Voters Support New Dog Pound, Turf Field, More At Town Meeting

By Kendra Bobowick

They got their money.

Roughly $3.1 million will fund a new dog pound, artificial turf field, new maintenance building roof, and middle school repairs.

Roughly 54 people squeezed into the library’s meeting room Wednesday evening and despite glances toward the windows at the sound of thunder and splashing rain, passed the capital project appropriations.

The majority show of hands was swift — taking place between 7 and 7:30 pm. But in two cases, the discussion was argumentative. The new dog pound and artificial turf plans for Tilson field both prompted objections.

Harvey Sellner raised his hand against the artificial turf. Asking to remove that item from the appropriations, he said, “That part of the plan is excessive and unwarranted.” Is artificial turf safe, he wanted to know? He argued that the turf’s underlayers may contain toxins, for example, as one local study had suggested. Recreation Commission Chairman Ed Marks was firm as he explained the reasons his department “advocated” the turf, noting the ten-year period during which they have addressed townwide field needs. Almost caught up with overall recreation demands, he said, “Tilson is the last piece.”

Focusing on Mr Sellner’s specific concerns that turf could cause sports injuries or pose health hazards, he said, “For those who think that the turf adds to injuries — you’re 20 years behind the times — they’re safe.” Regarding the rubber granules that may have prompted concerns about toxins, Mr Marks said, “Questions about the granules are highly speculative.” For these collective reasons, he stressed a “critical need for fields in town.” When First Selectman Joe Borst called for a vote entertaining Mr Sellner’s desire to drop the funding for the field, it failed by a 32-12 show of hands.

With a similar wish to drop funding for the dog pound — a proposal he later declined to support during a vote — resident Donald Seymour thought the more than $700,000 appropriation was excessive in a tight economy. “It’s unwise to put more [financial] burden on the citizens,” he said. Quickly standing up in the pound’s defense was LeReine Frampton, saying, “The whole community has been working on this — even the children — and to not support it, what’s that telling them?” To leave the current pound as it is “is almost animal abuse,” she argued. “The whole town is not behind very many things, but they’re behind this.”

Canine Advocates of Newtown President Virginia Jess soon spoke up. With the economy pushing people out of town or into foreclosures, they are moving away and in some cases they are giving up their pets. “Where do we put those pets?” she asked. Conditions at the current facility behind the Newtown Transfer Station — a 50-year-old building — are poor. “They had no running water a few weeks ago, we’re over capacity,” Ms Jess explained. And the bathroom? “No one would work in those conditions,” she said. Ultimately, even Mr Seymour failed to raise his hand to support removing the funds for the new pound. In fact, no one raised a hand.

By 7:30 the entire sum of a combined $825,000 for a maintenance building roof for the recreation department, $725,000 for turf at Tilson field, $750,00 for a new dog pound that will find space at Fairfield Hills, and $850,000 for Newtown Middle School repairs passed. Forty-five hands were raised in favor of the $3,150,000 capital funds, and two hands were against.

“It passed,” Mr Borst said.

Already earmarked in the budget as debt service line items, the appropriations are factored into current town spending and taxes. So far Canine Advocates has raised as much as $160,000 and received promises of pro bono work for a new pound.