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1954/01/18Stantack Road Hearing January 18, 1954 The hearing was called to order by the Selectmen at 8:10 P.M. to hear and act on a dispute over Stantack Road, with t~e following pre sent. Grant Skinner Edward Haber Caroline Haber Elizabeth Valentine Spruce Brook Road Mr. Nilsson informed the group that Mr. Sheppard and Mr. Wilk were unable to be at this meeting. Mr. Graham stated that this nearing was not open to t~e press, as it involved individuals. Mr. Nilsson- Stantack Road is a 50' Road, is that correct? Mr. E. Haber- That is correct. Mr. Nilsson- The previous owner of your o~oper~y, Mr. Benson, recalls that the tree was in the center of the road, which is fifty (80'), in line, from the stone wall. The fence line is about 100' back to this stone wall, which is on the west side. It is here that you blocked t~e road. Mr. E. Haber- I didn't know there was a road blocked. Mr. Skinner_- T~e road wes= of the cemetery, Mr. H~ber. Mr. Nilsson- Apparently that fence line ran 100' wide from Spruce Brook Road, back toward the stone wall, about two-thirds back. (Mr. Nilsson presented a map drawn by Mr. Bacon, snowing the east boundary and portions of the stone wall etc. on the west b ou ndary. ) Mr. E. Haber- (Pointing to a spot on the m~p - west boundary) There is a well at ~nis point and the stone wall ran Just to t~e ess= of the well. Mr... Nilsson- At the stone wall the road measures 60t. There was a fence from Spruce Brook-Road to this stone wall at one tine. The east ~ide on Mrs. Valentine's property is established by a stone wall. Mr. E. Haber- Why does this road run the way it does now? Mr. Nilsson-(Pointing to the map) Because it is wet east of the present road. Mr. Skinner- As long as I can remember they never travelled down thru this wet spot. Mr. Nilsson- There was a road when Mr. Benson owned ~his proner~y wi~n a fence along the boundary. This road was established when you bought the property. -2- Mr. E. Hab~_r- I don't know about that. Why should this road ~ave to be 100' wide at Spruce Brook Road and then taper down to 30' wide? Mr. Nilsson- (referring to the map) use before you bought the property. This road was established and in Mr. Skinner- Yes, this is one of the oldest accepted roads in the Town of Berlin. Mr. Haber- Is t~ere any other road in the Town of Berlin that is 100' wide? Mr. Skinner- Some old roads are even four-rod. Mr. Haber- How far back from Spruce Brook Road south does the Town of Berlin own? Mr. Skinner- You recall where Benson's bungalow was, well this is ~he end of the town p~ operty. Mr. HAber- My father pays his woodland taxes to the town of Middletown. Mr. Dehan- Well what is the disp~te. road is on their property? The Haber's claim t~at this ~. Nilsson- Mr. Bacon is Just showing by tnis map what a 50' wide road would be. Mr. Dehan- What is the requirement for a road width in town now? Mr. Skinner- 60' wide. Mr. Dehan~- Mr. Haber, you oppose making this road 100' wide. How do you feel about making it 60' wide? Mr. Haber- We are going on this 100' basis on one persons say-so. Benson owned this property before I was born. If we are going to make it 100' wide at Spruce Brook Road, then it should be 100' wide back a~ far as Berlin line. I don't see why we should ~ave to give up this property on one persons say. so. Mr. Nilsson- You certainly obstructed ~nis ro ad by putting in a post at the ~O' width. You have blocked off a road off of Stantack Road with a fence. Mr. Haber- This is not true, there is no fence across this road. We want a line e~tablished ~ that we can fence our property. We are not sure w~ere it goes now. Have you any defiuite proof that this road is 100' wide% Mr. Nilsson- No more proof than you have t~Aat i~ is 59' wide. Mr. Skinner- There are many 50' roads in town. Mr. Nilsson-(scaling the map) This road is about *lo' wide from the east stone wall, including the travelled portion of t~e road. If you allow traffic to enter from both ddrections at Spruce Brook Road and then es~ablis~ a fence line, then you probably would be ~appy. -3- I c~nnot see any~ sense to the Town giving you land and then later on have to buy it back. M~r. Haber.