All information found in this newsletter can be found on the Town of Voluntown website, www.voluntown.gov. Your are receiving this email if you previously signed up for alerts through the Town Hall website, or if you recently signed up for alerts for the new system.

In This Issue
Town Announcements & Messages

Message from the Town Clerk
Message from the First Selectman
Beachdale Pond Drawdown
Route 49 Pavement Rehabilitation
STEAP Award Grant
Repairs to Forge Hill Bridge
Food Pantry
Message from the Assessor
Calendar

Voluntown School News

School News & Calendar

Neighbor Spotlight & Activities

Voluntown Community Chicken Barbecue
Craft Sale
Trunk or Treat
Voluntown Post Office
Coming Soon - Salvation Army Angel Tree
Library
Veterans Coffee House

Health

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Cover CT
Prescription Discount Card
Family Support
Meals on Wheels
Covid

General Information

DEEP Notice
Hiring Opportunities
My home CT
Text My Gov
Committee & Board Volunteer Vacancies
2022 CT Hunting & Trapping Guide
Transfer Station - WINTER HOURS

Town Announcement & Messages

Election Day

A Message from the Town Clerk

Absentee Ballots

Don't forget to return your Absentee Ballots by 11/08/2022! Absentee Ballots are still available until 11/07/2022.  Please contact the Town Clerk with any questions.  For more information see below.

Connecticut law allows you to receive an absentee ballot if you cannot appear at your assigned polling place on election day because of active service in the Military, absence from the town, sickness, religious tenets forbid secular activity on the day of the election, duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own during all of the hours of voting, or physical disability. To receive your absentee ballot please complete and sign an application and return it to your Town Clerk.

Can I vote absentee?
Connecticut has strict laws regarding who can vote absentee.
Are you an active member of the armed forces of the United
States?
Will you be out of town on Election Day?
Does sickness prevent you from voting in person on Election Day?
Do your religious beliefs prevent you from performing secular activities like voting on Election Day?
Will you be performing duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own on Election Day?
Does a physical disability prevent you from voting in person on election day?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are eligible to vote absentee.
Please click on the link below or see the Town Clerk for your absentee ballot application.  If you have any questions, please call 860-376-4089.

https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/Voter-Information/Absentee-Voting

November Election Information
SAMPLE BALLOT.

News from the First Selectman

Beachdale Pond Drawdown

The Town's request for the drawdown of Beachdale Pond has been approved at a drawdown of 12 to 18 inches. The Beachdale Pond drawdown will commence on November 1, 2022 and will be managed to restore to normal surface water elevation by April 2023.

The Town's request for a 6 foot drawdown for the 2022/2023 winter season of Beach Pond has been denied. DEEP staff will be working with us to find a suitable drawdown depth that fits the needs of homeowners, while considering the wildlife habitat and recreational uses of the lake. We are hoping for an early approval for the 2023 winter drawdown so that homeowners will be able to obtain permits and line up contractors.

The Beachdale Pond letter and the Beach Pond denial letter from DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes can both be read on the Town website: https://www.voluntown.gov/pond-drawdown-requests/

Route 49 Pavement Rehabilitation

The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (Department) Office of Engineering is developing plans to rehabilitate the pavement on CT Route 49 in the Towns of Voluntown and Sterling. The project involves rehabilitating the pavement on CT Route 49 between mile markers 13.52 and 21.74.

The purpose of the project is to preserve the pavement condition. The present schedule indicates that the design will be completed in December 2022, with construction anticipated to start in the spring of 2023, assuming acceptance of the project, availability of funding and receipt of any required right-of-way and environmental permits. This project will be undertaken with 0% federal and 100% state funds.

It is the Department’s policy to keep the public informed and involved when such projects are undertaken. It is important that the community share its concerns with the Department to assist in the project’s development. A public informational meeting will not be conducted for this project as its scope is considered routine maintenance.

If anyone has any questions or comments on this project, contact Mr. Matthew R. Vail, P.E., at (860)594-3274 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Please make reference to State Project No. 172-52
There is a link to the project map on the Town website: https://www.voluntown.gov/11765-2/

Voluntown Awarded STEAP Grant for Municipal Building Improvements

The Town of Voluntown has been awarded $300,000 in STEAP funds to make critical upgrades to the physical buildings of the Town Hall and Public Library to meet contemporary codes for safety and accessibility, and to make proactive enhancements to improve the physical meeting spaces and facilities to serve the public. These two buildings are sited on adjacent parcels along Main Street in the heart of Voluntown Village Center and are physically linked with a common parking lot and courtyard.

