Author: Kathryn Boughton

Both the Democrats and Republicans caucused Thursday night, choosing candidates for the November municipal elections.

The caucuses brought few surprises as the anticipated slate of Henry Tirrell for first selectman and Leo Colwell for selectman was endorsed by the Democrats. No first selectman candidate came forward for the Republicans, but incumbent Selectman Sandy Evans will run again for a seat on the board.

The Republicans opted not to cross-endorse any Democratic candidates such as Town Clerk Deborah Nelson or Treasurer Chelsea DeWitt and did not nominate candidates of their own for those positions.

Incumbent Grant Mudge, and newcomer Bart Wenrich as an alternate, are the Democratic candidates for the Board of Finance. The Republicans will run incumbent Jeff Torrant for the board.

Incumbent Walter Godlewski is the Democratic candidate for the Board of Assessment Appeals, while the Republicans tapped incumbent Eric Gundlach to run for the board.

Incumbent John DeShazo and Jeremy Withnell were nominated by the Democrats to run for the Board of Education, while Donna Rubin, who is now serving out an unexpired term, will run for the Republicans. Michael Listori will also run for the GOP, in lieu of current member Janet Byrne. 

The Planning and Zoning Commission candidates are familiar faces from both parties. The Republicans will run incumbents Edward Barron and Marion Felton, with Sandra Anasoulis seeking an alternate’s seat, while the Democrats will field current members Christopher Schaut, Wiley Wood and Steve Landes.

For the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Republicans will run newcomer Ron Bombero for a regular seat and incumbent Alan Boucher as an alternate. The Democrats will field incumbents Christopher Peterson for a regular seat and Walter Godlewski as alternate.

The Firehouse Committee will go back to the drawing board to look for more ways to trim the plan for a new structure after bids came in about a million dollars higher than expected.

In May, taxpayers approved $9.5 million for the new firehouse, with about $1.2 million of that designated for soft costs. The lowest bid submitted for the firehouse this week was $9.38 million without the soft costs. All areas except flooring exceeded predictions offered by contractors in recent weeks.

Brian Grant, executive vice president of Newfield Construction, the project management team, said Thursday night that contractors’ uncertainty about the market caused them to bid 40 to 50 percent higher than expected following President Trump’s announcement this month of a 50 percent tariff on imported copper. 

The tariff hits particularly hard in three key areas: plumbing, mechanical and electrical. “The contractors don’t know what will happen and they own these numbers once they bid,” he said.

Newfield had already approached the bidders asking for suggestions that could save money, and Grant went through a list of those suggestions. Some would save as little as $7,500 and others would save much larger amounts. If all the suggestions were implemented—which cannot happen because the plan has already been approved by the Inland Wetlands Agency, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the public—another $1.3 million could be cut.

For example the committee could, delay landscaping and plantings, saving $60,000, or allow alternative materials for drainage, saving $40,000, but it cannot switch from the permeable paving approved by the Inland Wetlands Agency to asphalt. Other suggestions, such as eliminating radiant heating in the apparatus bay floors, would be detrimental to maintaining the condition of the expensive firetrucks.

Grant said that several bids came in electronically or were submitted after the closing date and could not be considered. He suggested that four of the bid packages be rejected because they are so far over the original estimates or because only one bid was submitted. These latecomers, some of whom submitted bids much closer to previous estimates, could then resubmit their proposals in the proper form.

First Selectman Matt Riiska admitted the bids were “quite a shocker,” but remained optimistic that the committee can deliver a quality firehouse within the funding approved by the town. The existing bids are good for 120 days, giving committee members time to finesse the project further.

“The job now is to get down the costs and look for other avenues for grants,” said Riiska. “Our main focus will be to not compromise on the main things we want.”

Norfolk artists, authors and organizations will gather on Station Place the afternoon of Sunday, August 3, to show off and sell their creations, do fundraisers and offer information about their missions. Sidewalk Sunday is a new feature of Weekend in Norfolk (WIN), designed to let participants introduce their wares and their passions to a wider audience.

Tents will go up along the sidewalk on either side of the street, forming an open-air market. The road will be closed to vehicles from the Berkshire Country Store to the post office, from 12:45 until 5:00 p.m., when the market ends. 

