DANBURY – Outside legal counsel and city officials are preparing to send a second enforcement letter to a city council member accused of illegally dumping city property adjacent to his farm.
In October, members of the Environmental Impact Commission sent a letter to Michael Halas, owner of Halas Farm on Barnum Road, asking him to stop dumping on city property and ordering him to appear at the next commission meeting to present a restoration plan. . Required by city ordinance.
Halas, who did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment, did not attend the Environmental Impact Commission meeting in November and had not presented any restoration plans as of Dec. 27. City officials said a Dec. 21 site visit revealed open violations. It was not corrected
According to Laszlo Painter, the city’s managing attorney and deputy corporate counsel, the matter is now being handled by outside counsel, Sharon Dornfeld, a local attorney and Quinnipiac law professor who previously worked as assistant corporate counsel for the city of Danbury. According to the Connecticut Barr Foundation.
In an email before the Christmas break, Pinter wrote that Dornfeld “is currently preparing and filing executive orders to pursue all available remedies for these apparent violations.”
“Along with its (EIA) review and action, it should be robust,” he wrote.
Local officials, including members of the health department, visited Halas Farms on Barnum Road on Sept. 29 and again on Dec. 12, city public health director Cara Pronetti said.
“Findings confirm that there is discharge in wetlands and on city property,” Pranti wrote in an email, adding, “A December site visit showed that it has not yet been remediated.”
The city’s corporate attorney is not handling the matter because of conflict-of-interest concerns stemming from Halas’ position as a city councilor, Painter said.
“If someone commits personal misconduct, or possibly personal misconduct, we can’t both represent them in an official capacity and sue them in a personal capacity — that creates a conflict of interest,” the city attorney explained. Dornfeld’s hire came in early December and estimated the attorney’s fees as of December 21 at approximately $2,500.
“Sharon Dornfeld has been our longtime conflict advisor, so that’s one of the reasons she’s here handling this,” Pinter added.
Halas is a Republican who was appointed to the City Council in 2009 and later left the council and was re-elected in 2021.
Mayor Dean Esposito, a Republican, said using an outside consultant is “standard procedure” for the city, noting that the Environmental Impact Commission continues to “evaluate what’s going on at the Barnum Road site” and that all normal procedures will be followed.
“All residents will be held to the standards of city guidelines through the independent work of the EIC,” the mayor wrote in an email.
A member of the Environmental Impact Commission confirmed that any additional enforcement action would be handled by the city’s hiring consultant.
Regular complaints
Dornfeld was joined by state Rep. Ken Gouker, D-Danbury, on a site visit earlier this month, saying his office receives regular complaints about Halas Farms and allegations of illegal dumping.
“It really escalated about a year ago because in the late winter, early spring, he tore down his property across the street and all the debris he couldn’t put in the trash … ended up on that side,” Gawker said. : A street in the city property.
I started making calls because these neighbors wanted me to skip the town of Danbury and go straight to the state…it was a daily activity, that’s when the neighbors finally said they’ve had enough and you need to make a deal. With this,” he added.
Earlier this month, he shared images from Dec. 6 showing a bulldozer working near city property, where a large pile of trees and other farm debris could be seen less than a week later during a city visit.
“It’s been going on every day, and I’ll tell you since the (October) cease-and-desist that the pile has grown at least 10 to 15 percent,” Gouker said.
Gouker, a Democrat, has served as a state representative for 138 termsthe seventh As of 2018, the state House district is being held by Republican Rachel Chalsky, who successfully defeated the incumbent by a 26-vote margin last month and will be sworn in Jan. 4.
“When you’re inundated with calls to your office and emails from the neighbors you represent, and you allow that I only have until Jan. 4 around noon, my job is still to address and address community concerns and issues. And this is my area.
“Beautification” of the property
More than 15 years ago, Halas presented a proposal to the then-Common Council to “beautify” nearly 2 acres of city-owned land near his farm, which is now accused of illegal dumping, according to city council minutes.
In June 2007, members of a special ad hoc committee discussed the proposal. In a report dated June 19, 2007, the land in question, including its creeks and active wetlands, was sold to the city around 1968 to “maintain and protect a 24-inch water line on the property.”
Debate over the proposal centered on whether the city should enter into a lease or license with Halas, who, the report said, “simply” wanted to “provide its services and materials for the city to beautify an area of the city.” give.”
“Mr. According to the ad hoc committee report, Halas wants to rejuvenate the area around the creeks because the vegetation is overgrown due to lack of maintenance. He wants to make the area a ‘showcase’ for the city.”
“He didn’t want to go through the lengthy process or incur the expense that comes with a rental agreement,” the report added. However, he expressed his flexibility and willingness to discuss the matter in the Common Council for their consideration.
A month after the interim report, councilors unanimously approved the committee’s proposal for a land permit to Halas, “subject to the preparation of all necessary documents by the company’s counsel, said documents shall include the clauses discussed by the committee.” .
But the deal never went through, and the city still owned the land.
Pinter, who recommended the 2007 interim report, speculates: “His record seems to show a general preference for an easier way of getting what he wanted, so perhaps because of the complexity of the deal, he was reluctant. not to continue.” As a company consultant at that time.