Forgive me on my delay in writing to you but there was / have been a lot going on behind the scenes. I would like to update you on what we have done and what we would like to do next. Please pass this around to as many folks as you know or inform them as to where they can keep up to date with our efforts.
First, I would like to re-state to you what our sole objective is. Our children should be, need to be, and are entitled to a safe, healthy environment to be taught in. It is apparent from the position of a parent that these conditions are not acceptable and potentially have serious health implications to our children and our educators.
Although I can and will continue to correspond via e-mail it is more efficient and prudent that we find a different means that is easier for all. Thanks to Adrian Bing-Zeremba we now have a facebook page that has pictures of the school, discussion areas and information regarding health and safety for all of us to get educated. The address is http://www.facebook.com/#!/
Simply go to facebook and search for "Concerned Parents of meeting House Hill School" and you will find it.
I have had conversations with several local elected officials, candidates, etc. regarding this situation and there is a legitimate concern. I reached out to Richard Smith who responded immediately to me expressing his concern. He then wrote a note to the John Hodge and Kim Hansen. Their response was standard "we are within state limits". By the tone of Richards e-mail he was not satisfied and plans to address this at a state level if elected. I also reached out to Ken Neal. Ken called me directly and was equally concerned about how this is being handled and provided direction to me on how it should be handled. Ken requested that I continue to follow up with him as this was also of great concern to him. It did not appear that this decision to place the children in this environment makes much sense to anyone.
Monika Thiel took the time to call me and spend a fair amount of time with me over the phone and offered her assistance. As a person on the board of selectmen she is concerned about the process and level of experience of the people hired to do this work. She and I shared the same concerns. From my initial observations at the meeting that the school administrators held it was evident to me that these well intentioned folks were in way over their heads and are inexperienced in scoping, planning, budgeting and running a project like this.
In the interest of providing factual information and not spreading hysteria, I have contacted several trade organizations with regard to the materials in the building. I have contacted the ASCC which is the industry group for concrete and safety around handling, area protection, etc. of people when using concrete / concrete products. I have also contacted an environmental solutions company to inquire about testing of gases, particles, PCB abatement, asbestos abatement, air quality, etc. etc. So far, the one consistent message that I have received from all that have responded is that the children should not be in that environment - period. I will be providing the information to the facebook page as it comes in to me. (I am not there yet but I intend to have it complete and update it regularly).
What I have learned is that although the DEP has some guidelines the EPA does not. They are not sure what is safe vs. what is unsafe. This is the exact reason why you NEVER TRUST GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WHEN YOUR HEALTH IS INVOLVED.
The EPA's mission statement is ;
EPA's Mission
The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environmentThe DEP's mission statement is ;
About UsMission StatementFounded in 1971, the mission of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to conserve, improve and protect the natural resources and environment of the State of Connecticut in such a manner as to encourage the social and economic development of Connecticut while preserving the natural environment and the life forms it supports in a delicate, interrelated and complex balance, to the end that the state may fulfill its responsibility as trustee of the environment for present and future generations. |
What I can tell you is that they did not know what each other did. It was pretty funny - but not really. So, what I can tell you is that the DEP is state run and the EPA is run by the federal government. If you go to the websites for each of teh agencies you will see that the DEP is more about licensing and making sure the groups / trades /people that they issue permits to are doing things in a manner that the DEP requires them to do it. The EPA appears to be more about protecting people then licensing. Seems to me (all opinion and cynical here) is that the DEP is about taxing through licensing. That has no bearing on this discussion - just my 2 cents. What is interesting here is that although the DEP has guidelines the EPA does not so somebody decided to put a stake in the ground and determine what is safe for the sake of having a guideline. DO YOU REALLY TRUST THEM TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE AND HEALTHY ?
I was advised to request a separate meeting with the Dept. of Buildings, Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen to present or concerns and most importantly our facts with regard to this issue. I am moving as quickly as I can to gather this but we need to be organized and have our facts straight. So, that being said, anyone who has experience in building / renovating / managing schools from an administrative / facilities perspective or anyone involved in the construction process of schools or anyone that is directly involved in the process of protecting children, or anyone that is involved in air quality testing, water quality testing, environmental testing please present as much relevant, factual information to me and the group as possible. Also - if you have found information that rebuts what our position is then please let me know as we do not want to create hysteria and take uninformed, uneducated, or inaccurate positions. That is not fair to those that will hear our concerns and will prevent us from having this situation addressed. We will be dismissed if we are not relevant.
Regards,
Steve
Steven Roe, CEO
West Highland Support Services, LLC60 E. 42nd St.
Suite 401
New York, NY 10165
(0) 212 867 1848 x111
(C) 917 513 1871
West Highland Support Services, LLC60 E. 42nd St.
Suite 401
New York, NY 10165
(0) 212 867 1848 x111
(C) 917 513 1871
| sroe10@charter.net steven.roe@westhighland.net dennis.wixted@westhighland.net adrian.bing-aremba@boehringer-ingelheim.com | |||
