Community News

Norfolk’s Board of Education is seeking two community volunteers to join a search committee that will identify candidates to replace retiring School Superintendent Mary Beth Iacobelli. Iacobelli recently announced that she will retire in June at the end of her 11th year leading the school district.

The committee will also include three staff members from Botelle School and three members of the Board of Education. There will be a significant time commitment. 

Those interested in participating should send a letter of interest by April 7 to searchcommittee@botelleschool.org detailing why they would like to be a member of the committee. 

—Newsletter Editor

Last March, after the town settled a lawsuit brought by a pedestrian who fell on slippery walks in the vicinity of the Congregational Church, First Selectman Matt Riiska looked at how to indemnify the town against future accidents.

He conferred with Julia Scharnberg, head of the Historic District Commission, to discuss the issue and told her that the town had three choices: remove the walk and replace it with grass; install a gravel walk, or use prohibitively expensive granite in keeping with other walks in the historic district to replace it . 

Ultimately, town officials chose the first option and this week the walkway was removed. “Granite walkways are very slippery,” explained Administrative Assistant Barbara Gomez.

A municipality is responsible by state statute for the maintenance of sidewalks, both repairing them and clearing them following storms. Riiska later sought to defray the cost of sidewalk maintenance by establishing an ordinance requiring property owners and businesses to clear their walks. This was so unpopular that residents at a well-attended town meeting would not even second the motion to bring it to the floor for discussion.

—Newsletter Editor

The Norfolk Hub (formerly the Norfolk Foundation), which has owned the Royal Arcanum building for the past three years, is entering into an agreement to sell it to American Folk & Heritage, LLC. A closing date has not been set. 

American Folk & Heritage LLC (AF&H) is owned by Norfolk residents Emily Adams Bode Aujla, Aaron Aujla and Dev Aujla. An initiative founded in 2020, AF&H is dedicated to preserving American craft and handwork with a focus on America’s Northeast.

Through its partnership with Bode, Emily Aujila’s American luxury brand, AF&H has worked with such institutions as the American Folk Art Museum, Shaker Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Norfolk Hub has lease agreements with all the commercial tenants in the building as well as a master lease with the Foundation for Norfolk Living (FNL), which is responsible for renting the second-floor apartments. All second-floor tenants have been notified of a pending sale. 

All commercial tenants’ leases will be honored under the current terms and, upon completion of the sale, the Norfolk Hub will allocate a portion of the sale proceeds to FNL to help with its continuing mission of providing affordable housing in the community. Tenants will be assisted in finding new living space. 

FNL’s president, Kate Briggs Johnson, noted that its members appreciate the planned donation.

Norfolk Hub co-president Michael Selleck said the sale is good news, providing much-needed new cash for other capital projects in town. 

AF&H is developing plans for the Arcanum. Its mission is to honor the building’s history, heritage and aesthetic, as well as to support the commercial activity of Norfolk’s downtown core.  

The Royal Arcanum, a non-profit fraternal life insurer, was founded in Boston in 1877 to provide health insurance to its members. A group of Norfolk members hired architect Alfredo Taylor to design the impressive multi-purpose building in the town center, putting businesses on the first floor and meeting places for the Royal Arcanum Council and the Masonic Lodge on the third. It also once housed the town’s post office and fire department. 

—Newsletter Editor

Construction has begun on the Foundation for Norfolk Living’s 10 affordable homes known as Haystack Woods. Last year was devoted to developing the infrastructure needed to support the “net zero,” homes, which all produce as much energy as they consume.

The construction of the actual buildings will incorporate green building techniques A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for May 9. 

Located on Old Colony Road, on the 39-acre site of a former gravel pit, the development is within walking distance of the town’s center. More than 50 percent of the land will be conserved as open space and the buildings will be arranged in a cluster with many acres of green space around them. The siting of the buildings is designed to encourage a sense of community, with loop roads and shared solar carports.

The Foundation for Norfolk Living is a non-profit, volunteer-led organization whose mission is to create affordable housing opportunities for persons and families of modest means. Click here or email mail@norfolkliving.org to get updates about this project and affordable housing in Norfolk and to be the first to hear about applications for these homes. 

—Newsletter Editor

The Planning & Zoning Commission has closed its public hearing on the Manor House application for modifications to its special permit and site plan and will hold deliberations at its next regular meeting on April 8.  

On the agenda last Tuesday was additional information requested by the Commission regarding details of the Manor House’s proposed operations and more information from both those in favor of and those opposed to the plan. 

The Manor House team underscored that proposed usage remained within the scope of the 1996 special permit that allowed events for up to 150 people and up to 25 rooms. Daytime usage is between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. 

