Round II: Question 1

Hypothetically, if given independent authority to allocate town tax dollars, including through bonding or capital accounts, what would be your top three areas of expenditure over the next five years?

John Amport

This question appears to exclude placing a priority on repair of our roads and bridges that should be able to be handled through the ongoing Long Term Capital Plan. It also excludes the annual effort by the BOS and BOF to minimize the impact of Town government expenditures on the MIL Rate. Therefore, I take this question to mean; if you were go to the Town (Town Meeting/Referendum) for expenditures above and beyond the annual budget for ongoing operations what top three priorities do you envision?

Given the above, the following three areas lead my list of priorities.

Recreational Facilities – We need to be prepared to complete the effort to bring the Town current with regard to its recreation needs and ensure the plan encompasses the immediate future requirements. I do not know that this cannot be accomplished without bonding, but I would not vote to approve a recreational plan that continued to leave the Town short of the require facilities simply because we cannot fund it "out-of-pocket".

Town Office Facilities - The "Town Office Building Committee" is well along with their report. It is clear that we do not have sufficient meeting space and that Town Hall is not currently a very efficient facility from a number of points of view. If I am elected, when the committee's report is complete, I would have a public information meeting to seek taxpayer input on the report. Then I would seek a consensus on the BOS to begin the process of implementing a solution prior to the end of the lease on the modular addition to Town Hall.

Open Space - This is a subject that means different things to different people. I think of the acquisition of open space on a "value" basis. What that means is:

1. Can the Town acquire the property at or below its Fair Market Value?
2. What are the possible uses of the property for the Town now and in the future?
3. What alternative development possibilities exist and what would the impact of those alternatives mean to the Town?

Each one of the above can enhance the value to the Town and its residents.

I have one final word on bonding. The Town, like a household, cannot continually borrow to provide things today and leave payment for the future. The judicious use of leverage (bonding) is a valid means to provide essential facilities (like a home) but needs to be approached with caution when used for items that are "nice to have".

Rick Albrecht, Ed Sipples, Cathy Iino

In the next five years, the Democratic team would use your hard-earned tax dollars to protect the investments Killingworth has made over the last century. In addition to the continuing expenses for town operations and Region 17 schools, we see several priorities.

Repairing our infrastructure has to be at the top of the list. We already know of some needed repairs—to the Reservoir Road Bridge, Burr Hill Road, Lover’s Lane, just to name the most pressing needs. The good news: we have already allocated $220K to cover our portion of the Reservoir Road Bridge replacement, and we have a federal commitment for the remaining 80 percent. A $450K fund to repair Burr Hill is also on target. Clearly, however, Killingworth needs to inspect all of its bridges, culverts, and roads and then repair and maintain them in a systematic way that will allow us to balance competing demands and preserve Killingworth’s scenic and environmental assets.

Another area of investment should be the development of athletic fields, most immediately on the Wettish property that the town purchased last year. In the last twenty years, Killingworth’s population has grown by 50 percent, yet we have added only one small baseball practice field. (Because school teams take priority, the new middle school fields only slightly relieve the pressure on our current facilities.) Twenty years ago, recreational sport here pretty much was baseball; today, over 600 boys and girls—and another 50 adults—play soccer. The few fields we do have are overused, and we have had to turn down proposals for football and lacrosse leagues for lack of space. The cost of new fields will be shared by the town and the state.

Another way we can guard both our quality of life and our budget is to acquire more open space. This is truly an investment in our future: it will ensure that Killingworth remains rural, and it will control the growth in public expenses. We need to look at many ways of managing growth, from conservation subdivisions to age-restricted housing. But it would also serve us well to develop a long-range plan for purchasing large tracts of land that come on the market. Our dedicated Open Space Subcommittee has been preparing an inventory of those properties. Again, the funds won’t all have to come from town coffers; we should seek partnerships with groups such as the Land Trust, the water companies, and the State of Connecticut. We must not allow these precious open spaces to be lost through inattention and apathy.

All of these initiatives are, in fact, overdue. Other demands are also on the horizon: our town hall is bursting at the seams; a Killingworth government website could help make town services more accessible; our public works department will need new equipment; our fire department must stay prepared. For the future, we promise to act openly, cooperatively, and expeditiously to guard Killingworth’s fiscal, capital, and environmental assets.

