CARMEL – Officials from Putnam County and the City of Danbury, Connecticut realize that borders are in reality only lines on paper.
The leaders of both municipalities met last week in the Hat City where Mayor Mark Boughton and County Executive MaryEllen Odell continued discussions that began several years ago as to how state borders can be erased in order to share resources, services and assets.
“Economic development is unaware what a boundary is or where a state line is located,” said Boughton. “More than 50 percent of the Danbury workforce resides in New York State with the majority Putnam residents. New York is our lifeline and conversely many of our residents work in Putnam County and its immediate environs. By strengthening this, both Danbury and Putnam County will experience a win-win.”
Odell said she looked forward to “extending our partnerships with greater Danbury. Everything is global and there should be no physical boundaries. Mayor Boughton and I are undertaking ‘out of the box thinking,’ and projects like municipal sewers and rail lines connecting both communities are ground-breaking.”
The sewer proposal would connect the Route 6 corridor in Southeast with the vast sewer capacity found within the City of Danbury’s sewer system.
Mayor Boughton described the projects as “redefining our communities since once completed, transformation will occur for residents in this little part of the world.”
He said the feasibility study being undertaken by the MTA to connect Danbury with Southeast is “a strong first step.”
The mayor also said Danbury is working to develop a sewer site with their neighbors across state lines. “Once completed, both projects will allow residents to jointly work, live, and recreate. Danbury can’t handle all the housing and with Brewster willing to take on a significant amount of new housing development in the downtown area, both municipalities will prosper.”