- What is going to happen with ~'~ilk and Sheppard when they h~ve to give up some land? er- THere is a fence back there about twelve (12) to ~4) feet apart. Mr. Nllsson- If seventy (70) feet is e~tabli~hed at Spruce Brook Road it Will have ~o extend back. Someone along the line is going to be hurt, in fact both parties will be hurt. Are you agreeable to going along establishing a line including the present travelled portion of tne present road which is about seventy ('tO) feet? Mr. Denan- How far back does it go before reaching t~e Middletown line? Mr. Skinner- It takes about three-quarters of an hour to reach the :,~ood road from ~iddletown line or about l-l/2 miles. ~'~r. Nil~son- Stated the other two parties concerned, Mr. Sheppard who has a cold and Mr. Wilk ~h~ ~'~'~ unable to be here. Mr. Haber- Mr. Sheppard~s stock got into ni~ garden and did damage and never could collect a penny. Mr. Nilsson- Would you be willing to go along with a 'tO' wide road? Mr. Haber-(spoke to his mother in polish) My mother says that sne is'willing to go along with the '~0' wide road provided it goes back to t~e Berlin town line. Mr. Skinner- Corrected his previous statement of three quarters of an hour o~ l-l/2 m~.les by saying t~.t it was Just a n~f mile from t~e oroper~y line. Mr. Nilsson- Are you oeo.ole ~n agreemen~ vd tn thi~. How do you feel '~b"o~t t~is Mrs. Valentine? Mrs. Valentine- My pro~er~y line is e~ablisned. wan~ is t~Ae width of t~xe road ~o be established. The only tning I Mr. Nilsson- We will contact ~ne O~her two and ~ee if a ~O~ wide line can be estsblished. Mr. Haber- How wid~ is Spruce Brook Road? Mr. Skinner- It is supposed to be o0" wide. ~r. Dehan- Tt~ere is not mUCh point in having a 100' wide road here. No one uses it. Mr. Nilsson- THe only ~urpose is it is used for taking out wood. Mr. Haber- 50' wide is plenty wide enoug~. This does not proove ~xAa~ t~is is the cen~er of the road. It -4- is because you could not travel in the wet s~o~. Mr. Nilsson- I think if we make a '/O' wide road bac~ to the town ~-~t would be satisfactory. Mr. Skinner- You can't go too mu6n by £ences. An established stone wall or a tree, then you nave something to go on. ~&r. Habe~r-Didn't you agree to make iT 50' wide when you were down tee last time~ Mr. Nilsson- I didn't agree to anything. Mr. Graham- It was a tentative agreement. had not been discovered then. However the stone wall Mr. Nilsson- If you went along on this basis I think it would be best for all concerned. Mr. Habe~r- (Referring to the map) Are these actual measurements? Mr. Nilsson- These are actual measurements, and locations of stone walls etc. Mr. Haber- Do you honestly believe that tiiis road s~ould be 100~ Mr. Nilsson- No I don't. Would you like to see a 5o' wide road, and ~il'ize the center of the travelled road as a center line? if I were you I certainly would not want it. Mr. Graham- What would you do with the land on the eas~ side then? Mr. Nils_son- It would go to tne adjacent property owner. Mr. Haber- I would like to get the opinion of the three selectmen on th'~ s. Mr. Graham- I wo~ld like to discuss this with the other selectm~n before making a decision. ~ Mr. Denan- We wisl~ to reserve decision on this. Mr. Gransm- Mr. Haber, you can reserve your decision until the other gentlemen have been contacted regarding taxis ma~ter. Mr. Nilsson- There is no ~ense in contacting the other gentlemen unless you are in agreemen~ with the plan. Mr. Haber- Can we hold our decision for a day or two and then le~ you kn~w? Mr. Nilsson- Sure. But we should have s~net~ing definite to go on. W~2 not discuss it and let us know. Mr. Haber- I will and contact you later. Meeting adjourned at 9:1~ P.M. Mind, es of the Meeting January 18, 1954 TOWN OF BERLIN OFFICE OF THE SELECTMEN Th~eeting opened at V:O0 P.M. wi~n the three Selectmen present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and accepted. Mr. Covlni of the press was present. The newly appointed Police Committee consisting of Willis Hall, ~a~ ~, met with the Walter France, Lawrence Porter and ~6 ~ ~ Selectmen this evening. The Selectmen outlined the purpose for originating ~nis group, and read a list of Suggested Remedies prepared by Mr. Graham, wnlcn were verbally approved by t~e Town Counsel. It was suggested ~at this group mee~ t~is evening by themselves for ~he purpose of organizing. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried that we terminate our street lig~Ating contract of June 28, 1950 when we amc ready to negotiate for a new contract. Also that we are in agreement with their new contract as approved ti~e P.U.C. md Town Counsel. Mr. Graham reported that the auditor was to spot check the Town Books during February. Mr. Graham reported mnat he l~ad been out with a representative of the Conn. Light & Power Co. making a study of differen$ locations for additional street lighting. Mr. Graham read a detailed report from tAAe Conn. Light & Power Co. giving the street location, recommended lamp size and whether it was a new light or a replacement. Mr. Graham stated tna~ tt~e total annual c~st of street lighting, including t~e additions compiled in their report, would amount to $1V,4'~4.94, which was withinjtne budget. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried t~at the recommendation of the lighting engineer of the C.L.