Community News

A move is afoot to form a state-designated Cultural District in Norfolk through the Connecticut Office of the Arts. An information session is planned for Thursday, Sept. 25, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk Hub.

The State is encouraging small towns to establish cultural districts, which are defined as walkable, compact areas that are easy for visitors to recognize. They are centers of artistic and economic cultural activities and special places where community members congregate. 

In Norfolk such attractions include the Norfolk Library, Norfolk Hub, the Music Shed, Connecticut-Asia Cultural Center, Norfolk Historical Society and Infinity Hall, as well as natural preserves such as Great Mountain and Aton Forests, conservation areas and farms. 

Independent artists, artisans, musicians and authors can be highlighted, as can events such as the Haystack Book Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Friday Nights on the Green, the Woodlands Academy and Weekend in Norfolk.

The concept began to form last year, when community members Sue Frisch and Tom Fahsbender discussed it with Rachel Roth from Manor House Inn. Roth then initiated conversations with other community collaborators, including Cheryl Heller, Gary Scheft, Jennifer Almquist, Robert Whipple and Dev Aujla, about supporting cultural initiatives in Norfolk.

After consulting with Steph Burr, executive director of the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council—who will conduct the briefing at the September 25th meeting—the group determined that establishing a cultural commission could be the most effective approach to building collaboration among community members, arts and conservation organizations as well as local businesses.

The initial session is an opportunity to learn more, share ideas and help shape the Cultural District proposal to be submitted to the state. All are invited to learn about the opportunity and contribute ideas. 

This initial meeting aims to generate community interest and broaden conversations around establishing a cultural commission, which would lead efforts to create a cultural district, the group said in a statement. “The goal is to honor Norfolk’s cultural heritage and environmental legacy while building a dynamic future in which preservation and progress are mutually beneficial,” said Roth.

The revised plan for the new firehouse moved three steps closer to reality this week with approval from the Inland Wetlands Agency, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Finance for needed changes.

All the changes resulted from higher-than-expected bids that forced the Fire House Committee to eliminate certain elements of the plan.

The IWA approved elimination of the planned board walk and its replacement with a gravel pathway, while Planning & Zoning gave its stamp of approval for eliminating the board walk, a hose-drying tower, a ventilation monitor on top of the building and a change of color for the garage doors. An auxiliary building will be built at a future date.

At the same time, the Board of Finance heard a request from First Selectman Matt Riiska to increase the spending cap for the firehouse to $10.4 million, with borrowing of $4 million. Both figures are expected to be high. 

He said Thursday that final figures depend on what the new round of bidding yields. “The new bids on structural steel, roofing, interior work and windows—anything associated with those features—will be reflected in the budget,” he said. “We are hopeful a half-million dollars will come out of the $10.4 million.”

“These figures give us good leeway,” Riiska said. “They will be more than we need.” 

Funds currently available for the project are $2.5 million through a state grant, $500,000 from town funds, $500,000 in Congressional discretionary funding, and an anticipated $3.1 million from a capital campaign.

The Board of Finance approved his request but made it clear that there would be no further increases. A town meeting vote originally okayed $9.3 million for the firehouse and $3.5 million in borrowing. 

Several contracts for major items such as steel are being rebid. Bids will be advertised Monday and are to be returned and opened Sept. 22. Riiska said there are details to attend to after that, but he hopes for a town meeting on Oct. 6 to get final approval for the increased spending.

During the Planning and Zoning Commission’s meeting, P&Z member Jonathan Sanoff asked if the new firehouse “will still be something the department and town can be proud of.”

‘We have put every consideration into function,” said Riiska. “Everything used in the building is of good quality and as long-lasting as it can be.” 

With that said, he added that he hoped enough additional funding can be found to add back the hose-drying tower, which he considers an attractive architectural element.

Tuesday night, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a bonding level of $64,000 for phase 1 landscaping at the Manor House country inn on Maple Avenue. 

Planning and zoning commissions require bonds from applicants to ensure that developers will complete required site improvements according to approved plans.

