Middlefield selectmen move forward with Powder Ridge
Posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 5:18pm
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The moment many people have been waiting for is near at hand; on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. at Memorial School there will be a public hearing on the town’s proposal to sell the ski area portion of Powder Ridge to Snow Time, Inc. and CDF Associates LLC, whose principal is Dan Frank.
Frank, who in a phone interview seems very excited about restoring and reopening Powder Ridge as a four-season recreational area, will present his plans and town officials and Frank will answer questions. Following the public hearing, either a town meeting or a referendum will be set to vote on selling the property.
This has been a long and winding road, as exemplified by the special Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Jan. 28, called for the purpose of setting a public hearing. Public comment, however, took discussion all over the lot – from whether the ad hoc committee that developed the Request for Qualifications/Proposals (RFQ) over a year of work had in fact finished their job, to whether or not there are other qualified buyers out there just waiting to enter the fray.
Several members of the ad hoc committee were present and contended that they had indeed finished their job and passed it off to the selectmen to negotiate, as the committee charge and the town charter require. Jen Brown noted that the committee waited over a month for another potential buyer to submit required documents, which didn’t happen. “We have only one bidder, but he’s a good bidder,” she said.
Carl Zanoni, another member of the ad hoc committee, congratulated the selectmen on the state grant that they will receive (see story on page 1). He asked that everyone work together and get on with it. First Selectman Jon Brayshaw noted that notice of the grant was a “deal-changer” in that the contract the town has been working on with Frank was based on Frank and Snow Time having to fund all of the infrastructure work needed. Now that the town can do a lot of that, the numbers will change, but Brayshaw is confident that a final proposal will be inked and ready to go by the Feb. 16 public hearing.
Meanwhile, bond counsel Fasi will be asked whether a town meeting or a referendum on the proposal would be best.
Feb. 1 meeting
At their regular meeting on Feb. 1, the selectmen further solidified the Feb. 6 public hearing by choosing a time – 7 p.m. – and a place – Memorial Middle School gym on Hubbard Street.
They also decided that they should re-open the annual town meeting in the near future to accept the town report, which is now printed, and to consider an ordinance for parking at Peckham Park and rules for the Lake Beseck town beach.
First Selectman Brayshaw noted that there has been interest from an international company that would be totally compatible with Zygo for part of the town-owned industrial land between Hubbard Street and Brookside Road. There was some discussion with audience members about what might be acceptable for the land closest to Hubbard Street since one condition of the road easement granted by Zygo to allow the town to reach the property from Brookside Road was to prohibit any through road. Open space or residential housing were two options discussed.
There was also a discussion about saving town tax money by turning off some street lights. Brayshaw noted that after the Energy Task Force floated this idea, he was deluged by negative comments from the public. Bob Yamartino, a member of the finance board, added that perhaps it was time to “just do it” and take complaints after the fact.
Brayshaw also explained that there has been some concern that building fees have been raised when, in fact, what the selectmen did recently was to standardize how the same fees that were in existence since 2001 would be applied. Before the standardization, fees were based on how mush the applicant said the project was going to cost rather than how much the finished project would be worth. Building official George Stronkowsky noticed that if an applicant said that they were constructing a two-car garage and their brother-in-law was supplying the labor, then that applicant paid less than the ordinary family having a two-car garage constructed by a contractor. Since the fees are based on the value of the finished building project, this was not fair, and the selectmen corrected it. However, the fees themselves remain the same as they have been since 2001.
Finally, the selectmen voted unanimously in support of a resolution declaring Friday, Feb. 5, Wear Red for Women’s Heart Health Day in Middlefield, and approved a line of succession for handling the office of first selectman in the absence of Brayshaw. First in line will be selectman Ed Bailey, followed by selectwoman Mary Johnson and chair of the Board of Finance Rebecca Adams.
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