As First Selectman for the Town of Thompson, I am proud of this year’s budget, presented to the Board of Finance and the public on March 4th. The Board of Selectmen worked diligently to present a budget worthy of voter approval at referendum. What my residents will see in the budget is a heavy emphasis on improvements to infrastructure. Most notable I am asking our residents to approve $500,000 towards Road Resurfacing. This is the largest expense in the capital improvement portion of the budget but Is vital to our community. In the past 2 years our Public Works Department has rebuilt and resurfaced 10% of our town roads. At this pace, the Town of Thompson will, eventually, be able to move to a regular schedule of road maintenance. Roads have been neglected for too long. With the leadership of our current Public Works Director and a highly skilled labor force under his direction, long neglected work can finally be accomplished. However, getting this work accomplished comes with a price tag. This Department needs resources and funding to accomplish this significant work.
Additionally, we are requesting two new trucks. A new roll-off truck for our Transfer Station and a new 9 -ton truck for plowing. The roll-off truck is vital, utilized multiple times per week to haul recyclables and waste out of our Transfer Station facility. Unfortunately, it has been a battle to keep this truck operational. Our current roll off truck is 18 years old and thousands of dollars have been spent this year to keep it on the road. The 9 -ton plow truck will replace a 1994 International that has been placed out of service due to multiple safety concerns. These two trucks combined with the road resurfacing request make up 60% of this year’s capital improvements.
Smaller requests include preliminary engineering design for the Buckley Hill Road Bridge Replacement Project. Preliminary engineering is necessary to apply for State grant funding for the project. We have also included the cost for inspections to the Town’s under 20’ bridges. These inspections are overdue to be completed. Maintenance on the Library/Community Center, repairs to the Tourtellotte Memorial High School and funding to go towards the future repair of the school track and/or Bull Hill Recreation area are also included in proposed capital projects.
I am a strong advocate for investing in our Town’s infrastructure. It is important to take pride in our community and take care of the basic infrastructure needs of the Town. I ask Thompson Residents to join me in supporting these efforts to build a better Thompson.