Dunn is ‘hoping’ federal $$$ will help pay if sewers are installed

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD - - As Steve Dunn canvasses voters through parts of Candlewood Shores, residents express concern about the possible installation of sewers.

“At some point in the future the feds or the state is going to require the town to put in sewers” in Candlewood Shores, says Dunn, who was Brookfield’s first selectman from 2015 to 2021 and is the Democratic nominee for that position in the November 7 municipal election.

He said some residents have said they have heard “crazy figures” as high as $150,000 per house for installation.

Dunn, said that based on research by himself and Board of Education Chairman Bob Belden – who is his running mate, seeking a seat as one of the Other Selectmen on the three-member board – without subsidies the fee would likely be $20,000 to $30,000 per house.

Dunn said that he and Belden “are against putting any sewers in the shores area unless a majority of it is paid with federal and state funds.”

He said he is “hoping” that some of the $1.2 trillion in federal infrastructure funding approved in 2021 can accomplish that.

One resident along Skyline Drive in Candlewood Shores said that the federal infrastructure money should largely be devoted to improving roads and rail service.

Dunn replied, “I agree that those should be the priorities. But I think they can also put money toward sewers.”

“We think that is reasonable,” he added later in an interview with Patch.com “This is a jewel of a lake that is enjoyed by all of the residents and not just the shores residents. It is also enjoyed by people on boats who don’t live in the area.”

Dunn predicted it will be “a long, drawn-out process. This is going to take six to 10 years” before any sewers are installed.

Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut. Brookfield is one of five municipalities that border it.

Dunn, who currently serves as an Other Selectman, said he has seen notable changes in recent years along Candlewood Shores.

“Quite a few homes have been remodeled and/or additions added over the years,” he said. “I suspect that many of them were done after the Macroburst came through [in May 2018] and caused a lot of damage to houses in the area.”

As Tony Cappiello, who Dunn initially met when they both were Boy Scout troop leaders, drives slowly along Skyline Drive, Dunn accesses his iPhone to check the names of persuadable voters that he wants to visit.

After handing them a campaign brochure, he adds, “I hope I can count on your vote in November.”

Across Brookfield, Dunn said the most frequent topic among voters is education.

“Most people care about whether the schools are in good shape,” he commented. “Are we educating our children properly.”

“I think our schools are good,” Dunn commented. “The school district has an extremely capable management staff.”

First-term Republican incumbent Tara Carr faces former Board of Education Chairman Matt Grimes in a September 12 primary. Carr was endorsed at the GOP caucus in July and has the support of state Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield and state Reps. Marty Foncello (R-107) of Brookfield and Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) of Newtown.

Harding and Austin Monteiro, a Republican candidate for a seat on the Board of Education and who ran for first selectman as a petitioning candidate in 2021, have praised Carr’s constituent service and visibility at community events and through the social media.

Few people have been more active in Brookfield government over the last 25 years than Grimes.

“He’s been part of the town’s politics since he graduated high school,” former Brookfield Zoning Commission Chairman Erik Kukk told Patch.com in March.

Grimes became chairman of the Board of Education at age 24, later served on the Zoning Commission and as Republican Town Committee chairman. He also was the town attorney for New Milford under Mayor Pete Bass.

In a phone interview with Patch.com, Howard Lasser, a former Other Selectman who was the Democratic nominee for first selectman in 2013, applauded Dunn’s ability to manage Brookfield’s fiscal portfolio when he was first selectman.

He said, “Steve worked well with the Board of Finance, and for four of his six years there was Republican control on that board.”

In contrast, Lasser said that Carr has a strained relationship with Republican Glenn Rooney, the current chairman of the Board of Finance. Rooney issued a statement in support of Dunn in a news release that the Brookfield Democratic Town Committee distributed shortly after Dunn was endorsed in July at the party caucus.

Dunn, a former vice president with J.P. Morgan Chase, lost to Carr by 218 votes in the 2021 election. It was the most impressive Republican victory in town since former First Selectman Jerry Murphy captured a second term in 2005 without opposition.

Shortly after Dunn took office in December 2015 construction began on Brookfield Village, one of the major components in the emerging 198-acre Brookfield Town Center central business district near the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road.

However, Carr recently said Brookfield is facing a lack of sewer capacity as neighboring Danbury has had to scale back its flow.

