First Selectman Report

Dear Neighbors,

?At our recent Earth Day Celebration, a young Woodbridge resident joined other community members in touring Town Hall. Once back outside, I’m told she asked her parents, “Does Mica live here?”

It feels that way some days…in the best possible way.

There is so much we want to accomplish to ensure that our Town nurtures new sources of economic growth to support the high-quality services we currently offer and to make long-deferred improvements.  

As a slide shown at the recent Preliminary Budget Meeting illustrated, funding for Town activities (excluding education) grew only about 11% over the past eight years. Yet, inflation went up almost three times faster.

We continue to work to control costs, but to continue to offer the range of services our community expects without more significant tax increases we must grow our business activity and housing.

And if I have to live at the Town Hall to make that happen, I am more than happy to have at it...

OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Years ago, Woodbridge employed a dedicated Town Planner.

Our planner's role was to offer the focused attention and expert guidance needed to move economic development from vague aspirations to actionable reality.

We have not had this position or resource for over 20 years now.

Our goals now require bringing that expertise back to the community.

But this time, instead of an individual, we will engage an advisory firm with experience and success in towns across Connecticut.

This firm will work with Town leadership, the Town Plan and Zoning (TPZ), the Economic Development Commission (EDC), and other town agencies and resources to identify realistic strategies for growth at the intersection of planning, economic development, and housing in strategic areas of our Town.

OUR TAXES

On Monday, May 20^th, at 7:30 PM at Amity Regional High School (25 Newton Road), we will hold our Annual Town Meeting.

This will be an additional opportunity for community members to ask questions publicly about the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget.

As you know, the proposed $58.3 million budget represents a 3.6% increase over the prior year, with nearly two-thirds of this funding for our exceptional schools.

At the meeting, we will highlight a few of the ways that we will leverage grants to help boost long-term economic growth and vitality in our community.

I hope you will join us.  

OUR SCHOOLS

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Amity Regional High School as the 19th-best high school in the state and among the top 4% of high schools in the country.

Last Spring, the Woodbridge School District ranked first among comparable Connecticut districts in reading comprehension and math skills based on annual student assessments.

Beyond bragging rights, how much do these rankings really matter?

That is for each of us to decide. For me they reflect the ongoing commitment of our teachers and administrators to excellence, our parents to ensuring the best possible education for their children, our students to working hard, and our community to the value of a strong public education system. 

They also offer an opportunity to recognize and review where and how we can improve.

OUR COUNTRY CLUB PROPERTY

The Board of Selectmen is close to deciding on a partner to assist us in creating a comprehensive Master Plan for the 155-acre former Country Club of Woodbridge property.

It is a unique asset in many respects, including that it is among the very few properties across our community with access to municipal water and sewers.

We are also looking at how the Town will pay the advisor.

We have earmarked funds for this purpose, and to ensure the funding is sufficient, we have applied for a state grant and feel confident about our proposal.

?If approved, we will move ahead with securing the full scope of what our partner will have to offer. 

CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITY

?

?I began this report with an anecdote from our April 27^th Earth Day Celebration.

I’ll now take the opportunity to thank the members of the Sustainability Committee for their exceptional work in organizing a day that combined environmental awareness and learning with the very best type of community engagement.

The Earth Day Celebration provided us all with an opportunity to visit with friends and neighbors, enjoy good food and beverages, and better equip ourselves to be positive stewards of a rapidly changing planet. 

We are proud of what was accomplished:

• The BRS Green Team collected hundreds of clothing items and rehomed at least 567 items in our community before donating the remainder to area charities.

• Proshred shredded approximately 4500 pounds of material during the Woodbridge Earth Day event.

• Mattress Recycling Coalition collected 26 mattresses and a box spring, diverting approximately 1160 pounds of waste from trash.

• Woodbridge Lions collected 75 eyeglasses and 24 cell phones.

