Fifteen minutes—that’s all it took for townspeople at Wednesday night’s town meeting to unanimously approve the purchase of a fire truck, foundational work for a three-bay garage and a new fee schedule for Inland Wetlands permits.
First Selectman Henry Tirrell started off by telling the lightly attended meeting that the down payment on the $1.2 million pumper truck will be drawn from $260,000 already set aside for the purchase.
He reminded townspeople that Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have recommended $875,000 in congressionally directed funding to assist with the purchase, acknowledging that the funding might not be approved by Congress. But, he said, the lag time between ordering the truck and taking delivery of it would allow the town to apply for congressional funds twice more.
In the discussion about the garage, Susan MacEachron wanted to make it clear that the $125,000 was for a separate building. “The motion gives the impression it is for the fire house when it’s actually for a garage,” she said.
Firefighters and Board of Finance Chairman Michael Sconyers both pointed out that the garage was part of the original project and was cut to reduce the unexpectedly high cost of the undertaking. With fundraising stronger than anticipated, however, preparation for the construction of the storage building could be returned to the project without boosting the borrowing limit.
Addressing the permit fee changes, Hartley Mead, chairman of the Inland Wetlands Agency, explained that they would recover town expenses for state fees and mandatory legal notices. “The current fee schedules don’t even pay for public notices,” he said. “We’re not trying to make money on this endeavor.”
The proposal introduces a base fee of $60 with additional fees for substantial activities. Zoning Enforcement Officer Stacey Sefcik said, “There are places where costs will be going up. On any given application, if the activity is directly in the wetlands, applicants will pay more” than for activities outside wetlands.
IWC members hope the higher pricing for sensitive zones will discourage projects in protected areas.