At current capacity of eight rooms, 16 overnight guests are permitted by fire code, as are 44 people dining and a maximum of 50 guests on the main floor at one time. In addition, the applicant stated that no more than 50 people will use the recreational facility area at one time.

For more details, click here to see the Final Set of Supplemental Materials submitted by the applicant on March 19.

In the second portion of the hearing, Norfolk citizens spoke in favor of and in opposition to the project. Those who favored the project spoke of job and community growth associated with inns elsewhere in Litchfield County. Those who opposed it cited concerns about traffic and noise, the scale of the project and Norfolk’s rural character.

After closing the hearing, the Commission decided to begin deliberations at its next meeting on April 8.  The public may attend to observe deliberations but will not be allowed to comment.

With the hearing closed, under state statute the Commission has 65 days, or until May 29, to reach its decision. In addition, however, the statute allows for 65 days of extension to be used at any time during the special permit application review process provided that the applicant consents. To date, 35 of those days have been used to extend the public hearing timeline, so an additional 30 days are potentially available for extending the decision timeline. If that time were used, the commission would have to make its decision by June 28.

—Guest Submission

The Region 7 Board of Education will make a second informal presentation of its proposed 2025-2026 budget Wednesday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the Botelle School cafeteria.

On March 12, the Board of Education voted to decrease the budget total to $24,824,729. The budget is still up $554,637, or 2.29 percent, over current spending. For details, click here.

The four Region 7 member towns pay assessments based on their student populations as they relate to the other towns. Norfolk, which paid $2,146,693 last year, is sending 10 fewer students this year, dropping its assessment by $171,148 to $1,975,535.

The Norfolk Board of Education will meet following the presentation to adopt the call for the annual budget hearing and to set its date for April 21.

—Newsletter Editor

It’s happened! It’s officially spring and as the Earth prepares for rebirth, the Norfolk Conservation Commission is planning to play midwife. 

The world is experiencing rapid climate change, and the commission is ready to help homeowners cull invasive plants and creatures that harm the landscape. Each month it posts “Wanted” posters for the “Invasive Plant of the Month,” providing pictures, descriptions of the plant’s properties and advice on how to get rid of it.

Copies are available at the Hub and more information can be requested at NCCInvasiveRemoval@gmail.com. Also available at the Hub is the NCC’s cheat sheet on Norfolk’s six worst invasive plants and what to do about them.

Not wanted at all are the invasive Asian Jumping Worms that constitute a serious threat to forest ecosystems across the U.S. The Conservation Commission will present a lecture about the worms at the Hub, March 26 at 5:00 p.m. Annise Dobson, a research scientist from Yale University, will be the speaker. 

The program will be presented in-person and via Zoom. For more information and registration, visit the Hub’s website.

A second event event, this one sponsored by Aton Forest, looks ahead at a changing landscape and how to react to it. It will present “The Right trees for Tomorrow, Smart Planting in a Changing New England,” Sunday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m., also at the Hub. 

Speakers Bill Gridley, Aton Forest head steward; Dave Beers, Connecticut DEEP western forester; Amanda Bunce, UConn research assistant, and Nash Pradhan of Ginger Creek Nursery and Aton Forest, will discuss species that can be planted to replace trees such as ash, sugar maple and beech that are under stress. Register here.

—Newsletter Editor

Verizon has located a new site for a 186-foot wireless telecommunications tower in South Norfolk and will hold an informational meeting for the public on Wednesday, March 26, at 7:00 p.m. at Botelle School. 

A set of documents describing the project is available here. 

Cellco Partnerhsip, doing business as Verizon, will present the application to the Connecticut Siting Council. A letter to First Selectman Matt Riiska from Cellco’s attorneys, Robinson & Cole LLP, said the new facility “will provide improved wireless service in the southern portions of Norfolk and northern portions of Goshen.” There is currently no signal from just south of the village center to the Burrville section of Torrington.

The land, part of a 40-acre parcel, is located at 78 Goshen East Street and is owned by Paul Chapinsky Sr. The tower, proposed for the western corner of his land, would be accessed by a 940-foot dirt road off Estey Road. A 73-foot-by-73-foot fenced compound would surround equipment including battery cabinets, a propane-fueled generator and a 1,000-gallon propane tank.

While local zoning has little control over the placement of telecommunication towers, the Town of Norfolk can choose to become an intervenor in the proceeding. The Connecticut Siting Council will hold both a pre-hearing conference and a public hearing on the application and, prior to construction, the council will require Cellco to submit a development and management plan that incorporates any conditions it imposes. 

These procedures are outside the town’s jurisdiction and are governed by state statutes.

