BEACON FALLS — Residents soon will be asked whether to bond $10 million to fix many deteriorating roads in town over a span of 10 years.
Town officials scheduled a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Town Hall, which then will adjourn to referendum from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 29 at Laurel Ledge School on Highland Avenue.
More than 20 streets are listed in priority under a 10-year road improvement program that also includes road and infrastructure improvements such as replacing sewers.
The program provides an outline for the town to follow, First Selectman Susan Cable said. It totals about $8.6 million, but the town is asking to bond $10 million to allow for flexibility in addressing other roads, she said. The amount also includes costs associated with engineering, inspections and permits.
Town officials are bringing this matter to a vote after voters in a March referendum rejected $5,115,000 to reconstruct several town roads and possibly to buy equipment that would repave roads with recycled asphalt. Town officials claimed that the question failed because of false information about the machine.
That machine is not part of this current referendum question, Cable said. It is being looked into separately by the Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley.
She said the town additionally will look for grants and other money to help pay for roads. For example, Beacon Falls has a Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant to help pay for the majority of work on Blackberry Hill Road.
Cable said all roads in the program would be addressed, and that officials hoped the town would be able to work on more.
She noted that Beacon Falls has planned road repairs under its capital improvement plan, but each year, they have been reduced from budget proposals. In this year’s budget, the town has $85,000 for road maintenance, she said.
Selectman Michael Krenesky said the town absolutely must put in a roads program, but he is concerned that the town doesn’t have a total cost to do these jobs, and that it probably won’t be able to do all the roads. Instead the town would have to start at the top of the list and work its way down, he said.
Under the improvement program, Blackberry Hill Road, Dolly Drive, Highland Avenue, Maple Street, Patricia Terrace and Wolfe Avenue would be addressed first.
The program calls for these roads to be handled in fiscal years 2011-15: Avenues B, C, D, E; Beacon Valley, Burton and West roads (all three partial); Noe Place; and North and South circles.
Buckingham Drive, Fairfield Place, Feldspar Avenue, Edwards Lane, Molleur View Drive, Old Sawmill Drive and Starwood Lane would be addressed between 2016 and 2020.
