In summer heat, some town projects come to fruition

SALISBURY — At their July 7 regular meeting, the Board of Selectmen established a new committee, the Salisbury Pathways Committee, to “investigate walking access within and among the village centers” of Salisbury.Selectman Kitty Kiefer made the request.She noted that as an unaffiliated member of the board, she can’t caucus with other members of her political party.“So I invite people to dinner at my house once a month,” she said.One topic that came up frequently at these gatherings was walking in and around Salisbury.Kiefer said, “We’ve all had that scary moment” encountering someone in a motorized wheelchair moving along routes 44 or 41, to and from the Salisbury village center from Noble Horizons.Kiefer said she has been meeting regularly with three other people, and she was now asking for committee status “so we don’t appear to be working behind the scenes.”The people involved are Frank Shinneman, Natalia Smirnova, Pat Hackett, Bob Gilchrest and Kiefer.“You realize you will have to hold public meetings?” said Selectman Jim Dresser.“Oh, yes,” said Kiefer.The first meeting will be Monday, Aug. 11, at 5:15 p.m. at Town Hall.The selectmen then voted unanimously to establish the new committee, which is open to interested people. Cathy Shyer, in the audience, said she knew someone who was very interested and urged the committee members to start by referring to the recent Town Plan of Conservation and Development.The selectmen voted to approve a new three-year lease at 194 Main St. for Ascendant Compliance. The office space is above the firehouse, and in 2011 a town meeting approved an initial three-year lease (at $2,500 per month) and two renewals for three years, with an adjustment of the rent.The selectmen unanimously approved a new three-year lease, at $2,750 per month.First Selectman Curtis Rand said Ascendant has been a good tenant, had paid for building upgrades themselves and was the sort of modern, web-based business the town would like to encourage. Rand reported that the former dry-cleaning and laundry facility at 17 Perry St. “is down, it’s gone.”He said the town crew had hosed down the concrete pad that remains. “You could eat your dinner off the floor.”“You buying?” asked Dresser.Rand said the next step is more testing beneath the pad to see if there are any dangerous chemicals. He also said the demolition led to the discovery of a “vault” in the rear of the pad, which has been sealed up prior to testing the ground underneath.• Rand noted that with the Planning and Zoning Commission’s (P&Z) approval last month of a special permit for the project at the former firehouse, the sale of the property at 9 and 9A Sharon Road will go through shortly after July 17, when a 30-day period for an appeal of the PZC decision ends.• The selectmen reappointed Dan Bolognani as the town’s representative to the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau.• Rand reported the town will likely receive a grant from the state Department of Transportation to rebuild Cooper Hill Road, one of four roads known as “rural minor collectors” that run between towns or between states. Dugway Road is one, and the town received a grant to rebuild that road. White Hollow Road is another; the town did not get a grant for that, but rebuilt the road anyway.The other road is the Mount Riga-Mount Washington Road, which is dirt, mostly a single lane and not a candidate for paving, Rand said.• Rand noted that as of July 1 the transfer station moved to single-stream recycling. “I did a double take when I dropped my bottles and cans in with the newspapers,” he said.