The WIN committee tested the concept last summer and decided to make it a full-fledged feature this year, sending email invitations for free spaces to every Norfolk artist, artisan, author, food producer and organization it could find. “We are still getting replies from people who want to jump in,” said committee chair Sue Frisch, “and we are happy to have them.” The email address to use for requesting space is win@earthlink.net, she said.

A succession of musicians on Robertson Plaza—Elias Neuman-Donihue, Julia Autumn Ford and Mike Cobb and his band—will make the proceedings even more lively, and everyone is invited to come sing along, dance, eat or just plain listen while they shop.

To view all three days of Weekend in Norfolk activities, visit https://weekendinnorfolk.org.

Last week a truck clipped the base of the historic Joseph Battell Fountain at the south end of the Village Greenand snapped one of the bollards protecting its basin. The blow moved the basin itself a good two inches, according to Norfolk Community Association co-president Barry Webber.

“There appeared to be marks from a tire on the bollard closest to the bench and the next one was snapped off at ground level,” he said. “We are assuming a truck was turning—there is not enough room there for a trailer to make a U-turn, but I have seen them try it before.”

Webber said repairing the bollard and repositioning the basin should be taken care of through town insurance. Barbara Gomez, the selectmen’s administrative assistant, is looking into that aspect. 

The historic fountain, presented to the town in 1889 by Mary Eldridge in honor of her parents underwent a $175,000 restoration in 2021. Francis Miller of Conserve ART, who did the extensive restoration, will provide an estimate for repairs. Webber said the bollard can be repaired and reinserted into its former place on the base. “I image they will use metal posts to secure it, like having a pin put in a broken bone,” he said. 

The Community Associates hope the work can be completed by winter. The granite bollards protected the body of the fountain from much damage, but Webber said he would like to see a ring of metal ones protecting the entire structure from vehicular damage.

“The stone bollards were only meant to let horses drink from the trough while protecting the fountain from wagons,” he explained. Today’s semis are a much bigger threat.

The Berkshire Country Store is seeking to fill the void left by the closing of the Norfolk Farmers Market. Owner Ryan Craig has invited farmers, artisans, bakers and other similar food producers to join in pop-up events on both weekend days, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. through October. Several farmers have already signed up for later in the season, Craig said, and he has had several vendors take part already.

To see who is coming, Craig suggests following the Berkshire Country Store on Facebook and watching the store windows for announcements.

The Norfolk Community Association will place a sculpture by the late Ann Scoville somewhere between Town Hall and Station Place this year. 

It will be the third installment along the Association’s planned sculpture trail. 

Doreen Kelly, co-president of the Association, said last week that Scoville’s family donated the work. The figurative painter and sculptor, who died in 2014, grew up in Norfolk and moved to Salisbury in her later life after living in a variety of places in the United States and abroad. 

At age 12, she began to paint and by the time she was 14 she was studying with the painter Guy Pène du Bois. In the 1970s, she started to sculpt, and her works found their way into private collections, museums and public spaces, from the American Embassy in Moscow to the walls of the Warner Theatre in Torrington.

Ultimately, the association plans to install a sculpture in City Meadow, but Kelly said nothing is planned for this year because work in the meadow is still in progress. The sculpture finally placed there will need to be an attraction to draw people into the natural habitat. “I would love to see something big there,” she said. “And it must be visible from [from Robertson Plaza], so people will say, ‘Oh, I want to go see it.’”

Haystack Woods, a community of 10 affordable homes, is now under construction and the Foundation for Norfolk Living, the agency responsible for its creation, is accepting pre-applications.

Pre-application, is the first step in the qualification for ownership, but there are multiple requirements, and the form provided is intended to help would-be applicants decide whether home ownership is right for them. The actual application requires detailed income verification, among other items.

Later in the application process, an applicant’s assets will also be assessed to make sure the household is eligible. To qualify, the applicant’s total gross annual household income must be at or below 80 percent of the Litchfield County Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, some homes are being set aside for households who earn at or below 60 percent AMI. 

Preapplication forms are due by July 31. Download the form, fill it in electronically and email it to LindsayL@thehousingcollective.org. It can also be printed, completed by hand, then scanned and emailed. 

Haystack Woods is being built on the site of a 39-acre former gravel pit that is being reclaimed for housing. It is near the town center and designed for low-cost ownership by first-time home buyers. 

When the town passed its 2025-26 municipal budget, a $40,000 item to further restoration of City Meadow drew negative comment from residents who said they had been promised that no tax dollars would be dedicated to the project.

