Seymour PD To Get New Roof

The Seymour Police Department will get a new roof — and the town will get signs directing traffic to its industrial park — thanks to two state grants awarded to Seymour this week. 

Seymour received a total of $82,000 for the two projects. 

Of that funding, $45,000 will go toward the new roof and $37,000 will go toward new signs for the industrial park.

The money comes through the state’s Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), which gives money to smaller towns to help ​“encourage economic development and preserve the character of the state’s less-populated towns,” according to a press release issued Tuesday by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office.

The police department has been experiencing mold problems as a result of leaks in its current roof. The new roof will help prevent future damage.

“The roof is leaking, so this was the estimate on fixing the whole roof,” said First Selectman Paul Roy. ​“We can’t fix the mold problem without fixing the roof first. So this will be a big help.”

Lt. Paul Satkowski said the department is grateful for the grant. The roof situation did not interfere with police business, but it had the potential to make employees uncomfortable, he said.

Roy said the signs for the industrial park were requested specifically by business owners there. He said the money will purchase about 13 or 14 signs, which will be placed within the industrial park and on main roads throughout town directing people to the park. 

The industrial park is located on Silvermine Road, near the Bethany town line. 

Roy said the signs within the industrial park will be changeable, so that when new businesses come in, they can be added to signs. Roy said existing signs that show a large map of the industrial park could be out of date and hard to read from a car. The proposed signs will point people in the direction of specific businesses, Roy said.

“These are going to be quality signs, so they will last,” Roy said. ​“And it will show that we are investing in our industrial park.”

To be eligible for STEAP money, a town must have a population of less than 30,000 residents, not be designated as a distressed municipality or a public investment community and not have an urban center, the press release said.

The state Office of Policy and Management administers this program and individual projects are managed by several state agencies including Department of Economic and Community Development.
 
A total of $20 million in STEAP funds for 115 towns was approved when the state Bond Commission met Aug. 17, according to the press release.