Washington Board of Selectmen Reviews Budget, Lake Boat Launch Enforcement

6/17/26

Present: First Selectman James L. Brinton, Selectmen Jay Hubelbank and Dean Sarjeant.

Members corrected an appointment made at the prior session: Bruce Bennett, who had been mistakenly appointed as an alternate to the Wetlands Commission, was reappointed as a full member to serve until June 30, 2029.

Brinton moved to appoint Lorenzo Gaudioso as the town's representative to the Western Connecticut Tourism Bureau, to serve until June 30, 2028. Hubelbank asked whether Gaudioso was also involved with the Economic Development Commission; Brinton said he was not, noting that Gaudioso is relatively new to town and wants to get involved.

Brinton reported that following Monday's Board of Finance meeting, he spoke with the chair about having two to three finance representatives begin meeting with the selectmen this summer to work through potential budget issues going forward. Brinton said he plans to follow up in mid-July. The goal of the effort, Brinton said, will be to avoid tax increases and to mitigate any potential increases moving forward. 

In addition, Sarjeant updated the board on enforcement of the boat launch rules at Lake Waramaug. He said there have been anecdotal and secondhand reports of violations, with several boats launching at the state park without going through the Decon Station inspection process. He credited a local resident who works nearby and can often observe activity at the park with stopping four people from launching motorized boats in one recent incident. While those individuals were reluctant to go through Decon's official processes, Sarjeant said they were aware it’s required.

Sarjeant said the state has not provided sufficient personnel to enforce the rules routinely and the town continues to work with the state on the matter. However, he noted the vast majority of residents and visitors “have been incredibly understanding and compliant” about the rules put in place. 

Hubelbank thanked Sarjeant and others for their efforts on this front, adding that it would be a shame to lose ground on lake quality after so much work had been done.

The Lake Waramaug decontamination station opened in April and aims to prevent invasive weed species like Hydrilla, which currently plagues the Connecticut River and several other lakes in the state, from entering Lake Waramaug.