Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 26

2nd ED. B6 THE HAKTF08D COURANT: Wednesday, Mf 29, 1911 Thomaston Water Rates May Be Increased Again Financing By RITA Courant Correspondent Sewer Developer Wants To Change The letter, addressed to First Selectman George Johnston, announcing the proposed increase said the request "is largely due to the new well facilities required to meet the the Safe Drinking By JEFF KOTKIN Courant Staff Writer SOUTHINGTON Justas the town is preparing to vote on a $4.1 million f- sewer bond, the developer who will i pay for the project has begun trying to change the method by which he wants to finance it Town Attorney Richard M. Krezel said Tuesday that instead of riving the town $4.1 million up front and in cash It credit, a financial institution guar an- tees that it will honor th6 debts of its client up to a certain amount Klein said banks conduct extensive credit inquiries into the client before agreeing to a letter of credit and sometimes require a security for it Blank hopes to begin building a $30 million corporate office and training center off West Street by Sept 1. In return for paying for sewer installation, the town win forgive up to $4.1 million of property taxes. Blank will otherwise owe on the center for a period not to exceed seven years'.

The council approved the sewer project at its meeting Monday night and scheduled a referendum on it for Aug. 27. Krezel said that if the agreement is not signed by Aug. 24, however, the referendum will be canceled. Weichsel said the key.

in using a letter of credit is to make sure the financial institution granting it is solid. He said he would support it for Blank "as long as it's irrevocable and as long as it's going to be with U.S. Life." to pay for the sewer work, New York developer Mervin Blank might choose to arrange an irrevocable letter of credit The arrangement would give town officials a guarantee that a finan- cial institution will pay bills incurred during construction from a line of credit it has guaranteed Blank. Suit Against Board Withdrawn SOUTHINGTON A Meriden-Wal-' lingf ord Turnpike property owner who sued the Zoning Board of Appeals last month for not giving him a permit to open a package store on his land said Tuesday that he has withdrawn his lawsuit from New. Britain Superior Court.

Tobia Soriero, president of Belle said he and his wife, Rose, withdrew the lawsuit because they wanted to reconsider the store. He said he did not know if they would ever try to revive their application. The zoning board approved the application 3-2 at the board's May 26 meeting, but applications need at least four affirmative votes to pass. Zoning regulations require Soriero to obtain a special exception from the Zoning Residents May Get Cable with arranging the letter of credit In fact Weichsel said, it might simplify the agreement Blank wants to sign with the town. Under the agreement drawn up by Krezel, approved by the council and signed by Weichsel, Blank would have to obtain $4.1 million in cash and set up an account upon which the town, would draw as it moves along with the sewer installation.

The agreement calls for the town to pay Blank the interest it would have collected on the $4.1 million until all of it was expended on the sewer work. The letter of credit will allow the town to draw up to $4.1 million from the United States Life Insurance Blank's probable lender, as the bills arrive. The town will not have to reimburse Blank for any interest income; Ron Klein, assistant vice president at Southington Bank and Trust said the borrower gains an advantage from a letter of credit because money is only borrowed as it is needed. By agreeing to an irrevocable letter of Downtown By TIMOTHY HEIDER Courant Staff Writer NEW BRITAIN After eight years of living Without first-run movies and all-day sports programming while oth-er area households had them, downtown residents should soon be able to enjoy the benefits of cable television. United Cable Television Corp.

of Plain ville and city leaders nave agreed to a plan iat bypasses a required underground firing conduit system and instead calls for trenches to be dug for the installation of service to about 1,500 residents. Part of the plan will annul a city ordinance requiring all underground cables to be tunneled through the con- duit system and lift a prohibition on tne trenching in tne downtown area. The status of the 'city-owned con 3 Democrats By NEAL E.YATES Courant Staff Writer TORRINGTON It's been 12 years since the Democrats have had to worry about electing a city clerk, but the decision by popular incumbent Robert M. Phalen not to seek a seventh term will force the party tonight to choose from three possible nominees. The Democrats will meet tonight at 7:30 in the Yankee Pedlar Inn to endorse candidates for thejall municipal elections.

Incumbent Mayor Michael J. Conway has announced he will seek a second term, and no challenge to his candidacy is expected. Phalen, 57, had been the majority party's top vote-getter. In April, however, he was fined $5,000 and given a Zone Change Approved For Ambulance Service duits, rented by Southern New England Telephone Co. and the cable television company, fueled a long-standing fight that stymied earlier efforts to equip the area for cable viewing, according to mayoral aide Paul Vayer.

In a letter to Mayor Wpam J. McNamara, company general manager William C. Lucas pointed to "seemingly unresolvable differences" over the use of conduits as the driving force behind the company's proposal to bypass the conduits. i The plan is expected to be formally approved at the 19 Common Council meeting. McNamara is lobbying for passage of the resolution and has sent memos to various city departments urging' cooperation with the company.

