What's Happening In The 888

SEYMOUR –First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis posted the following update — ​‘What’s Happening In The 888’ — about town activities to her Facebook page on July 3:

Intro

We had asked last week what residents of Seymour wanted to know about and hear about. Below are the questions and comments that were asked and the answers. We also included an update about the Assessment Appeal Form and some projects around Town.

Just a reminder — Garbage and Recycling are delayed by one day due to the holiday. Please make sure the bins are out. We suggest that the containers go out the night before your pickup date.

The Chief of Police and I will be hosting a Facebook live event to go over the cybercrime case, speeding, neighborhood awareness, what to do if you see something, and answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions, please email me, and we will get you an answer.

Activities for Seniors
We have a very active Senior Center at our Community Center. Our Community Center is located at 29 Pine Street. The Center is also on Facebook; search for Seymour Rec. The department has a monthly newsletter for those who subscribe and post on the Town’s Facebook page and theirs as well their page.

Roads
Q: Is Old Ansonia Road closer to the Ansonia side going to be paved soon? A: In July, we will host an in-person roads update with our Town engineer at the Community Center. This is a chance for residents to ask the town engineer any questions about their roads.

Q: When is Holbrook Road opening?A: Holbrook Road will be open the third week of July. The project is on time and on budget.
Q: Please post more details on the Rt 67 widening. How long are they going to be taking samples? Will the work be done at night? When does it start and end? Are they tearing down neglected houses?

A: Route 67 is being widened. The widening will allow two lanes of traffic from Franklin Street to Walgreens. The cars currently have to merge into one lane until you get passed, Martha. Two lanes will stay until the Mcdonald’s area. The road will be widened on the Seymour Lumber side, and new sidewalks, curbing, and street lights will be installed. The sampling should be done. We are still waiting to hear when they will start the construction, how long it will take, and when it will be done. We are hosting a Community Roads meeting in July. We will ensure we have answers to those questions. The neglected houses? People live in those houses, and I was not made aware of them tearing them down. The Town is in the process of foreclosing on the dry cleaners that is in the court system currently.

Q: What is going on with Clinton Road?A: Clinton Road was accepted for LOTCIP funding. Our town engineer has come up with design work that must be approved by the DOT. Ansonia will also apply for LOTCIP funding for Beaver Street, which Clinton turns into. There was also talk about a walking or bike lane being put in. We will host a Community Roads Update in July with our Town Engineer to discuss the roads in Town and their plans. The meeting will be held at the Community Center.

Q: Bungay Road / Botsford/ West Church Street
A: This project is under third-party review for comments and questions. The engineers will answer any comments and questions. Once the third party is satisfied with the answers, the plans will be sent to the DOT. We are probably looking for a start time of spring/summer 2024.

We are waiting for answers to the following questions;
Will there be guardrails on Holbrook at Kathy and Fox?
What is happening with the flooding on Derby Avenue?

*When there is an issue with State roads, the Town can not touch them. We have to wait for the DOT to repair. Please call Public Works and let Dee know. Dee will call the DOT, and they will send a crew out.*

We will have a road update in August. The road update will be held at the Community Center. We will have our Town Engineer, as well as Town Officials, on-site to answer any questions. This is an in-person meeting.

Tri Town
Q: What’s happening with the Tri-town /Goodyear Shaw / Building Inspector / Cross Complaint. A: The town end of the complaint has been lifted, and the building is currently in compliance with the orders that were issued. The Town is waiting for the fines to be settled with the attorneys. The cross-complaint between the Owners (Shaw’s and Goodyear Management and the Leaseholder CT Properties is still in the court system. Here is the case number AAN-CV22-6047866‑S. All this information is public. Regarding the next hearing, I am unsure that it is up to the courts.

Growth of the Grand List
Q: Is anything being done to build the Grand List and bring more business into Town? A: We are working with a few new businesses that are coming to Seymour. Dock 34 is now complete and should be opening up soon. Dock 34 is located on RT 34 behind Chavez Bakery. They are in the back along the river. New docks were just installed so boaters on the river can drive up and get a bite to eat, and there is parking and outdoor eating covered and uncovered for people to enjoy. 

The Corner Deli on the corner of Rt 67 and Progress Lane will open shortly. They will have breakfast sandwiches and lunch. 

The Newport Academy purchased the Villa Bianca, so we should start seeing some movement there. 

We have heard from the property manager at Tri-Town; they are looking to put a few different things up there, but currently, they are just in the talking stages. 

There is talk about something ( I am not sure yet) going into the old Trilogy restaurant in the Seybridge Plaza.

There is some movement on some properties in the Industrial Park.

We met with Tom and Patrick Haynes regarding the property they own behind Stop and Shop, and we are working with Beacon Falls, our State delegation, and our economic developer to get something going. As well as some housing single family, townhouses, and apartments coming in. Housing drives economic growth. Businesses want to see growth in population to help support their business and products.

Q: What’s the status of the Housy Wire and Seymour lumber properties? Q: What’s going on with the plans for the road from Franklin St to Pines Bridge? 

A: Housatonic Wire sold his property around February / March time frame to the storage unit facility. The facility will not move in or start construction until the owner completes his voluntary remediation (basically, voluntary remediation means he is not under any time restriction to get the cleanup done). 

