Goshen Board of Finance: Airboat Damage, Buying MIRA, Selling a Fire Engine, R20 Debt Payment Plan

06/25/25

Present: Chairman Ned Bixler, Vice Chairman Bob Valentine (Zoom/phone), Scott Tillman, James Korner; Alternates Carl Contadini, Russell Murdock, Patrick Reilly

Bob Valentine raised a concern regarding fire company pagers and medical equipment expenditures. “If you look at that’s over, pretty substantially. My question is, is why are we not booking those items to the capital that we’ve been providing for the fire company?” he queried. Ned Bixler agreed, noting, “It does look like some of it’s capital for sure. Absolutely.” The board acknowledged the need for better categorization of such expenses.

Attention shifted to the 1st Selectman’s report by Todd Carusillo who detailed an urgent issue: the town’s airboat, essential for water rescues, had suffered significant damage and required specialized repair. “Apparently the bottom, that material that’s on the bottom of the boat apparently tore off...there’s only four places to service an airboat, but apparently four around the east coast, one in Mississippi and three in Florida. So it has to be shipped to Florida to be repaired,” Todd explained. The repair was estimated at $10,000, with shipping costs negotiated down to $3,500. “They did do a lot of shopping around on this,” Scott Tillman added.  “The boat is supposed to be sent to a repair shop in Fl,” stated Ned.

Carusillo mentioned the resignation of land use officer Spencer Musselman, who is leaving for a higher-paying position in Cornwall in addition to his position in Litchfield. Musselman will continue to serve Goshen on a “by appointment” basis until a replacement is found.

A lengthy discussion followed regarding the sale of one of the town’s fire engines. Patrick Reilly had solicited quotes from brokers specializing in fire apparatus, but the offers ranged widely. Seth Breakell stated there are auction sites that could be approached to aid in the sale of this fire engine. Both Reilly and Seth are members of Goshen’s Fire Company.

The Board then reviewed a proposed debt mitigation agreement with Region 20 schools. “It’s basically looking for a payment plan over a period of what, three years?” Ned Bixler clarified.  The Board agreed to table the agreement for further review, with consensus that only the district’s voters could approve such a plan.

Turning to the topic of a forensic audit for the school district, the board learned that Litchfield had recently voted down a $150,000 audit.