First Selectman Weekly Update 6-26-2020

Happy Friday North Stonington!

Getting back to school living in a COVID-19 world is going to be a big transition for everyone. You may have seen the Governors update yesterday as it relates to a return to school in the fall. North Stonington schools have already been working incredibly hard to make sure our students and staff will be back in a safe fashion while providing the high level of education we have become accustomed to. The Board of Education has been leading a task force dedicated to making sure our process and procedures are sound and inclusive for everyone. The three subcommittees focused on health/safety, logistics, & education have been meeting to put strong plans in place for a return to school. Great job to Board of Education Chairwoman Christine Wagner and her entire board along with our administrators and teachers for being proactive in this process. Everyone should take comfort that there will be a multifaceted approach whereby all families and students will have a safe and interactive way to receive the high level of education our school system delivers.

Speaking of our schools, you may have seen that we are in the process of becoming a school of choice for both Voluntown and Preston students. This will help those towns provide a small school environment for the families who prefer that and will bring additional revenue to the town as we will receive payment for each student who attends our school. This revenue will go into the towns general fund and cannot be used for anything without Board of Selectmen, Finance, and Town approval.  There is an application process for any incoming student and the Board of Education along with our Superintendent Peter Nero and our Administrators have worked incredibly hard on showcasing all Wheeler has to offer to our neighboring towns. North Stonington now has the benefit of not only providing our own small school for our community but helping to become our own “regional” solution to education in the area. We are very proud of our Wheeler family!

Our investment in the schools here in our own town is beginning to pay dividends. Not only do we have state of the art facilities, but with the climate control and flexible spaces we are in a position to have great success in this unprecedented pandemic time.

In highway news the crew has been very busy as they usually are. This week we trimmed trees on Meadowood and Pond, and provided traffic control for the milling and paving of Meadow Wood and Pond. Millings were stockpiled at the transfer station. A failing pipe on Pinewoods was replaced. Beaver preventative maintenance occurred on Assekonk Brook. New soccer nets were picked up for the rec department. Mowing took place on town owned properties and street mowing occurred on Fowler, Sleepy Hollow, Wintechog. Next week chip sealing will begin on Putker and Button. Mowing and tree trimming will continue.

As part of our ongoing road maintenance we were able to start the process of repairing the roads in the Kingswood and Cedar Ridge neighborhoods. We see this as a 3-4 year process however we may look to budget more funds to expedite the process in the coming years. This coming fiscal year (July 2020-June 2021) we plan to repave Kingswood Rd, Cedar Drive, Oak Drive, and perform a pipe replacement and chip sealing on Babcock. We will do more or less road repairs as funds allow.  Our crew is able to perform some of the repairs and there are some jobs that must be contracted for depending on the complexity and equipment needed. We are committed to making sure quality work is done and that our roads in town remain among the best in the State. Depending on the area and characteristics of the roads we make decisions on whether chip sealing or paving makes more sense.

We wanted to summarize for everyone the road repairs that have been completed over the last 3 years so you could be aware of your tax dollars at work. These are just the town roads and projects aside from the State roads such as 184, which have recently been repaired. In addition Mystic Road is soon to be repaved and catch basins on that road have been recently replaced. We have 60 miles of roads in town and are the 9^th largest town out of the 169 towns in Connecticut by land mass.

Road Work Last 3 years

2018

• Pinecrest Rd; All drainage updated large section determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete falling apart. Roads was pulverized, leveled and resurfaced with new curbing installed.
• Anna farm East 2nd chip seal coat applied.
• Anna farm West 2nd double chip seal coat applied.
• Wyassup Rd section from Main St to Ryder Rd chip sealed.
• Dirt Roads:
• Pinewoods Rd 8 loads processed gravel resurfaced 3 times.
• Cranberry Bog Rd 5 loads processed gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Swantown Rd assisted foxwoods with millings and resurface part of the dirt sections 3 loads of millings and 8 loads of processed gravel resurfaced 3 times.
• Patricia Ave 4 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Murphy Rd 2 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Loin Hill Rd 2 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Tom Wheeler Rd dirt section 2 loads of gravel, 5 loads of milling resurfaced road and hill section 2 times.

2019

• Rocky Hollow Rd determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete falling apart. Roads was milled, leveled and resurfaced.
• Milltown Rd determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete falling apart. Roads was milled, leveled and resurfaced.
• Hollowell Rd ; All drainage updated, determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete falling apart. Roads was milled, leveled and resurfaced.
• Dirt Roads:
• Pinewoods Rd 10 loads processed gravel resurfaced 3 times, drainage cleanout 2 times.
• Cranberry Bog Rd 6 loads processed gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Swantown Rd resurface part of the dirt sections 5 loads of millings and 9 loads of processed gravel resurfaced 3 times.
• Patricia Ave 6 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Murphy Rd 1 load of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Loin Hill Rd widened roadway surface created a turnaround for town plow trucks at end of roadway surface, 13 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Tom Wheeler Rd dirt section 6 loads of gravel, 8 loads of milling resurfaced road and hill section 2 times.

2020

• Meadow wood Rd determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete losing oils and falling apart. Roads was milled, leveled and resurfaced. Roadway was lowered in several areas to assist with drainage from resident’s property.
• Pond Dr determined to be failing in several areas due to bituminous concrete losing oils and falling apart. Road was milled, leveled and resurfaced. Roadway was lowered in several areas to assist with drainage from resident’s property.
• Button Rd sections repaired and crack sealed, Chip sealed surface
• Putkker Rd sections repaired and crack sealed, Chip sealed surface
• Dirt Roads:
• Pinewoods Rd replace metal drainage pipe, 16 loads processed gravel resurfaced 3 times, drainage cleanout 1 time.
• Cranberry Bog Rd 7 loads processed gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Swantown Rd millings and resurface part of the dirt sections 7 loads of millings and 6 loads of processed gravel resurfaced 3 times.
• Patricia Ave 3 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Murphy Rd 3 load of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Loin Hill Rd 2 loads of gravel resurfaced 2 times.
• Tom Wheeler Rd dirt section 4 loads of gravel, 5 loads of milling resurfaced road and hill section 2 times.

As you can see the crews are very busy. There are many roads in town that are “private” and the town does not maintain per town ordinance. You may also notice dirt roads take us more time and energy to maintain.

We are fortunate to have a very capable and dedicated highway crew led by Highway Foreman Donny Hill. When you see the crew out working please take caution when driving and give them a hello and a thank you for their hard work.

As a reminder the town hall has remained open for business through the pandemic. While the doors remain lock, our staff is here to assist you by simply calling and making an appointment for building access. We will be closed July 3^rd in observance of Independence Day and the Transfer Station will be closed on Saturday July 4^th.

Finally, Monday there will be an “All Boards and Commissions meeting” taking place from 5:30-6:30pm where our many dedicated volunteer board chairs will give updates on the work their committees have been up to. The call in information for this virtual meeting is 1 646 558 8656  Meeting ID: 829 0046 1323. Public is welcome to attend.

That’s it for today, have a great week!