Finance Board Will Let

New Leaders Change

Or Affirm CIP

By John Voket

Local votes resoundingly returned all six incumbent finance board members to another term of service on Election Day. But in recognizing the complete turnover among members of the Board of Selectmen, and a change in leadership and new members on the Board of Education, finance board Chair John Kortze expects there could be a change in focus among projects proposed on the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

That will not stop his board from reviewing the comments received from current town and school representatives about possible capital projects in consideration for underwriting over the next five-year period. Mr Kortze did say, however, that he wants to allow for any changes or reprioritizing the new administration may want to effect.

So he will be requesting the Legislative Council extend the delivery date for the finance board to present its capital recommendations from late November, until a point when his board receives either changes or affirmation that the existing proposals have been accepted by newly elected officials.

The finance board will also pick up deliberations on the finer points of those existing proposals during its next scheduled meeting November 9. All the newly elected officials including three new selectmen will be sworn into office December 1, and are expected to get right to work on capital planning.

Mr Kortze said no matter what final recommendations come from new elected officials, it is obvious that points brought to light during the last two meetings need to be addressed — particularly achieving consensus among finance board members about the scope and timing of school improvement projects, brand-new capital requests involving building demolition at Fairfield Hills, and public safety concerns involving the Hook & Ladder headquarters and a new police station.

“Monday, we expect to begin discussing some preliminary ideas of where we are, but we do expect to continue working on it,” Mr Kortze told The Newtown Bee Wednesday. “After December 1 we will have [newly elected leaders] in place, and our job will be to listen to what they want and see if we can afford it.

“It may be changed substantially, or it may be affirmed,” Mr Kortze said of the existing CIP requests, and the priorities that have been assigned to proposed capital projects. “We have to honor what the new Board of Education and the new Board of Selectmen want to do.”

The anticipated delay in completing the CIP, the finance chairman said, will neither impact upcoming budget presentations nor delay any proposed projects. And Mr Kortze added that this scenario is not unique. In fact, it is a replay of what occurred when the current board of selectmen was seated in 2007.

“Even if we don’t recommend CIP spending to the council until early January, it will still be far ahead of any decisions on next year’s operational budget,” Mr Kortze said. “The premise is to keep the operational budget discussions separate from any capital goals, and we fully expect to get those numbers to the council well before next budget season.”

During the October 22 finance board meeting, the panel received clarifications about proposed spending for the demolition of buildings that will not be sanctioned for reuse at Fairfield Hills. In questioning, Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle explained that demolition would be patterned from the “core” of the campus, also known as the “inner loop,” outward.

Both Public Works Director Fred Hurley and Police Chief Michael Kehoe supported the plan, saying with increasing traffic on campus due to the Newtown Youth Academy and the newly opened municipal center, there have been increases in incidents of trespassing. Mr Hurley said trespassers are bringing heavy and sophisticated equipment onto the campus to aid in breaking into buildings, because those with an interest know the buildings will be coming down soon and they will no longer have any venues for their explorations.

Chief Kehoe said he expects trespassing and vandalism will get worse before any action can be taken to raze particularly attractive targets at Fairfield Hills. Mr Hurley also assured the finance board that his department will be significantly reducing its involvement in future projects, in favor of the authority contracting outside vendors to do construction and improvement work.

During his presentation, Chief Kehoe said five of six possible sites identified to relocate and build a new headquarters are on the Fairfield Hills campus, and that the original CIP request of $12 million is the maximum cost fixed to a new facility within the current five-year plan. The chief added that if new headquarters are developed to the specifications already outlined by the department and a special architectural consultant, it would serve the community for 30 years of more.

At this point First Selectman Joe Borst said he favors building a new police station, while looking into the possibility of using the shell of the current building, Town Hall South, as a new Hook & Ladder headquarters. Earlier in the evening, Fire Commissioner Kevin Cragin told the finance board that the current condition of the Hook & Ladder Headquarters could jeopardize the security of millions of dollars worth of fire apparatus currently housed in the deteriorating facility behind Edmond Town Hall. It was further determined that relocating Hook & Ladder to the area of Fairfield Hills could substantially increase response time to parts of the company’s jurisdiction.

The board of finance is expected to take up preliminary deliberations on these issues Monday, November 9, at 7:30, in the lower meeting room at Town Hall South.