The State of Darien as Seen in Four State of the Town Addresses Monday Night Before the RTM

Darien should expect less state aid in the future and should plan for getting none, even as state demands on town spending may grow, along with more borrowing for school buildings, town officials warned in some of the four “State of the Town” messages delivered Monday night by top town officials to the Representative Town Meeting.

But while fiscal pressures are increasing on the town, officials still mentioned plenty of projects expected in the future — including studies for better traffic access to the Noroton Heights Railroad Station, expanding space in the town’s schools to fit a growing population, a “stormwater management solution” for the Heights Road area, police body cameras and a Parks & Recreation Department planning study which could include an eventual town pool and seasonal ice rink.

First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said that town department heads have been asked again this year to submit proposed 2017-2018 spending budgets no more than 2 percent higher than the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Board of Finance Chairman Jon Zagrodzky said that Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner also expects to submit a proposed budget no more than 2 percent greater than this year’s.

“We should anticipate an elimination of School Construction Reimbursements, Municipal Revenue Sharing and STEAP Grant Funds,” Stevenson said in her address. “Cuts in state social service programs like Husky, Snap and energy assistance will have a direct impact on the need for more local funding to support families in need.”

Zagrodzky said the town now gets about $4 million in state aid of various types, all of which could be eliminated soon because of the state’s bleak fiscal future.

The town’s debt is now at about $71 million, and certain necessary projects — including school building expansions and maintenance costs, as well as buying land from Ox Ridge Hunt Club — are expected to expand that past the $100 maximum that, the Board of Finance had said back in 2010, should be the maximum town debt, Zagrodzky said.

“I continue to believe that this [$100 million guideline] is prudent, but I also recognize that buildings don’t last forever,” he said. “We just happen to be at a moment when these investments need to be made.”

While it’s important not to rush some planning studies that the school district has hired consultants to complete, Zagrodzky said, the sooner that school officials can get proposals for facilities ready, the more the town will save on interest rates, which are expected to rise over time.

___________

Here’s the video of the RTM meeting from Darien TV79 (lasts 1 hour, 20 minutes):

RTM State of The Town 12-12-16 from Darien TV79 on Vimeo.

___________

Michael Harman, chairperson of the Board of Education, said various elementary schools are facing space shortages. He added:

“At the same time, our temporary portables are coming at the end of their service life, having been refurbished at least once. Darien High School will be facing a capacity issue when the current seventh grade class enters in fall of 2018. Previous locker room conversions have provided added classroom capacity, but cafeteria and storage needs have not been increased. The Board’s Capital Plan will mostly likely include a recommendation for a cafeteria expansion, with the goal of combining it with changeover of the stadium turf this summer.

“[…] Ox Ridge Elementary School is in need of significant maintenance upgrades. These costs might warrant a reconstruction project option instead, which could allow the Early Learning Program (ELP) to be housed in a single facility. Such a facility would relieve enrollment pressures at two of the elementary schools, which currently house the ELP. These discussions are still in the preliminary stage and the board has not opined on the matter, but I feel obliged to make this body aware that there is a potential for some major infrastructure projects, regardless of the outcome of any of the proposed developments in town.”

Stevenson pointed out that continued commercial redevelopment in the town, some of it already approved and some being considered for approval, will help the town pay for future needs.

John Sini, the new chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission, said the three major commercial redevelopment proposals — from Federal Realty and the Palmer family in Noroton Heights and from Baywater and its partners in downtown Darien — are all moving forward and could add to the town’s tax base. Other, smaller projects have already been approved, including a storage facility near the Avalon apartments and two projects across the street from Papa Joe’s Pizza in Noroton.

Sini continued:

Redevelopment, or “suburban renewal,” as Commissioner Olvany likes to call it, has had a tremendously positive impact on Darien’s fiscal well being by helping to increase the size of Darien’s grand list. As this chart shows, the grand list has appreciated from close to $3 billion in 1995 to almost $8.5 billion today. This kind of value creation is extremely important in maintaining Darien’s fiscal vitality […]

______________

The rest of Darienite.com’s coverage of the State of the Town Addresses:

• State of the Town Addresses for 2016: Part 1, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson’s
• State of the Town Addresses for 2016: Part 2, Finance Board Chairman Jon Zagrodzky’s
• State of the Town Addresses for 2016: Part 3, Board of Education Chairperson Michael Harman’s
• State of the Town Addresses for 2016, Part 4: Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman John Sini’s

______________

Like this article? …

• Sign up for the Darienite.com weekday newsletter.
• Like Darienite.com on Facebook.
• Follow Darienite.com on Twitter.