Strong objections raised to Surdan Mountain Road vote

SHARON — A heated discussion between the Board of Selectmen and a group of residents who live on Surdan Mountain Road took place during a special selectmen’s meeting on Wednesday, July 7.

The residents objected to a decision made at a special town meeting on June 25. An ordinance was passed, by a slim margin, to discontinue a 600-foot section of Surdan Mountain Road, which is a small road near the Housatonic River and the historic Covered Bridge in West Cornwall.

The ordinance passed by a vote of 16 to 13 and it discontinues that portion of the road from what had been previously discontinued to the intersection of Stone Hill Lane.

The road discontinuance was requested in December by Mortimer Klaus, who owns property at 13 Surdan Mountain Road.

Klaus was not present at the July selectmen’s meeting.

Residents Brian Ellsmore and Russell Purdy did most of the talking during the 40-minute discussion.

“There were so many questions left unanswered at the meeting,� Ellsmore said. “Most of the information given at the town meeting was misinformation. I can’t just let this lie. The next level I take this to will not be good for anybody.�

Ellsmore would not specify, exactly, what the “next level� would be.

During the course of the selectmen’s meeting, Ellsmore accused the town of not having an open decision process for deciding to discontinue the road.

Ellsmore said that, at a meeting of the Conservation Commission in April, members of the commission stated they were against closing the road because it would set a bad precedent.

He also accused the selectmen of showing favoritism toward Klaus.

“I don’t understand how the interests of one person overran the interests of the whole street,� Ellsmore said. “Klaus lives in Manhattan. We are the ones who live on the street. We’re the ones you should be concerned about.�

Loucks told Ellsmore that the town did not need an application from Klaus to discontinue the road.

Also, Loucks produced a letter written by Cicily Hajek, chairman of the Conservation Committee, which said the committee approved discontinuing the road.

Purdy told the selectmen that he has concerns about the maintenance of a 40-by-40 foot turnaround at the end of the active section of the road, which will be constructed so town trucks can turn around when they are plowing snow.  

“The big thing I heard at the town meeting is that this was all about saving money,� Purdy said. “If this is all about the money and we gotta be driving a payloader when the turnaround gets 2 or 3 feet of snow, how the hell is the town saving any money? You’re not going to be saving any money. Whose land is the turnaround on?�

Loucks said the turnaround will be on a piece of Klaus’ property. He said the town plans to draw up an agreement where the town will be able to use the turnaround and will maintain it.

Also, Loucks said for the road to be discontinued, Klaus still has to meet a whole list of requirements that were set by the town.

“If he doesn’t meet the requirements, then the Board of Selectmen has a right to deny the discontinuance,� Loucks said. “As for the agreement on the turnaround, the plan is for [Klaus’] attorney to draw up an agreement and then for the town’s attorney to look at it and review it. We will include anything that we need to have included. If we need to make it 60 foot by 60 foot to push snow farther, then we’ll write that in.

“We took it to a town meeting vote for the town to accept it or turn it down.�

Selectman John Mathews said the piece of road is not pristine and, if the town wanted to bring it to usable standards, it would cost a lot of money.

“From the town’s point of view, the road only served one person,� Mathews said. “Who else wants to drive down there? My view had nothing to do with Klaus, it was all from an economic standpoint.�

Ellsmore then accused Loucks  of deceiving residents at the Conservation Commission meeting in April.

“I did not deceive anybody in any of this,� Loucks told Ellsmore. “I did not try to deceive anybody in this. I have no interest in this. It was up to a body of residents to vote on this at the town meeting. I did not vote at the town meeting at all. We fulfilled what the process is.�

Selectman Meg Szalewicz suggested that Ellsmore write a letter of recommendations to the selectmen to be considered when the town has contract negotiations with Klaus over the turnaround.

“I’m not saying we will include all of them, but you will have a voice in this process,� Szalewicz. “We would all welcome that.�

Loucks told Ellsmore that he could always petition the town for another town meeting vote.

“But if the town votes to re-accept the road, we would have to bring it up to current town specifications,� Loucks said.

By the time the discussion ended, Ellsmore still did not seem satisfied at all with the answers he was given from the selectmen.

“If this is part of a process, why were people who live on that road not notified that this was going on?� Ellsmore said. “This could have been something as simple as having a letter placed in our mailboxes. How could this happen for a weekender who lives in Manhattan? We closed the road for somebody who doesn’t even live in our town.�

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