Planning Board meets new Silo Ridge management, introduces local cannabis regulation

Town Hall on Route 22 in Amenia.
Photo by John Coston
Town Hall on Route 22 in Amenia.
AMENIA — Recent changes to the Silo Ridge management team prompted the Amenia Planning Board to meet the new team members at the board’s regular meeting Thursday, Sept. 25.
The board also held preliminary discussions on a proposed local law to regulate distribution of cannabis.
Although he retired 16 months ago as Silo Ridge project engineer, Patrick O’Leary interrupted his retirement to serve as consultant to the organization as it introduces a new leadership team. Acting as a consultant for Silo Ridge Ventures, he is assisting with the transition period. O’Leary attended the planning board meeting to introduce members of that new team.
Introduced were Mike Clark, Sr. Vice-President for Development, Silo Ridge Ventures; Saul Scherl, President, Silo Ridge; Zach Winick, Sr. Vice-President, Operations and Development, Silo Ridge Field Club; and Richard Fricke, Project Chief Financial Officer, Silo Ridge. Also present was Michael Ryan, General Manager, Silo Ridge, a continuing member of the team.
O’Leary explained that although there were changes to the management team, there has been no change in Silo Ridge ownership.
“We must work together to achieve goals,” said Scherl, suggesting a new and improved relationship with town officials.
“We are eager to work with the town in a collaborative way,” Scherl added.
Clark echoed the sentiment, indicating that the team is eager to receive the planning board’s input. He said that Silo Ridge is coming up with a new concept and plan, what he termed a “thoughtful design.”
“We are working toward elevating the community and making it fit together,” Clark said.
O’Leary said that the team is re-thinking aspects of the original Silo Ridge planning and would be preparing a revised master plan for future presentation to the Planning Board.
Planning Board member Ken Topolsky, who also serves on the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee, suggested that people who live within the Silo Ridge Community no longer be considered “members.”
“Are they not residents of Amenia?” he asked.
Feeling that an overall organizational chart defining the Silo Ridge business structure would be helpful to the Planning Board, member Nina Peek asked that such a chart be submitted.
O’Leary agreed, adding that he is preparing a status review report showing existing development, scheduled development and envisioned development.
Board member Walter Dietrich suggested that a summary be prepared to describe the Silo Ridge organizational structure to assist local residents in understanding the various elements.
Having received a draft of a local law that would seek to determine a possible location for a cannabis distribution retail establishment and determine as well whether a cannabis grower might be permitted to sell on his own acreage, the Planning Board opened discussion of the drafted law that had been prepared by Town Attorney Ian Lindars and AKRF Consulting.
The Town Board had agreed to preparation of the drafted local law and that it be sent on to the Planning Board for comment.
Planning Board engineer John Andrews said that he felt that the draft law needs to be expanded in detail.
“Do you think you as a Planning Board are better able to look at issues related to an eventual site plan?” Andrews asked.
Board member Peek felt that the Planning Board should retain the responsibility for site plan approval and she sought clarification of regulations, feeling that the local law draft would need to be fleshed out.
The maps attempting to define possible sites in view of separation rules where the state requires that any distribution point stand a determined distance from public entities including schools, houses of worship, parks, playgrounds were also discussed. While the maps showed separation measured by radius, Peek wanted that measurement method examined further.
Town Board liaison to the planning board, Rosanna Hamm, agreed that measurement methods might be examined and reiterated her concerns about parking.
Andrews advised that several towns have required any applicant to obtain a state license before pursuing final approval from the towns.
Planning Board attorney Paul Van Cott commented that the board had been invited to conduct an informal review of the local law draft and to send their comments back to the Town Board. He noted that the planning board will have an opportunity to review the drafted law later in the process.
“It’s a more complicated calculus,” Peek observed, involving location, lighting and parking.
“The site plan is an essential element in making this work,” Andrews said.
AMENIA — Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44.
On Wednesday, August 20, the crew was checking excavation lines.
Work is expected to continue for the next three to four weeks. Residents should anticipate minor traffic delays.
Sidewalk construction that will extend the town sidewalk to Beekman Park got underway this week along Route 44. On Wednesday, August 20, excavation began. Project Manager Don D. was at the controls of the excavation equipment.Photo by Leila Hawken
In light of rising local interest in the centuries-old game of Backgammon, Wednesday afternoon backgammon instruction and play sessions are being offered at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. The first such session was held on Wednesday, Aug. 13, attracting two enthusiastic participants, both of whom resolved to return for the weekly sessions.
Expert player and instructor Roger Lourie of Sharon, along with his equally expert wife, Claude, led the session, jumping right into the action of playing the game. Claude chose to pair with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury, a moderately experienced player looking to improve her skills, while Lourie teamed himself with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, who was new to the game.
In 2023, Lourie formed Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut with two objectives: to promote the game in the northwest corner of the state and to teach it to children and adults interested in learning. In addition to the Wednesday sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, an informal, casual group meets at Le Gamin in Sharon every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.
