Goshen Town Planner Mullen Resigns, Citing PZC Friction
On July 15th Goshen Town Planner Jannell Mullen informed 1st Selectman Todd Carusillo of her intention to discontinue her services for FY 2025-26. Although Mullen’s 2-year contract with the Town was supposed to run another year, she referenced a contract clause that stated:
“Section 7 Termination - I reserve the right to terminate my contract with/without cause.” In a follow-up September 4th email addressed directly to both Carusillo and Selectman Scott Olson, she again cited that clause, adding: “and I have chosen to do so.”
“The workplace environment involved friction from the start;” Mullen wrote. “The initial P&Z meeting was an uncomfortable, needlessly high conflict setting and the months to follow were anything but professionally productive.”
“Simply put,” her email continued, “when a professional cannot perform the tasks that they are hired, asked, and paid to do; they are not being put in a position to succeed. Efforts to prepare and complete an updated POCD, as required, were completely thwarted during my months working on behalf of the Town of Goshen.”
Connecticut requires every municipality to adopt a Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), which serves as a comprehensive, advisory blueprint for a town's future over the next ten years. The plan addresses key areas such as land use, housing, open space, economic development, infrastructure, transportation, natural resource protection, and sustainability. By state law, municipalities must update their POCD at least every ten years to reflect changing conditions and community goals. The process usually involves community engagement, workshops, and collaboration between town staff, boards, commissions, and residents to develop a shared vision and implementable strategies. Goshen’s updated POCD is due for filing in August of 2026.
The Planning & Zoning Commission had budgeted $20,000 for Goshen’s POCD update, but professional companies specializing in this area typically charge much more. Mullen had agreed to lead the project for the budgeted amount, but her proposal was never accepted. According to Vice Chair Zbinden, “The commission never accepted any offer for the POCD update… the proposals that we got from the outside, they were costly. So it was never a formal vote, but a decision was made that it would probably be better to be handled in-house by the commission and the Town Planner and the ZEO, that combined we would contact boards and commissions for their input, and we would hold two informative meetings for the public for townspeople for their input.”
In a conversation with Planning & Zoning Commission Clerk Lori Clinton, she further explained that “they felt that they didn't need to spend that money on it. And the Chairman (Jon Carroll) stated that Planning and Zoning can take care of it… which is disappointing because they are not Planners. They are not educated to do that… I don't know what the Chairman is thinking, but that's not how you do it. That's not how it works… It should have been the Planner.”
Zbinden, on the other hand, referring to the current effort being undertaken by the Commission and ZEO Musselman, said “I think it can work”.
But 1st Selectman Carusillo expressed doubts, stating his understanding that a licensed Town Planner is needed to sign off on the updated POCD and that if it wasn’t, it might not be accepted by the State. He has recently placed a job listing to replace Mullen.
The Commission, meanwhile, canceled its August meeting, reportedly because the agenda had not been sent out in time though the clerk, Lori Clinton denies that. The May and June meetings were also canceled, reportedly due to the absence of any applications.
