Dunn says response to Macroburst demonstrates town's character

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – First Selectman Steve Dunn says even though the damages have soared into seven figures and 11 weeks later some lawns are still littered with broken trees, people will still want to move to Brookfield because when there is a disaster, such as the May 15 Macro burst, their neighbors will assist them.

“Every single road in town was blocked,” he said regarding the aftermath of the storm, which struck that night around 5 o’clock. “Neighbors went out and cleared the roads. They got their chain saws. They got their tractors.”

Dunn, who was initially elected in 2015, said he didn’t think that he would be able to get home at 11:30 p.m., but found that his neighbors had cleared a path.

Thus far, voters have approved $1.7 million in municipal spending to repair damages. Dunn said federal officials have indicated that there is a good chance that Brookfield will be considered to have been a disaster area and that later this year, possibly by the end of August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will award the town $2.6 million in relief.

“We still have liabilities,” the first selectman said in an interview. “We still have a lot of residents with trees down in their yards.”

“The town, by law, cannot go on people’s private property,” added Dunn. “If we get the FEMA funding, I’d like to go to a town meeting and have a town-wide clean-up.”

Dunn expressed gratitude to local first responders and the 72 out-of-town fire crews that came to town and visited every home to make sure that residents were safe and secure.

Additionally, he applauded Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) for helping get 150 EverSource crews to Brookfield immediately, and U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-5) of Cheshire and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Greenwich) and Chris Murphy (D-Cheshire) for seeking assistance through FEMA.

He also said the town’s insurance carrier has been “good at working with us” and already has agreed to pay for the lights damaged at the Brookfield High School sports stadium.

Fiscally, Dunn said the costs associated with the Macroburst have caused the town’s fund balance to decline from 9 percent – it had only been at 1.9 percent when he took office 32 months ago– to 6.1 percent. However, if the federal government approves the aid package, the fund balance will climb back to 9 percent. Dunn has said he has wanted to eventually maintain a fund balance of at least 10 percent so that the town could at some point upgrade its bond rating to the coveted AAA level.

On another topic, Dunn said he is encouraged about the Board of Education’s proposal to seek $62 million to build a new Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES) on the school’s current parcel, which would educate students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

The plan also calls for $38.3 million for renovations to Whisconier Middle School, which underwent a major expansion that was approved by voters in 1998 and was completed in 2001.

“What I like about it is we have a complete plan for the schools,” Dunn said. “It addresses the needs of the schools” over the long term.

Dunn has expressed concern through the years that when Brookfield renovates a school usually at least 55 percent of the costs are devoted to updating the building to comply with current building codes and only a limited amount of new space is added.

State Rep. Steve Harding (R-107) of Brookfield, a former Board of Education member, has announced his support for the plan which is to be formally presented this month to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance.

Dunn said the current HHES has glass windows and isn’t the most safe environment for students.

With construction of a new HHES, Center Elementary School (CES), which is constructed in wood and is the oldest school in the district, would close and be renovated as a municipal building.

Dunn said municipal officials will have to present “a clear-cut plan” to the voters on the conversion of CES.

He said he believes “it’s a perfect location for a new library.” Last February voters rejected by a nearly 2-1 margin a $35 million proposal to build a new library on the horse statue field at the municipal center on Pocono Road. Library officials have sought a new facility since 1999, saying that the current building, which opened in 1975, is too small.

Dunn said he believes some of the area, such as the gymnasium, could be utilized by the Parks & Recreation Department.

The first selectman has said over the last year that the town could embark over time on school improvements, a small expansion of the police headquarters on Silvermine Road and a new library since the town’s debt service is declining and the development of the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center near the Four Corners on Federal Road will generated $2 million to $3 million annually in additional tax revenue.

However, he said since the proposed school construction is about twice as expensive as what was initially anticipated, he believes the completion of the proposed school and municipal projects will have to be done over a longer period of time.

“We need to structure these projects so they will have reasonable tax influence on our residents,” Dunn said. “A lot of the people who will be voting on the schools will no longer have children in the schools when this plan is completed.”

“The quality of your schools is the prime determining factor in housing prices,” he said.

Regarding the Brookfield Town Center, Dunn said that “all of the apartments are rented” at the Brookfield Village building and “virtually all of the commercial space is rented now.”

He said the second phase of the street-scape, which will extend to near the former Hearth Restaurant will be completed by next spring.

However, Dunn, who had a plan rejected by the Board of Finance during his first term to have an appraisal completed on properties for possible public parking in the Brookfield Town Center, said that issue needs to be addressed in the near future.

“We’re already getting complaints from businesses about people parking on their property and going to the Still River Greenway,” he said. “That’s not acceptable.”

Dunn said there are two parcels near the Four Corners that should be considered, but declined to identify either of them.

The first selectman said there also is potential for further development in the southern corridor of Federal Road, which features furniture stores and large wholesale outlets, noting that “there are a lot of properties that are undeveloped or underdeveloped.”

Dunn said he believes Brookfield’s growth will be slow over the coming years, but will outpace many of the municipalities in a state that has collectively declined in population recently.

Regarding the August 14 Democratic primaries, Dunn said he supports Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont for governor, the convention-endorsed candidate.

However, regardless, of which candidate is elected November 6, Dunn said the next governor should immediately address “some huge fiscal issues” since, for example, “the state has been remiss, if not negligent, in funding teacher pensions.” Malloy has attempted to get the municipalities to pay a third of the costs.

Additionally, the state Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness reported in March that the pensions for the state employees were only 29 percent funded.

Dunn also has endorsed former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz of Middletown for lieutenant governor and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Mattei of Hartford for attorney general.

He said he also is supporting Jahana Hayes of Wolcott, the former teacher of the year, in the Democratic primary in the Fifth Congressional District, where she faces the convention nominee, former Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, for the nomination for the seat being vacated by Esty. There are three candidates vying for the Republican nomination – former Meriden Mayor Manny Santos, who is the convention nominee; Watertown businessman Rich DuPont; and former college instructor Ruby Corby O’Neill.

“She is very smart and knows how to work with people,” Dunn said of Hayes, who was the national teacher of the year in 2016.

Critics have said that she lacks government experience.

“People said the same thing about me three years ago,” said Dunn, who had been a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase. “I never had been involved in politics. I had never run a town. I think I’ve done a pretty good job. You can learn on the job if you have the core skills you need. The ability to communicate effectively and the ability to evaluate situations. She will be up to speed in three months.”