Ward 6,

Thank you for your response to this issue. You must have missed a month or so ago when the new major's office posted that while Ansonia was not currently a "member" of this site (I assume there is a fee) they considered it a "valuable resource", encouraged posting and said DO monitor this site.

There is even a repeat poster named "planner" to have taken action on issues posted and explained what steps he/his department are taking.

That said, bringing issues directly to official offline (phone, e-mail) robs Ansonia residents of being able to know WHAT is being reported on an issue, WHAT the city is doing about it, etc. Sure, encouraging people to keep problem quiet doesn't force the city to take action and report back. Posting here makes everyone aware of what's wrong and what's being done.

I applaud your sharing you introduced the idea of changing parking ban violations from a $5 fine to a $50 towable offense for ignoring the parking ban. Hundreds of viewers of this site would now be aware had you not posted such information.

That said, I hate to nitpick but it's February. If you have a monthly meeting your next meeting will be in March, when winter is almost over making it too late to enforce the ban for another winter. One has to wonder why on Earth the Board of Aldermen did not broach this before the holidays and winter started. Lord knows there have been complaints on this board about blocked streets due to parked cars in snow storms for months.

Look forward to your update on this. Hopefully, this is the last winter we'll have to suffer impassable streets.

I just want to clarify that I am not an employee or official of the City of Ansonia.
I monitor SeeClickFix in my spare time and forward issues to appropriate state and local officials because I think SeeClickFix is a valuable tool. I do this for all the Valley towns.

That said, until these towns can afford to pay for the license to use this site (budgets are being cut these days, not increased) I always advise residents to go directly to their Alderman or Town Hall to ensure immediate attention.

Emergencies should be reported by dialing 911 and NEVER posted here.

Directly contacting your alderman (for action) and posting to this site (for visability) may cover all the bases. Being part of a new administration, it wasn't until the February BOA meeting that I came to appreciate the parking issue after an abundance of storms which promted me to broach the topic of increasing the fine. The situation concerning parking isn't as dire in the 6th Ward as it is in the Vine Street vicinity but I am still sympathetic to the cause. By the way, it will probably include sidewalk clearing as well. Unfortunately, it does take some amount of time to hold meetings to get input from city departments as well as the citizenry to develop and implement any new plan. I would further suggest you attend the "Mayor's Night Out" (ironically cancelled for tonight due to snow) when it is rescheduled. This is an informal chance to meet with city officials to discuss any concerns.
Pat Henri
Alderman, 6th Ward
phenri@comcast.net

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