Work on a variety of projects around town continues apace, though resolutions have not been reached.

The Newtown Bee offers a Standing O to the town for closing in on an agreement for a railroad crossing with the Housatonic Railroad as part of the long awaited project to connect the Fairfield Hills Campus to the Housatonic Rail Trail.

While there is some concern over whether the crossing can be approved administratively or requires legislative approval at the state level, the town is nonetheless nearly to its years-awaited goal of connecting the campus to the rail trail. The Pequonnock/Housatonic Rail Trail network currently stretches 16 miles from Monroe to Bridgeport.

An Oh No to a hurdle concerning Winn Development and its development of two Fairfield Hills Campus buildings, Kent and Shelton Halls, as the principles of Winn have asked for a bunch of changes to an agreement that was arranged between the Town of Newtown’s legal representation and Winn’s attorneys. These changes, though unspecified, have slowed the agreement by several months after it looked like things were full steam ahead after the state made Fairfield Hills eligible for Historic Credits. Historic Credits would enable Winn to get large grants to help renovate the buildings, so long as the buildings are kept to as closely resemble the original historic buildings as possible.

First Selectman Jeff Capeci said he hoped to have the contract dispute resolved by the end of the month, so hopeful in October this will change to a Standing O.

Another Standing O as the town makes strides to make Google Meet available for town meetings. While it was set up at a recent Legislative Council meeting, a lack of public participation kept the system from being tested live. Capeci’s hope is that Google Meet will not only allow people unable to attend a meeting to participate from their phones, but also allow meetings that have exceeded capacity of the Council Chambers to remain in those chambers while still allowing overflow crowds to attend and participate utilizing Google Meet. An upcoming public hearing on a change to the recycling and waste disposal ordinances may put the system to the test.

The hook-up between Aquarion’s water system and the Fairfield Hills Campus is expected to be done within a week, so a big Standing O there. Aquarion’s ability to service Newtown and Bethel has been limited since August of last year, when flooding destroyed a culvert in the Pootatuck River and blocked the use of one of Aquarion’s well fields. With repairs to the culvert still held up in negotiations with the railroad company, the hookup with the Fairfield Hills Campus will allow Aquarion to utilize Fairfield Hills’ excess water generation, which will be sold to Aquarion from the Town of Newtown.

This will allow Aquarion to lift its water restrictions and ban on outdoor water use for its Newtown and Bethel customers.