Beacon Falls moving forward with loan for big-ticket items

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BEACON FALLS — The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance voted to accept a municipal loan proposal and move it forward to a public meeting.

The Board of Selectmen voted to accept it on Monday and the Board of Finance approved it the following day. A town meeting to discuss and vote on the bond was set for 7 p.m. June 14 at the fire house.

The 10-year loan would be for approximately $1.14 million and cover large ticket items, such as the final payments for Blackberry Hill Road repairs and the streetscape project, and items requested by the fire department.

The loan was broken down into five resolutions. First Selectman Gerard Smith explained why the resolutions had to be drawn up this way because even though it’s a municipal loan, it’s treated as a bond.

“So, as we go, we still have to have resolutions drawn up,” Smith said.

Smith said the town also had some previous fees, as well as fees for this bond, that the town had to take care of.

“There were some legal fees left over from the previous bond issues we had, for the placements we had to do. We owed a total of $65,000,” Smith said.

Smith told the board the law firm Day Pitney, who is acting as the town’s bond council, recommended that the town incorporate the fees into the loan.

That money was broken into smaller amounts and put throughout each of the five resolutions under the category of “other financing costs.” This brought the total loan amount to just over $1.14 million.

The first resolution is for various road and streetscape projects and totaled $206,700. It included $45,000 for the streetscape improvements along Main Street, $150,000 for the instillation of guard rails and reconstruction of portions of Blackberry Hill Road, and $11,700 for related bond and note issuances and other financing costs.

The second resolution, which totaled $294,356, is for various public safety equipment acquisitions, refurbishments, and facility improvements. It included $12,456 for a Lifepack defibrillator for the fire department, $130,000 for the refurbishment of the ambulance, $10,000 for the acquisition and instillation of a kitchen hood at the fire department, $85,000 for the acquisition and instillation of a radio system for the fire department, $40,000 for the acquisition of a Chevy Tahoe for the police department, and $16,900 for related bond and note issuances and other financing costs.

The third resolution was for various sanitary sewer system projects and totaled $427,660. It included $290,000 for a sewage treatment system upgrade study, $30,000 for the acquisition and instillation of a sewage treatment flow meter for the Pinesbridge Road flow meter, $82,960 for the acquisition of an eight-inch in-trailer mounted pump with accessories for use by the Water Pollution Control Authority, and $24,700 for related bond and note issuances and other financing costs.

The fourth resolution was for various road and streetscape improvement projects and totaled $61,034. It included $39,560 for the acquisition and instillation of financial software for the Town Hall and finance department computer systems, $12,224 for the acquisition and instillation of hardware upgrades of the Town Hall computer systems, $6,000 for the acquisition and instillation of two additional public access work stations in the Town Clerk’s office, and $3,250 for related bond and note issuances and other financing costs.

The final resolution was for various public safety equipment acquisitions, refurbishments, and facility improvements and totaled $152,450. It included $57,000 for the acquisition of a dump truck and related equipment, $87,000 for a loader and related equipment, and $8,450 for related bond and note issuances and other financing costs.