YOUR WEEKEND FORECAST – FRIDAY: PARTLY SUNNY, PLEASANT. HIGHS 75-80. FRIDAY NIGHT: INCREASING CLOUDS WITH SHOWERS ARRIVING AROUND OR AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS 55-60. SATURDAY (FLAG DAY): RAIN IN THE MORNING, TAPERING TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON SHOWERS, COOL, HIGHS 60-65. SATURDAY NIGHT: PARTIAL CLEARING, SOME FOG. LOW 50-55. SUNDAY (FATHER’S DAY): MOSTLY CLOUDY AND MOSTLY DRY! HIGHS 65-70.
TORRINGTON OFFICIALS BLAME A VOLATILE REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR TAX BILLS TO SKYROCKET NEXT MONTH. TORRINGTON LAST REVALUED HOMES IN 2019. NOW, THEY’RE SEEING ALL THE EFFECTS THE PANDEMIC HAS HAD ON THE REAL ESTATE MARKET AT ONCE. SOME HOMES MORE THAN DOUBLED IN VALUE IN LAST YEAR’S REVALUATION. NOW, PROPERTY TAXES WILL REFLECT THAT. THE CITY’S MEDIAN HOME VALUE IS $265,000. THAT HOMEOWNER WOULD HAVE PAID ABOUT $4,600 IN TAXES PER YEAR BEFORE THIS REVALUATION. NOW, THEY’LL OWE ABOUT $7,100 – AN INCREASE OF ABOUT $2,500. ASSESSOR STACIE MALDONADO TELLS CHANNEL-3 EYEWITNESS NEWS HIGHER ASSESSMENTS WERE ANTICIPATED WITH HOME-BUYERS PAYING WELL OVER ASKING PRICE WITHIN HOURS OF A PROPERTY GOING ON THE MARKET. BUT THE CITY MADE EFFORTS TO REDUCE SOME OF THAT BURDEN. THEY REDUCED THE MILL RATE SUBSTANTIALLY, FLAT-FUNDED MOST CITY DEPARTMENTS & SCHOOLS AND EVEN TOOK $5 MILLION FROM THE RAINY DAY FUND. THE CITY COUNCIL IS ALSO DOING A 2-YEAR PHASE-IN. THE ASSESSOR SAYS THAT MEANS HOMEOWNERS WON’T PAY THE FULL TAX INCREASE UNTIL JULY 2026. KEITH & CINDY ZWART OWN A HOME WORTH WELL UNDER THE AVERAGE VALUE IN THE CITY, BUT IT’S VALUE MORE THAN DOUBLED. KEITH TOLD CHANNEL-3: “ON DECEMBER 10TH I RECEIVED MY EVALUATION, AND THE HOUSE HAD BEEN WORTH $77,000. WHICH, IN TORRINGTON, ISN’T SO WEIRD. NOW, IT’S WORTH $177,000.” EVEN WITH THE MUCH LOWER MILL RATE, THAT’S A TAX HIKE OF ABOUT $3,000, AGAIN TO BE PHASED IN OVER 2-YEARS.
ROUGHLY 1,800 ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS ARE SCHEDULED AROUND THE COUNTRY THIS SATURDAY, INCLUDING A COUPLE LOCALLY. THERE’S ONE AT 11AM AT THE STATE CAPITOL IN HARTFORD, ANOTHER AT THE WARREN COMMUNITY CENTER AT 9AM AND A 3RD AT 1PM AT TORRINGTON’S COE MEMORIAL PARK, RAIN OR SHINE. THESE RALLIES WERE ORGANIZED BY ‘INDIVISIBLE CT.’ INTENDED TO BE PEACEFUL, THE RALLIES COME AS ‘ICE’ RAIDS CONTINUE AND TENSIONS RISE. ‘INDIVISIBLE CT’ MEMBERS OPPOSE ‘ICE’ RAIDS, MASS DEPORTATIONS, AND THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR TAXPAYER FUNDED FESTIVAL & PARADE COMMEMORATING THE ARMY’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY ON THIS FLAG DAY, SATURDAY, WHICH PROTESTERS BELIEVE IS ALSO TO CELEBRATE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BIRTHDAY THAT DAY. THE THEME OF THE PEACEFUL PROTESTS IS ‘NO KINGS,’ WITH ORGANIZERS ACCUSING PRESIDENT TRUMP OF “AUTHORITARIANISM” AND CLAIMING HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS LAUNCHED AN ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY. ‘INDIVISIBLE CT’ MEMBER JIM CHAPDELAINE TELLS CHANNEL-3 THE ‘NO KINGS’ RALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE MEANT AS A DAY OF ‘PEACEFUL’ DEFIANCE.
