By Henry Tirrell

We are starting to see the glimmer of spring on the horizon, but we certainly aren’t there yet. After a historic storm dumped snow all up and down the East Coast we have all been digging out.
Another weekend storm around Feb. 21 dragged the road crew back out to clear the roads during the night while the snow came down at an incredible pace. The snow was so intense that our crews put chains on the trucks, a practice only used in the most extreme storms. The week following was a constant struggle to clear and remove as much snow as possible, all while trying to fix the trucks and coordinate salt deliveries, as the whole Northeast struggles to do the same and keep up with all the regular tasks of
the job. So thank you all for your patience and understanding.

I also want to acknowledge all of the various boards, committees, volunteers and employees that continue to meet and work around the unpredictable weather. There is a small army of people working constantly to keep our town going. Thank you!

As we look forward to spring, we hope to hold a special town meeting for a few items. First, the adoption of a new town road, Haystack Woods Road, a small offshoot of Old Colony Road that will provide access to the 11 new homes which are currently being completed. We also hope to vote on financing of the Mountain Road bridge over Spaulding Brook. The town pays for the construction and inspection and will be fully reimbursed through the State with federal and state money.

Finally, we may end up voting on an ordinance that would have the town join the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority (NRRA), a growing group of towns in the Northwest Corner that are coming together, with support from the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NWCOG), to try and keep a public option available for a regional transfer station in Torrington. April will be budget season. With more
details from the general government and the education budgets, we will hold a budget hearing and prepare a budget for the annual town meeting in May.