Crime & Safety

Fire Taskforce Co-Chair Resigns, Continues to Support CCFD Progress

Posted at 4:47 p.m., updated with graphic at 7:28 p.m.

Sean Carey, former co-chair of the Central Coventry Citizens Taskforce for Fire Prevention, has made the decision to resign from his post on the Taskforce now that a 7-member Board of Directors for the Central Coventry Fire District has been elected

Carey explained Monday afternoon that the main reason he took his position on the Taskforce was to help develop ideas and options about how to solve the fire district's financial and legal troubles. Now that an official Board of Directors is in place, he explained that his main objectives have been satisfied. 

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An email distributed to the Taskforce's mailing list Saturday also played a role in his decision after it was sent while he was away on business. Although the mailing was only informative in nature, Carey says it did catch him by surprise as it contained several mentions of local legislation affecting the fire district that he may have not affixed his name to if he had been made aware of the mailing before hand.

"I became involved with the taskforce before because I thought we could make a difference," he said. "I always tried to remain as neutral as possible and never meant to get into any political mud-slinging. It's not that I didn't agree or disagree with the email, but I would have liked to know what was going on. If my name is going to go on something, I'd want to make sure that I gave it approval first. I just decided rather than getting involved with the politics, it was time for me to step back, focus on my business and spend time with my family."

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Carey went on to say that he fully believes the Taskforce accomplished what it had set out to, but that he understands if some members want to stay involved, however he hopes that the existence of both the Taskforce and the Board does not cause any conflict.

"I'm hoping that as the new board gets further into this, there won't be a tug-of-war between the members and the taskforce," he continued. "Even though I'm no longer a member, it should be known that my full support is behind Fred Gralinski, the other members of the board, and what they have set out to do. I hope they take some of the ideas we came up with and at least give them a fair shake."

Carey said that as both a member of the Taskforce and a resident of Central Coventry, his support always has been and will continue to be with any efforts put in place to successfully create an economically sustainable fire district that will provide longterm safety to its residents while maintaining a realistic cost of living.

"I would rather ride off into the sunset now, knowing that I've helped provide some solutions, or at least some opportunities for solutions, and let the new board do what they have set out to do," said Carey.


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