Board of Selectmen: Deluge, Blumenthal Visit, New Emergency Managers, Less Trash, Neighborhood Watch Meeting, Boy Scouts vs. Bears
July 11
The Board of Selectman held their first meeting of the month of July on Tuesday, July 11th. The July 4th meeting was canceled in observance of the holiday. All three Selectmen were in attendance with. Kinsella joining the meeting remotely via Zoom. They began by unanimously approving June 27th’s meeting minutes. Harris then motioned to approve town payroll and warrants for July 6th in the amount of $1,452,305.14 and July 13th in the amount of $94,706.18. Selectmen Carusillo and Harris voted in favor of the motions while Kinsella abstained from both. The motions were carried.
For the First Selectman’s Report, Carusillo began by addressing the 11 inches of rain parts of the town received over the weekend. The rain and subsequent flooding caused significant erosion and destruction to public roads and properties, “E Street [North}, we lost it in two parts… one was really bad,” said Carusillo. “South of Hageman Shean Rd and then down towards the town line, where our culvert pipe got clogged with gravel, causing the erosion cause it backed up…Everything eroded, pavement collapsed leaving big holes.” East Street South and North Goshen Road were additionally washed out while Gray Lane also had major road destruction rendering it hazardous for driving. Henrietta Horvay, the Town’s Historian, added that the Historical Society was damaged by the storm, “We did have damage in the Historical Society… {It came] from the roof…It’s the upper floor but, as I say, we’ve sort of taken care of it to the extent we can.” The Historical Society already contacted insurance companies and repairs are underway. No historical documents were damaged from the rain. Carusillo issued a “State of Emergency'' for the town on Monday and called Congresswoman Johanna Hayes’ office to receive financial aid from Connecticut’s Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover repair costs.
Carusillo continued his report noting that he contacted state police in Canaan and Police Chief William Baldwin in Torrington to organize a neighborhood watch program presentation. No exact date had yet been scheduled at the time of the meeting. (Subsequently a July 31, 2023 date was set). Emergency Management Director Robert Valentine submitted his letter of resignation from the position. After reviewing his letter, Harris motioned to accept the resignation.
For appointments, Harris motioned to add two appointments to the agenda. That was unanimously approved. Harris then motioned to appoint Shilo Garceau as Goshen’s new Emergency Management Director. This was unanimously approved. Carusillo then invited Garceau to speak about herself and her past roles that will help her operate as EMD, “...I’ve been in town for a very long time, most of my life and a member of the fire company for 31 years… Emergencies are in my back pocket and I am excited to have this role and I’ve been an EMT for 25 years.” Harris then motioned to appoint Gary Stango Sr. as the Assistant Emergency Management Director. This was unanimously approved. Carusillo then invited Stango to speak about himself and his past experiences, “... [I] spent many years, many years of my life doing emergency services through Waterbury, through the City of Hartford, down in New Haven, worked all the way across the board and I’m very happy to see what I can to do to make Shilo’s life a little easier and help her in every way that I can possibly can and this town every way I can and I’m very happy to be doing this.” Stango previously worked as a Waterbury police officer for 25 years.
For new business, Carusillo announced that the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival received approval from the fire department and fire marshals. Kinsella then motioned to approve the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s event application. This was unanimously approved. The 35th Annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival took place on July 28-30th at the Goshen Fairgrounds. Carusillo also announced that the Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival received all its approvals as well. Kinsella then motioned to approve the application for the Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival. This was also unanimously approved. 2023’s Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival will take place from August 10-13th at the Goshen Fairgrounds.
Following new business, Harris motioned to add a report from Goshen’s Recycling Coordinator Paul Collins to the agenda. This was unanimously approved. Collins reported the total monthly tonnage of trash and recyclable materials disposed of from town for 2022 and 2023 so far. “We’ve shown a 7% reduction in our municipal solid waste and we’ve shown a little bit more reduction in our recycling, actually,” Collins detailed. “… we’re gonna have to wait a little bit till we get the number from Torrington Area Health as to what our residents are for this year because… I think maybe our people went down a little bit. Maybe not though. But either way, we’re at least doing the right thing… Our bills for this year are actually a couple of thousand dollars less than they were for last year.” Collins ended his report by encouraging townsfolk to continue composting, recycling, and properly disposing of household hazardous waste in order to save the town funds and help the local environment.
July 18
All three Selectmen were in attendance with Kinsella joining remotely via Zoom. The meeting began with unanimous approval of last week’s meeting minutes. Harris then motioned to approve town payroll and warrants for July 20th in the amount of $49,343.09. This was also unanimously approved.
