A PLACE TO EXERCISE YOUR WEDDING TACKLE ... B&B ... NOT BED AND BREAKFAST

Whatever happened to.....? The New Fairfield Motel

Erik Ofgang, Contributing Writer

Published: 10:55 p.m., Saturday, November 27, 2010

BOBBERS

bait

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  This sign is for the New Fairfield Motel, which James Piskura bought in 2009, renovated and is hoping will now lure tourists. Please credit Corinne Morrell Photo: Contributed Photo / The News-Times Contributed
  
  

  In the 1950s, the New Fairfield Motel was a destination for New York City tourists who came to town to spend time on the lake.

  More than half century later, new owner James Piskurais hoping to lure New Yorkers and others back.

  Piskura, 49, of New Fairfield, bought the one-story, 13-room motel in February of 2009. For many years prior to that purchase, the building -- at 89 Route 39 -- had been a low-income residency for patrons who paid weekly or monthly fees.

  Piskura began renovating and fixing up the motel, which had been largely unchanged since the 1950s, to reopen it for nightly guests.

  He said he hopes to capitalize on the motel's proximity to Candlewood Lake -- in particular, he'd like to lure fisherman who participate in the many fishing competitions on the lake.

  "There's 500 bass tournaments on Candlewood Lake every year," he said. "I'm two miles from the state boat launch."

  In addition, Piskura wants to provide a lodging option for the visiting in-laws of New Fairfield residents. Ideally, Piskura said, he would like to have the motel open from spring till around Thanksgiving and then "shut it down for the winter."

  The motel was originally built in the 1950s by the Donaldson family, which owned much of the surrounding property and the gas station across the street. For two decades it was used by "the New York crowd from the city coming to use the lake," Piskura said.

  In the 1970s the motel changed hands and the new owners started offering monthly rentals.

  "That's when it fell out of it's glory," Piskura said.

  Piskura owns the two houses next to the motel. He lives in one with his wife, Dr. Lorraine Burio, and she runs her dentist practice out of the other. When the opportunity to buy the motel arose, Piskura said he bought it because "it was adjacent to my properties and it just made sense to buy it and try to clean it up a little bit."

  New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge said he was happy to hear the place will reopen as a motel.

  "I think that's welcome news," Hodge said. "New Fairfield doesn't have any place for those who want to come up and enjoy the lake for a weekend."

  Piskura owns Lucrative Building Properties Inc., a company that does property management and has been handling the motel renovation. He said when he opens the motel he plans on having a low-key atmosphere "somewhere between a motel and a bed and breakfast."

  Piskura hopes to open next spring, and joked that if he doesn't, the consequences could be dire.

  "I have to have it open by spring of 2011 or my wife will divorce me," he said.
  
  

PINE ISLAND ...

Pine Island: More than just a camp

AND ON THE NINTH DAY ... SOMEONE IN CREATED BUILDING REGULATIONS ... AND ON THE TENTH DAY THEY REVISED AND EXTENDED BY CREATING 'FINES' AND REVENUE SOURCE ... AND ON THE ELEVENTH DAY, ELEVEN LADIES DANCING, TEN PIPERS PIPING, NINE DRUMMERS DRUMMING, EIGHT MAIDS A-MILKING, SEVEN SWANS A-SWIMMING, SIX GEESE A-LAYING,FIVE GOLD RINGS, FOUR COLLY BIRDS, THREE FRENCH HENS, TWO TURTLE DOVES, AND THE TSA IN CHARGE OF PAT DOWNS TO ENTER THE ISLAND . . .

Town and lake officials believe campsite owners on Candlewood Lake's Pine Island in New Fairfield have been setting up more than just camp.

New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge said, "It now appears that over at least the last two decades, maybe even longer, property owners have kind of taken what's supposed to be nothing more than a camp site -- because by and large none of the parcels out there are building lots -- (and) they've expanded them to far more then camp sites."

Pine Island is a small island across from Candlewood Isle.

Multiple property owners have camp sites on the island.

Hodge said the town is currently working hand in hand with FirstLight Power Resources, which owns the lake, to examine what structures are in violation of town or lake regulations.

