Too busy to look up what’s going on in town? This article covers selected information from minutes of various Boards and Commissions. If you want more detail, it can be found by going to suffieldct.gov, Agendas, Meetings and Minutes.
Affordable Housing: The Town Attorney provided feedback on the draft Affordability Plan. Updates will be ready for the January meeting. Emily Way, an additional phase in Brookhill Village on East Street South, has a potential developer. The development was approved to be affordable at 30%, but recently approved a change to 17 affordable townhouse rentals at 80%.
Board of Education: The Joint Facilities Committee recommended the building of a new middle school. All paperwork for the HVAC Grant Submission is being submitted to the state for round two of the grant applications. This includes HVAC updates to Suffield High School and Spaulding School.
The digital signage proposal, submitted by several groups, was denied by Planning and Zoning.
PSAT results were reviewed. The district noted numerous strategies are being implemented to improve the results including revising units of study, grading practices, and test-taking strategies.
Board of Finance: Revenues are running favorably to budget. Higher PILOT-State and Municipal Revenue Sharing grants are the major drivers. It is also expected that interest income and supplemental motor vehicle taxes will be favorable. Expenditures are on budget. The Grand List has increased due to the revaluation, which will result in a reduction of the mill rate.
Board of Selectmen: As part of the Facilities Master Plan, the schools and municipal buildings were reviewed for condition. Most are in fair to poor condition with three in good condition.
The Joint Facilities Committee’s recommendations to build a new middle school, consolidate four schools into three, expand or build new at Spaulding to accommodate grades K-4, close or repurpose McAlister, and establish a 10-20-year plan for remaining facilities were all reviewed.
Several public comments regarding the appointment of library Commission Members were received. See link to the minutes at suffieldct.gov, Agendas, Meetings, Minutes.
Economic Development: A property advisor is willing to provide an overview of their services to towns planning for economic growth.
The revised Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District master plan amendment was passed in December. Eligible businesses can apply between January 8 and March 15.
Fire Commission: The radio system is at its end of life and needs to be replaced. Engine 3 was in an accident and is currently out of service for two to three months with an expected repair cost of $10k. Squad 1 is out of service with concerns since it’s brand new. The Chief would like to work on a grant to obtain money for the town and the fire department.
Kent Memorial Library: An overview of the various funding sources was presented. They moved on to discuss the Current Portfolio Reports and 2024 projections. The new commission members were welcomed. The search for the Library Director, requirements, and the interview process were also discussed. For a comprehensive understanding of the issues surrounding the library, please go to the Suffield website and scroll down to “Agendas, Minutes, & Recordings”. Then scroll to “Kent Memorial Library Commission” and review the November and December minutes posted.
Parks & Recreation: The Jay Bombard family holds a yearly 5 Father’s Charity Golf Tournament and donates to our basketball program. This year’s donation was $1,000 in memory of Steve Bombard and Art Marrow.
The new instructor will be taking over the Fitness Afterschool program for grades 3 through 8 during the winter and into the spring.
Permanent Building: The Suffield High School roof replacement options were discussed. The flat portion of the roof is in good shape even though the original warranty has expired and will be good for several years. The shingled sections have areas where the ventilated roof deck is failing.
Planning & Zoning: Tentative plans for the existing church building, rectory, convent, and the possibility of building a historic replica house on the property were reviewed. All options have multi-unit apartment buildings with some qualifying as affordable.
A request was made for a text amendment to the regulations as the Commission was cautioned about the language in the proposed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) regulation having an owner-occupied restriction. This is being kept open for additional review.