June 23, 2011
Upcoming Town Meeting
Next Wednesday on June 29, we will be holding a town meeting at 7:00 PM at Town hall to vote upon several items. One item is a budget transfer for snow removal. This past winter, we went over budget as we dealt with an incredibly harsh winter. Bringing on an additional contractor for the school parking lots and hiring contractors to clear the roofs of the schools for safety reasons all contributed to the need for additional funds. Fortunately, we’ve been able to save money in other areas of the town which should allow us to come in on budget overall.
The next item for the town meeting is the adoption of new ordinances. One ordinance will establish an Agriculture Commission that will give the farming community a greater voice in town and help preserve our rural character. There are also three proposed ordinances all related to fire protection. One is for regulating false alarms, one for establishing standards for fire hydrants and water mains, and one for requiring rapid access systems for certain commercial buildings.
The final item for the town meeting is the establishment of a building committee for the WJJMS renovation project. Our charter requires town meeting approval of the creation of boards expected to last more than a year. This building committee will oversee the planning, design, and any renovation/construction related to this project. Part of the renovation will include space for a new senior center and possibly spaces for other community functions.
Parks and Recreation Change
For half of the fiscal year, we have gone without a Parks and Recreation Director. I chose not to fill this position for two reasons. First, I wanted to save as much money as possible knowing that we were going to go over budget on snow removal. Second, I wanted to examine the organizational structure of Parks and Recreation to determine if any changes should be made. The entire Parks and Recreation department has been managed by the Director of Facilities in the interim.
Parks and Recreation has two main functions. One function is the maintenance of the town and school grounds. All of the mowing, landscaping, park maintenance and field preparations is done by the maintainers in the department. The other function is the oversight and management of our recreational activities, most of which are funded through fees and sponsorships.
Through the budget process, we have decided to make some organizational changes. The grounds maintenance function will continue to report into the facilities department. The position of Parks and Recreation Director has been changed to Recreation Manager and will be limited to oversight of recreational functions.
I believe this will be a much more efficient way of running our operations and may serve as a springboard to other potential changes in the future to improve our efficiency.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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