The Legislative Council dug into a package of ordinances, and received a brief report on the status of town spending on major planned road and drainage projects during the first meeting of the month on October 7.

On the request of a council member, Chair Mary Ann Jacob told The Newtown Bee that she requested Public Works Director Fred Hurley inform the full council on the status of Town road projects.

Mr Hurley briefed the panel on the status of gas line installations at Sandy Hook School and a similar project next year at Middle Gate. He said by using Town crews for part of the Sandy Hook installation, the Public Works Department avoided $380,000 in extra costs that would have been paid to Eversource Energy if the utility company handled contracting the work instead.

The public works chief then distributed a report on road projects and costs. The document explains that the Public Works budget receives $1.5 million in road funds as part of the department’s annual allocation in the Town budget, as well as $1 million more from bonding.

Added line items for contractual services, drainage and patching materials amounts to a total roads-related allocation of $3,335,000. To date, the department has spent $2,497,974, with an added $625,000 still committed to projects in progress. The balance of the budget will be utilized for emergency road repairs and patching through the end of the fiscal year.

The document details 15 roads that received total or partial drainage work; ten that had all or partial paving, while five included aforementioned drainage work; speed table installations on Key Rock Road; and retaining wall projects on Gelding Hill and Boulder Creek Roads.

Work in progress includes four more paving projects; five drainage winterization projects; two bank stabilization projects; and utility conduit excavation at Fairfield Hills. Mr Hurley told The Bee after the meeting that the winterization projects are preceding paving next summer on all or parts of Bonnie Brae, Brassie Hill, Birch Hill, and Brushy Hill Road.

Paving is also being planned for Riverside and Swamp Roads, the document indicates. Nine additional roads are slated for paving and drainage in 2016, Mr Hurley added.

Ms Jacob said Mr Hurley acknowledged that projects were spread across the community, sometimes on lesser traveled roadways.

“But Fred made the point about spreading the love,” she said, “to allow residents to feel the benefit of road work as widely as possible. I hope people notice how much work has been done.”

Ordinance Actions

Following a public hearing on amendments to the ordinance related to Newtown’s Sustainable Energy Commission, and another ordinance governing local administration of tax abatements to totally disabled veterans, the council acted to pass both. Ms Jacob said those ordinances would take effect in a matter of days.

The first approval strikes term limit language from the ordinance, permitting valued and productive members of the committee to serve in successive three-year terms as long as they desire, or continue to be reappointed.

The second permits the town to adopt the maximum state allowed tax relief benefits for totally disabled veterans, of which Ms Jacob said Newtown has at least one.

Both will go into effect in the next few weeks, Ms Jacob said, and both are important because there is a valued member up for reappointment whose term on the Sustainable Energy Commission was expiring, and the veteran’s benefit is up for renewal.

The council also moved the town’s alarm, and its purchasing ordinances revisions, to a public hearing Ms Jacob said would be set ahead of a special meeting of the council on October 28. The public hearing has since been scheduled for 7 pm that evening.

She said the purchasing ordinance must receive a routine administrative review required by charter, and that revisions to the alarm ordinance have been in the works for some time.

“The Alarms Ordinance is very complex,” the council chair explained. “It’s a giant problem with 1,400 false calls a year that take two officers and their cars off the road. It takes officers away from other duties.”

Ms Jacob said the revisions to the ordinance up for action following the hearing, are making penalties to frequent offenders more expensive in an attempt to drive compliance.

“We’re not in it for boosting revenue,” she said. “We want police to be free to do their work. Some biggest offenders have 10 to 20 calls a year — that’s a big number.”

Related to other town emergency and fire service volunteers, the council sent a review of the tax abatement for those individuals to the ordinance committee for possible revision. There has been a suggestion by the Tax Collector’s office that a nominal benefits increase may be warranted.