A Busy Norfolk Spring Has Arrived

By Henry Tirrell

Spring is officially here and so are the construction crews. The wall project along Route 44 has resumed activities, with temperatures providing better conditions for concrete. Excavation has begun at the site of the new firehouse to prepare for concrete foundation construction.

In addition to those projects, preliminary site work is underway for the new Mountain Road bridge over Spaulding Brook. Starting on April 6, Mountain Road will be closed just west of the ball-field. Westside Road will be busier than normal, so please take care and travel safely all over town. While this will be an inconvenience for travel in that area, the project is expected to be relatively quick and is slated to be completed in November. By the time the year comes to an end we will have had a considerable amount of infrastructure work completed in Norfolk. please remember to take extra care when traveling in work areas.

Just as the construction calendar will be busy, so will the governmental calendar. The General Assembly is currently in session in Hartford and some of the bills that are due to be considered will have an impact in the future. We continue to advocate for laws that support our communities and the people in them. here in town we will have our own matters to address. on Monday, April 6, there will be a special town meeting held at Botelle School at 7 p.m. The items to be considered include authorization of financing for the Mountain Road bridge, expenditure of funds for a new plow truck and to start a fire truck fund, accepting Haystack Woods Road as new town road and joining the Northwest Resources Recovery Authority (NRRA).

We hope that the final item will aid in showing the state that the Northwest Corner is supportive of finding a path forward for municipal solid waste processing in the area. The HRAA (Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority) is a good example of this type of initiative. We hope over time that, as with many other efforts, the regional community of towns can work together for the benefit of the whole.

Later in April the Board of Finance will hold the annual budget hearing and in May we will hold our annual town meeting. beyond that we can look forward to warmer weather, the Memorial Day parade and all the other great events and experiences that spring in Norfolk has to offer.