By DORI EGAN Courant Correspondent Krezel said he doesn't know what Blank's proposed arrangement will contain, but said that if it involves a substantial change from the agree-' ment approved by the Town Council earlier this month, it will return to the council for reconsideration; Blank's lawyers and attorneys from his lending institution are now studying Kre-zel's proposal and are expected to propose some changes in it "I'm very curious to see exactly what they're going to come up with' Krezel said. Blank's Southington attorney, Stephen K. Elliott, was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but Town Manager John Weichsel said he saw no problem Board of Appeals to open the package store. The Sorieros sued the board June 12, charging that their plans conformed with town regulations and that the board acted arbitrarily in its denial. They noted that their property was not within 1,500 feet of any other package store and not within 400 feet of any church, school, charitable institution, hospital or library.

Consideration of the Soriero application was complicated by a concur- rent liquor store application submitted by Isidore Vuoto, who owns property 200 feet from the Sorieros' land. Both applications could not have been approved because of the zoning regulations. The board decided to hear the Soriero plea first, but turned down both proposals. ones are too rigid and defeat the purpose of the special zoning classification, which was created to allow residents to live and work on the same property. As regulations now stand, the Millers would not have enough land to obtain a permit Knott in recommending that the request be denied, said to allow the change would constitute spot zoning, which means that a zone change is granted to benefit one property owner regardless of the area's overall welfare.

The commission, in approving the application, maintained that the change would, in fact, benefit the entire town, which desperately needs a local ambulance service. 1 Residents in the area had opposed the plan at a recent meeting of the zoning commission. increase would be $90,000 for the 150 volunteer firefighters in town. Edward Bagley, Town Council chairman, said the town does not dictate to the fire departments what the firefighters should be paid, although the fire department requests town funding. Former Town Council Chairman Albert Carver suggested the revenue sharing funds be used to provide public water for the town.

Residents now receive water from private wells. The Town Council proposal for use of the revenue jsharing funds is $192,006 for refuse collection, $90,000 for refuse disposal and $54,000 for the three volunteer fire departments. Bagley said a decision on spending the funds will come at a meeting hug. 10 at 8 p.m. in Town Hall.

as First Selectman Henebry, and Mary Dwyer, running for a six-year term as a library director, succeeding Judith Miller. Other candidates endorsed include: Robert W. Narvesen, town treasurer and agent of the town deposit fund; Beverly M. Pinney, tax collector, Jerome H. deForest, Board of Finance; James Manzi and Barbara J.

Mitchell, Board of Education; Elmer Beeman, Board of Tax Review and Mildred deForest, library director. i CHESHIRE Despite opposition from some residents and an opinion from Town Attorney John Knott advis-, irig it not to do so, the Planning add Zoning Commission voted unanimously Monday to approve a zone change that will allow residential-zoned property at 3 Country Gub Road to be used for commercial purposes. The zone change was sought by John Georgette Miller, who want to buy the house at the site and operate their business, the Cheshire Ambulance Service, from there. The commission's approval, however, is only the first of two the Miller's must obtain before the service can be established at the site. The Millers 1 must now apply for a special permit to operate the business.

Commissioners, however, decided to study the regulations controlling, such uses after they- agreed that existing Seek Town Clerk THOMASTON Connecticut Water Co. customers in Thomaston could face a second rate increase this year this one as much as 72 percent because of a new well mat had to be dug last summer when the old one was contaminated, water company offi cials said. The company notified the town Tuesday of a July 22 request to the state Department of Public Utility Control that would affect all customer 'classes. If the DPUC approves the increase, it would lead to a jump from $33.35 to $57.50 for a customer using 18,000 gallons of water for a quarter year, the letter said. In addition, local yearly cost of public fire protection would be $77,332 compared with the $44,836 bill that became effective Jan.

25. In 1980, the annual rate for the use of fire hydrants was $33,000, Town Treasurer Robert Robinson said. The water company was granted a 35 percent increase late last year that became effective in January. The cable television company serves four neighboring towns, including" Bristol and Farmington, and reaches about 37,000 homes. Subscribers pay an installation fee and a monthly stipend, said Lucas.

Those amounts vary depending on where the subscribers live. 4 The downtown project will enable the company to keep its rates about the same, he added. About 20 percent of the residents now cannot be hooked up to the cable and the company has agreed to do new installation work "free of charge," Vayer said Tuesday. The project involves digging trenches 4 inches wide and 2 feet deep with all trenched areas restored to their Itrevious condition, according to the etter to McNamara. The company Republican Town Chairman Hodges V.R.

