Zagrodzky Delivers Remarks At Darien RTM's 'State Of The Town' Meeting

DARIEN, CT — First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky is wrapping up his first year as the town's chief elected official, and on Monday before the Representative Town Meeting, he looked back on 2024 with an eye toward the future.

Zagrodzky's comments were part of the legislative body's "state of the town" gathering in which various officials from across Darien give insight into their work and what's on the horizon.

"As long I hold this job, I will do everything I humanly possibly can to make Darien, what I think, the best place in the world to live," he said.

Zagrodzky reinforced several positives he sees in Darien, such as its top-ranked schools, property values, the new developments that have been built and the ongoing sense of community and volunteer spirit. But he also shared some concerns.

The meeting was held at Darien Town Hall and broadcast on Darien TV79. Zagrodzky's full address can be found here.

Mental Health

Mental health remains a key aspect in Darien, despite there not being any serious tragedies recently, Zagrodzky explained.

"It's very important to keep that front and center, not just thinking about it from a town standpoint, but thinking about it in terms of our friends and neighbors, people who might be in need or in trouble, or even frankly for yourself or your own family," he said. "There's no shame, none whatsoever, in admitting that you have a problem and reaching out to someone to get help from others."

Infrastructure and Traffic

A recent sewer line break at Weed Beach has reinforced that Darien has aging infrastructure, Zagrodzky said, and the town must be mindful going forward that more issues might crop up despite spending $5.3 million this year on upgrading and renewing sewage systems.

"This stuff is really old, and we're going to continue to have problems like that despite our best investments this year," he said, praising the town's response to the sewer line break.

The line broke on Dec. 1, and an estimated 100,000 gallons of sewage leaked out, according to Zagrodzky. However, crews responded promptly and were able to remove nearly all the sewage material through vacuum equipment. There was no flowage into residential areas or nearby Long Island Sound.

Zagrodzky also mentioned the two ongoing flooding projects in town, and he noted that individual resilience efforts can help reduce flooding risks.

With regards to traffic, Zagrodzky acknowledged it's been an issue in town "for a long time." He pointed to a manual that sits in his office from 1952 that aims to fix "the Post Road congestion problem."

"The reality is, the Post Road is not something we can reasonably expand. We cannot easily fix this, and those roads are all controlled by the state. There's not a lot we can change in terms of capacity on the Post Road, maybe in some other areas in town we're going to try and get a lot smarter on things like that," Zagrodzky said, mentioning traffic calming measures.

Town Tensions

Zagrodzky spoke about the different hot topics that have come up in town recently.

"It's interesting to think about we are always having arguments about something -- nature preservation vs. development, trees vs. sidewalks, dogs or no dogs at Great Island, which flags to fly at Town Hall, new buildings vs. keeping things as they are," Zagrodzky said. "This tension is healthy and normal, and it actually says that we're all paying attention and we all care about these things and we all have a point of view about how those things should be done. That's a good thing, but it's also the single source in town, and let's be mindful of this, of incivility."

Crime

Zagrodzky reminded residents that crime does exist in Darien, and people can do their part to help curb criminal activity. Notably, he encouraged everyone to lock their car doors, lock their homes, use their alarms, and to not leave valuables in plain sight.

"By leaving cars unlocked, we're creating a reputation in the criminal community that Darien is the place to come in and steal these vehicles. If you think that word doesn't get out, you'd be wrong," he said.

He also encouraged residents to consult official sources for news and to let police do their jobs. He said during a recent lockdown event at Darien High School, parents rushed to the school to see what was going on.

"If everyone did that at once, these facilities would be overwhelmed, our emergency responders would be unable to respond, and people would be put in real danger. As hard as it is, I would urge you to please let the professionals do their job in these cases," Zagrodzky said.

Environment

While Zagrodzky noted he's not a climate change "crazy," he said he's "someone who is mindful of all of that."

"I think as a town we can do a lot more to be mindful about environmental needs in our town, whether it's fertilizer or pesticide use, being thoughtful about not planting invasives, being more careful about nature generally. I think we can, and I think frankly we want to do better," he said, noting that education and encouragement on environmental issues is something he looks forward to strengthening in 2025.

Looking ahead, Zagrodzky gave brief updates on Great Island and the current process the town is going through to develop a vision and master plan for the property. He said widening the access road to the island, which requires the removal of 15 trees, is necessary if cars are going to be allowed.

"I assure you right now, as God is my witness, if I could see there was a different way to do this that did not entail taking down those trees, I assure you that we would do it," Zagrodzky said. "But I have looked at this nine ways to Sunday, and unless we come up with a strategy that says there are no vehicles on Great Island, there's no way to avoid this."

The town is currently addressing two court appeals on the tree removal, which were filed in Stamford Superior Court by two Darien residents.

"We're working right now with town counsel to deal with that. They are defending the town's position in court," Zagrodzky added. "They will put in motions to dismiss both of those cases, but that's going to take time well into 2025, and it's going to take money to do that."

Monday's RTM meeting also featured remarks from Planning & Zoning Chair Stephen Olvany, Board of Education Chair Jill McCammon, and Board of Finance Chair Jim Palen.