Prst. Std. U.S. Postage Paid Naugatuck, CT #27
“Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side.” ~ The Talmud
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Bee Intelligencer Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown A FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Volume IX, No. 10
Friday, March 8, 2013
Region 15 seeks community input Members of the Regional School District 15 staff and community are encouraged to fill out an online survey AND participate in a focus group about the superintendent search. The Region 15 Board of Education (BoE) hired Cooperative Educational Services (CES) to conduct a search for a new superintendent of schools after Dr. Frank Sippy announced his plans to retire. The survey and focus groups are designed to identify leadership characteristics and attributes the community finds important to the success of the new superintendent of schools. A link to the online survey is at www.region15.org. The survey is open until March 15. The focus group schedule is below. Superintendent Search Committee Chairperson Pat Perry said, “It is important for the Board of Education to hear from Region 15 citizens and the educational community about the desirable attributes of a new superintendent of schools.” Perry
encouraged all residents and school district employees to complete the online survey and attend a focus group. She said data from the two will help the BoE structure its screening of candidates to ensure the best match for the culture and needs of the school district. CES will compile and organize the data from the survey and focus groups, and their comprehensive report will be published on the district’s website. CES consultant Tom Jokubaitis said, “Gaining a clear understanding of the Region 15 school district community’s expectations of its next superintendent is critical to the success of the search and the eventual success of the new superintendent. The BoE expects to select a new superintendent this spring. For more information on CES, visit www.ces.k12.ct.us/searches. The page will give you more information on CES and has a clickable link to the Region 15 search.
Bicycle Works owner Matt Morris stands by the bike repair rack at his storefront location in Middlebury. The shop is closing March 8, but Morris hopes to reopen in a new location in April. In the meantime, he is offering mobile bicycle sales and repairs. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Middlebury bike shop goes mobile By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Middlebury town budget taking shape By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Middlebury’s Board of Selectmen on Feb. 4 approved a proposed $11.01 million budget for 2013-2104. This is a 17-percent increase over the current $9.4 million budget. However, the budget summary sheet shows the mil rate staying at its current 28.09 mils. A mil is $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in assessed value. The mil rate is kept the same in part by making up a $1.8 million revenue shortfall by using $1.5 million from the unassigned fund balance. That, combined with $283,270 for an in-kind transfer from the Water Pollution Control Authority, covers the shortfall. Not taken into account in the initial budget is Superintendent Dr. Frank Sippy’s proposed 20132014 Regional School District 15 budget, which increases spending by 4.54 percent. If Sippy’s proposed budget is not reduced during Region 15 Board of Education budget workshops, it will include a $981,283 increase for Middlebury taxpayers. That alone will increase the mil rate 1 full mil to 29.09. First Selectman Edward B. St. John said Tuesday, “No matter
what the town does, the school budget propels a 1 mil increase.” He added, “We need to look at creative ways to lower the impact on taxpayers.” St. John said the majority of the town budget increase is capital expenditures. These are found in two categories: capital budget and capital budget – Town & Public Safety. Capital budget reserve expenditures for fire equipment, public works equipment, upgrades to town facilities and town infrastructure repairs total $1.13 million, a 297.8 percent increase. Capital expenditures for town and public safety increased 179 percent or $224,210, to $349,300 from $125,180. The largest increase in this account was a $197,000 increase for a fire pumper truck. “We used to have a separate capital budget,” St. John said. Now capital costs are incorporated in the town budget. St. John said the reserve accounts the Board of Finance has been eliminating used to be used for capital expenditures. He said monies that come in from tower rentals, for example, now go into
Middlebury’s Bicycle Works is giving up its storefront home at 1255 Middlebury Road in the Hamlet today, Friday, March 8. But that doesn’t mean owner Matt Morris is going out of business. Morris said he will offer mobile services to his customers until he can find a new location for his business. To arrange bicycle pickup or to buy a bike, call Morris at 203-598-0005. Morris opened the shop near the Middlebury Greenway May 7, 2007, and thought by now the business would be doing very well. “I chose here because of the location,” Morris said. “I thought I would get some bike traffic off the Greenway, but I got none.” Morris said the business grew in the first few years, and seemed on track to do well. In the end though, there simply wasn’t enough traffic through the doors to support his bicycle repair and sales business. Sales increased through 2010, which he said was his best year. But sales declined in 2011 and again in 2012. In 2010 and 2011, Morris invested about $40,000 in expanding the store and adding snowboards, skis and bindings to his inventory and ski tune-ups and binding installation to his services. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It meant the business would bring in customers during the winter months when not a lot is happening with bicycle sales and repairs.
It didn’t work out that way, though. The first year, the new inventory did well, he said. The second year, he sold one snowboard, and this year none of the winter inventory sold. “Visibility is a big part of the problem,” Morris said, noting his shop isn’t very visible from the highway. The part of the building Bicycle Works is in sets back a bit from Middlebury Road (Route 64) and is perpendicular to it, so although a lot of traffic passes by, drivers couldn’t easily see the business. To compensate for the poor visibility, Morris bought a small lit “open” sign for his window. He soon found himself at odds with the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which found him in violation of the town’s sign ordinance. Eventually, after Morris paid more than $1,000 to go through the special exception process, he was allowed to put the sign up. Since then, Planning and Zoning has stopped enforcing the sign ordinance, and lit signs can be seen in the windows of many Middlebury businesses. Morris said he hopes to open a shop in
a new location sometime in April. He hasn’t yet figured out where it will be. He said he has looked for possible locations in Newtown, Fairfield and Shelton and also will look in Prospect. “You have to have a certain amount of square footage to operate (a bike shop) effectively,” he said. He estimates the minimum space needed would be about 1,400 square feet. Morris is sad about closing his shop. “I wish I could make it work, but financially I can’t,” he said. When revenues dropped, he tried unsuccessfully to renegotiate his lease. Then he tried to obtain a bank loan. “I went to every bank in the area,” Morris said. None would give him a loan. So, for the immediate future, he will be operating a mobile bicycle sales and service business. Mustering a smile despite the setback for his business, Morris said, “I look at the bright side of things. The atmosphere and the quality of the work will be the same or better at the new location.” For now, his dream of a successful storefront business has been postponed.
Its time to Spring ahead Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 10 Dont forget to set your clocks ahead one hour
- See Budget on page 5
Adoptable Pets................ 8 Classifieds....................... 7 Community Calendar....... 2 Fire Log........................... 4 In Brief............................ 4 Library Happenings.......... 2 Nuggets for Life.............. 6
Obituaries....................... 5 Parks & Rec..................... 6 Puzzles........................... 7 Region 15 Calendar........ 3 Senior Center News......... 3 Sports Quiz..................... 6 Varsity Sports Calendar.... 6
Editorial Office: Email: mbisubmit@gmail.com Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Inside this Issue
Saturday
March 9
Oxford High to present “How to Succeed”
Middlebury Boy Scout Troop 5 Bottle Drive
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. What: All Connecticut deposit bottles, cans and plastics will be accepted. Where: Village Square Mall at 530 Middlebury Road in Middlebury
Page 3
wednesday
March 13
Middlebury Knights of Columbus Annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner When: What: Where: Cost:
5 to 8 p.m. Corned beef, cabbage and more! Shepardson Community Center Auditorium $15 adults, $12 seniors, $8 youth, children under 8 free, family of five $40
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