Budget, Infrastructure Discussed at Selectmen's Meeting

Covering a relatively brief agenda, last night's Selectmen's meeting focused on the upcoming town budget referendum, and a series of local infrastructural improvements slated for the coming year.

With no public correspondence on hand, First Selectman Freda opened his overview with a short tribute to the Memorial Library, commending director Lois Baldini for her service to the town, and announcing that the facility has joined the LION consortium, a board of 25 other area libraries with which North Haven can now exchange books and materials.

"I would encourage more and more citizens to use our library," Freda urged. "It's an important factor in keeping kids reading."

By joining LION, Freda estimated the town would save $16,500 annually in library costs.

Freda also mentioned the recent success of the North Haven Substance Abuse Action Council's pill return program on April 30, which, with the help of the DEA, managed to collect and safely dispose of roughly $200,000 worth of prescription medication.

The First Selectman also drew attention to the upcoming Public Safety Day, an event showcasing the equipment of the fire and police departments, scheduled for July 9.

Moving forward, the meeting addressed a series of grants the town has received to conduct operational improvements, including a traffic calming study on Spring Road and Laydon Avenue, subsidies for new lawn equipment for the Public Works Department, a new playground at Clintonville Elementary, and the milling and paving of Universal Drive.

An issue since last year, work on Universal Drive will begin May 7 and continue May 8. Paving is scheduled to occur in the evening and early morning to avoid traffic problems.

Switching to a discussion of the town budget, Freda reiterated that the 1.2% change in spending this year stems exclusively from the cost of much needed capital requests, including a new fire truck and a new dump truck for the town.

"When we say these are capital needs, I will emphasize that they are indeed needs," Freda explained. "Our current fire truck is out of code, and the public is demanding improved trash service."

The First Selectman concluded by encouraging residents to vote yes on the May 17 referendum.

To close the overview, Freda ran down a list of economic developments in town, including the promising course of the Yale-New Haven Hospital medical center on Devine Street, and the planning of a train station to be built either near the proposed healthcare epicenter, or on northern Washington Avenue. An economic development meeting to network local businesses will be held May 12 at 7:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn on Washington Avenue.

Public comment focused primarily on the budget referendum, with both Ann Rocco and Jim Lehey proposing that the capital requests be voted on separately from the main budget. Rocco added that the $1.3 million request could be taken out of the town's healthy fund balance to avoid imposing a tax increase on residents.

Billy Leiserson urged the town to include public input when devising its new public personnel manual.

"I'm not suggesting that the public write it, but rather express opinions concerning certain policies," said Leiserson. "Right now, in terms of pensions, we're committed to paying a lot of money down the road. The current stipulations are very generous."

Republican Second Selectman Tim Doheney said that he could not commit to anything at the moment, but might be swayed to include public input on the final document. Meanwhile, Democratic Third Selectman Steve Fontana noted that public input on the manual is necessary, since some town employees were paid quantities of money that residents disagreed with. Freda had no comment on the issue.

Finally, Public Works Director Lynn Sadosky said that new policies for town hires after 2007 are currently in effect, although those changes have yet to be reflected in the personnel manual. Sadosky said that updating the manual to reflect exigent changes would be an important move.

The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen will take place on Thursday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Community Room.