Rich Cabral and Fred Dudek

The most obvious project now in development is the Wettish Property and thus should be our number one priority. Its completion will assure that long awaited recreational facilities will be available for our youth. With these fields in operation, the recreation committee can then begin to develop a master plan that will encompass present fields and their refurbishing while always keeping in mind both active and passive recreation.

Our present Transfer Station needs to be modernized and relocated to the rear of the town-owned property and should be our second priority. With an ever growing population and the need to recycle so many materials, a modern Transfer Station is needed now more than ever. In recycling those materials that can be and not having them as part of the household waste disposal, the savings will benefit all of the people of Killingworth.

The third priority should be our aging infrastructure of roads and bridges. We should start by having an engineering examination of all roads and bridges. Having this in hand would then permit us to establish priorities within this area and move bond one package of infrastructure improvements with a life expectancy of 20-25 years.

Round II: Question 2

The closing of the Reservoir Road bridge has caused a great deal of inconvenience for residents living in that area. If elected what, if anything, would you change in that project plan and how would you handle future long-term road closings?

Ed Sipples

Let's examine the events surrounding the actual closing. Your current 1st Selectman unilaterally decided that the bridge was to be immediately closed without consulting the BOARD OF SELECTMEN. After the fact, the BOARD was informed the State of CT had instructed him, in writing, to immediately close it. I asked for a copy and after waiting too long for this documentation, I asked a second time. Mr. Klein's response was "he forgot". The third time I publicly asked, his response was "it was verbal, not written instructions, from the State". I have repeatedly stated that I'm not convinced that it couldn't be safely reopened to one lane of restricted weight traffic while we wait for what now appears to be a 2009 or even 2010 completion date!

When Mr. Klein finally allowed BOARD participation, both Selectman Dudek and Selectman Sipples insisted upon revising his "charge" to the Reservoir Road Bridge Engineering Review Committee, to allow them to consider the simpler, quicker and less expensive option of replacing "like for like" culverts. Unfortunately, this option was later rejected due to a hydrology report that deemed "sleeving" the culverts as unacceptable.

We are now at the point where the federally funded, and State administered, new replacement bridge is the only reasonable option. It will be a thoroughly engineered, very complex bridge and have every bell, whistle, and bead you can imagine.

The information Marty shared with the BOARD was the bridge was going to cost approximately one million dollars and the Town's 20% share therefore would run around $200,000. The BOARD has already set aside $218,600, so we should be covered on the expense side.

On the PEOPLE SIDE, however, many disturbing reports have emerged. Mr. Klein's self admitted arrogance is not only unbecoming to a 1st Selectman, his rudeness to those neighbors who heavily depend upon this road, is cause for concern.

I would handle future long term road closings by first starting with the word "WE", not "I". The BOS should be informed, "We have a serious problem that we need to figure out the best way to handle". Next, we should be much more cognizant of the negative impact upon neighbors and would only completely close it if this were the last remaining option and absolutely necessary. The creation of a special Committee, comprised of knowledgeable members, dedicated to coming up with the best repair/replacement solution for our Town, makes good sense. The hasty way it was closed and the subsequent disparaging remarks about the neighbors, does not make good sense.

Lastly, it is important to say that I don't believe anyone knew up front that this would turn into such a long term closing. I know I was initially optimistic that the quick and easy "sleeving" option would be selected. If the upcoming election puts a new 1st Selectman in office, and I am re-elected, I will push to determine if the bridge could safely be reopened to restricted use while we wait for the new bridge to be built.

Rich Cabral and Fred Dudek

"The die is cast!" It is quite apparent that pages could be written on the handling of the Reservoir Road Project, but, since we have already embarked upon an avenue with the Federal Government as our partner to remediate the bridge, there is very little we can do to expedite the project. To pull out of the process already begun, would only lengthen the project and increase the frustration of the neighboring residents. Knowing that we could have probably completed the project in less time, we, apparently, chose the avenue that would be less costly. Many times the cheapest route is not always the best for all concerned. However, as your First Selectman, I vow to investigate all possible avenues to secure a temporary way to allow passage along Reservoir Road until a permanent bridge may be put into place. I do appreciate the fact that a lack of a bridge is a major inconvenience for the citizens that live in that area.

As for the future, we can only say that every effort will be made to not have history repeat itself. As indicated in Priority 3 of Question 1 of the Second Round, it is most important that a long term master plan be developed by the Selectmen in consultation with its engineer for repair and upkeep of its roads and bridges. With such a plan in place, the engineering for such road and bridge projects can be done far in advance of the project and, thus, shorten the time that a road or bridge will be out of commission.

