Woodstock CT Café

It seems unreal, but it can happen here in Woodstock, too. From what we understand, this home’s occupant was in it when this all happened. We have also heard of two barns that have collapsed in town.

Maybe this weekend would be a good time to reassess our own roofs and do some serious snow management. Also, please remember, DO NOT move snow from your property onto any of the road surfaces.

Roof collapse in Woodstock

From Frosty: I would be interested in Becki’s perspective on the bus fiasco this morning. I am hearing from several irate parents about kids waiting in dangerously low temps for a bus that never came.

by Becki

I know I don’t have to tell you that it was REALLY cold this morning. We had -7º, here in North Woodstock at 4:30 AM. My iPhone showed a reading of -1º in East Woodstock when I checked just before I left for the yard at 5:50 AM.

When I got to the yard my bus was running, but not well. I turned it off to get the spare key and go start the next bus. (When its below 20º we get the buses started earlier and leave them running.) My bus was still not performing well when I restarted it. It was coughing, sputtering and letting off a lot of exhaust. I eased it back out of my slot and pulled around so I was facing the mouth of the yard. I tried to engage my high idle but it would stall each time. I wasn’t able to butterfly the fuel pedal either. The engine was actually warm – some warm air was coming out of the heater vents. MY bus just had NO power. I don’t think I’d have been able to get ten miles per hour out of it. It just started to stall out quicker and was more difficult to restart. Read the rest of this entry »

From Dr. Baran: Schools will be closed in Woodstock January 13th, Thursday.

from Becki and John

At 10 AM we measured 17 inches of heavy snow and 25 degrees F in North Woodstock.
Below is Route 197 in front of our house and two shots out our backdoor. Over 20 inches by 1PM.
click to enlarge

from Nary

This essay was written to be sent to the Editor of Villager Newspapers for publication. I didn’t send it there because I think Jeff Gordon and others on Planning and Zoning are working very hard; these are not persons concerned solely with their own interests and they strive to do what will benefit the many rather than the few. I thought it best to publish here. I hope it prompts discussion. Thanks

Woodstock’s Planning and Zoning Commission Chair, Jeff Gordon’s essay on zoning published January 7 in the Villager Newspaper, while informational, has little relevancy to the town’s current state of zoning. Woodstock has one small “Industrial” zone in an area of 62 square miles. The remainder is labeled “Community District.” The whole of the Community District is considered mixed use. Applications for all uses are taken out under a “special permit.” Because current zoning regulations are both broad and vague, all special permits are granted.

Gordon chairs a commission that, since elected, approved an application for a large-scale development that was promptly suspended by the Army Corps of Engineers due to inherent environmental concerns. Recently, we saw this same commission approve partial paving of a scenic road with cast-off, bargain basement paving material. A town ordinance written to protect such roads from such acts was ignored by the commission. Woodstock has regulations for sub-divisions that stand as a model in the state of Connecticut because of the 50% set-aside of land. Its goal is simple: land and resource conservation. However, when our planning and zoning commission isn’t occupied with dubious approvals, they tear at the edges of the sub-division regulations calling them, “unfair.” Striving to amend or rescind the one solid zoning tool we have, the commission further undermines its core mission. The present sub-division regulations benefit us now and will continue to do so in to the future.

Rather than read theoretical essays on zoning, I’d like to see Woodstock’s Planning and Zoning commission members uphold and enforce current regulations. Beyond that, I’d like to see the commission do long-range planning, research zoning measures, hold public discussions, and develop-to-adopt adequate zoning that supports defined growth and protects all we value about Woodstock.

This article was posted one year ago. Has there been any progress?

 from Kevin

There was a very positive development by the Woodstock Academy Board of Trustees last year that shouldn’t be forgotten. In the December meeting they voted to start a foundation to raise private funds for expansion projects. This has been something that has been discussed for several years but in 2009 the BOT has taken concrete steps to make it a reality. The import of this is; if successful they will be able to pursue their expansion plans while reducing much of the cause of the friction with sending town’s BOEs that occurs when expansion happens through funding by tuition (i.e. from tax dollars).

The new foundation is in the process of having its members selected. It was set up under control of the WA BOT with the purpose of creating a large enough endowment to finance growth projects. A similar setup was very successful at the Norwich Free Academy, their current endowment is in the realm of $40M after 15 years.

However, it is important to realize that it takes time to build such an endowment, 5-10 years at least. In the short run the endowment will not help alleviate the understandable friction between the sending town’s BOEs and the BOT over projects such as the sports complex. If done today it appears that much of that project would have to be funded at taxpayer’s expense. Due to declining enrollment at the Woodstock Academy they are already looking at a 2010-2011 budget shortfall that may make the athletic field project not so attractive at this time.

One of the reasons why the Woodstock Academy has been able to keep tuition rates so low is because they were operating near max capacity, but now that a lower student population has worked its way through the PK-8 system into the high school they are facing a similar challenge on how to wind down their expenses in the face of lower utilization (less students when they are staffed and have purchased PP&E to handle more students). From what I’ve seen the Woodstock Academy BOT is well aware of the economic realities of the declining property taxes on the sending towns and so they know they can’t make it up with higher tuition alone. We will have to see how this plays out.

Thanks,

Kevin

This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BoE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BoE in any way.