Air quality monitoring approved by selectmen

SHARON — Joining with area towns in an effort to monitor air quality, the Board of Selectmen voted to fund installation of equipment to do just that, at their meeting on Tuesday, March 12.

The monitor will establish base line data in advance of the completion of construction of the Cricket Valley Energy plant in Dover, N.Y.  The two-year contract will allow the town to monitor air quality once the plant begins operations next year.  The projected cost of the monitoring station is $4,500 to $5,000.

“It’s up to them to decide on the location,” First Selectman Brent Colley said, although the board felt the Sewer and Water Commission property on Calkinstown Road would be a good site. Selectman Dale Jones commented that the land is away from road traffic and automobile exhaust.  

The big question, Colley said, is where to find the funding. 

“I would favor the more immediate track,” he said, and Jones and Selectman Jessica Fowler agreed to include the amount in the budget for fiscal 2019-20. The item will be added to the Conservation Commission’s budget, as a one-time expense.

The selectmen also agreed to join with other towns along the route of the Discover Connecticut Bicycle Tour in welcoming the event, scheduled for Sunday, June 23. 

Now in its fourth year, bicyclists will choose from four routes of varying lengths and hilliness. The easiest is 13 miles in length and climbs only 368 feet. It goes from Falls Village to West Cornwall and back again, along the east bank of the Housatonic River.  

The strenuous full route runs 46 miles and climbs 3,278 feet. It begins in Falls Village and continues through North Canaan, Salisbury and Lakeville, Sharon and West Cornwall, and goes on to finish in Falls Village.

“It’s a tour, not a race,” said Terry Burke of Cornwall, who described the fully insured event for the selectmen. He said that 12 to 15 marshals will be stationed along the well-marked route.  

Preparing for the review process in connection with their proposed 2019-20 town budget, the selectmen noted that additions to the budget include increases to support of the Sharon Historical Society ($15,000), the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon ($45,550), and Parks and Recreation ($11,750).