Danbury ad hoc committee presses for multi‑year facilities study, explores funding partnerships

Councilwoman Robinson convened an ad hoc committee on July 16 to strengthen cooperation between Danbury City Hall and Danbury Public Schools and to set priorities for facilities, a joint master plan and funding strategies. The committee agreed to pursue clarifying responsibilities in the 1997 intergovernmental facilities agreement and recommended staff pursue a timeline for a comprehensive facilities assessment.

Antonio Adarola, the city’s town and city engineer and public works director, told the committee an updated agreement could be negotiated with the board of education but said a full building-by-building assessment would require outside consultants because city staff do not have the capacity to perform the work. Adarola said the study he has priced before would likely cost about $1,200,000 and take roughly six to eight months to complete, with older schools requiring more time.

The legal and procedural framework for changing the 1997 document came up during the meeting. Les, a city staff member who advised on charter provisions, said municipalities typically own school buildings and that the mayor can convene the district and city staff to produce an updated agreement; formal council action to begin negotiations was not described as strictly required.

Dr. Casimiro, a Danbury Public Schools official, urged that a study alone would not produce change unless funding and partnerships follow. She outlined the career‑academy model used in Nashville and Charlotte — which pairs industry partners and foundations with schools to support career‑connected learning — and said such partnerships can expand funding for programming and operations even when foundations rarely cover major capital costs. She highlighted opportunities to pursue workforce‑development, clean‑energy and entrepreneurship grants as additional funding streams.

Council members pressed for concrete next steps. Robinson asked Antonio and other staff members to work offline with district staff and corporation counsel to set deadlines and deliverables. During that conversation, Robinson said she would explore an interim $1.5 million request to help fund an initial building assessment and asked that the ad hoc meet monthly through the budget season. Mayor Alves thanked participants and pledged to pursue increased state support.

A procedural motion to continue the ad hoc committee “subject to the call of the chair” was moved by Councilman Bridal, seconded, approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned.

The committee’s next steps are administrative: staff were directed to scope the consultant study, provide estimated deliverables and timelines, coordinate with corporation counsel on agreement revisions, and report back to the committee for scheduling and budgeting decisions.