By Elio Gugliotti, Editor
PROSPECT Voters will determine the fate of more than the municipal budget at a town meeting next week.
The Town Council on April 28 set a town meeting for May 13 at 7 p.m. at the Prospect firehouse, 26 New Haven Road. The meeting will be in the apparatus bay of the firehouse so people can stay socially distant. People must wear face masks at the meeting.
The council typically has to hold a town meeting on the budget by May 10 each year. Officials are allowed to hold it later this year under an executive order issued by Gov. Ned Lamont in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PROSPECT Eugene “Gene” McCarthy left his mark on Prospect in more ways than one.
McCarthy, the town’s former longtime assistant director of public works, died April 16. He was 83 years old.
The late former Mayor George Sabo Jr. hired McCarthy in March 1977, before even Mayor Robert Chatfield’s tenure in office started.
“From that day forward, Gene molded the public works department to what it is today and taught me an awful lot about construction,” said Chatfield, who was first elected in November 1977.
McCarthy retired in 2017.
The Town Charter states the mayor is the director of public works, but it is the assistant that runs the department. Chatfield said McCarthy, who referred to him as “kid,” brought a wealth of knowledge and experience in construction to the public works department.
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PROSPECT The state Freedom of Information Commission concluded the Town Council violated the FOI Act regarding an agenda and minutes for meetings last year.
The commission ruled the agenda for the council’s Feb. 4, 2020, meeting failed to fairly apprise the public of the action to be taken in executive session, minutes for the Jan. 17, 2020, weren’t filed, and the minutes for meetings on Jan. 21, 2020, and Feb. 4, 2020, didn’t record votes taken to enter and come out of executive sessions and who attended the executive sessions.
Resident Kathryn Zandri filed a complaint on March 2, 2020, about the meetings, and a hearing was held last December. The commission released its decision in a letter late last month.
PROSPECT Paul Murray’s time on the Town Council is coming to an end.
Murray, a 62-year-old Democrat, is resigning from the council effective Feb. 1. The council accepted his resignation, with regret, Jan. 5.
Murray, who is retired, is the former owner Andrews & Murray Insurance Group. He also worked as the associate director of admissions at Quinnipiac University. He recently bought a home in Florida with his fiancee.
Murray said he’s been spending more time in the Sunshine State, though it’s not his primary residence. Murray has been able to attend council meetings online, since the council switched to virtual meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, he said, he doesn’t feel he can represent the town the right way if he’s going to be away for extended periods of time.