Selectmen: Reappointments, Updates

By Ruth Melville

At a short, preholiday meeting on July 3, First Selectman Matt Riiska proposed several reappointments to town positions: Tom Strumolo, Paul Madore, Hartley Mead and Susannah Wood to the Energy Advisory Committee; Kathleen Lippincott to the Retirement Plan Committee; and Matthew Klimkosky as the town tree warden, with Starling Childs as the assistant warden. All were approved by the Board of Selectmen.

Riiska then gave a quick update on ongoing town projects:

––Route 44 wall: Work will be continuing during the summer. Once the water main is finished, work on the sewer main will begin. The plan is to mill and pave the road in September, and also install the traffic lights. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) will keep Town Hall updated so that information can be posted on the website.

––New fire house: Riiska said that things are moving along, and the Fire House Building Committee had had a good meeting with the architects the previous week. There is now a separate page on the town website to provide updates on the fire house.

––Maple Avenue: There are only some minor adjustments left to be done. Residents along the road have asked for landscaping improvements, and that will be taken care of later this summer, when the weather should be a bit cooler.

––South Norfolk bridges: The design for the Smith Road bridge will not be ready until early summer 2025, and then the project will go out to bid. The work is anticipated to last from late fall 2025 to summer 2026. Riiska said he has urged the DOT to move ahead as quickly as they can.

Work on the Old Goshen Road bridge will not start until the Smith Road bridge is complete. Riiska said that it would cause too many traffic problems to try to rebuild both bridges at the same time. 

––River Place bridge: The state has until next May to finish the project.

Riiska noted that this month was the beginning of the new fiscal year and said he had sent out notes urging everyone to stay within their budget this year.

With the termination of the defined benefit pension plan, $135,000 of the money recovered is being put into a five-month CD at 5¼ percent, and the rest into an account at National Iron Bank at 5 1/8 percent. Riiska thanked Chelsea DeWitt, town treasurer, for keeping the Board of Finance informed.