Robinson & Cole wrote, “In our experience, the primary [environmental] impact of a wireless facility such as the proposed Norfolk South facility is visual.” That impact will vary from place to place in South Norfolk, they conceded, “with the majority of the year-round visibility affecting 183 acres, or 2.3 percent, of the two-mile radius study area.”

Norfolk Zoning Enforcement Officer Stacey Sefcik asked for a test that calls for a balloon to be floated on the site at the height of the tower to assess visibility.

Last year, residents of Old Goshen Road were alarmed to learn of a proposal to build a Verizon tower virtually in their front yards. They considered trying to raise funds to buy the 10-acre parcel from Michael Farrington, the Florida man who had inherited, but never visited, the land. The plan for that property faded and Verizon moved on to the new location.

—Newsletter Editor

State Attorney General William Tong has announced $350,000 in penalties and payments will be levied on Soundview Transportation following the November 2022 oil tanker accident in Norfolk. 

The settlement requires Soundview to pay $100,000 to the state as a civil penalty, $200,000 payment to compensate DEEP for costs associated with overseeing remediation and $50,000 to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Fund to support state enforcement actions on behalf of Connecticut consumers.

In addition, Soundview is fully responsible for all costs for the original and continuing remediation and clean-up of the contamination, which will total millions of dollars. 

The accident occurred in the early morning hours of November 5, 2022, when a tanker truck leased and operated by Soundview hit a utility pole and a fire hydrant on Route 44 just west of Botelle School. The truck’s full cargo of 8,200 gallons of gasoline spilled out, contaminating the yards of nearby residences and traveling through the town’s stormwater sewer system into nearby surface and groundwaters. It is the largest petroleum spill in Connecticut history.

“Soundview’s tanker accident resulted in severe disruption to neighbors and significant environmental harm,” said Tong. 

The accident sent 20 regional mutual aid companies scrambling to assist Norfolk’s first responders. Reacting to the real possibility of a massive explosion, they worked quickly to reduce the hazard, ordering the electricity in the village center to be turned off. Aquarion Water Company was contacted to ensure adequate water pressure for any firefighting efforts and the DEEP Emergency Response Unit arrived to work with volunteer first responders. 

The concentration of toxic and potentially explosive chemicals caused six residences to be evacuated. Some of these families would not return to their homes for many months.

Ongoing remediation efforts required substantial removal of contaminated material along Route 44, Maple Avenue and neighboring streets. The saturated ground around the two nearest properties—approximately 600 tons—was removed to a depth of nine feet. Vacuum trucks removed approximately 90 thousand gallons of contaminated water from streams and storm drains. 

Norfolk has been reimbursed for its remediation efforts through payments from Soundview’s insurer. First Selectman Matt Riiska estimated that $500,000 was expended on cleaning up contamination on Maple Avenue alone. The town was also responsible for housing the displaced residents.

—Newsletter Editor

Wednesday night First Selectman Matt Riiska gave the Board of Finance a first peek at a proposed $8 million-plus 2025-26 municipal budget. Because of a post-revaluation increase in property values and conservative spending, he predicted that the mill rate will drop to 22.5 from this year’s level of 28.4. 

A mill is equal to $1.00 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. To calculate the property tax, the property’s assessment is multiplied by the mill rate and divide by 1,000. In general, when property values go up, mill rates drop because the town taxes only for the funds it needs and fewer mills are needed to generate those funds based on the higher assessments.

“But don’t get excited about that decrease,” Riiska told members of the Board of Finance. Following the recent revaluation, he is still trying to get a handle on the actual value of properties. Property values are said to have increased between 24 and 35 percent, “but 24 percent to 35 percent is a big range,” he said.

“If you paid taxes on a $250,000 home last year, your taxes would have been about $7,100 [at 28.4 mills],” he explained. “If your property value increased 24 percent, you would pay about $7,200 at 22.5 mills. But if it is 35 percent increase, you are going to pay more.” 

He said the October 1 Grand List totals $366,409,204, of which $331,129,480 is in real estate. There is about another $15 million for personal property and more than $19 million for motor vehicles. “Originally motor vehicles were $17 million,” Riiska said, “but last week the Governor signed a bill that allowed municipalities to change the way they assess motor vehicles.”

The new bill allows towns to use manufacturers’ retail prices to assess vehicles rather than the National Automobile Dealers Association’s annual appraisal guide, which usually assigns lower values. 

Under the new system, if a car is a year old, 90 percent of its value is subject to tax. That goes down 5 percentage points every year until the car is 20 years old or older, when the tax bill is based on 15 percent of the car’s value or $500, whichever is greater.

Riiska said he is still refining budget figures, but that with decreased budget demands from Regional School #7 and Botelle School in the coming year, the total municipal budget should be “$8,250,000-ish.”

—Newsletter Editor