Community News

A “healthy number” of businesses have submitted responses to the survey sent out recently by the Economic Development Commission, according to Cheryl Heller, the commission member who designed it.

This week she provided some early findings from the survey and encouraged other business owners to weigh in on what they would like to see in Norfolk in the future.

The survey revealed that the age of businesses in Norfolk ranges from 13 months to 80 years, with one response of “Forever, it seems.”  

Of the topics business owners would most like to have advice or mentoring on,

publicity and communications has generated the most interest to date, followed by marketing, loans and grant proposals, financial management and new technologies for small businesses.

Forty percent of respondents said they would join an active community of business owners, and another 40 percent said they could be convinced.

Norfolk business leaders expressed interest in receiving communications from the EDC at levels ranging from “the more the better,” to “two times a year.”

Heller encouraged business owners to keep communicating with the EDC and provided a link to the survey for those who have yet to respond. To take the survey, click here.

Another open house for prospective buyers will be held at Haystack Woods houses, a group of 10 affordable homes, are designed for first-time home buyers and are being developed under the auspices of the Foundation for Norfolk Living (FNL).

Construction at the site was expected to be completed this winter, but weather and illness slowed the crews. The houses are now expected to be ready for occupancy in May, although site work may continue after that.

As the winter wanes, the houses are beginning to take shape. Crews are finishing the buildings’ interiors and installing plumbing. Ruthann Olsson, a member of the FNL board and an interior designer, has worked closely with architect Kate Briggs Johnson and contractor David Jones of Revival Homes to select interior finishes, including kitchen countertops and cabinets.

“We are basically pretty pleased with where we are,” said Avice Meehan, a member of the foundation’s board of directors. “Five homes have committed buyers and that’s a great start. It’s a matter of reaching the right people at the right point in their lives and that takes time, as well as committed outreach.” 

Applications for the five remaining houses are being accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. 

NFL has created a virtual open house video posted on the FNL website. In addition, prospective buyers can view a recorded information session that outlines eligibility requirements and details about the homes by clicking here.

The Norfolk Board of Education approved Superintendent Kevin Case’s proposed $2,658,868 budget for 2026-2027 during a 10-minute meeting Wednesday night. The budget would increase spending by $113,665 or 4.47 percent.

Case presented the spending package to the school board last week for review. Board members made no changes other than a couple of small math adjustments.

“I do want to point out that we are looking at an increase of $113,000 just to open the doors of Botelle School at the end of August without making any changes,” Case said before the board’s vote. “We are expecting the enrollment to be about the same, but it will cost us another $100,000. I have reduced it where I could without affecting the students.”

Case said, however, that value will be added to school programs through the addition of a part-time paraeducator who will provide support services to the students. “We will move the school forward where we can,” he concluded.

The budget will be presented to the Board of Finance on Tuesday for potential acceptance and inclusion in the final municipal budget package.

Norfolk taxpayers can expect to pay $2,056,665 for their share of the Northwestern Regional School District #7 budget in the 2026-2027 school year if the proposed budget is accepted. That sum is $81,130 more than the current year.

The proposed $25,345,724 budget for Northwestern Regional School District #7 reflects an increase of 2.10 percent, or $520,995. After revenues are factored in, taxpayers would pay $23,108,592 for the 2026-2027 school year. Norfolk, which is expected to send 61 students to the school next year and would be assessed at 4.41 percent of the budget. 

The largest increase, $418,954, is for salaries and benefits, which consume 67 percent of the total budget. Superintendent of Schools Steve LePage said salaries increased only $50,856 (.40 percent) because the district offered retirement incentives to senior teachers. Four teachers took advantage of the incentive package and only one new teacher was hired at a lower rate. LePage said the salary increases would have been about $500,000 without the retirement plan.

The school district has been reducing faculty through attrition for several years as student enrollments have declined. The school has 685 students in middle and high school this year, down from more than 1,000 in 2019-2020. Administrators believe the declining population will remain relatively constant at the current enrollment for the foreseeable future. 

Benefits increased 9.42 percent ($388,098) with medical benefits alone rising by 12 percent, continuing a three-year upward trend.

Another large increase is found in professional/technical services, up 9.83 percent ($226,813). This area includes, among other items, special education technical services, up 10.74 percent, or $95,466, and technical services, up $80,000 to purchase new technology to handle business operations, payroll and attendance tracking.

Other purchased services decreased by $203,334 decrease because special education transportation dropped 17.61 percent ($99,570) and special education tuition, which is paid for outplacement of special needs students, dropped by 16.83 percent ($198,492). 

The four member towns of the district—Norfolk, Colebrook, Barkhamsted and New Hartford—are assessed their portion of costs based on shifts in student populations as they relate to the other towns. 

The amount the Norfolk will pay has been corrected from the amount listed in the newsletter.

The Norfolk Library has received a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation to host a community reading of selections from “A Sand County Almanac” on March 8 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.  The reading will be followed by a moderated discussion. 

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) was an American author, philosopher, scientist and forester recognized as the father of wildlife ecology and a founder of modern environmental ethics. He is best known for his influential book, “A Sand County Almanac,” and for championing his “land ethic,” which advocates for a moral, caring relationship between people and nature.

Community readings take place in various locations across the country during the first weekend of Leopold Week (the first full week of March). Norfolk’s grant has paid for many copies of “A Sand County Almanac” to distribute during the event. Readers will receive a copy in advance. 

Aldo Leopold Week celebrations began in 2000, in Lodi, Wisc., the brainchild of resident Tom Heberlein, who wanted to encourage the community to connect with Leopold’s environmental philosophy.

