The meeting was streamed live on Facebook by the mayor’s office.
Click the image above to watch the video.
At an Aldermen subcommittee meeting earlier this month, Derby Public Works Director Anthony DeFala said the vandalism in downtown Derby is the worst he’s seen — and he spent 20 years as a Derby police officer.
About $6,000 in damage was inflicted upon benches and other items on the Derby Green between Elizabeth and Minerva streets, DeFala said, according to meeting minutes.
Among the victims — the Derby Green Civil War monument, which was already in the process of major renovation.
The press box overlooking the football field within the Leo F. Ryan Athletic Complex was also burglarized and damaged, according to Second Ward Alderman Joseph DiMartino.
At the full Derby Aldermen meeting last week, Third Ward Alderman Anthony Staffieri offered to install cameras on the building he owns next to the Derby Green to keep an eye out.
The Aldermen also talked about arranging a city forum with police on the issue.
FILE PHOTO
Graffiti at a vacant multi-family house owned by the Derby Housing Authority on Anson Street.
At the same meeting, the Aldermen, in an attempt to give kids something to do, took steps toward putting a new basketball hoop at the Irving School.
Supervision will be an issue there, though. Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway noted there are already fights on the existing court outside the school, along with littering.
But he said the district could use a grant to form a sort of mentorship program between older and younger students as a way to better supervise what happens on the court after hours.
There have been ideas this year to put basketball courts on Hawkins Street or on a little-used parking lot on Caroline Street.
However, members of the Board of Aldermen have been unwilling to spend the money that may be needed to use those locations.
“We haven’t given up on the other ideas, but we wanted to do something immediate,” Second Ward Alderman Ron Sill said.
Poop
At the board’s request, Derby Corporation Counsel Fran Teodosio researched the toilet habits of Canada geese.
The animal and its droppings are plentiful in Derby, especially along the city’s river walk along the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers.
A major problem — people who feed the geese.
It’s not illegal to feed geese in Connecticut, even though it’s really bad for them, Teodosio said.
Relying on humans for food increases the chance of disease for the animals. They don’t normally munch together, but they’ll feed in groups if a human is chucking snacks their way.
That causes many geese to stand close together leading to great green globs of grimy greasy goosey stuff.
The Aldermen opted to install signs on the walkway advising folks not to feed the geese.
The Aldermen also voted to put two properties on the city’s blight list, where fines of $100 per day are accumulated unless the owners address the eyesores.
The properties were 46 – 48 Fifth St. and 49 Seymour Ave.
