By Bridgette L. Rallo
Northwest Conservation District soil scientist Sean Hayden has determined, yet again, that City Meadow is a wetland. That’s the verdict Hayden delivered to the Conservation Committee on September 1, and the committee forwarded the report to First Selectman Sue Dyer.
The small piece of undeveloped land in the middle of the village center has been proposed as the site of at least a half dozen projects in the past decade, including an ice skating pond and a parking lot, but the wetlands designation has prevented any plans from moving forward.
Even so, according to Hayden, there may be some changes that could be made to the meadow to improve its appearance. He recommended that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) appoint a City Meadow Commission to look into what kinds of improvements might be feasible under existing state regulations. BOS members agreed to think about appointing a commission, and decided to place the issue on the agenda for the October 5 meeting.
In other business, the Old Newgate Coon Club sent a letter to the board requesting permission to allow hunting on their grounds between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the 2010 fish and game season. If permission is granted, club members would hunt stock pheasant game birds on the property. Board member Leo Colwell moved to table the request until next month, citing possible neighbor complaints. “Written complaints are coming,” Colwell told Dyer and board member James Stotler. Colwell’s motion was adopted.
The town energy audit is complete. Auditors from Source One, the company that conducted the survey, will deliver their findings to the BOS and the Energy Task Committee in the near future. Dyer told the board that the town will follow up on as many of the recommendations as the energy budget will allow, “after we pay for the audit, of course.”
Sue Dyer has been authorized by the BOS to deliver all necessary documents to the Federal Department of Homeland Security and the State of Connecticut Department of Emergency Management, if requested to do so in the event of a formal state of emergency.
Finally, the BOS ratified three pending appointments. Glenn Wheeler has been appointed to another three-year-term as Norfolk’s Animal Control Officer. Wheeler’s new term commenced on June 24 and will continue through June 23, 2013. Joseph Stannard was appointed to serve on the Historical Commission from November of this year through November 30, 2013, and Keith Byrne was tapped to serve as a Fire Investigator for the Town of Norfolk on an as needed basis.