2008’s Gift To 2009—

New Places To Be And New People To See

By Kendra Bobowick

With the bedside lamp turned out and the covers tucked in on 2008, we can close our eyes and reflect on the things that found their beginnings in the past 12 months.

Now looking ahead to their first full year are many things new: A Clean Energy Task Force, a baseball diamond, the refinished Edmond Town Hall kitchen, plans and funds for a new dog pound, a Parks and Recreation director, Eichler’s Cove, which opened a small beach, boat ramp, and marina along Lake Zoar. What will these things bring us in 2009?

Clean Energy Task Force

Green at heart, a collection of residents came together in September/October of 2007 for the first, then ad-hoc clean energy committee, soon-to-be the Clean Energy Task Force of Newtown. The handful of conservation-minded residents took their seats amid rustling paper and scraping chairs as members gathered for the first meeting to talk about improving Newtown’s renewable energy use and awareness. In the months to come, the members including chair and vice chair Dan Holmes and Terrence Ford strove to set a precedent among towns in the state; they wanted to be at the forefront of towns purchasing energy through a renewable source. By late March they aimed to set the standard.

The recently established group made a decision Thursday, March 27, during a special meeting when they selected a clean energy provider for the municipality — Community Energy. They would recommend to selectmen and finance board members that the town opt to purchase not just 20 percent of its power through renewable sources by 2010 per the state’s initiative, but to shoot higher than that. They want 26 percent. Throughout Connecticut they found that the highest purchase percentage was 25 percent, so they reached one point higher. Why? Mr Holmes said that week, “We wanted to set a good example.”

By the year’s end, the task force was talking proposals for solar panel installations at Reed Intermediate School. Some of the solar panels had been earned, in part, through the task force’s efforts to bring a greener hue to the community’s energy consumption. They hope to soon apply for state funds to install a large solar system at Reed.

The task force members also have been encouraging residential homeowners to choose renewable energy service through their utility provider. The state’s power grid is supplied, in part, by clean energy providers, which increase in demand one household at a time. If residents elect to buy clean energy, Mr Holmes explained, “It’s basically a commitment to buy clean energy on your behalf. I support further production of clean energy.” Download forms and make the switch at GoGreenNewtown.com.

He said this week, “I think that we really accomplished a lot in short amount of time in 2008. I think 2009 will be just as exciting, and I think we’ll move in direction of becoming a full-fledged commission and have even more town support.”

Slightly ahead of the town in its conversation about solar energy, the task force was first to talk about installing solar at one of the town’s schools, and most recently the Economic Development Commission had a similar interest. Echoing late 2008 discussions was another talk Monday, January 12, regarding the possibilities of securing grants funds to place a solar station near the waste water treatment plant and generating enough power to run the plant and in good months, give back to the state’s power grid. (See related story in this issue).

A Baseball Diamond

They cleared the way in June 2007, dropping trees and leveling ground for a new 90-foot baseball diamond that saw its first game in the spring of 2008 at Fairfield Hills. By September 2007, the outlines of the field appeared. Heavy machine operators created the etchings of a baseball diamond from mounds of soil and fill left behind after the Fairfield House demolition. The push continued to seed the outfield with a hearty Kentucky bluegrass by September 17. The field wintered over and in 2008 the bases awaited runners. By the end of September 2007, as project managers delivered an update about the field that was by then carved into the ground, Parks and Recreation Chairman Ed Marks had said, “I am extremely satisfied. I couldn’t have asked for better.” A year later, in September 2008, the first batter stepped up to the plate.

As the year tapered to a close on December 30, Mr Marks offered, “[The field] opened to rave reviews.” He credits Assistant Director of Parks Carl Samuelson and his crews for their efforts and “TLC,” while maintaining the new field. He said, “I couldn’t be happier. The field is in great shape.”

The recreation department had sorely needed the diamond, which is among several playing fields noted in the master plan for redeveloping the Fairfield Hills grounds. The recreation department needed just the one field for the immediate future, contrary to any confusion that all fields stipulated in the plan would be built at one time.

 

A New Director

Parks and Recreation Department Director Barbara Kasbarian retired midyear, and Amy Mangold enjoyed her first day as the incoming director on August 29.

“It has been wonderful, it really has,” she said this week. With budgets, capital improvements, a new ball field, plans for recreation center, and programming awaiting her, Ms Mangold said “[Ed Marks] wasn’t kidding when he said I had to hit the ground running; there are a lot of projects starting, a lot of exciting new things. It’s a great time to come in.”

Although stepping directly into the flurry of ongoing work, Ms Mangold admits, “It will probably take me a full year to really learn the department, and each season is different…” The staff so far has been “wonderful,” she said. With a difficult economy, however, she is certain of at least one thing: “We want to offer more family activities that are affordable. That’s a big goal for 2009.” Also in the interest of expenses and in response to requests from the past summer, Ms Mangold believes her department will look at combining swim passes, for example — one for the Treadwell Park pool, and one for the recently opened Eichler’s Cove where the Halfway River spills into Lake Zoar. A universal swim pass might be a better solution.

