vp04.04.13

Town applies for HeartSafe designation
By Sloan Brewster
Senior Staff Writer
SIMSBURY – e town of
Simsbury is applying for Heart-
Safe designation.
“[e designation] allows
the town to really be a champion
for initiatives,” First Selectman
Mary Glassman said at the
March 11 Board of Selectmen
meeting.
Karin Stewart of the Simsbury
Volunteer Ambulance
Service researched the program
and submitted the town’s application.
e designation is given
by the Connecticut Department
of Public Health in collaboration
with the American Heart
Association.
Among other things, the designation
means there are automatic
external defibrillators – AEDs – and
folks trained to use them at every
school and athletic field in town.
ey are also on police cruisers and
fire engines.
e nearby town of Burlington
was named a HeartSafe community
in June of 2009, after two bystanders
successfully resuscitated a cardiac
arrest victim who had collapsed in
his driveway.
In addition to having AEDs and
people trained to use them, qualifi-
By Sloan Brewster
Senior Staff Writer
SIMSBURY – One public voice
on a new housing zone for working
people in Simsbury was not sufficient.
At the April 1 public hearing on
the proposed Workforce Housing
Overlay Zone, Jim Gallager was the
only resident who spoke.
“I’m not sure why you’re looking
at this zone,” was one of his comments.
“Personally, I don’t think you
need the zone.”
While the commission listened
to his opposition to the proposal
and answered his questions, it opted
not to close the hearing in the hope
that word would get out and more
people would show up at the next
meeting to share their views on the
proposal.
Hiram Peck, director of Community
Planning & Development,
presented the proposal for the zone,
which would not be in any one area
or property in town but could be allowed
anywhere, with approval
based on individual applications.
According to the draft regulation
for the zone, it “is intended to
create additional housing opportunities
within Simsbury while promoting
the appropriate
development of Simsbury’s historic
town center and other areas of the
community.”
In addition to having automatic external defibrillators
and people trained to use them, qualifications for being
a HeartSafe Community include having life support
teams able to reach emergencies quickly and having
members of the public trained and ready to perform
CPR. File photo
cations for being a HeartSafe Community
include having life support
teams able to reach emergencies
quickly and having members of the
public trained and ready to perform
CPR.
“If we can get lay people to
begin the CPR process, we have a
better chance to save lives,” Stewart
said at the meeting, adding that she
had been training residents in CPR.
e week of the meeting, Stewart
had completed the training with
12 local Girl Scout leaders, she said.
Some of the AEDs on hand can
also be used by the public and come
with directions.
In Burlington, just after the
Peck, in his presentation, referred
to the town’s Plan of Conservation
and Development, which
indicates that “Simsbury lacks housing
diversity.”
Most housing developments
are restricted to residential areas,
and 85 percent of housing in town
consists of single family housing, he
said.
According to the POCD, mixed
use developments are desirable in
town, as is more affordable housing
for residents with limited means
and first-time homebuyers, Peck
continued. e proposed zone contains
all those.
According to the draft regulation,
there would be six subdistricts
in different parts of town.
In the center of town and “other
areas” would be mixed use development,
meaning residential and commercial
or retail.
Other districts would be mixed
housing, or “a development including
a combination of housing types.”
Multi-family housing would be in
“existing mill buildings and other
areas with potential for development
with multi-use housing.” ere
would also be districts for duplexes
and single-family homes.
Gallager asked about the affordable
housing aspect and what
qualifying incomes would be.
Zoning Chairman Robert
Pomeroy and commission member
town received the designation,
Jeff Bond, a
volunteer firefighter,
showed the diagrams
and instructions that
are on the devices, reiterating
that lay people
can use them. Next
to the smaller, simpler
AED, he displayed a
more expensive cardiac
monitor, which is
carried in ambulances
and used only by
trained emergency
medical technicians.
Once Simsbury
receives the designation,
it will get 10 HeartSafe signs to
put around town.
e Volunteer Ambulance Association
will be present at Septemberfest
to discuss the designation
and sign up residents for CPR
classes, Stewart said. She is hoping
to schedule a class at least once a
month.
Selectmen agreed to allow
Stewart to apply for the designation.
“Minutes save lives,” said Selectman
Lisa Heavner just before
the vote, meaning that having AEDs
available for lay people to use while
they are waiting for emergency personnel
to arrive could mean life or
death.
Small turnout for hearing on proposed
Workforce Housing Overlay Zone
William Fiske explained that applicants
making 80 percent or less of
Hartford County’s median income
of $87,700 and who qualified for
mortgages would qualify.
“Is it affordable housing? What
is it for?” Gallager asked.
“e answer really is the trade
off for low market rates, with increased
density for the developer,”
Pomeroy replied.
Gallager also wanted to know
why the income qualification would
be based on the median income of
Greater Hartford, rather than Simsbury’s
higher median income of approximately
$120,000.
“at’s where we all live,” he
said.
Fiske explained that, according
to state law, towns are required to
have 10 percent of local housing be
affordable and to be given credit toward
that, income qualifications
must meet the Greater Hartford
standard.
Right now, 3 percent of housing
in Simsbury is affordable, Peck said.
Vaughan Marecki said he
hoped the zone would make the
town more appealing to college
graduates.
“is gives young adults the opportunity
to stay in town and, hopefully,
raise a family,” he said.
e public hearing will be resumed
at the commission’s April 15
meeting.
LANDSCAPES THAT
COMPLEMENT
YOUR LIFESTYLE!
860.735.6064
Blueheronlandscapes.com
HIC.0613098
Design | Installation | Garden Care
Saturday, April 20
PLYMOUTH
Plymouth Town Hall
80 Main St., Terryville
BRING
• Pesticides, herbicides and
weed killers
• Fertilizers
• Oil-based paint, paint thinners
and varnish
• Alkaline and rechargeable
household batteries
• Auto batteries
• Hobby and photographic
chemicals
• Pool chemicals
• Household cleaners &
disinfectants
• Antifreeze and waste oil
• Mercury
COLLECTION
TIME:
9am-1pm
on both days
Saturday, May 4
PLAINVILLE
Roadways Garage
23 Granger Lane
DON’T BRING
• Latex paint
• Empty aerosol cans
• Ammunition or explosives
• Propane tanks
• Medicines
• Commercial or industrial waste
• Tires
• Appliances or furniture
• Computers & electronic equipment
• Fire extinguishers
• Any material from businesses or
institutions
Questions: 860-585-0419 www.tunxisrecycling.org
• Double Ground Color Enhanced......$28/yd.
• Early Bird Special (Month of April only)
Double Ground Natural...........$14.99/yd.
• Delivery Available/5 yd. minimum
• Pickup at Yard - Mon.-Fri. 7-3
April 4, 2013 The Valley Press 19