Voluntown Town Hall

GOOD NEWS!!   The Town Hall will be reopening to the public starting on Monday, February 22. Masks are mandatory in Town Hall. All offices are available Tuesday evening by appointment only.   Hour for specific offices are as follows;

Selectman’s Office:  

One person in the office at a time. Must wear a mask. 

Open for pistol permits 9-4 Monday – Thursday. 

Selectman available by appointment. 

The Town Clerk’s Office: 

One person in the office at a time. Must wear a mask.  

Vault by appointment only. 

Monday – Thursday 9-4.   

Tax Assessor’s Offices: 

By appointment only.  

Use the drop box if possible. 

Tax Collector’s Offices: 

One person in the office at a time. Must wear a mask.  

Monday 9-2, Tuesday 9-4, and Thursday 9-2. 

Use the drop box if possible. 

Building Official’s Office: 

One person in the office at a time. Must wear a mask.  

Monday – Thursday 9-2 

1st and 3rd Monday, 2nd and 4th Tuesday and Thursday nights 4-6pm 

All Offices available Tuesday nights by appointment only. 

The video of the Feb 9, 2021 Public Hearing is available on YouTube. It can be viewed through this link https://youtu.be/BSobqGcLRmo

The ordinances that are being discussed can be found here:

 An Ordinance Authorizing the Appointment of the Town Clerk

 Beach Pond Slow No Wake Zone Ordinance

February 10, 2021

Last night during our Zoom Public Hearing we were Zoom bombed. For those that are not familiar with ‘Zoom Bombing’, this is when people join a Zoom meeting for the purpose of creating the most shock in the least amount of time.

We had two instances of Zoom bombing during last night’s meeting. One was visible during the livestream, and one was visible only to the people in the meeting. Both instances were apologized for by members of the Board, and both offenders were removed from the meeting as quickly as possible.

One of the Zoom bombing instances, the one that was visible on the livestream, involved the “n word” showing up on a shared screen document. Knowing that the unknown offender was doing this for shock value, our reaction was to remove the offensive word from the screen, apologize for it, and carry on with the meeting. Our reaction should not be construed to mean that we are “laughing it off and moving on”. In the shock of the moment, we treated the “n word” like any other offensive word and removed it without further comment. We neglected to publicly recognize that it is more than that. It is a word that is loaded with racism and hurt. It is a word that does not belong in a public meeting, and racism does not belong anywhere in Voluntown.

The second Zoom bombing instance exposed meeting participants to sexual harassment, which is also unacceptable and not anything that the BOS condones.

We apologize for any offense that was taken in our responses to the Zoom bombings. The video of the public hearing has been removed from the YouTube channel and will be reposted when the Zoom bombing is edited out, so as not to cause more offense. It was not our intention to diminish the situations at all. We were focused on not giving undue attention to those who seek it, to remove them from the meeting, and to carry on with business. We learned a lot during our first large Zoom meeting and we will be better prepared for our next one.

Respectfully,

First Selectman Tracey Hanson

Selectman Ronald Millovitsch

Selectman Mark “Skip” Oulton

NOTICE OF

Public Hearing –Tuesday, February 9, 2021

TOWN OF VOLUNTOWN

The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Voluntown, Connecticut hereby gives notice that a Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 6:00PM with the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting to follow.  This public hearing is being held via Zoom. To participate in the Zoom public hearing, residents can join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85705815517pwd=M0NoYi9wbmZFcUYycHVjSTBqYTBpZz09 or call 1-929-436 –866, Meeting ID: 857 0581 5517,  Passcode: 06384  The Public Hearing will be livestreamed on the town YouTube channel which is: Town of Voluntown,CTGovernment, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdF6kZQMhDVNetgjDX2MAQ

1. To discuss the following proposed Ordinances:

(a)        An Ordinance Authorizing the Appointment of the Town Clerk

            (b)        Beach Pond Slow No Wake Zone Ordinance

2. To discuss the following resolution:

(a)        BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE TOWN OF VOLUNTOWN shall appropriate $23,246.95 from the Undesignated Fund for the completion of the Voluntown Public Works Garage.

Potential action on the foregoing items may be taken at a subsequent town meeting, notice of which will be given in accordance with all legal requirements.

