The meeting will be held both in person and via Zoom.
Watch for an email from the Club for Zoom access and
please note we use a recurring ID for your convenience.
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
Rotarians Present: 23
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests:Robert Bessel, Canton First Selectman (Speaker)
Happy Dollars: 14
Raffle Winner: No Winner
Fines:None today.
Birthdays
Hank Frey (9/22), Michelle Traub (9/23), and Scott Nardozzi (9/27) - None Present
Happy Dollars
Peter Vignati recently returned from a long road trip with Suzanne and their dogs to Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island (PEI) just in time to avoid the hurricane. On Cape Breton all the signs were in Gaelic and English. They enjoyed the musical culture with lots of piano, fiddle and flute music at the local entertainment and eateries. He ate seafood at almost every meal and appreciated the friendliness of the local people. He played golf twice at Cabot Cliffs. On PEI the signs were in French and English. He highly recommends visiting this region (after the hurricane recovery).
Salin Low had a very nice birthday on the 20th. She was also happy to have had lunch with former member Kay Kellogg yesterday.
Bob Cave enjoyed Peter's report on this trip.
Jolly Lux almost attended via Zoom but thankfully decided to come in person. It seems like she just returned from Uganda, but she is off again soon for her annual medical mission. They'll be taking lots of donated medicines and hopes she can get through customs easily with all the declaration forms she has completed.
Luke Violette was glad to be back after having had a long bout with COVID and a death in the family. Last Friday he worked for Habitat for Humanity which had four house projects in Windsor. He has arranged to have a speaker from Habitat for us and hopes to have our club engage in a project sometime in 2023. His wedding is only four weeks away.
Announcements
Peter Vignati - Membership meeting this morning
Workday - Veterans' Base Camp - Saturday, September 24 - The work will focus on repairing and painting the deck. Sign up with Gary Roman or Gary Hyde. Meet at 8 am at Big Y.
Calendar
Saturday, September 24 - Work Day @ Veterans' Base Camp
Thank you Gary Roman, Gary Hyde, Rollie Sterrett, Peter Vignati, Larry Sullivan, Gary Miller, Greg Minton (Gary's son-in-law) and Bruce Whitney from West Avon Congo for giving up the first fall Saturday, which was blessed with great weather. The work today went a long way in making the VBC deck safer, more attractive and protected. We were greatly appreciated and the day was very productive.
Thanks to our host Cindy, who as always was a gracious host. We especially loved the tour of the Veterans food bank and the great story about victories for the veteran residents.
A special shout out to Greg, Gary Miller's son in law, who led the effort on the deck reconstruction.
As one may have noticed, the deck reconstruction was more than a one day job. There will be a second visit in October to get further work completed. Anyone interested in going, please let Gary Roman or Gary Miller know.
Salin Low introduced former club member, Bob Bessel, who is the First Selectman in Canton. Salin remembers taking over as Early Riser Editor from Bob. Bob said he was happy to be back. He believes his role as First Selectman allows him to serve the community even more. His wife, Nancy, knew that we would be most interested in what was going on with the Collins Axe Factory development. The factory closed down in 1966 moving its operations to Mexico and South America. At the height of the factories operation, more trains stopped in Collinsville than anywhere else in CT. Unfortunately the contract to purchase the property has expired. Bob was happy to report that other potential buyers have stepped up. The Incremental Tax Funding agreement passed by the town has helped to make the property attractive to buyers. Bob thanked Gary Roman, former President of Collinsville Savings, for working with the town on this tax option which returns a portion of the property tax to the buyer over a period of time.
The town has already completed a Remediation Plan for the property using grants funding. Bob believes this plan gives any potential developer at least a two-year head start with assessing property conditions. The town has also restructured and substantially lowered sewer hook up fees. An existing lawsuit from an abutter on Spring Street is still being adjudicated, but Bob believes the lawsuit is moot due to a planned relocation of a future parking garage on the site. Hopefully the project will continue to move forward so that the buildings that are rapidly deteriorating can be saved.
Bob was asked about the Canton Hydro Plant which was operational and producing one megawatt of electricity a year ago. It currently needs some repairs and is not operating. The company that needs to make the repairs is located in Germany.
Bob talked about the apartment buildings in Canton. The one behind Petals & Paws has 103 units consisting of studio and one or two bedrooms. These are "market rate" units that are taking longer to complete than originally planned. Landscaping will be added before the project is completed. In response to a question about affordable housing, Bob said that Canton has affordable housing although it is not of good quality. More affordable quality housing is needed. The other complex being built on Daynard Drive will have a mix of one and two bedroom units. Fortunately a "deadman" under Route 44 will provide access to sewer and water.
Bob was asked whether he expected the Grandlist to grow again this year. He said the "car inflation" last year added quite a lot, and he expected it would increase again.
The old Trattoria site is now ready for construction to begin. The stone has been removed to open the view of the property. The town owns Brass Lantern Road that runs into the site. The town needs to abandon this road to the property owner.
The town has received grants to extend the Farmington River Trail through the The Shops at Farmington Valley and farther. The continuation after the shops still needs to be worked out with abutting property owners.
Bill Barnes mentioned that he was in Cuba many years ago prior to the revolution. He saw many Collins made machetes being used in the fields.
Special Announcements
None this week.
Mail Bag
None this week.
Photo Credits
Screen Shots by editor
Technology Credits
Zoom platform management expertise by Mike Mezheritskiy.
Editor's Notes
Submission Deadline: Members are kindly encouraged to submit all materials for each week's Early Riser as early as possible. Please note that some editions may be published and distributed as early as the Saturday following our meetings, and during those weeks further contributions to the Early Riser will be included in the subsequent week's edition.
“The FOUR-WAY TEST of the things we think, say or do”:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
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Peter Vignati recently returned from a long road trip with Suzanne and their dogs to Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island (PEI) just in time to avoid the hurricane. On Cape Breton all the signs were in Gaelic and English. They enjoyed the musical culture with lots of piano, fiddle and flute music at the local entertainment and eateries. He ate seafood at almost every meal and appreciated the friendliness of the local people. He played golf twice at Cabot Cliffs. On PEI the signs were in French and English. He highly recommends visiting this region (after the hurricane recovery).
Salin Low introduced former club member, Bob Bessel, who is the First Selectman in Canton. Salin remembers taking over as Early Riser Editor from Bob. Bob said he was happy to be back. He believes his role as First Selectman allows him to serve the community even more. His wife, Nancy, knew that we would be most interested in what was going on with the Collins Axe Factory development. The factory closed down in 1966 moving its operations to Mexico and South America. At the height of the factories operation, more trains stopped in Collinsville than anywhere else in CT. Unfortunately the contract to purchase the property has expired. Bob was happy to report that other potential buyers have stepped up. The Incremental Tax Funding agreement passed by the town has helped to make the property attractive to buyers. Bob thanked Gary Roman, former President of Collinsville Savings, for working with the town on this tax option which returns a portion of the property tax to the buyer over a period of time.
