Goshen Board of Selectmen: Speed Cameras, Airboat Repair, Carusillo Apology, MIRA Transfer Station

Jon Leiberman & Krista Rizzo

06/10/25

Present: Todd Carusillo, Scott Olson (zoom) present, Dexter Kinsella absent (excused).

Payroll and Warrants
Scott Olson moved to approve payroll and warrants for June 12, 2025, totaling $81,525.85. He detailed, “…We wrote a check to Otto’s Print Shop for $4,859. We wrote a check to Mira for $15,946.63. Check to Fire Medic for $12,154.21.” The motion was seconded and approved.

Carusillo reported on cameras, “Litchfield has two resident troopers and they still can’t control the speed in Litchfield. So they’re having a meeting that are presenting the speed cameras to the town to see what they think ...”

Carusillo informed the board about the airboat needing repairs, stating, “The only boat repair place for airboats is in Florida. Olson asked, “What is the cost to ship it down to Florida?” and Carusillo replied, “He said 3000.” Olson further inquired, “Does that airboat have its own trailer? Like DOT approved trailer?” Carusillo confirmed, “Yeah, of course it does. But I think they’re going to ship it on a flatbed because I think, I don’t know if the boat trailer was a double axle or single axle, but it’s like 1980s, you know what I mean?...“Yeah. And it’s going to be going out, I think the first week of July. It’ll be back by the 18th. So we’ll have it for the summer.”

Carusillo gave update on road work:
“They’re (The State) going to be milling and resurfacing 63. It says one 10th of a mile south of Deming Road to two tenths of a mile on North Street of Ivory Mountain Road. But they already have the road marked out to West Side Road, all to paint and everything… But this is an email that I received saying they’re only going to Ivy Mountain. So we’ll find out where they’re going. But that’s going to start on Tuesday, excuse me, Monday, June 23rd, 2025, and it’ll be completed by Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025.”

During public comment, Susan Wheeler updated on the Board of Ed’s upcoming budget vote, and Audrey Bloon inquired about the library legal opinion. Carusillo responded, “I did not get anything from Chip yet. Anyway, I will send him another email and see if he can give me some type of response.”

06/17/25

Todd Carusillo and Scott Olson present in town hall, Dexter Kinsella absent.

The board moved to approve payroll and warrants. The motion was made to approve payroll and warrants for June 18, 2025, totaling $49,586.75, with payroll at $13,807.78 and warrants at $35,778.97. The selectmen highlighted several large expenses, including a check to Yuca Tech, that’s our IT support here at Town Hall for the computers. $3,686.97 to USA Waste for $9,821.95, Supple Tree Service for $2,000and Nationwide Insurance for $4,714.45.

Carusillo stated, “The airboat will be going down to Florida for the repairs… It was $10,000 for the repair and Barry’s estimate was around three grand. That’s probably going to be closer to like $3,500 for the shipping of the boat down to Florida and back. And I believe the fire company is going to be paying that up front and we’re going to reimburse them.”

Carusillo then addressed his recent conduct at a Board of Education meeting, saying, “Last week I made a gesture during the Board of Ed meeting because of my frustrations with the board of Ed and what was said at the board of Ed… frustrations start with $217,000 worth of invoices that haven’t been paid since October 21st, 2022 all the way to now. So, questions are, where did our money go?” He continued, “I asked about these lucrative deals… all of the incentives that they get. These are crazy. These should have never been adopted into a school budget… but they weren’t. They were just delivered to the town clerk’s office for anybody to see, but we didn’t know about it. They flew under the radar.”

Regarding the Board of Education’s decisions Carusillo said, “In a meeting last week with the superintendent and the CFO, we talked about not cutting any sports programs and not cutting the rowing. I asked not to cut the rowing. Well, in the meeting they cut the rowing and they threatened to cut athletics and AG programs. I don’t know if that’s a scare tactic or what, but it pissed me off.” Carusillo apologized for his gesture, stating, “I apologized to the school board. I apologized to the superintendent… to the residents of Goshen all through media, through Litchfield Biz, with Jeff Zinner on the radio station and personal emails to a lot of people… but the frustrations of changing of stories just got to me and I apologize to the residents of Goshen and the people in this room, but it’s frustrating. It really is frustrating.”

The board then discussed updates on the transfer station. Carusillo reported, “the governor signed house Bill 7258… and the permit for the transfer station is going to the Northwest Regional Waste Authority. So we are getting the permit. We just have a meeting with Mira tomorrow to see if we’re going to get any monies from them for startup costs”.

