By Ed Munster.
This regular meeting of Haddam’s Board of Selectmen on May 10, 2021, via GoToMeeting.com, was called to order by First Selectman Bob McGarry at 6:30 p.m. Also in attendance were Selectmen Sean Moriarty and Kate Anderson and Administrative Assistant Joanne Ricciardelli.
In the Selectman’s Update, FS McGarry reported regarding the Rossi property that he has a meeting with the environmental consultant to review the Phase 2 environmental analysis on the Rossi property. The town will be seeking an extension on the purchase and sale agreement because the due diligence period is running out. McGarry stated that we should hear about the Municipal Brownfield grant of $1,800,000 for the cleanup of the Scovil Hoe property by mid June.
Regarding the two roundabouts in Tylerville the state will be having an information session for the public on June 8 at 7:00 p.m. When we get the link information on this it will be put on the town website. The work on the roundabouts will begin in the spring of 2023 and continue through the fall of 2024. McGarry pointed out that updates on projects can be found on the website and that people can signup for alerts on updates when they come in. The sidewalks along Bridge Road will start in the Spring of 2022. The town is seeking construction easements from the property owners for the sidewalks in the center of Haddam. The bids will be closed on May 24 and hopefully this project will take place this year.
Road improvements: The detailed list of 20 roads scheduled for various improvements in this year’s road plan has been published in HK-now.com.
Town Budget: The RSD17 budget passed on May 4th with very low turnout in both towns. The town budget hearing will be a virtual meeting on May 12 and the vote on the budget will take place on May 26 as an in-person yes or no vote on the proposed budget. From the American Rescue Plan the Town is expecting to receive $808,000. The plan also includes money for counties and Haddam will get additional monies as a share of that.
Covid-19*: Haddam experienced 74 cases in March 2021 which was the largest monthly total yet. To date in April the number of cases is 31 and the total for the year has been 380 cases. The new cases are affecting more younger people on average. The rate of positive test cases, hospitalizations and new cases are trending up for the state of CT as a whole. Vaccines are now available for those age 16 and higher.
Union negotiations are scheduled with both the Clerical union on March 25 and the Teamsters union on March 30.
RSD17 report from Jennifer Favalora: April meetings report, as well as HKMS 7th grade student Lily Austin placed 1st in the Lions International Pease Posted Contest in our region and went on to place 2nd for the state. Lily is the first HKMS student to place at the state level. Many of our staff and educators have been fully vaccinated for Covid-19 as a result of coordination between CRAHD and Nutmeg Pharmacy as of early April. The Facilities Committee proposed and the BOE agreed to request proposals for an Educational Facility Assessment, a Demographic Study and a Board of Education Master Plan to assess the condition of the district’s buildings to guide maintenance and improvements over the next decade.
RSD17 Budget: The BOE approved a 2021-22 RSD gross budget of $42,749,049 which will be brought to referendum in both towns on May 4. This year the Killingworth share of the budget is increasing because Haddam’s enrollment is down by 81 students and Killingworth is down by only 28 students. Other budget highlights include that salaries will have only a slight increase of .23% due to a reduction of 5.5 staff and four retirements. The 3.5% increase in cost of health benefits though the CT State Partnership II Plan will be offset by using $208,000 from the District’s Medical Self Insurance fund from when the district was self-insured. There is a significant increase in Special Education of $902,000 (17%) as a result of tuition, transportation and professional services. The RSD Board in making investments in Covid learning recovery. Additional Federal Coronavirus Grant Funding is expected which will be used to invest in reading and math support staff, expand access to summer school programs, add social-emotional programs for grades 4-12 and upgrade technology and connectivity in the schools. Check the RSD website for the Adopted BOE Budget on RSD17.0rg under “District” à “Budget Information.”
Economic Development Commission: Selectman Kate Anderson reported that the EDC will meet at 6:30 p.m. on April 14. Topics she discussed involved a project proposed by Elm Street Ventures to place 80 one and two bedroom apartments in Tylerville in two phases of 40 each. This has been reviewed by the Architectural Review Committee but has not yet been approved by Planning and Zoning.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
*Correction 5/30/21: New Covid-19 cases in Haddam for the month of April were 58; As of May 10 there were 6 new cases and there have been a total of 415 Covid-19 cases in Haddam to date. As of the May BOS meeting the test positivity rate, hospitalizations and new cases statewide were trending down
