Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

driveway-ordinance-bonds

Full Text:

Town Calls $200,000 In Overdue Driveway Bonds

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Newtown's driveway bond ordinance requires that driveways be completed 18

months from the time the bond is posted. Six-month extensions may be granted,

but if no extension is requested and the work is not done within the allotted

time, the $500 bond is forfeited. The town can also levy a $100 fine every

month until the work is completed.

Over the years, the town has been lenient on those who did not meet these

deadlines. Builders rarely forfeit bonds and the town has never charged a

fine. Not any more, according to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal. The town is

now enforcing this ordinance.

"The reason is if a driveway is not finished, then the dirt and gravel runs

into the road when it rains," he said.

The town recently called $200,000 worth of driveway bonds for work that was

never completed. Some of them dated back to the 1980s. That money has gone

into the general fund, ultimately benefiting the taxpayers of Newtown.

"(Finance Director) Ben Spragg and I were discussing this. (Town Engineer) Ron

Bolmer said he had all these old bonds. We were holding a significant amount

of money," Mr Rosenthal said.

The first selectman said he is simply enforcing the ordinance that exists.

"I don't think I need anyone else's authority to do it," he said. "For

whatever reason, we let that money accumulate over the years."

Residents do not have to pave their entire driveway, just the 14-foot apron

that connects with the town road.

Towns request a driveway bond simply as an insurance policy to ensure that the

work gets done. Some of the bonds were put up in 1980 and the driveways still

have not been completed, according to Mr Rosenthal. Most of these driveway

bonds were from builders who are believed to be long gone.

"Obviously, they haven't been looking for their money," Mr Rosenthal said.

If the bonds are forfeited, the town will use the money to do the work itself.