The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved an approximately $27,000 contract to replace what the town’s highest elected official called a “mafia wall” at the dump.
The concrete block retaining wall at the Transfer Station for the construction debris and brush area was installed in 1998 when the landfill there was capped, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.
“It’s gone through a couple of repairs, and the existing blocks are starting to degrade and it’s in need of removal and replacement,” he told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting.
This exchange followed:
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan: What do they call these blocks, Tiger?
Mann: They call them ‘mafia blocks.’
Moynihan: Why?
Mann: Because the concrete shoes.
Moynihan: OK, this is the ‘mafia wall.’
Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 on the $26,728 expenditure. The funds are included a tax-supported capital budget for the Lakeview Avenue facility. They cover a $19,000 contract with Norwalk-based Hussey Bros. Excavating and the town will purchase the materials for about $7,000.
Asked whether they had questions on the item, Corbet and Williams said no.
Here’s the relevant part of the meeting:
Dear Editor,
I find this lack of decorum at a public meeting to be shocking. Our First Selectman should know better.
Jack Trifero