33 Canal Street was non-compliant. However. on
 July, 2009,  Dr. Gabriel hired T. J. Donohue to write an opinion that stated that the present use was grandfathered in although no commission, board or professional  staff approved of the alleged illegal use of the building. Then on March 2010, without any thorough investigation Town Attorney Decrescenzo wrote an opinion stating that T. J. Donohue’s opinion “satisfies the legal requirements of a legal non-conforming use.” This opinion is in direct conflict with decades of denials by professional town staff and elected town officials that the building’s use was non-conforming and that the use was grandfathered in.  These opinions   appear to be abuse of power and should be rejected as fact.

On February 2014 there was a memo in the building department file from Jim Shea, Zoning Enforcement Officer, describing my conversation about the file for 33 Canal Street.  I did not sign the memo  or acknowledge its veracity.   Is town staff required to write down and file all conversations with their interaction with people asking for guidance?

According to town records the G.F.F. Corporation (Dr. Gabriel, Drs. Forte) owned 33 Canal Street in 1976, 4 years after Dr. Murphy retired. According to town records Luria Checcoli of Bologna, Italy had a mortgage on the property.  In 2008 the assessment card states that the LATA Corporation ( Gabriel) owns the building and the building is designated a 2 family home. Dr Gabriel lives at 331 Bushy Hill Road, Simsbury.  There is a sign on the property that was not approved by the town and town staff could not provide a Certificate of Occupancy for the building. According to zoning regulations offices in residential zones cannot have a sign on the property and has numerous cars in the driveway. There is no evidence of a sign permit or that the sign was approved.  It appears that the owners of this property have continued to violate town zoning regulations and should be made compliant.  How can a State Representative live in an illegal building that is non-compliant with the zoning regulations?

Recently there have been several articles in the Hartford Courant about shady characters involved in the Marijuana industry. The headlines were: Simsbury Man Connected to Medical Marijuana Facility Sentenced in Fraud Case ( March 3, 2014), and Medical Pot Grower Chosen by State Lost License in Colorado. (March 4, 2014)” It is alleged that a representative from Curaleaf, the owner of the  Medical Marijuana Facility  in Simsbury called the Hartford Courant with concerns about the article. it is alleged that before Curaleaf can start the business all other businesses must vacate the premises.

The second article noted that Diane Whitney, was representing Advanced Grow Labs with a Marijuana facility approved in West Haven.  Attorney Diane Whitney is a member of the Pullman & Comley law firm. The article mentioned that Andrew Glassman a member of Pullman & Comely , called the Hartford Courant with concerns.  Andrew Glassman is the husband of First Selectman Mary Glassman. The West Haven Marijuana Factory was used by Governor Malloy for a photo op. Both articles alleged that there was illegal activity associated with the marijuana business approved by the State. According to Consumer Protection, they were investigating all allegations written in the articles. I was very surprised that the investigation surrounding Advanced Grow Labs and allegations of issues in Colorado associated with the company were completed in a few days. How can Consumer Protection complete an investigation so quickly? Was pressure placed on Consumer Protection by members of Pullman & Comley to close the investigation immediately? Is this politics as usual?

Recently the town published the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending  June 30, 2013.  BlumShapiro audited the town’s finances and wrote a management report with recommendations. Internal Controls: We recommend that all journal entries be reviewed and that a proper signoff indicating review be included on journal entry support; Capital Asset Reporting: We recommend that the Town implement policies and procedures to ensure proper documentation is maintained for all asset additions and that there is proper review of capital assets at year end to ensure all assets are included and classified appropriately. They described the status on prior year recommendations: We recommend that the Town implement review procedures at the end of the year to identify any issues prior to audit. The claims incurred but not reported should be recorded and claims should be recorded and claims should be reconciled to vendor confirmations prior to audit fieldwork; The Town and the Board of Education are in the process of creating an accounting procedures manual; Recommendation: During the June 30, 2013 audit, it was noted  the Town should consider implementing a Positive Pay system with the bank. Positive Pay is an automated fraud detection tool offered by most banks.  Is the town working towards correcting these deficiencies? BlumShapiro was given $14,000 to review the Performing Arts and other entities money management. What were the findings of the report?