DEEP RIVER— The zoning board of appeals will hold public hearings Tuesday on variance appeals for a proposed used car dealership/repair shop on Route 154, and the proposed expansion of an existing industrial building at 16 Grove St. The public hearings convene at 7:30 p.m. at town hall.

The application of local resident Gerald Bartlett Jr.  for use and siting approval of a used car dealership and repair shop is expected to draw opposition from the planning and zoning commission. Bartlett is seeking to locate the dealership/repair shop in the former Champion Manufacturing facility on the west side of South Main St. (Route 154) about 700-feet south of the intersection with Kelsey Hill Road. The parcel is located in a light industrial zone.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Cathy Jefferson denied zoning approval of the proposed dealership/repair shop because the parcel is 10-feet short of the 150-feet of road frontage required for the use, and because the planning and zoning commission does not believe the use is appropriate for a vacant structure in the light industrial zone. Jefferson is expected to represent the commission in expressing opposition to the proposed use and variance at the public hearing.

The second appeal is from resident Raymond Galeotti seeking a variance to allow an 8,400-square-foot expansion of an existing industrial building at 16 Grove Street, located off Bridge Street in the northern section of town. Galeotti owns a company called Eve’s Addiction/Centerbrook Sales which operates on the site with catalog sales of silver jewelry.

The building and use was a pre-existing, non conforming use. but the commission last year approved a zone change for the area from village industrial to village district. The new village district regulations include a 2,500-square-foot maximum size limit for industrial buildings, creating the need for a variance from the ZBA for an 8,400-square-foot expansion of the building.

If Galeotti secures approval of the variance from the ZBA on Tuesday, he can proceed to a scheduled public hearing Thursday before the planning and zoning commission for special permit/site plan approval for the proposed building expansion. Jefferson said Galeotti would need the variance from ZBA before the commission can open a public hearing on the special permit/site plan application.

DEEP RIVER— Voters at a June 12 town meeting will consider a proposed three-year property tax abatement for the PCI Medical Inc. facility at 6 Winter Avenue. The town meeting begins at 7 p.m. in town hall.

First Selectman Richard Smith said the tax abatement, which was endorsed by the board of selectmen last month, would be extended to the renovations and new construction at the formerly vacant industrial building that were completed earlier this year. The abatement is allowed under state law to help encourage business expansion that boosts the taxable grand list. It would represent 50 percent of the annual tax bill for the renovations and expansion in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 fiscal years. The abatement would expire in 2015.

Smith said the town would abate about $6,000 of the annual $12,000 in new property tax that would be due on the building renovations and expansion. He said the town has approved temporary tax abatements for business expansions twice previously in recent years.

PCI Medical Inc. was established more than a decade ago with three employees in the town sponsored business incubator building at the Plattwood Industrial Area off Route 80. The company, which produces medical disinfectant devices, later relocated to available space at the former Uarco complex on Bridge Street. But in 2010, space limitations led the company to relocate to larger rented space in Chester.

The business returned to Deep River earlier this year, occupying the vacant 36,000 square-foot industrial building at 6 Winter Avenue on the north side of town. Smith said the three-year abatement would be more than offset by the taxes paid in subsequent years, with an added benefit of the new jobs created by the expansion.

Voters at the town meeting will also be asked to confirm the appointments of Ben Whelen and Sara Denegre as planning and zoning commission alternates.

DEEP RIVER— In the lowest referendum turnout yet, voters Thursday approved a total $14.3 million town/school spending plan for 2012-2013 on a 147-46 vote.

A total of 190 voters, and three property owners, turned out at the Deep River Public Libray polling place in the 14 hours of balloting that was held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Turnout was barely half the total from last year’s budget referendum, when 361 voters turned out to approve the current town budget on a 244-120 vote.

Deep River has voted on the total town spending package by referendum since 2001, a contentious budget year when spending plans were rejected by town meeting vote and referendum. The 14-hour referendum is estimated to cost about $2,000.

