Gaston Sails Into Third Term As Newtown’s Borough Warden

By John Voket

James Gaston wears several hats.

He is by profession, an attorney. He has served Newtown as a member and vice chair of the Newtown Board of Finance. And thanks to the endorsement of 48 voters and the fact that he faced no opposition, Mr Gaston is beginning his third term as warden — the top elected official of the Borough of Newtown.

Described as a “town within a town” and encompassing most of the geographic center of the community along and around Main Street, this independent municipality is the second oldest of Connecticut’s nine remaining boroughs.

Former warden Joan Crick said in a Newtown Bee profile in 2005 that there are likely some people who live within the borough who are not aware of being part of such a unique entity.

“The borough was established in 1824, and because of its location, has long since served the needs of its residents and practically everyone in the entire town,” she said.

Historically, the district provided the town’s first firefighting services, drafted the community’s first legal zoning initiatives, installed the towns first fire hydrants, and even Newtown’s first few streetlights.

“As the borough is its own municipality, it has the powers and authority of statute to effectuate the needed protection and preservation of its residents, and maintains what The New York Times called its ‘...pristine early American elegance,’” Mrs Crick noted in the profile.

In a brief interview one week after he was reelected as borough warden, Mr Gaston outlined a number of issues involving this small but somewhat independent section of Newtown, and how he plans to move forward as the district’s lead caretaker.

Mr Gaston noted the fact that none of the borough’s 11 elected officials faced opposition, which he believes is evidence that most borough residents are generally satisfied with the job the officials are doing.

“I always encourage every borough resident to vote, but if people are satisfied they tend not to come out.”

Looking back over his first two terms — he was first elected in an unopposed election in 2007 — Mr Gaston said one of the most important concerns surfaced somewhat recently. That was the challenge to a plan by United Water to overstep borough zoning and local historic preservation protections to install part of a new 12-inch water main and new residential connections to homes along Main Street between Glover Avenue and the foot of Mt Pleasant Road.

“People in the borough were very concerned about what United Water was doing, so we not only fought to preserve the early American integrity of the historic district along Main Street, but we also spent a lot of time keeping borough residents informed about the progress of the project,” Mr Gaston said.

Recently, an agreement between the water utility and the town and borough was completed, and Mr Gaston said he intended to sign that agreement. (Read more about the United Water agreement in this week’s edition of The Newtown Bee or at newtownbee.com.)

Among the perennial issues Mr Gaston will deal with, will be the maintenance and possible extensions of the borough’s residential sidewalk system. In his third term, Mr Gaston has vowed to see a short extension of sidewalk completed near the top of Church Hill Road, linking to sidewalks along Main Street by the flagpole.

“It’s both a public safety and an aesthetic issue,” he said. In addition, Mr Gaston said plans are already in the works to extend sidewalks further down Queen Street between Glover Avenue and possibly as far south as Lovells Lane.

“About 100 residents in that area will have new sidewalks to more safely access the commercial district in the borough as well as linking up to Main Street, the theater, and Edmond Town Hall,” he said.

Another controversial issue involves the relocation of the headquarters of Newtown Hook & Ladder. A protracted process of trying to establish a new headquarters on Sugar Street behind Town Hall South is in limbo because of a combination of factors, including failure to obtain borough zoning clearance. This although the fire company is still appealing the borough ruling as well as a town inland wetlands rejection of the plan.

Mr Gaston said he is motivated, however, to keep Hook & Ladder in the borough, and is now focusing attention on a possible alternative site behind Edmond Town Hall, adjacent to the fire company’s present location.

Mr Gaston said he is also pleased that he and his administration have been able to keep the added taxation on borough property owners at historic lows.

“Prior to my administration, the mill rate had historically been closer to 1 mill,” he said, adding that the 0.59 mill rate inched up to 0.61 mills in the current fiscal year.

“Even though we’ve increased building fees, it will be challenging to keep that mill rate flat in the coming years,” he said. A mill represents one dollar of taxation for every $1,000 in taxable property.

Mr Gaston said that the borough engenders a holistic community feeling throughout town, because it plays host to several high profile events, including the second largest Labor Day parade in the northeast, the annual Halloween festivities, and the Ram’s Pasture holiday season tree lighting.

“These are events that are held dear to the entire community of Newtown.”

Ultimately, as his predecessor Mrs Crick stated, historic preservation is among the most important responsibilities of borough leadership. And while borough officials often face criticism from those in the outskirts of the district that local services primarily benefit those along Main Street, Mr Gaston said that spirit of preservation extends to every last home in the corners of the borough’s neighborhoods.

For that reason, Mr Gaston said he hopes the community never acquiesces its borough status.

“I only have to point to the former borough of Stepney right down Route 25, which used to be a lovely, quaint area. But look at it now,” Mr Gaston said, referring to the Clock Tower Plaza and other big box commercial developments near the intersection of Routes 25 and 59.

“That’s what can happen if you give up the extra layer of protection borough zoning provides,” he said. “Once you give that up, it’s gone forever — you can’t recharter a borough once it is lost. The reason Main Street retains its early American charm is because of the borough.”