The Board of Finance (BOF) approved appropriations of $90,000 for adaptive playground equipment at Dickinson Park, $8 million for the planning, design, engineering, and installation of a ventilation system and HVAC renovations at Hawley School, as well as $500,000 for the reconstruction and construction of town roads at its Thursday, August 26, meeting.

The board unanimously approved a transfer of $90,000 to assist the Newtown Lions Club’s purchase of adaptive playground equipment for children with disabilities. The equipment will be installed at Dickinson Park. The transfer is awaiting approval by the Legislative Council, and is expected to be administered by mid-September.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee that while the town’s playgrounds currently meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, they are not “truly adaptive.”

“Children with different disabilities can get to the playground and be at the playground, so we meet the letter of the law,” said Rosenthal, who noted that there is not much for some children with disabilities, such as those in a wheelchair, to do at the playground. He said that the Lions Club is raising funds for three pieces of adaptive playground equipment.

Rosenthal said that he imagined everyone could relate to being a child and not being tall enough to ride on a ride.

“Then you think about children with disabilities who may never get to that imaginary height,” said Rosenthal. “This equipment will make Newtown not only a nicer place but more inclusive.”

So far, the Lions have raised $42,750 and are expecting a $2,000 price break from playground equipment distributor M.E. O’Brien. With $90,000 from the town and the Parks & Recreation Department offering to do the groundwork and installation, an estimated value of $35,000, that puts the club at $167,750 of its $172,310 goal, with $4,550 left to raise. The town designated its $90,000 contribution from a $915,000 budget surplus.

Most of the rest of the money from the surplus will go into the town’s fund balance.

“This is a positive for an inclusive community,” Rosenthal said. “This creates a nice inclusive area that all children can enjoy. I was happy to propose [the $90,000], and I’m glad the selectmen support it. We had a good budget year, so we saw what we could do to help. I’m glad that we could do what we did. It’s a worthy project.”

According to Lions Club representative Neil Randle, the three items of playground equipment the Lions plan to purchase are the Sway Fun, purchase price $27,670; the We-Go-Swing, $32,745; and the We-Go-Round, $31,170.

“These items best capture the sentiment of fully inclusive play as well as the opportunity for several children and parents to play on the equipment together at one time, with easy access and transfer to and from a wheelchair,” said Randle.

The money will not be moved from the town to the Lions and back again, especially since, according to Rosenthal, the town’s municipal discount means it can purchase the playground equipment for less than the Lions could. Instead, the club will give the town the funds it has raised and the town will make the purchases.

Questioning Renovations

The board unanimously approved bonding $8 million for air ventilation and HVAC work at Hawley School.

The appropriation for Hawley School was authorized in the capital improvement plan (2021-22 to 2025-26). The town will issue $8 million in bonds to borrow the amount. Voters will be asked to approve or reject the appropriation on Election Day, Tuesday, November 2.

BOF Vice Chair Sandy Roussas said that while she knows the need for ventilation and HVAC at Hawley, she found it “unfortunate” that a “more cost effective solution” was not found.

“We’ve gone through enough review at our level,” said Roussas. “The voters should just have their say.”

Board member Ned Simpson stated that he felt that the money used to make these upgrades would be “better spent on a new school.”

“From my career experience working in hospitals, there have been plenty of 40- to 60-year-old buildings that were beloved, but in the end they were torn down,” said Simpson. “Don’t put money into an old building.”

He felt that all the schools should be air conditioned and acknowledged the air quality problems at the school, but felt that choosing between closing the school or putting $8 million into renovations was “the wrong question.”

“The right question is what it takes to get the town a 21st Century school,” Simpson said.

Simpson also questioned a “million dollar swing” due to the cost of refrigerant. He acknowledged that the town did not have time to change course due to the question needing to be on the November ballot, but asked if the public could be given a detailed overview of the costs of the project.

Rosenthal said that the town “would not be put up to chance” on whether it passed referendum.

“Like past projects, there will be some level of public engagement,” said Rosenthal. “There’s a lot of work left to do. It’s a matter of time.”

He also addressed the issue of the refrigerant, saying that the less expensive option in the original cost estimate was “being phased out” and that the town would spend more money in the long run either tracking down the refrigerant or changing the system over.

Roussas said that with the police station project, the information released to the public was “not as granular” and that the Public Building and Site Commission “did a good job” handling the project.

“I would expect no less,” said Roussas. “The public should know what is going on, but providing too much detail is questionable.”

She also stated that a new building rather than renovating was “not a feasible option” as there are other schools in need of HVAC work. She also thought the scope of building a new school would be considerably larger and more costly than renovating Hawley.

Board member John Madzula agreed, saying the issue was “not going to go away.” He said that a new school is likely ten to 15 years down the line and the “ultimate issue is if this is good enough for now.”

“The voters, parents, staff, the Board of Education, this is what the need and what they want,” said Madzula. “This is what they asking for and they deserve to have it.”

Rosenthal said that the cost estimates are assuming a level of inflation, and additionally, even though the estimated cost is $7.8 million, the town is seeking a full $8 million to help absorb any unexpected fluctuations in cost.

“If we’re under budget, we won’t spend the extra money,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal also stated that there will be further talk in September about using American Rescue Plan funding toward the work.

“We may apply some of that to this project,” said Rosenthal. “We’ll get the numbers to voters so they can make an informed decision about how much to bond.”

Rosenthal said that the appropriation needed to go before the Legislative Council before September 1 and then has to go to the Connecticut Secretary of State to apply to be on the ballot on Election Day.

Road Work Appropriation

The BOF also unanimously approved a $500,000 appropriation in bonding for road work. Like the money for the playground equipment and Hawley School, the appropriation has already been approved by the Board of Selectmen and needs the approval of the Legislative Council.

Rosenthal said the town, when he began as first selectman, was doing $1.5 million in road work out of its regular operating budget and bonding $1 million more for road work. During his tenure, the town has been moving to paying for more of the roadwork out of annual operating budgets and borrowing less — at a rate of approximately $250,000 each year.

This year, the town will pay $2.5 million for roads out of its operating budget and borrow $500,000. Next year, Rosenthal hopes to use $2.75 million from the operating budget and only borrow $250,000; and in 2023-24, the goal is to spend $3 million from the operating budget on roads and eliminate bonding any funds for roads and bridges.

After that, the town will keep $3 million in the budget for roads, with the only additions to account for inflation.

Reporter Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.