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Renovations begin at train station By Charles Kreutzkamp
rary closure of the train station building March 9 for repairs. The Department of Transportation The Berlin train station has seen did not respond for comment last better days, but the process of ren- week, but town staff in touch with ovation has begun following strin- the DOT and the Berlin Historical gent requirements under the State Society received communication Historic Preservation Office that explaining that the DOT has issued will preserve the character of the a change order of $16,000 to repair century-old building as the station the roof at the train station so that the walls can dry out. The building is both renovated and expanded. Amtrak announced the tempo- is in no danger of falling down as The Berlin Citizen
the DOT completes additional wall repairs. The roof is scheduled to be complete by next winter. “So many people have contacted us at the museum alarmed at the deterioration of the building,” said Lorraine Stub of the Berlin Historical Society. The renovated train station is planned to be considerably larger See Train / Page 2
FROZENFEST DRAWS CROWD AT LIBRARY Frozenfest was held at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library April 14. “We’ve had large crowds at other events but for a Tuesday afternoon this is quite a large crowd,” Children’s Librarian Emily Gontarz said. “Staff loves Frozen too, so it was a winwin,” Head of Children and Teen services Jennifer Needham added. The librarians thanked volunteers from UpBeat and the Friends of the Library, as well as StarPlex Cinemas, which donated popcorn. — Charles Kreutzkamp
Many children who attended the Frozenfest dressed in costume. Princess Elsa was a popular choice. | Charles Kreutzkamp / The Berlin Citizen
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Vote on budget referendum April 28 By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
The Town Council is eager to hear from voters at the referendum scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, when voters will be able to advise the council, for the first time in the town’s history, on whether they believe the budget is too low or too high. The council added to the ballot this year a second non-binding advisory question modeled on similar non-binding questions other towns have included on their budget referendum votes. The council has yet to see whether the new question will increase voter turnout. All seven council members were unanimous that the $80,831,550 budget is ready to go to referendum, including a last-minute addition of $408,000 for the Board of Education on top of a 1 percent increase. The proposed mill rate is 30.46, an increase of 1.54. A mill represents one dollar of tax for every 1,000 of assessed value. “We do not want to risk having teacher programs and athletic programs cut,” said Mayor Rachel Rochette, though the Democrat said the council feels “very strongly that the budget we set forward allows those not to be cut.” See Referendum / Page 2
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