Members of the United Church of Christ board of trustees asked the Board of Selectmen if the town would consider placing an appropriation inthe budget to help fund the operation of its parish house, which is basically used as a community center.
CORNWALL — In this town, many civic events are held at the United Church of Christ’s parish house. Lacking space elsewhere, many organizations use the building on Bolton Hill Road to bring people together for a variety of offerings.
But, as the Board of Selectmen heard at its meeting on Feb. 18, the historic structure has infrastructure needs, and church officials hope the town can provide some assistance.
Bill Berry, chairman of the church’s board of trustees, gave a presentation in which he noted the parish house hosts functions that extend beyond those of the church.
While they are pleased to be able to serve the community, escalating costs to maintain the structure have stretched the church’s resources and limited its ability to pay for needed upkeep.
“We are hopeful that the town, in light of increased civic use of our space, can help with these matters, he said.”
Berry spoke of the numerous ways in which the building is used, including the housing of the food pantry and medical equipment program. “Those are important ways that the UCC touches the lives of Cornwall residents and the Northwest Corner. Our parish house facility is, in many ways, Cornwall’s community center.”
It contains a kitchen licensed by Torrington Area Health District, allowing such gatherings as the New Year’s Day pancake breakfast and monthly senior breakfasts and lunches put on by the Park and Recreation Commission. The hall also is prepared to be a warming and phone-charging center during prolonged electrical outages.
Berry explained that the church does charge some modest fees to help defray operating costs, that include electricity, propane and heating oil, but maintaining a historic building can be costly.
A few groups give a contribution and this year Park and Recreation has put $3,000 in its proposed budget to pay for its use of the building.
Berry, touching on the premise of separation of church and state, emphasized that any money coming from the town would be earmarked for maintaining the facility and not put toward any religious function.
When asked to give a figure that the church is thinking about, Berry said perhaps about $15,000.
In researching its history, Berry said he learned from Jerry Blakey that the building was once part of Rumsey Hall, a private boarding and day school for boys. In 1949, the school moved to Washington, Conn. The school’s buildings had been owned by the town for which the school paid rent. Eventually the buildings became privately owned.
“In 1970, the parish house was moved a few hundred feet to its current location and became part of the UCC,” he said.
Berry estimates the building to be approximately 90 to 100 years old.
During the comment period, Michelle Shipp, chairman of Park and Recreation, said she and Park and Recreation Director Jennifer Markow (who is also a selectman) have been talking about the need for a town community center and that other residents have told her they believe it is needed.
“But they are clear they don’t want to build a new one,” she said. “The answer is always the parish house.”
First Selectman Gordon M. Ridgway said that while he understands the need to maintain the building, the proposed budget is already tighter than they’d like. He said the board will have to be creative and see how it might be able to give some help.
By Patrick L. Sullivan
SALISBURY — At its regular monthly meeting Monday, Nov. 3, the Board of Selectmen recognized the service of several outgoing officials: Selectman Chris Williams, John Landon of the Inland Wetlands Commission, and Marty Whalen and Michael Klemens of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
All four chose not to seek reelection.
During the meeting, First Selectman Curtis Rand reported that after numerous and lengthy discussions with state officials, it has become clear that the state will not cover any costs related to relocating the train station building on Ethan Allen Street.
Rand said the cost of digging a new foundation and moving the building back several feet from its current position (away from the buildings on the other side of the street) would be in the neighborhood of $400,000.
Williams said further action would require the Board of Finance to weigh in and a town meeting, and Rand agreed.
Once the building is moved, Rand continued, the town would be “very competitive” in getting a state grant to restore the train station.
The selectmen have been talking about moving the train station for years, mostly because it is frequently hit by trucks trying to maneuver in an awkward roadway.
Rand said that the town will be getting a new resident trooper as of Nov. 15. Former resident trooper Will Veras took a new job with the State Police, and the position has been filled temporarily by troopers.
Rand said he has been in touch with garbage haulers that recently started serving customers in town and were unaware of the Salisbury-Sharon Transfer Station, sticker fees, and the town’s overall policies on waste disposal.
And Rand requested anyone willing to help out with the town’s Christmas decorations to get in touch with his office.
