Grants, Road Maintenance, Land Use, and Fiber-Optics Discussed

By Wiley Wood

At a selectmen’s meeting on August 6, First Selectman Sue Dyer reported that two grants the town had recently applied for had been denied: a Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant from the state to renovate downtown sidewalks and a Main Street grant to create a stormwater park in the city meadow.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), however, sent the town a check for $19,756 to cover the costs of last February’s blizzard.
In a region-wide plan to make shared roadbuilding equipment available to area towns, Norfolk’s Public Works facility will house an asphalt recycler. Regional training in its use will be held during the fall.
A proposal to advertise in local papers for a full-time highway maintainer was approved. The position would require a Class B Commercial Driver’s License and pay $22.36 an hour. The deadline for applications was August 26.
The selectmen discussed revising the regulations regarding the use of town property. As became apparent in July, there is no explicit regulation in place to prohibit camping on town land, and the state trooper is therefore powerless to evict a camper from the town green. The selectman’s office consulted the state’s attorney at the time for a ruling. On private land, Dyer explains, a policy is sufficient, but on public land the authorities can only enforce by ordinance. A town meeting would be needed to ratify a new ordinance.
In a conversation about bringing high-speed fiber-optic Internet to Norfolk, Dyer expressed healthy skepticism. She was uncertain of the town’s role in the venture and pointed out that the estimated cost of $4 million is high, since only a portion of Norfolk’s 800 households will want or benefit from high-speed connection. “But it’s worth investigating,” says Dyer. She further points out that the Botelle School already has fiber-optic connection through the Nutmeg Network and that all municipal entities can expect to join the network within two years.