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“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.” ~ Joey Adams

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Bee Intelligencer AN INDEPENDENTLY OWNED FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Informing the towns of Middlebury, Southbury, Woodbury, Naugatuck, Oxford and Watertown

www.bee-news.com

Volume XII, No. 1

January 2016

CC approves grocery store, crematory, salary increase By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Conservation Commission (CC) at its Nov. 24 meeting approved a septic tank at Tyler Cove and plans for a commercial building on Southford Road. It also accepted an application for a crematory on Benson Road, set a Dec. 29 special meeting date to consider that application, and voted to request an increase in the budget for the wetlands enforcement officer (WEO) salary. At the Dec. 29 special meeting, commissioners approved the crematory application and agreed on the procedure for reopening the former Sunoco station on Middlebury Road. In November, the commission unanimously approved an additional 1,000-gallon septic holding tank at property owned by Antoinette Moore at 17 Tyler Cove with member George Tzepos recusing himself. A resolution of approval stated the proposed activity conformed to the purposes and requirements of the Inland Wetlands Commission and there was no prudent alternative available. Town engineer John Calabrese confirmed the Health Department will perform an inspection. The commission also unanimously approved plans for a grocery store on Southford Road across from the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum with member Justin Stanziale recus-

ing himself. Joseph Desantis and Richard Brown of Middlebury, D/B/A Southford Road LLC, developed the plans for the new 14,000-square-foot commercial building. They made room for the building by combining their 2½ acre parcel at 1000 Southford Road with an acre from the adjoining lot at 984 Southford Road owned by Francis Cipriano of Watertown D/B/A Southford Park LLC. The final plans were reviewed for commissioners by engineer Jeremy Oskandy of Arthur H. Howland and Associates, who responded to drainage comments by Calabrese and to wetland impact comments in a third-party report written by Matthew J. Sanford of Milone and MacBroom. The approval was conditioned on bonding for soil erosion control, wetland plantings, and five years of maintenance and monitoring. In November new business, an application by Raymond and Panagiota (Penny) Albini D/B/A Albini Enterprise - Benson Road to build a 10,000-square-foot crematory on Benson Road was accepted for commissioner review. Civil engineer Brian Baker of Civil One briefly reviewed the plans, saying there will be 116 parking spaces in front and a cremation garden in the rear. All development will be in the open area and not require any tree

– See CC on page 2

EIDC discusses website plans By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commission (EIDC) at its Nov. 24 meeting unanimously voted to not renew a yearly membership in the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). It also discussed the streetscape request for quotations (RFQ) and set 2016 meeting dates. At its Dec. 22 meeting, it unanimously voted to construct a website to promote business in Middlebury. It also welcomed new member Todd Anelli, who was appointed by the Board of Selectmen Dec. 21. At the November meeting, a motion to not renew membership in the CERC Sitefinder Search database at a cost of $600 per year passed unanimously. Commissioners agreed there was not enough benefit in paying for a search capability also available directly from the CERC web site. After a discussion on what nearby towns are doing for marketing, Chairman Terry McAuliffe agreed to bring a website proposal to the December meeting based on good ideas from Newtown and others.

At the December meeting, McAuliffe said the planned website will follow the general design used by the Newtown, Conn., economic development commission and will cost about $115 per year. A Facebook page also will be created. Members discussed a possible photography contest to be held in early 2016 to obtain attractive quality-of-life images of Middlebury for the site, with details to be worked out in coming meetings. McAuliffe told members he had spoken to Chief Financial Officer Larry Hutvagner and First Selectman Ed St. John regarding the Streetscape and Zoning Regulations request for quotations (RFQ) going out for bids. Hutvagner said the bid package would go up on a statewide bidding web site in early January and also be published in the BeeIntelligencer for local awareness. St. John said there was funding for the Zoning Regulations and that part of the work would be a first phase of the entire project, to be phased as funds or grants became available. The package also will be sent to Hiram Peck

Inside this Issue Adopt a Rescue Pet........... 8 Library Lines................2 Classifieds...................7 Now Here’s a Tip.........7 Diversified Tax Tidbits...5 Obituaries...................5 Fire Log.......................2 Puzzles.......................7 Golden Technologies....5 Veterans Post..............5 Library Highlights........2 Winning Ways.............5

Editorial Office: Email: mbisubmit@gmail.com Phone: 203-577-6800 Mail: P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762 Advertising Sales: Email: mbiadvertising@gmail.com

– See EIDC on page 4

Middlebury’s newly elected Board of Selectmen, left to right, Selectman Elaine Strobel (R), First Selectman Edward B. St. John (R) and Selectman Michael McCormack (D) met for the first time Dec. 21. (Marjorie Needham photo)

