Author: kathrynwboughton@gmail.com

The Rails to Trails Committee is nearing the end of a long journey as it prepares to construct the North Brook Trail along the former Central New England Railroad right-of-way. The trail will stretch from a parking lot off Route 272 North to Ashpohtag Road. 

The committee has labored for more than a decade to bring the project to fruition. In May 2023 it received a $399,725 Recreational Trails Program grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The grant represents about 80 percent of the total cost of construction, which has been estimated at $500,000. The balance is to be covered by grants, donations and in-kind services. 

“There’s been a lot of activity,” said First Selectman Matt Riiska, who serves as secretary for the committee. “We got an easement from the Archdiocese of Hartford and an encroachment permit from the DOT for the parking lot. Allied Engineering in Canaan has been working on the plan and that is nearly completed. We still have to go before the Inland Wetlands Agency and the Planning and Zoning Commission before we can start construction.”

North Brook Trail is designed for use by both pedestrian and pedal traffic. “The surface will be firm enough for strollers and even wheelchairs,” he said. “It will be handicap accessible and open for everyone to use.”

A long boardwalk will traverse a wet section created by an active beaver colony. “You used to be able to walk it,” Riiska reported, “but now it is pretty close to being a pond. Instead of getting rid of them, we incorporated the wetlands so people could observe the beavers.”

He predicted the trail will be ready to open next year, but that is not the end to the committee’s aspirations. “We hope to work with the Norfolk Land Trust and eventually connect to its Stoney Lonesome trail. Then on the other end, we want to bring the trail to the town’s center.” He estimated the total distance as about four miles.

Riiska termed the Rails to Trails Committee “an excellent group to work with … As many barriers as are put up, they really work to break them down,” he said.

The committee consists of Robert Gilchrest (chairman), Michelle Childs, Riiska, David Beers, Erick Olsen, Daryl Byrne, Andra Moss, Gary Scheft and alternates Marie Isabelle and West Lowe.

—Newsletter Editor

Edited 4/23/24 to reflect the corrected list of names for the Rails to Trails Committee.

The saga of Maple Avenue is coming to an end. A long-planned reconstruction was delayed by just a year as crews cleaned up after a massive gas spill on Route 44 that made its way down to the street through the drainage system. The scheduled work on a comprehensive upgrade of thoroughfare could not begin until late last fall.

Happily, it was a warm winter and work could continue through the cold months. 

“They will start working on forming up the sidewalks Friday and will be pouring cement next week,” said First Selectman Matt Riiska. “We also hope to put down the first layer of asphalt.”

—Newsletter Editor

First Selectman Matt Riiska has put out a call for more volunteers. Currently, volunteers are needed for the Inland Wetlands Agency, the Planning and Zoning Commission and other boards need alternates. 

“We’re desperately looking for people to volunteer. There are so many groups that could use members,” Riiska said. “And it’s not just town boards. The Lions Club is desperate for people to help.”

He urged anyone who has even an inkling of interest in volunteering to call town hall at 860-542-5829.

—Newsletter Editor

The legacy of pioneering environmental activist Rachel Carson will be celebrated this weekend in Norfolk with a hike and discussion of “Crossings” by Ben Goldfarb; a lecture on Carson’s continuing influence in the modern environmental movement; a children’s pollinator program and a play at Botelle Elementary School.

The programs are all part of the Norfolk Earth Forum on Saturday and Sunday, a collaborative effort by the Church of Christ Congregational, Aton Forest, Botelle School, Great Mountain Forest, the Norfolk Conservation Commission, the Norfolk Land Trust and the Norfolk Library. 

Saturday events include a “Books and Boots” hike and talk at 10:00 a.m. along the Tait section of the Billings Trail, during which hikers will discuss Ben Goldfarb’s book, which looks at how road ecology is shaping the future of our planet. Meet at the trailhead .4 miles east of the intersection of Grantville and Winchester roads. 

The program is offered through the Norfolk Library, and the Norfolk Land Trust. No hiking experience or reading is required. Register here.