The total $14,330,825 spending plan generated little controversy or comment at the annual budget hearing on May 8. The plan includes a $3,509,265 town government budget, a $334,000 capital expenditure plan, and a $5,400,787 appropriation for Deep River Elementary School. The final component of the spending plan, the town’s $4,304,478 share of the Region 4 education budget, was approved by voters of Deep River, Chester, and Essex in an eight-hour referendum on May 8.

The board of finance is expected to approve a property tax rate of 24.68 mills to support the spending package, an increase of four-tenths of a mill from the current 24.28 mill rate. The new rate represents $24.68 in tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

First Selectman Richard Smith had said the board of selectmen would review the turnout for this year’s budget referendum before considering whether to reduce the referendum hours next year to 12-noon to 8 p.m., or send the 2013-2014 budget to a town meeting vote for the first time since 2000.

DEEP RIVER— An $8.9 million budget plan for town government and Deep River Elementary School in 2012-2013 will be presented at the annual budget hearing on Tuesday May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the all-purpose room at the elementary school.

The proposed town government budget totals $3,509,265, an increase of $120,109, or 3.2 percent, over the current town government5 appropriation. The budget for the elementary school totals $5,400,787, a spending increase of $207,887, or 4 percent. The spending package also includes a $334,000 capital expenditure plan.

The total proposed 2012-2013 spending levy of $14,284,323 also includes the town’s $4,304,478 share of the Region 4 education budget. The Deep River share of the Region 4 budget is down by $82,822 from the current budget share because of fewer students from Deep River attending Valley Regional High School and John Winthrop Middle School.

First Selectman Richard Smith said the budget plan is expected to require a four-tenths mill hike in the property tax rate. The tax rate would increase from the current rate of 24.28 mills to a mill rate of 24,68, or $24.68 in tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value. The budget plan would leave about $412,000 in the undesignated fund balance as of June 30,2013.

Smith said the budget includes a two percent wage/salary increase for all full or part-time town employees, including elected officials. There would also be funding for an additional six hours per week for the elected tax collector and tax collector’s clerk at a cost of $13,900.

The capital expenditure plan, which is up by $126,826 from the current capital expenditure total, includes $200,000 as the town’s  20 percent share of the total cost of replacing the Village Street bridge, a project that is expected to be completed this year. There is also $46,000 to replace the two town police cruisers, and $70,000 to help the water pollution control authority cover bond expenses for the municipal sewer system.

The budget for the elementary school includes full day kindergarten, a planned enhancement that is expected to cost an additional $30,5263 to increase a half-time kindergarten teacher position to full time.

Smith said he expects the board of selectmen to continue a tradition of referendum voting on the budget that began with a contentious budget season in 2001.  The  eight-hour referendum is expected during the last week of May, after the Memorial Day holiday. The Region 4 education budget goes to the voters of Chester, Deep River, and Essex in a 12 noon to 8 p.m. referendum on May 8.

DEEP RIVER— The increase is small, but it’s a lot better than last year. That was the feeling at town hall Tuesday as Assessor Robin Loughlin filed an Oct0ber 2011 grand list of taxable property that totals $482.25 million.

The net grand list total of $482,257,864 is up by $3,522,462, or 0.73 percent, from a 2010 total of $478,735,422. The increase would generate about $86,000 in new tax revenue at the current tax rate of 24.28 mills.

It was 2010 when a required revaluation update conducted during an ongoing economic recession and a down real estate market brought a drop in the grand list of $39.6 million, or about 8 percent from the 2009 total. There were decreases in all three categories, real estate, personal property and motor vehicles that resulted in a loss of about $816,000 in tax revenue.

The totals were better in 2011, with increases in for each of the categories. The town’s 2,182 real estate accounts show an assessment total of $434,769,290, an increase of $1,008,580 from 2010. The town’s 419 personal property accounts show an assessment total of $14,239,694, up by $448,622 from 2010. The town’s 4,830 motor vehicle accounts show an assessment total of $33,248,900, up by $2,065,260 from 2010.

Loughlin said there were few new homes constructed, and no major commercial or industrial projects, completed last year. She said home renovations and additions account for most of the jump in the real estate total, while purchases of new vehicles accounted for the increase in the motor vehicles totals.

First Selectman Richard Smith said he was pleased to see an increase that would generate some new tax revenue. “In this kind of an economy any increase is good,” Smith said, adding “every little bit helps.”