The P&Z had the option of having a third-party review of the figures presented by the inn’s owners but chose not to do that.

The landscaping would take place along Maple Avenue. The plan approved by the P&Z this spring called for trees and other plantings to shield the view of the inn’s parking lot from the street. 

The Battell Arts Foundation is awarding scholarships to young Norfolk and Colebrook artists in grades 3 through 12 to help pay for their education in the arts. Private lessons, equipment, materials, instruments, arts programs and workshops are all eligible for grants.

The deadline for applications is September 22. Applicants should submit a letter describing what the student has done so far in his or her area of interest and how the scholarship would be used. A letter of recommendation from an interested teacher, artistic mentor or non-family member should be included. 

Mail applications to Battell Arts Foundation, PO Box 661, Norfolk CT 06058. For information email Kim Crone. 

Forming a fire district to directly tax residents and nonprofits for the cost of emergency services has provoked mixed reactions. 

First Selectman Matt Riiska and Board of Finance Chairman Michael Sconyers favor the plan, which would spread the cost for such services evenly among landowners in the community, including some nonprofits that now contribute nothing to the town’s coffers.

“I’ve talked to different people about that, and some people question whether it’s worth [forming a separate taxing entity],” Riiska said. “They say, ‘Why not ask for payments in lieu of taxes?’ Or they are afraid of legal pushback.”

Sconyers was not quelled, however. Asked who should be taxed for the services, he said emphatically, “Everyone.”

Riiska said the Fire District tax would not be too high, somewhere between .75 and 1.5 mills, and would create a predictable income stream to cover all costs associated with emergency services, from the Emergency Management Department to the ambulance corps and firefighters.

“We’re trying to maintain a budget for everything—Litchfield County Dispatch [which dispatches 62 fire, medical, and police services in Litchfield County], equipment, hydrants …,” he said. “We would just be sharing the costs in a different way. It would be nice to have some income from the nonprofits who use the services a lot and pay nothing.” 

Not all nonprofits would be affected. “We won’t get money from the state, the Nature Conservancy or the land trust, organizations that just have land and don’t use services,” Riiska said.

A traditional Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue will be held tomorrow (Saturday) in lieu of the usual spiritual seminar at the Connecticut-Asia Cultural Center. The center will serve complimentary vegetarian barbecued food from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 207A Westside Road.

The Connecticut Siting Council has extended its deliberations about construction of a cell tower at 78 Goshen East Street until March 13, 2026, because the public hearing on the application was not held until a month before the decision deadline.

The proposed tower would provide service to a portion of south Norfolk and Goshen that currently has spotty or no Verizon service. There is a weak AT&T signal in some areas. 

A ruling had been expected by September 14 on whether Tarpon Towers and Cellco Partnership (d/b/a Verizon Wireless) could construct the 186-foot-tall telecommunications facility on a secluded parcel of land some 800 feet from the road. Following an August 14 public hearing, however, council members said additional time would be needed. 

The time for public comment via mail or email still closes on September 13, after which no further new testimony will be received. A transcript of the public hearing is available in the Town Clerk’s office.

Questioning by Siting Council site analyst Robert Mercier focused on such factors as storm water runoff from the site and possible alternate locations. He was assured that water flow from the site would follow a natural drainage path. 

Alternate locations for the tower would place it at lower elevations and would result in a taller structure.

The proposed location is in an area where telecommunications for emergency services and road maintenance crews are sketchy or non-existent. The town has an opportunity to put an antenna on the tower to correct this. The same offer has been extended to Litchfield County Dispatch and the state police.

Mercier was told that lowering the tower’s height to 170 feet would create “significant gaps” in coverage. Those testifying for the applicant insisted that the visibility of the tower will be minimal despite its extending 100 feet above the tree canopy around it.

In the spring a balloon float was conducted to determine its visibility in the surrounding study area. Areas of potential concern included the northern end of Goshen East Street, which abuts the property, and is a locally designated scenic road. Route 272, which runs through the eastern half of the study area, is a state-designated scenic highway. The results of the test indicated limited visibility from most locations.

