Community News

Tuesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission approved two applications to construct a new firehouse on Shepard Road after imposing a number of conditions on the project.

The first application considered was for a lot line change to enlarge the firehouse property and the second was the proposal for the building and the grounds around the firehouse.

The conditions for the building site dictate that lights on all signs must be angled downward to reduce light pollution, that the transformer and generator be located at the rear of the lot, that the generator be tested during the day and that the generator and transformer be shielded from view and their sound muffled.

Additionally, the parking area on Shepard Road is to be reserved for City Meadow except during emergencies, access to City Meadow must be unfettered; three old trees on the eastern lot line must be removed and replaced, the air conditioner compressor must be located as far from the front of the property as feasible and be screened, a final set of plans must be submitted and the Zoning Enforcement Officer must receive timely reports about construction sequence, sedimentation control, site inspection and the like. 

Finally, the number of lights on the railing along the boardwalk leading to City Meadow must be cut in half,the Kelvin rating on exterior lighting cannot exceed 4,000 and within six months of the project’s completionthe fire department must create and submit a lighting use plan.

Approval of the firehouse plan came only after approval of the lot line application, stripping some land from City Meadow. Some of the conditions for this application mirrored those imposed on the construction plan. They are that the Shepard Road parking space be reserved for City Meadow, that appropriate signage designate the City Meadow parking lot, that the transformer and generator be located at the rear of the firehouse lot, that there shall be a handicap parking space and that a map clearly show the boundaries of the lot lines be filed with the land records.

Commission members debated at some length four conditions member Jordan Stern suggested: that two light poles earmarked for the front of the property be removed, that the brightness of the pole lights be lowered from 7,000 to 5,000 lumens, that the number of lights along the boardwalk be cut in half and that the Kelvin rating of exterior lights be set at 4,000.

Stern contended that the lighting plan as presented exceeded best practices standards cited by both the town’s consulting engineer and the engineers who created the plan. He suggested that the level of lighting could prove detrimental to neighboring property owners.

Commission member Christopher Schaut put forward another solution. He suggested that the fire department be given six months after completion of the building to live with the lot and to determine how much light is needed and when. The department would then have to present a lighting plan with times when lights could be dimmed or turned off.

Member Wiley Wood agreed. “It’s the use they make of them,” he said. “If they are used when necessary and toned down when not needed, I don’t see a problem.”

P&Z Chairman Tom Fahsbender cautioned that the commission was approving a firehouse, “not a residence or retail store.” 

“We should take the recommendations from the people who design firehouses and the people who use them,” he said. “It’s important that the conditions we put down don’t get in the way of safe operation.”  He said he liked Schaut’s proposal because it allowed flexibility. “The situation on the ground will determine what is helpful,” he concluded.

In the end, the commission incorporated two of Stern’s conditions, but rejected removing two light poles and limiting lumens to 5,000.

—Newsletter Editor

First Selectman Matt Riiska is taking a conservative stance on municipal spending for the coming year despite some good financial news in the third quarter of the fiscal year.

He told the Board of Finance Tuesday that his proposed 2024-25 budget would rise 2.5 to 3 percent if nothing is changed, but “I am working on getting it as close to no increase as I can.”

He said the town would forego some things this year, like budgeting $60,000 for tree removal, and he will use the town crew for work such as putting in a new sidewalk between Berkshire Country Store and the Post Office rather than contracting for the work.

But there is nothing he can do about the 19.2 percent ($345,000) increase in the town’s assessment for Region 7, which he termed “a killer.” The increase is based on the proportion of students sent to the school by the four member towns. Norfolk is sending six more students while the other towns are sending fewer.

Representatives of Region 7 will come to Norfolk March 27 at 6:30 p.m. for a budget presentation at Botelle School.

Norfolk endured an annus horribilis in 2023, with multiple financial disasters draining the town’s coffers, but there seems to be a turn in its fortunes as the new fiscal year approaches. It was reported during the meeting that a decision to close out the town’s defined pension plan and provide the pensioners with annuities should bring a residual $1.2 million to the town.

“To end up with $1.2 million will be very, very important in the coming year,” said Board of Finance Chairman Michael Sconyers. “It’s only March and we have already spent 84 percent of this year’s budget. It’s been a tough year.”

Riiska said he would recommend using some of the money to retire the debt on the windows and doors installed at the ambulance building. The town still has three payments to make for a total $392,692. “It would be wise for us to pay it off completely” he said. “We can’t take on debt until we pay off the debt we have.”

He said he is looking at refinancing the loan taken out last year for upgrades to Maple Avenue. Interest rates were not favorable at that time. “We have been talking to bond counsel and it was indicated we could save about $50,000 a year,” he reported. 

He said the Grand List went up about $4 million dollars this year, a modest amount, but that the town is going into a revaluation that could significantly increase property valuations. 

