Derby Seniors To Derby Gov't: Make A Decision Already

The Main Street side of the Derby Senior Center, next to Twisted Vine Restaurant in Derby.

DERBY — When a reporter asked 80-year-old Virginia Rossi why she wanted to move out of Derby Senior Center on Main Street, she squinted her eyes ever so slightly and cocked her head. Her tone was incredulous.

​“Have you been in the Derby Parking Garage lately? Did you walk down from there? How old are you? We are perfect targets for the thieves and the robbers and the gangs around here, and they are around here,” she said. ​“How can you ask that?“

Yes, Rossi was frustrated during an interview on Tuesday, but so were more than a dozen members of the Derby Senior Center gathered in the building’s main room this week to vent to a reporter.

They said they’re angry at Derby’s government for not making a decision — despite at least a year’s worth of discussion — about whether the members of the Derby Senior Center will merge with a new senior center under construction in Ansonia.

The new Ansonia-Derby Senior Center would be within 65 Main St., the same building that houses the new Ansonia Police Department.

Several themes emerged during the 30-minute interview on Tuesday morning. 

The Derby Senior Center members said:

1. The current building is so inadequate it should have never been used as the Derby Senior Center. The rooms are small and narrow, and the building’s layout, originally a bank, presents a host of mobility issues to older residents whose footing isn’t as sure as it used to be.

2. The building is showing its age. A sign on a bathroom door warns people not to enter because of a ​“weak floor.” An elevator is rickety. Sometimes the staff gives the elevator door a kick so it’ll close properly. One level of the senior center is a workout room/library/storage area. It’s crowded. There’s not enough parking, no one knows how to use the new on-street parking meters — and the Derby Parking Garage next door is literally crumbling, they said.

3. Derby’s elected officials are not listening to them nor communicating with them. The seniors interviewed Tuesday insisted the move to Ansonia has widespread support among the members of the Derby Senior Center. They’ve done everything members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen have asked, including polling members and attending a public forum, but the elected officials simply won’t make a decision. The seniors said they don’t know who to blame, but asked that the senior center talks stop being painted as a political issue. Mayor Rich Dziekan supports the move to Ansonia, but seniors this week complained they haven’t seen him in awhile.

4. They feel stifled. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Derby government meets using Zoom, a video conferencing software. The seniors said they don’t use Zoom, so they’re in the dark about any discussions happening. On top of that, Derby’s legislative body keeps meeting in executive session, a type of meeting closed to the public, making it that much harder for seniors to get answers.

​“Overtaxed and underserved,” Derby Senior Center member Betty Lally said.

Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration in Derby and Mayor David Cassetti’s administration in Ansonia have been talking about moving the Derby seniors to Ansonia since at least February 2021. Various Derby administrations have been talking about moving the seniors from the Main Street location for at least a decade. There was talk under the Dziekan administration to move the center to Coon Hollow Road, but the city opted to sell the building to a private company.

The Derby seniors are worried the current fate of their move to Ansonia will be like every previous idea — long on talk, short on action.

Mayor Dziekan has repeatedly said he is in favor of closing the Derby Senior Center, and paying Ansonia to allow seniors to go there. Dziekan wants to sell the building on Main Street and get it back on the tax rolls. The initial deal between Derby and Ansonia called for Derby to pay $300,000 up front to Ansonia, and then split costs each year.

The fact Derby officials keep meeting in closed-door executive sessions — though allowed under state law — makes it difficult for the public to track the discussion.

On Tuesday Walt Mayhew, Dziekan’s chief of staff, shared a document of about 400 words updating the public on what’s been happening with the negotiations between the two neighboring cities. It was also shared with Derby’s seniors after The Valley Indy interview.

Mayhew’s memo generally describes a situation in which the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen hired outside counsel to negotiate with Ansonia’s lawyer since the two cities share a law firm. In January those negotiations hit an impasse over money — Ansonia was looking for more of it — so Dziekan told Mayhew to handle the negotiations, according to the memo (which is published in full at the bottom of this story).

Mayhew brought back a new deal for the Derby Aldermen/Alderwomen to look at it, but they rejected it. Mayhew’s memo said the Aldermen/Alderwomen instructed the city’s outside counsel to take over the negotiations again.

Mayhew’s complete memo is published at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, Derby seniors said if elected officials can’t reach a decision, the matter should be put to Derby voters to decide.

The seniors also called for an end to executive session meetings on the matter. Under state law, the Derby Aldermen/Alderwomen are allowed to meet in executive session to discuss contract negotiations, but the seniors said the board has had more than enough time to talk in private. The seniors need to be included in the discussions, they said.

