TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council presided over a relatively quiet meeting Tuesday night in its chambers at Torrington City Hall, in which the city’s governors approved a pair of easements, three catering permits and a special event permit for the annual Christmas Parade. 

Mayor Randy Adams opened the meeting with a run-down of several community items. Adams reported that the frontage road along US 26, which has been under construction for the past few months, is expected to be totally complete by the end of the week. 

“By the end of this week, they will be done with everything except seeding, and it’s likely that they will forego that until next spring,” Adams said. 

Construction on the new O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store has been finished, and city building official Dennis Estes said it could be open by the end of the year. 

“The word I got is that the O’Reilly’s corporation will be here in early December to stock the shelves, and then go on to open sometime after that,” Estes said. 

Adams reported the Terror Train Escape Room at the Homesteaders Museum extended its dates due to positive feedback from the community. The cost to take part in the escape room will be $10 per person. 

“Because of the success of the escape room at the Homesteaders Museum, (museum director) Sarah (Chaires) has extended that event and offer it on Nov. 29, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1,” he said.

The city is undergoing security assessments for both physical security and cybersecurity by the Department of Homeland Security. Adams said the assessments, which will be completed in the coming weeks, will give the local government an idea of how its precautions stack-up with similar communities. 

Contributions collected by Torrington city employees have helped many people.

“It helps feed needy families, and this far city staff have donated 85 boxes,” he said. “I know Kiwanis was hoping for just 75 for the whole community, so they really stepped up. The people and staff who work for the City of Torrington have done a really good job.”

The council voted unanimously to approve an easement request for Alex Lauck to build a carport within 20 feet of the alley behind his East B Street home, and to allow him to increase his allotted square footage for accessory structures. 

The city voted 5-0 to approve a catering permit for the Mint Bar for a community event on Nov. 30. 

The city also approved a pair of catering permits for Two Horse Hospitality’s Two Horse Tuesday events, which will be held on Dec. 3 and Dec. 19 at the Homesteaders Museum. 

The city unanimously approved a special event permit for the Goshen County Chamber of Commerce and the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department for the 2019 All is Bright Christmas parade, which will be Dec. 6. The council also voted to waive the special event fee for the event.