Among the structures the town believes are in violation are large decks without railings, multiple  docks, outhouses and elaborate, almost cabinlike structures.

Hodge said some of the structures in question, including many of the docks, would likely be in compliance with regulations if they had been built following proper permit procedures.

The structures went unnoticed for years because of the island's thick vegetation and hilly terrain.

The issue came to the attention of the town at a Candlewood Lake Authority meeting in June, when a resident of the shoreline complained about the island after a noisy Memorial Day party took place there.

Town and FirstLight officials have been examining the island and working on documenting the structures.

They will be contacting property owners with the goal of having all the structures comply with the building code by next spring.

"Some of them may have to be removed. Some of them may have to be changed to comply with building code. Some may be allowed to stay just because they've been there for such a long period of time," Hodge said.

"It's going to have to involve a one-on-one process with the property owners."

Hodge added, "We're trying to determine roughly when (the structures) were built. No matter when they were built, if they don't meet current building code they're going to have to brought up to code for safety reasons."

He said the Department of Health will examine the outhouses to ensure they are installed properly.

Charles B. Burnham, a spokesman for FirstLight, said in an e-mailed statement that "FirstLight, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensee for the Housatonic River Project which includes Candlewood Lake and its shoreline, has a responsibility to regulate all land use and occupancy within the FERC Project (Boundary)."

He added, "FirstLight has been working for several months in cooperation with the town of New Fairfield to ensure Pine Island land owners comply with local and federal land-use regulations and to issue permits for those uses within the boundary that meet permit requirements." ... AND THE BATTLE CRY WILL GO FORTH, "DON'T TOUCH MY JUNK!"

PATCH.COM . . . IS COMING TO NEW FAIRFIELD

PATCH IS COMING TO NEW FAIRFIELD!

Patch.com is going to be New Fairfield's online hub for local news, events and information.  Visit Patch to experience local news as it's happening, research events in the community and discover new restaurants, shops, and other businesses in town.

Patch includes a FREE directory of local businesses and organizations.

LISTINGS INCLUDE:

• Objective descriptions
• Original photos
• Detailed information (including hours, payments and more)
• Tools for owners
• Customer feedback

Our mission

To improve the quality of life in underserved communities across the globe through access to trusted local news and information.

What we do

The Patch.org Foundation plans to partner with community foundations and other organizations to fund the operation of Patch news and information sites in communities that need them most: inner-city neighborhoods and underserved towns around the world.

What we look for

We will look for communities of 15-100k population that are drastically underserved by media and would benefit by having access to local news and information about government, schools and business. These could be inner-city neighborhoods or distinct towns.

Our guiding principles

• Patch.org is committed to Freedom of the Press and shedding light on the issues and information most important to community residents, to help them make informed decisions and live better lives.
• We believe that information strengthens communities.
• We believe that residents and businesses in communities that we enter must be invested in supporting Patch and the information that it provides for it to be successful, and that our partner organizations must work to gain that support.
• We are dedicated to returning the profits from Patch.org Foundation sites back into the community.
• We look for communities that would benefit most from our service: Communities with a demonstrated lack of media coverage and access to information.
• Patch.org and Patch journalists do not take a political stance on community issues. We do provide a forum for these issues to be explored and debated.

Contact

For more information please email foundation@patch.com.

‹ Go to Patch

INSURANCE COMPANY PAYS $10,000 FOR FORENSIC AUDIT ~ DUE MISSING FUNDS NEW MILFORD BUILDING DEPT.

LOOKS LIKE NEW FAIRFIELD ISN'T ALONE WHEN IT COMES TO MISSING FUNDS!  BUT UNLIKE NEW FAIRFIELD A FORENSIC AUDIT WAS CONDUCTED!

Insurance company pays New Milford $28,000 in connection with missing Building Department funds

Susan Tuz, Staff Writer

Published: 11:40 p.m., Tuesday, November 9, 2010

NEW MILFORD -- A settlement has been paid to the town of New Milford by Traveler's Insurance after an accountant's forensic report revealed $18,000 was missing from the Building Department books.

Finance Director Ray Jankowski confirmed Tuesday that Traveler's paid the town $28,000 in response to a claim he entered regarding $18,000 in missing funds revealed by a forensic report prepared by BlumShapiro.

