4/12/2024 A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass

Good afternoon -

A lot has happened this week with the EMS renovation project. The building committee met on Tuesday and took several steps. They selected an architect, Christopher Tramutolo of Alloy design studio to design the renovation. To alleviate ongoing concerns about the adjacent property the town is purchasing, the committee recommended that another phase 2 survey be done, and the selectmen accepted a bid for this to be completed. In a related matter, as recommended by DEEP, further testing at the sight of the Easton village store is scheduled in the near future.  I hesitate to interpret the flow of communication between engineers, but my understanding is that the testing plan for the village store property has DEEP’s approval. Back to the building committee, the building committee also approved the purchase and sale agreement for the property at 444 Sport Hill Rd. adjacent to the current EMS. As you remember, this is the agreement presented to the Boards of Finance and Selectmen last week. The value for the purchase has been confirmed by the state property review board. We are still waiting for paperwork from the state to finalize the grant award, for the EMS infrastructure, septic and parking facility which the town meeting approved so the land purchase agreement can be signed.  Closing the purchase has contingencies for town approvals, financing and the environmental assessments described above.

There was a lot of discussion about the terms of the agreement. I think people now agree that adequate (even redundant) steps are being taken to protect the town’s interests in terms of making sure the condition of the land we are buying is ok. The irony is that the biggest reason we are buying this land is to fix the septic system to protect the environment. There was also considerable discussion of the terms of the purchase relative to its cost. As a partner in my surgical practice, I was involved in some significant land purchases. Negotiations for transactions like this can take months and have a lot of moving pieces, as this one did. My goal is always to be responsible in how the town spends taxpayer money, so, of course during negotiations for whatever purpose that is what I am trying to do. Having said that, good governance dictates that one always evaluates one’s actions with an eye toward how things could be done better, so I welcome your comments.

The Board of Selectmen also accepted the report of the Task Force for the Protection of Town Officials and Civility in Governance. We will publish their recommendations. They did great work and we thank them, especially for getting so much done so fast. We reconstituted the committee rewriting the Tax Relief for the Elderly Ordinance. Finally, we set the agenda for the annual town meeting to be held April 29, at 7 PM at Samuel Staples Elementary School. As always, we will be collating all the necessary information on the town website.

A friendly reminder that this coming Monday, April 15, the Town of Monroe will be hosting a public information meeting regarding the upcoming project to replace the bridge located along Judd Road over the Mill River.  The meeting will be held at the Monroe Town Hall located at 7 Fan Hill Road in the Council Chambers at 6:00pm. This is a joint project between the Town of Monroe and the Town of Easton.  It is, however, by agreement being managed by public works in Monroe since the bridge straddles the town line. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information to the residents of both Monroe and Easton on topics such as where residents can expect to obtain information on project updates, anticipated construction date, anticipated construction timeline, and potential traffic detours.

Save the date! On April 27, from 10 AM to 1 PM there will be a touch a truck event to raise money for our sister city of Sviatohirsk, Ukraine. There will be a food truck, games, raffle and plenty of trucks to view and explore.

Does your child or a student you care about have (or want) a smartphone? Trying to keep them safe, and having a hard time keeping up with the multitude of apps? Join Easton’s Here to Help and Officer Rich Marsh for a presentation on “The Secrets of the Apps”. Register today at: bit.ly/ehth-apps and join other parents on April 30th from 7:00pm-9:00pm at Joel Barlow High School, 100 Black Rock Turnpike in Redding. Learn what could be hiding in plain sight on a kid or teen's smartphone. Officer Marsh will take a deep dive into the world of smartphone apps, and their hidden uses. This presentation was created to give parents, guardians, and anyone else caring for school-aged children (from 3rd grade through high school) the guidance and resources they need to make informed decisions about their child’s cellular phone use.

Have a great weekend,

Dave