Earth,Wind and Fire A Huge Success.

Congratulations to the new Charles Ives Authority for the strong start to the 2007 summer concert series. Earth, Wind and Fire performed for approximately 4,000 fans. The summer concert series is a fun event here in the City of Danbury and I hope that each of you gets a chance to go to show as this is the premier concert venue in Western Connecticut. Next show: K.C and the Sunshine Band on July 11th.

Some days things just go right...

Today was a great day, a historic day in our city as we dedicated a monument to the African-American Soldiers and Sailors who served in the Civil War. We had a huge crowd to watch the Green Beret Demonstration Jump Team sky dive into Osbourne Street Field (Those guys and gals are good!). We then marched to Wooster Cemetery were the monument was dedicated. It was special and it was meaningful on this Memorial Day weekend.

To those who dedicated their lives to the defense of our country, thank you. We are a stronger nation because of you and because you cared.

Special thanks to Bob Young of the Cemetery Association, Pastor Ivan Pitts of New Hope Baptist Church. Pastor Meredith Payton, and host of people that made this event happen.

Danbury is blessed to have people who care, and people who want to make a difference. Today we showed what a great community we really are...

All the Best,
MayorMark

PS. If you want to see the Jump Team, they will perform again at the end of the Memorial Day Parade on Monday. At approximately 11:00 AM they will land at Westerners Field.

Sprayscape Parks are open!

With the warm weather here, we have opened our Sprayscape Parks so parents can bring their children down to Roger's Park and Highland Avenue and cool off.

Today I cut the ribbon on our second Sprayscape Park at Highland Ave. This park replaces the pool that was there for many years.

It is amazing to see our children get enjoyment out of running through cold water. This has to be one of the best investments we have ever made as a community.

To Danbury's children, enjoy the summer. In just a few short weeks you will be out of school.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Honoring the brave soldiers of the past..

This weekend there will be a number of ceremonies in and around Danbury honoring the contribution of our veterans. On Saturday at 10:00 AM we are dedicating a new monument to the African-American soldiers and sailors of the Greater Danbury area who served in the Civil War. We will have speeches, a demonstration jump by the Green Beret parachute team and light refreshments.

This is the first in a series of monuments that will commemorate the Civil War in the cemetery. The monument has the names of the soldiers listed on it as well as the symbol of the Grand Army of the Republic. I felt it was important to honor these brave souls because they risked it all for our country. Remember, if an African American soldier of the Union was caught by the Confederate forces, the penalty was death...

So join us on Saturday morning, and say thank you.

All the Best,
MayorMark

Hope Springs Eternal..

This morning I attended Westconn's graduation and it marks the beginning of what I call the "graduation season".

Graduation Season is the time of year when our institutions of higher learning in Danbury send graduates out into the world to begin their next phase of their lives.

It is a magical time as I attend graduations at Westconn, Danbury High School, Immaculate High School, Abbott Tech, ACE, Faith Academy, and a variety of elementary and middle school ceremonies.

I take this time to share a little wisdom and knowledge to the graduates. But most of all, I like to listen to the student speakers at the events. Optimism and courage is displayed by the speakers. It makes you feel good about our future and what's possible. The students do a remarkable job at their respective ceremonies.

After all, Hope Springs Eternal...

All the Best,
MayorMark

Those Pesky Recycling Bins.

Recycling bins have been appearing throught out the City in parking lots, yards, and even some sidewalks. It turns out that local businesses and local charities are generating revenue from the goods that are collected by the large rcycle bins. The problem is that they are a violation of our local zoning regulations. At last count we have spotted over 40 of these bins.

While we are sympathetic to local charities needing to generate money, we cannot do it at the expense of our local regulations and at the expense of the quality of life of our residents. These recycle bins attract illegal dumping and can be a headache to maintain. They are unsightly and take needed parking and sidewalk space.

I have written to each of the landlords and have asked each of the property owners to remove the bins.

The City of Danbury has made fighting blight and litter a priority. Over the last several months we have implemented regulations regarding honor boxes and littering. We cannot take a step backward by allowing individual parking lots to become recycling transfer stations.

to be continued....

All the Best,
MayorMark

Immigration Reform Bill.

Some of you have e-mailed and called me and asked my opinion about the new reform bill just announced by the United States Senate. My answer to each of you is that it is just to soon to tell. In legislation like this, the devil is always in the details.

If Congress is serious about enforcement and plans on enforcing the provisions within the new bill then it might make sense to take a look at it. However, my concern is that if we do an amnesty bill without demonstrating that we can secure our borders and have strong interior enforcement along with employer enforcement, we are just setting ourselves up for more illegal entries into the United States.

The problem with past immigration reform attempts is that we never executed the enforcement side of those reforms.

Illegal Immigration is complex, the making of laws is even more complex, if our federal government is serious, then bravo! But only time will tell...

Somehow, with this group (Republicans and Democrats alike)I am not too confident that anything will actually get passed and signed into law.

Rockin and Rollin with a terrible storm..

Yesterday we were hit with a terrible storm that knocked over trees and cut power to thousands of residents. Cl&P is busy at work repairing the power lines and our local crews are working hard at cleaning up.

Tomorrow all schools in Danbury will be open and Danbury High School's wonderful production of "Grease" is on. Tonight I starred as one of the members of the band at the sock hop. The show is awesome and I suggest you check it out. Congratulations to those wonderful kids at D.H.S. and remember, Grease is the word...

Prayer Breakfast for 600..

Congratulations to Mission Danbury on hosting an outstanding Prayer Breakfast this morning. The speaker was absolutely outstanding. The turnout was something to be proud of. I was proud to attend and thrilled at the reception and the turnout. Next year this is a don't miss event!!

