Cars, a bench and more for BOS

CORNWALL — Negotiations for a new contract for Cornwall Highway Department employees were recently completed. It was reported at the June 17 meeting of the Board of Selectman that those workers will receive 2.75 percent pay raises but will have to make larger contributions to their health insurance premiums.Approval was given by the selectmen to spend $500 from the Sidney Kaye Fund for a new park bench for the park next to the Covered Bridge. The request came from the West Cornwall Village Improvement Association, which recently cleared brush and planted trees and shrubs to create the “pocket parks” that straddle the entrance to the bridge.With a break between grading and paving roads, the highway department was expected to install two solar-powered “your speed” signs soon along Route 7 in the center of Cornwall Bridge. First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said he was confident the signs would be up by July 4. The goal is to slow traffic through the business center.A complaint of noise, odor and hours of use at a residence where race cars are being serviced is under investigation in Cornwall Village. The plan was for Land Use Adminitrator Karen Nelson and a Torrington Area Health District representative to meet at 12 Twixt Road to make a determination about potential health impacts and zoning violations.