Waldron said he thinks the Democrats are particularly vulnerable in the city clerk's spot "since the perennial favorite is gone" -i "I think we have an excellent chance of taking that seat," he said. To date, the only Republican to announce his candidacy for city clerk is Richard Za-harek, a local real estate broker. Republicans will endorse their candidates Thursday. Democrats' Andrew Tomala and' John Gibbons, incumbents on the Board of Public Safety whose terms expire this fall, have indicated they will seek re-election. Two other Democrats, also are interested in the safety board sen by the Democrats while the Repu-licans endorsed again Marlene Perniciaro and a newcomer Frederick H.

Grohs. Three of the four candidates for the Board of Education will be selected by the voters to serve six-year terms. Six-year terms as fire commission ers will be filled by incumbents Demo- rate of substitutes for the 1981-82 school year from $25 to $30 per day without changing the $15,500 budget total Board members voted to hire Neil Culhane of Middlebury at $17,000 to fill a vacancy in the middle school for a teacher for the emotionally disturbed. position is budgeted for $12,200 and the Thomaston Education Association personnel committee will have to agree to waive the salary change. Yaffe said there would be an additional $3,000 available in the teacher's salary account with the remaining $2,000 expected from educa-, tion grants.

Edward Wilkenson, head of the special education department, was authorized to negotiate with Culhane and to set up a meeting with the education association, There still are two positions to be filled, before school starts Sept 1 Yaffe said, the position of elementary rchool music teacher because of reassignment, and a learning disability teacher as a result of a resignation. Water Act' Last summer, water company tests determined there was tetrachloral ethylene seeping into the well from a holding tank on Tech Systems Corp. property at 401 Watertowri Road, Bert Lenz, vice president in charge of finance, said Tuesday. A new well was dug in a few days with personnel working around the clodc while water was diverted from other wells in the town. Since the new well was dug in the same area as the contaminated one, both wells have to be run at the same time.

Running the old well keeps the contaminants from the new well, Lenz said, adding that daily tests are made by the water department The water company has never received the entire increases it has requested in the past but has been granted between 60 and 75 percent of the request, Lenz said. ss Television will hire and pay a company to do the work. Some traffic will be interrupted along Main Street during the wiring procedure, Lucas said, but problems, will be minor, Work is expected to start within a few days after the resolution is approved and company officials are an- ticipating a February completion date. vayer called the proliferation of cable television in the city "one of the most sipif icant developments in public information that is new and expanding." He hinted that use of the cable system for a municipal functions may be stepped up after the work is done. The company scrapped its live broadcast equipment two years ago because it was underused, i Torrington positlonsrMark Fitzgerald and Kenneth Thomas.

Fitzgerald, who has not sought municipal office before, is a member of the Democratic Town Committee. Thomas lost a primary bid two years ago to secure a safety board nomination. 7 City Treasurer Richard J. Friday, a six-term incumbent, has said he will seek another term, and no opposition is expected to his nomination tonight. Three of the four incumbent, city councilmen Robert Good, Joseph Sclafani and Michael A.

Zawadzkas seek re-election, and Robert Ingoldsby and Timothy Driscoll have expressed interest in the seat being vacated by Czapor. Ingoldsby is a member of the Industrial Development Commission and Driscoll is chairman of the Parking Authority. The Board of Education is a more complex race, because a 1980 charter revision reduced board terms from six to four years and expanded the board from nine to 10 members. Three school board members' terms are expiring: Democrats Erman Ca-vagnero and Dr. Alfred Finn, and Re- tmrjiM.au jviajr a.

ruugm. vavaguciv and Knight are not seeking re-election. L. ksn1 Iwiniul XI1CIC Will UC 1UUI OtllWl wu seats filled in November two for four-year terms and two for two-year terms. State law regarding minority representation requires two Democrats and two Republicans be elected to the board.

Each party will put up four candidates, with the two highest vote-eetters from each nartv beinc elected. So far, Finn has expressed a desire to retain his seat.1 Only Lloyd Petteway, chairman of the Human Re lations Commission, has indicated he will run for one of the' three other Democratic Town Chairman Mi chael A. Merati said Tuesday no other candidates have come forward. BULLETIN BOARD CALL 249-6492 FOR BULLETIN BOARD ADVERTISING RATES NEW BRITAIN 1 Savi gas. Free delivery for Triage, welfare and union prescriptions.

Central Pharmacy, 225-3541. Advt. Citizens Party Chairman Wants Fire Pay Increased one-year suspended sentence in U.S. -DistrictCourt on a charge of failing to file a federal income tax return for 1977. He since has announced he will not seek another term as city clerk.

The Democrats, however, have three contenders to succeed Phalen, and they are all considered strong candidates. They are: qrmer state Rep. Addo E. Bonetti; City Councilman Francis Czapor, and Lillian Raymond, former president of United Auto Workers Local 507 at the Torin Corp. Both Bonetti and Czapor have indicated they will enter a primary to secure the city clerk's nomination if not nominated at the party caucus.

