NewHartfordPlus.com

We knew we needed more space in the paper and so we just went for it!  The result is a new 12-page format – 50% more pages and 50% more work for the NHPlus Crew!

The layout of the 12-page paper is as follows:

• Local News: Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 7;
• Community Calendar: Page 2;
• Local Features: 4, 5, 6;
• Letters to the Editor: page 8;
• Business: Page 9;
• Obituaries: Page 10;
• State News: Page 11;
• Historical Notes: Page 12.

We hope you’ll enjoy this newly-expanded format of The INDEPENDENT, and please remember: The paper is made possible by our advertisers.  Please advertise with us and patronise our other advertisers and thank them for supporting us.  The INDEPENDENT is truly a community effort, Thank You!

Bob and Maria Moore
aka The NHPlus Crew

May 4, 2013 Issue:

Click on the image above to download a copy of the May 4 issue of The INDEPENDENT.

Curious about State Statute 7-344 which the New Hartford Board of Finance will be working to comply with at their Special Meeting this evening, April 29?  Following is a copy of 7-344:

Sec. 7-344. Appropriations. Laying of tax. Not less than two weeks before the annual town meeting, the board shall hold a public hearing, at which itemized estimates of the expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year shall be presented and at which all persons shall be heard in regard to any appropriation which they are desirous that the board should recommend or reject. The board shall, after such public hearing, hold a public meeting at which it shall consider the estimates so presented and any other matters brought to its attention and shall thereupon prepare and cause to be published in a newspaper in such town, if any, otherwise in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in such town, a report in a form prescribed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management containing: (1) An itemized statement of all actual receipts from all sources of such town during its last fiscal year; (2) an itemized statement by classification of all actual expenditures during the same year; (3) an itemized estimate of anticipated revenues during the ensuing fiscal year from each source other than from local property taxes and an estimate of the amount which should be raised by local property taxation for such ensuing fiscal year; (4) an itemized estimate of expenditures of such town for such ensuing fiscal year; and (5) the amount of revenue surplus or deficit of the town at the beginning of the fiscal year for which estimates are being prepared; provided any town which, according to the most recent federal census, has a population of less than five thousand may, by ordinance, waive such publication requirement, in which case the board shall provide for the printing or mimeographing of copies of such report in a number equal to ten per cent of the population of such town according to such federal census, which copies shall be available for distribution five days before the annual budget meeting of such town. The board shall submit such estimate with its recommendations to the annual town meeting next ensuing, and such meeting shall take action upon such estimate and recommendations, and make such specific appropriations as appear advisable, but no appropriation shall be made exceeding in amount that for the same purpose recommended by the board and no appropriation shall be made for any purpose not recommended by the board. Such estimate and recommendations may include, if submitted to a vote by voting tabulator, questions to indicate whether the budget is too high or too low. The vote on such questions shall be for advisory purposes only, and not binding upon the board. Immediately after the board of assessment appeals has finished its duties and the grand list has been completed, the board of finance shall meet and, with due provision for estimated uncollectible taxes, abatements and corrections, shall lay such tax on such list as shall be sufficient, in addition to the other estimated yearly income of such town and in addition to such revenue surplus, if any, as may be appropriated, not only to pay the expenses of the town for such current year, but also to absorb the revenue deficit of such town, if any, at the beginning of such current year. The board shall prescribe the method by which and the place where all records and books of accounts of the town, or of any department or subdivision thereof, shall be kept. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as preventing a town from making further appropriations upon the recommendation of its board of finance at a special town meeting held after the annual town meeting and prior to the laying of the tax for the current year, and any appropriations made at such special town meeting shall be included in the amount to be raised by the tax laid by the board of finance under the provisions of this section.”

If you have questions regarding this statute, a good place to start is Town Clerk Donna LaPlante.  Donna and her assistant, Debbie Ventre, are a huge resource and they are always ready to help.  The Town Clerk’s Office telephone number is: 860-379-5037 or stop by the Town Clerk’s Office on the lower floor of Town Hall.

The April 27 issue of The INDEPENDENT weekly newspaper is now available for download.  Click on the image below to download that issue:

Click on the image above to download a copy of the April 27 issue of The INDEPENDENT weekly newspaper.

Following is information on a Community Forum which Gov. Malloy will be holding this evening in Torrington:

Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman announced on Monday, April 15 that they will host a community forum in Torrington on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the auditorium of Torrington City Hall (140 Main Street).

These town hall-style events provide an opportunity to discuss the state’s pressing issues face-to-face with state residents. They are open to the public; tickets are not necessary and seats are available on a first come, first served basis.

Those who would like an opportunity to ask a question should arrive a little bit earlier to fill out the sign-up sheet. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

Additional dates and locations across the state will be announced as they are scheduled. For the latest schedule, please visit http://governor.ct.gov/communityforums.

The March 30 issue of The NH+ INDEPENDENT is now available for download:

The March 23 issue of the NH+ INDEPENDENT is available for download:

The March 2 Edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT is  now available for download from the link in our sidebar, or by clicking on the image below.

