Windsor Town Council Public Hearing and Regular Meeting - January 6, 2025
Windsor Town Council Public Hearing and Regular Meeting - January 6, 2025
The Town Council of Windsor held a virtual and in-person public hearing and regular meeting on Monday, January 6, 2025, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The public hearing focused on a proposed bond ordinance for the Broad Street Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety project. Following the hearing, the regular meeting addressed several agenda items, including a fire rescue pumper bond, a land sale, and a veterans' exemption ordinance amendment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Hilary Carpenter (45 Bradford Drive) expressed strong support for the Broad Street project, citing public safety, increased pedestrian traffic, and business development benefits.
- Neil Chowdery (21 Hillcrest Road) voiced enthusiastic support for the proposal, emphasizing the need for public safety improvements and positive business impact.
- Paul Panos (48 Brookview Road) opposed the road diet, arguing that two lanes each way are needed for traffic volume, that roundabouts would not promote foot traffic, and that speed reduction claims are unconvincing.
- Adam Gutchen (19 Mechanics Street) strongly supported the project, describing Broad Street as unsafe for pedestrians and calling for a walkable, livable town center. He said he does not apologize for inconveniencing drivers who speed.
- Mark Harrington (1217 Windsor Avenue), local business owner and board chair of Windsor Street Safety Advocacy Group (WATTS), fully supported the project, citing high speeds and accidents. He argued that safety and business vibrancy must be addressed together.
- John Dunn (Strawberry Hill, Windsor) asked about the net change in parking spaces and raised concerns about traffic diverting to side streets. He emphasized government's responsibility for physical safety and urged putting the project to referendum.
- Jeff Lance (1203 Windsor Avenue) tied the need for traffic control on Broad Street to feeder roads, noting dangerous speeds near Stony Hill School. He urged protecting pedestrians above all else.
- Sam Savelli (7 Moren Lane, Windsor) opposed the project, citing negative experience with a road diet in the Wilson section, raised concerns about trolley tracks, drainage costs, and emergency vehicle access. He suggested using police enforcement instead.
- Liz DuPont Deal (78 Palisado F) supported the plan, praising the study and public hearings. She noted dangerous speeding on Windsor Avenue and expressed confidence in roundabouts based on examples in other communities.
- Linda Rickard (62 Sycamore Street) supported the road diet for safety but expressed dismay about roundabouts, particularly for visually impaired pedestrians. She questioned whether the roundabouts were part of the package.
- Bridget Harrington (1217 Windsor Avenue) reminded that a $4 million grant is already secured, noted that the proposed road diet includes turn lanes (unlike the Wilson project), and stated emergency vehicles will not be slowed.
- Sharon Seeleck Bennett (810 Bookbinder) strongly favored traffic calming, recalling that widening Broad Street to four lanes was a mistake. She urged the council to put the referendum to the public.
Discussion Items
- Broad Street Traffic Calming Bond Ordinance: Town Manager Peter Sousa presented the ordinance appropriating $6,100,000 for the project, with funding from $2,100,000 in bonds, $1,000,000 from a State Urban Act grant, and $3,000,000 from a federal Highway Infrastructure grant. The project (Option 3) includes roundabouts, one lane each direction, parking on the west side, and bike lanes. The timeline after referendum approval is about 9 months of design and DOT approval. Debt service would not impact the budget until FY28. The ordinance provided 35-37 parking spaces on the west side.
- Fire Rescue Pumper Bond: Fire Chief Steve Bianchi and Fire Administrator Paul Goldberg requested $1,400,000 for a new rescue pumper for Company 3 at the Pequonic Firehouse, replacing a 32-year-old vehicle. Funding includes $816,000 in bonds and $584,000 from the Public Safety Equipment Fund. Delivery is expected in 30 months. Debt service of approximately $62,000 annually would begin in FY28. Councilor Pelke questioned the bonding versus cash decision; Sousa explained it preserves flexibility in the operating budget.
- Windsor Poet Laureate: Assistant Town Manager Scott Colby reported that the Arts Commission, after reviewing five applications and interviewing three candidates, recommends Britannia Tatum (Versatile Poetic) for appointment. The appointment will be considered at the January 21 meeting.
- Land Sale to Founder Square Developer: Patrick McMahon presented the sale of 0.032 acres of town-owned land along 114 Upper Broad Street to 144152 Broad Street LLC for $7,923, based on appraised value. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the sale on December 10, 2024, contingent on acquisition. The second phase of Founder Square will increase units from 36 to 50.
