Volume 19, Number 52
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, May 8, 2015
School budget, solar panels voted down at referendum By Mark Dionne Town Times
Ralph Sayward with the 2015 Edith B. Nettleton Award for the Volunteer of the Year. | Connecticut Library Association
Levi Coe volunteer awarded state honor
The residents of Durham and Middlefield who voted in the May 5 referendum – 1,100 between the two towns – voted down the proposed 2015-2016 school budget by a tally of 565 to 535, a 30-vote margin. Voters gave a split verdict on the questions concerning the funding of a new roof and solar panels on Brewster Elementary School. Voters approved bonding for the roof project, 692 to 406, but voted down the solar panels intended to pay for the project, 608 to 489.
Turnout was low in both Durham and Middlefield, with an unofficial count of 768 ballots cast in Durham and 332 in Middlefield. Board of Education Chair Kerrie Flanagan, who saw the referendum results at Korn school just after polls closed, said, “I’m disappointed with the turnout. Obviously we’re going to go back to the drawing board and cut the budget, which will be painful.” Flanagan expressed frustration, especially with the defeat of the solar panel question. “Without the solar panels, the budget goes up,” Flanagan said.
The two projects, presented separately on the ballot, were always linked in discussions at BOE meetings. BOE member Bob Fulton said of the Brewster roof, “Without the solar panels we need to revisit how to pay for it.” Flanagan said the board would have to discuss with legal counsel whether solar panels could be revisited. The question on the ballot asks specifically about the funding for the project. The solar panels generate savings, Flanagan said, “This [deSee Referendum / Page 24
Condo owners left ‘in limbo’ By Charles Kreutzkamp Town Times
By Mark Dionne Town Times
Ralph Sayward, longtime volunteer at Middlefield’s Levi Coe Library, was honored with the 2015 Edith B. Nettleton Award for the Volunteer of the Year by the Connecticut Library Association. Sayward did not know he was being considered for the award. “It was a complete surprise,” he said. “The staff had nominated me, but I was not aware of that.” Levi Coe Library Director Jessica Lobner said Sayward was a perfect choice for the award because of his energy and dedication to the library. Sayward serves as president of the private library’s Board of Directors, but his service goes beyond administrative matters. A retired cabinet maker, he helps maintain the building and has tackled projects such as replacing rotted floor beams, building bookshelves, and installing a heating element on the roof to prevent See Sayward / Page 24
Several local condo owners have allegedly been left in the lurch as a developer has not completed the project they were sold on when they purchased their units. The town of Durham is in active litigation with Aberdeen LLC, the developer behind Stagecoach Properties, a 55 and older condo community on Aberdeen Way. Durham resident and Stagecoach Properties unit owner Mark DeAngelis said the developer built without the required bonds in place to finish the project, and now appears to be abandoning the properties. According to DeAngelis, Aberdeen LLC’s members of the condo owners’ association resigned, leaving residents on their own to collect fees and manage upkeep of the property and the grounds. “The bank is telling us
Stagecoach Properties on Aberdeen Way. | Mark DeAngelis / Submitted
they walked away,” DeAngelis said. In 2014 the town notified Aberdeen LLC that it was out of compliance with the issued special exemption and site plan approval. A letter sent by the town stated
that the decision to approve the project had “numerous conditions attached to it” that were not met. Aberdeen allegedly failed to provide required bond estimates See Litigation / Page 24