Carusillo began his report by announcing some debris from last weekend's heavy rain have been cleared from town roads. However, further rain storms caused thousands of dollars’ worth of new, unpacked gravel to be drained away, “East Street North, all of the new gravel, all that riprap, everything gone. Down the cover pipe and down into Arcadia Farm down the bank. Thousands of dollars’ worth of gravel down the bank, it’s pretty sad.” Riprap are softball sized-stones meant to lock together to prevent water erosion alongside roads. Henrietta Horvay reported in Public Comment that the dam near Breguet Road overflowed from the storms, “It was really about six inches high… It was overflowed for a while there.” Carusillo additionally thanked Marc McCarthy of the Broadband Advisory Committee for helping residents on Pond Ridge Road regain internet and TV service after the storms cut them off for three days. McCarthy used his connections with Optimum Altice to restore services quickly. US Senator Richard Blumenthal and State Representative Maria Horn joined with Carusillo on Monday to review the damage the town suffered from the storms. After driving around town in Carusillo’s truck, Blumenthal announced that he will assist in helping the town receive federal aid in repairing damaged roads and town property, “Damage in Goshen to roads, bridges, & culverts will require millions of dollars. Federal & State aid can spare such small towns the cost of repair & resiliency. Thanks to First Selectman Todd Carusillo & his team.” The Meriden-based civil engineering company, Cardinal Engineering Associates, will review damage done to culvert pipes in order for the town to determine an estimated FEMA fund needed to repair damage. Cardinal Engineering is registered to operate in Connecticut. Carsusillo noted that the town will be unable to help cover repair costs for damaged private property including driveways.
The First Selectman Report ended with Carusillo announcing that State Police will most likely set up a town meeting to discuss the creation of a neighborhood watch. The meeting will take place at Camp Cochipiannee at 5 pm. A definite date, time, and location will be announced at next week’s Board of Selectmen meeting. Audrey Blondin of the Board Assessment of Appeals asked Carusillo during Public Comment if remote Zoom services will be provided for the neighborhood watch meeting. Carusillo was uncertain but will bring his laptop for Zoom just in case, “They have wifi now and cable over at Camp Coch so I’ll see if we could do it. Maybe I can just do it off my laptop cause they’re not set up there. There’s no TV or nothing.”
The meeting ended with Carusillo announcing that Town Clerk Barbara Breor received Philip Koenig’s resignation letter. Koenig is resigning from his positions as a board member for the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission and an alternate for the Economic Development Commission. Koenig explained in his letter that he’s resigning due to a lack of time between his personal life and work with the Goshen Fire Department. The Board of Selectmen accepted the letter of resignation.
July 25
All three Selectmen were in attendance with Kinsella joining remotely via phone call. He and other remote attendees were unable to attend the meeting via Zoom due to technical difficulties prohibiting people from joining the online meeting. The meeting began with unanimous approval of last week’s meeting minutes. Harris then motioned to approve town payroll and warrants for July 27th in the amount of $311,553.69. This was also unanimously approved.
Carusillo began his First Selectman Report by reporting that the Public Works Department is continuing to conduct repairs to damaged public roads in town. While repairs are underway, the department will determine an estimated total repair costs and send them to FEMA to hopefully receive federal aid to cover costs. Carusillo noted, however, that the town is not responsible for damage done to private property and cannot cover driveway repair costs, “I’ve been receiving multiple calls from residents about their driveways. You know, rain is an act of god. The town is not responsible for rebuilding people’s driveways…”
Signs for the town’s neighborhood watch program have been ordered by Public Works Supervisor Garret Harlow. The town meeting to discuss the program will take place at Camp Cochipianee on Monday, July 31st at 5 pm. Carusillo ended his report by recommending residents lock their doors and outdoor storage facilities and purchase small security cameras to prevent break-ins.
No Public Comment was held during the meeting due to remote attendees being unable to access the meeting with Zoom issues.
For new business, Harris motioned to accept the Special Event Applications for the Goshen Fair and the Black Bear Music Festival. This was unanimously approved. Both events still require approval from Torrington Area Health, the state police, and the local fire chief and marshal before they can receive “final approval”. The Goshen Fair is slated to take place at the Goshen Fairgrounds on September 2nd-4th during Labor Day weekend. The Black Bear Music Festival is slated to take place at the Goshen Fairgrounds on October 6th-8th during Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend.
Several Boy Scouts from local Troops 7, 27, and 28 attended the meeting in order to meet criteria to earn their Local Government merit badges. The selectmen allowed the scouts to make public comments and ask the selectmen various questions. Scout Tristan Waller expressed concerns regarding black bears traveling about their campsites at Camp Strang near West Side Pond. Many young scouts have become afraid to return to the camp after encountering bears or hearing reports of bears nearby. Harris recommended the scouts write to local representatives in order for the state or local officials to help deal with the bears. “I would really appreciate if you guys would take the time to write your local state representative and say that you are Boy Scouts and you’re camping and the bears are constantly keeping you on the guard and you’re hoping for some kind of protection.” Kinsella added that people should respect the black bear population but should not be afraid of it, “There are thousands of bears in the state and there's very rarely any adverse interactions between people and bears. That’s not to say you should be careless. Don’t be afraid to go out in the woods and enjoy the outdoors.” According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, there have been 71 black bear sightings in Goshen so far this year. Sightings often go unreported, however, as many residents consider the bears’ presence routine.
