#Middlebury #Vote
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
The polls will be open Wednesday, March 27, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center at 1172 Whittemore Road in Middlebury so voters can decide the fate of four questions on the ballot; three on bonding and one on the sale of town property.
The first two questions on the ballot deal with bonding for the second phase of the town’s Capital Plan. First Selectman Edward B. St. John will give a final Capital Plan Update session Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. in the Larkin Room at the Middlebury Public Library at 30 Crest Road. Light refreshments will be served.
The latest addition to the ballot is a question on the sale of a town property – the sale to the Middlebury Land Trust of 134 acres on Nichols Road for a purchase price of $225,000. Town attorney Dana D’Angelo shared the following wording of that question, which will be question four on the ballot.
“Shall the Town approve the sale of a 134.11 acre parcel known as 69 Nichols Road to the Middlebury Land Trust, Inc. for the sum of $225,000 as recommended by the Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Selectmen in accordance with C.G.S. §8-24 and the Middlebury Town Charter Chapter IX Sec. 904F?” Yes / No
The Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) has held a conservation easement over most of this land since 2001. That easement did not include a circle comprising about 6.5 acres surrounding what has come to be called the Peck-Nichols house. The sale would convey the entire tract and the house to the MLT.
As we reported in the February 2019 issue, Middlebury Historical Society President Dr. Robert L. Rafford said of that house, “It is one of the very few vernacular farm houses from that time remaining in Connecticut. It’s the kind of house people had in the 1780s.” The land trust is expected to hire professionals to determine preservation options for that structure, and part of the purchase price has been allocated for that purpose.
We also reported Middlebury Land Trust President Scott Peterson said the land trust was “excited about owning and utilizing this beautiful property for preservation-consistent uses that will be enjoyed by all the townspeople.”
The exact nature of the uses has not yet been determined, and Peterson is encouraging residents with ideas and suggestions for the property to forward them to the Land Trust by email (middleburylandtrust@gmail.com) or regular mail (P. O. Box 193, Middlebury, CT 06762).
The town bonding issues are for the second phase of the Capital Plan, which includes road repairs and infrastructure improvements. First Selectman Edward B. St. John said he has tried to schedule financing for these projects in a way that did not cause a spike in the mil rate. The two town bonding questions totaling $5.8 million, follow.
1. Shall the $4.2 million appropriation and bond issuance authorization to repair and improve Middlebury Roads (2019), as adopted by the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, be approved?
2. Shall the $1.6 million appropriation and bond issuance authorization for the Middlebury Capital Asset Revitalization Program, Phase 2019, consisting of the improvement and repair of police department, town hall, library, Shepardson Community Center, fire department headquarters, public works, Fenn Farm, historical society and park and recreation buildings and facilities, as adopted by the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, be approved?
The third bonding question is for financing Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) projects. It authorizes appropriating $3.5 million for the upgrade of sewage pump stations and the issue of $3.5 million in bonds of the town to meet that appropriation.
The WPCA bonding will not affect taxpayers who are not served by the WPCA. WPCA projects are financed separately from town projects, but Town attorney Bob Smith said at the Feb. 13 Board of Finance meeting the WPCA relies on the town’s full faith and credit to obtain bonding. Smith also chairs the WPCA and said he does not anticipate an increase in user fees as a result of the bonding.
St. John said a resident asked him if residents who are not served by the WPCA will have to pay for the WPCA bonding. He said he assured that resident none of the money from the general fund would go to the WPCA, and the principal and interest for its bonds would come only from those served by the WPCA.