The seniors think moving to Ansonia is a no-brainer. It’s a new facility, it’s custom made, there’s plenty of parking, and they like the idea of having police officers so close. They also think the move should save money over the long run, given the condition of the current facility and the fact there’s nowhere else to move within Derby’s borders.

The seniors — and the Dziekan administration — are worried Ansonia will rescind the offer to merge senior centers given how long the talks have been going on. In November 2021, Cassetti criticized Derby government for not agreeing to a deal. Statements that irked some elected officials in Derby.

But, in an email Tuesday, John Marini, Ansonia’s corporation counsel, said the Cassetti administration is still hopeful that a deal can be worked out.

In June 2021, Democrats on the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen said they wanted more information on costs connected to the possible merger, and requested a public forum be held in Derby to discuss the matter. The Democrats have previously complained about a lack of communication from the administration on the issue.

However, a Derby meeting was held in August 2021, with the majority of public speakers saying they supported the merger.

That Derby meeting happened after an Ansonia forum in June during which most speakers supported the merger, with the notable exception of the president of the Ansonia police officer union, who expressed concerns about mixing a police department with a general community use.

In an emailed response to a written question, Alderwoman Sarah Widomski, president of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen, said there is ​“bi-partisan concern” on the board about the details that have been presented about the merger. Widomski is a Democrat, Dziekan is a Republican.

As volunteer BOA/A members, we understand and regret the frustration felt by the seniors of Derby because we feel the same frustration about how this proposal has progressed and the lack of consistent communication,” Widomski said. ​“There is bi-partisan confidence in our outside counsel Attorney (Richard) Buturla, however, due to a number of factors, he has not been a part of every staff negotiation and that has led to further delays in the BOA/A getting the information it needs to make an informed decision.”

The Dziekan administration has said they’ve been open with the Aldermen & Alderwomen.

Widomski said the members of the BOA/A have the best interests of Derby in mind.

​“Working with all BOA/A members of both parties, we are committed to making sure that the interests of the City of Derby and its taxpayers are protected. We are committed to better opportunities for our seniors,” she wrote.

The memo on the Derby Senior Center (sent by the Derby mayor’s chief of staff) is published below:

START OF Senior Center Update
Going back to the fall of 2021, the Mayor proposed a regional approach regarding a center for Derby’s seniors and supported a regional senior center with Ansonia. Negotiations between the attorney that the Aldermen selected Richard Buturla of Berchem & Moses appeared to be deadlocked as of the update provided at the January meeting of the BoAA at which no action was taken by the Aldermen. 

After that meeting, the Mayor directed the Chief of Staff to contact Ansonia to see if a deal could be worked out. It was determined that the main sticking point was the number of dollars Ansonia would receive over the course of an agreement. Derby had offered to pay $300,000 using a few different payment terms. Ansonia was looking for approximately half of their 1.3 million expected projection costs or $650,000 over the life of the agreement. 

The Mayor instructed the Chief of Staff to negotiate with Ansonia with the focus being primarily on annual cost based on projections which was expected to be lower than Derby’s current annual costs for the operation of Derby’s Senior Center and to make sure that Derby had an ability to opt-out of the agreement. 

Negotiations commenced between the administrations and resulted in the following agreed-upon terms, which the parties referred to as an Agreement in Principle as follows: 

• The regional facility would be housed at 65 Main Street in Ansonia and occupy 8.500 sq. ft. • The annual operating budget had to be approved by both the BoAT in Derby and the Aldermen in Ansonia as each city’s respective financial boards. 

• Derby’s current Director would become the new center’s Director and release the city of Derby from it’s employment contract and the Deputy Director would become the center’s Deputy Director, while remaining employed by the city of Derby, but her salary would be equally paid for by both municipalities • The annual operating budget would be funded equally by Ansonia and Derby 

• Term of the agreement would be five years and auto-renew unless either city chose not to renew by a majority vote of their Aldermen. 

• The city of Derby would pay an annual usage fee as follows for year five-year term: 

* Years 1 – 5 — $60,00 annually 

* Years 6 – 10 — $40,000 annually 

* Years 11 – 15 — $25,000 annuals 

* Years 16 and beyond – No fee 

* The seniors would be guaranteed 60 on-site parking spaces designated for their use in the garaged firstly and in the adjoining lot if necessary 

* The executive committee would consist of the same number of representatives from both cities. The Aldermen rejected the proposal presented by the administration and directed Attorney Buturla to go back to Ansonia with the initial proposal regarding the overall cost of the agreement of $300,000.

Currently, the city has been billed $4,200 for legal services from Berchem & Moses regarding these negotiations.

END OF Senior Center Update

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