LITCHFIELD VOTERS WILL GET THEIR TAX BILLS ON TIME BY JULY 1ST, NOW THAT THEY’VE APPROVED A COMPLETE BUDGET FOR 2025-26. ‘LITCHFIELD.BZ’ REPORTS THAT ABOUT 30 VOTERS ENDORSED THE SPENDING PLAN OF $34.1-MILLION DOLLARS DURING THURSDAY’S TOWN MEETING AT LITCHFIELD INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL. THE CURRENT BUDGET IS $31.4-MILLION DOLLARS. THE BOARD OF FINANCE THEN SET A NEW TAX RATE OF 20-MILLS, AN INCREASE OF 1.5 MILLS OVER THE CURRENT 18.5 MILLS. TAXPAYERS WITH ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUE OF $300,000 WILL SEE AN INCREASE OF $450 UNDER THE NEW TAX RATE. THE MEDIAN ASSESSMENT IN TOWN IS $288,000, AND THAT ASSESSMENT WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN TAXES OF $437. VOTERS WERE ENCOURAGED TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED TOWN BUDGET EVEN THOUGH THE REGION-20 BOARD OF EDUCATION REMAINED WITHOUT A NEW BUDGET AFTER THE REJECTION OF TWO PROPOSED SPENDING PLANS IN REFERENDUM. HOWEVER, THE REGION-20 SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTED A NEW BUDGET OF $42.7 MILLION DOLLARS TUESDAY. LITCHFIELD’S ASSESSMENT FOR THAT WOULD BE $22.5 MILLION DOLLARS. A REFERENDUM ON THE PROPOSED REGION-20 BUDGET WILL BE HELD NEXT WEDNESDAY FROM 6AM TO 8PM.
THIS FRIDAY THE 13TH MARKS 1-WEEK UNTIL THE OFFICIAL START OF SUMMER. SOME SPOTS, INCLUDING THE SHORELINE, HIT 90 THURSDAY, SO WE’VE HAD A SUMMER FEEL RECENTLY, BUT WITH FLAG DAY TOMORROW AND FATHER’S DAY SUNDAY, WILL WE LUCK-OUT WEATHER-WISE? METEOROLOGIST JOE FUREY SAYS WE STARTED WITH SEASONABLE CONDITIONS TODAY, THEN A MIXED BAG FOR THE WEEKEND – WET SATURDAY MORNING INTO EARLY AFTERNOON, AND COOL. THE GOOD NEWS – FATHER’S DAY SUNDAY NOW LOOKS MAINLY DRY. PERHAPS NOT LAKE, BEACH OR PICNIC WEATHER, BUT OTHER THAN A SCATTERED SHOWERS, MOST HOURS SUNDAY ARE DRY! AS FOR NEXT WEEK, JOE SAYS MONDAY STAYS IN THE 60’S WITH A CHANCE FOR A SHOWER. THE 70’S AND SUNSHINE RETURN FOR TUESDAY, WITH SUMMER KICKING BACK INTO GEAR FOR THE MIDDLE AND END OF NEXT WEEK, WITH SHOWERS & THUNDERSTORMS NEVER FAR AWAY.
THE CITY OF TORRINGTON CONTINUES WORK ON THE MIGEON AVENUE RE-BUILD, AND PART OF THE NEXT PHASE WILL REQUIRE SOME TRAFFIC CLOSURES. STARTING MONDAY, SECTIONS OF MIGEON AVENUE WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC, WEEKDAYS FROM 7AM TO 5PM, FOR ABOUT 6 WEEKS. ACCESS TO PROPERTIES IN THE WORK ZONES WILL BE RESTRICTED FROM 7AM TO 5PM. PARKING WILL BE ALLOWED ON ALL ADJACENT SIDE STREETS. CONSTRUCTION WILL PROCEED IN SECTIONS, STARTING AT ROUTE 4 AND PROGRESSING SOUTH. NIGHT WORK IS PLANNED FOR THE CHURCH-TO-PEARL STREET SECTION TO MAINTAIN DAYTIME BUSINESS ACCESS. DETOURS WILL BE POSTED.
