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08/22/2017 12:00 AMLast week, town officials began to try to resolve issues—and ask more questions—following claims of mismanagement raised by a citizen using the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to research town decisions.
North Branford resident Victor Pietrandrea began these document requests after his son was involved in a motorcycle accident on North Branford Intermediate School grounds, an accident Pietrandrea said came after the superintendent of schools chased his son. Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker has refuted that characterization of the incident, saying that an investigation did not show that.
Pietrandrea’s request for records became requests for numerous town records as he identified what he believes to be numerous problems revealed by the documents.
Because Pietrandrea’s document requests followed his son’s accident, some town officials have said that Pietrandrea’s assertions are “personal vendetta.” At the same time, at an Aug. 15 Town Council meeting, they said that some of Pietrandrea’s assertions—relating to a scoreboard purchase and installation, and the purchase of replacement firehouse, and the process by which the school superintendent was reimbursed for unused vacation days—merit further review.
At the meeting, Town Manager Michael Paulhus said, “I don’t see where we’re not following policy or charter.” Still, he noted that information obtained by Pietrandrea, relating to the school district’s purchase and installation of a new scoreboard at Memorial Field, revealed some flaws and one glaring oversight—failure to get a proper permit for the job. The information also revealed the installation company’s failure to use a state-approved sign manufacturer.
Paulhus said he followed up with the Connecticut State Department of Administrative Services, which has put a notation of the failure to obtain a permit in the file of the company, Hinding Tennis Courts.
The permitting process was taken care of after the fact, said Paulhus. He said the town’s building official has revisited the site to confirm the safety of the installation.
Pietrandrea has also contended that the cost of the scoreboard—approximately $17,500—far exceeds the town’s last similar scoreboard purchase of approximately $6,200. He also has questions about the installation and its safety.
Council member Al Rose questioned why the BOE used a process for the purchase and installation of the $17,500 scoreboard that avoids the town’s normal bidding procedure, saying the BOE should only use that process in an “emergency.” The council also discussed ways to impose more control over purchasing requests currently being made through the school’s central office, to avoid issues such as those raised by the scoreboard purchase.
Also at the Aug. 15 meeting, Paulhus went into detail on another question raised by the documents Pietrandrea obtained through the FOI process, involving the purchase of replacement fire hose. Paulhus said the fire chief’s first attempt to purchase more than $30,000 of replacement fire hose didn’t take place in time to use a Town Council-approved transfer in the 2016-’17 fiscal year, so that the process is now being “re-set.”
As previously reported, Pietrandrea has also questioned whether Town Finance Director Anthony Esposito—who also serves as deputy fire chief—is creating a conflict by signing off on Fire Department purchases. Pietrandrea based his claim on a past opinion by former Town Attorney John Gesmonde, relating to the issue of one person serving in two town administrative roles.
Paulhus told The Sound current Town Attorney Pasquale “Pat” Young checked the Town Charter and determined a conflict would only be created if the finance director was also fire chief.
“The superintendent, the fire chief, the deputy fire chief, our building official; I don’t think any of our professionals are doing anything nefarious,” Paulhus told The Sound, adding that, regarding each FOI claim, “if there’s some merit to it, I look at it. If not, we have to move on.”
At the Aug. 15 meeting, the council voted to table further review of claims made by Pietrandrea until its September meeting. The number of FOI requests submitted by Pietrandrea was nearing 20 at press time. Deputy Mayor Joseph Faughnan said there needs to be reflection on whether the Town Council should be put in the position of having review every claim made by any citizen.
“Understand something,” said Faughnan. “A citizen can request information, and we’re obligated, if it’s public documentation, to make it available. That doesn’t automatically trigger the need for this council to review or act on that. So let’s not mix apples and oranges here. Public information is one thing. Forcing the Town Council to act on that request for information because the citizen feels they’ve uncovered something is not a requirement. So when we say we’re going to go through every one of these, I think we’ve got an obligation to the town to read this information, but that does not mean we have to debate, dwell, and angst over this endlessly.”
Mayor Mike Doody responded, “You’re right, Joe, but we have the duty to look and make sure that policies and procedures are followed by the Board of Education and the town, and as we see here, they did some stuff that wasn’t proper. So that’s what we’re going to have to try to correct, or straighten out, or make something happen so it doesn’t happen again.”
During the council meeting on Aug. 15, Faughnan and Pietrandrea had an exchange during the part of the meeting where citizens are allowed to speak. Faughnan recalled Pietrandrea had, in 2011, made complaints to the council involving the chief of police. The incident, which Pietrandrea claimed was harassment, involved an investigation into a monetary gift Pietrandrea addressed to the son of a Planning & Zoning Department employee, when learning she couldn’t afford to pay her son’s class dues. Pietrandrea is a North Branford business owner. The employee didn’t accept the funds.
“And now, there’s an issue between you and the superintendent of schools, because of an accident involving your son,” said Faughnan, adding, “I’m genuinely sorry your son was hurt.”
Faughnan said the accident response also included the Fire Department, “and you were not satisfied with the response from the Fire Department, so now there’s an issue between you and the Fire Department.”
