By Sarah Opdahl

At the Thursday, August 14 New Fairfield Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting, the members agreed to close Blueberry and Sand Islands, for reasons related to unsanitary conditions. The BOS is working with FirstLight, the Candlewood Lake Authority, and other towns to address serious health concerns. The state of the islands is reportedly heavily deteriorated at this point in the summer, with boaters using these areas as a solution to answering “nature’s call,” and also leaving trash behind. In addition, there are other safety issues on the islands, “we’re having people getting dropped off and not having rides back,” First Selectman Ms. Melissa Lindsey shared. Signs and orange mesh fencing will be placed to help enforce the closure.

A brief conversation regarding lake noise complaints followed the above news, with Selectman Mr. Tom Perkins saying, “the loud music and everything else is extremely disturbing, to the point where I can’t even use my deck peacefully on the weekend.” This led to a rekindling of interest in possibly trying for a noise ordinance, which residents rejected in 2021.

BOS members voted 2-1 to approve a lease agreement with VCP Realty LLC, CEO Verity for the installation and operation of a solar energy project at the Drop-Off Center. It was noted that the company is working with several municipalities on landfill projects that are similar to this one. They assume all costs for the development, construction, and operations. The Town will receive revenue, but it is not as much as was proposed a few years ago with a Town-controlled and funded site. Selectman Ms. Pat Del Monaco expressed disappointment in the current agreement, saying, “I feel that we’re sacrificing significant non-tax revenue by going this way.” Disagreeing with Del Monaco, Perkins said, “I do think this is a very good deal for the town, because it completely leaves us out of the building and operation of it, and we simply get a benefit. Granted, it’s not the greatest in the world, but it’s far better than I think would have cost us to have done this ourselves.” The matter will now go to a Town Meeting on Thursday, August 28 for residents to weigh in. The Town Meeting will also consider recently discussed funding of $100,000 for Public Works to fully fund re-paving Gillotti Road and $950,000 in transfers to the Medical Reserve Fund to cover exorbitant costs for medical claims at the fiscal year cycle’s end.

Del Monaco, who represents the Town on the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA) explained that there is an opportunity for the Town to benefit from a grant by joining a food scrap collection program. She pointed out the wins for the residents, the Town, and the environment, stressing that, like other states, “Connecticut is facing a solid waste disposal crisis.” Currently, there is a tote at the Drop-Off Center where residents can bring food waste and can receive compost back, but the new program would be far more sophisticated. It wouldn’t be messy or smelly, as the current one tends to be, and, conveniently, it doesn’t need to be subject to the Drop-Off Center’s hours. Without a cost to the Town, she said, “This new program has a sealed container. It can be placed anywhere. It looks like a trash can you might see in a larger town or city on the street. It’s bolted to a concrete pad on the ground. And the idea is that people have an app on their phone that will open the container, they can put their waste in it, [and it] seals back up.” The containers would be swapped out frequently. At this point, New Fairfield is “the only town in the region that is not participating. Some towns have had so much success with it that they have multiple containers.” The topic was tabled until the next BOS meeting to give time for more research, with Del Monaco pointing out that they will need to decide at the next meeting in order to meet the deadline of September for free participation in the program.

The BOS, along with the Board of Education ,received a letter from the Board of Finance, requesting a thorough review of non-tax revenue streams, “given the increasing financial pressures being faced by the Town and the importance of maintaining high-quality services without overburdening taxpayers.” The letter goes on to say, “we believe it is both timely and prudent to evaluate whether our current fee structures and non-tax revenue streams are aligned with best practices and comparable towns in Connecticut and the region.” They asked that reports be compiled by November 10, 2025, “in advance for fiscal year 26-27 budget planning cycle.”

BOS members voted to approve adding an Illicit Discharge and Connection Stormwater Ordinance, which ‘’establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System in order to comply with requirements of the General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems issued by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.” Town Engineer Mr. Tony Iadarola explained in laymen’s terms that the ordinance attempts “to control and allow the Town to regulate illicit discharges to storm sewers or possibly open drainage ways.” Illicit discharge could mean a number of acts, such as a homeowner sending a dry well into a catch basin, “Believe it or not, those are very common,” he said, going on to say, “People have tied in overflows from septic systems into catch basins,” too. Iadarola also said that the passage of the ordinance will bypass an eventual State audit that the Town would be subject to if it is not passed. When asked about specific issues, such as lawn maintenance causing pollutants to enter the catch basins, for example, he said that there will be thresholds for actions that cause polluted runoff, but he sees larger scale behavior as the most likely to raise regulation flags. The ordinance that will go into effect was described as “a model ordinance, a lot of municipalities have it” and there will be fees associated with infractions.

There was a vote to approve Far View Drive as a Town road, following a request from Home Hearth Builders LLC, as part of phase three in the creation of Barnbrook Estates. There was also a perfunctory vote to close out a 1997 project that was completed but had a few loose ends surrounding easements that were obtained by the Town at that time. The notion that these needed to be resolved rose when  a surveyor who was working on the potential sewer project alerted Iadarola to the fact that “there’s portions of Gillotti Road that you don’t own.” This move closes the gaps on the easements that were obtained nearly three decades ago.

BOS members voted to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Teamsters Local Number 443, regarding the potential hiring of prospective applicants without a CDL license. With this MOU in place,Public Works will be able to expand their candidate pool significantly. Any hiring agreement will stipulate that a CDL must be obtained within a six-month period and the position will be paid at a lower rate until they get their CDL.

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