The agenda was all about paving.

The Board of Selectmen learned on June 11 which of Newtown’s roads would be paved this season during a regular meeting that had been rescheduled from June 3. Before that, a quorum of three boards met to approve the necessary funds to complete paving the Community Center and Senior Center parking lots.

Following a 20-minute executive session to review legal matters related to the new community center/senior center project, a quorum of members of the Legislative Council and Board of Finance sat in with selectmen to quickly authorize a package of transfers that would cover the $110,000 required to complete the contract work required to surface parking areas at the new town facility under construction within Fairfield Hills.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal explained that he hoped to have part or all of a committed FEMA reimbursement in hand by now to apply, in part, to the finishing touches required to get a temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the Community and Senior Center facility, located at 8 Simpson Street. The federal emergency agency informed the town to expect the anticipated reimbursement by the end of June.

With an approved paving company in place and poised to begin the parking lot work on Monday, June 17, Mr Rosenthal said he could not wait any longer for the promised FEMA funds, which were allocated to offset around $2 million in costs racked up following a devastating macroburst in May 2018.

The first selectmen told finance board and council members that the parking lot work must start Monday to get a temporary CO, and that the local Public Works Department will pitch in as well, installing some curbing, top soil, seeding, line paining, and planting. He said any necessary plantings will be done to complete the CO punch list, and any added plantings that are part of the base project plan will be completed later.

To ensure the proper operation of storm water runoff systems, Mr Rosenthal said a somewhat “elaborate” landscaping project will eventually be completed.

Finding Fixture Funds

Mr Rosenthal said a portion of the furnishings and fixtures had arrived and were either installed or would be in the coming days, in order for both the Senior Center and Community Center to schedule “soft openings.”

The Commission on Aging, he said, took some money out of a gift fund to purchase some items for the senior center section of the facility, while the Parks Department’s Special Revenue account was tapped to acquire furnishings for the new Parks & Rec offices at the site around July 1.

Mr Rosenthal said he had recently been through the nearly completed building, and said while it will have less furniture and missing accessories when it opens, he believes the public will “be very impressed with the building if not with the process,” to ensure the planned official opening stays on track, “but we had to play the hand we we’re dealt.”

Upon the Board of Selectmen’s affirmative vote on the transfers, the finance board members and council members in turn unanimously endorsed the transfers as well.

According to documentation provided to The Newtown Bee, $70,000 in savings were identified in various salary lines due to vacancies at the Social Services, Town Clerk, Emergency Communications, Police, Building Department, and Land Use offices. The $40,000 balance required was extracted from the 2019-20 operating budget’s contingency line.

Road Work Schedule

Once the paving business was handled and finance and council members departed, Public Works Director Fred Hurley briefed selectmen on planned road work for the coming fiscal year. In excess of 16 miles of resurfacing is scheduled, according to Mr Rosenthal.

Mr Hurley said a standing practice of “not overpromising” regarding anticipated work completion had served the town well, and provides an opportunity to add more work if all scheduled roads are completed ahead of schedule. He also said that last year’s protracted storm cleanup impacted the speed at which town and contract crews could tackle the 2018-19 schedule.

Showing a color coded town map overlaid with yellow and orange, Mr Hurley pointed out the targeted road work and explained how a number of the selected roads would tie into other recently completed resurfacing to extend smooth contiguous traveling surfaces even further for local drivers.

Mr Rosenthal reminded selectmen that prior to 2018, Newtown was completing about seven miles of resurfacing per year. Last year, however, utilizing a combination of repaving, chip sealing, and patch paving, the town was able to smooth about 25 miles of road surfaces.

Mr Hurley said the practice of identifying and patch paving specific areas of otherwise passable roads has permitted his department to maximize budgeted funds. But in regard to the renewed practice of chip sealing Mr Rosenthal said the jury is still out.

He said crews completed 13 miles of chip sealing last year, and he “thought it was an effective tool” to lengthen the surface life of various roadways. He said a number of smaller and less traveled roadways, particularly off Jeremiah Road, were experiencing some issues, however.

The first selectman was assured that the chip sealing vendor is standing by the work.

He said that company has already power groomed some streets, and discovered the rock chip and binding emulsion was not adhering as well as it should. Mr Rosenthal said the 3/8 stone used on more heavily traveled surfaces should have been smaller on less traveled road.

He and Mr Hurley also believe a batch of emulsion substance did not set properly, so instead of trying to match the extent of chip sealing applied last year, the town will only plan to use that process for about five miles of surfacing and wait to see if the current issue gets resolved by the vendor.

Planned Surfacing Projects

Turning to the bulk of anticipated work for this paving season, Mr Rosenthal said that drainage work completed on Mile Hill Road South and Mt Nebo Road preceded completion of resurfacing planned for this summer.

Mr Hurley said his department carried over intended paving to be done on Washington Street, Crestwood Drive, and a small part of Riverside Road because of pending road widening in that area.

“We don’t want to do it and then have to tear up,” he said, adding that overlay work is anticipated to be done on Nunnawauk Road and Narragansett Trail once drainage work is completed.

Regarding a plan to eventually eliminate 11 miles of remaining dirt roads in town, Mr Rosenthal said a dirt section of Hoseye Coach Road would be surfaced

Mr Hurley said the remaining roads on the paving schedule were identified and prioritized by a team of Highway Department crew leaders and the Town Engineer, who shared consensus on which surfaces were among the worst and therefore had to be completed this season.

Some combination of drainage, milling, paving, overlay, and guide rail work is planned for: Arrowhead Lane (Great Ring to Indian Hill); Birch Hill Road (Scudder to Castle Hill); Currituck Road (Tunnel To Brennan); Great Hill (Castle Hill to Taunton Hill); Great Ring Road (Berkshire Road/Route 34 to Bradley Lane); Hall Lane; Hanover Road (Main Street/Route 25 to #50 Hanover); High Rock Road; Hoseye Coach Road; Hundred Acres Road; Lazy Brook Road; Mt Nebo Road (Ox Hill to Hattertown); Oak Ridge Road; Poverty Hollow Road (Hopewell to Town Line); Taunton Hill Road (Taunton Lane to Saw Mill); Valley Field Road South; and Walnut Tree Hill.

Chip sealing is planned for Meadowbrook Road, Obtuse Road, Parmalee Hill Road, and Walnut Hill Road (Old Green to Glen Road); while private road owners will co-op work with the town on Topside Lane, Shady Rest, and Rowledge Pond. Town crews also plan to complete patch paving on Boggs Hill Road, Old Town Road, and Sunnyview Terrace.

Mr Hurley said the list is subject to change based on a variety of situations involving weather, availability of contractors, and materials, and that if additional roads could be completed this year, he would update the current list.