To Dance Beneath the Diamond Skies (Norwich Meetings 7-11 December 2009)

Today, as you know by now, is the sixty-eighth anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I note, in the interests of fairness, there have been NO confirmed reports of Tiger Woods having a dalliance with a woman other than his wife in that area at that time (but today is young). I'm not trying to be funny--actually, my larger point is we need to do a better job at distinguishing between what's real and important from what's ephemeral and superfluous. Otherwise sooner than we'd like, we'll be electing the GEICO gecko President, assuming the birthers will shut up about his heritage.

Here in The Rose of New England, they're sweeping up Broadway from yesterday's Winterfest parade while the rest of us have gone back to work. Norwich city departments are still meeting with the City Manager, I suspect, looking for budget dollars that can be reduced as a result of the state's promised (threatened?) lowering in aid to cities. If you thought it was a little dreary in your town already, wait until the Legislature convenes next Tuesday in special session. None of which should, or does, stop the men and women of Norwich from getting the business of the city accomplished.

At 8:30 this morning there's a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments at their offices in the Norwich Business (along-with-some-condominiums-and-rental-units-and-housing-for-the-elderly-but-don't-forget-the-baseball-stadium-even-though-there's-no-longer-a-team-playing-in-it) Park (the entrance sign, not surprisingly, is visible from space with the naked eye). I'd hope their annual report will be posted to their website as it's been, in the past, an excellent and informative, if not always pleasant, read.

Tonight at 7:30 the newly sworn-in City Council gets down to business in its first full business session, much of which will be devoted to repopulating a variety of boards and advisories that have City Council membership (with those now on the Council) and shifting the second Council meeting of the month to a new start time , also at 7:30. There's also, on the agenda, an oral presentation/report by the 751 North Main Street Advisory Committee on the progress they are working towards on their project. I'd hope we'll have a LOT more reports from the helping hands as part of Council meetings. There are times you can feel as a member of the volunteer panel like you've been forgotten by the City Council, so this is a promising start.)

Tuesday afternoon at five, in the Public Works office at 50 Clinton Avenue, it's a regular meeting of the Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee whose LAST monthly meeting was in July (!)-but wait there's more-and which has met exactly twice since March. I would assume there'd be a LOT more under "old business" than the agenda indicates; the Feast of the Assumption, for those scoring at home, is 15 August (that of the Immaculate Conception is tomorrow).

The Board of Education meets, starting at 5:30, in the library of the Kelly Middle School. If I may be persnickety for a moment, the author of attachment nine (presented as part of the legislative committee report) who writes eloquently about children and education when what he's (really) talking about are teachers and schools, draws a state pension in excess of one hundred and ten thousand dollars a year, leading me, who watches his sodium intake carefully, to wonder about many of the points made in the article. Perhaps you, too?

At 7:00 Tuesday evening in the basement conference room at 23 Union Street is a special meeting of the Commission on the City Plan that has been anticipated and dreaded in equal parts (perhaps simultaneously) for weeks on the purchase of the former Norwich State Hospital property. There was talk of a workshop on the 15th of December (next Tuesday) where public comment would be permitted, but the agenda for this meeting doesn't have any opportunity for public comment, so know before you go.

Wednesday, you can spend all day (or most of it) in meetings, if you wish (I won't which should please the heck out of a lot of people, though none of the ones I work with, or for), starting at oh- bright-early, a quarter of nine, with a meeting of the Rehabilitation Review Committee at 23 Union Street. Their November minutes give you a snapshot of the types of challenges older, small cities and towns across New England face when trying to maintain safe, available housing stock. We are fortunate to have dedicated volunteers to keep us on the path.

The Norwich Housing Authority meets at 4:30 in their offices at 10 Westwood Park. Don't look for their meeting minutes on the municipal website. I already did, and they're not there and have never been there. Maybe in addition to FOIA workshops, there can also be some remedial training on compliance with "Public Act 08-3".

The (Kelly Middle) School Building Committee may be meeting at 5:30 in the Norwich Public School Central Office at 5:30, though their November minutes speak about shifting the time and location to "Illiano’s...for a dinner meeting" so you're sort of on your own (bring a napkin, just in case, and try the carbonara. Es schmeckt lecker).

At seven, there's a meeting of the Public Safety Committee at the Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Company on Route 12. Their November meeting was cancelled--and in recent months they were in the news because of concerns expressed to them by residents about registered sex offenders residing in areas along the walking routes of school children. When you read the draft of their October meeting minutes, the topic is a much smaller part of a large and complex meeting than you might have thought by reading the news stories, demonstrating again why it's important to attend meetings in person and not rely on others to be your eyes and ears (or nose and throat, if you're a specialist).

And at seven thirty in Room 335 at City Hall is an informational meeting by the Recreation Department on the 'conversion of the former YMCA building to a Community Center (sic).' Recent State of Connecticut funding decisions have raised the degree of difficulty in paying for all the 'need to do' aspects of our city's budget. I am more than a little curious on how it's proposed to pay for renovations of a building we will not own, and doing it, seemingly, without cost to the taxpayers. If it can be done, I can tell you right now to whom I'll be addressing that request for pony rides for my birthday come April. Giddy up!

Thursday morning at nine in Old Lyme is a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the LEARN Regional Education Service Center. And rounding out the week is a seven o'clock evening meeting of the Democratic Town Committee, which you needn't be a Democrat to attend, though I don't think you can have any of the pudding or cheez doodles unless you are. Though, if you're like me, you don't need to eat any of them to keep awake, as "I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to."
-bill kenny