KENT — The five-year capital plan was discussed and explained at the town meeting on Jan. 19. Presenting information to the approximately 30 people in the audience were meeting moderator Paul Dooley; First Selectman Bruce Adams; and Board of Finance Chairman Chris Garrity.The meeting was held to give the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen a chance to present voters with a draft of a proposed new five-year capital plan. Adams explained this was only an informational presentation, not something to be voted on. Normally the draft is not presented to voters until it is finalized. The Board of Finance usually presents the plan to the selectmen. If the selectmen approve, then the plan is presented to the townspeople. This year, the boards decided it was better to present the draft to the townspeople so they could have an opportunity to voice their opinions early in the process.The capital plan covers only budget items costing more than $20,000 each, Dooley noted. Expenditures for less costly items are approved by the Board of Selectmen. It covers many infrastructure and equipment costs and maintenance. Items included in the plan include: a new roof for Kent Center School; road and bridge repairs; tennis courts; the update of the state-mandated Town Plan of Conservation and Development, and the state-mandated revaluation of properties in town plan.Adams explained the five-year capital plan is funded in one-fifth increments. For example, if there is a $100,000 expenditure anticipated for year six, one fifth of that amount is appropriated into the capital plan in each of the five preceding fiscal years.Garrity gave the example of the fire company’s new ladder truck.“In the new fiscal year there is an appropriation of $125,000 for the fire department to use toward the purchase of a new ladder truck. The same amount will be appropriated in each of the following years.” Kent resident Ed Epstein said, “People should understand that money set aside in the capital plan may not end up being spent. In those cases, the unspent allocated money is plowed back into the capital plan to be used for other projects.”There were four items discussed and voted upon at the town meeting. Voters accepted the town report and the audited financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011. Adams announced that a new auditor had been retained, Blum Shapiro of West Hartford, which is a major accounting firm and experienced in working with towns.Lynn Harrington and Mark Lenz were appointed to three year terms, which expire on Jan. 15, 2015, to the Kent Park and Recreation Commission. Dave Dunleavy and Brian Hastings were appointed to one year alternate seats on the commission which expire on Jan. 17, 2013.An ordinance was repealed that had let the town oversee the repair and renovation of the Kent Community House. With that work completed, day to day management of the venue will now be overseen by the selectmen.Two items that were on the agenda for the town meeting were deferred to a special town meeting that will be called in March. One concerned adoption of an ordinance permitting deferral of real property taxes for certain elderly and disabled homeowners. The second deferred item was presentation and discussion of the Land Acquisition Committee’s report.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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