A truck owned by Qc Dry Bulk LLC, a freight hauling business, rolled off Lower Road Thursday, Nov. 6.
Rescue crews were called to several emergencies around the Northwest Corner Thursday, Nov. 6.
Allyndale Road in North Canaan was closed in the morning as fire departments battled flames at a hay barn in the vicinity of Sodom Road. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On Lower Road, between Route 7 and the quarry in North Canaan, a triaxle dump truck overturned. Troop B reported the vehicle exited the roadway on the right-hand side, struck a wire rope guardrail and a tree, then rolled over down an embankment. The driver, Joseph Baldarelli, 39, was found at fault and issued a citation for failure to maintain lane. Crews worked to pull the truck up onto the road.
At about 9:30 p.m. that night, multiple emergency crews responded to a structure fire at Lime Rock Park. The fire began in the Outfield Kitchen and was contained by firefighters from several area departments. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Lakeville Hose Company was first on the scene at Lime Rock Park to respond to a structure fire that began in the Outfield Kitchen Thursday, Nov. 6.Provided
Anthony Marx
FALLS VILLAGE — Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, said the country’s largest library is maintaining its core values while encountering serious challenges.
Marx spoke at Housatonic Valley Regional High School Friday evening, Nov. 7, in a Salisbury Forum presentation.
Marx started working at the NYPL in 2011. He said that until he took the job he didn’t realize that while the library has almost 100 branches, none of them are in Brooklyn or Queens.
“We are not a city agency,” he said, while acknowledging that some 60% of the library’s revenue comes from city coffers. “It makes for interesting conversations at budget time.”
The library has a $1.48 billion endowment and raises between $80-100 million in private fundraising per year.
Marx said one big challenge is misinformation, which “spreads faster than truth.” He cited discouraging trends, such as a national decline in reading in general and long-form reading in particular, and shortened attention spans driven by the use of smart phones.
He said that despite the radical increase in communications capabilities, isolation is on the rise.
The good news, he continued, is that people are using the NYPL more than ever, in different formats (books, audiobooks, podcasts).
A related challenge is artificial intelligence. Marx said “for the first time in 130 years” people are checking citations with the NYPL’s librarians, only to find the citations are phony.
“AI is hallucinating,” Marx said, and the designers care more about speed than accuracy.
“We care a lot about truth and accuracy.”
He said the solution for the NYPL is to provide training in AI and to use it to enhance the services the library already provides.
He noted the NYPL has 65 million books, give or take. The goal is to make as much of the collection as possible available online.
Many books are out of print but still under copyright protection. In these cases, Marx argued that the library isn’t harming the copyright holders, since the book isn’t available anyway.
And if enough people request a certain title, perhaps a publisher would be willing to bring out a new edition.
“AI can help with that.”
Ultimately the NYPL will create its own AI, “based on our collection so you can trust it.”
Marx said the NYPL’s branch libraries have historically functioned as outposts of education and community involvement. The NYPL is the largest provider of English as a Second Language classes in the city.
“And yes, we teach immigrants, and we don’t ask about their status because we don’t want them found through us.”
Marx said the library is also trying new things, such as building 175 units of affordable housing over one branch, and using branch libraries as a hub to broadcast free broadband wifi because “between 1.5 to 2 million New Yorkers do not have broadband at home.”
And the branches themselves are being renovated. “We’ve spent a billion so far.”
Marx said, despite the headwinds, “we don’t change what we do. We double down.”
KENT — With 400 voters in favor and 308 opposed, Kent residents adopted an ordinance regulating the sale of marijuana in town.
The ordinance bans recreational cannabis establishments but allows for medicinal dispensaries with P&Z approval. Regulations surrounding hemp cultivation and agriculture will be dealt with separately by P&Z as a zoning issue.
The decision comes near the end of a year-long moratorium on retail establishments in town, meaning P&Z has been unable to accept any applications regarding cannabis sales. The ordinance writes into town code that this prohibition will be permanent.
The results of a town survey were used to inform the ordinance. Of the approximately 500 respondents, 44% indicated disapproval of recreational marijuana retail in town, while 29% were in favor.
Subcommittee Chair and P&Z member Sarah Chase stated, “The data reflects a cautious but open-minded community.”
