Much needs to be done Town considers undertaking capital improvement projects

by Mark Jahne

Editor

Photos by Mark Jahne

Any homeowner knows that putting off repairs and maintenance does not make the problem go away. It only tends to become worse and more expensive over time.

That is the challenge town officials are facing as they consider half a dozen capital improvements projects they would like to undertake. But the timing may not be the best for budgetary reasons.

“It’s a tough year, for sure,” Mayor Jon Trister said. “We have to be judicious on how much we spend.”

The plan was to reduce the mill rate enough to offset the large increases in real estate assessments caused by a red-hot housing market the past few years. But as the Town Council wends its way through budget deliberations members are realizing they can only cut it so much.

Taxes are likely to go up but nobody will know how much until the council adopts its 2025-2026 municipal budget at the end of April. The budget covers town government operations, public education and capital improvements.

Replacement or repair of the swimming pool at Mill Pond Park remains a concern. There are similar concerns with the pool at Churchill Park.

Trister suggested that the council will have to say no to some spending requests in the hope of keeping any tax hike reasonable.

Capital projects under consideration are rebuilding Fire Station 4 on Fifth Street near the New Britain city line, upgrading and expanding the town Highway Department garage on Milk Lane, expansion of the Lucy Robbins Welles Library, and repairing the swimming pools at Churchill and Mill Pond parks.

The council also needs to consider purchasing or otherwise creating a dog pound/animal shelter to replace the privately owned facility the town has been using for decades. Trister said the heirs of the man who owned it have put the property up for sale.

The trustees of the Lucy Robbins Welles Library are hoping for funds to expand the library building.

He added that using facilities in other towns has been studied and is not considered feasible. The town may end up buying the property off Maple Hill Avenue but that decision has not yet been made.

In the meantime, “we continue to work on these infrastructure needs,” he said. “In order of priority, Fire Co. 4 is going to move the quickest.”

This aging building was built at a time when fire engines and trucks were smaller. Only one modern engine can fit inside. The structure does not meet federal ADA stands for people with disabilities and also needs separate restrooms for men and women.

The town’s highway garage is 50 years old and not large enough to handle today’s needs.

Architectural plans are already done and the Public Building Committee is expected to make a presentation to the council soon. The mayor recently toured the highway garage to assess the needs.

“The highway garage will be a priority. We’re still looking at which direction to go there. It’s not big enough, it’s 50 years old. They do so much and they’ve been asking for a long time,” he said.

The plan is to either add this project to the capital improvements list or refer it to the PBC.

“We haven’t got an update from them for a while,” Trister said of the library trustees.

He is hoping for a presentation soon and added that the projected cost of library construction has increased. What to do about two aging and leaking pools is in the early planning stages.

“They’re taking their time and that’s what we want,” he said.

“We always need to reinvest in ourselves and make sure our infrastructure can support our population,” Town Manager Jonathan Altshul said.

He agreed with the mayor that government needs to be sensitive to the cost.

“Everyone has seen a sharp increase in their assessments. It’s a function of the market rate for housing. It’s important for us to hold the line as much as we can on taxes,” Altshul added. “The highest priority for me and the Town Council is keeping the mill rate in check.”

Capital projects need to be prioritized and the town should do its best to pay for them in its budget, he said. The scope and projected cost of these projects would require putting them to a public vote in referendums.

“There is interest by the library board of trustees in expansion of the library. There is interest by the fire commissioners in rebuilding Station 4. It is no longer large enough to support modern fire apparatus,” he added.

The manager called the highway garage tired and not large enough to meet today’s needs. Then there’s the issue of the two swimming pools and the uncertainly of how to approach that after a previous referendum to construct a new pool in Mill Pond Park was rejected by voters two years ago.

“What’s the path forward with the pools? The pools are becoming fundamentally obsolete but there are ways to repair the pools in their current location,” Altshul said. NL