SEYMOUR — The Seymour Board of Selectpersons met Tuesday (July 18); here are some of the meeting highlights:
Holbrook Road Reopens
A long-awaited $4.3 million makeover to Holbrook Road is complete, ahead of schedule and on budget, First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said. The problematic road, which many residents likened its surface to Swiss cheese, opened this week. Drugonis said thanks to a warmer and pretty much snowless winter, crews were able to finish the project sooner than expected. The original completion date was estimated for around this November.
The town-owned road serves as a main cut-through for drivers to access two major routes in town-Route 67 and Route 34. The project included utility relocation, drainage improvements, realignment, improved snow shelf, improved sloping and guide rails, improved signage and significant removal of trees along sight lines.
Drugonis said speed monitoring will likely occur on the road for a while.
In Related Road News …
A community road forum/public Q&A session will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Seymour Community Center (in the Bingo Room), located at 20 Pine St.
The forum is being hosted by Drugonis’ office, the town engineer and the public works director. It is geared to update residents on the various road projects underway and ones that are in the pipeline, including the Botsford, Bungay and West Church street road improvement project, slated to kick in spring 2024.
Keeping Residents In The Loop
Drugonis will kick off a series of in-person community Q&A sessions with residents next week. She recently did a Facebook live chat with Police Chief John Bucherati and is next planning to host an in-person meet and greet with the chief. She and Bucherati will meet with residents at 7 p.m. July 26 at Town Hall, (in the Norma Drummer Room), located at 1 First St..
“When people ask questions on Facebook, we can’t always answer right away, so this way people can come in person and do a face to face with the chief and me and get answers in a timely manner,” Drugonis said.
Drugonis plans to hold in-person public sessions regularly with all the various town department heads.
Sidewalks Aren’t Made For Parking
Drugonis said her office is fielding lots of complaints from residents about people parking their cars on sidewalks. That is not allowed. She urged residents to call the police department at 203 – 881-7600 to report cars when they see them parked on sidewalks. Cars will be ticketed, and unregistered cars will be towed at the owner’s expense, Drugonis said.
Who’s Going To Replace Rory?
Following the departure of Seymour’s former Chief Administrative Officer Rory Burke in April, the town has been working hard to fill his shoes. Drugonis said there were 14 applications received for the position, and out of those, only four applicants met the minimum qualifications.
An interviewing panel comprised of Human Resource Director Chris Pelosi, Selectman Phil Wilhelmy, a CAO from a surrounding municipality and Burke himself narrowed the pool down to the top two contenders for Drugonis’ consideration. Drugonis told her fellow board members both candidates currently hold jobs elsewhere and the contract negotiation process is still ongoing. The budgeted salary range for the position is $95,000 -$145,000.
And Now For Some Fun Stuff …
A first-ever back-to-school, town-wide scavenger hunt will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Aug. 20, starting the at Seymour Community Center, 20 Pine St. Resident Lori Nespoli, who runs the Love Mom XOXO Foundation, Inc., — a family bereavement nonprofit-is organizing the “Fill the Backpack” scavenger hunt. Seymour kids can participate for free, and non-residents can pay $10/team to join the fun. Kids will be given riddles to solve and trivia questions to answer and will be rewarded with all kinds of school supplies to fill their backpacks.
Registration can be done online here.
Following the scavenger hunt, Drugonis said participants will be treated to an outdoor movie shown on a large screen outside on the Community Center field, along with ice cream and food trucks.
“It’s sort of a last hurrah before the kids go back to school, and great way to bring the community together,” Drugonis said.
Going Out With A Bang
Seymour has joined forces again with neighboring Ansonia to present a fireworks display on Aug. 26 following the annual Rock the Valley music fest at Nolan Field in Ansonia. Fireworks are set to start at 9:45 p.m. and will be shot off from the Fountain Lake Industrial Park.