A: Seymour Lumber — The State DOT has made a ruling based on the number of cars that come down 67 that a left-hand turn can not be made coming out of that driveway; it must be a right-hand turn only; the State is also widening Rt 67, which takes away some of the roads in front of it and will be reducing the width of River Street. Many people have been interested in it, from car washes to apartments, but they do not want to deal with the strict right turn. 

A: Franklin Street to Pines Bridge: we received $3 million to start that project and will submit additional grants. We are working with Tom and Patrick Haynes, our State Delegations, to help get some movement on this.
Water Lines and Sewer Lines

Q: Updates on Aquarion and water main replacement — also sewer, wastewater, and stormwater updates. 

A: The water mains have been replaced on George and Martha. Aquarion has been updating us when they are aware of changes or outages. Aquarion controls the water for the residents that are on town water. 

A: I am unsure what you want to know about the sewers; our sewer system is governed by the Town’s WPCA (Water Pollution Control Authority). This board contains fees and sewer assessments, approves new plans for housing construction and new system hookups, and water usage and fees. This board meets the first Monday of every month. The meetings are at Town Hall in the Norma Drummer room. The meetings are held at 6:00 pm. A: Wastewater — I can only guess you are speaking about the Sewer water being treated at our Wastewater treatment plant from the sewer system, as we do not treat any other wastewater. The plant complies with the effluent discharge requirements as stated in the permit. We have not received any NOV (Notice of Violations), Monetary fines, nor are we operating under any Consent orders. We are in compliance with the new requirements set by the state for Phosphorus as well. Veolia Environmental runs our Wastewater treatment plant. The employees that are employed by Veolia have the required wastewater certifications. 

A: Stormwater — I am guessing again, you would like to know if we are in compliance with our MS‑4 requirements? All stormwater inspections are completed, as are the monitoring sampling requirements. We use an outside firm to complete all inspections, the firm uses a certified, State and EPA-approved Lab for all sampling requirements. We are in compliance with our permit, we have not received any NOV’s (Notice of Violations), Monetary fines, nor are we operating under any Consent orders) We know the state is reviewing the MS4 regulations for Municipal Stormwater Collection. The Town complies with the regulations set for by the State of CT DEEP 2019 regulations.

Tax Assessors
Car tax bills were sent out. We know that some were unaware of how the bills would be; the Mill Rate for cars was set by the Governor, and the Mill rate for the cars did not go up. The Tax Assessor uses the JD Power and NADA book for the appraisal; they do not consider mileage, sale price, condition, or trade-in value. 

Should a resident not agree with the assessment, they can file an appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals.

The Tax Assessor cannot change the assessment on the vehicle based on the condition or the sale price. They can only change it if you no longer have the vehicle or moved out of Seymour and the car is no longer registered to an address in Seymour. To file an appeal, you can go onto the town website, click on departments, and click on the Assessor. The form will be on your left-hand side. Please complete the form and bring it to the Board of Assessment Appeals in September. The Board of Assessment Appeals is the only board that can change the assessment.

Tax Bills
We are looking into breaking down the tax bills into two payments. We must go through our vendor and receive pricing to print the bills.

Building Department
The Building Department is starting to see an uptick in unlicensed contractors taking residents money, not filing the proper permits, and not starting or completing the work. We want to remind residents if they are having any work done to their homes or parents’ homes. Please ensure the contractor is licensed and registered with the State of Connecticut. If you have any questions, please call the Building Department. They will gladly help you out and answer any questions you may have.

There are currently 10 to 12 new homes that are being built in Town, Sabo Autobody is putting on a $1.2 million addition.

Land Trust Graffiti and Damage
Alex Danka, Selectwoman Trish Danka, and I met at the site with a business owner who wishes to volunteer the time and money to repair all the damages and improve the site.

Buddy Benches — there will be another meeting on Friday at 9:00 am to finalize the details on the benches, as well as how to donate or contribute to the purchase of a bench.

Events
The grand opening of Corner Deli — located at the corner of Progress and Rt 67- will occur on Friday, July 7,2023, at 2:00 pm.

Build a Backpack Townwide Scavenger Hunt Fundraiser sponsored by Love Mom xoxo Foundation. Sunday, August 20, 2023. More details to come.

Fireworks
In the past two years, the Town of Seymour and the City of Ansonia have been able to put on a fireworks display for our residents. This is done through donations we receive. This is not a budgeted expense that the taxpayers pay. This donation covers the cost of the fireworks, Fire Marshall duty pay, and Police Officers pay for both Seymour and Ansonia. We are waiting for permission to light the fireworks from the same area we had for the past two years. If we can shoot the fireworks off from the same site, the date of the event will be August 26, 2023

Rock the Valley Saturday, August 26, 2023
The Town of Seymour and the City of Ansonia will be hosting Rock the Valley, featuring performances by Dirty Deeds (the AC/DC Experience, Earth (Black Sabbath Tribute Band), Obsession (Valley Metal Legends), and XYZ( 1980“s Rock Sensation. The event will occur Saturday, August 26, 2023, at Nolan Field from 2:00 — 10:00 pm.

Charity Softball Event for Mission 22 — August 27, 2023
Seymour Fire Department, Police Department, and Ambulance will host a charity softball game at Matheis Park. All money raised from this event will be donated to Mission 22 to bring awareness to Veteran Suicide.

Pink Fest with the Pink Girls from Tickled Pink
September 17, 2023
More to come on this event.