Specific improvements and enhancements that are planned as part of this project
include:

1) Plumbing upgrades at Town Hall
2) Removal of underground oil tanks for Town Hall/Library
3) Basement waterproofing at Town Hall, including repainting
4) Removal of crumbling chimney at Town Hall
5) Upgrading electrical service on exterior of Town Hall and Library
6) Removal of old furnaces in Town Hall and Library
7) Repointing Town Hall brick siding
8) Bathroom improvements at Town Hall
9) Repainting interior of Town Hall
10) Replacement of Town Hall carpeting
11) New vault for the Town Assessor’s office
12) New exterior doors for Library
13) Meeting room furniture and hybrid meeting technology upgrades at Town Hall
14) Sidewalk and entrance improvements for ADA compliance
15) Outdoor reading/meeting pavilion in courtyard between buildings
16) Mold remediation at Town Hall and Library

Both buildings have been repurposed from former uses (the Library was formerly the Post Office and the Town Hall was formerly the firehouse). As such, there are some legacy improvements that remain incomplete and additional enhancements that should be added to make both facilities function optimally for town staff and the public.

A committee will be formed to oversee this project. If you are interested in being on the committee, please contact the Selectmen’s Office at 860-376-5880.

Repairs to the Forge Hill Road Bridge

Rep. Courtney and First Selectman Hanson Highlight Upcoming Repairs to the Forge Hill Road Bridge, Funded by the IIJA

NORWICH, CT — Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and First Selectman Tracey Hanson (Voluntown) met up to highlight the announcement of a long-awaited local infrastructure project: repairs and upgrades to the 101-year-old Fort Hill Road Bridge in Voluntown. The bridge was recently slated for repair work thanks to newly increased infrastructure funding for Connecticut under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Forge Hill Road Bridge is currently considered a “non-conforming” bridge by the CT Department of Transportation (DOT), putting it at risk for total closure.  Although the repair project has long been on the CT DOT’s “to-do” list, a lack of funding at the state and local levels has kept the project from moving forward—until now.

Rep. Courtney voted to pass the IIJA in November 2021, and it’s supplying the State of Connecticut with increased infrastructure funding over the next 4 years to help complete a wide range of projects—including more than $112 million for bridge repair in 2022. With IIJA funding now in place, work on the Forge Hill Road Bridge is expected to begin in 2024. The total estimated cost of the project is approximately $2.6 million, with federal IIJA funding covering 80% of the total cost, and state funding covering the remaining 20%.

The Forge Hill Bridge is over 100 years old, and repairs have been on the “to-do” list for some time. With new infrastructure funding through the IIJA, the work is finally slated to begin.

First Selectman Tracey Hanson and Rep. Courtney met up in Voluntown today to highlight new IIJA-funded repairs for the Forge Hill Road Bridge, seen in the background.

“The Forge Hill Bridge might look small, but the cost of replacing it was a large burden for our small town,” said First Selectman Tracey Hanson. “The 80% federal, and 20% state funding we are receiving relieves our residents of a tax burden that could have been felt for years.”

“I voted to pass the new Infrastructure Law last November, and over the course of 2022 we’ve seen work in eastern Connecticut getting seriously dialed-up,” said Rep. Courtney. “Some are big, high-profile projects like the Gold Star Bridge in Groton-New London, or the Swing Bridge in East Haddam, but for small towns like Voluntown, repairs to the ‘non-conforming’ 100-year-old Forge Hill Bridge are the sort of long-term investments that really pay dividends for our towns and our local economy. We rely on infrastructure like this for all sorts of commerce and movement of goods and people, but when our oldest bridges are in need of repair it can often prove too costly for our towns to take on by themselves. That was the case with the Forge Hill Road Bridge project—it’s been on the ‘to-do’ list for a long time, and it was coming close to closure due to needed repair work. Thanks to the IIJA, that’s not going to happen. The Infrastructure bill is now fueling 80% of this project, resulting in real local jobs, a serious investment in our local economy, and now at no cost to the Town of Voluntown. It’s great to see our region continuing to thrive.”

Originally built in 1921, the 101-year-old Forge Hill Road Bridge is currently considered “non-conforming” by CT DOT, putting it at risk for total closure. A lack of funding has kept the project out of reach for the Town of Voluntown and for CT DOT, until Rep. Courtney and the U.S. Congress voted to pass the IIJA. Now, with plussed up infrastructure funding—including $112 million for bridge repair this year in 2022—long-awaited repairs to the Forge Hill Road Bridge are slated to take place from 2024-2025.

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