Precisely two members of the public showed up to a forum Thursday (Oct. 27) for Seymour officials to explain why they’re asking residents to approve $6 million in borrowing to repair roads and buildings on this year’s election ballot.
First Selectman Kurt Miller said afterward he thinks the low attendance bodes well for the referendum questions.
After all, who doesn’t want decent roads?
“Even a lot of the general naysayers have been extremely positive about this,” Miller said. “We’ve worked very hard to improve the infrastructure and to do so in a way that’s fiscally sound and fiscally responsible.”
Officials said they’ve got a handle on debt, so this borrowing won’t raise taxes. That’s because existing debt is coming off the books, keeping the debt rate stable.
The $6 million in borrowing is broken down into two ballot questions.
The first asks residents to approve $4.5 million for road repairs.
The second asks for $1.5 million for repairs to town-owned buildings.
Article continues after sample ballot showing the questions.
Seymour 2016 Ballot by The Valley Indy on Scribd
The $4.5 million would contribute to a “road reclamation” plan officials have been working on for at least a year, traveling each of the town’s roads and giving them letter grades from A to F.
Bryan Nesteriak, an engineer working for the town, said about half of Seymour’s 82 miles of roads were graded “C” or worse, and 12 percent were graded D or F, meaning they essentially needed immediate repair.
The town has been working to fix them using state grants and about $5.6 million overwhelmingly approved in 2014 for road repairs.
If voters approve another $4.5 million on Election Day, about 5.5 miles of roads would be either milled and repaved or rebuilt totally on:
- French Street
- Mountain Road
- Bunting Road
- Colony Road
- Bank Street
- Columbus Street
- Bungay Road
The second ballot question Nov. 8 will ask voters to approve $1.5 million in repairs at town-owned buildings, broken down as:
- $646,000 for Town Hall
- $308,965 for the police station
- $433,000 for the library
- $166,556 for architectural and environmental engineering fees
- $62,181 for a 4 percent contingency
Those figures add up to roughly $1.6 million, but officials anticipate a reimbursement of about $112,500 of the library repairs in the form of a state grant.
Town Engineer Don Smith detailed conditions in need of improvement at all three buildings, including roof and sidewalk leaks at the police station, and inefficient windows at the library and Town Hall.
Itemized by building, the repairs break down as:
Library
- $40,000 to replace 32 windows
- $40,000 for PCB abatement in windows
- $40,000 to make the stairwell more fire-resistant
- $30,000 to replace light fixtures
- $25,000 for an exterior door and transom
- $5,000 to abate asbestos in floor tiles
- $3,000 to install new floor tiles
- $7,500 to repair drywall
- $10,000 to repair old ceiling tiles
- $7,500 for new downspouts
- $25,000 for joint sealant
- $25,000 for cornice work
- $25,000 for masonry repair
- $150,000 for ventilation and soffits
Police Station
- $75,000 for roof repairs
- $12,000 for perimeter snow guards
- $1,120 for attic eave insulation
- $7,500 for attic wall insulation
- $1,000 to seal roof leaks
- $2,500 for excavation
- $1,500 for building waterproofing
- $750 for foundation drain pipe
- $1,000 for yard drain
- $3,000 for a pump
- $1,500 for window wells
- $1,950 for a curtain drain at the building’s southeast corner
- $2,500 to repair basement drywall
- $7,200 to replace the front entry patio
- $2,500 for front entry patio drainage
- $3,400 to replace the front entry ramp
- $3,220 to replace a side door sidewalk
- $700 for a side door curb
- $1,500 for bituminous patching
- $15,000 for masonry repointing
- $6,000 for lintle replacement
- $4,875 for entry patio wall rehab
- $3,250 for entry patio wall acid wash
- $150,000 to replace a 60-ton rooftop air conditioning unit
Town Hall
- $219,500 to replace 42 windows
- $66,000 for PCB abatement on windows
- $30,000 for a front entry door and transom window
- $7,500 for addition transom window
- $1,000 for basement entry sidelights
- $2,000 to repoint front entry steps
- $240,000 to replace the HVAC system
- $50,000 for boiler replacement
- $30,000 for building management system
Smith said if voters rejected the repairs now, the cost will only go up later, though it’s difficult to quantify by how much.
“It’s just been a number of years with a lack of maintenance,” Smith said. “We really need to catch up.”
So why was all of this put off for so long?
“I think a lot of it had to do with budgets and people being concerned about putting money in the budget,” Miller said.
The town now has a permanent building committee dedicated to overseeing maintenance and repairs at the town’s properties, he added.
In addition, Miller and the town’s financial adviser, John Healey, said that with interest rates at historically low levels and previous debt coming off the town’s books, now is a great time to invest in making needed repairs.
Healey said that if the down didn’t add any more debt over the next 10 years, nearly 80 percent of its existed debt would come off its books. In 2014 the town also received an upgrade to its credit rating, which makes borrowing cheaper.
To that point, though — wouldn’t voting “No” on the ballot questions mean a lower mill rate?
Miller said yes, but argued doing so would be “penny wise and pound foolish,” because it would result in spending more money later.
“We’d be pushing needed projects off until a later date when they could be potentially more expensive,” the first selectman said. “We have the capacity, we’re in very good financial shape. We need to make these investments in our infrastructure and continue to do so over the coming years to get ourselves caught up to where we should be as a town.”
Miller also discussed the referendum questions during an episode of “Valley Navel Gazing,” this publication’s weekly podcast, last month. Click the play button below to listen.