“Assessments have increased as much as 35 to 40 percent in some towns,” said Sconyers. “I think the Grand List will increase significantly.” He added that an increase in valuations does not mean taxes will go up significantly.

—Newsletter Editor

Details are being worked out for resuming work on River Place Bridge. The construction project was stopped in November 2022 when it was discovered that one headwall was not sitting on a firm foundation.

The project went back to the drawing boards and then had to reapproved by the state Department of Transportation, causing considerable delay. First Selectman Matt Riiska has been working with the engineers and construction company for a month to get the project up and running again. 

“I feel we have everything worked out now,” he said during the March 6 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “We plan to get back on site by the middle of April.”

He said the additional work has added $1.1 million to the project, of which the town will be responsible for 20 percent. He is discussing the issue with the state. “I have been working with the state a lot,” he said during the Selectmen’s meeting, adding that the state has agreed to pay 100 percent of the cost on other bridges.

In other business, he reported that a new City Meadow Committee has been appointed consisting of Elizabeth Borden and Michael Selleck from the Economic Development Commission, George Cronin, Molly Ackerly, Doreen Kelly from the Community Association, Lisa Atkin from the Norfolk Foundation and Martyn Banks from the fire department. “I tried to get a diverse group,” Riiska reported. 

He said the committee will “push things along” with the needed removal of invasives and planning better ways to use the meadow for passive recreation. He reported that there was $7,000 left over from the work of a previous committee and that a donor has provided another $110,000 to accomplish the needed work. “We’ll be very careful about how we spend it,” he said.

Since City Meadow was first created as a recreational area, invasive plants have overrun it. Proposed work includes removing them and planting native plants.

The selectmen approved a resolution authorizing Riiska to formally apply for a $2.5 million Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection grant to help pay for the new firehouse. State Representative Maria Horn secured the loan for the town. 

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plans for the firehouse Tuesday night. 

—Newsletter Editor 

The town waited for years to replace the highly popular Big Green Slide at Botelle Elementary School after it was vandalized and there was considerable rejoicing last August when a new, slightly shorter slide was finally erected in its place. 

But now the new slide is broken and off-limits to the children who enjoyed zipping down its 60-foot length.

First Selectman Matt Riiska reported to the Board of Finance this week that Creative Recreation of West Hartford, which installed it, did not put footings below the supports. The slide has shifted and several flanges are cracked. He is in contact with the company and predicted that its repair will not cost the town anything.The new slide cost $80,000. Replacement became an issue in town, and it was not until ARPA funds and private donations were dedicated to the purchase price that it was restored to its pride of place above the school’s playing fields

The Region 7 Board of Education gave town officials from the four member towns a preview of expected spending in the 2024-25 school year Wednesday night, detailing the biggest increases in a $21,937,589 adjusted budget. 

The total budget would increase by $850,140 or 3.92 percent if passed as presented. There are projected to be 750 students next year in the middle and high school. That is down sharply from the average of about 1,000 students in recent years.

While New Hartford, the largest of the four towns, pays more than half of the costs of the school, this year Norfolk will have the largest percentage increase at 19.12 percent. Each town’s assessment is based on the numbers of students attending as compared to the other towns.

“We are in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said First Selectman Matt Riiska. “We had a small class graduate from Region 7 last year and a big one come in.

This year, Barkhamsted, which has endured significant increases in the past few years, will see a reduction because 29 fewer students will attend. Colebrook will send eight fewer students, New Hartford is down 11 and Norfolk is up by eight.

“It’s a very significant increase, $345,000,” said Riiska. “The cost is ridiculous.”

Wednesday night he pleaded with the regional board members to do what they could to trim expenses. “I think it’s an excellent school,” he said, “but I looked at the budget, and after I fell out of my chair, I am here to plead with you to do that you can lower that.”

He told the board last year was “horrible” for Norfolk financially with about $1 million in unexpected costs, some of which he hopes to recoup through insurance. 

All the town officials at the meeting were concerned about falling enrollments, both in their local schools and at Region 7. “I understand you have to have a teacher, if it’s five students or 25,” Riiska said, “but I would ask you to look at that a little closer.”

New Hartford First Selectman Dan Jerram noted that the number of teachers still hovers around 135 despite the falling enrollment and said the region must look closely the issue. “How will you take on this challenge?” he asked.

Enrollments are expected to continue to decrease through the end of the decade.

Region 7 Board Chairman Molly Sexton Reed said that budget does not include any new programs and reflects a reduction in staff by 2.5 teachers. Staff reductions are being achieved through attrition. For example, the Chinese program was eliminated when its teacher retired.

She said the budget is “very preliminary” and would be reviewed at a budget workshop before being taken to the individual towns for presentations. 

