Selectman’s Corner
Blur of 2024, Resolutions for 2025 By Matt Riiska 2024 has been a blur. Many of our planned projects were completed, but too many are still ongoing. We hope that the new national administration coming will have little effect on the many projects we are planning or are currently working on. We will see. The […]
Selectman’s Corner
It’s (F)all about the trees in norfolk By Matt Riiska Our Public Works Department is finishing their summer work, and it has been a busy summer. We recently worked on Doolittle Drive repairing roadside drainage, removing old stumps that were left in place years ago and removing many dead ash and deteriorating pines and maples. […]
Selectman’s Corner
Speed Bumps and Trick or Treaters By Matt Riiska In a recent Lakeville Journal article regarding the solar array at the Norfolk transfer station, the author, Jennifer Almquist, mentioned the SCEF or Eversource’s Shared Clean Energy Program. The program is designed to provide eligible electric customers with an opportunity to receive benefits from locally generated […]
Selectman’s Corner
Bridge Repairs move one slow step at a time By Matt Riiska The recent flooding in southern Litchfield County and northern Fairfield County was a reminder of how volatile mother nature can be. I feel sorry for the residents in that area. Seeing the news clips and talking to the agencies assisting in the cleanup […]
Selectman’s Corner
Considering the question of school consolidation… again By Matt Riiska For several years there have been discussions regarding the consolidation of school resources with our neighboring towns and member towns of Regional 7. In the early 1990s the member towns of Regional 7 studied and developed a plan to combine grades pre-K to 12 into […]
Selectman’s Corner
Summer Programs for Everyone By Matt Riiska People have often told me that I should write a book when I retire from this position, and they are probably right. With all the gossip and stories about some of the characters that live in Norfolk aside, the number of requests that come up are amazing—some good […]
Selectman’s Corner
Get Ready for Summer By Matt Riiska The budget process is over and received approval at the Annual Town Meeting on May 13. We all worked hard to keep the increase of 2.5 percent as low as we could but with our education spending increasing by $570,000, there was little we could do. With all […]
Selectman’s Corner
Volunteers Needed By Matt Riiska I have mentioned this before on a few occasions, but here we go again. We need volunteers to fill positions on many of our boards, commissions and committees, not to mention our ambulance and fire departments. We are currently looking for new members for the Inland Wetlands Agency and the […]
Selectman’s Corner
Rethinking the Waste Stream to Cut Costs and Reduce Landfills By Matt RiiskaOne topic that has always interested me, believe it or not, is the amount of municipal solid waste wegenerate, how we can reduce it and how we process what we cannot recycle. In recent posts I haveexpressed my concern that the cost for […]
Selectman’s Corner
2023 Was a Budget Breaking Year and the Projects Keep Coming By Matt Riiska The year 2023 was not a good one in Norfolk for our budget. Dealing with the issues created by the gas spill, the snowstorm in March and then the flooding in July, our budget was stretched to the breaking point. These […]
