Landowner Wants To Start Fish Farm


SHARON — Sharon landowner Michael Rost feels he is being denied the right to develop his land as he sees fit.

The land in question is a parcel at 172A Mudge Pond Road, and the subject of controversy.

Rost said he has owned the property since 1998, and sent in his initial application in May 2006.

Rost’s plans include an organic fish farm for the property. He said he is "affiliated" with fish farmers in Pennsylvania and has contacts in the industry. He mentioned trout and bass as species he’d like to cultivate, for consumption purposes.

He is also investigating the possibility of raising flowers.

But what gets Rost riled up is the actions of the town, particularly the Inland Wetlands Commission, in regard to his application.

"The town has been quite biased," he said. "They don’t want me to develop it.

"You have to ask, do they have a right to tell me I can’t develop my property?"

Rost also wants to build a house and a barn. He said the lot was approved for building in 1989.

"It met all their guidelines, for the septic and everything, back then."

He is not reticent in expressing his opinion of the Inland Wetlands Commission, claiming that Chairman Ed Kirby called him "the biggest violator in town."

"These guys are rude," he complained. "Read the minutes. They try to intimidate."

Rost said the delays are costing him money and causing problems at home.

The commission’s hearing on Thursday, Jan. 18, should be action-packed. Rost has enlisted the legal services of the Connecticut Farm Bureau and will have an attorney from that organization.

"The town has been arbitrary and capricious," he said. "But I’ve got the Farm Bureau on my side."

Kirby said Tuesday that the hearing is Rost’s chance to demonstrate why the cease-and-desist order should be lifted. He added that there is no mention of any agricultural project on Rost’s application, which is for a house and septic system.

As to Rost’s characterization of the commission’s past actions, Kirby said, "Fine."

The Sharon Lake Association has circulated a report by a limnologist, or lakes expert, identifying the property as problematic in terms of development. It has also sent around an accompanying petition to halt Rost’s plans.

The report concludes that "with careful, controlled development it may be possible to improve and stabilize this environmentally challenged site," but identifies several causes for concern, including the existence of an old dump; the effect on the quality of the water flowing into Mudge Pond, particularly that of Spring Brook; and the possibility of endangered, threatened or "special concern" species in the area.

The report also advises that some of Rost’s activities to date, including excavation and the transportation to the site of bluestone rock, might require remediation or removal.

These were the actions that caused Inland Wetlands to find Rost in violation in the first place.

Another twist in the story involves the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe, the smaller of the two Schaghticoke groups vying for Federal recognition. Rost said his fish farm would employ members of the SIT.

"I asked the [SIT] council before anybody else," he said.

Rost’s recent encounters with officialdom have not been satisfactory from his point of view. In addition to his ongoing discussion with Inland Wetlands, he asked the Board of Selectmen for permission to move, with his family, to a trailer at the Mudge Pond site, which the selectmen refused in December.

The hearing is Thursday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

Latest News

Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

Keep ReadingShow less
Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less