We have the official results today from the Brookfield Budget Referendum that was held on Tuesday. The School Budget passed… YES – 1,277 NO – 777. As for the advisory on the school budget, 790 people thought it was too high, 671 said it was adequate, and 572 felt it was too low. The Town Budget also passed with a total of 1,382 votes. There were 668 NO votes. The town budget advisory shows that 1,087 felt it was adequate, 702 said it was too high, and 228 said it was too low.
In Danbury, the zoning commission has approved a change that will now allow developers to build as many as 10 apartments near the entrance to Rogers Park. The re-zoning decision affects three residential lots near an entrance to the park, with city officials calling deeming it consistent with the way the downtown’s central business district should be developed over the next decade. The developers plans call for tearing down two current homes on the three lots and then building as many at 10 apartments… effectively changing the zone from neighborhood commercial to mixed-use.
A land purchase in Litchfield County is aimed at preserving open space. The 30 acres that are being purchased by Steep Rock Association will mean a new trail overlooking 65-foot-high rock cliffs. The nonprofit land trust has been awarded a state grant of $406,250 that will go toward the purchase of the land on the Washington and Warren town line. The grant is part of a total of $37 million in state funding aimed at preserving 1,025 acres of open space in 14 communities throughout Connecticut.
As we approach what is considered by many to be the first weekend of the summer season, now comes word that Blueberry Island on Candlewood Lake will remain closed indefinitely due to unsanitary conditions…. the same reason that led to its closure last year. By order of the New Fairfield Health Department, the popular island was closed last September after many complaints about human waste and litter that had been left behind there. Now, the owner of the lake and 11 of its islands… energy company Firstlight… says it plans to work with the lake towns, Candlewood Lake Authority, and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to come up with a workable plan to address the problem, which some say is mainly due to a lack of restrooms and trash receptacles.
As you get ready to hit the road for the holiday weekend, or if you are planning to travel anywhere on Connecticut’s busy interstate highways, take note of this… The exit signs on nearly a dozen major highways here in Connecticut are being renumbered. It comes as the state Department of Transportation replaces old signs to meet new Federal Highway Administration standards. The change will be gradual, but by the end of this decade, exit numbers will correspond with mile markers, and be based on how far they are from the beginning of the route within the state’s border… pretty much bringing Connecticut in line with the way exits are numbered now on most highways nationwide.