By: Maria Moore
Yesterday evening’s Board of Selectmen meeting at 5:30 p.m. was a brief one, with the Selectmen moving through the agenda items at a steady pace and ending by 6:05 ~ just in time to get home to dinner for those who were not staying for the 7:00 p.m. Board of Finance meeting.
Following is a report on some of the items on the Selectmen’s May 11 meeting agenda; the full agenda is listed at the end of this article. As always, please be sure to read the official minutes which will be posted on the town website once they become available.
3. Operations
Budget Referendum: First Selectman Dan Jerram said that the budget referendum had gone well, with a 2:1 approval by the voters of the budget on the first try. He added the head moderator’s sheet of the vote count to the record of the meeting.
Roads: Dan said that guard rail posts are now being worked on by the road crew. He also said that Glasso (company) is specing out the roads to be worked on ~ Southeast, Burwell, Steele and Kinsey ~ and then they’ll figure out the chip sealing. Regarding the West Hill Road overlay, Dan said two bids had come in.
Parking on Central Avenue: Dan said he has talked with the Beekley Library Board about using some of the Foothills land for parking and the Board members seemed receptive to it. They’re continuing to work on it. The Foothills land is the grassy area between the old library building and the new library on Central Avenue. The Foothills Trader was located there when it was locally-owned.
Wastewater Treatment Plant: Selectman Tom Klebart asked when the sewer plant would be coming online and Dan said: “It’s ready to go” and mentioned the end of May.
5. Resignations from Boards/Commissions - WPCA, Conservation
WPCA: Dan announced that MaryBeth Greenwood, who has been on the WPCA for just over a year, has resigned due to personal reasons. Steve Hanright was appointed to the WPCA on Dan’s recommendation. Tom asked if there was still a vacancy on the WPCA, and Dan said there was, that they were waiting for the WPCA to complete the revision of their charter before appointing someone else.
Conservation: Chris James on the Conservation Commission is moving out of state and has resigned from the Commission. The Selectmen will be looking for a replacement for Chris.
Commission on Aging: Dan proposed Penny Miller for the vacancy on the COA and the selectmen approved Penny for that Commission.
8. Set Time, Date, Manner of Special Town Meeting
A Special Town Meeting was set for Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. to act on an easements from Mary Ann Gunning (Emergency Access easement) and St. John’s Church. The easements are to allow the WPCA access to lines located near the walkway to be constructed as part of the new addition at the back of the church; see the April 12 press release from St. John’s. To read a downloadable copy of the Notice of Special Meeting, please see the link at the end of this report.
10. Correspondence:
Paul Volovski, the town Building Inspector, sent in a letter saying that the Rec Commission wants to take out the boathouse at Brodie Park since it was unsafe. Paul agreed that the structure was unsafe. The selectmen approved taking down the building.
11. Any Other Business to Come Before this Board
Bill Baxter, former First Selectman, had come to the meeting with copies for the Selectmen of paperwork related to the Northwest Chamber of Commerce’s initative to set up an Economic Development District. This district would include towns in Litchfield county and the northwest corner. Bill Baxter had recently made a presentation to the town’s Economic Development Commission on the Chamber’s initiative and the town had contributed a small sum [$250? ~ to be confirmed] towards a study for such a district. Bill told the Selectmen that state funding agencies would now be looking at funding on a regional, rather than a municipal level. The state has also passed legislation limiting the number of regions in the state to 8, and Bill said that small towns in our area need to hurry, or they may end up being assigned to economic development regions with Danbury or Waterbury. Tom expressed the apparent feeling of the Selectmen when he said: “I’d rather be absorbed by Torrington or Winsted, rather than Danbury!” Dan said that the LHCEO (Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials had taken a little time to get on board) but they now saw the need for it.
LID (Low Impact Development Stakeholders’ Group): Tom said that the LID was progressing nicely and they were finding that it worked well with the new regulations (the proposed regulations that will soon come into effect.)
The meeting ended shortly after 6 and our reporter went home for a while, leaving Reggie Smith, Jr., the only other member of the public at the meeting, to relax a little in the conference room before the Board of Finance meeting at 7 p.m.
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To read a downloadable copy of the Notice of Special Meeting: Please click on the following link: Notice of Special Town Meeting, May 20 (62).
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Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
5:30 PM
AGENDA
1.) Minutes - April 13, 2010; April 20, 2010
2.) Opportunity for Public Comment
3.) Operations Updates
4.) Grants Updates
5.) Resignations from Boards/Commissions - WPCA, Conservation
6.) Appointment to WPCA - Steve Hanright
7.) Authorization to sign 2010/2011 Sand/Salt State Contract
8.) Set Time, Date, Manner of Special Town Meeting
9.) Request for Tax Refunds
10.) Correspondence
11.) Any Other Business to Come Before this Board
St. John's Episcopal Church in Pine Meadow with the red banner across the front announcing the building of its new addition. Photo: Maria Moore
“I always knew I was an entrepreneur. I just needed the right thing to come along,” Deano Mazza told our reporter. “And that opportunity came when my friend Brian Hogie asked me if I wanted to take over this location.” Deano made one call to his partner, Theresa Stark to make sure she was on board with it and then, he said: “I went for it!” The pair signed the lease on April 1 for the former location of Hogie’s Sweet Shop in Pine Meadow and by April 10 they were ready to open. In only 10 days they had transformed the space into a bright and cheerful setting for their new business, Rocky River Sweets.
The couple has divided the interior of the store into two distinct parts: on one side is the kids’ play area, with a wonderful, wooden playhouse in it and small, child-sized tables and chairs, as well as seating for adults; and on the other side is a seating area with a half-dozen tables where guests can enjoy a quiet meal or they catch a favorite show on the wall-mounted flat-screen TV. So far, the Discovery Channel has been the favorite with patrons, young and old.
