Welcome sign "New Milford Settled 1707 Historic Village" and flowers planted by the Garden Club at the Route 7/Bridge Street intersection near Veterans Memorial Bridge; Aug. 4, 2007

NEW MILFORD — While some towns are still trying to figure out how to spend their American Rescue Plan Act federal relief funds, New Milford is charging ahead with a second round of expenditures.

The Town Council is looking to allot another $1.6 million of its $7.9 million federal relief money through 21 different line items. The heftiest asks involved capital items for local fire and police departments, as well as improvements to information technology infrastructure for the town.

New Milford already approved about $3 million in ARPA spending this month, and the Town Council just green-lighted a second tranche of expenditures during a regular meeting Monday night. The request now moves on to the finance board and, if approved there, to a final town vote. At that point, New Milford will have about $3.3 million left in its ARPA coffer.

Brookfield, Redding and Danbury have yet to start allocating their money, but New Milford has started breaking the process up into manageable chunks, approving one list of items at a time.

The second round of allocations contains everything from police scheduling software, to underwater sonar equipment, to a pricey $410,000 training structure for firefighters to practice rescues.

“In speaking with (Police) Chief Cerruto, how they’re handling their scheduling is really just on clipboards,” said Mayor Pete Bass, adding that this way of doing things take a long time. An updated electronic system would allow the sergeants to spend less time with clipboard schedules and more time out in the community, he said.

Other big ticket items for the first responders included a $42,700 rescue boat to help the fire department with rescues on the Housatonic River, which Bass said was much needed. This past summer, two fishermen accidentally drowned by Bleachery Dam. A month later, a swimmer drowned in the Housatonic River.

“What’s great is we can continue to really provide much needed resources, especially to our first responders, and really help them help us as a community,” Bass said. “And that’s what these funds are really all about.”

Another $292,400 is being requested to update the town’s IT infrastructure, including wireless access points, new firewalls, Virtual Private Network coverage, outsourced tech help, and mobile device management.

“Those are your moat around your castle. That is your outside defense,” said IT Director David Watson of new firewall investment. “It’s hard to understate how important that can be.”

Watson also explained that VPN upgrades are necessary to keep the town running remotely — especially when pandemics or snow storms keep staff at home. These virtual private networks allow staff to work securely through a protected network connection.

Improving wireless infrastructure in town buildings was another part of the cost.

“One of our offices used to be a jail cell. Service in there can be trying,” Watson joked. “It really wasn’t designed for wireless in that area.”

Council members discussed using relief funds for a new barn roof at Sullivan Farm — estimated to cost about $63,400 — and funding for two new positions at the farm that could keep the farm running. Each position would be paid about $40,000 per year for two years.

The barn was built in 1868 and last had its roof replaced in the 1960s, according to Mark Mankin, who runs Sullivan Farm.

“We have buckets all over the barn at this point, and the concern is that with the moisture coming in, it’s going to eventually affect the frame,” Mankin said.

The barn holds more than just sentimental and historical value. This past summer, it donated over one ton of fresh produce to the local food bank. Mankin told council members that with the two new farm management positions, “we can double, possibly triple that.”

But there are fun and games involved in this round of funding, too.

The council approved a recommendation for allotting nearly $34,000 for an outdoor movie theater and disc golf course that would be tied to the Parks and Recreation Department.

Bass told other council members that the disc golf was a great outdoor pandemic activity that could be enjoyed by individuals or groups. If approved, a course would likely be stationed at Clatter Valley.

The outdoor movie theater idea was inspired by the enthusiasm generated by the free family movie events at John Pettibone during the pandemic, according to Bass.

“This poises us to be stronger than we were going into COVID,” Bass said of the council-approved line items.

A total list of items were included in the council’s meeting agenda:

New Milford Police Department scheduling software — $30,375

New Milford Fire Department burn building — $410,525

14 sets of turnout gear (Northville Fire Department) — $51,000

18 portable radios (Northville Fire Department) — $21,500

Seven mobile radios (Northville Fire Department) — $8,200

Replacement fire nozzle (Northville Fire Department) — $9,400

Fire gear dryer (Northville Fire Department) — $7,489

Mobile fire gear storage rack (Northville Fire Department) — $7,125

Maxiforce airbag system (Water Witch Fire Department) — $7,472

Outfitted rescue boat (Water Witch Fire Department) — $42,719

Underwater sonar equipment (Water Witch Fire Department) — $4,571

PPE drying cabinet (Water Witch Fire Department) — $7,622

23 global radios (Gaylordsville Fire Department) — $190,000

Lucas device (Gaylordsville Fire Department) — $14,000

Three AEDs (Gaylordsville Fire Department) — $5,385

Sullivan Farm possible barn roof replacement — $63,400

Sullivan Farm crew supervisor and assistant farm manager positions (two-year positions) — $160,000

Disc Golf Course (Parks and Rec) — $9,880

Outdoor movie theater (Parks and Rec) — $23,945

Currie Engel covers health issues and the towns of New Milford and Brookfield for the News-Times. A graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Journalism School, she has worked for publications like The Houston Chronicle, Harper's Magazine, and TIME. When she's not reporting, Currie is usually reading, running, and singing, but usually not at the same time.