Board of Selectmen: Town Truck Mishaps, Code of Ethics, Emails in The Goshen News, Special Meeting on Woodridge Lake Sedimentation

1/16/24

Previous week’s meeting minutes were approved unanimously as well as the town payroll and warrants for January 18th in the amount of $109,685.23. All selectmen were in attendance.

First Selectman Todd Carusillo relayed a message from the State Police, warning people in the Northwest corner of the state of increased criminal activity.  “There’s been a lot of break-ins throughout the area, not just things happening in Goshen…,” Carusillo reported. “Make sure your doors are locked, cars are locked. Don’t leave any of your possessions in view of your back seat or anything.” A town grader is under repair for its motor and radiator. Motor seals had to be replaced and a new radiator was purchased for around $600. One town truck is under additional repairs for a $10,000 hydraulic repair job while another truck is under inspection after it “went down” recently.

For Public Comment, Board of Assessment of Appeals’ member Audrey Blondin introduced a topic regarding a state grant that can help municipalities lessen the cost of installing electric vehicle chargers. Torrington’s City Council approved the installation of three EV charging stations this week at Franklin Street, the Torrington Library, and City Hall after the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approved a grant of $40,680.25 for the installation. Torrington’s installation is expected to cost a total of $182,585 or roughly $61,000 per station. Carusillo has received emails about available grants but didn’t want to install a station at the town properties for liability reasons, “If somebody’s car melts or something, the Town of Goshen is gonna be responsible.” Instead, Carusillo sent EV charging station grant information to the Goshen Housing Trust to determine if they'd like to install stations near restaurants or stores.

Scott Olson motioned to appoint Economic Development Commission board alternate Jonathan Carroll as a regular board member of the commission. This was unanimously approved. The EDC is looking for someone to fill Carroll’s former alternate board member position.

The board received and reviewed Tax Collector Rebecca Juchert-Derungs’ tax report. Real Estate had 77.27% collected, Personal Property had 61.37% collected, Motor Vehicle had 97.13% collected, and Motor Vehicle Substitute had 36.67% collected, totaling to $8,919,018.75 paid so far. $2,524,147.17 still needs to be collected by the end of January.

Olson called for a committee to be created to adopt a Town of Goshen Code of Ethics in addition to building an ethics commission to oversee and enforce the code. Dexter Kinsella supported this call but expressed caution with who exactly will write the code and how the code will be enforced. Carusillo expressed similar support for the code, claiming it will help keep elected officials and staff in check. Olson will make a formal motion during the next selectmen’s meeting to create a committee that will draft a Goshen Code of Ethics and propose it to the board once completed.

The meeting concluded with the selectmen presenting Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) Martin Connor with a Years of Service award. Connor has been working for Goshen for 30 years as Land Use Enforcement Officer, Town Planner, and ZEO.

1/23/24

Previous week’s meeting minutes were approved unanimously as well as the town payroll and warrants for January 18th in the amount of $414,887.17. All selectmen were in attendance.

First Selectman Todd Carusillo reported that a town plow truck accidentally backed into another vehicle whilst cleaning an intersection near East Street South and Route 4. The vehicle sped away from the scene but the mother of the driver later called the town to have damages to their car repaired. Carusillo advised the mother to contact state police since the accident was already reported to the authorities and the driver avoided responsibility by driving away from the scene. Police will have both parties bring their vehicles back to the scene of the accident to have an accident report drawn up. According to Carusillo, the mother claimed the vehicle is no longer drivable despite its having been driven away from the scene of the accident.

Carusillo further announced developments from the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (COG). “The COG is going to write a letter of intent to try to purchase the [Torrington] transfer station,” Carusillo explained. “They did in Fairfield County. So now the towns down there have control over their transfer station down there and they control who comes in and dumps so hopefully we can control the fees of the future.” The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA) Dissolution Authority will close in 2027. MIRA receives municipal solid waste and conducts single or dual stream recycling at its Essex and Torrington Transfer Stations. Goshen is a part of 12 municipalities that use the Torrington station. Meanwhile, MIRA will increase their tipping fee rates from $116 to $131 per ton in February. Due to rising rates and townsfolk seemingly refusing to recycle more, Carusillo suggested the town stop paying for some fees and have residents pay for them themselves in order to force residents to recycle. “...When it hurts somebody’s pocket, they will learn to recycle,” said Carusillo. “...I think it’s about time the Town of Goshen pays a little bit less so people start to recycle.” Goshen is the only town in the NHCOG district that covers tipping fees in their entirety. The Recycling and Trash Advisory Committee will present a Fairfield slideshow to the public on the importance of recycling at a yet to be announced date, and Carusillo encouraged all residents to attend.