- Veterans Exemption Ordinance Amendment: Scott Colby introduced an ordinance to amend Chapter 5, Article 14, raising the local veterans' income limit from $20,000 to $62,200, indexed proportionally to state guidelines. This aligns with the local elderly program income limits. The application period runs February 1 to October 1 annually.
Key Outcomes
- Broad Street Bond Ordinance Vote: The motion to approve the bond ordinance for the traffic calming project failed, with 4 in favor, 3 opposed, and 1 abstention. Five votes were required for passage. The item will be brought back to the council.
- Fire Rescue Pumper Bond Ordinance: The council voted unanimously (8-0) to introduce the bond ordinance and set a public hearing for January 21, 2025, at 7:20 p.m.
- Land Sale: The council approved the sale of 0.032 acres to the Founder Square developer (6-1-1).
- Veterans Exemption Ordinance: The council voted unanimously (8-0) to introduce the ordinance and set a public hearing for January 21, 2025, at 7:20 p.m.
- Resignations Accepted: The council accepted the resignations of Jeff Adamson from the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission and Edward Richters from the Windsor Arts Commission (8-0).
- Minutes Approved: The minutes of the December 16, 2024 public hearing and regular meeting were approved unanimously (8-0).
- Meeting Adjourned: The meeting adjourned after public communications.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, good evening. The time is now 7 p.m. And welcome to the public hearing of January 6th, 2025. And before I open it, I would like to read the public notice. Good evening, everyone. We are going to get started. Thank you so much. I love the energy and the exuberance. So first let me begin by saying happy new year. And so we'll begin with the reading of the public notice. Notice is hereby given that the town council of the town of Windsor will hold a virtual and in-person public hearing in the council chamber at the Windsor Town Hall, 275 Broad Street on Monday, January 6, 2025, at 7 p.m. prevailing time, to hear public comment on the following items. A bond ordinance entitled an ordinance appropriating 6 million 100,000 for cost in connection with the Broad Street Traffic Calming and Pestrian Safety and authorizing the issue of 2,100,000 bonds and notes, 1 million from State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Urban Act grant funds, and 3 million from the United States Department of Transportation Highway Infrastructure Grant Funds to finance the appropriation. Dated at Windsor, Connecticut, this 20th day of December 2024. A copy of the full text is on file at the office of the town clerk and is available for public inspection. Information on how to attend the Zoom meeting prior is listed in the town council agenda and also on our Town of Windsor, Connecticut website. Click on the virtual meeting info button on the front page and select town council meeting for January 6th, 2025, Windsor Town Council by Peter Susa, Town Manager. With the notice being read, the public hearing is now open. I will now turn this over to our moderator, assistant town manager Scott Colby, who will provide further instructions. Thank you, Madam Mayor. If there is anyone from the public who is virtual this evening, would like to address the council. You may do so by raising your hand on your computer by selecting the participants icon on the zoom menu bar and then clicking raise hand or by dialing star nine on your phone. Please state your name and address when you are called on, you'll be prompted that you are now unmuted. And for those dialing in by phone, once prompted, you will then press star six to unmute for clear communication. We ask that you do not place the call and speaker phone. At this time, Madam Mayor, none of we do have one individual with their hand raised. All right, thank you, Mr. Colby. And right before uh we go to the online participant, just want to share with everyone that you will be given three minutes to speak and at the sound of the chime. Our deputy mayor is ready with the um timer. Once you hear the chime, we would ask that you conclude your comments. Thank you, Mr. Colby. Yes, madam mayor. Okay. Thank you. So we're going to come to the town hall chambers first. If you would like to offer commentary, we ask that you please step forward to the desk, state your name, and at the sound of the chime, you will have three minutes to speak. We ask that you conclude your comments. Good evening, happy new year. My name is Hilary Carpenter, and I live at 45 Bradford Drive. Um, I've been following this issue since the beginning. Um, when this was first announced, I was really interested in this project and what it meant for the town of Windsor. Um, but I can say now after learning everything that I've learned that I'm actually thrilled about this project, not just interested. Um, this project has such great implications not only for public safety, but for increasing public traffic, um pedestrian traffic in town, increasing business development in town. Um as I've been traveling around the last few months, this country, I have noticed some communities where they've done similar projects and they have had wonderful results. I've also seen a lot of communities where they could also use what we are proposing to do. Um and I know a lot of people feel inconvenienced by this project or they have um complaints about it, but I encourage everybody to step back and think about public safety for foremost, first and foremost, because this project will save lives, it will prevent injuries, and it will um increase safety in our downtown area, and that is good for everyone. So thank you for your time. Thank you.
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