John Amport

Let me answer the second part of the question first. In the future, like the last two years, I too would act immediately to respond in a timely fashion to warnings regarding dangerously crumbling infrastructure. Much of the inconvenience that has been experienced could have been avoided if the Town had taken advantage of the State's offer of a temporary bridge back in 2004 when it first said the bridge was unsafe and recommended closure. The fact is that timely proper planning, situations like this can be held to a minimum. If you start the planning and analysis well in advance of it becoming a safety crisis, downtime can be limited to the actual construction time. We need to keep in mind that the length of time associated with construction is, to some degree, a function of what State or Federal program the Town chooses for reimbursement. For example, the Federal specifications are "higher" and therefore more expensive and likely have a longer construction cycle and hopefully longer useful life.

With regard to the current project, it is at a stage where actual implementation decisions are ready to be made. There is a public information session scheduled for November 15th at KES at 7:30PM where the Town's engineering company and the State's representatives with present the plan's status and where they think the project is going. The ongoing management of the project needs active involvement of the 1st Selectman and the Board of Selectmen so as to minimize the elapsed time as the project goes through the final design, permitting, DEP and construction phases. I will be looking for any means to improve the "critical path" to completion by seeking any opportunities to parallel process different aspects of the project. Say what you will regarding my running mate, you know you can count on him (and me) to push the project every day.

Rick Albrecht

I have been trying to get an understanding of the history of the Reservoir Road Bridge (RRB) debacle. To date, I have only been able to get bits and pieces from BOS and RRB committee meetings. As far as I can tell there have been safety concerns going back 3-4 years. These issues were not followed up on until continuing concerns lead to the setting of weight limits per vehicle and then per axle. I haven't been able to find information as to whether there were recommendations on how to remediate, even if on a temporary basis, those safety concerns. The bridge was then closed because we were instructed to do so, but we can't find out by whom or when.

The town then needed to decide if the repair/replacement was going to be an in-house job or a federal project. We appointed the volunteer RRB committee to hire an engineering firm to help with setting the specs for the project and hiring the contractor. This is where we are now.

I agree that this is a significant inconvenience for the residents living in the Reservoir Road neighborhoods. But we must also recognize that the neighborhoods of the detour routes are inconvenienced by traffic as well. I believe that we should have investigated some relatively modest temporary re-enforcements such as street plates or a concrete deck to better distribute a vehicles weight. I am not an engineer but I'm sure there are other possible remedies that could have been studied. That did not happen so now the RRB it is closed.

As soon as it became evident that this was going to be a long term closure we should have put our own engineers to work to recommend alternatives and/or temporary fixes to allow at least a partial, one lane opening. That did not happen either. In light of the fact that we have now been told that a new RRB can not be completed until 2009 we should still consider looking into a reasonable cost effective alternative. (Funds would have to be approved through the proper channels so nothing would be forced down the taxpayers' throats.)

Going forward, I would never see something like this happening again. I would not ignore warnings so strong as to have a safety issue get this far out of hand. I have already discussed my plans to complete an inventory of all our infrastructure. This would enable us to schedule repairs and rebuilding projects with sufficient forethought to limit inconvenience.

I find it interesting that those bringing up the topic of 'bridge safety' have invoked the tragedy of the Interstate 35W bridge failure in Minneapolis. We are told that that massive replacement project is scheduled to be done before our Reservoir Road Bridge. Getting things done is important, getting them done right is imperative.

Cathy Iino

I am not an engineer, and I would not begin to second guess the many experts who have been involved in trying to fix the bridge on Reservoir Road. Clearly, no one wants to take risks with a school bus, or a station wagon, full of children. I do believe that strengthening our community is as important as reinforcing our culverts. If I am elected, I will work hard to engage the community much more closely in the decision-making process. I operate on the assumption that all who have been involved in the controversy--even our cantankerous first selectman--have acted out of real concern for the welfare of our citizens, but I wonder whether there are other avenues we could pursue. Have we contacted state and national elected officials about expediting the review process? Could the water company that owns the reservoir for which the road is named help in any way? I'm not ready to throw up my hands and say, "Live with it."

Question 2 Rebuttal by Cathy Iino: I just want to add that I spoke with our state senator, Ed Meyer, on Monday, and he is ready to go to the Connecticut Department of Transportation and any other state agencies on our behalf, to try to expedite the process.