A recap of 2012 from Bruce Adams

KENT — First Selectman Bruce Adams offered his own review of 2012 in Kent in a recent interview, noting that, “Though there have been ups and downs, overall I think it’s been a pretty good year.”The biggest project he hasn’t resolved yet, he said, is “the Bulls Bridge situation, even though we are headed in the right direction now. I would have preferred a quicker, more defined solution.”Parking problems reached a near crisis point at the popular recreation site. No resolution has been found yet between landowner First Light Power Resources and the various government entities involved.“The problem,” he said, “is having to deal with a large corporation that owns large tracts of land there, the federal government, the state government and other groups all at once. If it were only the town of Kent, it would have been fixed. We would have gotten our people together and come up with a workable idea.”The wheels of government work very slowly, and Adams said it can be extremely frustrating. As an example, he said, “I was just talking with the head of maintenance at the Kent School, who told me they are putting in a simple sidewalk that will make pedestrian traffic safer for their students. He said it took him four months to get DOT approval.”That solution will, it is hoped, resolve another ongoing problem, with safety on Schaghticoke Road near the school’s playing fields. Adams said he attended a Connecticut Council of Municipalities convention.“Three or four state agency representatives said the governor has told them to make things happen faster. That hasn’t really happened.”On a more local level, change has happened quickly in the restaurant scene.“Belgique closed. A local woman, Anna Gowen, is opening a new restaurant in the space formerly occupied by the Millstone Café, which closed a few month ago. Doc’s is closing and I understand there will be a new restaurant in that space.”Several advances were made in infrastructure projects in town.“Two thirds of the sewer project is now complete. The new pump station is complete. Renovations at the Community House are finished.” The Community House upgrades were so successful at making the site appealing that actual revenues from the town-owned building are exceeding budgeted revenues.“Another great accomplishment, which I had nothing to do with but is good to see, is Kent Affordable Housing’s Stuart Farm Apartments complex. That is due to the hard work of Virginia Bush and all the other members of that group and is a great addition to the town.”One negative event had a positive outcome, Adams said. “A positive that came out of a negative is the way we handled storm Alfred last year. Granted we did not get hit as bad as some places, but it was still pretty bad for many folks. People in small towns pull together, and Kent certainly did.”Adams said, “I like my job. The town is small enough so it is relatively easy to make a difference in the town and for the people who live here.”A simple wish for the new year?“One-thousand-two-hundred people now get my email town newsletter. My goal is to get that up to 1,500.”