Dear Residents,
I want to provide you with an update since sending out my last newsletter two weeks ago. As previously stated, I have been getting to know the talented men and women who work for our town and I’ve started the process of meeting with department heads to go over their budgets. Next week, I will conclude those meetings and will begin crafting my first budget proposal as your First Selectwoman.
One of the biggest observations from these meetings is the lack of investment in our town buildings. Fairfield’s buildings, most notably Old Town Hall, Independence Hall and the Bigelow Senior Center, desperate need of overdue repairs. Some issues are more pressing than others, for example, the 41-year-old boiler in Independence Hall needs to be replaced.
Some buildings need an assessment and careful planning such as the foundation of Old Town Hall which requires new support. I have asked a group of our department heads to put together a Capital Plan so that town bodies and residents can understand the investments we need to make in the short and long-term. I intend to have this plan completed for the next budget year so that we can plan for the necessary improvements to maintain and invest in our infrastructure.
One theme I recognized while meeting with our departments is the need for a grant coordinator to assist all departments with identifying, applying for and managing grants, to make sure we aren’t missing opportunities for new funding.
As promised, we are working to improve our town government’s customer service, and to make our town government more user-friendly for residents and businesses through modernization and technology improvements.
The town’s IT department has been working with department heads to provide Fairfield residents and businesses the ability to apply for permits online and make it easier to do business with the town. Recently, the health department launched an online web page to look up septic systems and well information. We are immediately developing these and other changes to help bring the town’s response to its residents into the 21st century.
At Tuesday's Board of Selectman meeting, we approved a list of non-recurring capital projects that I believe will have a positive impact for our community. Some of the items include storm system improvements for over 60 neighborhoods around town to help with flooding, a detention study on Rooster River so we can begin to address the chronic flooding of adjacent neighborhoods, a feasibility study to the Senior Center to update and make it fully ADA compliant, and trash compactors for our transfer station. You can view the agenda and back up here.
As a point of process for residents who may not know, after the Board of Selectman approves capital projects the items must go before the Board of Finance and the RTM for their approval before they can be implemented.
While I’ve been working very hard with our departments in preparation for the budget, the issue that has required a lot of my attention continues to be the fill pile. This is an ongoing challenge for our community and my administration as we continue to learn the extent of the costs associated and their potential impact on our community.
I realize some residents read the latest article on the second Notice of Violation (NOV) and thought that this was something new. In fact, it came as no surprise as we were informed this was coming when we met with the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) back in December. We have been working directly with DEEP to comply with the NOV's.
What is new, is that just this morning I received a NOV from the Environmental Protection Agency with regard to the PCBs in the fill pile. As I receive more detailed information in consultation with the towns environmental counsel, DEEP and the EPA, I will provide an update to town residents as soon as possible.
We have four licensed environmental professionals (LEP) who visited the fill pile last week and are preparing environmental action plans to submit to the town that meet DEEP and now EPA standards.
Next week, I will be meeting to review those remediation plans and will choose one LEP to assist the town with this process. Next week our environmental attorney will be accompanying members of my administration for a meeting with DEEP to discuss not only the fill pile but also the proposed remediation plans for sites throughout our town. As soon as I have more detailed information to share, I plan to hold a town hall meeting with state and local environmental and health experts, to give an update to our residents, and to answer questions or concerns you may have.
Please know that I am dilligently working every day on this issue and will continue to do all I to clean up this environmental problem.
In the meantime, I am fully cooperating and in communication with law enforcement officials to make sure we bring to justice all who compromised the health and safety of our residents and town employees. While this process is taking longer than I would like, my top priority is to make sure it's handled properly and with strict adherence to the law.
I’d also like to share that I decided not to renew the employment of the Director of Finance and the Director of Human Resources as is my authority under the town charter. I have appointed Caitlin Bosse, the current Comptroller who has worked for the town for 12 years, as the interim Director of Finance. I am in the process of interviewing for a new director for the Human Resources department.
Lastly, I enjoyed speaking at the Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Economic Outlook Breakfast and shared how excited I am to be a partner with our business community. Here is a link to my remarks.
Despite the challenges, I am very excited about Fairfield’s future. I am so incredibly proud to be working on behalf of our community and I look forward to your thoughts, ideas and your questions.
Sincerely Yours,
Brenda Kupchick