During a regular meeting October 7, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the latest five-year municipal Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said continues to prioritize an ongoing road improvement program and public safety investments.

While the CIP document presented for review and approval takes into account projected capital projects and their corresponding anticipated costs, the selectmen are only bound by current policy to approve capital planning requests for the next five fiscal cycles.

Following the meeting, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee that his priority was to continue promoting capital spending and bonding strictly on “need to haves” versus discretional “nice to haves.”

“When we solicited CIP requests earlier this year, I told everyone we are going to continue prioritizing infrastructure and public safety spending for at least the next bonding cycle,” the first selectman said. “We have to heed the latest advisory from [the bond rating agency] Moody’s and be conscious about restricting our borrowing and be conscious of not introducing new projects.”

In July, The Newtown Bee reported that the latest annual “issuer comment” statement from the municipal bond rating agency warned that Newtown’s debt burden “is a weakness relative to the towns with Aa1 rating,” and its “fund balance as a percent of operating revenues is much lower than other Moody’s rated cities nationwide.”

At the time, Town Finance Director Robert Tait explained that “Moody’s is saying our debt is affordable, but it’s a weakness against their rating criteria for similar towns. So, it’s like they are cautioning us on that.”

Guided by that information, selectmen approved the latest CIP with the following key points of interest highlighted:

*In the first five years, the total bonded request is $27,057,933. The bonded request for those same five years in the current approved CIP is $26,316,000 — the difference being $741,933, which represents the increased updated cost estimate for an emergency radio system upgrades.

*Keeping the bonded requested amount close to the current approved CIP continues the desired goal of relying less on borrowing and more on contributions to the capital & non-recurring fund (pay as you go). Mr Rosenthal and Mr Tait believe the town could start achieving significant “pay as you go” funding starting in fiscal year 2025-26.

*Preliminary bond forecast calculations indicate that the five-year CIP total should be around $35,000,000 (with a zero bonding year five) to achieve the above goals. (The above requests do not include the Board of Education CIP requests).

Police Headquarters Construction

Among the prioritized project selections are public safety projects, including construction spending to convert the former commercial office building off South Main Street into the town’s new police headquarters, along with the aforementioned emergency communications upgrades and replacement fire apparatus.

Mr Rosenthal said the bulk of other municipal capital requests involve continued supplementing of the formerly underfunded roads & bridges programs. Public building and facility improvements are also in the CIP for projects at the Fairfield Hills campus, Edmond Town Hall, and the C.H. Booth Library.

The first selectman said placeholder funding for a Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial also remain in the five-year plan, albeit being pushed out by one year.

Mr Rosenthal said that adjustment was strictly a result of “timing.”

“We just won’t be ready with an appropriation request for the memorial in time to get it on the April Budget Referendum,” he said. “However, maybe by either next November [2020], or the 2021 budget ballot, we’ll be ready. This project is no less a priority — but we won’t make the April 2020 ballot.

“And we need lead time to be sure residents who will be voting on this funding understand what it is we’re building,” the first selectman added.

Necessary sewer and utility infrastructure work at Fairfield Hills has been moved into year two of the CIP after the town received a $900,000 federal EDA grant for the project, which will total $1.8 million once matched by the town.

“This is an investment we have to make regardless of what happens on the campus in the future,” Mr Rosenthal said. He said the town’s half of the match will be reimbursed not through residential taxation but from assessments on the campus.

“And without the match, we have no grant,” the first selectman said.

Regarding road and bridge improvement funding, Mr Rosenthal said 2020 marks the next phase of stepping down bonding amounts as annual operating revenue shifts to cover the annual budget.

“We’re down to $1 million next April, then down to $750,000 and $500,000 in each subsequent year,” he said.

Communications Challenges

The bulk of the CIP discussion before selectmen October 7, according to Mr Rosenthal, involved several public safety officials and a consultant from New England Radio Communication LLC talking about necessary emergency communication upgrades.

“We’re planning a full modern upgrade to digital technology for all local responders, like the police have had for a couple of years,” the first selectman said. “This is a very important project, as the equipment we currently have in our dispatch center is now outside its useful lifespan.”

To better prepare for anticipated costs and phasing of the upgrades, Mr Rosenthal said selectmen agreed to rejigger the two-year borrowing cycles from $4.3 million in year one and $2.5 million in year two to $2.5 million in year one (2020-21) and $5 million in year two.

The additional $700,000 being added to the gross projection reflects anticipated increase costs for tower work and the addition of a project contingency fund.

“There’s no question this is a need to have,” Mr Rosenthal said. “This level of emergency communications involves life or death consequences.”

And if there is a significant equipment failure, the first selectman said Newtown could be forced to farm out its emergency dispatching to another municipality or agency.

Regarding a Parks & Recreation request for capital borrowing to improve the Dickinson Park pavilion area, Mr Rosenthal said he prefers to address at least the top priority improvements for a new pavilion roof and structural work through the town’s capital nonrecurring program.

Regarding another Parks & Recreation request for borrowing to build new pickleball courts, Mr Rosenthal countered that NYA Sports and Fitness at Fairfield Hills is installing three new indoor pickleball courts. He expects these new private courts to take some pressure of the town to develop new courts.

“Maybe if some fundraising toward new town courts is successful, the town can do a match, but we can’t do this in the CIP,” Mr Rosenthal said. “At some point in the future, provided the Connecticut economy improves, we’ll be in a better place to consider capital funds for more elective projects.”