Newtown Approves $15M For School Roofs, HVAC And Infrastructure

NEWTOWN, CT — The Newtown Board of Finance convened Monday evening, approving a series of special appropriations and capital improvement projects totaling millions of dollars for infrastructure and facility upgrades across the town.

Chair Steven Goodridge called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Newtown Municipal Center. All board members were present except for Janette Lamoureaux. Also in attendance were First Selectman Jeff Capeci and Finance Director Glenys Salas.

Budget and Financial Updates

Salas reported that the Board of Finance budget book is being finalized and will be issued by the March 14 charter deadline. She also noted that the deauthorization of unissued debt has been submitted for legal review and will return to the board later this month. Additionally, three projects previously excluded from the voter referendum list will be revisited on March 27 after clarification on tax-exempt leasing regulations.

Salas announced that the Finance Department is developing two new policies for board consideration: an Asset Capitalization Policy, as recommended by auditors, and a revised Outside Agency Request for Funds Policy.

Major Capital Appropriations Approved

The board approved several resolutions for special appropriations, including:

• $4.3 million for the planning, design, and reconstruction of the Newtown High School roof.
• $4.6 million for HVAC upgrades at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.
• $1.5 million for the Community Center pool HVAC unit replacement.
• $1 million for the town's bridge replacement program.
• $1.2 million for roof renovations at Head O’Meadow School and middle school boiler upgrades.
• $855,000 for renovations and upgrades to Edmond Town Hall.
• $300,000 for engineering and replacement of the Community Center pool deck.
• $525,000 from the Newtown Center Fund for an outdoor splash pad at the Newtown Community Center.
• $75,000 for Public Works site and salt storage improvements engineering.
• $30,000 for Emergency Operations Center upgrades engineering.
• $231,000 for waterfront improvements.
• $200,000 for open space preservation.
• $230,000 for adding redundant boilers at the middle school.

Several proposed appropriations, including those for Fairfield Hills building repairs, irrigation infrastructure replacement, and Public Works boiler replacements, were tabled with no action taken.

Other Business

The board briefly discussed tax-exempt leasing and its exemption from special appropriation limits. No public comments were made during the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. The next Board of Finance session is scheduled for later this month, when additional financial matters and deferred projects will be revisited.