Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/shirley-murtha/)
A full house greeted members of the State Department of Transportation on Sept. 26 in the Senior Center to hear the latest on the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Rte. 10/202 with East Street and Notch Road.
At its Oct. 15 meeting, the Granby Board of Selectmen approved the Board of Education’s request to ask the Board of Finance for an additional $275,000 for an emergency repair to the roof of the high school.
Last month, Eric Lukingbeal wrote an important op/ed piece describing how, as it currently stands, the legislature can sell, swap or give away public lands such as state parks, forests and even state-owned farmlands without public knowledge or input.
Protocol calls for a public hearing, but at the end of a legislative session, the rules can be ignored, and that is when many of these transactions take place.
The only way to make sure there is a public hearing before any of our land is taken away is to amend the State Constitution to require the public hearing. The amendment also contains the clause that any proposed legislation must pass by at least two-thirds of the House and the Senate.
A public hearing on a proposed ordinance establishing tax exemption for personal property leased to non-profit organizations was held prior to the Board of Selectmen meeting on Sept. 4.
North Granby residents Steve and Lorraine German have a summer home in the quiet town of Sandisfield, Mass. Steve’s grandfather owned the house, which passed down to his mother, and then to him.
Granby residents are probably aware that their annual tax bill is determined by the value that the Town Assessor places on their property. Seems like a simple job, right? Definitely not.
Representing the Kearns Community Center Steering Committee, Alicia Newton and Elliot Altomare presented the group’s proposal to the town at the July 16 Board of Selectmen meeting. To meet its mission statement, (“a place to connect, empower and sustain our community”), the committee has produced a proposal that is designed to succeed without tax support, meaning that the town would no longer be responsible for the cost of maintaining the building.
Susan Regan presented a three-pronged appeal to the Board of Selectmen during the Public Session of its July 16 meeting. Each of the requests has been made at prior times, but no satisfactory replies or actions have been rendered.
As far as Director of Human Services Sandra Yost is aware, this is the first year Granby has participated in the program designed by The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) to provide tax credits to businesses that make investments in qualifying community nonprofit programs by furnishing financial assistance, labor, materials or technical advice to aid in the physical improvement or rehabilitation of any part of the community. A minimum of $250 is required; the maximum donation is $250,000.
