Efficiencies and schools put town on strong footing
State legislators and leaders tout the importance of eduction
Training tomorrow’s business leaders dominated the discussion as the Bethel Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual meeting and post-legislative event Monday afternoon at Michaels at the Grove in Bethel.
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker, school Superintendent Christine Carver and the legislators present touted Bethel’s schools and the cooperation needed to renovate the town’s elementary school buildings.
“Education is a key component to the success of a state,” state Rep. Will Duff, R-Bethel, said. “Business will move into an area where the best workers are.”
Steve Harding, RBrookfield, said he was happy to see legislation passed that blocks the governor from cutting education funding. He said he hopes the ruling passes on to subsequent governors.
The legislators also praised the work of Lawrence Craybas, chairman of Bethel’s Board of Education, who was among the event’s attendees.
Carver said the district is “creating a culture of thinkers” and preparing students for jobs that do not exist yet.
Knickerbocker said Bethel is becoming more selfsufficient as the state threatens to reduce aid to municipalities. The town, he said, is “always striving to find new efficiencies,” and will implement online permitting in some departments and work to maintain its AAA bond rating.
It also opened last week a solar farm that will save the town more than $1 million over the life of the contract. Knickerbocker said the town is also considering building a fuel cell microgrid at the school complex to power the schools and several other municipal buildings.
“As the state scared everyone, a lot of towns panicked and made wild gyrations with their budget,” he said. “Bethel had planned for it and we weathered it. But we still have to plan for the future and that future is uncertain.”
Bethel Town Planner Beth Cavagna updated the crowd on business developments, such as the Clarke Business Park expansion, Toll Brothers’ Bethel Crossings, Caraluzzi’s expansion and downtown improvements.
“There’s a great sense of pride and vitality going on in downtown now,” she said. “We will continue to be a destination.”
State Sen. Toni Bucher, R-Wilton, held a chart for the audience to see that showed state spending as the high line, inflation in the middle and population growth on the bottom.
“We have to reverse the trend,” she said.
Following the event, state Sen. Michael McLachlan addressed a variety of business-related topics that came from the last legislative session. He said he was happy a string of bills seen as pro-labor and anti-business did not pass into law.
“There were a whole bunch of bad ideas out there that were very business unfriendly,” he said. “All these things were just piling on that would have hurt small businesses. It’s a godsend that all this stuff died.”
McLachlan said he was not in favor of sporting betting, but it is something that will need to be discussed since neighboring states are moving forward with it following the recent Supreme Court ruling that made it legal. He feels the discussion should wait until the next full legislative session as issues taken up in special sessions do not require public hearings.
McLachlan said he and other local legislators have worked hard over the years to keep highway tolls out of Connecticut. His jurisdiction has about 10,000 people who travel out of the area to work and tolls, he said, would essentially be a tax on those residents driving to work. He said studies show that 70 percent of the tolls would be paid by Connecticut residents.
“We’re just taxing our own,” he said. “I was worried about it this year. When anyone is desperate for money, they are going to do whatever they have to do to get it. The government is desperate. I was worried it was going to happen.”
Heather Hansen-O’Neill, director of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, kicked off the event by saying the organization has fulfilled a goal by becoming “viable” and able to “thrive in the community.” She also instilled new board members and renewed the oath for existing board members who are starting new terms.