Berlin Candidate Profile: Charles Paonessa

Name: Charles R. Paonessa

Occupation: I am a self-employed Building Contractor with over 40 years of experience in all phases of construction and site improvements, including environmental work.  My college education was from Hartford State Technical College (1973) in Civil Engineering. 

Community Service: The ReCONNstruction Center-  President of the Board of Directors -  2006 - present. *A non-profit environmental organization whose mission is to keep construction-type materials from landfills. Boy Scouts of America-   Troop 44 – Berlin -  1997 - present. *Served as Committee Chairperson with the responsibility of implementing proper policy and procedure for troop activities. *Supervised fund raising activities. *Approved expenditures. *Advised on safety issues regarding scout activities. *Interact with other community organizations for mutual cooperation and community service (Troop 44 is sponsored by the Berlin Lions Club). Town of Berlin – Board of Ethics Commission

Biggest issue facing the school system: The maintenance of our schools is a big concern for me as a tax payer.  I would like to see the school system maintain their own buildings with a totally separate maintenance division from the Town public facilities buildings.  The school buildings should be maintained on a regular basis according to their individual needs.  Between five schools, something always needs repaired/maintained.  The High School project was all precipitated by needing to become ADA compliant and it has snowballed into a huge issue.

Areas of special interest to concentrate on, if elected: I bring years of experience from the construction industry and understand the logistics of building schools.  I am particularly interested in getting the High School project underway in a timely fashion and on budget.  I know parents and students are anxious to have a great learning environment.

I hope voters choose me because: I bring a different point of view to some of our traditional thinking in this Town.  I want to put the Students needs first.  The more doors I knock on, the more I hear that voters are ready for a change in leadership. It has gotten stale. I want to be fiscally responsible when working with our budget and still maintain a high standard of education. I also want to raise maintenance and construction standards for our school system.