Residents will get a chance to weigh in on capital spending proposals — including requests for new bleachers for Seymour High School and emergency services equipment — at a referendum on Feb. 22.
The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday scheduled the vote to be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Seymour Community Center on Pine Street.
Another item — about $407,000 in town building improvements — may also appear on the ballot at the referendum, if the Board of Finance approves the request.
A capital plan is a list of expensive projects the town wants to fund. The plans usually prioritize the projects looking forward several years. The money comes from selling municipal bonds, a form of investing that is popular with conservative investors because it is generally less risky than the stock market.
Seymour has been tweaking its request for the past several weeks.
The Board of Finance reviewed the request last week, and rejected two items the Board of Selectmen initially asked for — $687,000 for various town vehicles for the Public Works Department like dump trucks and a loader, and $306,000 for road improvements on Bunting Road and Garden City areas.
The finance board approved two others, and asked the Board of Selectmen to add $50,000 to its town building improvement request.
Residents will find the following on the ballot on Feb. 22:
- $428,000 — Replace Seymour High School bleachers, and related improvements and equipment
- $1.36 million — Purchase emergency services equipment, including “self-contained breathing apparatus” for the fire department, emergency response vehicles, a rescue truck for Citizens Engine Co., and communication equipment at the Police Department.
The ballot could also include the additional $407,000 for town building improvements, if the Board of Finance approves the additional $50,000 to cover the full price of roof repair at the public works department. The Board of Finance requested the increase at its last meeting.
“We’ve got some, we’re making some progress,” First Selectman Paul Roy said. “We haven’t done things for so long. I’m glad we’re finally making some progress.”
The next step for the capital plan is a formality, a special Town Meeting set for Feb. 15 at p.m. at Town Hall, to move the proposals forward to a referendum set for Feb. 22 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Seymour Community Center on Pine Street.
Scheduling Concerns
Not all the members of the Board of Selectmen were in favor of setting that referendum date though. The vote was 4 – 2 in favor, with W. Kurt Miller and Annmarie Drugonis against it.
“It might snow, we’re in February,” Drugonis said, referring to how there could be a low turnout.
Miller agreed with her, and said he wants the referendum to be held in the spring, during the regular budget voting, so more people could be involved in such an important decision.
“I don’t want 200 people deciding” on something involving so much money, Miller said.
