All Things Plainfield
So here’s the deal. I get emailed occasionally with questions, comments and concerns about this site. The Plainfield post had the most problems.
I un-published the old All Things Plainfield post (all of the text is preserved), and restarted a fresh version as a page, not a post.
The active admins are:
Kevin, Dan, Paul, and Rich
If you want to comment, help, manage or contribute here, send a message to admin@freenorwich.com
I would have taken it as these services were not included in the 10-11 budget.
1Ray,
These services have ALWAYS been included in the town budget for the highway department function since before I moved here in 86. They were never discussed at any BOS meeting to stop them, and have never been discussed at a budget hearing to no longer provide them.
2Kevin,
I’m aware of what was previously done as I have several friends who live in Plainfield. As I said, I understood the announcement in the Turnpike Buyer as the current budget did not include the service. I suspect you might find it easier to get to the bottom of the issue by calling your Selectman or asking at a BOS meeting. Maybe you missed the cutback during the budget process.
3Ray,
The current budget included the service. Period.
Me, call Paul Sweet? When hell freezes over twice. I don’t think that I’ll ever call that dirt bag for anything…….asking the other selectmen is useless. They only know what they are told by Paul.
I didn’t “miss” anything during the budget process Ray. I keep tabs on what goes on still and this is a fast one being pulled at the taxpayers expense (loss).
4If this is the case, have you brought the matter to the Board of Selectman for their answer to this question, or are you just collecting cannon fodder for the next run for office?
5No cannon fodder Ray. I’ll be blunt.
I have no plans on running again.
6This and other questions will be asked at a selectmens meeting. Like why are the town highway staff working on only “select” trimming projects? It looks like they are taking care of their own, if you get my drift.
7Sounds like you’re on the right track Kevin. Holding your elected officials responsible for properly and efficiently running your town is the responsibility of every citizen. Good Job! I you have some spare time we could use some help doing the same in Canterbury!
8Ray, I hate to tell you this, but we cannot hold our local “elected officials” accountable, not when personal power has overcome any particle of service to people.
9Paul Sweet long ago passed any ideas of actually serving the community or helping the town to be better. All he wants is personal power and recognition. He has visions of grandeur of going down in history as a great town leader.
He is, simply put and for all to see, an ass. He has no morals and no ability to be anything but a two-bit operator, in short, a hoodlum.
I have watched this clown in and out of office for the past 20 years and the frightening thing is, he has gotten worse because duped FOLLOWERS have come along to enhance his desire to be respected and admired.
This dysfunctional town of Plainfield needs a exorcist actually. I cannot even go to that town hall without my stomach turning, basically because I see it run as a Paul Sweet town and not as anything else. If you agree with Paul, you’re in. If you think he’s mistaken, you will never see a plow truck on your road again. He has ways of getting back at people who do not submit to him. He is a dictator, liar, cheat and boob, all rolled into one. Some scary stuff. And don’t think I won’t tell this to his face.
People sleep in this town without realizing what’s going on with their money, with their hard-to-pay taxes being juggled around in the middle of the night.
Plainfield is sick and it is because of him. I seriously believe he has ruined this town and will go down in history as the biggest ass to get elected, the KING of favor-exchange politics.
The sad thing is, only a handful of people see the truth.
Here we are in August and the town politics continue. Not for the better. Each month the board of selectmen has two meetings scheduled (the second and fourth Monday at 7 pm).
Can you guess how many times that the selectmen have cancelled their meetings so far this year alone?
Try out of the scheduled fifteen so far, they have cancelled four. The best part is that they have scheduled “special” selectmen’s meetings days before the “regular” one, and usually at the last minute so the public has no chance of attending.
There will need to be another “cancelled” meeting tomorrow August 23rd, because there was no notice on the town website, thus causing five out of sixteen cancellations. Not bad there Paul. Open and transparent government.
All that in less than one calendar year……. too bad they deleted the previous years worth of board meetings on the town website. One would have to wonder why…….no, not really.
10Alright, I called the town clerks office today to tell them( Kathleen F.) that if they (selectmen) hold those meetings (BOS and WPCA) the town will be in violation of FOI rules about posting agendas in a timely fashion on the website.
