Windsor Town Council Public Hearing and Regular Meeting - February 3, 2025
Windsor Town Council Public Hearing and Regular Meeting - February 3, 2025
The Windsor Town Council held a public hearing followed by a regular meeting on February 3, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the council chamber at Windsor Town Hall, 275 Broad Street. The main focus was a proposed bond ordinance for the Broad Street Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety project, totaling $6,100,000. The public hearing drew numerous speakers both supporting and opposing the project, and the council subsequently voted on the ordinance and a resolution to send it to a referendum.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Supporters of the project/referendum: Eric Weiner (130 Palisado Avenue) called the proposal fantastic and urged the council to let the public be heard. Bonnie Waterhouse (49 Early Dawn Circle) spoke as a board member of First Town Downtown and asked the council to approve the resolution to set a referendum. Kathy Cunningham (1235 Windsor Avenue) supported reducing lanes in the center. Karen Hatcher (7 Pheasant Run) shared positive experiences with traffic circles and deferred to traffic engineers. Patrick Hatcher (7 Pheasant Run) urged the council not to pass up federal funding. Mark Harrington (1217 Windsor Avenue) strongly recommended sending the issue to referendum. Jeff Lancer emphasized pedestrian safety. Greg Vaca (owner of Grava Properties, developer of Founders Square) urged looking at facts, cited safety benefits, and supported putting it to voters. Suzanne Wimsat (1255 Windsor Avenue) supported the referendum and the project. Adam Gutchen (19 Mechanics Street) urged belief in a better future and sending to referendum despite potential federal funding issues. Keller Glass (72 Hayden Avenue) presented statistics on traffic accidents and urged the council to put the measure to a vote.
- Opponents of the project: Dr. Dinda Alexander (155 Fieldstone Drive) argued it would not achieve stated objectives, suggested simpler plans and traffic cameras, and expressed uncertainty about federal funding. Jeanette Coffin (35 Hobson Avenue) opposed forced changes and urged not touching the green, suggesting alternatives like washboarding and increased fines. Paul Penos (48 Brookview Road) called the road diet a safety issue misdirection, argued red lights already control speed, and said rotaries are less safe for crossing. James Durant (166 Sunnyfield Drive) expressed concern about property tax increases and called the project too expensive at $6.1 million for half a mile. Another unnamed speaker (Clover Lane) criticized town spending, cited a 45% tax increase, and said enforcement can slow traffic.
Discussion Items
- Broad Street Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety Bond Ordinance: The council debated the ordinance to appropriate $6,100,000 ($2,100,000 in bonds, $1,000,000 from State of Connecticut DECD Urban Act grant, $3,000,000 from USDOT Highway Infrastructure grant). Councillor Elliveld read into the record a 2023 Michigan DOT/USDOT study on roundabouts, citing a total crash increase of 8% on single-lane roundabouts but reductions in injury crashes. She raised concerns about pedestrian safety, large trucks, and emergency response times. She stated she would vote no on the ordinance but yes on sending it to voters. Other councillors expressed support for letting voters decide.
- Referendum Resolution: The council considered a resolution to submit the ordinance to a town-wide referendum on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Councillor Pelkey questioned what would happen if federal funding was lost after approval. Town Manager Peter Souza explained the project scope could be modified to fit available funds ($3.1 million in state and local funds) and that additional state funding would not require another referendum. The resolution passed unanimously.
- Appropriation for Referendum Expenses: The council approved a $20,500 appropriation from the general fund unassigned fund balance for costs related to the referendum (printing, ballots, poll workers). Passed unanimously.
- Grand List Presentation: Town Assessor Joshua Gaston presented the October 1, 2024 net taxable grand list totaling $4.5 billion, a 15% increase over 2023. Real estate increased 18.7% (partially due to full phase-in of revaluation), personal property increased 9.4% (led by Target and Eversource), and motor vehicles decreased due to state-mandated valuation changes (MSRP-based depreciation). Councillor Elliveld noted the change in motor vehicle valuation is state-driven and that 75% of passenger vehicles will see no change or a decrease in assessed value.
- Appointments and Minutes: The council approved several appointments to town boards and commissions, as well as the minutes of the January 21, 2025 meetings.
Key Outcomes
- Bond Ordinance Vote: The motion to approve the bond ordinance for Broad Street Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety passed 6-3 (Councillors Naeem, Smith, Glauck-Hoffman, Armstrong, Deputy Mayor, and Mayor voted yes; Councillors Elliveld, Pelkey, and Walker voted no).
- Referendum Resolution: The resolution to submit the ordinance to the voters on March 11, 2025, passed 9-0.
- Referendum Funding: The appropriation of $20,500 from the general fund unassigned fund balance for referendum expenses passed 9-0.
- Grand List: The council accepted the presentation of the October 1, 2024 grand list for planning and budgeting purposes.
- Appointments: All appointments and reappointments to various commissions were approved 9-0.
- Minutes: The minutes of the January 21, 2025 public hearing and regular meeting were approved 9-0.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good evening. The time is now 7 p.m. Welcome to the public hearing on February 3rd, 2025. And before I open it, I would like to read 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, February 3rd, 2025 at 7 p.m. prevailing time to hear public comment on the following items. And authorizing the issue of two million one hundred thousand dollars bonds and notes and one million from the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Urban Act grant funds, and three million from United States Department of Transportation Highway Infrastructure Grant Funds to finance the appropriation. A copy of the full text is on file at the Office of the Town Clark and is available for public inspection. Information on how to attend the Zoom meeting via phone or computer will be included in the town council agenda. You can go to our town website, click on the virtual meeting info button on the front page and select town council meeting for February 3rd, 2025. Windsor Town Council by Peter Caesar Town Manager. With the notice being read, the public hearing is now open. Thank you, Madam Mayor. If there's anyone from the public who would like to address the council, you'll 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 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 push the call and speaker phone. At this time, Madam Mayor, we do have one individual with their hand raised. Good evening. This is Dr. Dinda Alexander at 155 Fieldstone Drive. And it will not achieve the stated objective of slowing down traffic. We've been waiting for 25 years for more businesses to come to Windsor Center. And that has not happened yet. But you can achieve those objectives with much simpler plans. Police have been intimidated about trying to give traffic tickets. They're afraid to do it. So you still have the option to use traffic cameras where you have an objective measure of people speeding or going through red lights. And incidentally, uh there has been some uncertainty about getting money from the federal government. Whether you'd like Donald Trump or not, apparently some of you find him very unpredictable. Well, if he's unpredictable, how do you know you're actually going to get this money in the first place? So I say it's a bad idea. Thank you. Thank you. And just want to um ensure that our listening audience can hear us at the days. No, we did receive notification that they were having trouble hearing. Okay. Next caller, you are now unmuted. You're coming through loud and clear now, new chat. Thank you. Thank you. This is Eric Weiner 130 Palaisado Avenue. Um I guess I will just say the opposite of everything Linda Alexander just said. Um this proposal is fantastic. The cost is quite low for the scale of the project. The town staff and our legislators have done an amazing job of seeking outside funding, and I'm fully confident in the work of the engineering consultants that we have that will show that this will accomplish the objective. And mostly I just urge the town council to give the people of Windsor a chance to be heard. Do not deny their voices as happened last time. Thank you.
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