Thomaston Board of Selectmen

5/5/26 6 PM

Present: First Selectman: Rich Sileo. Selectmen: Michael Burr and Beth Campbell

A collapsing pipe on Judson Street could impact structures on the residential road, Thomaston First Selectman Rich Sileo stated. But as the potential collapse of the pipe nears, town officials are scrambling to find who is responsible for any remediation or solution to the problem.

Sileo said he has been pouring time into the issue, combing through town documents, including property deeds for homes in the area and other information regarding a town piping project from almost 15 years ago.

The pipe in question runs across a home on 70 Judson St., Sileo noted and has experienced heavy corrosion. Sileo said he was alerted to the state of the pipe by the property owners at 70 Judson St. and 72 Judson St., who told him they had found some slumping in their respective yards.

MSW RFP (Municipal Solid Waste Request for Proposals): We had a few bidders come in and ask some questions. I have had a few more questions that we clarified. The bids are due on Thursday 10 A.M., at which point we will be opening in the selectmen’s conference room and figuring out where we go from here.

“That pipe is a 24 or 30-inch pipe and runs across the property and exits in the back of the property,” Sileo said. Showing a map of the area to meeting attendees, Sileo noted that the pipe leads to a swale that then exits into the Reeves Field area.

“That pipe is collapsing. It is heavily corroded. The bottom of it is completely wiped out,” Sileo noted.

The pipe is part of old infrastructure set in place to manage the runoff coming from Crystal Lake, Sileo noted. It likely predates any residential construction in the area, the First Selectman added.

“It was some very old infrastructure up there that was designed to capture that runoff. That infrastructure was put in place before houses were built,” Sileo said. He noted that the pipe runs through or under some residents’ garages and homes.

Now, as the town looks for a solution, aiming to avoid issues for residents, the legal question of “whose responsibility it is to address the situation” has arisen, Sileo said.

“I have been digging through historical records looking at when it was put in, who put it in, was it related to the work we did in 2011 or 2012?,” Sileo said.  “We did not touch that pipe when we did that work.”

Sileo said he also found a letter among the town’s records, reviewed by Thomaston Town Attorney Mike Rybak stating that the pipe is not the town’s responsibility.

“I sent the letter back to Mike Rybak for his review to make sure this is still his opinion,” Sileo said.

Selectman Michael Burr asked Sileo if it would be possible to cut off the pipe and ensure the flow can find another catch basin to land in. But Sileo said, ascertaining who is the party responsible for the pipe is his priority.

“Before we design a solution, we have to understand who is responsible,” Sileo said. “There are lots of solutions to this problem, but any solution to this problem must include repairing or filling or doing something with that pipe. It is collapsing. It runs very close to several structures, if not under. Something has to be done with that pipe, but we have to answer the question first: whose responsibility is it?”