Zoning, re-use, development issues top past 12 months

SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) had a very busy 2011. Michael Klemens took over as chairman of the commission, and In an interview with The Journal said, “At the end of any proceeding, I want people to walk away with the sense they’ve been dealt with fairly, the commission was deliberative and everybody’s point of view was heard.”There were plenty of opportunities to test that proposition.After months of deliberations, hearings and tangents, the commission voted on Tuesday, Oct.4, to abolish special permits for vertical expansion of nonconforming buildings in the LA Zone, which includes Lake Wononscopomuc.The unanimous vote brought to an end a lengthy process that began in the summer of 2010 with a petition from the Lake Wononscopomuc Association to ban the special permits in the Lake Protection Overlay Zone.Other high-profile P&Z events included a “workshop” meeting about noise from Lime Rock Park race track on April 19. The bulk of the two hour and 46 minute meeting was devoted to remarks from the standing-room only crowd, and the bulk of the remarks were supportive of the track.A split commission voted not to endorse Frank Gallogly’s $475,000 offer to buy the old firehouse for the storage of a collection of classic automobiles in November, which had the effect of causing the offer to be withdrawn.The commission also embarked on the update of the Town Plan of Conservation and Development, with another workshop meeting in November where residents indicated that affordable housing was their top concern.Speaking of affordable housing, the new Affordable Housing Commission began its work with a $9,500 rehab job on a small house at 25 Academy St. The town-owned building suffered from poor insulation (and high heating bills) and a general air of defeat.With a mix of volunteer and paid labor, the house was fixed up to the point of being a viable rental for someone of limited means.The Affordable Housing Commission also took a look at Mike Flint’s proposal for the old firehouse — converting the building into three affordable housing units. After four meetings with the topic on the agenda, plus a public information meeting where Flint explained his idea, the commission ultimately felt the idea was not economically feasible. The fate of the old firehouse remains uncertain. New Selectman Mark Lauretano (elected in November) expressed a strong interest in a continued and extensive public discussion of the topic.The fate of the Lakeville Post Office was also cause for conversation. Despite repeated assurances from U.S. Postal Service officials that the Lakeville facility will remain open, Etienne Delessert of Lakeville remained unconvinced. The Postal Service didn’t help its case by responding to requests for information with requests for information from the requesters. They weren’t very good at returning telephone calls, either. The anxieties of post office users, in other words, have not been adequately soothed.Growing, building, changingNew in 2011: Diane Monti-Catania, pastor at Salisbury Congregational Church; Christopher Sorrell, resident state trooper; Brian Bartram, new chairman of the Board of Education; Scooter Tedder, new representative on the Region One Board of Education. (Tedder’s opponent in the election, Mike Flint, was appointed as the town’s alternate on the regional board.) Lauretano won the nomination of the town Republican party to run for the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Republican Selectman Bob Riva, who was not endorsed this time around by the Republican Town Committee, ran as an independent but still lost in a fairly tight three-way race, with First Selectman Curtis Rand (D) running unopposed and Selectman Jim Dresser (D) returning to the board.Salisbury village got new sidewalks and curbs and the Salisbury Winter Sports Association got a new ski jump — and the Junior Olympics.Long Pond got a new dam, and The Hotchkiss School began work on a new heating plant that burns wood chips.The Lakeville Hose Company dedicated the new firehouse on Brook Street in June.Denise Rice retired as tax collector, a position she had held since 1973. And the Rev. Richard Taber was welcomed back to the Congregational Church as pastor emeritus.Carl Williams and Roger Rawlings retired after lengthy terms of service on the Board of Finance and Board of Education, respectively.Mount Riga fireA fire burned 73 acres in the Bear Mountain area of the Taconic Range on May 10. According to Jason Wilson, chief of the Lakeville Hose Company, the fire was concentrated in the Ball Brook camp area, just above Scoville Ore Mine Road. Lakeville Hose Company crews were assisted by fire companies from North Canaan, Cornwall, Norfolk and Sheffield, Mass., in addition to a team from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection forestry unit. By that afternoon firefighters were using the area next to the tennis courts on Mount Riga Corporation property — about a quarter of a mile from the dam at South Pond on the Mount Washington Road —as a staging ground. The teams moved through the woods on a well-defined if not especially wide trail to the fire area. Mount Riga Corporation caretaker Danny Brazee assisted with his intimate knowledge of the area, which is a mixture of private land owned by the Mount Riga Corporation and National Park Service land that includes the local section of the Appalchian Trail. The trail is the eastern border of the corporation’s property; the fire was beyond that. “We had approximately 120 firefighters from a total of 11 companies working to put out the fire,” said Wilson.There were no injuries among the firefighters.“The biggest challenge was the difficulty of the terrain,” Wilson said. “There are no roads in the area and the fire units literally had to blaze their own trails, to get the equipment, hoses and personnel in.“The guys really worked hard and did a great job.”Neighbor to neighborAt Camp Sloane YMCA, Executive Director Bear Bryant put together a program offering two weeks of camp for the children of soldiers and sailors on active duty, or wounded or killed in action. The community responded with donations — as did the modestly paid counselors — and the program was a success.The community also came through for the Grimaldi family (who suffered a house fire Nov. 1) with donations and two benefit dinners.And then there was the Oct. 29 snowstorm that dumped well over a foot of wet, heavy snow over the entire region, knocking out power for some residents for more than a week. A warming station was set up at the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service building and for a couple of nights an emergency shelter operated in the cafeteria at Salisbury Central School.