• Take2 Electronics and Baystate collected approximately 1,100 pounds of printers, computers, televisions, miscellaneous electronic devices, and textiles that otherwise may have been brought to our Transfer Station.

• Dog/pet Freecycle collected and rehomed countless items.  

• Religious organizations in town took in many donations for their charitable efforts and spread the word of where items can be donated year-round.  

• Goodwill collected 11 blue crates of textiles and housewares and numerous pieces of furniture filling a large box truck.  

Dear Neighbors,

?It’s been just over 100 days since I took office as First Selectman. We have made consistent progress.

But have I checked everything off my list? Not yet.

Of course, my list is ambitious and I will tell you that the elected and volunteer leaders of our community, along with our Town staff, are working as hard as they ever have to find ways Woodbridge can cut costs and generate more revenue.

?Increasing revenue is critical if we want to continue supporting our top-notch schools, community services, and one of the highest ratios of open space in the state, while also controlling property taxes.

Parts of Town may need to look a little different to make this happen.

But as vintage Town Hall photos of farmland around Amity Road and Litchfield Turnpike remind us, Woodbridge has always been evolving to meet the needs of changing times in our community.

We are committed to ensuring that the activity we bring in makes Woodbridge even more attractive to the families and individuals already here or seeking to call our town home.

Our Taxes

On Thursday, April 25^th, at 7:30 PM in the Center Building Gym, you can participate directly in our Town’s budget process.

We will be conducting our Annual Preliminary Budget Meeting, which provides an opportunity for you to learn more about our Town’s finances and ask questions of the members of the Board of Selectman and Board of Finance. 

Town Department Heads will also be present to answer questions.

To give you a preview of the topline takeaways: We are proposing a 3.60% budget increase, which will result in a 2.71% tax rate increase.

To continue providing the range of excellent services our community expects, without more dramatic increases in taxes, we must cultivate more sources of revenue, including new business, additional housing, and more. 

?At the same time, we are exploring opportunities to reduce energy and solid waste expenses.

Our Schools

Beecher Road School has been a first point of community connection for many of us and serves as a hub for our kids year-round.

This summer the building and grounds will not be accessible as they receive some much-needed maintenance, including replacement of a section of the roof and work to resurface the parking lot, improve drainage, and minimize the impact of our increasing volatile weather.

But the people who make Beecher the special place it is will carry on all regular summer programming in space being provided by the Amity Regional School District.

This work will help get us ready for next year, but it will not address how we effectively accommodate our growing student population.

To develop and implement solutions that will best serve the needs of our young learners for years to come, we have established a new Town Building Committee for Beecher School Infrastructure Upgrades led by Selectperson Maria Madonick.

Its charge is to work with school leadership, community members, and expert advisors to develop a comprehensive space plan that ensures the Woodbridge School District can continue to deliver high-quality education to our children.

Our Business Development

Waiting for businesses to find us will not generate the revenue our Town needs to prosper.

Over the past month, the recharged Economic Development Commission (EDC) has been meeting with REX Development to identify tactics to attract new businesses and retain those already here.

The EDC is also coordinating its efforts with the 2030 Task Force, and we will secure additional outside expertise to support our Town planning work.

The 2030 Task Force work has positioned us for a potential $9M State transportation grant specifically for the Amity Road area of our business district.

?I will keep you updated on the progress of this grant. I have also been meeting with local businesspeople and commercial property owners in that area to understand their priorities and gather their insights related to growth in our business district.  

Our Country Club Property

This summer you will also begin to see some changes on the former Country Club of Woodbridge property, as we remove unused structures.

This will be a modest first step in a long-term process of transforming the property into a community asset.

A less visible but more far-reaching step is our narrowing the list of potential planning advisors on the property’s future and requesting proposal revisions. This is in preparation for a final selection by the Board of Selectman.

?The role of the partner we select will be to establish a comprehensive Master Plan for the property that considers the entire 155 acres and provides a thorough analysis of the potential costs and benefits of all the viable options—from recreation to housing to energy generation to open space.