Volume 20, Number 17
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Lake Beseck excavation planned
www.TownTimes.com
DADS’ NIGHT AT SCHOOL
By Mark Dionne Town Times
The town of Middlefield has received three bids on a project to excavate six areas of Lake Beseck while the lake remains drained for the nearly-completed dam repair. The excavation project will involved clearing accumulated sand and muck washed into the man-made lake from four outfalls and two tributaries. The outfalls collect runoff from roads and storm basins and have pushed a lot of the remains of winter sanding into the lake. “By dredging these six locations, that’s taking some of the muck out of the lake,” said Middlefield First Selectmen Jon Brayshaw. “In theory you should do this every 15 years.” The town has permission for the work from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and from the state, which owns Lake Beseck. “We’re cleaning their lake. We’re basically doing their work. Middlefield has been exemplary in doing this,” Brayshaw said. Brayshaw called the stewardship of the lake another example of Middlefield’s leadership in environmental causes. See Beseck / Page 12
Friday, April 4, 2014
Middlefield mill rate proposed at 33.61 By Mark Dionne Town Times
Noor Gonzalez and her father, Amin, explore a sensory table at the Durham Co-op Nursery school’s recent annual Dad’s Night. See more photos page 13. | Submitted by Mica Machnik
The proposed budget for the town of Middlefield puts the 2014-2015 mill rate at 33.61, up from a 2013-2014 rate of 33.24. Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw presented the budget to the Board of Finance at a public hearing on March 27 at the Middlefield Community Center. While there were just about no members of the public there, Brayshaw and Finance Director Joe Geruch went through the 18 page budget and answered questions from members of the BOF. The philosophy of the budget, according to Brayshaw, was “to get the most for the least.” Much of the total budget figure of $17,030,225 is devoted to Middlefield’s portion of the school budget, $12,178,763. The remaining funds from Middlefield are put towards town expenses ($3,629,047), debt service ($486,128), and capital fund ($736,287). While the total budget figure rose 2.6 percent from the figure of $16,605,630 See Middlefield / Page 2
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