Apparently Van Norden was advising the Audit Commission that they were opening the City up to liability and accusing the auditors of acting like lawyers and using legal terms in the report. The Corporation Counsel probably figures it is odd for the auditors to make conclusions in their report based on Connecticut Statutes , following the law is apparently a novel ides for those sitting inside City Hall.
This report is just another example of the incompetence and lack of accountability that has been the hallmark of Segarra's Administration. The lack of transparency by Segarra and those around him always seems to backfire on him and they just don't get it. I obtained the report through an FOI request to Hartford's Chief Auditor. Once the report was completed it became a public document and subject to public view, whether the COO or Corporation Counsel get that or not.
The City has begun labeling any document they don't want released as a "draft". Unfortunately, according to FOI, once a "draft starts getting e-mailed and circulated it is no longer legally a draft but rather a public document that can eventually be edited as needed.
The report outlines a strong disregard for the environment, and specifically Keney Park, as it notes that several hundred large oak trees had been documented as being cut down and removed . Approximately 25 of those were required as the result of the October 2011 Halloween Storm.
Much of the tree removal appears to be illegal and in violation of Connecticut General; Statutes as neither the Hartford or the Windsor Tree Wardens gave permission for the work as required. Many of the trees cut were actually on the Windsor side of the Park, which straddles the town line . The report speaks for itself, but I have to ask, when is an outside agency going to begin looking at what is going on in this Administration
3 comments:
Tip of the iceberg
This all goes back to DPW administration. People in management not even sure where the bathroom is and they were in charge of this whole process of oversight. These people were way in over there heads from the get go in regards to golf course oversight they got bamboozled by MDM and the city never knew or if they did they didn't know what to do. All this under outgoing Director Kevin Burnham. And the city. Both losers on this problem because you will never get those trees back luckily you will never get Kevin Burnham back either.
That this happened should not have been a surprise. The previous golf course management company, American Golf, did a good job. Courses were in good shape, improvements were made. But American Golf must not have been greasing the palms of the former gang banger mayor Eddie Perez, who forced them out and cancelled their contract over the objections of others.
This is the company Perez wanted, so the city once again, has another gift that keeps on giving (or not) from that felon. Maybe that is who the corporation counsel should sue.
The tip of the iceberg is right. When the storm hit CT there was a dire need for treesnto be taken down. Unfortunately, because the companies doing this work were getting paid by the load, healthy trees were taken down from all the parks. There were no checks and balances. These contractors took down healthy trees in an attempt to increase the weight which would in turn increase their income/fees received. Currently these parks continue to have trees and shrubs cut. People seeking to acquire wood sometimes go into our City's parks and cut downed trees. In some cases they take an occasional healthy tree. This practice has happened at Elizabeth park, Goodwin, Keney, and Batterson. In fact, at Batterson property owners whose property line meets abuts up against the City of Hartford's continue to cut trees and shrubs eroding the water's edge and allowing the lawn chemicals that are used to run off into the lake. A simple cease and decist letter to those home owners and checks and balances of our parks would prevent or help curtail this practice.
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