The list of the town’s top ten taxpayers remained unchanged from 2010. The top ten taxpayers with the 2011 assessment totals are Connecticut Light & Power Co. 5,047,273, BDRM Inc. (Brewer’s Deep River Marina) $4,298,969, Mislick Family Limited Partnership $3,137,190, Silgan Plastics Corp. $2,997,506, and Deep River Associates LLC $2,605,680.

Also Thomas Boyd & K. Dernocoeur $2,430,610, 180 Main Street Partners LLC $2,277,450, Jerome and Marlene Scharr $1,923,180, Virginia Linburg $1,881,950, and Alberto & Raffaella Cribiore 41823,430.  Dernocoeur, Scharr, Linberg, and Cribiore are all high value residential properties located on or near the Connecticut river.

DEEP RIVER— Town Democrats and Republicans selected town committees for 2012-2014 at party caucuses held over the past week.

Democrats selected a 25-member town committee that includes seven new members, including Stella Beaudoin, who waged an unsuccessful primary challenge in 2009 to the town committee endorsed candidate for town clerk, Nancy Talbot. The open town clerk seat was won that year by Republican Amy Winchell, who was unopposed for a second term in the town election last November.

The Deep River Democratic Town committee for 2012-2014 includes incumbents John Bairos, Leigh Balducci, former Speaker of the House Richard Balducci, Carmela Balducci, Tax Collector Lisa Bibbiani, former Selectman Richard Daniels Jr., Bruce Edgarton, Nancy Fischbach, Joanne Grabek, George Howard, Ann Joy, Jonathan Kastner, former Selectman Russell Marth, Mary Maraschiello, newly elected Selectman Angus McDonald Jr., Valerie Nucci, Mark Reyher, and First Selectman Richard Smith. Balducci had represented Newington when her served as speaker of the house from 1989 to 1993.

New members include Beaudoin, Cindy Cosme, Dorothy DeMichael, Carol Jones. Alan Miezejeski, Roy Monte, and Carol Smith. Members leaving the town committee include Sarah Adams, Mary Jane Daniels, John Dickson Jr., former Town Clerk Jeanne Nickse, Alice Proctor, Jean Ressler, Donald Sampson, Patricia Strange, David Talbot, Nancy Talbot, and former Selectman Arthur Thompson, who is currently serving as Democratic town chairman.

Town Republicans, who have not nominated a candidate for first selectman since 2005, selected a 17 member town committee that includes one new member. The Deep River Republican Town committee for 2012-2014 includes incumbents Gregory Alexander, Mary Brownlee, Louise Cowen, Douglas Dopp, Robert Edgeworth, Margot Gamerdinger, William Harris, Alice Johnson, Town Treasurer Thomas Lindner, Selectman David Oliveria, Rolf Peterson, Donald Routh, Grace Stalsburg, Cynthia Stannard, Rosemary Unan, Winchell, and new member Joyce Winterstein. Departing from the committee that served from 2010-2012 are Janice Kmetz, Joyce Metz, Cleon Springer,and John Townsend.

The new town committees are seated in March, when the panels will elect officers for 2012-2014.

DEEP RIVER— The board of selectmen has awarded a contract for the replacement of the Village Street bridge, picking Brunalli Construction Company of Southington for the job on a bid of $1,119,241.

First Selectman Richard Smith said at Tuesday’s meeting that Brunalli Construction was one of 16 bidders for the bridge project. Smith said the company was the second low bidder, picked after the low bidding firm was disqualified because the company had not completed a required prequalification with the state Department of Transportation.

Replacement of the bridge, located on Village Street behind the Deep River Public Library, will be funded under the Local Bridge Program, with 80 percent of the project cost covered by federal funds. The town is responsible for 20 percent of the total cost. Smith said work on the bridge replacement is expected to begin in the summer of 2012, with most of the town share of the cost included in the 2012-2013 town budget.

In other business Tuesday, the board formally appointed nine members of the new Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Committee. Voters at a Nov. 22 town meeting had authorized the new committee to coordinate ongoing efforts to restore the second-floor auditorium at the historic 1892 town hall. The new committee replaces the now disbanded Deep River Town Hall Restoration Association Inc., which had directed town hall restoration efforts since the early 1980s.

