By Ruth Melville

The main item of business at the June 5 meeting of the Board of Selectman was to approve several appointments to town positions. Jesse Warner was reappointed as animal control officer, Bill Millard was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Inland Wetlands Agency and Libby Borden and James Jasper were reappointed as alternates to the Town Website Committee.

In his monthly report to the board, First Selectman Matt Riiska said that 28 people attended the annual town meeting on May 13, and the 2024/25 budget was passed.

Working with attorney Matthew Ritter, of Shipman and Goodwin, and Phoenix Advisors, the town has completed the new bonding package at a rate of 3.46 percent, down from 5.88 percent. Riiska said this is expected to save the town a total of $50,000 a year, or $1.2 million over the life of the loan. The town is close to getting an AA+ rating.

The Maple Avenue project is moving along well, and Guerrera Construction is finishing the paving.

With regard to the South Norfolk bridges, the Department of Transportation is now doing test borings. “They’re moving forward,” Riiska said, “albeit slowly.” Both bridges will be fully funded by the federal government and the state.

The Mountain Road bridge, too, is in process, but Riiska said the state still has many steps—consulting on environmental, conservation and archeological issues, for example—to go through before work can begin.

The Firehouse Building Committee is holding regular meetings. The architects, Silver Petrucelli and Associates, of Hamden, are trying to design a building that, without frills, both meets the needs of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department and fits in aesthetically with its surroundings. Plans should be ready by the end of July. The architects have suggested that the town hire a project manager—at a cost of about $75,000 to $80,000, Riiska said—who would be responsible for keeping the project on track.

Funds have started coming in for the new firehouse, and additional funds are being sought. The firehouse committee has been in touch with Phoenix Advisors to discuss bonding funds, and planning for a capital campaign is underway. Representative Jahana Hayes is supporting an application for $500,000, which is currently with the House Appropriations Committee.

Progress is continuing on City Meadow. The Friends of City Meadow Committee is working with Native Habitat Restoration, of Stockbridge, Mass., and Matt’s Landscaping, of Falls Village, on the preliminary work of mowing and removing invasive plants. An anonymous donor has given $100,000 for this project.

As a result of replacing the water lines along the Route 44 wall project, the one-lane road is currently very rough and will have to be milled and paved. All the three-phase power lines have been moved up to Old Colony Road, but there is still a lot of excavation to be done before work on reconstructing the wall can begin. 

In response to a question from Selectman Sandy Evans, Riiska said that the site work for the Haystack Woods affordable housing project is almost completed, and building should begin later this summer.