“Did you see the video of my son laying there? You never saw the video; they didn’t even respond to my son. I had to pick him up on the corner...with a concussion, bleeding,” said Pietrandra. “And I’m finding protocol is not being followed. Money is being spent...I’m trying to save the taxpayers money, and you want to talk about what happened to my son? You’re in no position to do that.”
“What I want to stop is your personal vendettas coming before this council as legitimate business of the town,” answered Faughnan.
“It’s not a vendetta, it’s fact,” said Pietrandrea.
“It is not,’ said Faughnan. “It’s your effort to get revenge against town officials. That’s what’s going on here.”
Pietrandrea responded that he’s finding discrepancies that need to be addressed and are being addressed with actions such as those discussed by Paulhus earlier in the meeting. He then asked if anyone “cares,” for example, that he’s located what appears to be an issue regarding a payment to the superintendent of schools of more than $3,000 for five unpaid vacation days, granted by former BOE chair Philip Dahlmeyer with a sign-off. Pietrandrea contends the superintendent’s contract does not state payment for unused vacation days and that a BOE meeting is required to make such a decision.
“Of course we care,” answered Faughnan.
“But I found it,” said Pietrandrea.
“It’s got to be investigated,” Faughnan said. “We’re not going to take an allegation without looking into it. I suspect it’s going to be a topic at this [Aug. 17] Board of Education meeting.”
As previously reported, Pietrandrea told The Sound he started requesting information related to the schools, including a school surveillance video, to determine what happened during an April motorcycle accident on North Branford Intermediate School (NBIS) grounds involving his son, Silvestro Pietrandrea, 19. Pietrandrea said his son was home from college on spring break and riding in the school parking lot after 5 p.m. when the incident occurred. Pietrandrea further alleges that Schoonmaker gave chase, after which his son crashed his bike, suffering a head injury and duress that kept his son from completing his spring semester.
The Sound spoke with Schoonmaker about the what Pietrandrea claims the video shows. Schoonmaker said it’s been investigated through the Police Department up to the state’s attorney level and has not been determined to be of issue.
“All of this has been investigated,” said Schoonmaker. “We’re done; we’re moving on.”
The Sound also spoke to Schoonmaker regarding issues raised about the scoreboard, which was installed at the town’s newly renovated Memorial Field. Schoonmaker agreed that a “call before you dig” permit should have been requested in advance and was not.
“That was missed by Central Office,” said Schoonmaker, adding the district went to a state-licensed contractor to get the scoreboard installed in time to be used for the remainder of the school softball season.
“The field was done and ready, and we were trying to get games in and trying to get the scoreboard up and running before the end of the season,” said Schoonmaker. “We wanted it done by the end of the year. We’ve worked with [Hinding]. They have a great reputation; they are state approved and licensed.”
Schoonmaker said he has “no regrets” about getting the scoreboard purchased and installed.
“We were trying to do a good thing in late April. They wanted to play on that field, they wanted a scoreboard. I have no regrets purchasing that scoreboard for the town. They got a great product,” said Schoonmaker. “The oversight on the pulling of the permit was from Central Office, but there was no ill intent there.”
During the BOE’s evening meeting on Aug. 17, Pietrandra used a few seconds of his second opportunity to speak for a two-minute citizen’s statement to say he was handing off a copy of the video to a reporter with NBC Connecticut.
After the meeting ended, Pietrandrea told The Sound, “It’s not over.”
BOE Addresses Past-Chair’s Approval of Unpaid Days
At the Aug. 17 BOE meeting, interim chair Colby O’Rourke read a statement from the board’s attorney supporting the superintendent’s right to receive unpaid vacation days and Dahlmeyer’s action to sign-off on the check without first meeting with the BOE.
In part, the statement reads that “when it became apparent the superintendent would be unable to use five of his 25 vacation days by the end of June, he and Chairman Dahlmeyer agreed” that rather than accrue the days to a later date and at a higher amount that “it would prudent to compensate him now...There is no question the superintendent is entitled to those days. The only question facing Chairman Dahlmeyer was whether it was consistent with a good faith interpretation of the contract, and the authorization given to him by the board, to modify the obligation to pay for the days by paying now instead of later.”
BOE member Sarah Querfeld called for a review of what she said appears to be conflicting policies governing the board and the actions of its chair, to generate more transparent rules.
“You have one by-law [with] the chair being able to do basically any [business] he wants because [of a] section [on] signing instruments...per state requirements and the will of the board,” said Querfeld. “And I’m hanging my hat on [the section] under Limits of Authority; it says clearly...apart from its function as unit, board members have no individual authority. Individually a board member may not commit the district to any policy, act, or expenditure. So, it seems as if you could argue either way, and I think we need clarification.”
O’Rourke closed the meeting with her thoughts, including a call to work with continued respect for one another and with the focus always being on the town’s school children.
“This has never been a Republican or a Democratic board,” said O’Rourke, in part. “Once we are seated here, we’ve always been seven individuals with seven different points of view. Certainly, some of us align our opinions with others more frequently, but in the end... it should always be about what’s best for North Branford’s children.”