The members include Sally Carlson-Crowell, Bruce Edgarton, Carol Jones, Janice Kmetz, Dennis Schultz, Richard Nagot, Kim Olson, Frances Strukus, and former Selectman Arthur Thompson. Carlson-Crowell and Strukus had served previously as directors of the restoration association. The ordinance creating the new committee called for up to 11 members, leaving two openings for any other volunteers interested in serving on the committee.

Deep River Firehouse - options proposed for upgrade

DEEP RIVER— A town study committee has recommended two options for upgrading the fifty-year-old town firehouse, with both calling for construction of a new and larger firehouse.

In a final report submitted to the board of selectmen and board of finance at the end of November, the Firehouse Study Committee advised the volunteer fire department needs a structure of at least 9,000 square feet to house four fire trucks and other vehicles while also providing a meeting/training room of about 1,600 square feet. In the concluding recommendations, the committee proposes the options of constructing a new firehouse at the site of the existing firehouse on the corner of Union and Elm streets, or building a new firehouse on a 14-acre parcel at the intersection of Route 80 and Bahr Road, across from the Plattwood Park recreation area. The second option would require a land purchase.

The board of selectmen established the eight-member committee, comprised of department members and other volunteers, at the end of last year to determine the space needs of the Deep River Volunteer Fire Department, and research options for a firehouse building project. The move came after a proposed $2.4 million bond authorization for a 7,000-square-foot expansion of the existing firehouse failed on a 347-312 referendum vote in July 2010. A larger and more costly renovation and expansion project failed by a wide margin in a November 2007 bonding referendum.

The committee estimates the cost of building a new 12,000-square-foot single-story firehouse at about $1.8 million, a figure that does not include the expense of any possible land purchase. The existing firehouse, built in 1961, is 5,084 square feet. The department also maintains a satellite fire station in a 2,484-foot structure located on Route 80 in the rural winthrop section.

In outlining the option of building a new firehouse at the site of the existing firehouse, the committee noted that construction would have to be phased “to take place without impacting operations of the existing firehouse.” The new firehouse would be built first, followed by demolition of the existing firehouse.

The new building on site option would also require demolition of a two-story house on an abutting parcel at 57 Union St., and use of the quarter-acre parcel as part of the building project. The fire department acquired the 57 Union St. property in August 2007 for $275,000 to provide space for the firehouse renovation and expansion.

The second option forwarded to town officials calls for construction of a new firehouse on the 14-acre parcel at the corner of Route 80 and Bahr Road. Under this option, the existing firehouse would become a satellite station, and the Winthrop site of the existing satellite station would be sold. The property at Route 80 and Bahr Road is owned by the estate of Warren Diffendal. It is appraised at $184,600.

First Selectman Richard Smith said he was hoping the study committee would make a single specific recommendation for a firehouse building project. He said the board of selectmen and board of finance would discuss the committee report, and the two building options, at a future meeting. The selectmen would appoint a firehouse building committee if the board decides to pursue a firehouse building project in 2012.

DEEP RIVER— The board of selectmen Tuesday announced five prospective appointments to the new town hall auditorium restoration committee, but is holding off the formal appointment until additional volunteers step forward to serve on the 11-member committee.

The new Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Committee was created under a resolution approved at a Nov. 22 town meeting, taking the place of the Deep River Town Hall Restoration Association Inc. that had coordinated restoration work at the historic 1892 town hall since the early 1980s. The association has previously decided to disband and transfer its donated fund for the restoration work to the town.

First Selectman Richard Smith said five residents had volunteered to serve on the new committee, including former Selectman Arthur Thompson, Carol Jones, Janice Kemetz, Dennis Schultz, and Richard Nagot. Thompson had pushed for formation of a new committee to complete the auditorium restoration during his term on the board of selectmen that ended last month.

Smith said three members of the former restoration association board of directors are expected to volunteer to serve on the new committee, leaving three openings for additional volunteers. The board is expected to formally appoint the 11-member committee at its Dec. 27 meeting. Smith said Building Official Richard Leighton has already prepared a list of improvements needed to meet all current fire safety and building codes for the second floor auditorium, and would meet with the new committee to discuss the project early in 2012.

