New Winsted Town Planner Steps Calmly To the Plate

WINSTED — As most people know, Winsted has been without a town planner since Ray Carpentino stepped down from the position to become economic development coordinator for the town of Rocky Hill last spring.

After an extensive search, the door to the planning and development office in Town Hall now has a new name on it: Charles Karno.

A fruitless search lasted from last spring to fall and yielded three potential candidates who were "highly qualified in their own rights, but didn’t quite have the applicable experience," according to Town Manager Owen Quinn. The issue was put aside temporarily.

But Quinn, who had been acting in a dual capacity as town manager and interim town planner, resumed his quest in December, and slowly but surely things started to look up. He found two applicants with potential in late January, and began the vetting process to determine the right man for the job.

"After many interviews with the two new candidates, Charlie Karno of Plainville was selected," Quinn said. "He has a good cross-section of skills that are applicable to our situation in Winsted. I think his background made him a strong candidate."

That background includes a 10-year stint in Berlin as director of economic development and, more recently, seven years as director of development in East Hartford.

Karno, who graduated from the University of Connecticut with a dual major in political science and economics, also holds a master’s degree in education from Central Connecticut State University. He has had a long career in land use and economic development.

"We’ve been working on getting him settled in, slowly but surely getting the plans that I have been accumulating and turning them over to him one by one," Quinn said. "I’m glad to have him aboard. His approach is calm, quiet and experienced. He’ll be a welcome addition to our town government."

Karno is approaching the job vigorously. He has an air of professionalism about him, and indeed, seemed conspicuously calm during a brief interview with this reporter, considering the piles of paperwork that await him.

"There’s lots to do, but I think there’s lots to do everywhere," he said. "The people here have been very welcoming, very supportive."

Since beginning work last Monday, Karno has been getting to know the community, meeting with commission heads (particularly those of the Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions), and getting acquainted with the office staff.

"Everybody’s been very helpful, trying to point me in the right direction," he said. "The people in Town Hall have been extremely kind to me and done the best they can to make me feel welcome."

He already has one Planning and Zoning Commission meeting under his belt, and said he’s been busy "trying to get up to speed."

"There’s a lot of information that’s been piling up over the years," he said, adding that he’s been poring over the available information to prepare himself for the tasks ahead. "When someone asks a question, you have to have the right answer."

High on his list of priorities is dealing with the Lambert Kay factory and the stagnating Aurora Rosa Estates project, which now consists of two separate applications. One of them, he said, has the go-ahead, but the developers must comply with a long list of conditions set forth by the Inland Wetlands Commission. The commissioners are concerned about the stability of the Highland Lake watershed area, where the construction project is to be built.

"If they comply with the conditions, they can begin with the first part," Karno said of the original plan to build 450 age-restricted housing units and an 18-hole golf course.

The other part, involving several hundred additional housing units, is awaiting approval by both the Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions.

"[The developers] are treating them as two separate applications."

Karno seems undaunted by the challenges ahead.

"You have to find your way around, do the best you can," he said. "Things work out."

One thing he said he’s interested in getting off the ground is a plan to incorporate a geographic information system (GIS), which would integrate aerial photographs of the land with maps from the town assessor and various commissions into a comprehensive, computer-based program.

"It’s an incredibly powerful tool," he said of the GIS, which could allow the planner to take planning maps and overlay them on aerial photographs. He said the Planning and Zoning Commission has already been at work on the project.

"It’s a realistic goal," he said.