Ray- mond has made no comment regarding a primary bid, pending tonight's vote. other term and Robert A. Marcelynas to fill a four-year vacancy. Incumbent Edward P. Long was selected for another four-year term as assessor by the Democrats, while the Republicans nominated again Robert W.

Henderson. Both are guaranteed election. Incumbent Board of Tax Review Two Parties in Thomaston Endorse Slates WOLCOTT Concerned Citizens Par-; Chairman Joseph Zdonczyk is advo-' eating that the town pay an increase $2 to as much as $10 for firefighters responding to a fire. However, Fire Chief William Mc-Kinley said late Monday that giving firefighters the extra pay would be in poor judgment "There would be no more volunteer fire department if the cost was Increased to $6 or $10 per fire," he said. At a public hearing Monday night on 'the proposed use of $336,006 in revenue sharing funda for fiscal 1982, Zdonczyk suggested the Town Council take a survey of taxpayers to see if they agree on increasing the amount 'due firefighters.

Zdonczyk said the increase should be from $6 to $10 for each fire response. The estimated cost to the town for this Flagg Endorsed members Democrat Francis P. Foley crat Theodore J. Paczkowski and Re-Jr. and Republican Barbara E.

Knox, publican James Wilson. The also were endorsed. For the Board of Democrats nominated for library di-Education, incumbent Marie Gal- rectors for six years incumbent Elaine braith and Marcel Riberdy were cho- Duffany and Mary Ann Torrence. Schools Staying Within Budget By MELANIE O'BRIEN Ccwrant Correspondent THOMASTON There were no surprises and no fights in either the Re- or Democratic caucuses uesday night, two-term Selectmen Edward Konitski, a Democrat slated to try for the second time to unseat Republican George W. Johnston as-first selectmen.

Johnston; bass served five terms as -the hesd of the town government Koikitski will run with Democrat Eugene McMahon, who is seeking the seat of second selectmen, and Republican Faui Kuharski, who has served one term as selectmen, will run with Johnston. Three of four candidates will be elected. Republican incumbent Town Clerk Edna Billings will be challenged by Democratic Joyce Riberdy, while Re- -publican Robert Robinson, the incumbent town treasurer, was endorsed by both parties. The Republican choice for tax collector is William Morrison, while the Democrats chose Thomas Duffanv to vie for the two-year term. Incumbent John D.

Quint, who is unaffiliated, was nominated for a six-year term on the Board of Finance by the Democrats. The Republican selected finance board Chairman Philip M. Fischer for an Dumais. The positions are open due. to announcements by Council Chairman Richard Piotrowski and Vice Chairman Robert Provost (hat they would not run for another term.

Nominated for six-year terms on the Board of Education were Gary Boukus and Irene Ferman. Selectman nominations were Josephine Forcella and Gus Lazzerini. THOMASTON The school department will end the fiscal year Aug. 14 within its budget, Business Manager Roman Czuchpa told the Board of Education Monday night The balance in the current budget will be $8,000 after the August expenses are met, but the money does not represent a surplus, Czuchpa said. The funds will be used to put some oil in the fuel tanks at each of the three schools.

A normal fill for the three buildings costs close to $18,000 and the tanks are usually filled during the summer, he said. The board hasn't solicited bids as yet for purchasing oil for the coming school year. ''jH'v. School Superintendent Marvin Yaffe said the school system has combined its needs, amounting to about 70,000 gallons, with the needs of the other town buildings amounting to about 17,000 gallons. The town of Litchfield, with requirements of about 150,000 gallons of number two oil, has agreed to join Thomaston in seeking bids to get a more favorable price, Yaffe said.

The board voted to raise tbe day KARTLAND There were no sur-' prise Tuesday night as 29 Republi-cans endorsed Frist Selectman Wil-, bam L. Flagg for a sixth term at the party's caucus. Flagg, who also holds a lieutenant's position with the Metropolitan District Police Patrol, will be running against an unknown Democratic challenger. The Democrats will meet today at 8 I p.m. in the West Hartland Town Hall Rt.20.

i The caucus endorsed a slate of 16 candidates for the Nov. 3 municipal elections. All but two of the candidates are incumbents. Running with Flagg will be Alfred Anderson, for a third term on the Board of Selectmen. PederT.Pedersen was endorsed for another four-year term as town clerk.

He has held the post since 1963. New names that will appear on the voting machine include: Louis C. Fitz- simons for a four-year term on the Board of Assessors, replacing Brendon Plainville Democrats Pick Slate PLAINVILLE The Democratic Town Committee nominated its slate Tuesday night for the November municipal elections. Nominated were incumbent Coun- cilmen Joseph Toner, Edgar Wynkoop and Councilwoman Joan St. Pierce.

Selected for two vacant council slots were newcomers Arnie Menchel and.