Photo from the Town of Seymour
SEYMOUR – First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis held her monthly Facebook live forum on July 25, answering questions and giving residents an update of what’s happening around town.
Here are some highlights from the discussion:
A Place For All Kids To Play
Drugonis celebrated the grand opening July 27 of a new sensory playground at Chatfield Park. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story.
The park is designed to be inclusive to all children.
It has equipment that goes beyond the traditional swings and slides by incorporating elements to stimulate the senses. Sensory playgrounds can be more fun for kids with autism, or kids with visual and auditory impairments or other challenges.
“It’s a place where all the kids can go and play together,” Drugonis said.
A New Jersey company, MRC Recreation, supplied and installed the new playground. It cost $63,605 and was paid for using American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds, Drugonis said.
Road Project Going Out To Bid
A $9 million project slated to make improvements to West Church Street, Bungay and Botsford roads is slated to go out to bid this month.
“Once we award the bid, and get a construction schedule together, we will hold a public meeting so everyone is informed as to what’s going on,” Drugonis said.
The project in part calls for a new roadway base, new pavement, consistent lane widths, new drainage, new curbing and new sidewalks that will connect West Church Street all the way to Seymour High School on Botsford Road. In addition, a rapid flashing beacon at the crosswalk across from Ralph Hull Funeral Home on West Church Street, near a narrow, almost blind corner, will be installed to alert oncoming motorists when people are crossing the street during funerals and wakes.
Drugonis warned that Bungay, Botsford and West Church will be torn up for at least a year once construction gets underway. The improvements will be done in several phases.
Frontier has to replace 25 telephone poles and Aquarion is installing a new water line in the area. Drugonis said that work should be completed by late summer or early fall. Then the Seymour road project will start.
“Is it going to be an inconvenience, yes it is, but we have to look at the long-term goal in getting the roads done.”
The three connected roads – which are a significant traffic hub for vehicles – have been plagued by inconsistent lane widths which lead to speeding and accidents, according to town officials. The roads also have poor drainage, which causes icy conditions in the winter, and there are many potholes.
New Sign At Tri-Town Plaza
A new marquee sign has been installed at the entrance of the under-developed Tri-Town Plaza on Derby Avenue. Drugonis said the previous sign was showing major signs of wear and tear.
Drugonis said town building official Jim Baldwin reached out to plaza owner Ron Spector in early July to replace the sign. She said some of the smaller signs enclosed within the large sign holder were deteriorating.
“Ron had to replace that sign because it was unsafe,” Drugonis said.
In an email to Baldwin, Spector said he contracted with a North Haven company, Northeast Sign Co., to have the sign replaced. Spector said he received complaints from people online about the condition of the sign, prior to Baldwin contacting him, and reached out to Northeast a month earlier to do the job.
Drugonis said she didn’t have any updates regarding any potential tenants for the plaza, which has remained largely vacant since the early 2000s when the two anchor stores, Ames and Adams closed.
A complicated series of lawsuits between the town, Spector and other interested parties is still dragging on in civil court. The civil actions started in 2022. Seymour officials declined comment. The court database contains no information about the next court date.