The report covered an audit of the books from 2007 through March 2010, Jankowski said.

In addition to $18,000 for the missing funds, a sum of $10,000 was paid by Traveler's to cover the cost of the accountant's forensic report.

"There are two types of proof," Jankowski explained. "One exists under the law and the other is, for an insurance company, accepted through the results of an audit."

Jankowski added that while the audit proved the funds were missing, no proof of theft has been found to date under the law.

Longtime Building Department secretary Barbara Brickley resigned from her position in New Milford Town Hall on Aug. 13.

Brickley was on administrative leave from her position at the time, according to personnel file documents.

Brickley's resignation came as an investigation was being conducted by state police into "discrepancies" in the Building Department books, Mayor Pat Murphy said.

That investigation is still ongoing, according to town attorney Randy DiBella.

Jankowski and DiBella declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Murphy said she also declined to comment until the police investigation is closed.

When contacted by The News-Times Tuesday and told about the forensic report findings and the insurance settlement payout, Brickley said, "I have no idea what it's about. This is the first I've heard of it."

In September, Murphy said "no one was charged with anything, and no one was accused of anything."

The mayor declined to comment on whether Brickley's resignation had any connection to the ongoing police investigation. Murphy did say at that time that Brickley was not asked to resign.

Contact Susan Tuz at stuz@newstimes.com or 860-355-7322.

UPDATE ON THE MHHS CONCERNED PARENTS ...

Concerned Parents of MHHS Children,

By now you may have seen the response by Superintendent Roy and the folks from the "environmental" company, Hygenix.  To quote one of the candidates from the New York Governors race, Jimmy Mcmillan, "I am tired of playing the silly game".  For the superintendent to quote environmental levels without having any understanding of what they are is ludicrous and underscores one of the many problems with this project.  They are in way over their heads and are playing guessing games with the lives of our children.  Lets be clear about the Hygenex response.  It is a smoke screen.  This gentleman from Hygenex is the person at our initial meeting that was defending PCB's stating that "PCB's DO NOT CAUSE CANCER, THEY ARE SUSPECT AND MAY CAUSE CANCER".   Is that why the DEP made the school cover window caulking and plan to remove the soil and brick masonry ?  With regards to the comments about concrete being caustic and "NOT CARCINOGENIC"  well, here is some factual information to clear some of the misinformed and misguided smoke screen.....  Concrete contains chromium which is a KNOWN CARCINOGEN and that CAUSES CANCER.  Well maybe not to Hygenix as some compounds "could" or "may" be harmful.  

Hygenix ran a silica test which is a common compound in concrete and concrete dust.  Ok, great.  Now - that test was run because "we the people" expressed our concern.  Shouldn't that be something that they figured out on their own?  Why are "lay people" asking technical question and raising concern about the safety of our children, educators and yes, even Mr. G's wildlife?   Based upon the response submitted by the Superintendent and Hygenix they are now deploying an additional level of vacuuming to further get rid of as much dust as they can.  Well, the problem here is that they are doing that because they found elevated levels of dust - remember 3 times more dust in the areas under construction then the areas not under construction from the sample that they submitted to us.  The only way to mitigate the problem with concrete dust is by keeping it wet.  That is what is done in most construction environments to protect the workers from this toxic health hazard.  With regard to the mold and hazardous fiber board on the ceiling the air samples with the equipment used (as told to me by the state health department) are not really sufficient.  A bulk core sample would be a better indicator but quite honestly, you can see it with the naked eye and that does not require any credentials or certifications.  In addition, while I bring up the state health department, I was also told that the silica test was a waste and that they (state health department) could have told me that it would have turned up nothing.  There is a plethora of information with regard to the hazards to construction materials and safety precautions on line.  The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) is an agency that has existed for many years as well as the Electronic Library of Construction of Occupational Safety and Health.  

Finally, what you should be advised of is that the most stringent safety guidelines come from OSHA, in the state of California and UC Berkely.  These levels that are quoted tend to come from OSHA guidelines that were developed in 1968 and are based upon healthy middle-aged men.  I was told by the state health department that everyone knows that they are not applicable for children as the tolerances are or would be much lower.