Acting as co-chairman is Ed Corey who leads the Le Gamin sessions, offering advice and instruction. Both Corey and Lourie play competitively and have distinguished themselves by winning tournaments. There are no fees for participation at either Hotchkiss or Le Gamin. Children, ages 8 and up, are welcome to come and learn the game, along with adults of any experience level.
Lourie says that he can teach a person to play competitively in three lessons.
Sessions at The Hotchkiss Library will continue until the end of the year and perhaps beyond, depending on interest. Lourie will be the instructor until mid-November, when expert player Ed Corey will assume responsibility for the sessions at the Hotchkiss Library.
“We’re hoping for more people and also to see youngsters participating and learning the game,” Lourie said.
“The beginner can be the expert with the right dice,” said Lourie, explaining that it is a game combining chance and strategy. An understanding of mathematics and probability can be helpful.
Lourie summarized the randomness of dice and the strategy of poker. “I want to know the proper etiquette,” Kaufman offered, intent on knowing more about the proper moves, although her play indicated a credible level of skill.
Stopping in to observe the Hotchkiss session, executive director of the library, Gretchen Hachmeister said, “We know that people come to library game sessions. People love games, getting together to learn something new.”
Lourie learned the game under extremely unusual circumstances — as a detainee in a Soviet prison during the1960s missile crisis, while working in Naval Engineering to decipher code for the U.S. Office of Technological Security.
Imprisonment was not terrible, he said. There was predictable questioning by day when he repeated daily the details of his cover story. But at night, the guards — many the same age as the detainees — had finished their shifts and of interrogation.They unplugged the cameras to brew tea and the backgammon games would begin. That was how Lourie learned the game and became an expert.
Board games date back 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Modern backgammon goes back to 17th-century England, having evolved from a 16th-century game called “Irish.”It grew in popularity in the 1960s, leading to formation of a World Backgammon Club in Manhattan. And then in 2023, Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut came to be.
To learn more about the Backgammon sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, visit: www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org or contact Lourie directly at Rlourie@gmail.com.
Pantry essentials at Dugazon
You are invited to celebrate the opening of Dugazon, a home and lifestyle shop located in a clapboard cottage at 19 West Main Street, the former site of The Edward in Sharon. The opening is Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.
After careers in the world of fashion, Salisbury residents Bobby Graham and his husband, Matt Marden, have curated a collection of beautiful items that reflect their sense of design, love of hospitality, and Graham’s deep Southern roots. Dugazon is his maternal family name.
“My Louisiana roots come from my mother’s family in Baton Rouge via New Orleans where many of my memories of cooking, food, antiquing, flea markets, hospitality, entertaining, originate,” Graham said.“Being raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, enhanced the importance of community, family, friends and regional cultures, forming the essence of Dugazon.”
Graham and Marden sat on the front porch telling the story of their shop’s evolution. With its wicker loveseats and geraniums in bloom, the old porch invites visitors to linger.
Matt Marden and Bobby Graham open Dugazonat 19 West Main St.in Sharon on Aug 27. Jennifer Almquist
“Bobby has been talking about Dugazon ever since our first date 21 years ago,” Marden said smiling. “I could not be more thrilled that his dream has finally become our reality.”
Graham laughed, then shared their hope that Dugazon embodies the spirit of lagniappe, a French concept of “adding a little extra to bring unexpected kindness, generosity and delight into everyday life.”
Marden worked at Staley-Wise Gallery in New York City. “Town & Country” recruited him to cover men’s fashion. He became fashion director of “Details” magazine and later style director for “Esquire” magazine.
Graham spent 24 years at Condé Nast as a Fashion and luxury advertising sales executive for “Vogue,” “GQ,” “Vanity Fair,” “AD,” and “The New Yorker.”
Within their light-filled shop, unique antiques and vintage cookbooks mix with kitchen necessities such as wooden spoons and cutting boards. Dugazon is bursting with elegant and functional items ranging from designer John Derian treasures to Louisiana hot sauce, luxurious table linens from Milan-based La Double J, and pantry essentials including Café Du Monde beignet mix, Mam Papaul’s jambalaya fixings, and various jams.
Scandinavian 19-inch tapered candles from creators ester & erik are available in 30 colors. Other offerings include vivid naïve paintings by New Orleans-born artist Alvin Batiste, who now works out of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and paper goods designed by Marden’s first cousin, Carey Marden Shaulus.
Alvin Batiste paintings and ester& erik candles on display at Dugazon.Jeff Holt
“Dugazon becoming a reality has been a lifelong dream that comes from deep in my creative soul,” Graham said.“My experiences and memories from my roots, family and friends is what Dugazon is all about. Being able to share this with the world means everything to us.”
Dugazon opens Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.and will be open Wednesdays through Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Phone: 860-397-5196
Instagram:@dugazonshop
Website:www.dugazonshop.com