Town Officials: Explaining Road Program Key to Passing Referendum

There was only one person . Two weeks later at a Town Council meeting, no one spoke out for or against the project other than members of the council themselves. 

Southington officials hope that the silence is a good sign, indicating that there is little opposition to the long-term plan, but the aren’t going to sit back and rest. Now that the ordinance has been approved to go to referendum this fall, they said the next step is to make sure the public is fully informed of the plan.

“It’s taxpayer money and $11 million is a lot to ask for,” Councilman John Barry said during the meeting in July. “People have right to know, they need to know what they will be voting on come November.”

Garry Brumback said the road improvements are an important part of the town’s infrastructure and working to repair and maintain the town’s 200 miles of road would help prevent long-term costs.

“Currently, the pavement management study determined that Southington’s roads are at index of 76, which is 5 percent lower than the average in the New England region,” Brumback said. “With the roads where they are, it will take $5.5 million per year to improve to an 81, the average, and $4.5 million per year just to keep the rating at a 76.”

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With the paving management system, completed earlier this year by, Brumback and Councilman Peter Romano said it is important to now let the public know what they are voting out.

Without getting the list of streets our, however, Brumback said simply asking them to vote on the approved ordinance may not be enough.

The council was given the initial list of road repairs during the July council meeting and Brumback said those outlined as being part of the capital improvement plan would be addressed in the first couple years. He said some near the bottom of the list may be hard to get to and the list could be subject to change.

The list will also be revisited year-to-year to make sure it is up to date, Romano said during the meeting, but those “listed” as priorities now won’t change if the town approves a referendum.

For a complete list of roads involved in the projects, see and by clicking the links or viewing the PDFs above.

The town has already placed the ordinance and lists on the town’s website, but Brumback said that won’t be enough to help make sure voters have all the facts they need when they go to the polls this November.

“We need to make sure we get the word out, work with the media and give residents every chance to have their questions answered,” Brumback said. “This will make the difference between seeing this referendum pass or fail later this year.”

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