During a brief virtual meeting February 3, the Legislative Council voted unanimously to send three capital authorization requests to voters to consider on the April 27 budget referendum.

By charter, each year the council must break out any special or emergency appropriations that equal or exceed its spending authority of $1.5 million for any one purpose during any fiscal cycle.

Council Chairman Paul Lundquist noted that the Capital Improvement Plan for next year contains three projects requiring such authorizations by voters.

The projects include an appropriation to create a Sandy Hook permanent memorial to those lost on 12/14; a gas boiler and LED lighting upgrade for the Reed Intermediate School; and a major upgrade to Newtown’s emergency communications system.

Vice Chair Judit DeStefano moved the memorial authorization in the amount of $3.7 million.

Lundquist noted that while the funds, if approved, would be spent in two phases, the entire authorization needed to be approved this year.

“This latest estimate has been revised down to $3.7 million instead of $4 million,” he said.

Speaking to the motion, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said the cost had been “pushed as far as we can in terms of cost — although I would like to see it lower.”

(Read the latest details regarding the memorial in a separate report in today’s print edition.)

Rosenthal said the estimated initial cost for the memorial started out at nearly four times the final appropriation request.

On a question from Councilman Dan Honan, Rosenthal confirmed the project at this juncture is completely underwritten by taxpayers versus through any separate fundraising.

With no further discussion, that motion passed unanimously.

Motion on the Reed School capital project for $1,539,894 was swiftly introduced and unanimously approved. The motion on the emergency communications system authorization for $5,041,933 also passed with no discussion.

According to CIP documentation, the Reed project includes the replacement of existing boilers with new high-efficiency condensing boilers and upgrade of all building light fixtures to LED. This qualifies the town for utility rebates offered from Eversource.

The project will include boilers, pumps, VFDs, and LED lighting. The VFDs, or variable frequency drives, are motor controllers that drive electric motors by varying the frequency and voltage of the power supply. In the case of motors tied to HVAC systems, they can greatly improve efficiency and cost savings.

Condensing gas boilers will offer savings from reduced natural gas consumption, while the LED lights will reduce electricity costs due to greater efficiency and also result in less maintenance. The average annual debt service is $98,000 without considering any energy rebates.

Regarding the emergency communications system work, the CIP documentation states the current Newtown Public Safety communications systems are no longer supported and are at “end of life.” This system replacement is critical to ensure first responders are dispatched and supported in the field while performing their duties in support of the residents of Newtown.

A previous bonding resolution was already approved for $2,500,000 last year. The average annual debt service for total project is $510,000.