Education
Michael Harman

Board of Ed Chairman’s State of Town Speech: Schools Will Need More Space

By |
Download PDF

The Darien High School building, constructed and opened just 10 years ago, is expected to become too small for the student population, new Board of Education Chairman Michael Harman told the Representative Town Meeting on Monday. “Darien High School (DHS) is again facing classroom space concerns as enrollment moves closer to the maximum building capacity of 1,400 students, a number which is forecasted to be exceeded in 2018,” Harman said in his speech, one of four “State of the Town” speeches given Monday night. The town’s elementary school population will also need more classroom space, Harman said: “At present, the district has very limited capacity to accommodate any future growth, without attempting to address either elementary class size policy or use of aging portables.” That means the school district will have to build more classroom space or use “temporary” portable classes, he said: “[A]ll indications are that any recommended course of action could entail some type of facilities project and/or significant capital expenditure. _________

STATE OF THE TOWN SPEECHES: Full texts and descriptions on Darienite.com:

Expect to Get More Housing, Retail Options, Says Stevenson in ‘State of Town’ Address
Finance Board Chairman Expects a Higher Tax Rate Increase Than Last Year’s 2.5%
Planning & Zoning Chair: Decisions on New Housing, ‘Unprecedented’ Commercial Development Coming in 2016

_________

In September 2014, the Board of Education hired consultants to study district space needs.

Government & Politics
Jon Zagrodzky

Finance Board Chairman Expects a Higher Tax Rate Increase Than Last Year’s 2.3%

By |
Download PDF

The town’s five-year forecast for budget and financial planning includes a preliminary 3.5 percent tax increase for the upcoming fiscal year, Board of Finance Chair Jon Zagrodzky said in his 2015 “State of the Town” address. “The forecast also includes preliminary spending increases for next year, which show 3.6 percent for the Town, 2.2 percent for debt service and 4.4 percent for the Board of Education, for a mill rate increase of 3.5 percent,” Zagrodzky said. “These are all placeholders at the moment, as we have not begun our budget process, which by the way we hope to streamline and coordinate even further than we’ve done recently. But the increase overall certainly looks to be higher than last year [which was 2.3 percent].” ____________

FULL TEXT: ZAGRODZKY’S SPEECH

Here’s the text of Zagrodzky’s speech, which he gave Monday, as prepared (subheadings and slight editorial style changes have been made here by Darienite.com without changing any words):

Good evening.

Government & Politics
Stevenson State of the Town 2015

Expect to Get More Housing, Retail Options, Says Stevenson in ‘State of Town’ Address

By |
Download PDF

Some things to expect in the year ahead in Darien: proposals for housing singles, couples and families without children; proposals to build more retail space, and an effort to cut town government energy usage by 20 percent by 2020, according to First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, who gave her “State of the Town” address on Monday. Speaking to the Representative Town Meeting, she also said the town government is working to plan redevelopment of the Noroton Heights Railroad Station, get more natural gas available in Darien, considering a project to make street lights much more energy efficient, and she again said she supports more lights for town athletic fields. Stevenson also said: “I will be seeking support for setting aside funds to dredge the sedimentation basin below the Upper Pond Dam and here in front of Town Hall. The health of the Stony Brook and Goodwives River are at stake by not doing so.” Stevenson said she expects to support Darien Public Schools projects to provide more classroom space as the student population keeps swelling.

Government & Politics
Susan Cameron thumbnail

P&Z Chair: Decisions on New Housing, ‘Unprecedented’ Commercial Development Coming in 2016

By |
Download PDF

Decisions on “unprecedented” commercial development proposals for downtown Darien and the Noroton Heights business district are before the Planning & Zoning Commission, its chair, Susan Cameron, says. (Cameron’s full speech, as prepared, appears at the bottom of this article.)

Cameron told the Representative Town Meeting that the commission expects to get detailed, formal proposals for various big projects in the coming year, not only for the Corbin Drive/Post Road area downtown, but also from the two major property owners in downtown Noroton Heights. Also in Noroton Heights, a proposal to build a self-storage facility on the tract between Avalon Darien and Hollow Tree Ridge Road is expected to come before the commission. That spot was thought to be a good spot for more housing, but getting sewer service is now said not to be “viable,” Cameron said. (Previously, Cameron has said that Interstate 95, on the southern side of the property, is said to be too difficult to get a sewer across.)

The Housing Authority is proposing to tear down Old Town Hall Homes, a 30-unit housing development at 719 Post Road, and replace it with buildings with 55 units and that would have elevators.