During its July meeting, the Friends of the Meadow Committee discussed the negative public reaction to that allocation for the restoration project, which began in 2011 to create both a stormwater management system and a natural habitat for wildlife. So far, the project been supported through state grants and private donations. 

Chairman Libby Borden said the Meadow account currently has a balance of $42,000, including a $4,000 grant from the Evan Hughes Fund. In addition, the Friends of the Meadow have secured another $70,000 in grants and pledges. The $40,000 in the town budget is in a separate account. 

Committee members acknowledged that under the original agreement, no municipal funds were to be used for the meadow’s development or upkeep, making the allocation of public money in the budget a contentious issue. Members agreed that achieving visible results in removing invasives and making the meadow an attractive addition to the town’s center would build public support.

To that end, they approved $5,800 for colorful plantings in the area below the pizza parlor and the yellow building on Route 44. “The ground around there has been cleared and is ready to go,” reported Member George Cronin, pointing out that a lot of what the committee is working on won’t show results for several years, asked,  “Do we want to add it to the master plan for instant gratification?”

The Norfolk Fire Volunteer Department, whose property is adjacent to City Meadow, will have a member attend committee meetings. Member Steve Hutchins was there last week and encouraged the committee to keep the town informed about its plans and achievements now that public money is involved. 

“We should make big effort to be open with the public,” Borden agreed, and committee members discussed ways of informing residents about the project, including an interview with the landscaper in Norfolk Now and a table at Weekend in Norfolk.

They also agreed that developing a volunteer crew to help maintain it would go far in reassuring taxpayers that the money is being wisely used.

Borden introduced members to “her obsession,” a database to inventory “every single plant in there, whether they are invasives or good pollinators.” 

“What we thought we would do is to take the map and get volunteers for each of the sections, to get some of these invasives out. This is a way to direct people to the spots where work is needed,” she said. 

EdAdvance, located in Litchfield and one of six Regional Educational Service Centers, will offer federally funded free summer breakfasts and lunches for all children and teens 18 years of age and younger. 

The meals can be picked up every Wednesday through August 13 at three locations: the RLC (formerly the East School), 215 Hogan Drive, Torrington, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., the First Congregational Church, 835 Riverside Avenue, Torrington, 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and the Pearson School, 2 Wetmore Avenue, Winsted, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

The grab-and-go meals provide consist of five breakfasts and five lunches. Each child is eligible for one breakfast and lunch per day. The children do not need to be with the person who picks up the meal. 

Children who attend a program where free summer meals are provided through the Summer Meals Program are not eligible for this pick up.

Questions related to free meals may be directed to Becky Tyrrell, food service director (Tyrrell@EdAdvance.org or 860-567-0863, ext. 1148).

The bid opening for the new firehouse, originally scheduled for July 2, has been postponed until July 8 because bidders needed additional details and asked for an extension.

Two meetings were held in recent weeks to allow prospective bidders to assess the scope of the project. “We were pleased,” First Selectman Matt Riiska told his Board of Selectmen at their regular monthly meeting Wednesday. “Three or four contractors showed up.” 

The firehouse construction has been estimated at $9.3 million, including soft costs for such things as a contingency fund, but Riiska said the town’s project manager, Newfield Construction, “is confident we will get a good outcome.”

He said Newfield is basing its prediction of lower bids on decreased volatility in the market. “We’ve gone through the estimation process three times, and the current market has stabilized,” Riiska said. “And the way we will have it built has been streamlined to make it less expensive.”

The Firehouse Committee decided to eliminate a standing seam metal roof and replace it with asphalt shingles for a savings of $302,000; to replace bi-fold doors with standard overhead doors, saving $361,000; to remove a so-called roof monitor that would provide additional light and ventilation, saving $40,500; to eliminate a boardwalk from Shepard Road to City Meadow and leave it as a lighted gravel path, saving $55,000; to reduce the amount of stone flagging around the building to save $26,000, and to eliminate solar panels on the roof for another $115,000.

The committee also trimmed back expectations for an equipment storage building to save $275,000, for a total saving of $1,117,000.

“If the price comes in where we want it to, and we feel we can add back, we will add the metal roof because there is much more longevity with metal and it allows solar panels,” Riiska said.

The plan must go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the cost-saving modifications, but Riiska does not anticipate any problems.