I will vote YES on all three referendum questions on the ballot when the public votes this Tuesday, February 25, at Yanity Gym. Here’s why.
First, the opinion I express here is only my own. Although I am a member of the Town’s Board of Finance, I do not speak for any of the other members of the Board of Finance, for the Board of Finance itself, or for the Town.
As a member of the Board of Finance, I pay close attention to the Town’s spending issues. The three questions coming to referendum this Tuesday cover costs for a five-function Public Safety Building, five schools’ re-roofing, and a new education building to house the Alternative High School and the 18-22 Transition Program. The Town finances capital projects by issuing municipal bonds. If all the referendum items are approved, they will be financed with 20-year bonds issued by the Town, likely in two tranches 18-24 months apart (as major costs are incurred), with the debt fully paid within 22 years.
Proposed Public Safety Building
The Public Safety Building referendum question authorizes $85.6 million to design, construct and equip a building to house five functions: (1) the professional fire department, (2) the volunteer fire department, (3) the Town’s ambulance services, (4) the police department, and (5) the central dispatch for emergency calls to 911.
In many towns, the five services listed above are split up and separately located. Here in Ridgefield, we’ve already achieved meaningful efficiency and effectiveness in emergencies by combining the professional and volunteer fire departments with the ambulance service—three services operating out of the current fire station on Catoonah Street. Unlike in many nearby towns, our full-time firefighters are trained as paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or emergency medical responders (EMRs), as are some of the volunteer firefighters. Two other services—our police department, and our 911 central dispatch team serving police, fire and ambulance emergencies–operate out of the current police building.
Let’s look at where these services are now housed. The police building, a 19th-century house at the corner of East Ridge and Governor Streets, is so outdated as to make it difficult for the Ridgefield Police Department and dispatch team to do their jobs effectively and safely. The building’s structure and services (plumbing, electricity, drainage, HVAC) have serious problems. I recommend taking a tour to see the conditions for yourself.
The very old firehouse on Catoonah Street that houses the professional and volunteer fire departments, as well as our ambulance services, was designed when Ridgefield’s population was under 5,000–not the current 25,000+. To illustrate its inadequacy for today’s needs, consider this: Our firefighters must shower within one hour of returning from a fire due to the hazardous ash and smoke residue on their persons and gear; they currently have only two showers to do this.
The new Public Safety Building, which will be located on the old Schlumberger property along Old Quarry Road, will encompass all the functions necessary to keep Ridgefield safe: police, professional and volunteer firefighters, associated personnel, and central dispatchers. It will also house our Town’s fire trucks and ambulances except for those that will continue to be located at the existing Ridgebury fire station. The shared spaces among all departments in the new building provide cost efficiencies that the existing separate buildings do not. The new building will be sited away from A.C.T. of Connecticut and from any architecturally sensitive building, and safe accesses will be ensured by slight widening of Quarry Ridge Road.
The proposed Public Safety Building has been approved unanimously, in bipartisan votes, by our Town’s Board of Selectpersons and Board of Police Commissioners. Some social media comments have compared the proposed cost of our Public Safety Building to costs in other towns, but none of those comparisons are for a building that performs the five functions that our Public Safety Building will perform for Ridgefield. When looking at all five functions, the space is appropriate. I’ve looked at every room in the plans for the proposed Public Safety Building, first with the Police Chief and then the Fire Department Chief, and I’m satisfied that the plans and costs are reasonable and appropriate for the multiple functions, the construction costs and the site conditions.
Proposed Roof Projects for Five Schools
The referendum question regarding school roofs authorizes $12.3 million for full roof replacements at Ridgebury Elementary School, Scotland Elementary School and Veterans Park Elementary School, as well as partial roof replacements at Ridgefield High School and East Ridge Middle School. The existing roofs have reached their maximum life expectancy, and replacement now will ensure the Town won’t face unexpected, costly repairs due to water damage and mold remediation. Combining all five roof replacements into one approval process achieves some efficiencies in performing the jobs, creates greater financial predictability for the Town, and allows the Town to most effectively finance the project with bonds. The proposed roof work has been approved unanimously, in a bipartisan vote, by our Town’s Board of Selectperson.
Proposed School Building for Alternative High School and Transition Program
Another referendum question addresses a $4.0 million project for a building to house the Alternative High School (AHS) and the Ridgefield Public Schools (RPS) Transition Program. The AHS is now located in a one-room facility, inappropriate for learning. The Transition Program, mandated by federal and state law for students aged 18-22 with certain special needs, is now housed in a portable structure that is also problematic. Without this facility, RPS may be required to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per student annually, under federal and state law, to educate some of our most vulnerable students in programs outside the district. Debt service on the new building will be retired well before the expected life of the building. The proposed school building has been approved unanimously, in a bipartisan vote, by our Town’s Board of Selectpersons.
Effect on Property Taxes
The Board of Finance has unanimously approved the bonding of the net cost for any of the referendum projects that pass in Tuesday’s vote. Most recently, the Town borrowed at a rate of 3.6%. The Town borrows at a low interest rate because the holders of municipal bonds don’t have to pay tax on the interest.
If all three referendums items are approved, over the next 22 years property taxes will on average be 4.1% higher than if the Town were to spend nothing on police and fire headquarters, nothing on school roofs, and nothing on the building for the AHS/Transition Program. Most of that 4.1% represents the bonding costs (principal and interest) for the Public Safety Building. But of course, doing nothing isn’t a realistic alternative.
The above property costs do not include any credit for the money that the Town may receive upon the sale of the current police headquarters and the sale of the current firehouse. Our property taxes may be offset by these sales.
Not approving the bonding for these projects presents real drawbacks. If the Public Safety Building is not approved, our emergency services personnel will need to continue to serve the Town from the current inadequate police and fire buildings. Absent approval next Tuesday for the new building for our AHS and Transition Program, RPS will need to budget for dramatically increased operating expenditures to send students to programs elsewhere. And any future proposals for these two new facilities will come with higher building costs.
It’s important that informed voters turn out to vote. We vote this Tuesday, February 25, at Yanity Gym, between 6am and 8pm, or at the Town Clerk’s office by absentee ballot. Please focus on what time you will vote that day. I hope you will join me in voting YES on all three referendum questions.
Joe Shapiro is a former chair and current member of the Democratic Town Committee.