Solar talks resume in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN — The Board of Selectmen has reopened discussions for establishing a solar panel array at the Transfer Station.

A previous arrangement with CTEC Solar to develop a solar farm for the town fell through due to the inability of the company to secure grant funding. First Selectman Brian Ohler described the situation as “a blessing in disguise” because the plan would have involved burying a transmission line through dense, native forest.

Solar talks resumed this spring after consultant Kirt Mayland contacted the selectmen with an offer to plan a new project. Around the same time, John Bunce, owner of the property just north of the Transfer Station, reached out to express interest in partnering with the town on such a project.

Mayland, who worked on the 13-acre array in Norfolk, began drafting an RFP (request for proposal) to present a new solar plan to the North Canaan selectmen. A special meeting of the BOS to review Mayland’s proposal is expected to take place in late May.

Ohler said the goal is to maximize megawatt output while minimizing cost to the town and impact on the environment. Instead of a buried transmission line, he said the new plan involves continuing three-phase power lines along West Main Street to the Transfer Station.

If a five-megawatt array is built, Ohler explained, the potential revenue to the town could be approximately $50,000 per year.

The consultant and infrastructure costs could be covered by the future revenues, meaning potentially “no out of pocket cost to the town,” Ohler said.

As of May 12, no special BOS meeting with Mayland had been scheduled.

Latest News

Cornwall board approves purchase of two new fire trucks following CVFD recommendation
CVFD reaches fundraising goal for new fire trucks
Provided

CORNWALL — At the recommendation of the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department, on Jan. 20 the Board of Selectmen voted to move forward with the purchase of two new trucks.

Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, located in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, was chosen as the manufacturer. Of the three bids received, Greenwood was the lowest bidder on the desired mini pumper and a rescue pumper.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robin Lee Roy

FALLS VILLAGE — Robin Lee Roy, 62, of Zephyrhills, Florida, passed away Jan. 14, 2026.

She was a longtime CNA, serving others with compassion for more than 20 years before retiring from Heartland in Florida.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie A. Vreeland

SALISBURY — Marjorie A. Vreeland, 98, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizons, on Jan. 10, 2026.She was surrounded by her two loving children, Richard and Nancy.She was born in Bronxville, New York,on Aug. 9, 1927, to Alice (Meyer) and Joseph Casey, both of whom were deceased by the time she was 14. She attended public schools in the area and graduated from Eastchester High School in Tuckahoe and, in 1946 she graduated from The Wood School of Business in New York City.

At 19 years old, she married Everett W. Vreeland of White Plains, New York and for a few years they lived in Ithaca, New York, where Everett was studying to become a veterinarian at Cornell. After a short stint in Coos Bay, Oregon (Mike couldn’t stand the cloudy, rainy weather!) they moved back east to Middletown, Connecticut for three years where Dr. Vreeland worked for Dr. Pieper’s veterinary practice.In Aug. of 1955, Dr. and Mrs. Vreeland moved to North Kent, Connecticut with their children and started Dr. Vreeland’s Veterinary practice. In Sept. of 1968 Marjorie, or “Mike” as she wished to be called, took a “part-time job” at the South Kent School.She retired from South Kent 23 years later on Sept. 1, 1991.Aside from office help and bookkeeping she was secretary to the Headmaster and also taught Public Speaking and Typing.In other times she worked as an assistant to the Town Clerk in Kent, an office worker and receptionist at Ewald Instruments Corp. and as a volunteer at the Kent Library.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rafael A. Porro

SALISBURY -— Rafael A. Porro, 88, of 4 Undermountain Road, passed away Jan. 6, 2026, at Sharon Hospital. Rafael was born on April 19, 1937 in Camaguey, Cuba the son of Jose Rafael Porro and Clemencia Molina de Porro. He graduated from the Englewood School for Boys in Englewood, New Jersey and attended Columbia University School of General Studies. Rafael retired as a law library clerk from the law firm of Curtis, Mallet Prevost in 2002 and came to live in Salisbury to be nearer to his sister, Chany Wells.

Rafael is survived by his sister, Chany Wells, his nephew Conrad Wells (Gillian), and by numerous cousins in North Carolina, Florida, Wyoming, Arizona, Cuba and Canada. He was the eldest of the cousins and acknowledged family historian. He will be greatly missed.

Keep ReadingShow less