Friday, May 24

Charlie being Charlie

 
If you’re wondering why the posts seem to be trickling out it’s because after the town meeting and election it slows down for the summer. I wanted to wait for the finance committee to meet before I posted because the BoS, and more specifically Charlie Flynn, had a lot to say about the fact that the town voted to fund an independent audit of the water company. You will see in the YouTube video that the BoS can’t hide it’s distain for the people who had the audacity to ask for a second opinion. The FC did not meet last night so I’ll just report on some of my impressions of the BoS meeting.
Words have meaning so I have to wonder if I heard Mary correctly. It is on video and I listened to it several times so it is what she said. I’m so glad that I recorded the BoS meeting. Mary said that the reason that the auditor put off our audit for so long is because he is not coming here by himself; thanks to information that has been put out to the public. According to Mary he said he is now coming here with “EXPERIENCED STAFF MEMBERS”. I have to wonder; does this mean that if the information she is talking about wasn’t put out to the public that we would not be getting experienced auditors to do our books? And they don’t understand why the town would want a second opinion.
 It seems that Charlie Flynn doesn’t get the fact that the town doesn’t want his input in regard to the water company audit. Mary understood and said that the town “took it out of our hands”, meaning the BoS’s hands. Bruce stated that it is not the BoS’s problem anymore; it is the FC’s problem. But Charlie wants to micromanage the FC’s audit and he had a litany of demands. Sorry Charlie, the town has told you very clearly that they don’t trust the BoS to do the job. Mary and Bruce understood; but apparently you just don’t get it. I just hope Chairman Turner can keep you in your place. Although in the past it seems he has been reluctant to do so.
One of the most revealing things I heard at the meeting was Charlie venting about Laura’s work on the FC. I’ve posted the video on YouTube so everyone can judge for themselves.  But as for me I got the strong impression that Charlie is out to get Laura off of the finance committee and we all know what happens when Charlie wants someone removed. My suspicion is that he will do anything in his power to stop her from being reappointed. As you can see in the video he’s already started to lay the groundwork.
It’s obvious that Charlie wants to install a new chairman for the FC; someone more malleable, someone who thinks like Charlie, A puppet if you will. A person who gives the appearance of being independent but can be controlled. Since Bruce and Mary are going to be the Selectmen on the appointing committee. It’s unlikely they will go against Charlie’s wishes. As for the FC he can’t use Mike because Mike has to be reappointed as well. Their only hope is to convince Tom Gage to vote her off. It will be a truly sad day for Egremont if Charlie can prevent the reappointment of Laura Allen to the Finance Committee.

Monday, May 20

Yet another reality check


I had a lot of things to pass on from the first meeting of the new BoS but it will just have to wait. I know our hearts go out to the people of Moore Ok. It’s at times like this that I appreciate our emergency personnel. In the midst of chaos they have to make sense for people devastated by the forces of nature. I know that our volunteers are with the people of Oklahoma in spirit; and some may even go there in person. Please keep the people of Ok in your prayers while they recover from this devastating blow from Mother Nature. And above all, support any effort for our volunteers to render assistance to the people of Oklahoma. If someone knows how to set up a fund please do so and get it out to the people in need.
 


Thursday, May 16

EPD At its best


The election is over and now we have to get back to business. Since Egremont Neighbors is buzzing with questions about police action I have to go into this subject. I have now confirmed this rumor from several independent sources including one of the Egremont police officers. I now have to ask if anyone else has heard about this new revelation. It is my understanding that this occurred either in the last week of April or the first week of May. Why is it that the citizens are left in the dark about things that happen in the Egremont Police Department? Aren’t things going well with this new police dept? Perhaps Hans and Franz don’t really care anymore now that they have been demoted to common patrol officers. Before I give you the comment I do have to ask you, whether you love her or hate her:-?
 
DO YOU MISS ME YET?



This is the comment on the article Farewell to the chief,
"Interesting how things evolve. Rumor has it that two officers were just suspended for breaking into the evidence room. While Officer Pilone may want to keep it quiet, will the new Interim Chief make it public? These two were part of the insurrection. Why are they not fired? Is it kept under wraps because of the election? Charlie, where is your indignation now?"
read the other comment: http://eyeonegremont.blogspot.com/2013/04/fairwell-to-chief.html?showComment=1368554013807#c7191131618546303611http://eyeonegremont.blogspot.com/2013/04/fairwell-to-chief.html?showComment=1368554013807#c7191131618546303611. Anyone can request the daily logs and or the incident reports if they are interested. The dates, according to my information is the week of 04/28/13 through 05/04/13. If you are interested in finding the facts you can request the documents from the police dept.  

         

 

Wednesday, May 15

Thank you Egremont


First I want to thank everyone who voted yesterday. Regardless of who you supported, you came out and participated in the democratic process. I want to especially thank those of you who voted for me. You are the people who recognized that our town needs a change and tried to change it. It is truly humbling to find that there were so many who would have placed their trust in me and I thank you. Now we must go on with the town’s business with those who were chosen. The following were the results of Tuesdays election.

Selectman:  Turner 195           Zurrin         67

Water Commissioner 1: Palmucci 162        Allen 102

Water Commissioner 2: Agar 202              Zurrin 2

Moderator: Thomas Gage 134                   James Lamme 133

The rest were unopposed and won handily.

