Not the year for a new emergency service center, but...

FALLS VILLAGE — The biggest event in Falls Village for 2011 was actually something that didn’t happen: In a referendum on Aug. 23, voters rejected a $2.5 million plan to finance the building of a new emergency services center on Route 7 South. The 230-126 vote forced the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department, which had lobbied extensively for the plan, back to the drawing board.After 15 years of planning and land acquisition, fundraising and applying for grants — and even some construction — the new firehouse project was still short almost three quarters of its projected cost, to the tune of about $2.5 million.The fire department volunteers held a series of public information meetings to explain the project. At the last meeting before the referendum, on Aug. 2, First Selectman Pat Mechare provided a handout with four possible bonding scenarios.The options on Mechare’s handout included borrowing from a local bank — a 20-year loan at 3.96 percent interest, for an annual payment of $181,162.44. This option would have required a mill rate increase of .97 and the total amount of the loan would have been $3,623,247. That means a homeowner with a $100,000 assessment would have faced a property tax increase of $97 a year.Also included as possibilities were loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including a 40-year option that required a special act of the state legislature. The interest rates for USDA 20-year, 30-year and 40-year loans were higher, at 4.25 percent. Mill rate increases would have been 1 mill, .79 mills and .70 mills, respectively.But the total amounts would have been significantly higher. The USDA 40-year loan would have ended up costing more than $5 million.The first phase of site work at 188 Route 7 South is complete. That includes septic tank, a driveway and the hole for the cellar.The existing firehouse is downtown, next to the Falls Village Inn. It is on two floors, and at 3,528 square feet, the fire company feels it is far too small for the needs of a modern fire department.At 7,380 square feet, the rejected plan called for more than double the space the department currently has, including space for 10 vehicles in seven bays with entry from two sides. It would be able to accommodate the ladder truck from the Canaan Fire Company when it comes to Falls Village on standby.No new plans have been presented yet. Meanwhile, the fire company volunteers were kept busy with a rather heavy-duty winter. The firefighters and other volunteers were called on to help shovel heavy, wet snow off the roof of the Lee H. Kellogg School last winter. The snow also caused the roof in the rear of the depot (home of the Canaan-Falls Village Historical Society) to collapse. Insurance was not helpful and the Historical Society had to look at some creative fundraising ideas, including this fall’s Historic Homes tour, which was a great success.A proposal for a cell tower on Cobble Hill was, at long last, rejected by the Connecticut Siting Council, which held one hearing at the Kellogg School, complete with commissioners and interested parties galore; sophisticated sound equipment playing classical music during the break (prompting one resident to mutter something about “soothing the natives”); and a strong opposition from the Inland Wetlands Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commission and Patty and Guy Rovezzi.Town officials struggled to keep taxes low as the economic downturn continued. The town’s Region One School District assessment was unusually high and created a shortfall of around $340,000. Budget season ended May 24, when the Board of Finance voted to raise the mill rate one mill, from 19.5 to 20.5, for the fiscal year 2011-12.Combined with $133,876 from the town’s general fund, $24,000 the finance board subtracted from the Board of Education’s spending plan prior to the town meeting vote, and $9,000 the school board found in additional savings, the mill rate increase covered the cost of increased tuition at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The Board of Selectmen brought forward a municipal spending plan that was essentially flat at $1,537,790; the Board of Education presented a $1,737,584 plan at public hearing that was subsequently decreased by the $24,000 cut by the Board of Finance.

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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).

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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.

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