Located in the northeast corner of New London County, Voluntown is a rural community consisting of 39.8 square miles with two-thirds of the town made up of state forest. Pachaug State Forest offers many outdoor activities; such as hunting, camping, hiking and horseback riding. The town hall and library are located in the Village Center, along with the PreK-8 school, Constitution Field, the walking track, and gazebo. Voluntown was Incorporated in 1721 and has a rich history of textile mills, historic buildings, the Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC Camp), folklore and was originally known as “Volunteer Town”.
Welcome to Voluntown
Reflective House Markers Available for Purchase
Voluntown resident Jenna Schwery is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award. In her own words:
My name is Jenna Schwery and I am currently working on my Girl Scout Gold Award. As a Girl Scout, we are encouraged to work to better our community. It is my goal with my project to do that. My project is about teaching the community that it is very important to have a visible house marker that identifies their property during an emergency event; and to also provide a low cost option, of $15 per sign, for the residents to purchase a reflective sign to post at their homes.
When emergency responders are called to a given location, there may be a delay in response if crews are unable to clearly see the address from the street. Although it is fairly easy to see a column of smoke coming from a house fire, it is difficult to see someone suffering from diabetic shock or a fall from a ladder. Despite recent technology advances, there is a big difference for emergency responders in being directed to a house and actually locating the address. Medical professionals believe that, if emergency personnel can get a patient from the scene of an accident or medical event to a hospital within a 60-minute time frame — the golden hour — chances of survival are significantly higher. This golden hour starts ticking the moment a medical event begins.
It’s important for homeowners to visibly mark their homes with signs that can be seen during the day and at night. Some homes are off the road and the houses are not very visible; therefore proper markings at the roadside is needed. Some homeowners share driveways. In that case, where the driveway splits visible signage should be placed there as well as the sign pointing in the direction of the residence.
Forms to purchase signs are available at Town Hall in the Town Clerk’s office, and at the Voluntown Firehouse. Make checks out to ‘Jenna Schwery- Gold Award’.
NOTICE OF DECISION
At the regular meeting on October 11, 2017 the Voluntown Planning and Zoning Commission rendered the following decision.
Application #083117 CCJ Green Recycling Site Plan Review
Application APPROVED
Approved 15 days after this published notice.
Dated at Voluntown CT October 11, 2017
Scott Davidson, Chairman
Municipal Election Day: Tuesday, November 7
The election of town offices will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. The polls at Town Hall will be open 6AM-8PM.
Municipal offices that will be voted on this election year are:
- First Selectman
- Selectman
- Town Clerk
- Board of Education
- Board of Assessment Appeals
- Planning and Zoning Commission
- Planning and Zoning Commission Alternates
- Zoning Board of Appeals
- Zoning Board of Appeals Alternates
- Inland Wetlands Commission
- Inland Wetlands Commission Alternates
- Library Trustees
Absentee Ballots
Can I vote absentee? Connecticut has strict laws regarding who can vote absentee.
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- Are you an active member of the armed forces of the United States?
- Will you be out of town during all the hours of voting on Election Day?
- Does illness 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 during all the hours of voting on Election Day?
- Do you have a physical disability that prevents you from voting in person on Election Day?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are eligible to vote absentee. See Secretary of State website for more info.
Absentee ballot requests are available in the Town Clerks office or online from the Secretary of State website. Absentee Ballots must be mailed or given only to the applicant directly (no one else can pick it up for them). Absentee ballots can be returned to the Town Clerk through mail, in person, or by immediate family members through 11/06/2017.
Upcoming Community Events
Upcoming Community Events
Meet the Candidates Night
Tuesday, October 24, 6:30PM in the Voluntown Elementary School Gym This is a great opportunity to meet the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education candidates for the Nov. 7 municipal election. Sponsored by Voluntown Boy Scout Troop 74
Trunk or Treat
October 31, 6-7PM in the Voluntown Elementary School parking lot for kids through 8th grade. Sponsored by the Voluntown Recreation Commission.
Hayley’s Harvest Party
Sponsored by the Voluntown Recreation Commission.
View/download bake off rules here.
Managing Childhood Anxiety
Sponsored by Voluntown Community Organizations and open to anyone in Voluntown who wants to attend, regardless if you have kids in the school system or not.
Beach Pond Water Draw Down
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has approved the Town of Voluntown’s request to draw down Beach Pond two feet during the 2017/2018 winter season.
The two feet drawdown will commence on or about October 30, 2017. The drawdown will restore to normal water surface elevation by April 2, 2018. However, there is always a risk that refilling may not be achieved by the target date due to unusually dry weather conditions. the next anticipated drawdown at Beach Pond, based on the previously established drawdown policy would occur during the 2020/2021 winter season.
The cost of this drawdown service to the town is estimated to be about $2100.
Notice of Decision
Notice of Decision
At the regular meeting on September 13, 2017 the Voluntown Planning and Zoning Commission rendered the following decision:
Application #072617 Voluntown Planning and Zoning Commission (text amendment change)
Application APPROVED
Approved 15 days after this published notice.
Dated at Voluntown, CT September 15, 2017
For the Commission,
Scott Davidson, Chairman
8/29 Town of Voluntown Referendum Results
452 electors and persons to qualify in town meetings voted.
Item 1: Shall the town of Voluntown appropriate $39,000 for the demolition and removal of the structure on the town owned property located at 2 Church Street, known as the Methodist Meeting House?
Yes: 212
No: 238
Item 2: Shall the town of Voluntown appropriate $2,720,218 for design and construction of additions and improvements to the Voluntown Public Library, and authorize the issue of bonds and notes in the same amount to finance the appropriation?
Yes: 92
No: 360
Eversource Offers Power Outage Reporting Via Text
OUTAGE ALERTS & TEXT REPORTING
The following information is from the Eversource website.
Receive outage and restoration updates for your electric service in the channels you choose – text, email and phone. You can also report an outage by text and receive on-demand text status updates on your restoration.
First, update your alert notification settings and receive alerts on:
- Your time of restoration;
- Outage cause;
- Status updates;
- Restoration completion.
By activating text alert notifications you are also enrolling to report an outage by text and receive status updates.
- Text “OUT” to 23129 to report an outage.
- Text “STAT” to 23129 to receive a status update.
Don’t forget to add 23129 to your contacts for easy reporting!
