Towns join to save money and protect their interests

GOSHEN — For local town leaders, the regional council of governments is a home away from home. It offers them a chance to share concerns, find resources and work together to solve problems.

On July 9, a newly expanded, high-functioning Northwest Hills Council of Governments, commonly referred to as the COG, finally cut the ribbon on its new home. The staff had moved just the week before into the former grocery store on Route 4 in Goshen, between the Goshenette and the new gas station. 

The COG is made up of the first selectmen from the 21 towns of Barkhamsted, Burlington, Canaan (Falls Village), Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Washington and Winchester. The Goshen office will be home to the COG executive director and regional planners and assistants. 

The move was more than a year overdue. Executive Director Rick Lynn said there were issues with code compliance that took time to resolve. It was worth the wait. COG has been leasing space at Goshen Town Hall and holding meetings at the UConn campus in Torrington.

Building owner Mark Greenberg was at the ceremony, and was thanked by Lynn for being so cooperative in letting COG staff help select the room layout and materials used to make the facility both functional and inviting. 

After cutting the ribbon rigged up on the covered front porch, COG Chairman Don Stein, first selectman of Barkhamsted, spoke about the recent consolidation of what had been the Northwestern Connecticut COG and the Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials that led to the need for a larger facility. Goshen was chosen because it is in the center of the 21 towns, and a suitable property was found there.

“This is really a demonstration that the collaboration between the towns is working well,” Stein said, singling out Falls Village First Selectman and former Northwestern Connecticut COG Chairman Patricia Mechare for her efforts.

Mechare called it a seamless merger and applauded all for their “common sense and forthrightness.”

There was some trepidation, she said, but with a mandate from the state looming for planning agency consolidation, it was important to do it first, with local oversight. The Northwestern Connecticut COG had nine member towns; the Litchfield Hills Council had 11.Burlington joined last year.

COG meetings include a brief report from each town’s first selectman or mayor on matters that are often echoed around the table. On July 9, as always, similar thoughts and stories were heard from all. Most echoed Stein’s comments. From tiny towns to Torrington, all grapple with many of the same issues. They gain strength in numbers when it comes to regional issues. Among those debated was new legislation — an unfunded mandate — that will require towns to hire election moderators. 

Goshen First Selectman Bob Valentine spoke out vehemently against the mandate, which had been prompted by voting missteps elsewhere. He noted there are no sanctions for not complying — though Stein expressed opposition to knowingly defying the law. 

This matter will surely be on future agendas.

Agenda items typically run the gamut from keeping tabs on new and proposed legislation in Hartford, to more local matters, such as sharing services as a way to save money. Lynn apprised the group of regional road salt bids that can be weighed against locally sought bids. 

That led to a discussion of Magic Salt, a trademarked product blamed for increased erosion to vehicles. An expert will be sought to present information to COG members at a future meeting.

Another example is the Public Works Equipment Cooperative, in which towns share large equipment. The plan has been around long enough now to be deemed a success due to demand.

With grant funding through COG, equipment that is vital but used infrequently by towns is purchased and scheduled out for use. It includes items such as street sweepers and catch basin vacuums. It makes no sense for every town to have this expensive equipment sitting mostly unused in the town garage.

A motion was unanimously approved on a recommendation by Lynn to use leftover grant funding and capital account funds buy two material screeners and an additional catch basin cleaner. The cleaner will be a used one, in great shape, found in Darien for $50,000 — as opposed to $300,000 for a new one.