KENT—The selectmen chewed their way through an agenda that consumed three hours and 22 minutes last Wednesday, tackling such items as naming a “250 Committee” to plan for the nation’s semiquincentennial, establishing a job description for the fire marshal and discussing what municipal need should be targeted in a new STEAP grant application.
The selectmen also heard an update on the proposed expansion of the Kent Memorial Library (see related story) and decided the tax collector did not have to return a total of $11.32 resulting from 12 tax overpayments that ranged from one penny to $5.
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer said he hopes to have a meeting of the 250 Committee the first week in June and reported that he had reached out to different organizations about scheduling the first meeting. The resolution was passed in October 2023 to include groups as diverse as the historical society, the private and public schools, the Schaghticoke tribe, the Chamber of Commerce, Park and Recreation and more.
Before he had finished his description of what would surely be a large committee, Selectmen Lynn Mellis Worthington and Glenn Sanchez both said they are eager to help. While as first selectman Lindenmayer would head the committee, he said there will be room for everyone who wants to participate in some capacity.
“I want to have a plan by the end of June,” he said, noting that events done in the past could be revisited. “There are a lot of things we can do.”
Turning their attention to the present day, the selectmen discussed what work a new STEAP grant might be applied to. Lindenmayer said the town has been pre-approved to apply for a grant of up to $500,000.
Attention focused on work that needs to be done on municipal buildings. Administrative Assistant Joyce Kearns said she is gathering information about needs and potential costs. The selectmen focused on repairs to Town Hall and upgrades to the Community House as the primary needs, but Worthington urged that some money to assigned to Swift House to make it ADA compliant.
“We need to make it ADA compliant so it can be opened again,” she said. “I really would like to see Swift House get some money because it will be an uphill battle to get tax dollars.”
Sanchez agreed he would like to see funding directed to Swift House.
There has been debate in town whether the town-owned building, said to be one of the oldest buildings in the center, should be refitted for municipal use or sold. Retrofitting the building could cost up to $2 million and the Swift House subcommittee has argued that the work should be done in phases.
Kearns argued that the Community House, which has a large assembly room, needs much work, both in exterior painting and interior upgrades. “We need a complete renovation of the lower floor,” she said. Worthington suggested that a local architect be found to brainstorm with town officials about the best layout for the lower floor.
The Community House is being used more often and this year has generated more than $13,000 in rental fees.
Kearns argued that applying a grant to the Community House’s needs could ease the strain on the town’s capital plan for 10 years.
She noted that $40,000 was put in the capital plan 10 years ago for painting and carpeting at the Town Hall, a sum no longer sufficient to cover what needs to be done. Interior painting and new carpeting would require one half of the offices to be emptied out so work could be done there, and then the process reversed to work on the other side.
“It would be a lengthy process,” she said, saying some employees might have to work in the large assembly room, while others could work remotely to keep Town Hall business flowing.
Worthington asked if the money could be split between Swift House and the Community House but was told it would have to be secured through two separate grant applications. The total of the grants could not exceed $500,000.
Lindenmayer read a letter of resignation from Fire Marshal Stanley MacMillan, who has served the town for 37 years. Worthington moved to accept the resignation “with deep regret” and thanked him for his “great service.”
Lindenmayer said MacMillian would retire June 30 but that he had helped to craft a formal job description for his successor, which the selectmen voted to accept. A hiring subcommittee composed of Lindenmayer, Worthington and Building Official Joe Manley was named.
Worthington asked what the pay rate would be for the new fire marshal and said it should be included in any advertisement. Lindenmayer said it could vary based on experience. Town Treasurer Barbara Herbst reported that MacMillian made $44.19 per hour when working on investigations, but that the hourly rate was split with the other towns he served when he was taking continuing education.
In his monthly report, Lindenmayer noted that he had met with a Traffic Logix representative about traffic control. The speed limit in town was recently lowered to 25 mph. The town has received a traffic data monitoring device, which was installed on North Main Street and which will provide data about the number of vehicles traveling through town and the percentage of drivers violating the speed limit by more than 10 mph.
Gathering the data is in preparation for hiring a company to start ticketing speeders.
