NORWALK, Conn. – Two more Common Council members weighed in Wednesday on remarks made at Tuesday night’s Council meeting by David Watts (D-District A).
Watts took Mayor Harry Rilling to task for what he said was “leading from behind” when it came to fixing the city’s sidewalks, an issue Rilling emphasized in his campaign last fall.
John Kydes (D-District C) contradicted Watts in an email Wednesday morning to NancyOnNorwalk.
“Mayor Rilling is working hard to fulfill his campaign promise to improve sidewalk conditions in Norwalk,” Kydes wrote. “In office for only a few months, Mayor Rilling has been able to advocate and get Council approval for Norwalk’s first-ever sidewalk evaluation. With this achievement and his work on changing the City, Norwalk is on its way to safer and usable sidewalks.
“I commend Mayor Rilling for taking on sidewalk improvement, as this is no easy task!”
John Igneri (D-District E) also took issue with Watt’s assertions.
“I have been in meetings with Mayor Rilling, in his office, where we have discussed with other Council members developing a plan to manage our City’s sidewalks and footpaths,” he wrote. “It takes several different committees to work on making this happen. It is not an easy task and takes time, but Mayor Rilling is already making progress to enhance our sidewalks and footpaths.”
Tuesday night, Watts complained about a lack of communication on the issue.
“As the debate has emerged in the press I would be curious what the administration thinks about sidewalks because I haven’t heard from anyone in the mayor’s office at all on this issue,” he said. “It’s extremely troubling and frustrating when we don’t get any kind of communication back from this administration on what my constituents, our constituents, are going through, handicapped individuals and mothers pushing strollers on broken sidewalks. … I think this administration has to have a policy on sidewalks and so far I haven’t heard anything. … For a campaign issue by this administration, who said it was going to be a top priority on sidewalks and the video is out there, I don’t feel like it is a top priority.”
Rilling pointed out in the meeting that Watts is on both the Ordinance Committee and the Public Works Committee, Council committees heavily involved in dealing with the sidewalk issue, and thus should be well informed.
Councilmen David McCarthy (R-District E) and Bruce Kimmel (D-At Large) both took issue with Watts Tuesday night.
“There has not been any comments or evidence or actual facts placed before this council that I know of or certainly the Public Works Committee that would indicate that there is any way shape or form that would indicate that the city of Norwalk should, could or would be able to pay to replace or repair all of the sidewalks in the city,” said McCarthy who is chairman of the Public Works Committee. “So it, I’m sorry to use the word, it continues to be extremely unfortunate that we continue to sort of bury the work that we might actually be able to get done to make this problem better by dividing the city for some reason that I can’t quite understand.”
Kimmel, who caucuses with the Republicans despite being a Democrat, defended Rilling.
Kimmel said he has served as a Council member under four mayors. Rilling is the first to tackle the difficult, complicated and neglected issue of Norwalk’s sidewalks and footpaths, he said.
“In just a couple of months, we are redoing our ordinance, we are having this survey, we are having these discussions at the Council level, which I think are great,” Kimmel said. “… Perhaps I have been more patient than you are. I think we are moving forward. I think the discussion has been very good and I commend the mayor for finally trying to deal with a very expensive and very complicated issue. For too long it’s been ignored. Here we are finally to everyone’s credit dealing with this issue.”
Rilling, in a recent conversation with NancyOnNorwalk, said that, because the current budget was developed before he took office, he could not get everything he wanted right away. He said Tuesday night that this year’s capital budget includes $150,000 more than the previous capital budget for sidewalk repair. And, in the earlier talk with NoN, he said he would be pushing hard for more sidewalk funds when he gets a chance to develop the 2015-16 budget from the start.
Kimmel alluded to that Tuesday night, saying, “I am pretty sure that the funding will be in place after the next capital budget.”
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