Community News

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. 

All roads damaged when a cell of heavy rain passed through Norfolk Sunday afternoon were made accessible by late Monday afternoon. The only exception is Route 272 from Estey Road to Parker Hill Road.

The Norfolk Public Works Department worked clearing away downed trees and installing detour signs to direct traffic around washed-out areas. Riiska said caution should be used when travelling, especially in South Norfolk on Smith, Old Goshen, Estey and Parker Hill roads.

“Although the water level is going down, the sides of many roads are weak,” he said. “Please drive slowly.”

Public Works Supervisor Troy LaMere contacted many of the town’s vendors to help start to restore the roads. Three bridges were inspected Monday with the help of Cardinal Engineering and the bridges on Smith Road and Old Goshen Road at the intersection of Route 272 will need to be completely rebuilt. 

“This is going to be a long process,” said Riiska. “Residents of Old Goshen and Smith roads will need to use Bruey Road to access Route 272. We ask for your patience while we work to get back to normal.”

A cell of hard rain hit Norfolk yesterday afternoon, dumping seven inches of water in South Norfolk and washing out roads in several areas or making them unstable. 

First Selectman Matt Riiska said Route 272 in South Norfolk is impassable from Old Goshen to Bruey roads and that numerous roads, bridges and culverts are washed out.

The bridges at Old Goshen Road and on Smith Road are gone. Public Works Superintendent Troy LeMere said Parker Hill Road is in bad shape with “a lot of water, trees and wires down and that several dirt roads washed out and impassable.”

LeMere said 2.5 inches of rain fell in the town center and that seven inches were recorded in South Norfolk. South Norfolk was further inundated when a beaver dam let go.

Riiska asked residents to “be smart and stay home,” not venturing forth to look at the damage.

The town has declared a state of emergency. The fire department manned the firehouse overnight to monitor rainfall. 

The agencies contacted many residents last evening who are isolated due to the road closures and will continue wellness checks today. Tobey Pond has been closed for the day.

LeMere said more rain is expected today and town crews are monitoring the state of the infrastructure. “More roads are being damaged as we speak,” he said, adding that rain was predicted for Sunday but that town officials had no idea of the intensity of the impending storm. “Within 90 minutes five inches was reported in South Norfolk,” he said.

It is the second time in nine months that Norfolk has declared a state of emergency. The massive gas spill last November caused disruptions that have extended to this day. “The fortunate thing is we all know the drill,” said Riiska, “and our Public Works and EMS are on it. I have no doubt we are in good hands.”

He has contact State Rep. Maria Horn informing her that the town will seek assistance.

Riiska said that it will take a long time for the town to correct all the damage to roadways and thanked residents in advance for their patience and cooperation. LeMere said he has contractors lined up for Tuesday to start to make roads passable.

The Book Group, which is sponsored by the Norfolk Library and facilitated by former professor Mark Scarborough, is reading “The Summer Book” by Tove Jansson for its August 10 session. All are welcome to participate. The group reads, then discusses the books via Zoom on select Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Participants can choose to attend either session. For more information or to register, click here.

Work will begin Monday on remediation of Maple Avenue following last November’s massive gas spill, according to First Selectman Matt Riiska.

He said work will begin near the Manor House where a wall will be removed and its materials stored for later reconstruction. Earth will be excavated, tested and removed when deemed necessary. 

Work will then move to installation of a headwall on Maple Avenue as part of the stormwater drainage system. With that in place, crews will move on to Pettibone Lane, where extensive excavation is anticipated to remove gas contamination.

Riiska said Maple Avenue will be closed to through traffic during the work because of the heavy equipment in the road. If necessary, residents in the region of the heaviest contamination will have alternate accommodations offered.

Remediation work has been completed on Route 44 and landscaping has been started. It is hoped that families displaced by the gas spill remediation will be back in their homes by July 1, but Riiska said monitoring of the area will go on for some time and will be addressed as needed.

Residents who have questions are asked to call the First Selectman’s office at 860-542-5829.

Warmer weather has brought a spate of activity to Norfolk. First Selectman Matt Riiska reports that several projects are currently underway with completion of some expected within the summer months.

“They will start to remove the old heating oil tank at Botelle School Monday and get the new one hooked up,” Riiska reported. “We have received approval for loans for Maple Avenue and the school roof and all the paperwork will be wrapped up next week. They are eager to get started on the school roof and we would like to get both the tank and the roof done before school starts again.”

Also at the elementary school, work is supposed to start Monday on the replacement of a broken 70-foot slide. “It was broken after years of exposure and abuse by some people who used it,” he said. “Insurance wouldn’t pay for it and some townspeople asked that ARPA funds be used to replace it. All the components are here.”

Work on refurbishing the tennis courts will start in the near future as well, and Riiska said he hoped people would soon be playing on resurfaced courts.

Only one area is lagging. “I’m still working on getting reimbursement for Mountain Road bridge, and the River Place bridge is on hold because engineering work is being done,” he said. “I’m not happy about that. It is dragging on way too long.”

Weekend in Norfolk will return Friday, August 4, and continue through the weekend with a wide variety of activities to educate and amuse. There’ll be all kinds of fun events, both old favorites and surprises, including concerts at the Music Shed and work by artists and artisans all over town.

Do you want to join others in Norfolk during WIN weekend? If there is enough interest, a tag sale event may be coordinated during the WIN weekend. Indicate interest by emailing Andra Moss to say you want to join in a community tag sale, either by being on a map or joining a group location.

Check here for the developing schedule of events.

This week’s flash flood damage has prompted the Norfolk Land Trust to shift the spotlighted trail to its 1.45-mile Stony Lonesome Trail. The trail begins at a metal gate on Ashpotag Road, a half mile from the road’s intersection with Route 44 and features deep woods, high embankments and three spectacular rock cuts.

The land trust is encouraging people to get outside this summer to hike its trails. A new trail is highlighted each week.

City Meadow is getting plenty of attention these days with two groups working for its preservation and improvement.

A “Friends of City Meadow” group is growing under the leadership of Economic Development Commission Co-Chair Libby Borden and Walter Godlewski. They are coordinating with First Selectman Matt Riiska and will be meeting with him Friday.

The Friends’ goals are to promote use of the meadow as an environmental/horticultural area and as a place to gather for music and other cultural events. This latter goal includes the newly enlarged Robertson Plaza. 

An additional focus is on the physical status of the Meadow. It is possible that work parties will be formed to assist professional horticulturalists or an invasive plant specialist to keep the Meadow functioning as a healthy wetland environment and keep it attractive and inviting. Further, the Friends hope to promote the Meadow with such attractions as a sculpture park, and to put up signage bearing information about the plants found there or about the Meadow’s history. Additional areas for seating would also be considered.

Finally, the Friends would address maintenance of boardwalks and plant restoration and raise funds to underwrite these endeavors.

The second group working for the Meadow consists of a few members of the original City Meadow Committee. Their focus is to establish a master plan for invasive control, plant placement and maintenance, wetlands and water course maintenance and the introduction of new plantings. The master plan will not only be used for Meadow maintenance and development, but will also serve as a guide for meeting the requirements of the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the Meadow as a wetlands area. This was a requirement when the Town accepted the funding from the State of Connecticut.