Infrastructure Upgrades are Planned for the New Year

Paving and chip sealing the town's crumbling roads was a big issue in 2011, along with plans moving forward to maintain municipal and school buildings. First Selectman Steve Vavrek expects the infrastructure improvements to continue into the New Year.

The Capital Infrastructure Facility Asset Planning Subcommittee (CIFAP), a subcommittee of the Planning & Zoning Commission, has put together a project Matrix identifying all capital needs in order of priority. Vavrek said some of the most pressing needs will be proposed at budget time.

"We should have capital improvements in every budget," he said Tuesday. "There are things to address or it will cost a lot more. We tended to kick the can down the road around here for a long time. We need to get things fixed."

A renovation and addition to the Monroe Police Department, which shares the same building as Monroe Town Hall at 7 Fan Hill Road, is moving ahead of schedule, according to Vavrek. In fact, a hearing before the P&Z is scheduled for Jan. 5.

Though town officials believe the project is important, Vavrek said, "We have to treat it like a commercial application and be open and transparent."

The building project may include improvements to the campus the police station shares with town hall and Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, including drainage, a widening of the Church Street entrance and bringing the parking lot dimensions up to code.

Though Vavrek believes the work should have been done during the library construction project, he said it still must be done.

"We always tend to do the least amount of what we have to do and have these issues," he said of how the town has operated in the past.

Plans are also moving forward to fix town hall's leaky roof and its HVAC system.

The rehab of Monroe's roads will continue. Vavrek said that includes the reconstruction of upper Pepper Street to improve sight-lines and to make it easier to handle industrial traffic. This section of Pepper Street is near Garder Road.

In most major capital projects, the town has to bond for money, however, Vavrek said it will not lose sight of the mounting interest.

"The Board of Finance is working on debt caps," he said. "We're really looking at our debt more closely than we ever had."

He also credited Finance Dir. Carl Tomchik for his involvement in the process.

GIS Mapping

Another anticipated improvement for all town hall departments is a Geographic Information System. There is a grant application by the Greater Bridgeport Regional Council (GBRC) to the state for a GIS mapping system to be shared by several towns.

GIS is designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and present all types of geographically referenced data. It's the merging of cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology — a layering of up to 100 maps pinpointing waterways, septic systems, roads, wetlands and wells. A GIS integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares and displays geographic information for informed decision making.

If approved, the $1.4 million grant will fund the GIS system which will be housed and maintained by GBRC. Monroe will have access to its own information, as well as that of the other participating towns: Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton and Newtown. 

There will be no initial cost to Monroe, however, the town would have to pay to update its information in ensuing years if it chooses to do so.

Buses, Business and Chalk Hill

Monroe has joined in regionalization efforts with surrounding towns. The first selectman said municipal leaders now deal with each other directly as members of the Greater Bridgeport Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, which was formed over the past year.

Vavrek said the town opened discussions with Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and Trumbull First Selectman Timothy Herbst and other towns on extending sewer lines through Monroe.

If these efforts are successful, Monroe will be able to accommodate a greater diversity of businesses. Officials from both of the town's major political parties have talked about increasing the commercial tax base to ease the property tax burden on homeowners.

Though Vavrek is a Republican, he said Monroe benefits from the good working relationship he has with Democrats on the federal level, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes.

"But a good relationship between town leaders is even more important," he said of being part of the Greater Bridgeport Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization.

One initiative that failed in 2011 was the establishment of a regional dispatch center for the towns of Monroe, Trumbull and Easton. Vavrek said funding passed in the House with Himes' support, before going down in the Senate.

Though the town could benefit by sharing resources, Vavrek said Monroe's police, fire companies and Emergency Medical Services have been doing a great job of handling emergency calls on their own.

Blue Greater Bridgeport Transit buses already had the Monroe Turnpike Route extended past McDonald's to the Goodwill Store. Vavrek now wants the Main Street Route to extend to the Pepper Street business park. If that happens in 2012, the first selectman said a job fair with Workplace Inc. will be planned for businesses along all public bus routes.

The town is also waiting to hear back from a private developer on a proposal that would preserve close to 10 acres of open space on Marian Heights' Route 111 campus, along with the historic castle.

Another issue going into the New Year is deciding what to do with Chalk Hill long-term. Since it was closed as a school, the Monroe Early Learning Center, which is a private daycare center, and the Parks & Recreation Department have been using the building. Vavrek said Monroe Volunteer EMS is also using the building as an expanded training facility.

The CIFAP Subcommittee has been charged with looking into future uses of the former middle school.

"The Chalk Hill building is a gem," Vavrek said. "It's a viable piece of property for the town. It has to stay open."

However, the building is in need of maintenance and repairs.

"The bones of the school are good," the first selectman said. "It's all one tax dollar."

Vavrek noted how student enrollment has been on the decline over the past few years, but said Chalk Hill can still revert back to a school if the Board of Education needs it again.

"We'll work with them for the good of the community," he said.