All the Best,
MayorMark

Capital Projects Update:

The spring construction season is underway and here is a brief update of our major capital improvement projects in the city.

Police Station:
Out to bid, bid opening is early June. Once the bids have been reviewed we will award bid and contracts should be signed by early July. Looking for a mid-July ground breaking.

Steve Kaplanis Field:
The field is substantially complete and the landscaping is nearing completion. The grandstands and the storage facility have just been put out to bid. Look for a September dedication ceremony.

Engine 26- Westside Fire Station:
The building is up and landscaping around the building is underway. We are hiring ten new firefighters for the new facility and the building should be ready around mid-August.

Bardo Parking Garage:
The Downtown Parking is under construction. We are looking for delivery of the building next week, and we should have a grand opening in October.

Highland Avenue Sprayscape:
The sprayscape parks are very popular and Highland Avenue joins Rogers Park as another area for a sprayscape. We will have a ribbon cutting latter this month.

Rogers Park Middle School:
Additional classrooms have been added and the media center and auditorium have been renovated. We will have a ribbon cutting latter this month.

These are just a small sampling of the activity that is going on in Danbury regarding public improvements. As always, we will be paving, doing drainage work, and other maintenance issues as the season progresses.

All the Best,
MayorMark

Pray for Jason..

Jason Franks is a good guy. He was a good kid at Danbury High School when I was his class advisor. Right now the Coast Guard is doing an extensive search as he and the crew were lost at sea early Monday morning in a fierce storm off the coast of North Carolina. Jason had been hired to bring a 54' sailing vessel from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Rhode Island.

Jason has always been a free spirit. He has lived an exciting life and if there is one person who could survive something like this it would Jason. He is an accomplished Captain and I will pray for his save return. I hope you will too.

Always do your homework.

Last night I was on a cable access show here in Danbury. Most of the 1/2 hour was taken up by a discussion of illegal immigration, the final few minutes were dedicated to development in Danbury.

It was interesting to see that some of the callers were local Democratic activists who are passionate about their beliefs (including one Democratic Councilwoman who forgot to turn down her T.V.), but don't always have all of the information at their fingertips.

I learned long ago as a candidate and as a public servant to always do your homework. I never ask a question that I don't already know the answer to. I'm not bragging, it is just necessary for my own political survival to make sure I have a mastery of the issues.

This does not mean that I am always right, nobody is always right. But you can count on that I have done my homework...

Legislative Round Up.

The State Legislature is busy as a bee these days (at least those bees that don't have colony collapse disorder-never mind) with all kinds of ideas. As a former member of that body, now is the time when you really have to watch what happens in Hartford.

For all the talk of committee work and all of the talk of transparency, the reality is that the deals are being made now on key legislative issues without input from the public or many cases without the public even being aware that these issues are being decided.

Bills that passed out of committee are being altered and gutted as we speak. Bills that died in Committee are being drafted in the form of amendments to be run on the floor of the legislative bodies in the middle of the night.

Predictions? I have a few. For example, the law that would grant in-state tuition for illegal immigrants will be presented in the form of an amendment. It might pass..

The huge heart and hypertension change that is being advocated is not dead either.

Budget? Your guess is good as mine, but, with the latest numbers, we should have a budget in June..

To be continued..

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Crime in Danbury..

Yesterday the News-Times ran an expose on the increase of robberies in the City. Their report stated that robberies have increased form 5 to 25 in the first three months of 07'. That is true, we did have a spurt of robberies that really spanned from late 06' into early 07'. Fortunately, many of these crimes have been solved and many of the cases closed out. In one instance, we believe that one suspect was responsible for at least five of them!

So what does the article leave out? It does not tell you that we also had a decrease in the amount of assaults by almost 100%! Unfortunately, a decrease in crime in Danbury does not make a good story.

Regardless, we are currently beefing up patrols and enforcement activity. For example, in the last two Thursday evenings, we towed almost 6o vehicles for non-licensed driver and other safety violations. In the month of March alone, we issued over 700 tickets and traffic enforcement actions. Compare that with March of 06' and you will see that we did about 200 enforcement actions. Excellent work by the Danbury Police Department.

Finally, staffing is at an all-time high and we have just increased the minimum manpower for the first time in thirty years. Something that my loyal opposition failed to do when they ran City Hall and the Common Council for the last thirty years.

All good things for the Danbury P.D., but even better things for the residents of our City.

All the Best,
MayorMark

Calling a two stroke penalty on yourself...

Last night at our regularly scheduled Common Council meeting, our Parliamentarian Ric Gottshalk, ruled on the ability of the Presiding Officer (me) to cast a vote when that vote will influence the outcome of a motion. At issue was a motion to recommit (again) the Parade Ordinance that the Council has been working on for several months.

Let me first say that this is a good ordinance. It mimics similar ordinances that are in place in 99% of the communities that surround us. The Common Council has worked on it,even the ACLU has reviewed it for its constitutionality. I support its passage.

Having said that, we made a mistake last night and we are going to correct it at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting in June. While Robert's Rules are clear that the Presiding Officer can make or break tie votes, the City Charter says that the Mayor can only vote to break a tie. The ruling was wrong and on behalf of Mr. Gottshalk and myself, we apologize to our Council for the inconvenience of having to vote again.

The integrity of our process is something I hold dear. That is why I asked our legal team to review last nights votes to check that they were in compliance with our rules. Turns out that they were not. We caught it, and we are going to fix it. For you golfers, consider it like calling a penalty on yourself even though no-one is watching. The only difference is that you get a mulligan in parliamentary procedure..