NEW FAIRFIELD – At its regular June 8 meeting, the Board of Selectmen gave warning of a public meeting to be held June 22 at 7:00 pm in the Community Center. The purpose of the meeting is to vote on several proposed ordinances as follows:
1. To consider and take action upon the adoption of an ordinance waiving any property tax due the Town in an amount less than five dollars ($5.00), said ordinance to be codified as Chapter 16, Article I, Section 16-3 of the Code of Ordinances, New Fairfield, Connecticut, entitled “Sec. 16-3. Waiver of property tax under five dollars.”
2. To consider and take action upon the adoption of an ordinance authorizing the Board of Selectmen to establish and revise the schedule of building permit fees (including fire marshal fees), said ordinance to be codified by amending Chapter 3, Article I, Section 3-1 of the Code of Ordinances, New Fairfield, Connecticut, entitled “Sec. 3-1. Building permit fees.”
3. To consider and take action upon the adoption of an ordinance prohibiting the discharge of water onto public highways and roads, regulating connections to storm drains, authorizing designated agents of the municipality to enforce the ordinance and abate violations thereof, and providing for civil penalties for the violation of such ordinance, said ordinance to be codified as Chapter 15, Article III, Sections 15-50 through 15-56 of the Code of Ordinances, New Fairfield, Connecticut, entitled “Article III – Discharge Of Water And Damage To Roads.”
The first proposed ordinance is in response to a request from the Tax Collector’s office. As Selectman Michael Gill noted, the Town issues a number of small amount tax bills—in some cases cents—that cost more to collect than the amount collected.
The purpose of the second proposed ordinance is to provide a framework for building permit and fire marshal inspection fees similar to what other area municipalities have in place.
First Selectman Susan Chapman also stated that the Town released grass carp into Squantz Pond to curtail the growth of invasive plants such as Eurasian milfoil. The Town received approval from the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) to deploy over 400 sterile grass carp into Squantz. The Town received a grant from Firstlight to pay for the carp.
Over 4,400 sterile grass carp were released into Candlewood Lake as well. These carp will supplement the 3,800 carp that were released in 2015 as part of an initiative begun by the Candlewood Lake Authority, DEEP, and the five towns that border the lake.
The next Board of Selectmen meeting will be held on Thursday, June 22 at 7:30 in the Community Center.
By Greg Slomba