Lodi’s event led to a 2004 proclamation by then-Governor James Doyle, officially designating the first weekend in March each year as Aldo Leopold Weekend in Wisconsin. Iowa followed suit in 2014.  

Some community reading events have read the entire book (10 hours) or the entire almanac portion (three hours). Norfolk’s two-hour event calls for members of the community to read selections from “A Sand County Almanac.” 

“Norfolk has always had a strong sense of place,” says library director Ann Havemeyer. “This is in part because of the town’s unique moniker ‘Icebox of Connecticut’; in part because of the families who have lived here for generations and invested in the natural and cultural resources of the town, and in no small part to the town’s abundance of conserved land. Norfolk Reads Leopold will enhance the town’s awareness of the land ethic and the transformative power a community has in living with and caring for the land.”

The Board of Education got its first look at a proposed $2,658,868 budget for 2026-2027 when Superintendent Kevin Chase reviewed it with them Tuesday night. The board is expected to act on the budget next Wednesday before its formal presentation to the Board of Finance on March 10.

The budget reflects a 4.47 percent increase, or $113,665, over current spending to educate an anticipated student body of 58 children, three more than current enrollment. 

The funds will pay for special education services for 11 students, curriculum materials and resources, building maintenance, and contractual agreements with faculty and staff. Non-negotiable contractual increases total $119,643—up $48,440 for teachers, $3,000 for teacher substitutes, $7,000 for legal fees, $8,242 for utilities and $2,800 for professional services.

These increases are offset by a $2,800 reduction for textbook and workbooks, a $2,250 reduction for the hours worked by the office clerk and a $15,000 reduction in special education transportation costs, for a total of $32,627.

New items are a half-time intervention paraeducator to support students at $5,471, development for staff at $4,000, new shelving for the library at $1,746 and new progress reports/student data support at $3,541, for a total of $14,758.

Even though the 2026-2027 budget is higher than the current budget, thus meeting the state’s Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR), it will not settle the town’s current dispute with the state Board of Education. The MBR requires school districts to spend as much or more than the previous year’s budget. Special education costs dropped for the current year in Norfolk, resulting in a $58,000 reduction in spending. This violated the MBR, according to the state Board of Education.

“That’s a separate issue,” said Case, who is still seeking a meeting with state officials. “We wouldn’t repay that until next year.”

It will be next week before the town crew has cleared away the more than 14 inches of snow that blanketed Norfolk on Monday, First Selectman Henry Tirrell predicts. “It’s an absurd amount of snow,” he said. “It will be a while before we have cleared all the sidewalks and sight lines.”

Monday’s storm was “very intense,” he said. “The town crew was out 24 hours straight. They would come in and take a break, but with a storm like that, if you don’t move it, it gets to the point where it almost impossible to handle.”

With the crew barely recovered from that, more 2 inches of snow hit on Wednesday, forcing school to close or be delayed for the third day in a row. 

Asked if he is facing a deficit in the amount budgeted for overtime work, he said he will have a better idea next week. Because storms have consistently swept through the region on weekends and holidays this winter, the overtime line item is being stretched. “With snow removal, what else are you going to do?” he said. “It’s been a horrible winter.”

Statewide, towns and cities are facing salt shortages and are working to conserve its use on snowy roads. “It’s been a constant struggle coordinating salt deliveries,” said Tirrell. “The last couple of deliveries have been untreated salt, which is not as effective with the equipment we have.”

Treated salt is standard rock salt coated with liquid agents to improve melting efficiency, reduce corrosion of trucks and enhance adhesion to road surfaces. It acts faster and works at lower temperatures. 

The Norfolk crew has been stretching its untreated salt by mixing it with sand.

Salt exists at regional distribution hubs but getting it to towns has been challenged by a lack of truck drivers and equipment and supply chain bottlenecks when ports are shut down due to icy conditions.

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the site plan modification presented by Michael Halloran on behalf of George Auclair during its February 10th meeting. 

Auclair, owner of George’s Garage, received permission to add a second 50-foot-by-80-foot storage building on a narrow strip of land across Route 44 from his garage. He also can provide outside parking for 10 vehicles and has one parking spot for an oversize vehicle.

The P&Z placed conditions on the approval, stipulating that the parcel be screened from Route 44 by trees and that no vehicles be serviced there other than Auclair’s fleet.

Screenings for the Region 7 Shared Services Integrated Preschool Program (SSIPP) are coming up on March 19 and 20.

SSIPP is  a special education program for children ages 3 to 5 from Norfolk, Colebrook, Barkhamsted and New Hartford who are assessed as needing additional social or educational help to prepare them for school. Remaining spaces are opened to families who want to enroll their kids as peer models.

Parents who are interested in having their child qualify to attend the preschool program as a role model must submit their child’s name for a screening. Screenings will be offered on March 19 and 20. 

The cost for role model peers is $650 per month for the full-day program for four-year-olds, and $275 per month for the half-day program for three-year-olds. Three-year-olds will meet Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. The four-year-olds meet Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

For additional information or to schedule a screening, contact Hallee Martinez or Daniela Belanger at Shared Services by phone or email: 860-379-8583 or 860-307-9170; hmartinez@sharedservicesct.com or dbelanger@sharedservicesct.com.

SSIPP is located at Barkhamsted School and follows the Barkhamsted School calendar.

The Economic Development Commission is planning new programming to support local businesses and wants your input. They invite you to take a few minutes to share your needs and interests. Responses are confidential, and there are no right or wrong answers.

Your feedback will help shape future resources and programs, and the commission will share an anonymous summary of what they learn.

Click here to take the survey.