Board Sets New Year’s Resolutions

The Board of Selectmen has set the town's New Year's resolutions. Not a list of lofty dreams, but a practical, realistic agenda, 2010 Priorities will dictate where the Board of Selectmen, and the commissions and boards within its purview, will spend energy and money—if only a bit—through the coming year.

Establishing the annual list of priorities is typically a matter of revising that of the previous year's—nixing what's been done, tweaking what's left to do, and adding new goals where the board sees fit. It's a process that carries significant weight, as the finalized list has real financial consequences.

The finalized document comes after four rounds of discussion and dozens of amendments. Some edits are simply a reflection of the new administration's new political philosophy, strategies to mitigate flooding and facilitate affordable housing in particular; but most changes are the result of economic downturn. Fiscal responsibility stands as the number one priority that colors the entire list.

Monday evening's brief discussion brought the final few edits, which emphasize both ideological differences and money matters.

The board discussed the need to extend fiscal responsibility beyond the borders of Darien to Hartford, where a huge amount of taxpayers' dollars goes to fund State Mandates and little is ever returned. Though it does not feature on the list, the issue will come up in future board discussions. First Selectmen Dave Campbell addressed the "State of the State" in his State of the Town report last week. Town Administrative Officer Karl Kilduff explained that putting such a strategy into practice would be a means of stopping state legislature "in their tracks, or rolling back and repealing them." And as Selectman Callie Sullivan noted, meaningful pushback will demand a close relationship with state representatives and senators.

While flood mitigation at Heights Road remains an environmental priority of the new board, Campbell put a big red line through "replace Heights Road drainage culvert," amending the language to read: "Review the replacement of Heights Road drainage culvert." Public Works Director Robert Steeger presented the latest flood fix to the board last week, a remix of previously discussed alternatives including removal of the sewer pipe that runs under the railroad and leaving the culvert as is.

The Weed Beach Master Plan features on the list, but when the approved project actually takes shape hinges on the economy. As Board of Finance Chair Murry Stegelmann noted in his State of the Town report last week, all capital projects above $100,000 have been deferred. Campbell said if the study of his new proposal for 35 Leroy proves favorable, the Senior Center project would "leapfrog" the already approved Weed Beach project (and the new police station), which he described as "a luxury."

Campbell's latest plan for 35 Leroy that entails tearing down the current Senior Activities Center and relocating the seniors to the current Board of Education affects the priority list to the extent that the consideration of building a "new Senior Center and affordable senior housing" at the Edgerton site no longer holds.

Per Sullivan and Bayne's suggestion, "tax strategies and other tools as appropriate," have been added as a strategy to facilitate affordable housing. Last week's conversation was not addressed last night, but when asked of the new plan Campbell said:

"This is a list of everyone's priorities. And that one's not mine."

Here is what the final document looks like: 2010 Board of Selectmen Priorities; Ongoing Government Charges & Responsibilities