Date: Fri 01-Nov-1996

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

WPCA-sewer-extension

Full Text:

WPCA Approves High School Sewer Line Extension

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) has approved extending a sanitary

sewer line from Sandy Hook Center to Newtown High School to collect wastewater

discharged by the school.

WPCA members October 24 unanimously approved a motion to have Fuss and

O'Neill, Inc, the town's consulting engineer, design the sewer transmission

line provided that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

formally recommends the use of federal Clean Water Fund grant money for the

project.

The money to extend the line beneath Route 34 from Crestwood Drive to the high

school property line will be repaid by the town to the DEP. Funding for sewer

facilities constructed on the high school property will be handled through the

state Board of Education.

Earlier this month, town Board of Education members who are concerned that the

high school's 27-year-old septic system is on the decline, unanimously voted

to have a sewer line extended to the school.

The estimated cost to extend a sewer line is about $550,000 to $600,000. A

sewage pumping station to propel high school sewage into the sewer system will

be needed.

The DEP recently informed the school board that the high school septic system

has problems and that the school should be connected to the sewer system.

School board members agreed that the alternatives to a connection, such as

building an on-site sewage treatment plant at the school or completely

rebuilding the septic system, would be prohibitively expensive.

In August, voters at a town meeting approved designating a portion of the

town's $34.3 million in sewer bonding for extending a sewer line to the high

school.

Earlier this year, in connection with $25 million expansion of the high

school, school officials learned that some domestic water wells on Oakview

Road contained water with nitrate levels higher than is acceptable to the DEP,

posing potential health risks to people who drink the water. Oakview Road is a

residential street west of the high school.

DEP officials have maintained that a malfunctioning high school septic system

caused the well water contamination.

While town officials have acknowledged that the high school septic system

probably contributes to the nitrate problem, they point out that the area is

the site of a former landfill and septage lagoon. The fertilization of school

athletic fields and horses kept in the area also are thought to be

contributing factors to the nitrate contamination problem.

The sewer line extension to the high school is intended to serve only the high

school and not properties lying along the sewer line extension.

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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 01-Nov-1996

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