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10/17/2017 12:00 AMRepublican Mike Freda has served as first selectman since 2009, and said he’s enjoyed serving residents of the town and wants to continue the success he’s had over the years. He said he realizes he can’t please everybody all the time, but all residents of North Haven are important to him.
Describing his approach to governance, Freda spoke of several “pillars of strength” that include supporting education, public safety, improving infrastructure, supporting senior citizens and veterans, and economic development.
On public safety, Freda said his administration has spent millions of dollars improving and renovating firehouses and upgrading equipment. Renovations on the police station will begin in December.
Freda said that every year, he has a road paving plan in place, and has paved roads every year since he’s been in office.
On economic development, Freda said new companies continue to come to town, bringing more local jobs, all of which he said will grow revenue for the town and minimize the tax burden of residents.
His focus on economic development is both in large and small businesses, he said, noting that larger businesses are needed to support and even attract smaller businesses; those smaller businesses require not only the town’s population, but also the people that comes to work in town for the big businesses to sustain themselves.
“We need the large businesses and corporations here in town, where their employees can utilize [small business] services,” Freda said.
Financial management and energy efficiency are two additional focuses of his administration, he said; nine consecutive budgets have been balanced and four surpluses have been delivered. Freda said North Haven has been recognized as one of the top five municipalities in the state in terms of delivering innovative projects that have helped reduce energy costs in town.
For the largest energy user in town, the Water Pollution Control Authority, Freda said a solar panel system is offsetting 40- to 50 percent of the power consumed. In the spring, plans are in place to double the capacity of the solar energy system.
Freda said he’s tried to increase the amount of affordable senior housing facilities, noting that the town hasn’t yet met the state mandate of 10 percent housing that’s affordable to households making no more than 80 percent of the median income.
He’s hoping to add enough affordable senior housing to achieve a four-year moratorium from the state’s affordable housing statute, which allows developers to bypass some zoning standards in towns with insufficient affordable housing.
Freda also recognizes there are young professionals out there who are trying to build a career and need affordable housing as well. He supports that, provided it’s in the right location, saying that those types of developments have been presented as high density formats in residential neighborhoods.
A location he suggested would be around the proposed new train station, saying that transit-oriented districts create need for young professional and workforce housing who can’t afford to buy new homes yet.
With a potentially unfavorable decision coming from the state in terms of funding for the town, Freda said he’s “focused like a laser beam” on economic development to bring new tax dollars in to offset those potential loses.
Freda said there are positions in the current budget that are vacant, and he’s either delaying hiring for the position or in some cases not hiring at all. He says those are things he’s focused on to avoid negative outcomes like a supplementary tax bill.
“I’m tremendously focused, highly energized, and very passionate about what I do serving the residents of North Haven,” Freda said.