SALISBURY — The Board of Selectmen met online Monday, Jan. 9 to discuss plans and goals for 2023.
First Selectman Curtis Rand went through a list, starting with the plan for the Pope Design Committee to meet with three land use commissions on Jan. 26. The meeting will be held remotely; check the town website for the time.
The design committee will meet with the Planning and Zoning, Inland Wetlands and Historic District commissions to present “three or four” concepts for the town-owned Pope property.
Rand was gloomy about solid waste management, saying it seems likely that the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA), will go out of business by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
MIRA is the agency that used to run the now closed trash to energy plant in Hartford, and which still has a shipping contract for municipal solid waste with several Northwest Corner towns, including Salisbury.
“There’s no good news coming out of any of this,” Rand said. “We’re trucking, or training, our waste way out West. “
Rand said he didn’t have any answers, other than to encourage people to recycle as much as possible. He also mentioned that the Salisbury-Sharon transfer station has had some problems with contamination in the recycling, and asked residents to be careful about what they toss in the hopper.
Rand said the town’s highway crew, along with tree removal specialists, will be working on a long list of trees around power lines that need to come down.
On the COVID-19 front, Rand said the latest variant is making the rounds and that visitors to Town Hall and other public buildings are asked to wear a mask until further notice.
Selectman Chris Williams reported that the Pathways Committee received two bids for connecting Salisbury Central School to the firehouse with a sidewalk, but the bids were much higher than the project’s budget. The committee is considering options.
Also under discussion is a new sidewalk along Route 41 that would connect Sarum Village to downtown Salisbury.
Selectman Don Mayland said that people have been parking along the road that leads from the end of Walton Street to the wastewater treatment plant, and they shouldn’t. He said the road needs to kept clear so trucks can get through.
The selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Carol Sadlon to the Economic Development Committee.