At 2:00 p.m., a “Connecting Community and Nature” lecture will be held in Battell Chapel with Rebecca Henson, founder of the Rachel Carson Springsong Museum in Maryland, who will describe the effect of Carson—author of the seminal “Silent Spring”—had on the modern environmental movement. The program is sponsored by Aton Forest. 
Register here. 

Sunday brings a children’s program, “Help the Pollinators,” at 11:00 a.m. at Battell Chapel. Children are invited to come to learn about pollinator pathways, start seedlings of purple coneflowers to take home, and make a steppingstone for their home garden. Register here.

The program is offered by Great Mountain Forest and will be followed at 2:00 p.m. at Botelle School by the play, “A Sense of Wonder,” a one-person performance by stage, film and television actor Kaiulani Lee based on the writings of Rachel Carson. 

This performance, which is rated PG-13, is offered free. Donations will be welcome. Register here. 

—Newsletter Editor

The Planning & Zoning Commission did not issue a special permit to Annie Johnson for her dog training business as stated in the April 12 newsletter, but rather was exploring its regulations to determine whether a zoning permit could be issued for such a use. It concluded that a permit issued by Zoning Enforcement Officer Karl Nilson would be permissible. We regret the error.

A decline of $55,000 in municipal spending was offset by an increase in education costs of more than a half-million dollars in the budgets presented to the Board of Finance Tuesday night.

The combined budgets currently stand at $9,072,442 for 2024-25. Of this, general government spending and the municipal capital plan call for expenditures of $4,331,551, much of which will be consumed by salaries, benefits and infrastructure improvements.

Pointing to highlights in his proposed budget, First Selectman Matt Riiska said that $546,000 is allocated for roads and infrastructure, while another $40,000 would fund removal of dead and dying trees by the town public works department. Public works spending, at $916,249, consumes nearly a quarter of the general government budget.

“One thing I’m leaving out is major tree work,” he said. “We usually spend $60,000 on a private contractor to remove trees from along the roadsides.” 

Riiska hopes to save the town money by refinancing its $4 million loan for the upgrade of Maple Avenue, currently carrying 5.87 percent interest. If he can refinance at 2.25 percent, it would save the town $50,000 annually over the duration of the loan.

The town also has $1.2 million left after closing out its defined benefit plan and providing annuities for pensioners. Riiska proposes using $367,000 to retire the three remaining years of debt on windows and doors at Botelle Elementary School and the ambulance corps headquarters. 

Finance member Myron Kwast asked whether, with interest rates still high, it might be more worthwhile to continue the debt and invest the $1.2 million. Riiska said he would seek advice on the matter.

Riiska said he and Board of Finance Chairman Michael Sconyers discussed allocating $250,000 in unreserved capital funds to next year’s budget to help lower taxation.

In its presentation, the Board of Education said an unexpected increase in the special education needs of one student added $185,000 to the Botelle budget, boosting the budget increase to 9.54 percent. The total cost for local education is expected to be $2,655,086, up $230,630.

To lower spending, the board cut $80,000 in special ed salaries from its budget by decreasing the certified staff and hiring paraprofessionals.

Special education needs are also largely responsible for the increase in the town’s assessment for Region 7, which is slated to rise $341,751 to a total of $2,146,681.

If passed as presented, the total Norfolk budget will rise from $8,554,744 to $9,072,442. 

The budget will be taken to a public hearing April 30 and to a town meeting vote in May.

—Newsletter Editor

Filmmaker Michel Negroponte is a sensitive observer. In 2021, having moved from New York to his Catskills home to escape Covid, he became fascinated by a herd of Belted Galloway cattle that were moved onto a neighboring farm. The result was an award-winning documentary, “Herd,” to be screened Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.

Negroponte turned his camera’s lens on the cattle, following them through a calendar year and recording their “personhood.” He learned that each has a distinct personality, that they are sentient, with a social network and capacity for caring. He began to question mankind’s right to control their fate. 