New Board of Selectmen meets By MARJORIE NEEDHAM Middlebury’s new Board of Selectmen (BoS) met for the first time on Dec. 21, approximately two weeks after they were sworn in by Town Clerk Edith Salisbury. Selectman Elaine Strobel and First Selectman Edward B. St. John, both Republicans, were re-elected. The lone Democrat on the board, Michael McCormack, a first selectman candidate, garnered more votes than the incumbent minority party selectman, Democrat Ralph Barra, so could serve as a selectman if he so chose. On Dec. 8, the day newly elected officials were sworn in, McCormack resigned as chairman of the Board of Finance so he could serve as a selectman. He was sworn in several hours later in the ceremony at Shepardson Community Center. At the Dec. 21 meeting, selectmen voted to offer members of the Middlebury Police Department an incentive to retire early. They also approved the contract for Acting Police Chief Francis Dabbo, who will take over for departing Chief James Viadero when he leaves Middlebury to become the police chief in his home town of Newtown. After McCormack took his place at the table Dec. 21, the meeting moved right to the pledge of allegiance and consideration of agenda items. After handling routine matters, St. John motioned to approve the contract for Dabbo, and Strobel seconded it. St. John said to McCormack, “Mike, normally we make the motion and get a second and then discuss the motion.” McCormack asked for clarification of “extra duty overtime” in the contract, noting that management usually doesn’t get paid overtime. Town counsel Bob Smith explained past acting chiefs were lieutenants and remained lieutenants while they were

acting chiefs. Smith said Dabbo is not a lieutenant and is not a union member, so he won’t get special duty; he will get timeand-a-half for overtime, but that overtime will not be for working late during the day. Instead, it will be overtime pay when there is a personnel shortage for events like the Rev3 Triathlon at Quassy Amusement Park and Dabbo needs to help out. St. John said in that case the vendor reimburses the town for the overtime cost. The contract between the town and Dabbo became effective Dec. 27, 2015. It is a 9-month contract that ends June 30, 2016, but could terminate earlier if the town hires a permanent police chief before then. The contract also can be extended in 3-month increments. The town will pay Dabbo a salary based on $90,000 a year. Dabbo may not work extra duty during this time, but he may work overtime outside of his scheduled work day with approval from the first selectman. St. John said the town doesn’t have enough police personnel for events like the Rev 3 triathlon at Quassy Amusement Park, so that would be an event Dabbo would likely work. The BoS unanimously approved the contract. The next item on the agenda was the voluntary retirement incentive offer for police officers. It covers those who are eligible for retirement or would become eligible for retirement during the incentive program window of Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, to Thursday, March 31, 2016. Those officers who elect to retire will receive one additional year of credited service at the current applicable prevailing wage rate on the effective date of their retirement. First Selectman Edward B. St. John confirmed the offer is limited to police officers and does not apply to other town employees.

McCormack asked town counsel Bob Smith, who drew up the offer, what the town was trying to accomplish with the offer. Smith said there would be substantial savings to the town if two or three of the highest-ranking officers decide to retire. The new hires would be paid $25.44 an hour compared to the $33.80 an hour those being offered early retirement are paid. He said if two officers retired, the town would save $33,000 in the first year, and even after eight years, the town would be paying less than it is now. St. John said he talked to the chief about this offer three months ago. He said he hopes the savings from the offer will offset the budget overruns in police overtime. McCormack asked Smith to report back after the offer’s March 31 ending date. The BoS unanimously approved the offer. In routine matters, the BoS approved the minutes of the Dec. 7 meeting, with St. John turning to McCormack and saying, “Mike, you weren’t here so you can’t vote on that one.” (McCormack was sworn in Dec. 8). The BoS also approved five tax rebates ranging from $30.70 to $179.45. They appointed Todd Anelli (R) to the Economic and Industrial Development Commission for a five-year term starting Dec. 21, 2015, and they appointed Sandra Young (R) to the Beautification Committee for a four-year term starting Dec. 21, 2015. They reappointed two people, Ted Mannello (R) as a member of the Land Preservation and Open Space Committee for a one-year term starting Dec. 15, 2015, and Janice LeDuc to the Safety and Health Committee for a one-year term starting Dec. 21, 2015. The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room.

P&Z discusses Bristol Road house, illegal signs By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE The Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on Dec. 3 informally discussed construction of a second house on a Bristol Road lot. It also set the meeting schedule for 2016 and heard a progress report on illegal sign removal. Chairman Terry Smith told Mitchell Quain, owner of a house on 1 Bristol Road, that zoning regulations were unclear about constructing a second house on a residential lot. He said one section restricted the number of buildings to one and another

permitted multiple structures. Quain said he wanted the second house to provide sleeping accommodations for his extended family during holiday gatherings and had received letters of approval from adjacent property owners. Smith instructed Quain to withdraw his application until a legal opinion had been obtained and agreed to keep the letters of approval on file. In procedural matters, commissioners unanimously voted to keep the monthly meeting schedule unchanged. It currently meets the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.

PHS Varsity Basketball coverage returns to the Bee! See pages 3 and 6 in this issue. Check www.bee-news.com every Wednesday for updates on both the Girls’ and Boys’ Varsity teams.

In enforcement matters, Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco said on Dec. 1, he removed 37 illegal telephone pole signs by using an ice scraper. He said the signs frequently are replaced soon after he removes them, and remarked the posters must be using extension ladders to make removal more difficult, sometimes screwing them in. Bosco said he was usually lenient with signs for non-profit local events. The next regular P&Z meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.

Fire prevention poster winners announced

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