We received the following press release regarding the CT Winter Games at Ski Sundown too late for publication in our February 23 edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT. Sign up is at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 26, the morning of the event.

Ski Sundown hosts the Connecticut Winter Games for Seniors on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. The event is co-sponsored by Ski Sundown and the Connecticut Ski Council. The event is open to individuals age 50 and older.

Events include Downhill, Giant Slalom, and a Snowshoe race. Each event is divided into classes with a total of nine age brackets for both men and women. While the events are competitive, the Winter Games also promotes enjoying snowsports in the winter months and staying active for “seniors” of all ages.

Registration begins at 8:00 am in Ski Sundown’s lodge. Participants can register online at skisundown.com or the morning of the event. Opening Ceremonies will be held at 8:30 am, events start at 9:30 am, and the Awards Ceremony will take place at 2:00 pm. Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will be awarded in each age bracket for each event. The $35 registration fee includes 1, 2, or all 3 events and a discounted lift ticket.

For more information about the Connecticut Winter Games for Seniors, contact Rob Dexter (CT Ski Council) at skicouncil@sbcglobal.net.

Ski Sundown is located at 126 Ratlum Road, off Routes 44 and 219 in New Hartford, Connecticut and offers skiing and snowboarding 7 days and 7 nights a week. For lift ticket and rental rates, lesson and event information, visit skisundown.com or call the Welcome Center at 860-379-SNOW, or visit the Facebook page.

A view of the ski slopes at Ski Sundown. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

The February 16 edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT is now online and you can download a copy by clicking on the image below or from the link in the sidebar. Some of the news items we included this week are:

• Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada;
• Sterling Engineering; A family business holds true to its roots;
• Out & About: Regional Board of Ed honors middle school and high school scholars;
• Out & About: Winter Storm leaves feet of snow behind;
• Business Brief: Carmine Perri of Barkhamsted hired by elder law firm;
• Obituaries: Victoria H. Griffin, Raymond S. Michelet, Diane McMahon Seelye, Gregory T. Ayers, Kathryn June Card;
• Plus press releases for upcoming community events and the weekly community calendar.

Click on the image above to download the February 16 edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT.

We are working from our home HQ – just like the old days, before the NH+ INDEPENDENT print edition hit everyone’s (physical) mailbox.

We’re available to meet in person or via email:

• Please call 860-309-7526 for Maria (editor) or email maria@newhartfordplus.com
• 860-309-6776 for Bob (Sales/Business manager) or email bob@newhartfordplus.com

Please take good care on the roads if you must travel today,

Maria & Bob

This weather’s for the dogs – as Murray the Border Collie shows. Photo: Maria Moore

As we worked through the night on Thursday putting the finishing touches on this week’s edition, we kept checking the weather forecast and planning to get through our weekly deliveries as early as we could.

Yesterday morning we drove  the  70 mile round trip to our printer’s shop to pick up the paper with the snow just starting to fall in earnest.  The car had  plenty of traction on the return trip, loaded down with more than 5,000 copies fresh from the press.  Then we set out make our deliveries to the Winsted, Riverton, Barkhamsted, New Hartford and Pine Meadow post offices.

We hit the Winsted post office first at about 1:30 in the afternoon to drop off the 3,500 or so copies to their carriers and then drove on to Riverton via old Route 8.  The roads were white with snow and Riverton looked as pretty as a postcard as we pulled into the parking lot at the Riverton post office.  We were Janet’s only customers and she said that the phone had been busy with people calling to find out if she was still open. As we watched the street outside disappearing under a thick blanket of snow, we were pretty sure that very few people would be venturing out to pick up their mail.  We chatted for a few minutes and Janet said that she had received word to be open at 6:45 on Saturday morning. We bid her goodbye and forged on to see Ann Marie at the Barkhamsted post office. She reported the same early Saturday start time.  Looking at the snow falling steadily we doubted that she would have many customers at that hour.  We left her with only about 600 copies left in the trunk and drove slowly back to New Hartford.  By the time we were inside talking to Joy and Al,  the word had come down from Hartford that the post offices would be closed on Saturday.  We felt glad for them, but we knew that that meant that a lot of people would not be receiving their copy of the INDEPENDENT at the normal time.  All the effort that had gone into Thursday night production and Friday driving would be wiped out by Mother Nature.  We finished our run at about 3:30 in Pine Meadow and headed back to the office to pick up our things and shut down.  Over cups of hot tea we looked over the new edition and then locked up and made the trip up Town Hill and home.

With the mail shut down, the paper this week is only available online.  In a strange  way, this almost seems old fashioned.  Most of my production software is at the office, so I couldn’t compress the downloadable pdf as we usually do. It comes in at a hefty 14 mb.  Once we get back to the office we’ll replace it with a more compact file but it will have to do for now.

