Bonding Projects Pass Town Meeting

The four bonding proposals presented at a town meeting at Suffield High School on Thursday night were approved.

The four proposals: road and drainage improvements at $3.1 million, new firefighting equipment at $1.4 million, Town Hall renovations and improvements at $1.9 million and a new library at $6.9 million, will now be voted on at a town-wide referendum that will likely be held on April 28. The project’s total cost to the town is $13.3 million, with $1.5 million in outside funding for the library’s construction bringing the total to $14.8 million.

The final vote tallies are as follows:

• Road and drainage improvements: 471 total votes, 439 for, 31, against and 1 void (with both the “yes” and “no” options marked on the ballet).

• New firefighting equipment: 469 total votes, 378 for, 89 against and 2 void.

• Town Hall improvements and renovations: 467 total votes, 382 for, 85 against and 1 void.

• New library building: 470 total votes, 380 for and 90 against.

Town Clerk and State Rep. Elaine O’Brien opened the meeting at the high school’s auditorium, with an audience of approximately 500 Suffield residents in attendance. William Moncrief served as the moderator and outlined the meeting’s process.

“We are a town meeting government and therefore are a participatory government,” Moncrief said as he explained there would be time for questions about and discussion on each project before the voting began.

First Selectman Tom Frenaye then took the podium and provided a summary of each project. He said the town considered projects valued at more than $500,000 and discussed the process leading up to the town meeting, including the dates various town boards approved the projects and the public forums held over the previous months.

“The public input we got [from the forums] was actually quite useful,” Frenaye said.

Frenaye specifically mentioned that negative responses to renovating Kent Memorial Library at the first forum led to the decision to include a new library building in the bonding projects.

“This is a particularly good time for us to look at long-term bonding,” Frenaye said, noting the low interest rates and construction costs currently available.

“This is really a unique period in financial history,” said town financial advisor Dick Thivierge.

Thivierge said the town’s debt service as a portion of its total budget is low and indicates a neglect of capital needs.

Justin Donnelly, chairman of the Suffield Board of Finance, spoke briefly as well. He said the town’s capital needs have been neglected and that the Board of Finance endorsed the projects.

“As a board, we voted to present these items to you,” he said.

Frenaye said the Permanent Building Commission will be in charge of the library and town hall renovations and noted that the commission kept the recent construction of the Senior Center inside the constraints of its budget.

“The bottom line is, ‘what’s it going to cost me in taxes?’” Frenaye said, addressing one of the basic concerns of many citizens.

According to a document distributed at the town meeting, the average Suffield taxpayer will see an increase of about $146 per year to their taxes if all four projects are approved. Frenaye said the tax increase will not be felt until next year.

Following a round of public questions and comment, the vote was held and town officials tabulated the results.

“I enjoyed the questions, because it makes the project better,” Frenaye said. “I’m pleased with the votes.”

A town-wide referendum, tentatively scheduled for April 28, will be the final step in the binding process.