Municipal Notebook: Board of Selectmen, Mar. 23

• The Board of Selectmen voted all in favor (with the absence of Selectwoman Barbara Manners) of appointing Matt Hicks to the Parking Authority as a volunteer. Hicks said he would bring a "commuter's perspective" to the authority and has experience dealing with the issues at the Branchville train station.
• Bill Goromby stepped up to volunteer for the Architectural Advisory Comittee -- the Board deferred its decision because other candidates have shown interest in the position, as well. Goromby is an architect who would help protect, he said, Ridgefield's "great small-town atmosphere."
• The Economic Development Commission gave its annual report, detailing its focus on the development study of Rte. 7 and its Incubators Without Walls (IWOW) program.

The Rte. 7 study is a complex effort to make changes to Branchville that would make it a more viable commercial area, "to see what Branchville can be."

IWOW is an initiative by the commission to help small businesses in town get acquainted with the tools they need to make it in Ridgefield. A "dream team" of sponsors act as consultants to the businesses to get them past the point of initial fragility.

The Board was happy with the EDC's efforts in the past year.

• After the whole MIRMA fiasco, the town's broker, H.D. Segur, sent a letter to the town saying it would no longer be involved in the workers compensation program. 

So the town is now looking for another broker, and the Board talked to three bidding companies last night -- Litchfield Insurance Group out of Torrington, R.C. Knox & Company out of Hartford and the local Fairfield County Bank -- to decide which one would best cover the town.

The Board decided to wait until April to make a decision as Insurance and Risk Management Committee chair Bill Jaeger may have some further input.

• The Board made three reappointments to the Parks and Recreation Commission: Evie Botalli, David Thaxter and Gina Carey. Each has been there for a number of years, Thaxter for 10.

Selectwoman Maureen Kozlark brought up a point, though, that resonated with both the Selectmen and the small audience: The positions had never been advertised to the community, so all three ran unopposed. She was happy with the job the three had done at Parks and Rec. but felt the process should be more open. First Selectman Rudy Marconi said he would look into the implications of making that openness a town policy.

• Two land purchases were on the agenda last night, one for a cell tower and open space and the other for small parcels of land on Sunset Ln. The public forums for each are set for April 27, with town meetings for each set for May 18.

The land acquisition at the approved Ridgebury cell tower site would cost the town $350 thousand, and there will be an extra $650 thousand from the Conservation Commission for the open space.

The Sunset Ln. properties brought Chet Zawacki into Town Hall to make sure standards are met. Both transfers have been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

• The Board reappointed two members of the Aging Commission, Christine Robertson and Alice Kenny. The appointment policy once again came up with arguments from both sides, though the Board generally agreed it was something to think about.