On Friday, January 17, First Selectman Jeff Capeci joined the seniors at Newtown Senior Center for lunch and conversation. Every month, Capeci visits the seniors to hear their concerns.

This month, a lot of seniors had questions regarding the development of Fairfield Hills, as the goal is to reserve some of the proposed housing for ages 55 and older. Capeci communicated that there would be about 130 residential units between Shelton and the Kent House after WinnDevelopment is finished.

Capeci said, “My guess is either later this year [construction on] Shelton would possibly start … Shelton might be a year, 18 months renovation, and then Kent would be a two-year renovation starting in 2026.”

Capeci then explained, after someone pointed out how the dilapidated buildings might scare off potential residents, that Newtown simply does not have the budget to tear down all of the Fairfield Hills Campus buildings. “We can’t take all those buildings down on Newtown’s budget,” he said.

Following the conversation about Fairfield Hills, another member in the crowd pointed out the lack of police presence and traffic control on the roads, citing people driving through stop signs and not adhering to the speed limit.

Capeci said, “I think a lot of that can be curbed with a better police presence in town.”

Other audience members suggested speed bumps, to which Capeci answered “state roads are state roads.”

Someone asked Capeci regarding the three buses outside the senior center, and how they could be utilized to assist seniors in getting to appointments.

Natalie Griffith, the director of human services, answered the question for Capeci, saying that the ARPA funds awarded to the senior center included a transportation coordinator. She hopes the funds will be released from Hartford soon so the buses can get out on the road.

The last topic of discussion was regarding trash and recycling. Someone from the audience suggested having a bulky waste pickup collection day, as a lot of seniors can’t get to the transfer station themselves, or if they can, they usually don’t have a truck to haul items with.

Capeci said he would work on it, adding, “We are a very large town … it probably costs us twice what it costs [other towns]. And that’s a challenge.”

Capeci also said, “Well, there’s big changes going on in municipal waste and recycling. In my budget I’m going to propose eliminating the recycling service pickup that we have in town.”

The crowd murmured.

“I know,” Capeci said. “Let me explain … it’s very expensive. It’s almost a million dollars a year. A small minority of that actually gets recycled. So if we’re spending a million dollars and the recycling rate is so low, why are we doing this? It’s really going to the trash stream anyway.”

He ended his statement with, “We’re paying a lot of money, not sure we’re getting the product we’re paying for, and we’re looking for better solutions to improve.”

The next Pizza & Conversation with Jeff will be held on Friday, February 21, 12 pm, at Newtown Senior Center.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.