&P. be accepted, and t~e change s made. Mr. Nilsson brought up tnat two flood lig~ts s~ould be installed a~ the skating pond west of the Mildrum Jewel Co. Mr. Nils~on stated, tt~at according to Fire Marshall George Skene, that t~ere were ~ ~ two such lights available at the East Berlin Fix, e H~ se. Mr. Nilsson suggested also, that possibly Mr. Dennis Could flood this skating pond with a fire nose which would give the pond a smooth surface. ,. It was the feeling of the Selectmen that this matter be refered to the Park & Recreation Commission. Mr. Graham reported that ne met with the Planning Comisston on Jan. 135~, m~d was me~ with a hostile attitude. Mr. Graham stated tna~ he brought up the ma~ter of Street Numbering and they informed him that to date they nad renumbered six small streets in the Town for $~00. which was done by Arthur Bacon. The planning commission infox~ed Mr. Graham that it ~ould cos~ the town approximately $20,000. to renumber the houses in town by measuring, such as now is being done, at 20' intervals. Mr. Graham stated that he asked that they cease operations on ~tree~ numbering until fur tn~r notice. ,~~~.20,00~ Mr. Grat~am r~ported ~nau ~o date we nave spent 0 fca' maps. The Plauning Commission thought that ~o microfilm tne se maps would be ~ costly. They assured Mr. Graham that the maps held by Mr. Bacon, concerning the town cf Berlin from a certain date were ~e property of the Town of Berlin. Mr. Graham reported ~hat these maps held by Mr. Bacon were no~ inventoried, and thought that Mr. Bacon, at no additional cost, could inventory these maps and t~en locate t,,em in t..e vault at th~ Town Hall. The Planning Commission notified Mr. Graham that this fund was unde~r their Jurisdiction. Mr. Graham reported ~nat ne ~tne Planning Commission to ammend the Town Plan to accommodate ~the building of a Municipal Garage for the garaging of th~ town equlpmen~ and school buses. Mr. Graham reported ~h~t he brought up to the Planning Commission the ma~ter of appointing an~Industrial Developement Committee. T~e Plann.i~ng Commission felt that tais was tneir Job and t~at no one e~se ~ ~ave anything to do wi~h it. It ~ their fe~!~ng that Consolidation had to c~ne first before any ~ypc cf zonc~ ~n~l~e set up. Mw. Graham reported that the Planning Commission nad an aerial map snowing the proposed Rou~e Y2 by pass. Mr. Graham reported tn~_t t~he~ Planning Commission's space requirement list had been ~, tnat they ~ad requested First Floor space,~ so that their maps could be kep~ at a certain temperature. Mr. Graham reported that Arthur Woodruff did rece.~ve notice about the suit by Harriet Sanford. Mr. Graham stated tna~ The matter was placed in the hands of the Town Counsel for further study. Town Counsel to repo~ot back to the Selectmen. A letter from tne Safety Commission was received, and read. One of their recommendations was that No Parking signs be installed on the north side of Main St. Kensington, from Churc~A St. to Harris St. Mr. Graham stated that he wrote a letter to the Chairman, Arthur Durity, bringing to his attention t~at Mr. Padelli's store is within the area, and felt that it was not fair to allow his customers not to park in front of his business establishment. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried accepting the recommendation of the Safety Commission relative ~o ti~e posting of No Parking signs on tne north side of Main St. from Church St. to Harris St., however, excluding the area in front of Mr. Padelll~s store, which would be limited to t~ree cars and be posted for 15 minute parking. The Safety Commission reported that it was brought to their attention, that motorists were parking on both sides of Peck St. even tho~bne side is posted for no parking. The Selectmen agreed to assign a constable to St. Pauls on Sunday to warn motorists who are now parking in restricted area. A motion wag made, .seconded and unanimously carried that Constable Dansro be moved from the school c~ossing of Worthington Ridge and Route '/2 to Farmington Ave. and Grove Hill crossing at the same rate, and that' constable Git'dis e~ud Mrs. Gerdis combination take over the Worthington Ridge-Route '12 Crossing at the regular rate. Mr. Graham reported that Mr. Honnis of the Prentice Mfg. Co. notified him that they were going to start eviction proceedings of the Evans family. The family now occupying the municipal court building are waiting for people to vacate their house, which t~eyhave purcnaled in New Britain. Mr. Graham reported that re-piping Job at the Town Fan~ was progressing. Mr. Graham reported that the snow plow nad been received and is in use. ~. s,~, ?1~. Mr. Graham reported that Mr. Denni~ had a small trailer and was hauling the plow with his car and trailer. -4- Mr. Nilsson asked what type of an insurance set up was on Mr. Dennis' car. Mr. Graham stated that the ~o~n will be responsible while ne is on duty, as t~e town i~ covered. ~.-. Mr. Nilsson thought that some arrangement should be made with Mr. Dennis for the use of his car and trailer. Mr. ~ to talk with him and report back. Meeting adjourned at 10~50 P.M.