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Record of Proceedings

Middletown Zoning Board of Appeals Regular Meeting - May 7, 2026

Common Council & Commissions — Thursday, May 7, 2026
BodyMiddletown, Connecticut
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateThursday, May 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:21

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Okay.

0:02

I'd like to call to order.

0:05

Today is Tuesday, April 7th, 2026.

0:10

It is 5 o'clock P.M.

0:12

531.

0:13

Oh, 5 30 p.m.

0:17

Okay.

0:18

And I would like to stand for the pledge allegiance.

0:22

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:27

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:29

One nation under God.

0:32

Indivisible.

0:34

And justice fraud.

0:36

I wanted to stop to see if anybody else can agree that I'm going to do a roll call.

0:44

Andrew Santaniello.

0:46

Here.

0:46

Richard Pelletier.

0:49

Here.

0:50

Callie Grippo here.

0:51

Nicholas Ficaro.

0:53

Here.

0:53

Tom Hazel.

0:55

Here.

0:55

Okay.

0:57

We now will open for public comment.

1:00

Anyone that would like to speak on anything on the agenda, please step forward.

1:05

It's not on it.

1:07

Okay.

1:07

I'd like to all get for no if there's nobody speaking, we'll move on to approval of special meeting minutes.

1:15

5.1 meeting on February 5th, 2026.

1:19

Oh, I have February.

1:21

Because that's the uh minutes that you're reading.

1:24

Gotcha.

1:24

You need the agenda.

1:26

That's the old one.

1:27

Okay.

1:28

There you go.

1:29

All right, so that's good.

1:30

And now we go into old business.

1:40

This one?

1:41

This is your agenda.

1:42

This is the minutes.

1:44

This is the minutes.

1:45

How do I get all these different papers?

1:47

And this is the minutes.

1:48

How did you get all those minutes?

1:49

You could add mine for right now.

1:51

Okay.

1:51

So read that.

1:52

So we're on 5.1.

1:54

We're on 5.1.

1:57

Okay, so five minutes of the April 7th, 2026 special meeting.

2:02

I motion to approve the minutes.

2:06

I second.

2:09

Yep.

2:11

And call for a vote.

2:13

Yep.

2:14

Okay.

2:16

We'll say it again.

2:17

We got.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████89%
Pending Litigation██████11%
Summary of Proceedings

Middletown Zoning Board of Appeals Regular Meeting - May 7, 2026

Note: The meeting date stated in the user instructions is May 7, 2026, but the transcript repeatedly references "Tuesday, April 7th, 2026" and the agenda also lists a meeting on Thursday, May 7, 2026. This summary uses the date prescribed by the user instruction, while acknowledging the discrepancy with the transcript.

The meeting consisted of routine approvals, a single public comment period (with no speakers), and an executive session to discuss pending litigation, followed by action on a settlement offer.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2026 special meeting. (Motion by member, seconded; all in favor.)

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke. The chair called for comments; no one stepped forward.

Discussion Items

  • Executive Session (Litigation): The board moved into executive session pursuant to C.G.S. § 1-200(6)(B) to discuss negotiations with respect to pending litigation: Richard Sweet D/B/A Savage Mill Associates v. City of Middletown Zoning Board of Appeals, Docket No. MMX-CV25-6046555-S. Invited attendees included board members, Zoning Enforcement Officer Thomas Hazel, and Assistant General Counsel Christopher Forte. The session lasted from approximately 5:30 p.m. to 6:01 p.m.
  • Settlement Offer: Following the executive session, the board discussed a proposed settlement. A motion was made to amend the agenda (adding Item 7.2) to consider transmitting a settlement offer. The board then voted to authorize Attorney Fort to communicate the board's settlement offer to Attorney Willis.

Key Outcomes

  • Approval of Minutes of the April 7, 2026 special meeting (unanimous).
  • Authorization of Settlement Communication: The board voted unanimously (4 ayes) to authorize Assistant General Counsel Christopher Forte to convey the board's settlement offer to opposing counsel in the Savage Mill litigation.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned shortly after 6:01 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. I'd like to call to order. Today is Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. It is 5 o'clock P.M. 531. Oh, 5 30 p.m. Okay. And I would like to stand for the pledge allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible. And justice fraud. I wanted to stop to see if anybody else can agree that I'm going to do a roll call. Andrew Santaniello. Here. Richard Pelletier. Here. Callie Grippo here. Nicholas Ficaro. Here. Tom Hazel. Here. Okay. We now will open for public comment. Anyone that would like to speak on anything on the agenda, please step forward. It's not on it. Okay. I'd like to all get for no if there's nobody speaking, we'll move on to approval of special meeting minutes. 5.1 meeting on February 5th, 2026. Oh, I have February. Because that's the uh minutes that you're reading. Gotcha. You need the agenda. That's the old one. Okay. There you go. All right, so that's good. And now we go into old business. This one? This is your agenda. This is the minutes. This is the minutes. How do I get all these different papers? And this is the minutes. How did you get all those minutes? You could add mine for right now. Okay. So read that. So we're on 5.1.

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