Lets see if the town does the right thing and cancel the meetings.
11June,
I don’t know Paul Sweet very well at all. Only met him once, and in that informal meeting found him to be what I’d consider a nice enough guy especially considering he doesn’t know me from Adam. I don’t know him as you appear to but if that’s the case I wish you luck in finding a good replacement to run against him.
I also agree it’s difficult if not impossible to hold elected officials to the law outside of re-election and/or filing charges in civil court.
Kevin,
If the BOS and WPCA meeting dates were sent to the State and are on file in the Town Clerks office (I know they’re posted on the bulletin board across from the Selectman’s office), the FOIC will likely find that sufficient notice existed to hold the meeting IAW subsection B of the FOIA included below. They would likely get a warning for not posting the agenda’s 24 hrs prior to the meeting. Did the Town Clerk mention if the agenda(s) had been filed with her office but simply not posted on the web site?
(b) Each such public agency of the state shall file not later than January thirty-first of each year in the office of the Secretary of the State the schedule of the regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year and shall post such schedule on such public agency’s Internet web site, if available, except that such requirements shall not apply to the General Assembly, either house thereof or to any committee thereof. Any other provision of the Freedom of Information Act notwithstanding, the General Assembly at the commencement of each regular session in the odd-numbered years, shall adopt, as part of its joint rules, rules to provide notice to the public of its regular, special, emergency or interim committee meetings. The chairperson or secretary of any such public agency of any political subdivision of the state shall file, not later than January thirty-first of each year, with the clerk of such subdivision the schedule of regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year, and no such meeting of any such public agency shall be held sooner than thirty days after such schedule has been filed. The chief executive officer of any multitown district or agency shall file, not later than January thirty-first of each year, with the clerk of each municipal member of such district or agency, the schedule of regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year, and no such meeting of any such public agency shall be held sooner than thirty days after such schedule has been filed.
(c) The agenda of the regular meetings of every public agency, except for the General Assembly, shall be available to the public and shall be filed, not less than twenty-four hours before the meetings to which they refer, (1) in such agency’s regular office or place of business, and (2) in the office of the Secretary of the State for any such public agency of the state, in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state or in the office of the clerk of each municipal member of any multitown district or agency. For any such public agency of the state, such agenda shall be posted on the public agency’s and the Secretary of the State’s web sites. Upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of a public agency present and voting, any subsequent business not included in such filed agendas may be considered and acted upon at such meetings.
(d) Notice of each special meeting of every public agency, except for the General Assembly, either house thereof or any committee thereof, shall be posted not less than twenty-four hours before the meeting to which such notice refers on the public agency’s Internet web site, if available, and given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of such meeting by filing a notice of the time and place thereof in the office of the Secretary of the State for any such public agency of the state, in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state and in the office of the clerk of each municipal member for any multitown district or agency. The secretary or clerk shall cause any notice received under this section to be posted in his office. Such notice shall be given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of the special meeting; provided, in case of emergency, except for the General Assembly, either house thereof or any committee thereof, any such special meeting may be held without complying with the foregoing requirement for the filing of notice but a copy of the minutes of every such emergency special meeting adequately setting forth the nature of the emergency and the proceedings occurring at such meeting shall be filed with the Secretary of the State, the clerk of such political subdivision, or the clerk of each municipal member of such multitown district or agency, as the case may be, not later than seventy-two hours following the holding of such meeting. The notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meetings by such public agency. In addition, such written notice shall be delivered to the usual place of abode of each member of the public agency so that the same is received prior to such special meeting. The requirement of delivery of such written notice may be dispensed with as to any member who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with the clerk or secretary of the public agency a written waiver of delivery of such notice. Such waiver may be given by telegram. The requirement of delivery of such written notice may also be dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any agency from adopting more stringent notice requirements.
12Ray,
“(c) The agenda of the regular meetings of every public agency, except for the General Assembly, shall be available to the public and shall be filed, not less than twenty-four hours before the meetings to which they refer, ”
They did not post the agenda in the public forum on the town website in a timely manner (they posted it about 9 hours before the actual meeting).
If held, I will file with FOI.
