Volume 16, Issue 43
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Local grand lists ‘flat,’ with budget implications Durham By Stephanie Wilcox
Durham’s grand list, the list of taxable property in town, went down by only .06 percent, according to assistant tax assessor Beverly LeVasseur. Real estate and motor vehicle rose by .37 percent and 4.3 percent respectively while personal property fell by 15.6 percent. This drop is partly due to Connecticut Light and Power overestimating their declaration for personal property last year (they are able to set their own assessment by declaring their ownership of equipment, etc. on a personal property form). The actual amount of taxable property on the new grand list totaled $780,772,117. The top 10 taxpayers with the largest real estate assessments on the new grand list include Stonegate Springs LLC followed by Durham Manufacturing Co, Tilcon Inc, Lynch Diana VKS and Theodore B, Dinatale Rentals LLC, The Signature Gordon
Over a year ago, Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw applied for a Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) state grant to allow the town to upgrade the electric service and septic capabilities of the then recently acquired Powder Ridge Ski Area property. The theory was that these upgrades would allow the town to market the property more successfully. Last Thursday Brayshaw found out that the grant, which he had pleaded with state officials to either approve or reject, would be funded. Last Friday, Governor Jodi Rell traveled to Powder Ridge to announce that Middlefield would receive $540,000 for infrastructure improvements. As she made the 10:30 a.m. announcement, she was flanked by Brayshaw, Middlesex Chamber of Commerce president Larry McHugh,
Snow doesn’t stop good news — or good deeds
LLC, Aesthetic Structures LLC, Greenbacker Charles and Sons LLC, Perma Treat Corp and Spero Richard Trustee. The top 10 taxpayers with the largest personal property assessments on the new grand list include Connecticut Light and Power Co, Durham Manufacturing Co, Hobson and Motzer Inc, TD Equipment Finance Inc, Morgan Crucible, Tyco Healthcare Group LP, Bond Brothers Inc, Perma Treat CORP, Leonard Lumber Co and Gargiulo Construction Co Inc.
Middlefield By Sue VanDerzee Depending on how you look at it, Middlefield’s grand list as of Oct. 1, 2009, on which the tax rate for fiscal year 2010-11 will be based, either dropped by .47 of a percent or .16 percent. In either case, said assessor Steve Hodgetts, for practical, budgetSee Grand lists, page 7
Middlefield to get state grant for Powder Ridge infrastructure By Sue VanDerzee Town Times
Friday, Februar y 5, 2010
State Representative Matt Lesser and Peter Simmons of the DECD. The announcement was made, appropriately, under snowy skies, which Rell asked Brayshaw whether he had ordered. Brayshaw chuckled and said, “I ordered the snow, but I ordered it to stop at 10 o’clock. Nobody listens to me!” Brayshaw expressed town appreciation for the grant, noting that it would make it easier to continue the 50-year legacy of Powder Ridge into the future. “The last three years (when the ski area has been closed) we’ve been m i s s i n g In this issue ... jobs, we’ve Calendar.................4 been miss- Durham Briefs .....14 ing taxes, Healthy Living 11-13 but most of Mfld. Briefs...10 & 13 all we’ve Obituaries ............20 been miss- Puzzles ..........15 & 16 Sports ...............21-23 See Ridge, page 7 Spotlight...........18-19
Top, Gov. Jodi Rell, flanked by, from left, Middlesex Chamber of Commerce president Larry McHugh, State Rep. Matt Lesser, Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw and state Department of Economic and Community Development rep Peter Simmons at Powder Ridge in Middlefield last Friday for an announcement by Rell that the town will get a $540,000 grant to improve infrastructure at the ski area. Right, Megan Locasio and birthday girl Martha Meigs walk for Haitian earthquake relief on Sunday, Feb. 7. Story on page 5. Left, Middlefield Federated Church homeless awareness sleep-out on Saturday, Feb. 6. Story on page 3. Photos by Sue VanDerzee, Jan Leisner and Trish Dynia