Author: Kathryn Boughton

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. 

—Kathryn Boughton

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. 

—Kathryn Boughton

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).

—Kathryn Boughton

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.

—Kathryn Boughton

Two significant signs greet visitors to Tobey Pond this week. The first advises beachgoers that cars are now being checked to ensure their owners have beach passes; the second asks visitors to respect the wildlife. 

The permits are available at Town Hall and all beach users must have the stickers permanently attached to their windshields. Only Norfolk residents are eligible to purchase the permits at a cost of $85 per pass ($60 for persons 65 and older).

The second sign signals the return of momma snapping turtle to her favorite maternity ward. As they did last year, the lifeguards have circled her nest on the beach with colorful stones and have posted a sign asking visitors to respect the site (we can only hope the racoons do, too).

Momma turtle, christened Teresa by the beach staff, was a little later in laying her eggs this year. She emerged from the town’s pond on June 2nd last year but delayed until the 16th this summer. Last year, Tobey Pond beach administrator Josh DeCerbo hoped the little turtles would emerge for the Tobey Day celebration in mid-August, but nature did not oblige, and the babies finally made their way down to what would become their aquatic home in early September.

Teresa’s late start does not necessarily mean that DeCerbo won’t get his wish this year. Snapping turtle eggs can take anywhere from three to six months to hatch. A warmer climate and good weather conditions allow the eggs to hatch quickly so, if all goes well, Teresa’s latest brood could put in an appearance for the 2025 Tobey Day (TBD). 

One thing is certain—Teresa will be a no-show. Notoriously nonchalant about their families, turtles lay their eggs and leave the hatchlings to their own devices.

—Kathryn Boughton

Les Renards & Co., a little bookstore located in the Arcanum Building adjacent to Robertson Plaza, officially opened its doors Thursday afternoon with a well-attended grand opening.

The bookstore, which will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., builds on the success of last year’s pop-up bookstore in the same location and, like its predecessor, will benefit the Norfolk Library Associates. 

Trish Deans, who has worked for years with the rare and vintage books at the annual Norfolk Library Book Sale held in August, said that she and Michael Selleck conceived of last-year’s pop-up bookstore to extend the reach of the August sale.

“That worked, so why not pay the rent and make it permanent?” she asked. “You can’t sell books if they are in the library’s basement.”

The little store presents new and used book as well as some carefully curated small items. Deans said 30 to 40 percent of the books are from the library’s collection, some are used books sourced from all over, and the rest are “something new and exciting to come in and see.” Subjects are drawn from all genres, with a healthy selection of children’s and young adult books. She will also carry books by Haystack Book Festival authors.

“The goal is to keep the prices accessible,” she said.

The regular hours will be extended if the town is doing some special and author talks will be planned.

Why Les Renards (The Foxes)? She said foxes are a motif in Norfolk, with residents frequently sighting the elusive creatures. “The Fox trademark was taken, so we did it in French,” she said with a smile.

—Kathryn Boughton

Conditions were perfect last Saturday for observing night-flying insects. At the second annual Moth Night sponsored by the Conservation Commission and Great Mountain Forest, Raymond Simpson led a discussion about moths, then offered an opportunity to observe them as they were attracted to UV lights and sheets.

Simpson, a naturalist from the Yale Peabody Museum and the Connecticut Entomological Society, recorded about 140 moths during the evening, including the Elegant Grass-Veneer, the Hickory Tussock Moth, and the Small-eyed Sphinx, Rosy Maple Moth.

The main group left the site about 10:00 p.m., but Simpson lingered until after midnight, when it started to drizzle. “The insects got quite dense as the night went on, but we never ended up with a big moth such as a Luna or Polyphemus Moth,” he reported. “We had a couple sphinx moths show up and we got several interesting species of smaller moths, including a few species that were the first iNaturalist records for Connecticut.”

iNaturalist is an international group of naturalists who share sightings with each other.

—Kathryn Boughton

Summer months bring road construction and tree maintenance for Northwest Corner town crews and Norfolk is no exception.

First Selectman Matt Riiska reminded residents this week that they can anticipate road work along highways and byways, particularly along Doolittle Road, where crews will be milling the road and chip sealing the surface. 

“We have a lot of other little projects, like culvert repairs, but the biggest disruptions will be on Shepard Road, Sunset Ridge and Sunset Hill Road, when Aquarion begins its replacement of water lines,” he said. Work is expected to begin July 7.

In addition to road work, crews will be removing trees, particularly north of Golf Drive on Mountain Road. “That is a pretty serious situation,” said Riiska. “There are a lot of old maples that have gone past their life expectancy that need to be removed. I’ve contacted Eversource and we will have coordinate with them. Our crew will do what they can safely, and then we use [tree contractors.]” 

All towns have had escalating budgets for tree work since the Emerald Ash Borer swept through the region. First identified in Connecticut in 2012, it has since killed up to 95 percent of the state’s ashes. The dead trees have created hazardous conditions in towns and required budgetary increases for their removal.

Norfolk has, in recent years, diverted up to $60,000 from its paving account and added it to its usual $40,000 tree account to fund the work, but this year, Riiska said, only the $50,000 currently budgeted for the tree account will be used. “We can’t [use paving funds] this year, because we need to do the work around Doolittle,” he explained. 

Nevertheless, there are “tons of ash, a lot of old pines and larch all over the place that need to be taken down,” he said. “We’ll just keep picking away at it.”

—Kathryn Boughton

Four-term First Selectman Matt Riiska will not seek another term in office this November. “I’m definitely not going to run again,” Riiska said this week. “This is my eighth year, but it seems longer.”

Riiska has seen the town through challenging times in his last term, starting with the catastrophic gas spill that occurred only days after his last election and continuing through blizzards, flash floods, major road projects and planning for a new firehouse. 

The Democratic and Republican town committees have yet to caucus—that comes in July—but the changing political landscape is coming into focus. Democrat Henry Tirrell, now completing his first term on the board, has announced his candidacy for the top spot. He will be joined by Leo Colwell, a former selectman who has previously served several terms, as his running mate.

“Leo is the reason I got involved with the Democratic Town Committee and ran for the Board of Selectmen,” said Tirrell. “I am running out of a sense of duty—a real love and caring for a town that has given me a lot.”

Tirrell grew up in Norfolk, attended Botelle Elementary School and Northwestern Regional School District #7. He is currently employed as a brewer at Big Elm Brewery in Sheffield, Mass.

He and his wife, Robin, own a North Street home next door to his parents, Charles and Beatrice Tirrell, and grandmother, former selectman Ayreslea Denny. There they are happily raising their children, Charlie and Josie, in a multi-generational enclave.

Current Republican Selectman Sandy Evans has announced that she will also run for another term on the board. She said she was approached by the Republican Town Committee to run for first selectman but will not because she does not feel she can win in heavily Democratic Norfolk.

She said she had not yet heard of a challenger for Tirrell. “I think Henry will do a good job,” she said. “He is young, well-spoken and well-written—he can make the job what he wants it to be.”

Tirrell, who said he is “trying to soak up as much as I can” during the final months of Riiska’s tenure, comes to the selectmen’s office at least twice a week to confer about the state of the town’s affairs. “I’m not going to leave Henry, Leo and Sandy in the lurch,” promised Riiska. “I will be available to help if they need me.”

—Kathryn Boughton

The Firehouse Committee has held two informational sessions with contractors interested in bidding on the new facility planned for Shepard Road, according to First Selectman Matt Riiska. Bids for the project, estimated to cost $9.3 million, will be opened July 2, at 2:00 p.m. at Town Hall.

“There will be a lot of bids,” Riiska said, explaining that subcontractors will bid on different components of the construction such as plumbing, electrical work, cement and the like. “The construction management company we hired, Newfield Construction, will open all the bids and [assess] them for us,” Riiska said. 

He said the committee hopes site work can begin in August.

—Kathryn Boughton