Overall, Ms Mangold, who lives in town and has been closely involved with recreation programming, most recently overseeing the Teen Center activities, said, “I am so thankful to have this job and give back to the community.”

 

Speaking Of Eichler’s Cove…

The town lost Dickinson Pond several years ago when conditions failed to meet Health District stipulations. Bulldozers had plowed earth into the longtime favorite swimming hole, and up until summer 2008 the town had gone without fresh-water swimming. Within the last two-and-a-half years the town bought what was previously private waterfront real estate — Eichler’s Cove on Lake Zoar. One year ago the Parks and Recreation Commission anticipated opening the far corner of Newtown to the public not only for its boat launch and marina, but also for swimming.

Last December recreation commission members had discussed Eichler’s Cove, which no longer looks like the former private marina and boat launch that it had been. The rustic, tucked-away property along Lake Zoar soon yielded to Parks and Recreation Department workers, Newtown Highway Department crews, and contractors who reconfigured the beach and boating areas to make room for swimmers.

Crews moved the boat ramp “to create a division for swimming,” said Assistant Director of Parks Carl Samuelson. The inlet and land where the Halfway River pours into Lake Zoar includes picnic grounds and boat slips, a boat ramp, and expanded beach and swimming area.

Last year the beach — its sandy surface not entirely finished — opened. “Once it’s finished it will be a nice facility.” He succeeded. With better publicity now that the cove is open, the recreation department personnel anticipate a higher request for passes in 2009.

 

Cooks Back In The Kitchen

The Alexandria Room’s adjoining kitchen facility is back in use. Long outdated, the original kitchen equipment in the nearly 80-year-old Edmond Town Hall at last found the funding and the attention it needed to be reequipped with high-tech commercial grade appliances, bringing back to life the essential catering and cooking facility for the adjacent Alexandria Room — a once popular spot for banquets.

With help from the Board of Managers, the recently established Mary Hawley Society, which is designed to support the town hall projects, and resident James Juliano especially, who oversaw the renovation work, the kitchen met its target finish date. With spatulas in hand, Rotary Club of Newtown members held their annual pancake breakfast during the first weekend of December to coincide with the traditional holiday festival weekend. The new kitchen was in full swing in December 2008.

Late in the 2008, the stoves, griddles, steam convection ovens, coffee stations, and commercial refrigerators added up to a new kitchen at the Edmond Town Hall.

“It’s been a long haul,” Mr James Juliano said in November. “It’s top-notch. It’s impressive.”

In The Dog House

Canine Advocates of Newtown President Virginia Jess had a great year. Private donations flooded in, and the town approved an appropriation of more than $700,000 to fund a new pound that will relocate the town’s animals awaiting adoption. The tentative new site at Fairfield Hills is away from the out-dated building at the town transfer station. Already donating his efforts, architect Jarett Crooks of Trumbull has prepared blueprints for Ms Jess, and most recently Toll Brothers crews have surveyed the site.

Generosity marked the end of the year. Early in December, brothers Jack and Dylan McDermott, 7 and 5, saved their allowances throughout the year and with help from mom and dad they funded a kennel — roughly $6,000. Ms Jess had prepared a list of rooms that are sketched out for the new pound, including kennels, sick rooms, training rooms, an office and feline rooms, etc. The boys’ donation will sponsor a sick room, where Dylan hopes doctors will care for the sick or injured animals.

Ending the year with a big surprise, the story about the McDermott brothers’ donation prompted another contribution. Maureen Donnel gave $15,000 to the pound.

“When Maureen called me up she asked, ‘Are there any kennels left?’ This is great,” Ms Jess said. After reading about the boys in The Bee, Ms Donnel was inspired. Ms Jess wrote to the newspaper: “Maureen [brought] us a check for $15,000 for the Reception Room, which she will dedicate to Misty.” Misty is Ms Donnel’s dog. “I couldn’t believe it,” Ms Jess said recently. Patty McDermott told her sons about Ms Donnel’s generosity. She also sent a note to The Bee saying, “The boys were just elated when I told them. I’m glad that our project served as such a motivator.”

“What a wonderful Christmas this has been,” Ms Jess said.

This week she said, “The building fund is doing terrific.” The veterinary fund, however, which pays for animal care and food for pets at the pound, still could use some money.

A late-morning snow sifted down on Newtown December 31. The flakes dusted windshields and roadways, slowing traffic and the daily 9 to 5 bustle just hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations — setting the standard for a 2009 that has barely seen the sidewalks that are repeatedly covered with snowfall. The town woke in the first hours of 2009 to a pristine blanket of white awaiting residents’ first steps into the new year. Since then the snow has remained in the forecast.