In other action Tuesday, a handful of residents at a town meeting approved a 15-year contract with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority for disposal of solid waste and recyclables. The contract, which provides for a tipping fee of $59.50 per ton, was approved on a unanimous vote.

Deep River has been a member of CRRA since the regional trash authority was established in the late 1980s. It is one of 13 area towns that send solid waste to the authority’s regional transfer station in Essex, where it is compacted and trucked to the authority’s Mid-Connecticut incinerator in Hartford. Contracts for 70 Connecticut cities and towns served by CRRA expire in November 2012.

Smith said a long-term contract with CRRA was the town’s most cost effective option for disposal of solid waste and recyclables based on both the tipping fee, and the close proximity of the regional transfer station.

DEEP RIVER— Residents will vote at a town meeting Tuesday on a proposed 15-year contract with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority for disposal of solid waste and recyclables. The Dec. 13 town meeting begins at 7 p.m. in town hall.

The contract would require the town to send all solid waste and recyclables to the CRRA’s Mid-Connecticut incinerator and collection facility in Hartford. The solid waste is compacted first at the regional transfer station off Route 154 in Essex, just south of the Deep River-Essex town line. The contract, which would expire in 2027, calls for a tipping fee of $59.50 per ton, with some provisions for a higher fee if there is a sharp increase in fuel oil costs.

Deep River was one of the first towns to join the regional trash authority when it was established in the mid-1980s. Currently 13 area towns compact solid waste at the regional transfer station in Essex for trucking to the Hartford facility.

CRRA contracts with 70 Connecticut cities and towns expire on Nov. 15, 2012. Area towns have been asked by the authority to act on new long-term contracts by town meeting votes in the coming weeks. Lyme has already approved the new contract with CRRA.

DEEP RIVER— Voters will be asked at a town meeting Tuesday to approve a resolution establishing a replacement for the now disbanded Deep River Town Hall Restoration Association Inc. The meeting, which also includes confirmation of appointments to the planning and zoning commission and zoning board of appeals, convenes at 7 p.m. in town hall.

The resolutions related to the ongoing town hall restoration project include rescinding a February 1981 town meeting resolution granting sole authority for the town hall restoration efforts to the Deep River Town Hall Restoration Association Inc., and adopting a new resolution establishing an 11-member Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Committee to “oversee and complete restoration of the Deep River Town Hall auditorium to the extent that funds are available.” A third resolution would create a special town fund called the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Fund.

The review of authority granted to the Deep River Town Hall Restoration Association began earlier this fall, when the board of selectmen met with members of the association to obtain an update on the ongoing restoration plans for the second floor auditorium at the historic 1892 town hall. Improvements to the town hall began in the late 1970s, but in recent years have focused on upgrading the auditorium to meet all current fire safety and building codes.

The selectmen in October formally objected to any move by the non-profit association to create a permanent endowment fund from the private donations provided for the auditorium restoration work. The funds, believed to total about $240,000, had largely been invested in the stock market.

First Selectman Richard Smith said the board of selectmen met with members of the association board on Nov. 8, a session where the association members offered to disband the group and transfer authority to a newly created town committee. “It was their idea,” Smith said, adding that he expects many of the association members to be appointed to spots on the new committee. The board of selectmen will appoint members of the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Committee.

“It will just be a better structure,” Smith said, adding that the goal is to use available funding to complete as many of the auditorium code upgrades as possible.

“People want to see it finished,” Smith said, adding that many of the donors want to have the improvements completed as soon as possible. Smith said expenditures from the new special fund would be approved by the board of selectmen based on recommendations from the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium Restoration Committee.

Voters at the town meeting will be asked to confirm appointments to the planning and zoning commission and zoning board of appeals for three-year terms ending in December 2014. The reappointments to the planning and zoning commission, all incumbents, are Janet Edgarton, Nancy Fischbach, and Thomas Walsh. The appointments to the zoning board of appeals are Jerome Ackerman, Margot Gamerdinger, and William Harris.