Pictured is Amy Ferguson (left) being sworn in as a member of the New Haven Council by Mayor George Gibbs (right). (Note: In order to not show favoritism to one particular elected candidate, the placement of photos in this story was determined by alphabetical order by last name.)
Pictured is Jessica Howard (left) being sworn in as a member of the New Haven Council by Mayor George Gibbs (right).
Pictured is Kenneth Vickers (left) being sworn in as a member of the New Haven Council by Mayor George Gibbs (right).
NEW HAVEN — At Tuesday’s council meeting for the Town of New Haven, three newly elected council members were sworn in.
The three new council members are Amy Ferguson, Jessica Howard, and Kenneth Vickers. These three citizens will each be serving a two year term that begins on July 1, 2012, and will continue until June 30, 2014.
Also sworn in for another two year term were Mayor George Gibbs, Recorder Roberta Hysell, and council members James Elias and Sarah Gibbs. The terms for these four will also be for the same dates. Incumbent council members not returning for another term are Dorothy Roush, Jeffery Russell, and Frances Taylor.
Following the swearing in of the candidates, Mayor Gibbs expressed his gratitude for the incumbent candidates for working with him during his first term as mayor, noting that each member brought something different to the table and has worked to benefit the Town of New Haven.
“We don’t always have to agree and we don’t always have to get along to do what’s right,” Gibbs said.
The election which resulted in these newly elected members and re-elected incumbents was held on June 5. Following the canvasing of the town on June 7, a process that reaffirms the results from the election counters, the results were considered official. The election results were then approved by council at a June 14 meeting and released as official to the public.
In other council news, Mayor Gibbs presented the council with a revised copy of the budget for the next fiscal year. It was determined on the budget that due to the projected finances for the next year, one town employee would need to be laid off as of July 1, 2012. A motion carried to accept this revised budget, but Gibbs asked council members to again consider the budget and to inform him if there was any way the layoff could be avoided that he may have missed. There was also a discussion on whether the employee could be moved to part-time employment, or if the employee would be available for temporary employment until a time where they may be hired back.
Some concerns regarding the community center and swimming pool brought up at a previous meeting were also addressed. Bernita Allen discussed acquiring the deed to the community center for the town. According to the discussion, over the years the deed has been passed back and forth between different committees and organizations, all of which have since disbanded. The proper paperwork in is the works for the town to acquire the deed to the building, yet it wasn’t known when the deed might be acquired.
A concerned citizen also spoke to the council regarding a previous meeting where a picture of some of the pool’s teenage lifeguards was presented to the council and their activity in the picture was considered to be “horseplay” and suggested the situation be taken care of. The concerned citizen spoke about how the lifeguard’s actions were not horseplay and discussed how seriously the teenagers do take their responsibilities. Concerns regarding Allen’s operation of the pool in conjunction with the “horseplay” picture were also among the discussion. The citizen assured the council that Allen operates the pool in a proper manner, and when asked, many members of the council agreed.
More on this meeting will appear in a later edition.
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