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Rocky Hill Pulling Out All The Stops To Block Proposed Nursing Home

Company selected to run nursing home does not have its license yet.

 

The Town of Rocky Hill is pulling out all the stops, though it may be too late, to block a proposed nursing home at 60 West Street. The state hopes to house mentally incapacitated and end of life prisoners in the nursing home.

Wednesday night, Mayor Anthony LaRosa, State Rep. Antonio Guerrera (D-Rocky Hill) and Senator Paul Doyle (D-Rocky Hill) met with dozens of residents to brainstorm ideas to block the home.

The Hartford Courant reported Assistant Zoning Officer Kim Ricci issued a cease and desist order to SecureCare Realty, LLC, owner of 60 West Street, site of the proposed nursing home. The letter echoes the language of the the lawsuit the town has filed and is pending. The letter and lawsuit say the nursing home will, in fact, be a prison and that according to Rocky Hill zoning regulations a prison is not allowed in a residential neighborhood.

A phone call to Ricci by the Rocky Hill Patch on Wednesday was not returned.

According to Fox-61, Mike Landi, Executive Director of the nursing home said, "We remain fully committed to working with the state of Connecticut and operating a quality nursing home at 60 West. We are confident that we will be a good neighbor, a good employer and a good taxpayer in Rocky Hill."

Guerrera said he is hoping for a judgement on the town's lawsuit sometime this week and hopes the judgement will favor the town.

