More Money

For Fairfield Hills?

To the Editor:

Yes, $700,000 plus untold hours of work to be done by the town Public Works Department has been approved by the Board of Finance to be included in the Capital Improvement Plan.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a five-year program, consisting of major capital purchases of a nonrecurring nature, taking into consideration the town’s needs and desires for various improvements. It consists of requests made by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education (for example, the middle school roof) each year to have the town borrow money to pay for a list of projects to be completed within a five-year period. We, the people, will pay back this debt over 20 years by including payment of principle and interest on this debt in the town budget that we vote on each year.

Because of poor planning, town leaders were forced to install telephone poles to service the new Municipal Center and to meet contractual obligations to the Newtown Youth Academy. Hurriedly, the town invested $? in 2009 for this infrastructure which should last for years. AT&T installed the poles and CL&P erected the power lines entering the campus from Mile Hill South and extending to the Newtown Youth Academy. Now, one pole is leaning badly and another is also no longer vertical. Is this condition dangerous and is it a real safety hazard? Is it necessary to bury the entire length of this infrastructure now to “fix” one or two poles? Who is at fault? AT&T, CL&P, or town planners?

Tuesday, I was driving along Route 34 toward Sandy Hook Center and observed the telephone poles carefully. I found one leaning badly and another slanted pole reinforced by a bracing pole. CL&P has told the first selectman the wires at FFH are tight, no need to worry. She says she intends to request an on-site inspection by both companies.

In these difficult economic times, surely the situation can be made safe for less than $300,000 and the cost of the Public Works Department spending hours digging ditches. However, because the Board of Finance has already approved the expenditure and included it in their recommended CIP, only the Legislative Council can change or delete the $300,000. Once the Legislative Council approves the project, only a No vote by citizens on the entire budget can stop this folly.

Surely, town leaders can find a less expensive way to ensure the safety of these poles and power lines.

Ruby Johnson, PhD

16 Chestnut Hill, Sandy Hook                                     March 10, 2010