STATE TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS ADVISE MOTORISTS WHO USE ROUTE 202 THROUGH LITCHFIELD AND BANTAM TO BE AWARE OF A PROJECT THAT’LL SOON REQUIRE THE CLOSURE OF THAT STATE ROAD AND TRAFFIC DETOURS AS THEY WORK TO REPLACE A 97-YEAR OLD BRIDGE. STARTING MONDAY, ROUTE 202 OVER STILL BROOK WILL BE CLOSED NEAR CATHOLE ROAD AND MILL STREET. MOTORISTS SHOULD FOLLOW THE POSTED DETOURS OVER ROUTES 209, 109 AND 47. THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE DEMOLITION AND REPLACEMENT OF THE EXISTING MASONRY BRIDGE DATING FROM 1928. THE NEW BRIDGE’S LENGTH WILL INCREASE TO 35½ FEET AND WILL ACCOMMODATE EXPECTED INCREASED STORM WATER FLOW. THE TWO LANES WILL EACH BE 11-FEET WIDE, WITH A 3-FOOT SHOULDERS. THE EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE IS AUGUST 31ST.
THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT IS CALLING ALL WALKERS AND ANYONE INTERESTED IN TAKING A STEP TOWARD ENDING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE TO JOIN THE 2ND ANNUAL ‘MILES FOR MEMORIES’ WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S, THIS SATURDAY AT TORRINGTON’S COE MEMORIAL PARK. IT’S A NEW LOCATION FOR THE EVENT, AND ALL WHO’VE BEEN IMPACTED BY ALZHEIMERS DISEASE OR OTHER FORMS OF DEMENTIA ARE WELCOME TO GET A TEAM TOGETHER OR MAKE A DONATION. THE ‘MILES FOR MEMORIES’ WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S IS SATURDAY. REGISTRATION OPENS AT 10AM. THE WALK KICKS OFF AT 10:30. FOR DETAILS ON REGISTERING CREATING A TEAM OR MAKING A DONATION, VISIT: WWW.ACT.ALZ.ORG/CENTRALCT OR JUST SHOW UP AND REGISTER.
THE 14TH ANNUAL LITCHFIELD HILLS BREWFEST IS BACK AT SKI SUNDOWN, IN NEW HARTFORD! IT’S THE CHANCE FOR ADULTS 21 AND OLDER – NO PETS OR CHILDREN ALLOWED, TO SAMPLE SPECIALTY BEERS, WINES, MICROBREWS, CIDER, AND MOONSHINE FROM MORE THAN 90 VENDORS WHILE ENJOYING LIVE MUSIC. FOOD WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM A VARIETY OF FOOD VENDORS. IN ADDITION, THERE WILL BE MANY SILENT AUCTION ITEMS AND RAFFLES. BREWFEST PROCEEDS BENEFIT TORRINGTON’S ST. MARON CHURCH, BROOKER MEMORIAL AND SUMMIT ADAPTIVE SPORTS AT SKI SUNDOWN. THERE’LL BE LIVE MUSIC FROM THE STEVE DUNN BAND. THE 14TH ANNUAL BREWFEST IS THIS SATURDAY, 1 TO 5 AT SKI SUNDOWN, RATLUM ROAD IN NEW HARTFORD. TICKETS ARE $40 PER ERSON IN ADVANCE, $45 AT THE DOOR, AND $20 PER DESIGNATED DRIVER IN ADVANCE, AND $25 PER DESIGNATED DRIVER AT THE DOOR. NON-ALCOHOLIC SAMPLING AVAILABLE! MUST BE 21 TO ATTEND. NO KIDS OR PETS ALLOWED. FOR INFORMATION CALL 860-309-6391, OR EMAIL LITCHFIELDHILLSFOUNDATION@GMAIL.COM.