Selectmen plan repairs to dam

SALISBURY — The Board of Selectmen approved entering into a contract with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the repair of the Long Pond dam at a special meeting Monday, May 9.The Long Pond dam project has been in the works for several years, but the state’s fiscal role became uncertain during the financial crisis.Fortunately, the firm that submitted the proposal kept the bid price the same, at $455,000.The state will pay two thirds of the project’s cost, up to $500,000, as per the contract the selectmen authorized First Selectman Curtis Rand to sign.The town and owners of shorefront properties are responsible for the remaining third.The reason the project came back to life was that the lakeside property owners signed a maintenance easement deal with the DEP. That last bureaucratic hurdle cleared, the work can now begin, Rand said.The selectmen also voted to spend $4,664 for new signs to replace the ones on Academy and Library streets promoting town businesses. The signs have been the focus of numerous meetings and discussions with merchants, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Northwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative, which came up with the sign proposal.The new signs hang from a post that is 138 inches high (11.5 feet); the main signs are 19.25 inches by 42, and hanging signs are 5.5 inches by 29.The new signs will not list the names of individual businesses. They will simply indicate the types of services available on the two side roads. The Library Street sign will emphasize the ski jumps, which are held every February at nearby Satre Hill.Rand said the town will almost certainly be reimbursed from a state Small Town Economic Assistance grant for the signage. To get them up before the tourist season is in full swing, however, the town willl use money from the municipal development and highway lines in the current budget.“There was a fairly urgent request from the merchants to get this thing done,” Rand said —hence the special meeting.