relentless pg 8 7-20-23
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Relentless Rain
The Quinebaug River was a thunderous beast after the rain just kept falling last week. This was taken behind the Apple Storage building on Church Street in Putnam. Linda Lemmon photo.
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When pg 1 7-27-23
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caption:
Resurfacing
Workers from the Highway Rehab Corp. soften, "fluff" and then press the existing asphalt back onto Kennedy Drive to resurface part of the street. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The weather wasn’t that hot but then, why was there smoke coming up from Kennedy Drive July 22?
The town began its resurfacing of a section of Kennedy Drive — without using any new asphalt.
The Highway Rehab Corp., of Brewster, N.Y., brought three long vehicle/machines to do hot, in-place asphalt recycling.
Most of each vehicle consisted of a long low deck that shot flames at the road surface. The three vehicles were in tight formation. Each one made the asphalt progressively softer. At the back of the last vehicle were rakes that “fluffed up” the soft asphalt. A screed then flattened the asphalt. A road roller followed.
Travis Sirrine, Putnam’s DPW Highway superintendent, said this system of using the road’s own asphalt to resurface the road saves significant money. He estimated it would save the town between a third and a half of the cost of resurfacing.
“And using this old asphalt is better than using new,” he said. The old asphalt holds up better and is a better quality than today’s new asphalt.
The project started near the Sunoco station at Riverview Commons shopping plaza and goes to the intersection of Rt. 44 and Kennedy Drive.
Sirrine said the town started it at the gas station because a new gas line will be going in on the far side of the gas station and there’s no point to digging up a newly resurfaced road to do it.
Putnam Mayor Barney Seney said the section of Kennedy Drive, from the Sunoco station to the Rt. 44/Kennedy Drive intersection will be resurfaced from one side to the other in four “passes.” As of this week, those four "passes have taken place. He said July 26 that in about two weeks a fresh topcoat of asphalt will be done.
Sirrine said this system has been around for a while and that the town had used it in the past.
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Toyota pg 1 7-27-23
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Toyota
one step
closer
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Another hurdle is conquered in the quest to bring a Toyota dealership to Putnam.
Recently the town’s Inland Wetlands Commission approved the proposed dealership’s site improvements plan.
The applicant is McGee Automotive Family, Toyota of Hanover (Mass.), and the owner of the parcels on Rt. 44 in East Putnam is Sean & Michael Putnam LLC.
According to its lengthy application permit paperwork: “The site improvements will include a parking lot for customers and for vehicle display. The parking lot will have a storm water management system to treat and mitigate storm water prior to outflow towards the wetlands area. There will be two plunge pool type outlet areas adjacent to the wetlands.” The area is designated for commercial/industrial uses.
In the application McGee Toyota said, “no disturbance to wetlands, but work is along 400 feet of wetland edge.” The affected number of acres breakdown includes “site improvement area (upland to wetlands) is 4.19 acres. Site improvement area within 100 feet of wetlands equals 0.96 acres and direct impact to wetlands is zero acres.”
On the site map all of the construction is along Rt. 44. The map says “woods to be undisturbed.”
The property is at 76 and 88 Providence Pike. In November 2021 the former Cormier property was sold to Breault Realty III, LLC, for $535,000. February 2022 Breault Realty III, LLC sold the property to Sean and Michael Putnam, LLC, for $1.335 million, according to town clerk records.
The 12-acre property includes heavy wetlands. According to town records, last August a 1.1-acre parcel next to the original parcel was sold by Salvatore A. Colantino and Carolyn B. Colantino to Sean and Michael Putnam LLC, for $725,000. The second parcel allowed the McGee Automotive Family enough dry land to come up with a workable plan.
Engineers dug several 9-to-10 foot soil test pits on the properties to help formulate a workable plan for the property. General rules call for 1 inch of water, per storm, to filter into the ground. That’s where most of the runoff pollutants are. Then sand/silt filtration.
A proposed plan was approved by the Inland Wetlands Commission. Various other town boards and state departments still lie ahead for McGee.
No one from the McGee organization could be reached for comment.
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daylily pg 1 7-27-23
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Daylilies ...
... are having a glorious moment. Moment because the blooms only last a day. These are the stamen inside a vibrant daylily. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photo.
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