East Granby Officials Working With Windsor on Dollar Tree Proposal

East Granby officials are working with the town of Windsor to minimize the impact of the proposed 1 million square-foot Dollar Tree Store distribution center that is currently winding its way through the approval process in Windsor.

Dollar Tree has submitted a plan to the town of Windsor to construct a $57 million, 1,700-foot long, 40-foot tall building on International Drive and Stone Road, across the street from the Walgreens Distribution Center; the proposed location of the center, which would bring with it an estimated 200 jobs to the area, is close to the border of East Granby.

While East Granby does not have jurisdiction over the matter, First Selectman James Hayden said at the Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday that the town sent a letter to the Windsor Planning & Zoning Commission concerning the following three points:

• Truck traffic entering and leaving the site should utilize International Drive and Route 20;

• All construction traffic should follow International Drive and Route 20. This is to prevent construction tr from negatively impacting residential areas by going through Spoonville and Seymour Road; and

• The round-a-bout at the end of International Drive should be reconfigured to keep west-bound traffic from traveling into East Granby. “As currently designed the round-a-bout on International Drive is literally a straight ride from a westerly direction into East Granby and does not inhibit, slow, or deter traffic from traveling into the residential areas of East Granby, which is the sole purpose of the round-a-bout design and its location,” the letter states.

Windsor residents who live in the neighborhood near the proposed distribution center’s site have voiced their opposition to the project, stating that the increased traffic and noise would adversely affect their quality of life.

“We’re certainly keeping a close eye on [the project],” said Hayden, who added that he or another town official would be attending Windsor meetings as they might pertain to the town of East Granby regarding the project.

In other business at the Selectmen’s meeting, the town recently received a bond ratings upgrade to Aa2 from the Moody’s Investors Services.

The upgrade makes it less expensive for the town to borrow money and, indirectly, indicates that East Granby’s finances are in good working order.

Hayden said that the ratings upgrade was due due the conservative financial practices of the town, low debt and strong manufacturing base. The lone countermeasure that prevents a higher rating, Hayden said, is that the town has a small population, which means a smaller tax base, which means less of an ability to generate additional revenue.

“For a town this size, there isn’t much we can do to grow to the next level,” Hayden said. “[The Aa2 rating] is a good rating.”

The Selectmen also unanimously approved having a machine-ballot referendum for this year’s budget. While the date was not specifically set, the vote should occur in early May. The Town Meeting is scheduled for April 22.

The discussion gave way to when the town should hold a referendum on the budget for the foreseeable future.

“I think there always should [be a referendum] whenever there is a tax increase,” said Selectman John Ziobro, who added that if there was no increase or taxes were decreased, fewer people would be likely to demand a referendum.

Selectman M. Thomas Short disagreed, however, stating that there are some constituencies in town that may still want a referendum in the event of no increase or a decrease.

“There are some people, like the schools, who may vote ‘no’ because they want to spend more money,” Short said.