By Avice Meehan

The outgoing Board of Selectmen met twice in November; both meetings focused on ensuring a smooth transition in leadership from Matt Riiska to Henry Tirrell as first selectman. Two members of the new board, Tirrell and Selectman Leo Colwell Jr., also held a special meeting on Nov. 21 for a “get to know you” session with Public Works Supervisor Troy Lamere and the five other members of the town crew.
Riiska did not seek re-election after serving as first selectman for an action-packed eight years. The Nov. 5 regular meeting and the Nov. 12 special meeting involved a review of the many loose ends that remain from the rebuilding of the bridge at River Place, the ongoing effort to recoup expenses related to the gas spill and details of town borrowing for repairs to Maple Avenue, replacement of the Botelle Elementary School roof and replacement of the first bridge at Mountain Road. Riiska also reviewed the status of the firehouse project and provided information related to possible future initiatives.

At the Nov. 5 meeting, the board approved the reappointment of Marion Felton to the Historic District Commission and the appointment of Devin Carlton to the Website Committee. Riiska noted that Site Stream, a company that provides automated traffic enforcement, had placed a monitoring unit on Route 44 for one week and that he suggested placement of others on Route 272. It will be up to the incoming board to decide whether to proceed with this initiative and then to select a vendor.

In other matters, Riiska said the Foundation for Norfolk Living would like to proceed with the process for designating Haystack Woods Road a town road. This is a condition of the grant funding from the Connecticut Department of Housing for construction of the 10-home affordable housing community. Riiska said the foundation would need to provide additional information to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which would have 35 days to act on the application. The matter would eventually go to a town meeting for final approval.

Riiska also reported that the low bid for the replacement of the second Mountain Road bridge—this one located just before the intersection with Westside Road—was rejected because the paperwork was defective. Four other bids remained to be reviewed.

The topics covered at the Nov. 12 meeting—held a week before Tirrell officially took office—covered much of the same ground, but with a greater emphasis on the town’s long-term loans and the timeline for repayment of each one. Riiska also scheduled a Nov. 21 meeting for Tirrell with attorneys from Shipman & Goodwin. They have been working with the town to recover costs from the gas spill. The most recent invoice sent to Federated Insurance was for $753,000 and included legal fees and additional costs incurred for the reconstruction of Maple Avenue.

In other matters, Riiska reported that the Old Newgate Coon Club had expressed an interest in purchasing a 35-acre piece of town-owned property that is in Colebrook. It can only be accessed through the transfer station and Colebrook recently began charging Norfolk property taxes of about $2,500 a year. The Coon Club is a membership organization focused on hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports with a club house on Colebrook Road and about 630 acres managed for wildlife.

Tirrell said the Nov. 21 meeting with the public works staff was intended as an introduction for the incoming board. Sandy Evans, a returning member, was unable to attend. Tirrell said he wanted to learn more about winter maintenance plans and to hear any concerns. Members of the town crew participated in a Nov. 6 training session run by the T2 Center at the University of Connecticut as part of the town’s response to citations from CONN-OSHA following a job-related accident.