Monday, May 13

ELECTION DAY


 

 KEVIN ZURRIN

10 TOWNHOUSE HILL RD. 

WRITE IN CANDIDATE FOR SELECTMAN

1.    Take a write in candidate sticker and bring it with you when you vote. (Available @ Country Store or @ the polls)

2.    Remove the write in sticker from the backing.

3.    Place the sticker in the space marked selectman write in candidate.

4.    Don’t forget to check the box on the ballot for the write in candidate

 
 

Enjoy the fact that you participated in the democratic process.

 

Sunday, May 12

Law and Procedure

          The question has been asked by enough people that I need to address it as a regular post rather than through emails. This is the gist of the question.  I have a question for you, is it your intention to try to re-instate Ms Bucknell if you are voted in as a selectman?” This is my answer.
          Thank you for your interest in our town affairs. This system only works because people like you and I care enough to get involved.  As to your question; is it my intention to reinstate the chief? To answer yes I would; or no I would not reinstate the chief would be presumptuous on my part since I don’t know all the facts of the case. I can however answer as to my intention.
My intention is to give a fair hearing of the facts. If the facts show that Chief Bucknell deserves to be dismissed then I have no problem dismissing her. By the same token, I have no problem reinstating her if the facts show that she has done nothing worthy of dismissal. At this point the only people privy to these facts is the selectmen and town counsel. I’ve read as much as you have and can only get a partial picture. I know the chief has stated that she wants a public hearing and that is her right. We live in a society based on law and procedure.
          Now let’s talk about how this present Board of Selectmen deals with law and procedure. This group created a new procedure just to remove me from the finance committee because I went public with public information. In this ex post facto act the selectmen opened the town to several law suits; according to my attorney. These same people did absolutely nothing to remove a town employee who lost over $200,000.00 of our tax revenue. I’ve witnessed too much hubris and hypocrisy from these people; so forgive me if I don’t trust the word of the selectmen.
I decided to run against Mr. Turner because I feel that the people of Egremont need a selectman who is concerned for the town and its people. I do not get the feeling that Mr. Turner is concerned for either. The question we have to address on Tuesday is do we really want to reinstate this selectman.
KevinZurrin

Thursday, May 9

CLEAR CHOICE FOR SELECTMAN


The definition of insanity 
is when you do the same thing  over and over again 
and expect different results 
Now You Have A Clear Choice for selectman
VOTE TUESDAY MAY 14th
Write in Candidate
KEVIN ZURRIN
10 Town House Hill Road
You won't be left in The Dark
on Important Town Issues !
YOU CAN STOP THE INSANITY

Monday, May 6

IT’S TIME TO VOTE FOR EGREMONT


IT’S TIME TO VOTE FOR EGREMONT

          The OneEgremont meeting on Saturday went very well. They had representatives from the water company and the fire dept. The issues discussed were the water company report and the warrants for the two town meetings which will be held on Tuesday May 7, 2013 starting at 6:00 pm. at the Mt Everett School in Sheffield. It’s imperative that everyone be there to cast their vote. We have been going over the issues for several weeks now and it’s time to vote on them. We will be voting to spend over three and a half million dollars and every vote counts.

          Because there were several of the volunteer firefighters in the crowd we got a better understanding of the fire truck that the dept is asking us to consider. What I got out of their comments is that they would rather put off the purchase for a year than settle for a piece of equipment that does not meet their needs. I trust that they have looked at all the options and built a piece of equipment that will serve the town for another twenty plus years. We have to decide if we will vote to spend up to $400,000.00 on a new fire truck for the town. $100,000.00 will be spent out of free cash and $300,000.00 will be borrowed over 7 years.  If this truck lasts as long as the one we are replacing it will cost less than a nickel per person per day.

The water company is one of the most controversial issues we have to decide on. First the water commissioners will be asking the town to take over the debt service of over one million dollars on a water company that has been so mismanaged that it has already cost the town over a half million dollars in taxpayer subsidies. To add insult to injury we are forced to continue to employ a man who, according to the finance committee, has contributed to the loss of over $200,000.00 in tax revenue. We need to dispel the lie that this is how we help our neighbors. We already have to cover any cost the water company can’t raise through fees. This is a far cry from “not one thin dime” of taxpayer money. This article needs to be defeated, please vote no on this article.

          Reena Bucknell, Egremont’s only chief of police attended the meeting and made a brief statement. Still getting over a long bout with pneumonia it was difficult for her to make it out, but she did. I was glad to finally hear a public statement from her. She introduced herself as the current Egremont Chief of Police. She said in spite of what has been happening she wanted to continue to serve the town of Egremont. However, because of the ongoing investigation she was limited as to what she could discuss. She did invite people to call or email her with any questions they may have. She will answer those that she can.

          This brings us to the police dept issues. In addition to the budget of nearly 300 thousand we have the interim chief issue. The BoS is asking us to pay for a temporary chief for anywhere from three to six months. If the BoS wants to appear impartial then why can’t they allow an outside agency like the State Police to investigate this matter? The District Attorney and the Attorney General have already cleared Chief Bucknell; what are the BoS looking to do? We need to learn to just say NO to this BoS. We do this by voting this article down at the 6:00pm Special Town Meeting. Please be there with me.

          There are many other issues to be voted on, but you can read them on the warrant. In all there are 27 articles to decide on and there will be lively discussion on all of them. To cast your vote you need to show up at Mt. Everett High School at 6:00pm on Tuesday May 7th. I hope to see you there.

KevinZurrin