Sticker pg 1 6-30-22
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captions, page 5:
Dufault Street
Huge patches, uneven surfaces and cracks that imitate a jigsaw puzzle. Linda Lemmon photos.
Sticker shock
everywhere
--- even roads
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
You’re watching the numbers spin at the gas station. Petroleum is out of sight.
Imagine now that you’re the highway superintendent and you’re watching petroleum prices — asphalt and other road-building materials — go “AWOL.”
Such is the dilemma facing Putnam Highway Superintendent Travis Sirrine.
Inflation, increasing prices is hitting everyone, he said. “We’ll do what we can.”
The state builds in an “escalation” clause into contracts “but we’re hitting that. We’re hitting that cap repeatedly,” he said.
Before the state put that escalation in, Sirrine said contractors were “losing their shirts.”
The Woodstock Avenue and Church Street sidewalk and paving projects slipped into high gear once school was out and the goal is to have both of them finished in time for the beginning of school. And the sidewalk redo on Grove Street, depending on the weather and the contractor who wins the bid, will probably be done “maybe spring.”
But “spiking” petroleum prices are causing Putnam and other towns to reprioritize, to rethink the paving/repair projects they have lined up.
Rather than repaving some streets that are doing OK, it’ll just be a matter of maintenance with crack sealing and chip sealing, Sirrine said. “Just preserve it.”
The prices per ton of asphalt products have already increased $12 to $15 per ton. “That’s driving our projects, what we can do,” Sirrine said.
Reprioritized the top street with a full overlay coming is Dufault Street. “That’s a definite,” he said. In addition, there is one street behind Woodstock Avenue, some in the north end, a section of Genevieve and Franklin, River Road, Mantup and the Rt. 21 corridor. “We are trying to get around town, get something done in every section of town,” he said.
The town originally had planned to do half of Kennedy Drive but that won’t happen. Sirrine said “we are looking at other techniques” to maintain it.
If the spikes continue, he said, “We’ll hold our money and let it come down.”
Cargill pg 1 6-30-22
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Cargill Falls Vista
This photo, taken by Richard Tremblay in the fall of 2022, shows off Cargill Falls at its best.
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Trash pg 1 6-30-22
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By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Travis Sirrine, highway superintendent, reminds residents that starting next week, the week of July 4, the new prices for trash collection kick in.
The price of stickers is doubling. Blue stickers (for 30-35 gallon bags) will be $2. Yellow stickers (for 13-20 gallon bags) will cost $1.The appropriate sticker must be used for the appropriate sized-bag regardless of how full the bag is. The stickers are to be put on the top portion of the bag and the bags must be placed, by 6 a.m., at curbside as close to the road as possible.
Stickers will be available at Modern Lumber, Stop n’ Shop, Global Fuel on School Street, the Town Clerk’s Office, the Putnam Public Library, the Sunoco Gas Station, Price Chopper and Putnam Supermarket.
Sirrine said the rates had not been adjusted in about 20 years and that the amount collected from the sale of trash stickers “is nowhere near” the actual cost. The balance is funded by the town budget. Sirrine said that Town Administrator Elaine Sistare surveyed other towns and discovered, even with the new prices, Putnam residents have a “remarkably good deal.”
A refresher on the rules (complete information is on the town’s website):
Recycling – No Stickers Required
Newspapers/magazine, metal cans, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass – food and beverage, junk/office paper. The blue recycling bins are available at the town clerk’s office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. No charge for recycling bins. Plastic bags and shredded paper should be placed in the trash.
Metal Collection
For large metal and appliances the town will collect these items during the last full week in March and the last full week in August. Metal and large appliances should be out at the beginning of the week. No stickers needed. In addition, metal can be brought to the highway garage anytime and placed in the shed outside the gate.
Brush and Tree Limbs
Brush and tree limbs are collected the last full week in April and the last full week in September. No land clearing. According to the Highway Department, in the event of a major storm, the town will chip brush at curbside town wide as soon as possible. Leaves are vacuumed at curbside starting the last Monday in October until Dec. 1 or until interrupted by inclement weather.
Not Curbside
NOT available for curbside pickup: Mattresses, electronics, scrap metal and appliances. Electronics, which includes, TVs, computers, printers, monitors, stereos, VCRs, keyboards and mice can be placed outside the Putnam Highway Dept. on Fox Road anytime in the shed outside gate.
Mattresses and box springs should be clean and dry and they are accepted at the highway department from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on the first and third Saturdays of the month. No mattresses are accepted on holidays.
Collections at the Highway Department are for Putnam residents only. Do not drop unauthorized items there. Cameras have been installed and violators will incur dumping charges.
The number of $2 stickers for large bulky waste items: wood headboard and footboard set, 2; chest of drawers or bureau, 3; couch/loveseat/wood desk/recliner, 3 (remove metal frame from pull-out sofas and recliners); stuffed chair, 2; wood dining table (in pieces), 2; wood chair, 1; other wood furniture fewer than 50 pounds, 2; rugs, 3’ in length, rolled and fewer than 35 lbs., 1. The rules say only one item per household per week to be placed at curbside for collection.
Tires require $3 worth of stickers per 16-inch or smaller rim size. Truck tires require $5 worth of stickers. They can also be placed in the shed outside the highway department gate anytime.
Metal Collection
For large metal and appliances the town will collect these items during the last full week in March and the last full week in August. Metal and large appliances should be out at the beginning of the week. No stickers needed. In addition, metal can be brought to the highway garage anytime and placed in the shed outside the gate.
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Legal pg 2 6-30-22
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Town of Putnam
Zoning Board of Appeals
Legal Notice
The Town of Putnam Zoning Board of Appeals held a hybrid meeting on June 21, 2022 at 7:00 P.M. on the second floor, Room 201, of the Municipal Complex located at 200 School Street, Putnam, CT. the following was APPROVED:
Appeal # 2022-001 Edward Murphy request for a 2-foot variance in accordance with Section 601 E.-13.c, of the Town of Putnam Zoning Regulations from the required 24 feet down to 22 feet for the parking aisle. Property located at 225 Kennedy Drive, Town Assessors Map 011, Lot 216, Zoned General Commercial (GC) (Former Library).
Joseph Nash,
Chairman
June 30, 2022