Volume 18, Issue 7
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Almost 10-1, Middlefield voters approve Powder Ridge sale By Sue VanDerzee Town Times
dum, the town had two serious interested potential buyers, but in both cases, the buyThree hundred people er removed himself before crowded into the Memorial any contracts were signed. Middle School auditorium on These negotiations, however, Tuesday, May 24, to hear ate up most of two years. In about the proposed sale of the May of 2010, the town began 246-acre, town-owned proper- negotiations with Alpine Asty to Alpine Ridge LLC. Two- sociates, followed by continuing negotiations and-a-half with Alpine hours later, Ridge LLC, a moderator Matt subsidiary Willis anformed specifinounced the cally to carry 259-28 tally in fathis deal forvor of the sale. ward. In between, Dennis Abthere was plenplanalp is the ty of discussion. president of First town atAlpine Ridge torney Ken AnLLC, and he was tin gave a short next on the pubhistory of the lic hearing agenproperty, beginda. After showning in 2005 ing a short video when TD BanDennis Abplanalp produced to highkNorth began foreclosure proceedings light a bit of Powder Ridge’s against White Water Moun- past, present (horrifying tain Resorts (WWMR). In shots of the destruction and April of 2007 WWMR went vandalism) and possible rejuinto bankruptcy and the town venated future, Abplanalp said, voted overwhelmingly at a “I’m glad to be here.” He went on to detail his inreferendum to purchase the property as “a ski, recreation volvement with skiing, parand open space area,” accord- ticularly snowmaking and ing to the wording of the bal- mountain management. He lot question, which passed noted that he had actually 1,097 to 151. (Interestingly, worked at Powder Ridge for a this is almost the exact pro- short time in 2003 on snowportion of the vote on Tues- making. “There will be no day night.) Following that referenSee Sale, page 26
About 300 people came to the hearing and town meeting.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Campaign kick-off for Durham’s Laura Francis A crowd of about 50 well-wishers gathered at Durham Town Hall on Saturday as First Selectman Laura Francis announced that she would run again this fall. Said Francis, "Together we accomplished a good deal in four years, but there is more work to be done. I would consider it an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity for four more years." Photos by Bob Francis
Proposal to give White’s Farm back to White family By Cheri Kelley Town Times A Durham town treasure, White’s Farm, was the basis for a passionate and heated discussion at the second community forum on this topic on May 24. Since the first meeting in 2009, a study was conducted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) entitled “Allyn Brook Rehabilitation Project: Conceptual Design and Channel Alignment Options,” which was presented at the forum by NRCS representative Seth Lerman. This presentation was supposed to focus on two options for White’s Farm, but a surprising proposal from the White family was added into the mix. Sue White, representing her family, made a proposal that the White Farm open
space be legally transferred back to the White family. If this was done, the White family would take the necessary actions to repair the space to make it available for passive recreation, and the stream would be put back in its original footprint to make as much of the land viable for agricultural purposes as possible. White stated, “The White Farm was once a thriving recreational open space and is now a liability and embarrassment to the town of Durham.” If this transfer was made, White said, “All current activities would continue; (the family) would provide a documented commitment to the cause and it would be for the benefit of open space without burdening taxpayers.” At the close of this unexpected proposal, there was a round of applause from the audience of about 70 people.
First Selectman Laura Francis responded by saying, “Well, that would be some kind of partnership. We will put it on the agenda for a future Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting, and research will be done to see if there are deed restrictions and any other legal issues.” According to Lerman and Francis, the intent of the survey and report was to give potential options for re-estabSee White’s, page 5
In this issue ... Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs................16 Middlefield Briefs...........17 Obituaries.........................29 Sports ..........................30-31 Women in Business......12-15