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Denied the Opportunity

I attended a recent East Haven Town Council meeting to express my concerns regarding the town’s snowplowing effort or lack thereof, during the snow storm that dropped about six inches of snow on town streets. Many streets went unplowed and those that were only one pass was made leaving many streets impassable.

Yes, this happened on a weekend. Yes, that meant calling out public works crew on over time. But what happened? What really prevented the town roads from being cleared? Did Mayor Joe Maturo once again squash Public Works from doing its job? Was Maturo under the impression that the sun would melt the snow, thus saving money, which seems to be all he is concerned about, disregarding public safety?

I went to the Town Council meeting to ask why and one would think it was the council’s job to answer or at least find out why town roads were left in deplorable condition and let the public know why. I would think one of the three elected members from my district would be concerned as well and speak up.

I guessed wrong. I was denied the opportunity to speak by Chairman Fred Parlato; the reason given was that such questioning was not on the agenda. In other words, if a resident has a concern and wishes to speak to the members, that concern must be placed on the agenda before the meeting. Really!

The people of East Haven have elected people to represent them. Yes, you would think the venue to get complaints on the record is at a Town Council meeting. The fact is, you can’t. The way I was treated by the chairman was despicable. There is no longer an elected body, but now a group run by a dictator.

Angelo Santomassimo

East Haven