Giving a “very broad-brush” overview of the increases, she said, “The two biggest drivers are special education, where we had one or two students that we hadn’t budgeted for this year, and two coming in that are currently outplaced. The other major driver is the health insurance increase, which is up 10.95 percent. There is a 2.47 percent increase from those two factors alone.”

Another factor is a decrease in revenues from fewer out-of-district students paying tuition and a reduction in vo-ag funding from the state.  Sexton Reed said the school is trying to market itself to neighboring towns, which send students on a tuition basis, and is opposing the change in vo-ag funding.  

The yearly cost per pupil at the school is $25,453, placing it fourth among the nine Berkshire League schools.

Thursday night the Conservation Commission hosted a talk on lighting levels, a matter of increasing concern nationwide, and a topic of discussion during the Planning and Zoning Commission’s consideration of a plan for the new firehouse.

Leo Smith, executive director of DarkSky International, told a gathering at the Norfolk Hub that his interest in the subject was piqued when the property abutting his Suffield home was sold to a developer. Concerned about glare from lighting in the development, he approached the builder and, in concert with the manufacturer of the light fixture to be used, came up with a solution that directed the light down, rather than outward and upward toward the heavens.

It was the start of a career in activism for Smith that has led to legislation designed to reduce the intensity of exterior lighting and its effects on the quality of life for plants, animals and humans. In 2023, for instance, Connecticut passed legislation requiring commercial buildings to shut off non-essential lights in state buildings after 11:00 p.m. during periods when birds are migrating.

Smith said light pollution did not exist until 145 years ago when the incandescent light bulb was developed. It has worsened steadily, especially since LED lighting was introduced. “We don’t advocate not lighting,” said Smith, “but how do we design it so we light the pathway, but not the house next to it?”

He said Americans use 10 to 15 times the amount of light needed. If unnecessary lighting were to be eliminated, $3 billion to $7 billion dollars a year could be saved and 21 million tons of CO²  eliminated. “Ninety-nine percent of outdoor lighting is wasted,” he said. “Either it is not needed, or it doesn’t hit the target.”

He suggested common-sense solutions such as turning off lights when they are no longer needed and doing audits of street lighting in communities to eliminate lights not needed for public safety.

DarkSkies can send communities a template to use in creating a streetlight master plan.

In response to a question about car headlights, he said LED lights are more effective illumination, but also blind oncoming drivers. Europeans are now using a system that detects an approaching car and diverts the light temporarily toward the side of the road. “Three to five years from now you will see a lot of that in this country,” he predicted.

Another question concerned crime deterrence. Smith said that, counterintuitively, lighting around a home simply allows malefactors to get a blueprint of a property and makes home entry easier. Motion detectors that turn lights on when an intruder approaches are more effective, he contended.

He advocated for town ordinances that require professionally designed lighting plans to be submitted during the permitting process. “The key is to try to address this at the time the building permit is applied for,” he said. “That would be extremely effective because the developer would know it won’t be approved otherwise.”

—Newsletter Editor

Linda Filley, a Millbrook, N.Y., artist now exhibiting at the Norfolk Library, has always liked shoes.  “When I was 10 or 11, my mom stopped at a store that was having a sample sale. Because they were samples, all the shoes were in my size and she let me buy some two-toned flat shoes that I thought were the most wonderful thing in world,” she recalls.

Her passion for shoes has not dimmed, but today her shoes are not meant for walking. For the past 20 years, Filley has created fanciful footwear, whimsical artistic gems crafted from cardboard, bits of wrapping paper, old diaries, packaging materials and, yes, even the bright foil that wrapped candies brought home from Asia by her husband.

“I love going to estate sales and yard sales,” she said. “I pick up old wallpaper, maps, old sheet music … . My mother-in-law was a bookbinder, and I got a lot of her old marbling paper—I used that for the first shoes I made. It almost looked like denim with a waxy surface.”

In the deft hands of the self-taught artist, a couple of pages of old sheet music can turn into a long, pointy-toe slipper with roses, while a piece of discarded wallpaper may find new life as a high-heeled floral bouquet. 

Filley says her work is never predetermined and she finds inspiration everywhere. “I can’t stop,” she said. “I could be walking down the street and see a broken branch or a color out of the corner of my eye. Or perhaps it is a print or design. I can drive my family crazy.”

Each shoe is an original design and a one-of-a-kind creation, although each is informed by the character of the imaginary woman who will wear it. She works about five hours each day, surrounded by scraps of paper, odd bits of ribbon, mesh bags that once held onions and other commonplace items of modern life.

Filley always had an affinity for art but did not set out to be an artist. She left home at 16 and “wandered a bit….I did a bit of everything and wondered where it would all go,” she said.  Along the way, she enjoyed elaborately wrapping gifts for friends and family. Indeed, her first shoes were decorations made to top gifts she gave to two dear friends.

