A Message From James Redway

"JIm Redway evidently feels the taxpayer's job is to turn over money tohim at the fire dept and not ask any questions"

Again, Mr. DeAngelis attempts to use attacks and distortions in order to fuel his never-ending hate machine against the MVFD and its members.  Instead of using the truth and real facts, his modus operandi is to hurl out-of-context quotes and with the skill of a carnival balloon clown. spin them into any animal he wishes, 

Unfortunately for Mr. DeAngelis and those feeding him perceived negative information about the MVFD, the Charter was voted down and to the dismay of some on the former MRTC who put Tom Gormley in office, the First Selectman and the MVFD have developed a close working relationship. 

Now some who once supported Tom are in the beginning phases of plotting to get rid of him, after only a little over one month in office. In order to do so they seek to cleanse the new elected MRTC of those who support Tom now and replace them with those who will help fuel their political hate machine.

“They have not been approved by the BOF, but they have been approved by the MVFD who has voted to provide this funding ( Now wrap your mind around this statement. Redway appears to be saying that the town's matching funds have not been approved by the BOF, er, the TOWN, but they have been approved by the MVFD. the MVFD IS THE GROUP WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE RECEIVING THE FUNDS FROM THE TOWN. IS REDWAY SAYING THAT THE MVFD IS GIVING THE MATCHING FUNDS TO ITSELF!!!!) if the powers to be do not provide the funding. That will be determined on Wednesday."

This appears to be a difficult concept for Mr. DeAngelis to understand. 

In order to receive the FEMA grant there had to be a contribution of approximately $15,000. It did not matter where this money came from.  You could raise it, you could get if from the Town, “you could deliver it in a paper bag.” (exact quote from FEMA Rep.)  It did not matter where the money came from. Period! 

Back in October 2007 the former BOS and the BOF acted as if they never heard about this provision, even though it had been discussed at a Fire Commission meeting in February 2007 and an article printed in Voices in April of 2007. 

Bottom line was that the BOF did not know where they were going to come up with the $15,000. The Fire Department stepped up to the plate and said, “No problem, if the BOF could not raise the $15,000, the MVFD would come up with the money to cover it. The MVFD asked the FEMA Rep and he told us that the arrangement was fine.

So where is the problem Mr. DeAngelis? What don’t you understand about that? 

   "A formal agreement  between the town and the Fire Dept. for the purposes of this grant has not been finalized.( Until the money is allocated by the town and an

agreement is in place between town and the 501c3 fire dept, according to the grant language)."

Wrong again.  No FORMAL agreement was necessary for the Grant.  Agreement was not even in the language. I believe the true language was ARRANGEMENT.  The Town needed an arrangement with the MVFD which it has.  Again, we asked the FEMA Rep. about this, and he told us that Middlebury Fire fulfilled the requirement.  The MVFD assumes responsibility for putting out fires.  The Town in return funds the MVFD to do so. Nothing else was necessary.  Mr. DeAngelis insisted on making it more complicated than it was, and appeared to claim that he knew more about the FEMA grant than FEMA itself.

"Now, Perrotti's alter ego Jim Redway , a guy who is running ( believe it or not ) to be on the town committee of the Republican party responded to the above by stating ( and these are his exact words):

"There is no agreement necessary." ( in this one sentence Redway makes 

a pronouncement that states the opposite of the grant language)"

First of all, the statement was correct, for the reasons stated above.  

Second, I am no alter ego of anyone. I am and have always been my own man. I don’t follow any agenda other than trying to help my Town and striving to be the best person I am capable of being.  That is one reason why I joined the MVFD twenty years ago... To help other people. I am a Middlebury native, born in 1956. I am a Reagan Republican and a conservative. My interest in politics goes back to when I was young. I campaigned with my Father for Nixon in 1960 at the Middlebury Town Hall handing out Nixon-clickers, and again for Barry Goldwater in 1964.  I worked for the Woodbury Republican Town Committee in 1968 distributing campaign materials for Richard Nixon, and again for the “Reelection of The President” campaign in 1972. I have had the pleasure of meeting President George H Bush Sr, and have had my e-mail read on the Rush Limbaugh show. 

I resent these mean-spirited attacks by Mr. DeAngelis. Like everyone else in Middlebury, I am getting buried by the high taxes in this town. We have one child in college and another getting close. I am very concerned about how taxpayer money is spent, and very upset as to where I have seen it spent in recent years.

 "BUT THE MOST INSULTING ( if you pay taxes in this town ) THING REDWAY SAYS IS:

   "This has nothing to do with the town other then their potential 

contribution of the $15,000 .  SAID REDWAY.

   In other words you nosy taxpayers: give your money 

to Redway and company and shut-up because other 

than YOUR MONEY you have "nothing to do with it."

Again, you display the uncanny ability not to understand the simplest concepts.  I stand by the quote above. It did not have anything to do with the taxpayers in order to get the grant, outside their potential contribution of $15,000. In other words, the grant was not being jeopardized if the Town (Taxpayer money) could not come up with the $15,000, because the MVFD would kick in the money.  The money that would have been kicked in was NOT TAXPAYER MONEY.  It was MVFD INC. money (gifts, fund raisers, donations, etc...).  All his was covered last fall see > 

 http://www.middleburyfire.org/grant2.pdf

The bottom line, is that with all the interference from Mr. St. John, the Fire Commission and Pat DeAngelis against the MVFD, and all their empty rhetoric, the statements of the MVFD were shown to be truthful and accurate, and their statements inaccurate and unproductive.  The grant money has been delivered, deposited, and spent.  The matching fund amounts are in the process of being finalized.  The radios have been installed in the apparatus, the antenna is in place at the Town Hall.  The firefighters will be getting pagers this week, and the system will be going live very soon. Preliminary tests of the system have yielded better results than expected, and Middlebury is on its way to a great new radio system.  So everything Pat DeAngelis has stated above has proven to be incorrect, yet he continues to this day as if they are still issues.  They are not.

"DOES ANYBODY WANT THIS GUY  ON THE 

REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE? HAS HE NO 

SHAME?"

Apparently, some do since I was elected to serve on the MRTC. The real question is - Have you no shame Mr. DeAngelis, attacking those in Middlebury who actually do something for this Town on a day to day basis?

Whether James Redway gets elected or not in a primary is NOT important to me.  What is important is that those who do get elected, put this Town back on-course in a positive way. Tom Gormley and Bob Desmarais have taken the first steps in that direction. They are doing an excellent job.  They have opened the lines of communication between all departments in Town.  There is an open-door policy at the Town Hall. They are moving Middlebury in a positive direction.  We need people on all committees and commissions who will move with that same spirit. The old agendas fueled by arrogance and hate must fade into memory.  The hope for Middlebury is not with those who have served before, but with those who step forward and take the chance to do something for their community in a positive way.