caption, page 7:

 

Clearing

Logging machines are clearing 8 acres of the town's newly acquired high tech park. Photos courtesy of Doug Cutler.

 

 

Work

begins

on tech

park

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM ---  While the logging company finishes clearing 8 acres for the new Quinebaug regional high tech park, town officials are pursuing more funding for the park.

After more than a year of negotiations connected with the 62-acre parcel, the deal was finalized two weeks, according to Town Administrator Douglas M. Cutler. Wheelabrator of Putnam Inc. gifted 62 acres off Kennedy Drive to the Town of Putnam and the town will donate some 15 acres to the Regional YMCA project. The most tedious part of the negotiations was working out the right of first refusal the Newth family had for the 62 acres, Cutler added.

The logging company is clearing 8 acres for the Y project, the access bridge between Kennedy Drive, at exit 95 off I-395, and the park road. That work should be finished this week.

Following that 100,000 cubic yards of gravel will be removed. The profit will be split between the town and Wheelabrator, Cutler said. According to the contract, the gravel must be removed by June 30.

By the end of April the town plans to put several contracts out for bid, most importantly the bridge and east and access ways for that bridge. Other contracts to be put out for bid involve utilities, bike paths, gas mains, fences and an extension of the River Trail from the Farmer's Market on Kennedy Drive. Greater Hartford YMCA officials had said that they would like to break ground when the town breaks ground on the bridge project. They had hoped for the bridge to be started in April.

In the meantime, Cutler is pursuing more than one source of additional funding for the tech park project. Currently the project has $2.97 million in state funding for the park access bridge. A Small Town Economic Assistant Program (STEAP) grant of more than $420,000 has about $319,000 left to be used. Some $150,000 of that grant was used for fulfilling the state environmental protection act issues around the bridge.

Cutler intends to put in for another STEAP grant within the next week for $500,000 for the road and utilities for the park.

In addition, the town will pursue a grant from the Manufacturing Assistance Act, from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.  The town may ask for a grant of $2 million. If the town applies by itself, it may get half that amount. If it applies with another town, making it a regional application, more than 50 percent may come in.

In addition to that, Cutler said, the town also intends to apply for a federal USDA low-interest loan for rural utilities (water and sewer). He said up to @5 percent of those USDA loans are grants. 

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has grants available for recreational trails, as well. Cutler characterized those grants as "competitive." 

The total cost of the project is around $7.6 million and the net cost to taxpayers may be under $2 million. And that cost would be spread out over 30 years.

"We are being very conservative," Cutler said.

 

 

 

POMFRET — Beginning on April 1, Pomfret’s Community / Senior Center will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.  This change in hours will incorporate the presence of Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group’s (TEEG) benefit counselor Anne Shields’ onsite hours.   Pomfret will now have onsite administration in the previously unmanned Center and seniors from Pomfret and surrounding communities will have local access to information regarding benefits and programs for the elderly, as well as lunches and interesting speakers. 

For several years, TEEG has had an agreement with the Town of Pomfret to provide 10 hours of services, split between onsite and administrative hours at the Thompson location. Anne Shields will be onsite in Pomfret for 10 hours a week, doing benefits counseling and scheduling speakers and lunches for the very popular “Learn at Lunch” program.  Beginning in April, there will be a “Learn at Lunch” program every Tuesday at noon, except the first Tuesday of the month which is The Pomfret Senior Association’s monthly lunch and business meeting.

 The Pomfret Senior Association has been meeting the first Tuesday of each month for the past 20 years and previously met in the Christ Church basement.  This group was instrumental in bringing a facility for seniors to Pomfret as they advocated for one for 20 years. The Senior Association welcomes new members to their organization and monthly meeting. Officers of the Association include Gail McElroy, Debi Thompson, Jim Kern, and Marge Sirrine.

The Community / Senior Center is housed in the old Wolf Den Grange building which was renovated and enlarged several years ago when the Town of Pomfret purchased the building for $1 and established the Center.  Located at 207 Mashamoquet Road (Rt. 44), it is also the location of many town board and commission meetings as well as a wide variety of community groups’ gatherings.  The Men’s Fellowship Group from the Pomfret Congregational Church meets the first and third Saturdays for breakfast, Boy Scouts, the Pomfret Fire and Ambulance volunteers, and the Wolf Den Grange also have meetings in the Center. 

First Selectman Maureen Nicholson hopes that Pomfret seniors will embrace the new hours and enjoy the weekly lunches.  “Essentially, seniors can partake in a lunch get-together every Tuesday, along with interesting speakers. It’s a great opportunity to meet new friends and learn new things. It’s like ‘Learning in Retirement’ at QVCC, only better because we offer lunch – and at no cost.”   

The Center presently hosts several scheduled weekly activities for seniors outside the regular hours.  There is a well-attended exercise class with Terri Viani on Wednesday mornings and “Pomfret in Stitches,” a quilting group started by Sue Larose, meets on Thursday mornings and Friday evenings.  Additional quilt classes, including a Saturday class, will be taught beginning in April and May.  

 “We are fortunate to have this facility for seniors in town and I hope we can find the right mix of activities and programs in the future.  We have struggled over the years to bring our seniors together and meet their interests and needs.  We need to take a fresh look at how to best do that in the coming year. Hopefully we can appeal to a wider mix of seniors and increase use of the facility.” Nicholson added. “Our Senior Advocate Commission has worked very hard and they have done an outstanding job advocating for seniors and offering a wide variety of programs and activities. To date we just haven’t seen the participation we had hoped for.”     

The Pomfret Senior Advocate Commission will continue to provide oversight and suggest and/ or approve new programs.  Commission members include Cathy Grant, Rita Conrad, Judy Miller, Sue Larose, Liz Cartier, Gail McElroy, and Ann Hinchman.  If you have any questions, want to participate, have suggestions for speakers, or need a ride, contact First Selectman Maureen Nicholson at 860-974-0191.

TEEG’s April  “Learn at Lunch”  program at the Pomfret Senior Center will feature: noon April 8, The National Alliance on Mental Illness; noon April 15, TEEG, Carl Asikainen, Summer Food Bike Challenge & Community Garden; noon April 22, Quiet Corner Acupuncture, Gabriel & Jennie Kesselman licensed Acupuncturists & Clinical Herbalists; noon April 29, The Last Green Valley, Your Green Oasis: The Forests of The Last Green Valley

Pomfret residents, who have questions about social services, assistance programs or any of the information above, please go to www.TEEGonline.org, or call 860-923-3458. 

 

..

 

Bundled in Stone ...

... against the cold. This stone outbuilding in Pomfret looks like it has been withstanding the elements, including the recent bitter cold, for a long long time. More winter photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo