Cheshire Roundup: School HVAC Votes

CHESHIRE, CT — The Cheshire Town Council voted 8-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to approve $12.3 million in HVAC and building management system work at five schools and to let the Board of Education seek state grants for it again after the state turned down the first applications, minutes show. The night before, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted the state a variance for sidewalk work on South Main Street.

The Historic District Commission and the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission canceled their meetings. Four other boards had no minutes posted by Friday, Oct. 9; for them, what follows is what each agenda listed.

Town Council

Meeting jointly with its Budget Committee, the council passed five amended resolutions tied to Energy Performance Contract 2.0. Each approves the funding for HVAC and building management system improvements at one school and names the Board of Education as its building committee:

Doolittle Elementary School, $9,396,822
Cheshire High School, $1,030,828
Dodd Middle School, $814,549
Humiston School, $666,414
Highland Elementary School, $354,434

The council had approved nearly identical resolutions Tuesday, June 9. Vincent Masciana, the schools' chief project officer, said the state rejected all five grant applications, in part because the resolutions left out the words "and Building Management System Improvements."

The council also went over the proposed 2026-2027 capital budget and five-year plan. Town Manager Sean Kimball said he moved replacement of the Senior Center parking lot to the first year, since its design is ready and the work could be done in spring 2027. Councilors agreed to move a pipeline project to years two and four. Kimball said he turned down a Fire Department request for a truck, bringing capital nonrecurring spending to $422,000. The Budget Committee voted 2-0 to send the plan to the full council, which has it on the agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 13.

During public comment, a resident asked what will become of the town's two newly vacant school buildings and asked the town to keep the playground at Darcey.

Zoning Board of Appeals

On Monday, Oct. 5, the board voted 5-0 to give the Connecticut Department of Transportation a 1,050-square-foot lot-area variance at 312 South Main St., in the C-2 zone, for sidewalk and safety work. The lot, at 36,087 square feet, was already short of the zone's 40,000-square-foot minimum and will drop to 35,037. The applicant's representative said the work would not affect parking, and Chairman Eric Brushett told the representative to wait for the town's letter before starting.

Parks and Recreation Commission

The commission's Wednesday, Oct. 7, agenda listed next year's fees at Mixville Park and the Youth Center, an Eagle Scout project, a veterans' area at Bartlem Park South, a memorial bench at McNamara Legion Park and an update on the Yankee Highlands bridge. It also noted that boardwalk construction at Mixville Park begins this month and that the adaptive field at Cheshire Park, approved by Planning and Zoning, goes out to bid next.

Town Beautification Committee

The committee's Wednesday, Oct. 7, agenda had sign permits for Poly-Tech America at 28 Diana Court, Atlantic Star Trailers at 405 Industrial Ave. and GiLi at 330 South Main St. It also listed a review of the part-time gardener, landscaping for the Bartlem Park drainage basin and planning for this year's project.

Other boards

Veterans Advisory Committee (Tuesday, Oct. 6): Bartlem Park planning, the Town Hall memorial and recognition bricks for the Medal of Honor Plaza.
Public Safety Commission (Thursday, Oct. 8): bleed-control kits for the schools, a prison update, and public service messages on road signs and social media.

Coming up

Town Council, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Council Chambers: a public hearing on a proposed ordinance letting the Historic District Commission hold up a demolition permit for as long as 150 days for a historically significant building, one built before 1927, inside a historic district, on or eligible for a historic register, or on the town's 1986 inventory. The regular meeting after it has adoption of the capital budget, a $37,654 state Youth Services Bureau grant, $23,694.77 in tax refunds, the town's legislative agenda, acceptance of Stone Bridge Court as a town road, an introduction of new Town Planner Hiram Peck and a closed session on license plate readers.

Planning and Zoning Commission, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m., Council Chambers: the continued hearing on Viron Rondo Osteria's terrace expansion at 1721 and 1755 Highland Ave. A review by the town's engineering director says the plan has grown from the 8,700-square-foot terrace the WPCA approved in 2025 to 23,230 square feet with more seats, bathrooms and a kitchen, and must go back to the WPCA. Also on the agenda: a new special permit request from Donald J. Ciampi Jr. and Ellen Ciampi for 435 Maple Ave., and the Stone Bridge Court road acceptance.

Sources & Documents

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