In Public Comment, Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission member Lorraine Lucas claimed that the Goshen News was not allowed to publish emails of town officials in Issue 10, “I have concern being on a commission, we’re not supposed to talk about applicants outside of commission meetings and that encourages people to call out individual commissioners to talk about different applications and we’re not supposed to be doing that.” Lucas’ email was not published but other town officials were, with permission from Carusillo and in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Carusillo claimed some officials’ emails were published without their permission and suggested they reach out to the paper for clarification.

The Board unanimously approved the appointment of Heidi Jespersen to the role of Temporary Animal Control Officer, set to begin her duties around June. Officer Kate Graham is expected to give birth around that time and will take maternity leave. Jespersen is a co-owner of Goshen’s outdoor animal park and petting zoo, the Action Wildlife Foundation.

The selectmen reviewed a copy of a proposed Goshen Code of Ethics from 2008. They don’t plan on adopting this code but claim it could be used to help develop a new code. Scott Olson called for an ethics committee to be created to build and draft codes that would later be presented to and approved by the selectmen, and later to the public for adoption. Dexter Kinsella expressed caution in building an ethics enforcement committee, claiming it should be entirely independent from the town due to possible political motivation or conflict of interest concerns. Kinsella further suggested the selectmen host a special board meeting with public comment to go over the prospect of developing an ethics code and committee. Carusillo will speak with town and labor attorneys to find out why the 2008 code wasn’t adopted in the first place.

1/30/24

Previous week’s meeting minutes were approved unanimously as well as the town payroll and warrants for February 1st in the amount of $89,092.63. All selectmen were in attendance.

First Selectmen Todd Carusillo requested residents who are interested in viewing a Fairfield slideshow on the importance of recycling email him directly so that he can send them a direct link to the presentation. Carusillo can be reached at 1stselectman@goshenct.gov. A special board of selectmen meeting will be held on Friday, February 2nd starting at 10 am regarding an old “gentlemen’s” agreement between the town and the Woodridge Lake Property Owners Association. The two parties will discuss establishing a new, written agreement and capital expenditures. The two previously verbally agreed to devoting $20,000 each for lake sedimentation control under the tenure of former First Selectman Robert Valentine in 2009 but no official writings or recordings of transactions were made.

Emergency Management Director Shilo Garceau and Gary Stango Sr. applied for emergency management grants for the town. If approved, the town may receive $11,000 to help pay for new emergency management laptops and the Finalsite emergency messaging service. Town Attorney Charles “Chip” Roraback will check town records and attempt to discover why the 2008 proposed Goshen Code of Ethics wasn’t passed.

Several residents introduced the concept of establishing an official dog park in town, but this idea was quickly rejected. “...We kind of scratched the idea immediately after hearing feedback from the [public] comments,” Scott Olson clarified. “Moreover, we are fortunate here in Goshen that, without a dog park, we have so many places for dog owners to bring their dogs.” Olson suggested people have enough space along most roads and in public spaces like Camp Cochipianee in Goshen to safely and comfortably walk their dogs without needing a designated dog park location. Carusillo and other residents cited liability concerns for opposition to a town-made dog park, since the town would be liable if a dog bit someone or attacked another dog at the park. 

Goshen Public Library Aide Thy Ho expressed concern that the selectmen were planning on lowering hours and pay for library staff amid increasingly hectic situations with children. “Library circulation and attendance is rebounding after COVID, requiring more staff on hand,” Ho explained. “Yet, you are looking to cut staff hours. I can’t see how this would benefit the community… If you are looking to gut the library to fund other projects, the residents of Goshen have a right to know.” Carusillo replied to Ho’s statement saying the town isn’t funding other projects nor are they reducing hours of library staff. He questioned some time periods at the library being potentially overstaffed when there’s slow activity. Ho explained all the staff is necessary to help keep each member of the staff productive and to ensure the Library Director Tabitha Guarnieri is able to complete all of her required duties without having to be pulled away to help with busy time periods. Carusillo will contact Library Board of Directors President Henrietta Horvay and Guarnieri about library staff concerns. Marianne Stilson suggested the library establish a volunteer program for high school students to help support library operations.

