East Lyme residents OK appropriations for town vehicles, road repairs
East Lyme — At a special town meeting Wednesday, residents approved appropriations for town vehicles, school computers, road repairs and the repaving of the Bush Hill neighborhood, among other projects.
Residents approved an appropriation of $643,696, over five years, for vehicles within the town's capital plan, including a dump truck, a recycling truck, pickup truck, a patrol vehicle for police and a tractor for Parks and Recreation.
They also approved $223,439, payable over five years, for new computers and smartboard equipment for East Lyme Public Schools, part of the district's technology replacement program.
Residents also gave the go-ahead to $235,000 from capital nonrecurring expenditure funds for projects within the capital improvement plan: $25,000 for roofs; $10,000 for townwide HVAC replacement; $25,000 for townwide sidewalk repair; $20,000 toward replacing the cooling tower at the East Lyme Community Center; $80,000 for revaluation; and $75,000 for other town projects.
First Selectman Mark Nickerson said these projects are typically funded at double those amounts, but the town is scaling back to save money and recognize the tough economic times.
Bonding resolutions of $900,000 to repair various town roads and of $720,000 to reconstruct town roads in the Bush Hill neighborhood also received approval at the meeting.
Director of Public Works Joe Bragaw said the Bush Hill neighborhood has almost 2 miles of roads. He said the department is lining up to do the significant paving project in the fall.
"It's falling apart up there," he said. "It's in very rough condition."
About 50 residents attended the special town meeting, and the items passed by majority vote.
Two residents spoke about the need to repair roads in the Bush Hill neighborhood.
During an item on the vehicle acquisition program, resident Ron Rando said that it's very tough for taxpayers today to pay the bills.
"I personally feel this is a lot of money to be spent right now, and I will be voting against it," he said.
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