NORTH HAVEN

A total of $4.5 million in appropriations for three projects related to infrastructure and sanitation in North Haven will go to a special town meeting taking place on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Qualified town electors will vote on three areas of appropriation, with the first including $2.8 million for the paving and milling of town roads. First Selectman Mike Freda told The Courier that road management appropriations were passed on in 2023 due to “significantly” escalated cost, but that it is still an aspect of town expenditures which “we have to keep up with.”

The upcoming year will see between seven and nine miles of roadways paved and milled “at the current cost” of $2.8 million, said Freda.

“That will also include installation of manholes [and] drainage risers,” he added. “During road paving, we have to have traffic protection to have the cars come in and out for the safety of our citizens who are driving. It ties into, also, various other fees, materials outside of asphalt, for example.”

The second round of appropriations includes $450,000 for “repairs, improvements and replacements to roofs and other structural elements of various town buildings,” according the meeting agenda.

One of the town buildings which the money would go toward is Walter Gawrych Community Pool, where renovations to the roof and other areas have been taking shape. Freda said that there are “other structural elements” at town buildings which “go beyond even roofs and their repairs,” including Town Hall.

“I've begun to notice that the pillars are starting to peel,” he said. “Town Hall is the gateway into the town government, and we have to ensure that at least the exterior of Town Hall looks presentable to the public and even internally.”

The third of the appropriations includes $1.25 million for “the acquisition of refuse containers and the related equipment to facilitate curbside collection,” reads the agenda.

“Related equipment” refers to two automated arms on the town’s garbage trucks within their workforce, according to Mike Maturo, the director of North Haven Public Works field operations.

Freda said that this should support the sanitation services of North Haven from an efficiency and safety standpoint for both its workers and residents. The automated arm attached to town trucks would eliminate sanitation workers having to pick up very heavy containers, reducing their risk of injury.

“What we’re seeing down through the years is a lot of injuries in sanitation because it’s a very difficult job. It’s a strenuous job,” said Freda. “It's a very rugged job, particularly in either hot weather or icy conditions. We are planning to automate this aspect of it.”

Maturo said that “there’s more and more cities and towns going in this direction” of using automated sanitation technology on their dump trucks, such as North Branford and Hamden.

The “refuse containers” named on the agenda refer to “10,000 MSW (municipal solid waste), which is trash containers and 10,000 recycling containers,” said Maturo.

“Each household will get a 96-ounce can for both waste and recycling,” added Freda.