Board of Finance: FEMA Denial, Paving Projects

Goshen’s Board of Finance met on Wednesday, September 27th for their monthly gathering. Board member Patrick Reilly Sr. was absent from the meeting while fellow members James Korner and Russel Murdock were excused. First Selectman Todd Carusillo and Sharon Turnpike resident Toby Geiger also attended the meeting. Board member Robert Valentine joined the meeting via Zoom. The meeting began with Edward Bixler motioning to approve August’s meeting minutes with one correction. Board member Scott Tillman clarified that he was mislabeled as absent from the previous meeting and was instead excused. A majority of the Board voted to approve August’s meeting minutes save for Valentine and Tillmann who abstained since they were absent from last month’s meeting.

For Financial reports, the Board received and reviewed reports submitted by Debbie Franklin for August 2023. “It’s nice to see that we’re actually getting some real interest on our monies now,” said Valentine. Carusillo added that, “We need that interest for another 10 months before interest rates drop.” The Board then received and reviewed Tax Collector Rebecca Juchert-Derungs’ August 2023.

Carusillo then presented his First Selectman’s Report by first detailing Goshen’s current status regarding Federal Emergency Management Agency financial aid to cover road repair costs from July rainstorm damage. “The bad news is that we didn’t reach the threshold to get FEMA monies… At around 5:30 [pm] I got a phone call from Senator [Richard] Blumenthal saying that he’s still going to try to get us some monies. It might not come from FEMA but maybe from other avenues.” Carusillo expects an update call from Blumenthal in a week or so. He further explained that the reason for the denial of FEMA assistance is due to damage costs not reaching the $5 million minimum costs; Carusillo estimated that total rain damage in town will cost around $2.2 million in repairs.

Carusillo continued his report by telling the Board that Goshen’s new Emergency Management Director Shilo Garceau is requesting a new laptop for her services. However, there is not enough funds in the town’s Civil Preparedness budget to cover the cost. Valentine suggested Carusillo use funds from the town’s Capital Non-Recurring account to cover the laptop’s cost.

Bixler briefly interrupted the First Selectman’s Report to make a motion to seat Patrick Reilly Sr. who arrived late to the meeting. This was unanimously approved.

Carusillo continued by reporting that the Goshen Fire Company requested a new laptop for their secretary, “They only have $700 in their budget for office supplies and I believe the new laptop they want is around $1,118 or something like that.” Board Chairman Allan Walker Sr. and Valentine suggested the Fire Company move forward in purchasing the laptop and the board will reconcile the remaining cost by the end of the year. The Public Works Department requested to purchase new or used parts to replace broken gear teeth from the front bearing and the front axle of a backhoe tractor. Since the town recently purchased an excavator and the backhoe only serves as a secondary backup unit, the board will investigate part and repair costs before deciding what to do with it. The purchase of Crime Signs cost a total of $450. However, Harlow was unsure where to submit the cost in the town’s budget. Carusillo recommended the Board establish a Public Safety budget in 2024. Valentine suggested they submit the Crime Signs cost into the Selectmen’s budget as an engineering line item.

For Other Business, resident Toby Geiger requested the Board explain the timeline and goals of paving Lyman Lane and Town Hill Road. Carusillo stated that all of Lyman Lane was completely paved last week. The road was paved to prevent the road from easily eroding and make it easier to maintain. This was originally planned in 2018 but was delayed due to COVID-19 complications. Several residents have since come forward to criticize the pavement for disrupting the character of the neighborhood and making it more difficult to ride horses in the area. Geiger then asked if Town Hill Road would be completely paved. Harlow claimed it will be paved but not in the near future, however as of the date of publication of this edition of The Goshen News, paving was well underway.