Trevor Ballantyne, formerly of The News-Times of Danbury, has reported that federal regulators set a deadline, which arrived in 2022, for municipal sewer plants to reduce the amount of phosphorus released into local watersheds. Thus, as a result of the impact on Danbury, some of Brookfield’s projects on Federal Road and Laurel Hill Road are in a “holding pattern,” according to Carr.

Dunn said that New Milford reportedly has “excess” sewer capacity and Brookfield might be able to pursue that option since it could connect with New Milford’s sewer system after constructing about a quarter of a mile of pipe near the border of the two towns.

Nevertheless, Dunn said Brookfield Town Center looks vastly different than it did a decade ago, noting that, among other things, Brookfield Village, which has retail and housing is constructing its third phase and Emporium Plaza has been under construction since 2021 and should open next summer. That project will include a supermarket, other retail outlets and housing.

Said Dunn, “About every parking space” in Brookfield Town Center is occupied during the weekdays.

He said Emporium Plaza is dedicating about 40 spaces for public parking and he hopes other new tenants in that central business district will take similar steps.

However, Slate’s Harry Grabar wrote in his recent book, “Paved Paradise,” that in the United States more land is devoted to parking than housing.

“You can’t have a vibrant downtown without parking,” Dunn remarked. “Brookfield is not a walking town.”

On a separate issue, Grimes recently told Patch.com that many voters have told him that if the state government reduced income tax rates during the 2023 session of the General Assembly for the middle income and lower income, then Brookfield’s government should lower the rate of increase on property taxes. He suggested that, if he is elected, it might mean laying off some municipal workers as New Milford did when that town had high debt service and a decline in state assistance.

Dunn commented, “It would be incredibly hard to do.”

“Brookfield’s staffing on the town side is running pretty lean,” he added. “We would be facing delays in building inspections in reports to people and delays in answering questions if we started reducing staff.”

The tax mill rate for the fiscal year that started on July 1 increased by 3.786 percent.

“Taxes are always a concern for people,” commented Dunn. “Most people I talk to realize that taxes are going to go up every year.”

“70 percent of your expense is salaries,” Dunn explained. “90 percent of your employees are unionized. You can’t offer a zero percent pay increase. You have to negotiate to get a fair increase, since you can end up in arbitration.”

Patch.com recently reported that Carr said that Brookfield needs to “evaluate” pay rates for its municipal workers. She noted that since taking office in December 2021 she has had to hire 11 new senior-level directors.

“That is where the whole compensation issue comes into question,” she commented. “It is time to evaluate how we’re compensating our staff who are working hard for the town to deliver those goods and services.”

Dunn said he only replaced five senior-level directors in his six years as first selectman.

“People do not leave jobs simply for money,” remarked Dunn. “They leave for a better work environment. They leave for more opportunity. More money is not a panacea to fix the problem.”

Dunn said that Brookfield municipal employees receive competitive compensation.

“I believe most of our people are paid at or above the median for the positions that they hold” in comparison to similar municipalities, he explained.

Carr also said Brookfield is nearing “a tipping point” with a population of almost 18,000 people.

“I do like the idea of a town-manager form of government,” she recently told Patch.com. “You’ve got your operational person and his permanent staff and an elected mayor. I think that would be interesting for Brookfield.”

Dunn said he opposes moving to a town-manager system, indicating that residents are “comfortable” with the current Board of Selectmen format.

On another topic, Grimes has complained that more immediate action should be taken to upgrade the outdated police headquarters on Silvermine Road. He has said the issue was discussed during the 2017 municipal campaign and six years later no plan has been presented to the voters. He said, if elected, he would have a proposal on a referendum ballot in November 2024.

Carr recently said she is going over updated estimates with Police Chief John Puglisi for remodeling the current headquarters or to build a new facility.

Dunn said the current headquarters is not in compliance with federal standards.

He said that he believes a remodeling of the current headquarters would be the best option because it is “the least expensive,” but added that he would consider building a new facility depending on the cost/benefit analysis.

Dunn said that Grimes’ timetable seems unrealistic, since much work still has to be done on the formal design and costs.

He explained, “To do that in one year seems very, very aggressive.”

Dunn cautioned that Brookfield should wait until 2026 to approve a project since at that point the all of the bonding for the 2006 renovations to BHS will have been completely paid for.

Resources

Steve Dunn canvassing, Patch.com, on Sunday, August 27, 2023.

Interview with Steve Dunn, Patch.com, on Monday, August 28, 2023.

Phone interview with Howard Lasser, Patch.com, on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

E-mail message from Steve Dunn, Patch.com, on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

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