Falls Village proposes three ordinance changes

FALLS VILLAGE — The Board of Selectmen recommended three ordinances to town meeting at the board’s special meeting Monday, Jan. 8.

The ordinances are: an update to the Raffle, Bazaar and Bingo ordinance, the canine ordinance, and the local bidder policy.

Per the first item, First Selectman Dave Barger said the existing law dates to 1988, but the relevant state law was changed in 2018. The new ordinance will bring the town into compliance.

During public comment, Lou Timolat said he sought two legal opinions on the Nov. 7 town meeting, which was held at the same time as the municipal election.

Timolat said the way the town meeting was held, with voters casting ballots in one part of Town Hall, separate from the municipal voting, was “a grave mistake.

“People were not permitted to participate in the proceedings of their own meeting.”

Timolat said he is not accusing anyone of wrongdoing, but he hopes the selectmen will come up with a policy to avoid a similar situation in the future.

The items voted on were the sale of the former firehouse for $300,000; a land swap between the town and the Falls Village Inn; and two appropriations for an engineering bill and a heat pump at Town Hall. They all passed easily.

Regarding the proposed solar power project at the Town Farm property, Barger said that as it stands, he does not see the town going forward with the existing proposal from electric utility Eversource. Barger said he would like to form a committee to look at the project in total and come up with a recommendation.

The selectmen (and the Board of Finance) held special meetings Jan. 8 because the regular date, Jan. 15, was the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Plan of Conservation and Development Thursday, Jan. 25, on Zoom only. See the town website for log-in details.