Here are the immediate questions that we need answered;

1. Why was the decision made to keep our children in harms way?  There is room at Consolidated and there could have been a plan to relocate the children and seal off the area.
2. How many children have developed asthma, cancer, serious respiratory or neurological disorders because of the callous, decisions made by companies like Hygenix?
3. Why doesn't the school think it is important to protect children, the educators (and Mr. G's wildlife)?
4. Why is it that nearly every other project for school renovation throughout the country moves the children out of harms way?
5. Most importantly, when will our children be moved out of this environment?
6. If the Environmental contractor does not feel that PCB's are cancer causing (or harmful) to our children, what other hazardous toxins do they feel is acceptable for our children to be exposed to?

 
Regards,
Steven Roe

Steven Roe, CEO
West Highland Support Services, LLC60 E. 42nd St.
Suite 401
New York, NY 10165
(0) 212 867 1848 x111
(C) 917 513 1871

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS

SCHOOL                             STUDENTS

Consolidated School                      664

Meeting House Hill School             668

New Fairfield Middle School          750

New Fairfield High School              975

EXCELLENT MOVE TO THE INTERNET ... NOW IT TIME TO BROADCAST ALL MEETINGS AND ARCHIVE THEM

Town meetings in New Fairfield have gone viral

Erik Ofgang, Staff Writer

Published: 11:22 p.m., Thursday, October 28, 2010

STEPHEN STANGL, DIRECTOR

cody morris, director

• 
  Director Cody Morris, an 11th-grader and director Stephen Strang, a 10th-grader, both of New Fairfield, operate remote cameras from the control room at a town meeting in the New Fairfield Senior Center. New Fairfield is adding a channel dedicated to town events. Both channels are available on the internet. Photo taken Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 Photo: Scott Mullin / The News-Times Freelance

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• 
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NEW FAIRFIELD GOES DIGITAL!!!

NEW FAIRFIELD -- New Fairfield's education channel, which has been broadcast on Channel 17 on Charter cable for the past six years, is now available streaming in real time on the town's website at www.newfairfield.org.

In addition, the town launched a new government channel on Oct. 13 that will also be streaming on the web. Both channels also will be available to subscribers of AT&T U-verse, a digital TV, high-speed Internet and phone service newly available in some parts of New Fairfield.

First Selectman John Hodge said streaming online allows residents without cable to view the channels and the addition of a new channel will allow the town to broadcast more government meetings.

"The more people know, the more informed they are, the better their decisions," Hodge said. He added that the town wants to make local government as accessible to residents as possible.

The idea is to "try to bring town government right into people's living rooms (and) make it accessible to them, so they don't have to get their information from a third party. They can watch and make their own decision whether their town is moving in the right direction or not."

Both channels can be viewed by going to the town's website and clicking the link on the left hand menu that says "New Fairfield TV on the web."

The Community Room in the building that also houses the New Fairfield Senior Center was built as a TV studio to broadcast town meetings, so the town is poised to broadcast more events.

When New Fairfield launched its education channel, Hodge said attendance at town meetings went down, but residents' awareness of town issues went up. He predicted that trend will continue now that the channels can be viewed online.

To broadcast the town's educational channel and the new government channel, AT&T installed new video equipment at the community room in the Senior Center. That equipment is allowing the town to stream both channels online.

Ray Juskiewicz, the video coordinator for the town, explained the difference between the two channels. The educational channel will continue to provide live and repeat coverage of board meetings and original programming related to school and town events. It cannot show any overtly politically events, however.

On the other hand, the government channel will broadcast town meetings and other programming related to local, state and federal government.

At election time candidates from each party will be given equal time on the channel and be allowed to produce segments in support of their campaigns.

Channel 17 broadcasts Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance and the Board of Educationmeetings. The new channel will allow for coverage of other town meetings.

Juskiewicz said the next step will probably be to broadcast the Park and Recreation Commission meetings and the Zoning Board meetings, but that will all be decided by town officials as the new channel gets started.

Hodge said streaming is part of a bigger effort to enhance the offerings of the town's website.

He said residents can now perform, "90 percent or better of all Town Hall functions on the Web. There are very few things that you actually have to come to Town Hall for anymore."