Opinion: A Crematorium is Not in the Best Interest of Bethel Residents

Report, Photography by Paula Antolini

Update: Jan. 1, 2015

See video interview of First Selectman Knickerbocker:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ90KhQAQB8&feature=youtu.be

Original post Dec. 31, 2015

OPINION

At Monday night’s Special Town Meeting Bethel’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) was stripped of its responsibility to be the stewards of the Clarke Business Park after a 30 year tenure. This was clearly another step in allowing a crematorium in the Clarke Business Park despite the objections of many Bethel residents, business owners and the EDC over the past 8 months and more.

On December 29, 2014 a Special Town Meeting was held in the Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center in Bethel at 7:00 p.m. to specifically decide whether or not the power of Bethel’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) would be extended for another 10 years. At the meeting First Selectman Knickerbocker clarified that the vote would be specifically on the extension of the power of the EDC for another 10 years, and NOT a vote on the rules of the park.

A vote was taken and the motion was defeated 28 (no) to 26 (yes). This outcome not only means that the EDC no longer has the power to make rules under which the Clarke Business Park operates, but that all of the present rules will expire on January 15, 2015, and there will be no rules, and there is no one to oversee the business park, according to First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker. He said that it will now fall back to the Planning and Zoning Commission, but not in the capacity that the EDC had been handling matters.

I am not convinced that many people at the meeting were voting specifically on the 10 year extension because there was so much anger from many park business owners about the park rules and how they were handled by the EDC that I believe the vote needlessly took all power away from the EDC by a number of the business owners present who voted no, and will now likely make matters worse for that park. This is because the majority of business owners also did not want the crematorium in the park either, and the EDC was trying to prevent that, in the best interest of the park.

Monday night there was an injustice done to the people of Bethel. Most Bethel voters never got a chance to know what was happening with this meeting, or even know about this meeting, much less vote. Although First Selectman Knickerbocker did his best to visually count the votes, I am not sure the vote count was done accurately, and with a two-vote difference, shouldn’t the count have been done exactly? He counted the NO’s twice but the YES’s once, from his chair. Why? People did not sit down after they were counted (the people who chose to stand the entire meeting) and there were many people standing in the room, doorway, and hallway so how did they know who was counted and who was not, for the yes and no votes when people were asked to stand to place their vote?

I believe this topic called for a town referendum and not a vote where some people were notified of the meeting and others were not. The town may have posted the notice legally on the town website, but it was likely missed by the majority of residents. Also, the date chosen for this meeting, on the Monday after a Christmas holiday, in between Christmas and New Years, could have been chosen better. What’s the rush, since this topic has been ongoing since early last year?

The importance of the vote was not clear in the notice or at the meeting. It certainly was not clear that all park rules and the power of the EDC would be completely eliminated on a successful NO vote. We’ve been had.

During this entire procedure of several public meetings of the P&Z and the EDC in the last 8 months I witnessed controversy between the P&Z and the EDC regarding who was in power to make or change the rules and regulations despite the EDC having capably handled park rules for the last 30 years. This topic was hotly debated by three representatives of the P&Z, Pat Rist, Kitty Grant and Bob Legnard, and the EDC, at the last two EDC meetings. The results were that the EDC set the revised park rules in place and that is where it stood. A subsequent meeting was held by the EDC where public comment was taken again, rules were heavily discussed, and the meeting was then adjourned.

At Monday night’s Special Town Meeting the Chairman of the EDC Mike Boyle stated there would be an additional meeting to discuss the rules on January 15, 2015. During this meeting some of the business owners of the park simply voted to take all power away from the EDC even though they also did not want the crematorium in the park either. This is an interesting predicament, since the EDC was protecting the park from the crematorium allowance.

The controversy began when crematorium applicant Shawn McLoughlin, present owner of Mono-Crete Step Co. of CT LLC, a pre-cast concrete products company at 12 Trowbridge Drive in Clarke Business Park, applied for a text amendment (change of park rules) for his proposed crematorium to be allowed at this same location, also employing his attorney Peter Olsen to help argue the case for him at all meetings, along with himself, his son and daughter. They were a constant presence at meetings, raising there voices many times and attorney Olsen constantly monopolized the meetings with long winded rhetoric. This usually left little time for others to speak. At one EDC meeting I give a lot of credit to Chairman Boyle for insisting that Olsen stick to the topic at hand and not speak about anything other than that, in an attempt to give others equal time to speak.

The EDC firmly took a stand that a crematorium was not in the best interest of the park. I also witnessed the majority of residents and business owners make statements at past meetings to the same effect, that they did not want the crematorium in Bethel. For example, they specifically stated they did not want to see many hearses driving into the park daily, and other issues of concern. Numerous letters from the public and businesses were also read aloud at P&Z meetings and the majority of correspondence was opposed to the crematorium.

I also made a large presentation to the P&Z about many studies pointing out the hazards of the toxic crematorium emissions, namely the poisonous mercury, which turns into a deadly methyl mercury when landing on our water sources and soil, and also studies proving that a crematorium in a town lowers real estate values significantly. But despite all this, the text amendment was passed by a vote of 4 to 3 by the P&Z. The vote was as follows: YES VOTES, P. Rist, B. Legnard, J. Lennon, K. Grant. NO VOTES, E. Finch, D. Brown, L. Valenti.

A crematorium poses numerous health hazards, including toxic vapors, which can get into the water and earth and cause extreme illness and even death. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that exposure to mercury/metallic vapor on the human body, even in chronic low doses, can cause all sorts of negative effects in adults, children and animals, such as birth defects in babies, neurological defects, damage or destruction of nerve tissue, effects to the the visual cortex and the cerebellum (brain section that controls movement and balance) and it can permanently damage or fatally injure the brain and kidneys, or cause death.

I have to wonder why the voices of Bethel residents are not being heard. This seems to be a repeat of the marijuana dispensary issue of last summer where the majority of voices against it were not heard, or simply ignored during a Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting AFTER the fact, where again the ZBA approved the marijuana dispensary against popular opinion. So how can the P&Z allow a business into Bethel that is clearly not wanted by the majority of Bethel residents who presented themselves at the meetings, and those who wrote letters opposing the crematorium, a business that causes a hazard to the health and well-being of Bethel residents? Why did the P&Z approve this amendment in the first place, when the present laws of the park clearly would not allow a crematorium?

Why did the P&Z have an issue with the EDC revising park rules, when it was in keeping with what the EDC decided was in the best interest of the park? This controversy occurred after this particular crematorium issue was not agreed upon between the EDC and the P&Z. To my knowledge the P&Z never had an issue in 30 years previous, to this extreme, with the EDC rule making, so why now? Is this fair? Why is the P&Z pushing so hard to get the crematorium into the park and ignoring not only the majority of individuals that opposed it but also the EDC’s recommendations, who are the stewards of the park?

Four individuals are controlling the fate of the health of Bethel residents and the welfare of our major business park? And now the EDC has been stripped of their power after doing an excellent job for 30 years?

I believe the importance of this meeting was not realized by the majority Bethel residents. The notice to residents did not state that if the 10 year extension was not approved for the EDC, they would be STRIPPED OF ALL POWER to make decisions to keep our business park running smoothly.

I would personally like to thank the EDC members for all their hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hours of work they have given our community, and for a job well done. It is very sad to see a process occur that simply unceremoniously ousted these hard working individuals from power and left our business park unattended, in a meeting hardly anyone knew the scope of beforehand.

I urge residents to get involved and prevent this crematorium from coming to Bethel, otherwise it could have a devastating effect to you and your family and pets.

Continued.....

Read full article here including Bethel resident comments.

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