“After making films for 30 years on topics such as mental illness and drug additions, I needed to move in a new direction.” he said. “I wanted to tell stories in a different way… to work on essay films, personal meditations.”

Fascinated by his new “neighbors,” he closely observed how they negotiated their social landscape, resolved arguments, offered support when another gave birth and fiercely protected their young. He learned their personalities, discovered that some were giddy, others reserved and some wise herd leaders. Some of the animals became his friends.

He said he sometimes feels like a rock star when visiting the herd. “I sit on the ground and the heifers circle me. They lick my face and hair and I feel like a Beatle with all these girls.” At other times, they clearly tell him he is intruding. 

For example, while he was waiting to film the birth of a calf, one cow went into labor. “The birth was premature and intensely dramatic,” he reported. “The other cows sensed it. This cow was one of the ones that were less friendly. First thing she did was charge me. It was like a Buster Keaton film. I stepped behind a tree. She would go to the right, and I would step left. Then she would go to left and I would step right. She was really mad at me.” But when the calf was born, he observed how the other mothers and heifers gathered round to help with the baby. 

“Though the film is called ‘Herd,’ it’s also a film about people,” he said, concluding that humans are “a very nasty virus” in the animal kingdom. Negroponte contemplates human “herd mentality” with footage of Hitler and Ghandi. Their opposing ethoses—evil and nonviolence—set a balance for the film.

“Herd” was named Best Documentary at the New Jersey International Film Festival, and received Best Documentary and Best Cinematography awards at the Choice International Film Festival.

Negroponte will be present for a Q&A session following the library screening. Register here. 

—Newsletter Editor

At its meeting Tuesday night, the Planning & Zoning Commission considered an application by Annie Johnson for a permit to operate a dog training business at her home on Parker Hill Road.

Johnson said she trains only one dog at a time in basic behaviors such as walking on a lead, not jumping on people and interacting with other dogs. She anticipates no structural changes to her property, no fencing or signage.

“It just becomes my dog for two weeks,” she said. 

Zoning Enforcement Officer Karl Nilson said Norfolk’s zoning regulations make no provision for such activities, but, reviewing the regulations closely, the commission agreed that a permit could be issued. The commission also heard a presentation by land use attorney Michael Zizka about statutes governing planning and zoning commissions.

A correction to this article can be found here.

—Newsletter Editor

This month the Botelle Eagles are “Celebrating All and Creating Community” by learning about the importance of protecting the planet and ways they can have an effect. 

Monday, the students viewed the solar eclipse and on Monday, April 22, they will partner with local organizations to make their Earth Day celebration an interactive community event. Great Mountain Forest will take students on a guided hike behind the school and Northwestern students and staff, with help from the Norfolk Farmers Market representatives, will teach students about gardening and help students plant seeds for a salsa garden. 

Norfolk Library children’s librarian Eileen Fitzgibbons will read an Earth Day picture book and complete a craft with the students. School staff will lead other activities, such as making recycled instruments, painting kindness rocks, conducting a nature scavenger hunt and making a pinecone-and-peanut butter bird feeder.

Last October, when the Student Council was planning Unity Day, it wanted to plant a tree as a reminder of the importance of inclusion and acceptance. On Earth Day, at 11:30 a.m., students will plant a Unity Tree with the help of Consolini and Tonan, a Norfolk landscaping firm. Consolini and Tonan are donating a black gum tree, a native species that has bright orange leaves in the fall, to bring the students’ vision to fruition.

—Newsletter Editor

The Town of Norfolk is being billed for $2,600 in taxes on 30.5 acres of town-owned land that lies within the borders of Colebrook. “It will be the first time they have taxed us on it since 1866,” Matt Riiska told his Board of Selectmen. 

He said it is an interior lot and inaccessible except through Norfolk’s transfer station. “They are charging us for a building lot plus excess acreage, which is bogus,” he said, adding that he will apply to have the parcel treated as forest land under Connecticut Act 490, thereby decreasing the taxes in future years.

“After 160 years, the finally got caught us,” he quipped.

—Newsletter Editor