P&Z approves Morsel Munk’s move

WINSTED — By a unanimous vote, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for Morsel Munk to relocate to the old Ivery and Dudley Pharmacy building on 118 Main St. at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The outdoor store was originally opened in 2011 on 70 South Main St. by Scott and Brigitte Rouleau.

In late December the commission approved the construction of a medical center on land at 70 to 84 South Main St.

As part of the construction of the new medical center, the building Morsel Munk is currently in will be torn down during the summer.

After being informed of the plans for the medical center and several months of searching, the Rouleaus purchased the old Ivery and Dudley Pharmacy location in late December.

The building, once home to a long-operating community pharmacy, has been vacant since the pharmacy’s closure over eight years ago.

Robert Colabella from Laurel Engineering presented plans to the commission on behalf of the Rouleaus.

Colabella said that, because the site has been vacant for more than a year, town regulations required a new site plan for the property.

“Currently there are no intentions of doing any site work,” Colabella said. “There really isn’t any site work to be done here. We do plan, when the weather gets better, to landscape the front island where the sign is. It’s the only stand alone sign on the site.”

Colabella said that there would be extraneous signs existing on the current building that will go on the side of the new building near its parking lot.

“You don’t have any regulations when it comes to wall mounted signs,” he said. “It will be a retail shop.”

“For the record, I would like to ask for a little more extensive description so it will go into the minutes and that any future people that are looking at this will know what kind of retail business it is,” board member Barbara Wilkes said.

“As far as the zoning regulations go, we tried to use the exact verbiage in the zoning regulations under ‘use’ for this kind of zoning,” Colabella said. “We would rather use exact verbiage rather than confuse people and say that we are a shoe and clothing outlet. It’s better to say that we are a retail shop to stay consistent with what is written in our zoning regulations because it would confuse a lot of people.”

“We sell outdoor gear consisting primarily of hiking, camping equipment and a lot of water sports,” Brigitte Rouleau said. “Paddle boards, wakeboards, skis, apparel, accessories and fun stuff. The fun stuff is different kinds of toys and brain teasers.”

“It’s a great spot for them,” Colabella said.

Town Manager Dale Martin told the commission that there were no concerns from town building officials about the site plans for the building.

The plans were approved by the board unanimously. 

Commission Chairman Craig Sanden was not present at the meeting.

After the plan was approved, commission member Jerry Martinez asked a few questions of the Rouleaus.

“Morsel Munk has been one of the few success stories downtown,” Martinez said. “There is a lot of low hanging fruit as far retail property. Having been at one end of the strip, what do you see as the biggest detriment for other people moving in [downtown]?”

“I think it’s about having the right business,” Scott Rouleau said. “Something that is different.”

“I never thought of it as anything the town is doing wrong,” Brigitte Rouleau said. “It’s just that you have to have an entrepreneurial mindset. I think have a lot of people have to have the right mindset to overcome obstacles.”

“But the people who have stepped forward to produce a business should have that kind of insight,” Wilkes said. “ I think [we don’t] have a lot of people like you with that drive. We just need more of you.”

Colabella said that the Board of Selectmen are trying to come up with a vision to move the town forward and asked the Rouleaus for any further suggestions.

“If you can find a way to make it a destination,” Brigitte Rouleau said.

“You have to get people to stop here instead of driving through town,” Scott Rouleau said. “If members of the commission were ever to go to Friends of Main Street and come up with different ideas, you might change things in town to the point where they don’t always drive through.”

She said that building community support has helped Morsel Munk succeed.

“A lot of what has helped us be successful is doing events,” Brigitte Rouleau said. “We try to make the store a destination for people. It could be the same concept for the town.” 

Colabella said the commission should make it easier for businesses to open at pre-existing buildings.

“To come in with a full site plan of development for a piece of property that has already been developed, these properties have had buildings on them that have long been established,” Colabella said. “Yet we have to come in with a full site plan, including lighting, landscaping, drainage. There is some ambiguity to the way [zoning regulations] are written to begin with.”

“You are going exactly where I have been screaming about for the past three years,” Wilkes said. “The zoning regulations need to be redone. We have been stymied at every turn. The funding has been cut, and we have had no cooperation. They got rid of the guy who was going to do it for free. That’s where our development is getting stagnant.”