Candidate, Planning and Zoning
Val is running for a seat on the PZC to help guide sustainable growth while still maintaining the small town feel that makes Southington such a great place to live. As an alternate commissioner his concern for the environment has already brought a new focus on the PZC to have developers use native plants as part of their landscaping plans. He will be an advocate for the environment. Homeowners affected by zoning decisions will have a sympathetic listener to their concerns.
Val is active in a number of community organizations. Currently he serves as an alternate commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission, as a member of the Southington Open Space and and Acquisition Committee, Property Manager and Board member for the Southington Land Conservation Trust, on the steering committee for the Pollinator Pathway, and as a member of the Southington Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Val was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and went on to receive a management degree from Long Island University. Shortly thereafter he was married and entered the armed forces serving in Vietnam with H Battery 29th Artillery. After being discharged he, his wife and infant daughter moved to Connecticut in 1969 and then to Southington in 1970. Three of his adult children and all six grandchildren currently reside in town.
He has worked in a number of manufacturing companies, the last, for twenty-nine years, at Jacobs Vehicle Systems in Bloomfield. During this time he held a number of positions as Manager of Industrial Engineering, Environmental Compliance and Safety Specialist, Facility Services Manager, Manufacturing Manager, and Operations Manger.
In 1978 he completed his studies and received an MBA from the University of Hartford.
For many years he worked with the Southington Youth Soccer League and served one year as president.
He was a Nature Conservancy Volunteer monitoring endangered nesting Piping Plovers at Sandy Point in New Haven and since 1995 he has volunteered at the Bald Eagle Observatory with the Connecticut Audubon Society at the Shepaug Dam in Southbury.
A long time member of the Southington YMCA he can be found three mornings a week pumping iron in the weight room.
His spare time activities include bird watching, kayaking, hiking, and biking.
