By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Edward B. St. John
Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John reflected Monday on his busy weekend. He had attended a wake, an Eagle Scout ceremony and a Boy Scout pasta dinner Friday and Saturday and finished the weekend at the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) open house Sunday afternoon. St. John, a former MVFD fire chief, said he tries to attend as many community events as he can.
He said he is running for reelection because he feels he has a lot of unfinished business here. St. John, who served from 1983 through 2007 and returned to office in 2011 after a four-year absence, said, “We are doing the best we can with economic development and trying to expand our commercial tax base.” He said the proposed crematory on Benson Road will help expand that base.
His biggest challenge, he said is to move forward with a capital plan Middlebury residents can afford. “We have fallen seriously behind in infrastructure planning,” he said. Noting the “new” firehouse was built 40 years ago and is still using its original mechanical systems, St. John said various buildings in town need new roofs and mechanical updates to their air conditioning and heating systems.
He said many of the town roads need extensive work, and he can see that costing $1 million a year for the next few years. He also noted a Department of Energy and Environmental Protection order will force the town to remove underground fuel tanks and replace them with above-ground tanks. This will need to be done by 2017, and part of that project, he said, will be relocating the tanks and pumps at the Southford Road police and fire station to the Department of Public Works yard. The above-ground diesel tank at the Tucker Hill firehouse will remain.
St. John said he believes the needed capital projects can be completed without a huge jump in taxes. “I feel I can bond some of the capital projects with a life of 20 years or more so they won’t be a burden to taxpayers.” He said additional funds for the projects could come from undesignated funds.
The tax impact of Region 15 continues to be a concern. “Look at the record,” he said. “From 2005 to 2015, the town budget increased 1.7 percent. In contrast, the school budget increased 50 percent despite a declining school population.”
Looking forward, St. John said he could see increased regionalization of services that might include a regional police department. The town already has joined Southbury and Region 15 in a self-funded health insurance plan, and other ideas for regionalization are in the formative stage.
He said moving police dispatching to Northwest Public Safety Communications Center in Prospect turned out to be a good move. “I feel it is working, and I give credit to Chief Viadero and Sue Webster for working things out.” He said Waterbury is going to move its dispatching to Northwest, and Northwest will be relocating to Waterbury from Prospect.
When it comes to tax sales, St. John said, “I think the town of Middlebury, under current economic conditions, should do its best to work with taxpayers to keep them here.” He said over the years many taxpayers have gotten behind, but the town has tried to work with them. “Most people pay their taxes before their property goes to auction,” he said. “Times are tough out there, and we need to work with people.”
“We have been fiscally responsible in moving the town forward while still offering great services,” he said. “Now we need to get a capital plan going that residents can afford.”
Asked how much longer he planned to serve, St. John, 74, said, “The clock is ticking against me. My intent is to get people to sign off on the capital plan.” He said he was involved with the community long before he became first selectman and has developed a deep connection with the community over the years.
Although he retired in 2008, he came out of retirement in 2011 to successfully run for first selectman. He said at the time his goal in returning to the office was to bring a fractured community back together.
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