By Sarah Opdahl

At their meeting on Thursday, September 14, New Fairfield’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) agreed to move a new sex offender ordinance forward. The ordinance will place restrictions on registered sex offenders entering Town buildings, schools, parks, and playing fields. The idea for the ordinance originated with the Danbury court system, was supported by the New Fairfield Police Department, and has now been moved forward by the BOS. There was a brief pause in approval while investigating an increase to the $250 fee per offense, but the fee will remain as is per statute. A  Town Meeting is  likely to occur  prior to the next BOS meeting on Thursday, September 28.

BOS members are in agreement on the wisdom to move forward with a solar installation project, though they will wait for the Board of Education to weigh in. First Selectman Ms. Pat Del Monaco explained, the Greenleaf Energy Solutions proposal would have the Town place a solar array on the Town landfill site, which would generate a net-zero project with enough electricity to support all Town and school buildings.  Selectman Ms. Khris Hall, who has worked on  this project for se veral years, noted, “in the past, every time we evaluated it, it wasn’t really cost effective for the Town to do it because we have to bring three-phase power from the landfill out to Bigelow Road and that in and of itself is a $500,000 cost. So that was always kind of our roadblock to getting this project accomplished.” The major change in circumstance this time is the ability to lean on the federal government’s new Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a program for solar energy in the form of federal tax credits and structured municipal loans. The application for funding is due in February and requires some geotechnical work, so the BOS hopes to move forward on this very soon.

The BOS approved a $380,000 transfer from multiple accounts into Medical Expenditure, which will help the year-end position of the Medical Fund. In an effort described as “truing up” the budget—a process that occurs each year at this time— there were a series of transfers made to help balance the budget. There were surpluses caused by certain areas in the budget, such as a change in the fringe benefit rate for the state police. Town Finance Director Ms. Olga Melnikov explained, the “variances mostly are coming from the accounts that are unpredictable during the year, very consistent with transfers from prior years,” such as professional services and fuel deliveries. This move was made to serve as a positive step toward building up that fund balance in the Medical Fund.

There was agreement that it makes sense to purchase a pre-built office space in a shipping container for $23,000 to replace the small office/shed at the Drop-Off Center, which was suffering from extensive rot due to age. The shipping container office will provide a bit more space than the current building, which is a plus for paperwork, storage, and more. The plan is to have it in place before winter.

Del Monaco read a proclamation regarding Alzheimer’s Awareness Week. She praised the work of the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter and local leaders who work to support fundraising efforts for treatments, support caregivers, and more. Hall agreed, saying, “I don’t think there’s a family that hasn’t been touched by this disease…The work that this association does is very important. We need to make some progress in addressing this disease.” Selectman Ms. Lori Beninson concurred, saying she appreciates “that people are more aware that there’s a safety net, that there’s a proactive group that can help, so that they don’t feel alone and isolated as a caregiver and for patients, it really empowers them to be able to get through this disease in the best opportunity possible.”

The next regular Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 28, 7:30 p.m.