On the drive back from the printer we talked about the impending plan by the post office to discontinue Saturday deliveries.  We will need to start looking at modifying our production schedule to work around this, most likely switching to a Friday delivery by mail.  The delivery routine is a lot like the paper itself.  It puts us in close touch and keeps us connected with the people that help make the paper happen every week.  Times have changed, and as this week’s edition underscores, the internet has become the cheapest and most reliable way to distribute information.  There is however, a lot of satisfaction in creating local news that can be held in the hand and in having the personal contact that producing and distributing that news involves.  When the long Thursday morning through Friday night cycle is complete, it is great to come home, sit down by the wood stove and kick back for a well-deserved nap, this week with the satisfaction of surveying all that snow through the windows.

Click the image above to download this week’s edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT, or visit the link in the sidebar.

By the tim

[11:50 a.m. sitting at home on the lower part of Town Hill, New Hartford CT]

As we sit here, enjoying our last cup of coffee (our storm prep was not perfect) we’re looking out onto the effects of Storm Nemo: a huge pile of snow made even bigger by the blowing wind.  Won’t be driving out any time soon, that’s for sure!

Enjoy the day at home, heed the governor’s no travel ban, and TGISaturday!

The NH+ Crew

Bob (preparing the PDF of the NH+ INDEPENDENT paper for upload to this site – on page 7 out of 8…)
Maria (sorting through the dried beans for a home-made chili – love days at home…)
Murray the Border Collie (curled up on his blankie)
Lady the American Cocker Spanie (curled up on the blanket on the bed)

View from the kitchen door at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 6 shortly after the NH+ crew got home from picking up this week’s edition of the NH+ INDEPENDENT from the printer and delivering the copies to the 5 post offices for Saturday delivery. Photo: Maria Moore

The view at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, February 9, from the kitchen door. The two bumps in the snow are the cars! Photo: Maria Moore

At a Special Town Meeting that has been called for this coming Wednesday, February 6, Barkhamsted residents will be asked to consider a tax abatement for the builder of a new medical facility on Route 44. More than half of that facility will house the Charlotte Hungerford emergency center and medical services which are currently located at the Winsted Health Center in the former Winsted Hospital building. Following is information on the specifics of the proposed tax abatement which First Selectman Don Stein has mailed to Barkhamsted residents. Please be sure to attend the Special Town Meeting on Wednesday and vote on the tax abatement for this project which will bring important infrastructure to a section of Route 44 in Barkhamsted.

The information below has been mailed to Barkhamsted residents by First Selectman Don Stein. You may contact Don at 860 379-8285 or at dstein@barkhamsted.us.

There will be a Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, February 6 at 7:00 PM in the Elementary School. There are three items on the agenda:

1) a new ordinance to set the fees for folks to recover their dogs who have been impounded;

2) a new ordinance to allow the Town to recover the fees charged to the Town when we have to notify the State of overdue taxes on an automobile; and

3) the approval of a tax abatement agreement between the Town and the developer of the proposed medical center on Route 44.

The proposal is from Borghesi Building, operating as Barkhamsted Hospital LLC, to build a 19,000 sq. ft. medical center, to house a modern emergency department, cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs, laboratories, a sleep center and doctors’ offices just west of the Mallory Brook shopping plaza. Borghesi’s plan includes leasing the building for 40 years to the Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and the site will include a helicopter landing pad to allow Lifestar to service the facility.

Charlotte Hungerford made the decision to relocate from the Winsted Health Center as part of its commitment to providing the greater Winsted area with the best emergency medical care possible. The Hospital chose the Barkhamsted site after an extensive process that included reviewing the current facility on Spencer Street and five other Winsted area properties. It was concluded as part of that process that the current location did not present a cost-effective alternative to the option of a new building, due to the age, site limitations, and the condition of the current space at the Health Center.In order for the project to meet the developer’s and the hospital’s economic assumptions, the Town’s Economic Development Commission and the Board of Selectmen have approved taxIn order for the project to meet the developer’s and the hospital’s economic assumptions, the Town’s Economic Development Commission and the Board of Selectmen have approved tax abatements for the developer for 5 years at 100%, the 6th year at 50% and the 7th year at 25%. This is consistent with the State statute that allows for 7 years of tax abatements for certain types of improvements to real estate, as long as the total investment is in excess of $3 million. This new medical center meets the State criteria and, along with the new building, the developer would bring water and sewers to the area along Route 44 near Mallory Brook Plaza and Lombard Ford. Winsted has agreed to provide water and sewer for the project. These utility installations will cost the developer in excess of $750,000. Other near-by businesses would be able to hook into the sewers and water, if they so choose.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the Town would continue to receive the same taxes on the property as we do today. In addition, the developer would pay full taxes during the construction period and the town would be able to receive additional taxes on eligible personal property (equipment) in the doctors’ offices throughout the abatement period. We do not lose any property taxes we are collecting today, and if the agreement is approved, we would see a potential increase in tax revenue throughout the period of the abatement. The full taxes on the building and improvements would phase in per the agreement. The investment by the developer in sewers and water (>$750,000) is estimated to be about 3 times higher than the value of the potential taxes that are proposed to be abated, estimated to be between $250,000 and $300,000.

Please review the material in this flier and come to the meeting.

South elevation of the proposed medical facility on Route 44 in Barkhamsted.
Image courtesy of Borghesi Building and Engineering Co., Inc.