Danbury City Council Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on Bethel Interlocal Agreement Amendment - June 22, 2026
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Danbury City Council Ad Hoc Committee Meeting on Bethel Interlocal Agreement Amendment - June 22, 2026
The ad hoc committee convened to consider a proposed amendment to the 2008 Danbury-Bethel interlocal sewer and water agreement, which would allow sewer service for a mixed-use development on a property straddling the Danbury-Bethel line on Great Pasture Road. The committee unanimously voted to recommend approval of the resolution authorizing the amendment.
Discussion Items
- Councilman Peter Bazade (chair) explained that the amendment addresses a specific property on Great Pasture Road that straddles the Danbury-Bethel line, with one existing building in Danbury and plans for three new buildings in Danbury and one new building in Bethel (five total), currently in site plan review.
- David Day, Superintendent of Public Utilities, confirmed that sewer usage from the Danbury portion of the property will not count against Bethel's existing allocation of two million gallons per day at Danbury's plant. The Bethel buildings will still count against that allocation.
- The proposed development has a sewer allocation of 13,000 gallons per day, based on metering, with a cushion built in since engineers calculated expected flow below that figure. If exceeded, the city would need to discuss returning to the 13,000-gallon average with the developer.
- Attorney Eric Gotchuk drafted the amendment with input from engineering and public works, and after changes requested by Bethel's attorney. Bethel has already approved the amendment and is awaiting Danbury's approval.
Key Outcomes
- The ad hoc committee unanimously voted (3-0) to recommend that the City Council approve the resolution authorizing the amendment to the 2008 Danbury-Bethel interlocal sewer and water agreement.
- The meeting was then adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. My name's Peter Bazade. I'm a councilman of the City of Danbury, and I am the designated chairman of this ad hoc committee to consider uh amendments to the Danbury Bethel interlocal sewer and water agreement. Um with me on the ad hoc committee, the councilwoman Claire Jabor and Councilman Michael Henry. In attendance tonight, we have our attorney, um Eric Gotchuk. We also have present in the room with us from the Department of Public Utilities, Mr. David Day, the superintendent, his assistant, and we have uh a person, a representative from the engineering department. Thank you. With that, um, looking at this, um, I am a little familiar with interlocal agreements. We're allowed under Connecticut statute to have them. Um there's this is a long-term agreement that's been amended uh several times. Uh and I I believe that this particular amendment regards a specific piece of property that straddles the Bethel um Danbury line um on Great Pasture Road. I happen to be familiar with that piece as well. Uh and in order to provide the services that are sought to be uh provided to that property uh interlocal is necessary. Um I'll just talk to Mr. Mr. Day about that. Um in looking at the proposed amendment, I notice that it it provides that any sewer um usage from this particular property is not to be um applied to the total amount of sewage that Bethel has agreed that we have allowed Bethel to use at our plant. Is that correct? Correct. Their allocation is two million gallons a day, so so they just want to make sure that that that that doesn't impact their their net allocation. Okay. So and in terms of Danbury's use of that of the sewer plant, I I believe this would be a negligible impact, if any. Correct. I mean it's it's it's going, it's what's happening. I mean, this sewer interlocal agreement allows the sewer flow from the Danbury property to go to Bethel, and then it gets eventually pumped back to us. Okay, and that's necessity by I'm gonna re refer to the engineering department. That's a design requirement, is it correct? Correct. Due to the location of this property, um, and existing sewer that is serving this property. Um, they'd like to continue that that design and and and that method to discharge to Bethel. And while I'm talking to you, um, this property straddles the Danbury Bethel line, does it not? Correct. A good piece of this properties in Danbury and another bigger piece that might be in Bethel. Yep, roughly correct. Okay. Um I just have a couple questions from Mr. Gotchuk, if he doesn't mind. Um, I know you're very familiar with this particular interlocal. Um, and and did you draft this amendment? I did. Okay. With the input from engineering, public works in general, and uh with a few changes made by the attorney for the town of Bethel. Okay. Um, and is it my understanding if you know uh that Bethel uh the town of Bethel has already gone through its process and approved this agreement? That's correct. Okay. And so we're they're just waiting on Danbury to finish this project off. Okay. Thank you.
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