Sal Piasso February 28, 2013 at 02:47 pm
Rumor at the Capitol is that Malloy has told Guerrera and Doyle this is a done deal and there's nothing they can do to stop it.
Jesse Colucci February 28, 2013 at 03:29 pm
Mike Landi - Please explain the false statement in iCare's proposal to the State of CT. iCare stated the proposed facility would be "No less than 1 mile from the nearest elementary or middle or high school". This facility is 50 yards from Dr. Oran A. Moser Elementary School.
Harry February 28, 2013 at 04:20 pm
Malloy is a coward. The prison at 60 west street is and will always be an unwelcomed hostile neighbor. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.
It was too late the min the corrupt gov decided this would be the location. This is just another article telling the voters, you have no say, this is the government, we do what we want when we want, we are above the law, zoning and public safety does not matter to us. We can only do one thing, joint the 4000 people that leave the state every month and vote with our wallets
Linda DeLillo February 28, 2013 at 04:49 pm
I grew up in Rocky Hill, now live in Wethersfield, and have been following this story closely. This is a sad situation that Governor Malloy would NEVER let happen in the town of Fairfield, where he lives. When the good people of Rocky Hill protested at the State Capital to presented their petition, Malloy made sure he wasn't "available," an indication, perhaps that he is above such things. I only hope that all 4,000 petitioners will show their dissatisfaction at the polls in the next election...
Jackie Fischer February 28, 2013 at 04:49 pm
Time to think about the next election. Do we want these closed minded govenment officials in office AGAIN.
Sad CT has so much blood shed already and they (Government) are adding to the issue. This should be in their backyard.
Harry February 28, 2013 at 04:59 pm
Jackie, Linda, they don't care about elections, heck, Malloy lost until they could dig up enough votes in Bridgeport and other sanctuary cities.
It's Gov greed, it's 6 million dollars that they will pad there pockets with. Nothing else matters If you can, it's time to get out of this state. We The People , don't exist in communist CT
Harry March 1, 2013 at 04:49 pm
So it's been delayed on a license issue and Mike Lawyor is ignoring the zoning cease order. Again, why is Malloy acting like a dictator? Why hasn't the COWARD come to Rocky Hill and tell the parents and children face to face why this is a great idea.
This is so dangerous , Malloy is concerned with some magazine clip but could care less about a convicted murderer 50 feet from sleeping children??? COME ON KING MALLOY - COME TO OUR TOWN HALL AND TELL US WHY YOU OUR RUINING OUR TOWN
Bedouin March 1, 2013 at 10:08 pm
Harry, your comments leave you with no credibility, i.e., the election was stolen, the voters have no say. Your elected representatives (Doyle and Guerrera) voted for the budget that permits nursing homes to house prisoners. It's one thing to be opinionated but another to be delusional. Feel free to leave the state and don't stop until you're in another country -- maybe somewhere like the place your describing. Think China.
Harry March 2, 2013 at 04:02 am
Thanks Bedouin, you must be right because voter fraud doesn''t exist and we know all know that politicians read every budget and every bill page by page before they sign it. You really need to wake up. Think I care if I don't have credibility with the likes of you or the Marxists running our state and country, Sorry to disappoint.
Keep drinking the kool aide sheep
Harry March 2, 2013 at 04:42 am
@ Bedouin , link is bill finch who brought it home for malloy back in 2010, You remember, photo copied ballets , reverse 9/11 calls, polling hours changed, mysterious bags of ballets all for Malloy , and let's not forget the ballets found in a cars trunk in an abandoned parking lot..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO41846WwTc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Bedouin March 2, 2013 at 03:55 pm
Of course, rampant corruption and the whole of CT's judiciary turns a blind eye. It's a conspiracy only the seriously deranged can appreciate. No, politicians don't read every single line of legislation, that was my point - glad I managed to penetrate the fog. Dictators, communism . . . too bad you lack the wherewithal to appreciate what you have. Ours is a great nation - there's even a place in our society for the likes of you. Maybe there's a certain nursing home in your future. How's the redecorating (spray painting) coming along?
Jaclyn Farnham March 2, 2013 at 04:10 pm
Bedouin - I've been posting on Patch for a while on issues in Rocky Hill in particular and have found Harry to be spot on and informed with his comments. Did you actually have a comment on the issue, or did you just want to attack Harry?
Bedouin March 2, 2013 at 04:48 pm
If opponents can prove there's a threat to public safety, more power to them. If we're talking about convicts who can't tie their shoes, that might be a tall order. If I lived in Rocky Hill, or if a convict nursing home came to my town, I'd be more apt to go after the property value angle. If alternative locations are available that don't negatively affect property valuese, then the state should be using those options first. After all, if the state's motive is to cut costs, it's not helping itself by driving down property values (and property tax receipts). Now, can anyone prove property damage?
Jaclyn Farnham March 2, 2013 at 05:20 pm
It shouldn't be up to families in the neighborhood to use their hard earned money to prove that there is a threat to public safety... it should be up to those who want to put this in our neighorhood to prove that there is not. Same goes for the property value question. If the State obeyed their own laws and did an Environmental Impact Evaluation, which takes all this into consideration, we wouldn't have this problem today. 6 neighbors, mostly abutters who don't have to prove standing (this is not a frivolous lawsuit), have filed and are fundraising for attorney's fees. A big community bash is being planned, and I hope you'll be a part of it. Regarding property values -- It will not be hard to prove when abutters won't even be able to sell their houses and will no longer feel safe enough to live there with small children. If Mike Landi truly wants to be a good neighbor he started off on the wrong foot. We would welcome a convalescent home without prisoners and the mentally ill. it would be great to see seniors and their families out for a walk and enjoying Elm Ridge Park across the street (a great spot to watch Town fireworks), and would welcome this former use back to our neighborhood.
Bedouin March 2, 2013 at 06:08 pm
Not sure if the state is required to conduct an environmental impact assessment when property is being purchased by a private company. Claims that the state is not following it's own laws sounds . . . quaint. Proving loss of property value would, I imagine, be none too easy. Simply claiming that people can't sell their homes isn't going to cut it. Even if the homes sold, but for less than their worth prior to the nursing home deal, you'd still have to prove a direct cause and effect. No doubt a tall order. Doesn't sound to me like you have many good options left on the table. As far as not wanting the mentally ill in your neighborhood, I'd say it's too late based on some of the posts. Besides, estimates are that 1 in 4 American adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
Jaclyn Farnham March 2, 2013 at 07:36 pm
According to top Environmental resources who are outside looking in, who know the law, yes, the state's vendors do have to perform an EIE. The AG should be asked to rule on it. And anyway, wouldn't that have been the prudent thing to do, regardless of whether there is a law saying to do it. I'm just saying, it wasn't a good decision to put it there and there will be many many more lawsuits to follow and everyone will be spending and losing a lot of money which defeats the purpose. Its more prudent to admit mistakes and move on. It would have been more prudent and neighborly to get the support from local legislators and towns folks before surprising them with something like this.
Jaclyn Farnham March 2, 2013 at 08:01 pm
I didn't get your "joke" before about Harry - don't mistake a passion for mental illness. While your estimates may be true, there is such a variation in degree mental illness that what your saying doesn't apply here. They are bringing people who need 24 hour supervision because that are either a felon or have serious mental illness. We don't have that here now and we've never had that here before.
Bedouin March 2, 2013 at 09:57 pm
So you're telling me an environmental assessment is legally required and yet no CT court has spotted the oversight? Why should the AG get involved? Is it required by law or not? And this is the theme running through many of the opponents: you're losing therefore it must be because a dictator rules the hamlet, we don't have three branches of gov't, everyone's on the take, and the only ones left with values and principles are those on your street. Ah, yes.
I think the state is making a mistake myself, although not necessarily a legal one as far as I can tell. If saving money is the goal, why are they willing to play Russian roulette with property values when more benign alternatives are available?
Harry March 3, 2013 at 02:12 am
@ Jacklyn - thanks for the kind words, as far as bedmorouin, when you have lost the arguement you marginalize the messenger , nothing but a bully

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