Before that, however, she spent many years crafting paper dresses that were signature elements in the windows of a store owned by her long-time friend, Maureen Missner. Missner had come home from a trip with a large wire mannequin. She turned Filley’s imagination loose on the mannequin, planning to use it as a window display. “I thought I could weave paper through it to make a dress,” Filley recalled. “I started doing dresses for the window seasonally and we had a nice following.”

When Missner saw the shoe on her present, she perceived another opportunity. “I started making shoes to complete the outfits,” Filley said. When Missner mounted a retrospective of Filley outfits, every shoe sold in one night.

Filley is no sentimentalist and readily parts with her creations. “They are all for sale,” she said. “I do have a couple of small ones that I like and that are not for sale. One of them I made out of an old diary with a roll of old stamps that became the strap.”

This is a return visit to Norfolk for Filley, who last showed her work at the library in 2017. “The people at the library are pretty special,” she said, “and the library is just beautiful.”

The show opened March 2 and will continue during regular library hours through April 4.

—Newsletter Editor

Garet&Co returns to Battell Chapel March 9 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. to present “Interior,” four works that portray human emotion. 

The performance will be “in the round,” allowing the audience to witness the dancing up close and from all sides. All four pieces were first showcased in late January at Garet&Co’s “Eclipse” at the Warner Theatre, but have since been refined, adjusted and extended. 

The show will be followed by a Q&A and reception with dance artist, educator and choreographer Garet Wierdsma and the company. The dance performance is presented in partnership with the United Church of Christ Congregational.

There will be two dance classes presented Friday, March 8, also at Battell Chapel. From 4:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. a beginner’s class will offer a first introduction to contemporary dance. From 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. there will be an intermediate class in Contemporary Storytelling, structured similarly to Garet&Co’s open company classes. Wierdsma will lead dancers through an improvisational warm up, focusing on control and balance. The class culminates in a short combination where dancers explore storytelling in contemporary dance. The class is appropriate for dancers of many ages and skill levels.

Click here to register for the classes or for tickets to the Saturday performance.

Garet&Co is a professional contemporary dance company based in northern Connecticut. Wierdsma’s choreographic work deals with themes of struggling mental health and the search for peace within chaos. She first pulls from her own experiences and then collaborates conceptually and in movement with the dancers in hopes of giving audiences the opportunity to fully experience the joy, devastation and catharsis of contemporary dance. 

—Newsletter Editor

Young thespians at Botelle School flitted around the stage in the school’s Hall of Flags Thursday afternoon, following the directions of choreographer Michelle Padua as they practiced for the upcoming production of Disney’s “Frozen Jr.”

“Frozen Jr.” is based on the 2018 Broadway musical and features all the memorable songs from the original animated film.

The play will be performed exclusively for fellow students March 21 at 10:00 a.m., but families, friends and townspeople are invited to attend subsequent free performances on March 22 at 7:00 p.m. and March 23 at 2:00 p.m.

Parents Becky Keyes and Megan Schneider are directing the play, which has a cast not of thousands, as in a Cecil B. DeMille extravaganza, but rather of 15 youngsters.

Schneider likened the rehearsals, which started in January and continue twice weekly, to “herding cats.” “You think they aren’t listening to you, and then at the end it all comes together,” she said.

Similarly, she and Keyes felt apprehensive when they undertook their directorial roles. “We were told that a lot of [volunteers] weren’t doing it this year. We thought, ‘What have we gotten into?’ Then people started signing up—moms, husbands and grandmas.”

Indeed, it has turned into a family affair. Michelle Padua’s entire family has pitched in, with her husband, mother and grandmother all helping. “Even my little son has helped,” she said.

Grandmother Teri Padua was working on costumes with Amy Bennet and Theresa Padua. Asked how many costumes were needed for the production, she sighed and said, “thousands.” She later admitted that to be an exaggeration but said some children had up to five roles with costume changes to match. 

The amateur seamstresses hit the Goodwill shop in Torrington last week to find garments that could be altered to fit the children and were busy trying them on the little actors, pinning here and tucking there as they tried to envision the finished products.

Other parents were busy painting scenery, while all the time the children danced, following their mentors around the stage.

—Newsletter Editor 

The drainage upgrades to Maple Avenue are expected to be complete March 1, according First Selectman Matt Riiska. Grading and removal of the remaining asphalt on the road will follow in preparation for putting down the binder course of paving in early April.

Riiska said the road will be unpaved for three to four weeks while other work is done, including installing the framework into which cement will be poured for the sidewalks.

“They will work on the wall in front of Manor House and there will be excavation to clean up the sides of the road,” he said. “All that will happen depending on the weather.”

—Newsletter Editor