Paving on Laurel Way has been completed this week and the road will be open only for local traffic for two weeks. Three-axle trucks and larger must use alternate routes.
The DOT and O&G construction will be paving Route 44 in the area of the gas spill within the next week. The short section will be milled and then resurfaced. Motorists should expect delays.
The next Party on the Plaza is set for 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, August 26, on Robertson Plaza when the Ken Morr Band will perform a free concert featuring a mix of folk rock/ Americana (per Paul Simon, Graham Nash) against the beautiful backdrop of City Meadow and Haystack Mountain. Food and beverages will be available.
The Norfolk Conservation Commission is promoting the new Natural Resource Inventory this weekend at the Hub and Farmers Market.
The 159-page book contains lists, charts, maps and tidbits about the town. Printed copies can be purchased at the Hub for $30 (cash or check only) Saturday and Sunday during Weekend in Norfolk. Checks should be made out to Norfolk Conservation Commission. Supplies are limited.
After WIN weekend, the NRI can be purchased at the Town Clerk’s office. Alternately, a PDF can be downloaded for free.
Firmer damage figures are becoming known stemming from the July flash floods in South Norfolk. First Selectman Matt Riiska said Thursday that he would submit an application for federal emergency relief Friday, although he cautioned there are still more expenses to be counted.
“There is a lot of paperwork involved,” he said, “but it appears that the cost of just roads, without any bridges included, is $600,000. The bridges will add another $3.5 million-plus, so the total is more than $4 million.”
Riiska reported last week that no declaration of emergency has been declared by the state. The state must document damages in excess of $6 million dollars to declare an emergency. “With the damage in the towns around, it could easily get over $6 million and we will go from there,” he said.
He has talked with engineers about preliminary plans for local bridges so that he can get in line for state and federal funding and is hopeful that the bridges will qualify for federal assistance, which reimburses 80 percent of the cost. The state shares 50 percent of the cost.
“My job is to find the other 20 percent,” Riiska said. “Given the circumstances, it would seem like the state and feds have to come with a greater portion of the costs—we can’t pay for these bridges with all the other things that are going on.”
He said that he must have costs so he can get the work qualified through the state DOT. “Once they say okay, then we can go to engineering, which will take several months. We have to make sure to get the survey work, boring and drilling done before winter. The plan would be to go to bid early in the spring.”
The United Church of Christ is offering all youth in Grades 6-12 an opportunity to engage in inservice projects in Norfolk and beyond. A first meeting has been set for Sunday, August 27, at 4:00 p.m. Pastor Erick Olsen said the group will gather about once a month to undertake service projects throughout the Northwest Corner, to enjoy some food and have a great time.
Specific location and plans are still being worked out. Those interested should email or text reverendole@gmail.com or call 860-303-0910.
The town is making “excellent headway” on restoring washed-out roads following the flash floods that swept through South Norfolk in mid-July, according to First Selectman Matt Riiska. “But bridges are another thing,” he continued.
He said the state has hired a contractor to clear away the debris of the washed-out bridge on Route 272 but he has yet to hear what the DOT’s plans are for its replacement.
“Our local bridges will be a long haul,” he said, predicting that it will cost about $5 million to restore the washed-out crossings. “We have an engineer to compile the preliminary information so we can get funding for it,” he said. “We’re putting information together for FEMA but so far the State has not issued an emergency declaration.”
He believes that such a declaration is necessary to qualify for FEMA funding. The state has to have $6 million in losses statewide and Litchfield County would have to have at least $840,000. “There should be no problem in documenting the losses,” he said. “I know farmers in the Connecticut River Valley are really hurting and Norfolk will be in the $5 million range without considering Route 272, so we’ll easily be near $6 million. We’ll collect all the paperwork and see what happens.”
In the short term, the funds for repairs will be taken from capital reserves. “We need to replenish that for other things,” he said. “If the FEMA money is there and we deserve the money, we should get the money. We have the ear of [state Rep.] Maria Horn, [state Sen.] Lisa Seminara, [Sen.] Dick Blumenthal and the Governor, but we might have to play the sympathy card.”
He said the River Place bridge, which ran into an unexpected snag during a planned replacement last year, may be nearing the point where work can resume. While work was progressing, workers found that the north wall of the bridge was not on a solid footing and had to be replaced. “They had to re-engineer it,” Riiska said, “and the DOT was supposed to approve the plans by the end of July.”
On a happier note, he said the town has received its state reimbursement for work done last year on Mountain Road bridge.
First Selectman Matt Riiska hopes to have another gas spill informational meeting on Tuesday, August 8. He said work continues on Maple Avenue and is going well.
“We had a really good meeting with everyone last week, he said. “Everyone has worked together cooperatively. Sometimes it’s slow, but it’s slow for a number of reasons. They are excavating 12 to 14 feet deep to remove the contaminated soil. The sewer and water lines are only five or six feet deep and you can’t have them just hanging there.”
Work on the Haystack Woods affordable housing development was delayed this summer because of the need for blasting to allow construction of the road and infrastructure. Permission to do the blasting was recently secured from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“They are going to do some minor blasting tomorrow [Friday],” said First Selectman Matt Riiska. “They are setting up their monitoring system to make sure it won’t do any damage to the stone wall or anything else. It’s not Wile E. Coyote type of blasting. People would have to put their ear to the ground and then wonder if it was a truck going by to hear it.”
The Foundation for Norfolk Living, which has planned and is executing the project, hopes to get the road and any trenching to the house sites in before winter. “They want to get the binder course down on the road this fall and then start building in the spring,” said Riiska.
The clock on the front of the Church of Christ is running again after a repair of several months, keeping accurate time and striking the hour. However, the chimes cannot be connected until the steeple is back where it belongs. It currently sits on a special scaffolding beside the church.
The church, which has been engaged in a multi-year project to repair and restore its soaring steeple, announced last November that fundraising had been successful enough to allow repair of the clock and chimes.
A Weekend in Norfolk returns to town for the eighth time August 4, 5 and 6. The three-day town-wide summer festival celebrates the myriad of things to see and do in the rural paradise. There will be all kinds of events, both old favorites and new surprises, including fun for kids, concerts at the Music Shed and work by artists and artisans all over town.
For a listing of events, click here.