The state Council on Environmental Quality has expressed concern that the access road and facility site are in a designated “core forest” and placement there would degrade habitat. The applicants’ representatives said the area has been harvested before and that the access road was previously cleared. But they conceded that a “significant amount” of mature trees would be removed. 

The applicants contend that only 1 percent of the core forest would be affected.

The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department is holding two fundraising events this month. The first is a silent auction to raise funds for the department’s 125th-year birthday celebration slated for 2027. The second is a breast cancer awareness shirt sale to benefit The Norfolk Children’s Foundation. 

The silent auction is planned for this Saturday from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Norfolk Curling Club, 40 Golf Drive. The $20 admission brings access to bidding and a drink ticket. There will be live bidding, a cash bar and the Nibbles & Norm food truck. 

Featured auction items include a seven-piece outdoor steel dining set courtesy of C.A. Lindell & Son; a DeWalt 20V Ma RX brushless four-tool kit; a Yeti Roadie cooler; a custom dessert table display for 50 to 75 guests; a hand-painted pet portrait; a fishing charter with BlackHawk Fishing in Niantic, Conn., and gift certificates to local restaurants.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the second fundraiser features apparel themed Fighting for a Cure in memory of Laverne Barbagallo.

Shirts, hoodies and tank tops are all on sale at the Norfolk branch of the National Iron Bank or can be ordered online until September 14. Online orders can be picked up at the firehouse, 20 Shepard Road; shipping is not available.

The fire department has been doing the breast cancer shirt sales for 15 years.

Four residents e-mailed First Selectman Matt Riiska last week supporting his proposal to slow speeding motorists immediately after it was revealed in last week’s newsletter.

This week, he reviewed additional details with his board of selectmen. “We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get traffic calmed down in town since 2018,” he said. “The Economic Development Commission has even had a subcommittee working on it, but it’s been painful.”

To date, the state DOT has refused to lower the 40-mph speed limit entering town from the east and cars habitually speed on routes 272 and 44, as well as on some much-traveled side roads.

He met last week with a representative of SiteStream, a traffic control company that is negotiating with Winsted, and has information on two other firms supplying radar cameras that gather data on the speed of vehicles. The firms capture the data, a human verifies it and citations are emailed to the vehicles’ owners. The first offense carries a fine of $50 plus a $15 management fee. Subsequent offenses cost $75 plus management fees.

Riiska said the town would pay nothing for equipment involved and would receive 15 percent of the amount collected. The town would designate someone to verify the data. “We won’t make a ton of money, but will it slow traffic,” he predicted.

The programs have been effective at slowing traffic in the few other Connecticut towns that have tried them but, he cautioned, there are many steps to go through to put the system in place. 

“You have to have a municipal plan, which is cumbersome” he said. “There are a lot of components. And you have to create an ordinance that goes a public hearing and town meeting. We should try to form a subcommittee to put the information together.”

Riiska is leaving office after the November election and implementation will fall to the new selectmen. 

The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department released its annual report last week, revealing that it responded to 211 calls for service during the 2024-25 fiscal year. 

These calls covered a wide range of emergencies including structure fires, brush fires, motor vehicle accidents, medical assists, hazardous conditions and false alarms, according to Fire Chief Brian Hutchins’ report.

Emergency responses consumed 1,655 staff hours, but the report showed that the hours of service went beyond emergency responses to include 1,651 hours dedicated to training and 2,195 hours of activities such as equipment maintenance, attending meetings, completing certifications and participating in community events. 

During its annual meeting August 25 the department held its election of officers for the coming year. Hutchins will continue as fire chief; first assistant chief is Matthew Ludwig; second assistant chief, Steve Hutchins; captain, Justin Zarzycki; lieutenants, Mike Listorti and Brad Funk; exterior officer, Ted Hinman; EMS captain, Ashley Allyn; president, Paul Padua; vice president, Martyn Banks; secretary, Judy Ludwig; treasurer, Angela Hutchins; trustees, Richard Byrne, Todd Miller and Ken Ludwig, and mechanics, John Hutchins and Gary Bottum.