Volume 19, Number 47
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
CFPA opposes $2M in cuts to state parks By Charles Kreutzkamp Town Times
Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget cuts to state parks of approximately $2 million were met with opposition from the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, headquartered in the Rockfall section of Middlefield. “We were surprised and disappointed to see the cuts that were proposed, though it is a difficult year and we understand there is a lot of pressure on the budget,” said executive director of CFPA Eric Hammerling. Hammerling believes state
parks “contribute greatly to the state’s economy and are not areas that make sense for a cut.” He pointed to a University of Connecticut study that found an annual economic boon of $1.2 billion from state parks, including from hunting and fishing activities. “We probably all appreciate, intuitively, the importance of parks and state forests, but it is particularly useful to have some ‘hard numbers’ on their economic value,” UConn economSee CFPA / Page 15
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, April 3, 2015
SURE SIGN OF SPRING
A traditional sign of spring in Durham – the opening of Durham Dari Serv – occurred with fresh snow on the ground and ice clinging to the roof. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
Brewster roof project goes to referendum By Mark Dionne
Town Times
A $2 million project to replace the leaking, 20-year-old roof at Brewster Elementary School will be on the referendum along with the proposed school budget. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
When residents of Durham and Middlefield vote on the proposed school budget for 2015-16 they will also consider borrowing $2,085,000 for a new roof at Brewster Elementary School. The roof project is divided in two parts, the replacement of the leaking roof and the installation of solar panels, and each part will have its own referendum question tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 5. The projects will be eligible for state reimbursement totaling 53.57 percent of the
cost, as all sections of the 44,000 square foot roof are more than 20 years old and the second project is a solar panel installation. Board of Education Chair Kerrie Flanagan said at a public hearing on March 25 that the replacement was timely now that the project can get state reimbursement and since repairs are piling up. Flanagan said, “Over the course of the last four years it’s been an approximately $8,000 per year repair [cost].” The project would replace the roof down to the deck, install a roof with a slight slope, and relocate and expand the drainage system to work with
the new slope. Any area of the deck found rotted would be replaced, a distinct possibility since the leaks have dripped into school rooms. Most of the roof would slope a quarter of an inch per foot. Tom Hibbert of Hibbert and Rose Architects, the firm that developed the plans, said at the public hearing. “A quarter inch per foot doesn’t sound like much ... but it moves the water to the roof drains.” The roof over the gym would be metal and have a more dramatic slope than the rest of the school. The nonSee Roof / Page 14