Middlefield selectmen's meeting short and sweet
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Friday, March 19, 2010 - 9:18am
Interestingly, the subject of most discussion at the March 15 Board of Selectmen’s meeting in Middlefield concerned minutes of past meetings. Selectman Ed Bailey asked that the clerk be instructed to produce more concise minutes due to the inability of “anyone to remember every last word” (as in the current minute style). “If I vote for it, I want to be sure it’s accurate,” Bailey concluded.
First Selectman Jon Brayshaw, selectwoman Mary Johnson and a member of the audience cautioned about the dangers of too much conciseness. “This is a small town,” said Brayshaw. “People want to come to Town Hall and read about the discussion, not just what motion was passed.” Johnson concurred.
Following that discussion, the meeting was short and sweet. Updates were provided on marketing Powder Ridge (two of the three currently interested parties have met with the selectmen with one more to go) and the Nerden Camp land swap. The selectmen approved a motion in principle to endorse the swap of land behind the camp on Powder Hill Road for some land on the flat field in front of the camp buildings. The ratio would be approximately three-to-one, land the town would get to land the town would give. The motion also stated that there would be no buildings on the land given to the camp (backstops and benches for sports would be fine) and the camp land would revert to the town if the camp ceased functioning.
The update on the town-owned Hubbard Street property added some new information to the process of deciding whether to petition off several residential lots on Hubbard Street and market them for houses. The concern had been expressed that since the 47-acre parcel was purchased partially with a STEAP (economic development) grant from the state, putting some (about 15 acres) of that land into residential lots might cause the state to ask for some or all of their money back.
However, in an email received from project engineer Nelson Tereso, Brayshaw was informed that as long as any money made through sale of the residential lots was used for economic development activities, it would be fine with the state. The selectmen received this news gladly since one of the things the town will have to do to market the rest of the land is to build an access road from Brookside Drive. The town currently has no money budgeted to do this so using money from the sale of any lots would make sense, they agreed.
Brayshaw also shared his recent thought that perhaps the selectmen should ask the Economic Development Commission (EDC) to market the land for six months as a 47-acre single parcel. “Sometimes a company wants a campus-like setting,” agreed Bailey. While all concurred that sale of the whole parcel would be ideal as it would get the town out of the business of developing and marketing individual industrial and/or residential lots, they also realized it’s a long shot. Nevertheless, they voted unanimously to continue along two tracks – obtaining a rezone to residential of the acreage along Hubbard Street and charging the EDC with marketing the piece as a whole for up to six months.’
In other business, Brayshaw invited his fellow selectmen to attend the Connecticut Council of Municipalities (CCM) day at the State Capitol on March 23. “I went last year and learned a lot,” he said.
He also reported on a meeting with Durham First Selectman Laura Francis which should lead to a joint program by the Workforce Alliance in April. Brayshaw came away from the meeting “very excited and optimistic,” he said. “This workshop will be very valuable to our townspeople as it will help them in the job market in the future.”
In a final bit of business, the selectmen appointed Bill Warner to the Economic Development Commission and noted that his experience as a planner would be invaluable to that group.
