Date: Fri 17-Oct-1997

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewer-hook-ups

Full Text:

SEWER HOOK-UP NOTICES WILL START GOING OUT SOON

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Some property owners who have access to sanitary sewers will be notified by

October 24 that it is time to have their wastewater drains connected to the

municipal sewer system.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said residential and non-residential

property owners on Main Street, Church Hill Road and Queen Street will be

among the first people notified that it is time to connect to the sewer

system.

Those areas are served by gravity-powered sewers. Property owners in several

other sections of town with access to sewers will be sequentially notified

that it is time to connect in the coming weeks, Mr Hurley said. Some of those

areas have sewage pumping stations.

The town turned on its new sewage treatment plant on Commerce Road last month.

It has been processing wastewater from Garner Correctional Institution,

Nunnawauk Meadows, and Fairfield Hills for the past several weeks. Those

locations have sent approximately 250,000 gallons of wastewater daily to the

treatment plant. The treatment plant has a one-million-gallon-per-day

capacity.

The town initially will be mailing orders to connect to the sewers to the

owners of residential and non-residential properties near the treatment plant.

Orders will be successively sent out for properties farther and farther away

from the plant, according to Mr Hurley.

After receiving an order to connect, property owners will have four months to

do so. However, winter is approaching, meaning that a winter construction

shutdown of four to five months will occur.

The sewer connection period will be postponed when the winter shutdown starts

and will resume when the shutdown is over.

"The cost of the (sewer) hook-up is yours and must also include pumping (out)

the septic tank, crushing and backfilling the septic tank, and the actual

connection to the sewer line," Mr Hurley writes in a letter to sewer district

homeowners. Sewer hook-up costs will vary depending upon the extent and

complexity of the work on a given property.

The sewer hook-up charge is separate from sewer assessment charges and sewer

usage charges.

The information being mailed to homeowners and non-residential sewer customers

in the sewer district includes: an order to hook up to sewers, an application

to connect, information for sewer connection contractors, connection

specifications, and information from the health department.

The town will indicate to sewer connection contractors where lateral sewer

lines must be installed on individual properties, Mr Hurley said.

Contractors hired to make sewer connections must have appropriate state

licenses to do so.

It is expected that all properties in the sewer district will be connected to

the sewer system within a year.

About 820 properties in the sewer district have access to sewers. The town is

under a longstanding state order to resolve groundwater pollution problems

caused by failing septic systems. The $34.3-million sewer project has been

built as a permanent solution to the pollution problems.

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Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 17-Oct-1997

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