Free Affidavit - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:03-cv-00977-CFD Document 57 Filed 01/18/2006 Page 1 of 2
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
WENDELL HARP and :
ARCHITECTS ENVIRONMENTAI. :
COLLABORATIVE INTERNATIONAL, RC., 2
: CASE NO: 3:03CV977(CPD)
Plaintiffs, :
v.
JOHN DeSTE`FANO,
CITY OF NEW HAVEN and :
NEW HAVEN BOARD OP EDUCATION, :
Defendants.
: JANUARY I6, 2006
DECLARATION OF SUSAN WHETSTONE
I, SUSAN WHETSTONE, state under the pains and penalties of perjury as follows:
I. I am over the age of eighteen (18) and understand my obligation when
making a statement to this Court under the pains and penalties of perjury.
2. I was a member ofthe Board of Education for the City of New Haven in
May 2003.
3. On May 27, 2003, a regular meeting of the Board of Education was held. I
was in attendance at the meeting.
4. I had spoken to the Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo
("Mayo") before the meeting, who told me that he was recommending that Architects
Environmental Collaborative International, P.C.’s (“AECI") contract for the Prince
Welch School be terminated.
5. Mayo told me that he was concerned that Wendell Harp ("Harp"), the
principal of AECI would design the school in a manner that was different from the way
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I Case 3:03-cv-00977-CFD Document 57 Filed O1/18/2006 Page 2 of 2
_ c thathe, the School Construction Program and the City wanted the school designed, no
matter what promised and that working with AECI was going to be difficult and
I contentious;
I g 6. I voted to terminate AECI’s contract because I understood that there were
artistic differences between what the Mayor andthe Superintendent wanted the school to
i look like, on the one hand, and what Harp wanted the school to look like, on the other
* hand, which could not be resolved and because the Board of Education was having
I difdculty working with AECI. i`
he 7 Iliad served as Coordinator for the School Construction Program from 1995
a through part of 1997. -
8. I had negotiated AECI’s 1997 contract for the design of the Prince Welch
` School and had supervised AECl’s connect for a period of time. 5
' 9. I knew that Harp could he difficult to work with as I frequently had to push him _
I to rneet deadlines, he was strong minded about his vision of what the school should look
‘ like, and he insisted on doing things his own way.
li}. I had found Harp more difficult to work with than other architects in getting
g agreement on a contract, developing a building program and meeting deadlines.
ll. I do not rernernher now if when I voted to terminate AECI’s contract I knew
. that Harp and/or his wife were supporting Sherri Killins for Mayor. However, I do recall
c that Harp and/or his wife’s support for Killins did not factor into my decision to vote to
i terntinate AECI’s cont.ract.” r
The foregoing statements were made under the pains and penalties of perjury.
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