Jean Falbo-Sosnovich Photo
In this screenshot, Seymour Deputy Police Chief Michael Fappiano briefs the Board of Selectpersons on his 10-week training at FBI Academy.
SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectpersons met Tuesday (Oct. 1) for their bi-monthly meeting. Here’s a few highlights:
Bungay School Public Information Forums
The Bungay Elementary School Building Committee will hold two public sessions to discuss the planning process it has taken on to figure out whether the 70-year-old school needs an expansion, a ‘like new’ renovation or if a brand new school needs to be built.
The first session was Oct. 8 and the second session is 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 at Bungay School, 35 Bungay Road.
Click here for a previous Valley Indy story about the reasons for the proposals.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Fappiano Gets FBI Training at Quantico
For the first time in 19 years, a member of the Seymour Police Department was selected to attend a training program at the FBI’s National Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Deputy Police Chief Michael Fappiano briefed the board on his 10-week training that he embarked on in July.
The program brought together and graduated 252 law enforcement officials from across the globe.
“We learned from the best of the best,” Fappiano said, adding his training didn’t cost the town a thing. “There was plenty of networking and building relationships, and I took daily master’s level classes in officer health and wellness, violent crime, drug training, leadership and managing law enforcement image.”
Fappiano said four other officers from Connecticut, including from New Haven, Waterbury and Clinton police departments, and the state police, participated.
“It was a lot of networking, and you never know when you’ll need someone (in law enforcement) in another state, and now I have a face and a relationship with all these other officers,” he said.
Charter Revision On The Horizon
The board is looking to appoint a charter revision commission at its next meeting in October. The charter is supposed to be revised every 10 years; no changes have been made since 2012, according to First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis.
The charter serves as a blueprint of town government. It dictates everything from the first selectman/selectwoman’s powers to the length of elected terms.
The first step will be to appoint members. Town Attorney Bryan LeClerc said the commission can be comprised of five to 15 members, who need to be electors of the town with no more than one-third of them holding another public office in town. A majority of members can’t be from the same political party.
The board plans to make a list of recommendations they want to see the commission consider. Once the commission creates a draft report of recommendations, it goes to public hearings and the board for approval.
Any charter revision questions would ultimately be sent to voters, likely on the Nov. 2025 general election ballot for a vote. In order to get questions on the Nov. 2025 ballot, LeClerc said a final report would need to be approved by the board by next September.
Emergency Management Director
The board is considering paying its emergency management director in the future. Currently, the position is volunteer.
Seymour Fire Chief Chris Edwards currently holds the position. Edwards is also employed by the Seymour Public Works Department.
In the wake of the devastating Aug. 18 flooding, the board decided to consider making changes to the position.
Chief Administrative Officer Kurt Miller told the board he is working with the town’s human resources director, Chris Pelosi, in gathering information from other towns in Connecticut regarding payment and duties for the position. The position could be changed to full-time or part-time, with either a salary or a stipend provided, according to Miller.
Miller said he should have recommendations for the board to consider at its meeting in November.
