Friday, October 6, 2023
www.towntimes.com
Volume 29, Number 40
Town looking to sell land near fire station
HEADLINER
By Michael Savino Special to The Times
Town officials are preparing another publicly-owned property for sale as the Board of Selectmen continues its push to sell off land the town isn’t using. This time, selectmen are looking at possibly splitting a property connected to the fire station and selling a portion of it for residential use.
Rick Springfield delighted audiences at the Durham Fair on Sept. 23, despite the rainy conditions. Photo by Jennifer Shulten of Jennifer Shulten Photography
converted the old school into a community center but found it still had plenty of extra space. “We’re taking advantage of new properties, commercially graded properties that already exist as opposed to taking a residential home and converting it to a commercial property and put office space into it,” Eames said.
“We really haven’t stayed on top of a lot the maintenance issues and things at the building,” First Selectman George Eames said, of the property at 37 Main St.
Selectman agreed during their Sept. 12 meeting to move forward with subdividing the property at 37 Main St. and selling a portion of it, pending approval from residents.
Residents will ultimately need to approve the sale, which Eames hopes will happen at a town meeting this month. Selectmen will also ask land use boards if they oppose selling the land.
The lot is currently one-andthree-quarters acres. Selectmen agreed to come up with a plan to subdivide the property, with the new line drawn along a septic system on the property.
The town received the property as a gift roughly 30 years ago, when officials thought it could serve as a space for municipal offices.
Eames said the plan would likely free up half-acre to three-quarter-acre parcel, including the septic system, that selectmen would ask residents to approve putting up for sale.
Many of those functions, including resident troopers and the ambulance units, have moved to the old Korn School instead. The town
The town would keep the remaining land, combining it See Land, A4
Middlefield solicits feedback from residents about priorities By Rachel Wachman Special to The Times
What do the residents of Middlefield feel about their town?
Local leaders now have some answers to that question. Middlefield solicited feedback from residents about their priorities relating to in-
frastructure, the environment, emergency operations, fire safety, town events, and more through a survey called “Middlefield’s Future.” Administered over
the summer, this survey—a first for Middlefield—received 283 responses, amounting to almost 10 percent of the town’s voting population.
The anonymous survey featured 53 questions about a variety of project ideas. The initiatives that residents pinpointed as being the highest See Survey, A7