Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Volume 18, Issue 43
Newest Powder Ridge possibility Sean Hayes talks snowballs and restoration By Sue VanDerzee “I’ve been watching what’s been happening at Powder Ridge for two or three years,” explains Sean Hayes in a phone interview Feb. 1. Hayes is the newest entry into the Powder Ridge Ski Area ownership sweepstakes. He has had a unique perch to do so as the managing director of Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, LLC in Portland, CT. “I’m a specialist with a proven business model for taking distressed properties owned by municipalities and
turning them into something everybody can be proud of,” says Hayes, pointing to his success over the past seven years in turning a town-owned abandoned brownstone quarry in Portland into a successful outdoor adventure park featuring scuba-diving, zip-lining, swimming, wakeboarding and other assorted water and land-based challenges. “I can offer what no one else can,” he says with assurance, “and that’s both a proven seasonal business model and a See Hayes, page 18
ESPN is coming to town! ESPN’S flagship program Sports Center is looking to build up the drama of Super Bowl 46 with a few segments from the midpoint of Foxborough and Met Life Stadium. Durham is that center point. ESPN’S Sports Center will be sending anchor Karl Ravech Sunday morning (Feb. 5) at 6:30 a.m. to report live from Coginchaug High School’s football field from 7 to 10 a.m. This will be aired on ESPN’s Sports Center. The show is broadcast nationally, and they will conduct some interviews, film festivities and show a great time! The Coginchaug Football Club will be serving hot breakfast, including egg sandwiches, coffee and hot chocolate. Wear your favorite team shirt and come and have some fun. This event is rain or shine. Submitted by Sherry Hill, Durham Recreation
Friday, Februar y 3, 2012
Middlefield revaluation leads to 10 percent drop in grand list By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times Because the housing market is down, Middlefield tax assessor Steven Hodgetts said people expected their home’s assessment to be down as well, which is exactly the case for the Middlefield revaluation that just wrapped up. The purpose of the state-mandated revaluation every five years is to establish a “fair” tax rate — if you have more taxable property, then, in theory, you can afford to pay more in local taxes. Middlefield’s revaluation took place in 2011, and thus the grand list of Oct. 1, 2011, on which taxes will be based for the next five years, is based on this revaluation. With the revaluation, “Everyone’s back on the same playing field,” Hodgetts explained. As expected, most assessments went down from the prior revaluation in 2006. Since then, market values of most properties have declined, although Middlefield has fared quite favorably in comparison with some other towns. “Values shift, but
Middlefield is actually pretty stable,” Hodgetts said. With the drop in assessment, many people wonder if that means their taxes will also go down. Hodgetts spends a lot of time explaining to people why that isn’t necessarily so. The level of taxation for all properties depends on the annual budgets. The town and Regional School District 13 need a certain amount of money to operate for the upcoming fiscal year, therefore the budgets passed by voters in a few months will determine a new mill rate. The mill rate is calculated by dividing the amount of revenue needed into the overall taxable grand list (see grand list on page 29). If an assessment decreases more than the percentage increase of the mill rate, a taxpayer may actually pay less than last year, and conversely some taxpayers will pay more. “It’s a balance of assessment and mill rate,” explained Hodgetts. In Middlefield, the median residential assessment is $165,300, down from $192,400
Homeless awareness event was eye-opener Members of the Middlefield Federated Church participated in the Homeless Awareness Event at South Church in Middletown, presented by the United Way and the Middlesex County Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, and spent the night in the church parking lot to raise awareness of homelessness in Middlesex County. “The event was very eye-opening,” shared Samantha Michaud (front, center). “I learned about a subject very foreign to me. It was inspiring to see such courageous people willing to tell their stories. Some have not even told their families because they are so embarrassed.” Jacob Burt (back row, fourth from left) comments: “The event taught me the difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy is feeling bad for someone. Empathy is listening and seeing what homelessness can do. Hearing the stories gave me empathy.” The stories also impacted Madison Burt (at right, blue coat) “I am glad there are programs to help them help themselves.” Photos by Elisabeth Kennedy
last year. Last year’s tax burden for the median house was $5,418 ($192,400 x 28.16 mills). For this year’s tax burden to be the same, the mill rate would need to be 32.77. Notices of the assessments went out, and Vision Appraisal representatives met with folks who had questions or wanted to challenge their assessment. Now that the grand list has officially been signed by Hodgetts, those who still wish to contest their assessment may do so by filling out an application to appeal to the Board of AssessSee MDF Grand, page 29
RSD13 snow day update Though the weather has been unseasonably mild for early February, Regional School District 13 (RSD13) has already experienced a handful of snow days — four to be exact — from Storm Alfred in October 2011. The start of school in RSD13 was delayed two days at the end of August 2011 due to Storm Irene, but the school calendar was simply pushed back rather than having those two missed days count as snow days. Tuesday, Feb. 21, will no longer be a day off, and the current last day of school is now June 20.
In this issue ... Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs................11 Healthy Living ...........13-19 Libraries ....................11, 24 Middlefield Briefs...........12 Sports ....................20-23, 25 Spotlight................24, 27-28