The board addressed the Cable Vision Advisory Board appointment. There was confusion about the board’s purpose and the identity of the member seeking reappointment. Olson remarked, “What is the Cable Vision Advisory Board?” and Carusillo admitted, “I didn’t even know there was one, but it was put on my desk. You know what? So apparently David wants to stay on the board, so why don’t we just make a motion to keep him on the board because he’s been doing it for years and I’ll make that motion to keep David on the board.” Ultimately, the board decided to table the decision until more information could be gathered.

The board approved the call for a special town meeting to elect a member to the Board of Education for Region 20. (Note: State’s mandate to elect BOE members in May)

During public comment, Pat Riley urged support for the Region 20 budget: “I just think it’s time that we voted yes on it. I’ve looked over their budget… they’re cutting 16 administrators and I don’t know how many teachers, maybe five, six teachers and some ancillary workers. I mean, I don’t know what else they can do. It’s like you can’t get blood out of a stone.”

06/24/25

PRESENT: Todd M. Carusillo, Scott Olson, Dexter S. Kinsella - (zoom)

The first agenda item was the approval of the June 17, 2025 minutes. Todd Carusillo moved to approve, seconded by Scott Olson. Olson requested an addition regarding the fire department’s speedboat repair:

“The fire company's going to be paying for this repair out of pocket, either in part or in whole, and they're going to do so with the reasonable expectation that the town will be reimbursing them.” With this addition, the minutes were approved, with Dexter S. Kinsella abstaining since he was not present at the previous meeting.

Scott Olson moved to approve payroll and warrants for June 26, 2025: “I make a motion to approve payroll and warrants for June 26th, 2025 in the amount of $71,899.11. Warrants come in at $39,943.81 and payroll is $31,955.30”21.

Checks were sent to Blue Cross Blue Shield. That is $25,200.79 and Dime Oil was $3,721.87. Presume that's got to be all on road fuel at this point”. The motion passed unanimously.

The first selectman’s report included the following:

MIRA and NHCOG issues were ongoing, with meetings scheduled to determine the fate of the transfer station permit.

Scott Olson discussed the role of the Cablevision Advisory Board and David Rosaler’s willingness to continue serving: Dexter S. Kinsella moved to reappoint Rosaler, which was seconded and approved unanimously.

No new business was brought forward. Updates on the Torrington Transfer Station and Land Use Department were provided. Regarding land use, Scott Olson explained:

“He's willing to stay on and serve the town on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays between 7:30 and 9:30. But as an on-call basis only, he's going to have his phone number on the website. If people want to get ahold of him, he'll be able to meet with them during those times.”

Residents shared comments and concerns:

Janet Hooper appreciated the passing of the Region 20 budget and asked about the code of conduct’s progress.
Audrey Blondin followed up on communication with Attorney Chip Roraback and recounted a bear encounter at her home, supporting the need for caution21.
Marianne Stilson raised concerns about children riding ATVs and dirt bikes on residential roads. Carusillo responded:

“I would say call 911, get the state police to go over there and... I'll send out an e-blast tomorrow.”

07/01/25

Present: Todd M. Carusillo, Scott Olson, Dexter S. Kinsella - (zoom)

The Selectman’s report included several updates:

The US Post Office will hold a job fair at Town Hall on July 11, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM:
“They're going to use the conference room on July 11th from nine to 1:00 PM. Apparently they need to fill some positions and they're trying to get locals to take a job at the post office.”
The town secured a $1.5 million grant for the West Hyerdale bridge:
$70,000 in grant money for the bus was received after advocacy:
“I had to get Steve Harding and Maria Horn involved to put a little pressure on OPM and before you know it, the check was delivered.”
Thanks were extended to volunteers who mowed public grounds.
Residents were reminded about bear-proofing their garbage and an upcoming DOT public meeting on July 30th.

An opinion from Attorney Roach clarified the Board of Selectmen’s authority to amend the library director’s job description:
“Attorney Roach has finally given an answer and there's nothing in his answer that would lead anybody to believe that the Board of Selectmen doesn't have the authority to do that.”

Bids for an all-season dump body and plow package were reviewed, with three vendors submitting proposals. The bids were forwarded to Garrett for consideration.

During public comment some residents raised concerns about the land use officer’s hours and communication: “I feel like in the last couple of meetings, it's been very vague and I think there needs to be a certain hours that he would be on call and then a certain time for a callback.”

Questions were also raised about maintenance responsibilities and the need for better sound equipment at meetings.