First Selectman Jeff Capeci visited Newtown Senior Center on Friday, May 9. As part of his monthly visit, seniors ask him questions to learn more about town developments.

Capeci started a discussion about trash and recycling with the seniors. He first told the crowd the town will discontinue the townwide recycling program on January 1, and reminded the seniors the Save-As-You-Throw program will start at the Transfer Station on July 1. He asked the seniors if taking their recycling to the Transfer Station would be an issue for them, to which one replied, “not at this time because I’m still healthy.”

Capeci then described his most recent trip to Oak Ridge Recycling Center and how recycling is done. He said he really enjoyed his trip and the seniors also expressed interest in visiting. Natalie Griffith, the director of Human Services, said she would work on scheduling a trip.

Another senior asked about Covered Bridge’s bankruptcy and if the town has made any decision on selling that debt.

“The Legislative Council approved a lien sale on Wednesday, it’s approximately $1.4 million, so that’s going to help us,” Capeci said. “The nice thing is … the company bought the debt, so they will cut the town a check, and we will have that money immediately.

“That’s a significant revenue loss," the first selectman added. "We don’t budget giant buckets of money, we try to balance the revenue with the expenditures when we do budgeting every year … We don’t have a lot of contingency … We’ve had a lot of capital needs lately, so there were no funds available to put towards the revenue loss.”

Another senior mentioned “at least one roof that needs to be repaired … roofs have a limited lifetime … it seems like these kinds of things should be planned.”

Capeci agreed, saying, “We’re trying to get a handle on that. I think the high school roof came out of nowhere … in theory, we should have known that was coming.”

Capeci also briefly discussed the issues with the community center HVAC system in the pool area, saying “a lot of things were shortchanged ... when that building went up, and so we’re paying for those issues today.”

He hopes the community center continues to pay its operational expenses with user fees versus taxes, he added.

Capeci discussed the 1910 Bridge, owned by Housatonic Railroad Company, which collapsed into the Pootatuck River on August 18. Due to this collapse, one of two wells that supply Newtown with water has been offline. When the wells are functioning, they pumping over 1 million gallons of water a day to Newtown residents. With the continued lack of water for local residents, however, Aquarion has issued a ban on all nonessential outdoor water use.

Newtown customers who rely on this wellfield for water are now getting water from the Monroe area, but Capeci said it is only “50-60% of what we need.”

Capeci said, “If you want to water your lawn, be careful because they will start enforcement. They are hiring people now who will be driving around town to make sure the water restrictions are adhered to. And they will fine you if they catch you watering your lawn!”

One of the final questions of the event was whether there is any interest in buying the old police station at 3 Main Street. Capeci answered Yes, and added the potential developer will need to adhere to Borough Historic District zoning regulations.

Capeci's next Java With Jeff session is planned for Friday, June 27, at 9:30 am.

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