13Posted, not where. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with you but the FOIC probably won’t if the Town Clerk received the agenda within the 24 hrs required.
I suspect they will assign it to the OMBUDSMAN who will discuss it with Mr. Sweet who will offer to do better in the future. Just my guess though.
14Not quite Ray. We’ve been down this road before with the OMBUDSMAN and the FOI commission. SEVERAL times. When an agenda is posted with the town clerk, the town must provide the agenda to the public in ANY format that a town would normally provide it (posting in the town hall, or on it’s town website). He’s already offered to do better multiple times.
15Well let us know how it goes. I’ve been down the road myself a few times and I suspect at worst he’ll get a warning. I just can’t continue to go to Hartford and miss a 1/2 a day of work if it really doesn’t effect a change in their behavior or unwillingness to follow the letter of the law. Our Selectman was called a liar by the Commission but that didn’t change his behavior one bit.
16(1) in such agency’s regular office or place of business
17Ray…..my calling him a liar would be mild to what he really is.
“For any such public agency of the state, such agenda shall be posted on the public agency’s and the Secretary of the State’s web sites. ”
the town of Plainfield has a website that displays agendas and minutes (no thanks to Paul Sweet) and does so at his whim. I can list over a dozen violations of the town website that don’t include this issue.
Its difficult to stop a liar when everyone believes the lies.
18I know what you’re saying but I also had a “visit” to the FOIC concerning just this topic. They were very reluctant to do anything while they found the Board guilty, and told them to do better they won’t fine an elected official so I just don’t see the gain in this for a town.
19John D
You asked if there was a motion made to accept the permit? If so It looks like it was a unanimous NO???
It was a NO by everyone in the room who had any say in it!
20Scott,
Any follow up from the selectmen on when they will discuss the town taking over the Little League fields? It seems as if they dropped that dicussion like it was a hot coal.
21Kevin,
Why should the town take over the fields? So individuals can blame the conditions of the fields and grounds on the town when people don’t volunteer to make the fields better? Should the town take on the responsibility for the sole reason of sucking up grant money? Do you think big brother (Government) will do a better job with the fields than Scott and the Little League? Don’t you think ownership by sweat equity is better way to go? That’s the way it went in my home town. Why do you think the town or the state should finance playing fields in Plainfield or for that matter anywhere? Why should tax money from around the state support a parking lot, or running track in your town? Why do you have to go to the government for something that you should be able to fund locally? Why do you think it’s the state taxpayers responsibility to pay for something that’s obviously a local issue? If I’m going to put my hard earned tax dollars into playing fields in the state, I’m going to put that money into Canterbury Fields not Plainfield.
22Ray, why ask questions if you want to apply for the same grant monies for Canterbury. Apply already.
Who ever said that volunteerism would go away? Have you ever applied for funding through corporations?
So Ray, should the town no longer mow the fields, or put up portable toilets or trash containers. Hey, Ray, did you know that the taxpayers voted to have brush pickup and it was budgeted for but the selectmen now decide to no longer offer the service. Our tax dollars at work, or then again , not at work.
Then again, our town no longer has open meetings…we have special meetings without public participation, and they hold the meetings at hours that the public can’t attend. Is that how our tax dollars are spent…by fools who don’t want our input. So in Plainfield we don’t mention tax dollars spent.
23I’M not applying for any grants Kevin. What does “applied for funding through corporations” mean. I would probably answer no as I don’t recall having applied for any funding for a corporation. Has the town….. possibly. Was I a part of it? Not knowingly.
Voluntarism normally goes down when the government takes over. People figure they’re paying enough in taxes why donate the labor too. Hopefully that won’t be the case in Plainfield, your fields look good and they don’t get that way on their own.
As for the way you view the conduct of meetings in Plainfield…. all I can say is keep the pressure on them. Can’t say it will change anything as I don’t really know Mr. Sweet.
Lots of shady stuff going on these days in Canterbury too. We’ll start bringing it to light soon too.
Good luck in your battles with the BOS. Have you talked to the FOIC about the meetings. You might get some traction if you can prove they’re constantly running special meetings to avoid the public. It’s tough though.
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