Sharon to join Housatonic health district

SHARON — Finding the time to be right to move toward joining a regional health district, the Board of Selectmen voted to begin the process at its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21.

“We’ve had strong in-house endorsement and the staff at the Housatonic Valley Health District (HVHD) have experience with us,” Selectman Dale Jones said, recognizing the approaching dates when the current staff within the town’s health district office plan to step down from their positions.

“We need to get something in place,” Jones said. Both Michael Crespan, the town’s Director of Health, and Jamie Casey, Sanitarian, will be vacating the town’s office within weeks. Crespan plans to continue to serve at the offices of the HVHD, ensuring continuity.

Selectman Casey Flanagan asked for assurance that the health district will have adequate office space to maintain the local records at the Town Hall.

Flanagan indicated that the space exists now within that office. “We’ve stood alone for decades,” she said. “It’s time,” she added.

Jones displayed a map showing that nearly all of the state’s 169 towns have joined health districts. “It’s time for us to be part of a district,” he said.

The selectmen agreed that the next step will be to schedule a public hearing to inform townspeople about the change.

A project to replace sections of the town’s water lines was reviewed for the selectmen by Stephen Szalewicz, chairman of the Sewer and Water Commission.

Some of the water lines were installed nearly a 100 years ago, Szalewicz said, fearing that the scheduled state road paving work might cause damage to the old lines. In advance of the paving work, plans call for replacement of some lines and consolidation of places where lines cross each other in advance of the paving.

The commission has applied for a federal USDA grant to assist with the project’s costs, estimated at $1.3 million. The grant would cover 35% of the costs and the town would borrow the balance, Szalewicz said, noting that Sharon is the first and so far, the sole applicant for the nearly $10 million in funding made available to the state through the USDA.

He said that the engineering design work is done for the project. All that is needed is a contractor and then “we are ready to go.”

Flanagan agreed, “This is a critical infrastructure project.”

The project would not affect water customers’ rates, Szalewicz said. “We have the cash we need, without changing rates.”

“If we do the work before the paving project, it is less costly,” he explained.

The next step, according to Scalewicz’s report, is to present the proposal to the Board of Finance and then the project would be considered at a town meeting.

In other action, the selectmen approved an application for a food truck to be located at the Sharon Valley Tavern.