Date: Fri 14-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Town-Hall-South-renovation

Full Text:

Town Meeting Approves Town Hall South Work

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Proposals to spend $840,000 to renovate Town Hall South and $650,000 for road

reconstruction won quick approval by the 30 voters who attended Wednesday

night's town meeting in Town Hall South.

The meeting, attended mostly by town officials, town employees and members of

the news media, approved the proposal to take $840,000 from the town's Reserve

Fund for Capital and Non-Recurring Expenditures for the Town Hall South

project on a vote of 27 to 2. The proposal to issue bonds to pay for the

roadwork passed 29-1.

According to the town charter, there will be no additional vote on the

proposals unless they are petitioned to a referendum. This would require that

separate petitions, each bearing the valid signatures of 578 registered voters

or local property owners, be submitted to the town clerk's office by 4:30 pm

on Wednesday, August 7, to force a machine vote on each question.

Town Clerk Cindy Curtis said Hugh Quinn of Deerfield Drive came to her office

on Thursday morning to ask for the petition forms.

Selectman James Mooney, Sr, made the formal motion to approve the Town Hall

South project at Wednesday night's meeting, calling the renovations "long

overdue."

"The building is an eyesore," he said. "There are very serious problems from

an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standpoint and this

work will solve many of the long-time maintenance problems. It's good business

to make this investment in the future."

Melissa Pilchard, vice chairman of the Legislative Council, agreed that the

project was probably needed, "except perhaps for the additional 5,000 square

feet of space that is being added but not used," but she said not enough was

being done inside the building. The offices haven't been painted in years, she

said, and they aren't cleaned with any degree of regularity.

Mrs Pilchard said she wanted to be sure that core samples will be taken to

identify any potential water problems that wouldn't be corrected by a curtain

drain, and recommended that the heating and ventilating systems be thoroughly

cleaned to remove mold which accumulated because of repeated flooding in the

building.

"I am more concerned with the inside of the bulding and the people who work

here than I am with the outside," she said.

Sam Nezvesky of Hungtingtown Road said the building should be sold or torn

down rather than renovated.

"It's foolish to spend money on this building - it is a disaster," he said.

Gary Wheeler asked whether anyone researched the cost of other vacant

buildings which might be available for use as town offices. His question was

not answered by First Selectman Bob Cascella who was the moderator of the

meeting.

Mr Mooney also made the motion to approve the bonding of $650,000 for road

reconstruction. He said the town had a five-year road plan which was to have

been funded by $2 million a year. This year, when the budget was defeated by

85 votes in the April referendum, the council cut $350,000 from roadwork,

leaving $1 million in the budget and proposing $650,000 in bonding.

"We've already lost $350,000," Mr Mooney said. "I'm not comfortable with

$650,000 - I'd like it to be $1 million."

But Hugh Quinn disagreed.

"We've got to cut out the spending spree this town is on," Mr Quinn said. "In

another year sewers are coming and we have to pay for that, too."

Mrs Pilchard said the condition of many of the roads are so bad that school

buses are getting damaged driving on them. "The roads are our largest capital

asset and it is important that we maintain them," she said.

Mr Wheeler, who operates school buses for the town, asked what roadwork will

be done with the money next year. Mr Cascella said he did not have the

information with him but he said it would include work on two bridges on Pond

Brook Road, as well as Hanover Road, Cold Spring Road and some other roads.

"I'd like a list - let me know so I can plan my bus routes," Mr Wheeler said.