Town Meeting Tuesday August 24

The purpose of the meeting is to consider the request by the Gurski Homestead Commission for an appropriation of $372,000 (half to be funded by a state grant) for renovation of the farmhouse on the Gurski property.  

More on this issue below.

The meeting will be in Town Hall at 7:30 pm.

Board of Selectmen meeting highlights

Finance: The controller reported the town finished the year ending June 30, 2010, with a net surplus of about $70,000. Though he had expected it to be higher, revenues were not as expected the last month of the year. Still a good showing, particularly now. We are currently in the process of meeting with various rating agencies in anticipation of going to market for General Obligation Bonds. The hope is that showing operating surpluses along with other financial steps we have taken will strengthen our position with the rating agencies and improve our bond rating. This could translate into significant savings in interest charges over the years.

Water Assessments: The Board considered and then postponed action on the amendments to the water ordinance.  Subsequently we met on Friday the 13th to approve the ordinance as presented at the town meeting.  While not perfect, the ordinance attempts to address all properties as equitably as possible, using a formula that can be applied to all circumstances.  We feel confident that this will work for the town in the coming years.  Next steps are now underway to contact property owners and advise them of the intent to assess.  They will then be able to appeal.  After that the Board of Selectmen must approve the total costs to be assessed and the actual assessments to be distributed.  Then the Town will mail out the bills.  The expectation is this will be sometime in September or October.

Facilities Committee:  The Board discussed the need to create a committee that would look at town facilities and develop a long range plan for maintenance and investment in existing and new facilities.  We discussed specifics of the role and scope as well as membership of such a group.  This is likely to be finalized within the next couple of months.

Alternate Revenue Sources Committee:  Consistent with the campaign promise to look for sources of revenue other than property tax, Bill Davidson proposed, and the Board approved, the formation of a committee to look at what other towns do to generate funds.  It is expected this committee will do its work within the next six months and report back to the Selectmen their findings and recommendations.  If you have an interest in serving on the committee please contact me or the First Selectmen's office.

Gurski Homestead

In July, the Board of Selectmen considered a request by the Gurski Homestead Commission for an appropriation of $372,000 to restore the old farm house on the Gurski property.  The funds are to come half from a grant from the state and half, or $186,000, from the town.  The town portion will be funded by including the costs in the town's general obligation bonds, so it has no impact on operating costs.

The Board forwarded this request to the Board of Finance who, at their last meeting, approved the proposal in a vote of 4-3. 

The proposal now goes to a town meeting to be held at town hall this Tuesday, August 24, at 7:30 p.m.

Here are some resources to learn more about the Gurski Homestead and the vision for this property:

Click here to visit the Gurski Homestead Web Site.

Or

Click here to visit my web site. 

Or

Click here to view a short two-minute video clip.

What people are saying:

There are two major reasons that I have heard as to why some people oppose this project.  First they point out that this is not a priority.  With other needs they would classify this as a nice to have, but during these times we cannot afford it.

The other objection I have heard is not so much about the project, but about the process.  This line of thinking suggests; that rather than a town meeting this should be taken to a machine vote allowing greater participation.

Why I think we should do this:

The Town, several years ago, made a commitment, through the acquisition of this property, to care for and maintain it.  Perhaps we made a mistake in not understanding the full responsibility we were undertaking at the time but, nonetheless, we have that responsibility and I believe we should move in a direction that allows the community to get full value from this beautiful property for a relatively modest cost of less than $15,000 a year.  If you have not seen it please stop by to walk the grounds, visit the Merwin Brook Cemetery and the Black Smith shop.  Or click on the link above and view the video I prepared.

There is no question that this is not the priority for many people.  But then again, our priorities are not universal.  Some want more funding for schools, or a Rec center or a library.  The list is perhaps not endless but you can get the idea.  Each of us has an idea of how we can best order our spending.  We live in a community that needs to support the diverse interests of all.  As we approach our list of needs and wants, there is no hard and fast rule that we must start at the top and work our way down, checking each off before going on to the next.  We are, in this proposal, presented with an opportunity to reduce our share of the costs through a grant from the state.  Brookfield residents, through income and sales taxes and other fees send a lot of money to Hartford.  This presents us with an opportunity to get some of that money back to invest right here in our town.  I think we should take advantage of it.

As to the suggestion of a machine vote, I personally think this issue and the level of funding involved does not rise to the level of concern that it should not be considered by a Town Meeting.  This is, after all, what our charter provides for.  There have been other projects of far greater cost and town wide implications that have been decided by Town Meeting and I see no reason this should be the exception.

Thanks for reading,

Howard