Eye on Town Government

By Ruth Melville

Recent developments in two ongoing town projects were discussed at the Jan. 12 meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC).

Change in Plans at Infinity Hall

Jon Riedeman told the EDC that the proposal from the current owners, GoodWorks Entertainment Group, to turn Infinity Hall over to the town to be owned and operated by a newly created nonprofit (as reported in the Sept. 2022 issue of Norfolk Now) has been temporarily withdrawn. GoodWorks has recently decided to continue operating the facility itself for at least the next few months. Riedeman said he didn’t know of any plans about the future use of the restaurant.

On its website, GoodWorks is currently listing two upcoming shows in Norfolk: Chadwick Stokes & The Pintos on March 11 and Dicey Riley on March 18.

Progress on Fiber Optics

EDC member Brett Robbins reported that some movement has been made in the effort to bring fiber optics to Norfolk. Frontier Communications, which is already planning to wire other towns in the area, including Barkhamsted and Winsted, has approached the Town of Norfolk with an offer to wire a large majority—but not all—of the town. In effect, Frontier would string cable in the more populated part of Norfolk, but the town would have to pay to provide universal coverage.

Kim Maxwell of Northwest ConneCT, who has been spearheading the high-speed broadband effort for several years, has met to discuss the offer with First Selectman Matt Riiska and the chair of the Board of Finance, Michael Sconyers. No specific figures relating to questions of cost and number of households to be served have yet been made public.

The Lakeville Journal reported in its Jan. 19 issue that in Falls Village, which has been offered a similar deal for partial coverage, the Board of Finance has voted to postpone its scheduled Jan. 27 town meeting on Frontier’s proposal and to instead hold a public hearing on that date to enable town residents to ask questions and express their views.