Projects completed and projects ongoing in Sharon

SHARON — The year 2023 saw the completion of several town projects and planning for more.

Installation of gray granite curbing around the perimeter of the Town Green by RAR Excavating received its final touches in mid-June.

The Hotchkiss Library held a long-awaited ribbon cutting for the new addition in mid-August. Visitors saw the results of the expansion and renovation project for the first time since construction began in 2021.

Also new at the library is the Hotchkiss Library Guild, now welcoming members who will lead imaginative new programming.

Affordable housing continued as an item of pressing interest to residents. Encouraging resident involvement in planning for affordable, workforce housing, a public discussion convened by the Sharon Housing Trust was held in mid-January. One of the items considered was the future of the vacant Community Center building, owned by the town.

In September, another informational meeting was arranged by the Board of Selectmen to hear ideas for the Community Center building. The summer had brought an announcement that the Housing Trust had purchased the six apartments located in three buildings at 91, 93 and 95 North Main St., neighboring the Community Center.

Years of study by the town and the Sharon Connect Task Force (SCTF) culminated in a town vote in late 2022 to approve a contract with Comcast Corp. A $1.6 million agreement between the town and Comcast was signed in early March. The completed final contract cleared the way toward providing high-speed broadband access for every home and business in Sharon.

While awaiting pole access permissions, Comcast began with underground installation of lines. At year’s end, with pole access in hand, installation has reached the halfway point.

Traffic and speed continued to be of concern throughout the year, particularly along Hilltop Road used by vehicles as a connector road between routes 41 and 4. Responding to a petition and urging of Hilltop Road residents, the town installed speed humps that have succeeded in slowing the traffic.

Proposed installation of multiple solar panels on town-owned property adjacent to Sharon Center School (SCS) drew significant controversy, particularly among residents living near the project. A town meeting in the summer of 2022, with 14 in attendance, had authorized entering into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Green Bank organization. Based on a petition submitted by residents calling for a referendum vote on the project, a town meeting was held in late November with a referendum vote now scheduled for early January.

Following months of planning and the selection of a muralist, the project to brighten a public-facing wall at Sharon Center School began in earnest on Labor Day weekend. Muralist Morgan Blair’s design is based on the students’ floral depictions within the school’s indoor mural.

The town noted the loss of James Buckley who died in mid-August at the age of 100. His funeral in Sharon memorialized a life of personal and public integrity. The service for the conservative politician and U.S. senator representing New York would mark the end of an important political era personified by one leading local family.

For the November election, the town demonstrated unity by assembling a ballot where every candidate for office was unopposed. Former Selectman Casey Flanagan was elected to the position of First Selectman. The other two selectmen, John Brett and Lynn Kearcher, are new to the board.