Walczak Supports New Fire Station for Newtown Hook & Ladder

Bruce Walczak, IPN’s First Selectman candidate, issued his final position statement on election issues this week, throwing his support behind adding funding for a new fire station for Newtown Hook & Ladder to the current  Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  Bruce said he would make a review of the current list of capital requests by the town a priority when elected. 

“I have to question how the Board of Selectmen determined their list of capital priorities when the need for a new building for Newtown Hook & Ladder is not on the list, but $30 million for Fairfield Hills, including funding for underground wiring and a band shell, is considered a capital funding priority,” said Bruce.  “We have our fire personnel and equipment operating from an unsafe building.  That situation has gone on too long.  That issue will be resolved on my watch as First Selectman if I am elected.”

Bruce went on to say: "I hope that the new Board of Selectmen, which will be elected on Nov 3rd, will have an opportunity to thoroughly review the capital request previously sent to The Board of Finance. All of the candidates are in agreement that the Fairfield Hills Master Plan must be re-evaluated and that means what is in the CIP as well.

At last week’s Board of Finance meeting, the Chair of the Fire Commission and an official from Newtown Hook & Ladder appealed to the Board to include funding for a new fire station in the CIP.  In the meeting minutes, it was noted that Kevin Cragin, Fire Commissioner, reported to he Board of Finance that the town-owned building housing Newtown Hook and Ladder is unsafe, has been in disarray for 23 years, and poses a hazard for the fire trucks kept in the building. 

”It’s a disgrace to ignore the needs of our Fire Departments,” said Bruce. “Their service is dedicated to the safety of our citizens. This upgrade of $1.5 million should have been approved a long time ago."
Another building request that impacts citizen safety is the current CIP request for funds for a new Police Station. "The existing building is out dated and our Police force is operating from inadequate space," Bruce said.

Bruce noted that repairs to our schools have also been put on the back burner for years, with a protracted debate on how to handle overcrowding at Newtown High School overshadowing the infrastructure needs of other schools.  Hawley School has had to wait for a desperately needed HVAC, and the Middle School roof continues to leak while its foundation has problems.  “It is taking too long to address these infrastructure issues at our schools,” he said.  “In the meantime, our local government leaders expedited construction of a new town hall at Fairfield Hills, which in itself has inadequate space for all our needs.”

Bruce said he was aware of the Legislative Council discussions on possible modifications to the CIP process that have been spearheaded by IPN Council member Gary Davis.  He felt that recommendations made by Davis and fellow IPN Council member Po Murray had merit.  “I hope that the new Legislative Council and the new Board of Finance will take a serious look at these recommendations because they make a lot of sense and make the CIP process more accountable to taxpayers,” he said.