Some residents spoke against commission members' emails being included in the previous edition of The Goshen News, expressing concern that it may encourage people to inquire about applications and other legal documents outside of public commission meetings. Planning and Zoning Commission member Patrick Lucas suggested the town cease communications with The Goshen News and not use it to publish any public announcements for “doxing” board members. (NOTE: See The Goshen News’ response to these concerns, including guidance from the State Freedom of Information Commission that all emails used for town business are public records, on page 9 of this edition.)

The board unanimously received the 2024-25 budgets for the Building Official, Economic Development Commission, Board of Selectmen, Department of Civil Preparedness, Street Lights, Conservation Commission, Town Clerk, Conservation of Health, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The budgets were forwarded to the Board of Finance for their review and consideration. A resolution was introduced to allow Carusillo to apply for Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG). According to the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, EMPGs are distributed through annual programs that allocate funds to agencies and municipalities to implement comprehensive emergency preparedness systems for various hazards. Carusillo claimed Goshen had access to these grants before, they were just overlooked in the past.

Public Works Supervisor Garret Harlow requested $337,682.04 from Goshen’s Town Aid Road fund to pay for pavement services by O&G Industries at Sutton Crt, Lyman Lane, West Hyerdale Dr., Weldon Crt., and Town Hill Road. The Torrington-based construction company O&G Industries is registered to work in the state according to the Connecticut State Business website. This transfer of funds was unanimously approved.

Special Board of Selectmen Meeting 02/02/24

A Special Board of Selectmen meeting was held on February 2nd with representatives of the Woodridge Lake Property Owners’ Association (WLPOA). All selectmen were present, joined by Public Works Supervisor Garret Harlow, WLPOA President Michael Edison, WLPOA General Manager Ed Dutka, former WLPOA Pesident James Mersfelder, and Raymond Turri.

The meeting was held to discuss an old “gentlemen’s” agreement between the town and the WLPOA and to discuss establishing a new, written agreement. It was alleged that a verbal agreement in 2009 to dedicate respective resources for sedimentation control projects was made between the Town and Woodridge Lake. At that time the First Selectman was Robert Valentine and then-WLPOA President Mersfelder served in their respective offices.  There were no official writings of the agreement..

Mersfelder explained that the agreement was initially created to restart sediment basin pumping in existing basins to prevent harmful green algae from developing in the lake. “A proposal that we made and agreed to was that we would split the expenses for outside consultants and material for sedimentation basins,” said Mersfelder. “We identified, I think five projects to start with… The process was basically Woodridge Lake would write a check. Put it in an account that the town kept. The town got all of the bills.” Mersfelder would review and approve the bills to keep track of funds until 2012 when he left the Lake and Dam Committee. Since then, work has also involved water diversion projects instead of sedimentation prevention.

Basins are designed to hold silt-bearing water flowing from nearby roads and surfaces, and allow silt to settle out, so water flowing back out into bodies of water is free of contaminants.

Mersfelder suggested the association and the town hold discussions before projects begin going forward to determine how effective they will be in protecting the lake. While he is no longer on the board of directors for the Association, Mersfelder further suggested they resolve open bills, distinguish between sedimentation control and road maintenance, and establish rules when hiring external contractors.

Outside contractors have been used by the town for Woodridge Lake projects in the past since the town is not equipped to conduct certain kinds of work. Harlow added that this new agreement should work towards controlling erosion near the lake, “Trapping sedimentation and phosphorus is great but then if you got erosion happening right after that and that washing into the lake, I think that’s something you’d like to control too…” First Selectman Todd Carusillo added that more erosion and sediment control is necessary due to the increase of houses being built on the lake. He expressed concern for who will cover costs if a project must …(enter)  people’s personal property to conduct sediment or erosion projects, “Is the association going to flip that bill to bring personal property back to the original or landscaped or is it going to be split? That’s what we got to talk about because we can’t go in and redesign somebody’s landscaping and it’s $100,000 the town’s absorbing.” Dexter Kinsella suggested the association allow personal properties to establish permeable driveways instead of asphalt driveways since they create less silt. Permeable paving is typically made of plastic or concrete mixture grids that allow water to pass through soil or gravel layers and reduce stormwater runoff.

After a brief discussion of previous expenditures dating back to 2017, Mersfelder suggested they hold an additional meeting to go through the past expenditures to determine how payments should best be divided up between the association and the town. “We need some time to dissect what’s here since this is the first time we’ve seen it,” said Dutka. “And we have tried to get some information in the last few years and we had some meetings. We tried to do something but it’s just so out of control at this point that it was difficult to make any decisions.” Representatives of the two groups will hold a fact-finding meeting to further delve into these expenditures on Friday, February 23rd at 8:30 am at the WLPOA clubhouse.