Copies of each ordinance listed above are available at the office of the Town Clerk and on the Town of Voluntown website www.voluntown.gov.

Signed and dated this 2 day of February 2021, at Voluntown, CT

Tracey L. Hanson                    Ronald J. Millovitsch             Mark G. Oulton

First Selectman                       Selectman                                Selectman

Monday, January 11, at 6:30PM the Voluntown Housing Authority is scheduled to meet. Cancelled

Tuesday, January 12, at 6:30PM the Board of Selectmen is scheduled to meet. **please note that the meeting was moved to 6:30PM

The Board of Selectmen’s  meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and livestreamed on the town YouTube channel which is: Town of Voluntown, CT-Government,  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdF6kZQMhDVNetgjDX2MAQ. To submit a public comment, please send an email to voluntownwebsite@gmail.com at least one hour before the scheduled meeting time. Comments received will be read during the Citizens Comments part of the Agenda.

Agenda

Wednesday, January 13, at 7:00PM the Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet.

Thursday, January 14, at 6:30PM the Library Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet via Zoom.

For live access to this meeting the public can join this Zoom meeting in listen mode only by calling: 1 929 436 2866 US (New York), Meeting ID: 818 6223 5595

A recording of this meeting will be available upon request.

Agenda 01-14-21

23 – Use of Exhibit Space Policy

27 – Dress Code Policy for Staff

25 – Use of Volunteers

Thursday, January 14, at 7:00PM the Board of Education is scheduled to meet.

This public meeting is being held via Zoom and can be watched “live” in view mode only on the Voluntown School
YouTube channel below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3I7dQmnXMxoTlNHzaSZ1zw
Public must submit any comments via email at least one hour before the scheduled meeting time to the BOE Clerk
(djackman@voluntownct.org). Comments will be read during the Citizen’s Comment section. A recording of this
meeting will be available on the school website and on the YouTube channel within 7 days.

Agenda

Wednesday, January 6, the Recreation Commission is meeting at 7:00PM via Zoom. The Recreation Commission meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and livestreamed on the town YouTube channel which is: Town of Voluntown, CT-Government, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdF6kZQMhDVNetgjDX2MAQ.  To submit a public comment, please send an email to recreation@voluntown.gov at least one hour before the scheduled meeting time. Comments received will be read during the Citizens Comments part of the Agenda.

Agenda

Thursday, January 7, the Inland Wetland & Watercourses Commission is meeting at 7:30PM. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and livestreamed on the town YouTube channel which is: Town of Voluntown, CT-Government, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdF6kZQMhDVNetgjDX2MAQ.

Meeting agenda and relevant documents can be found here: http://www.voluntown.gov/inland-wetlands-committee-minutes/

TOWN OF VOLUNTOWN
TAX COLLECTOR’S NOTICE

The Governor passed Executive Order No. 9R which extends the Covid tax relief program for the January 2nd installment of Real Estate, Personal Property and Supplemental Motor Vehicle tax bills to April 1, 2021. *Escrow companies are exempt from this deferral, and must pay by February 1, 2021. Please be aware that if you take advantage of this deferral program, if you don’t pay by April 1, 2021 the interest goes back to the January 1 due date. This program only applies to the 2nd installment bills and Supplemental bills for the 2019 grand list that become payable on January 1, 2021. It DOES NOT cover bills that are already delinquent. If you have any questions please call the Tax Office at 860-376-0453, or email me at gneri@voluntown.gov. Thank You! Giselle

Tuesday, December 22, the Board of Selectmen is scheduled to meet at 6:00PM via Zoom.

The Board of Selectmen’s  meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and livestreamed on the town YouTube channel which is: Town of Voluntown, CT-Government,  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXdF6kZQMhDVNetgjDX2MAQ. To submit a public comment, please send an email to voluntownwebsite@gmail.com at least one hour before the scheduled meeting time. Comments received will be read during the Citizens Comments part of the Agenda.

Agenda

Monday, December 14, the Housing Authority is meeting at 6:30PM    CANCELLED

Thursday, December 17, the Economic Development Commission is holding a Special Meeting at 7:00PM   CANCELLED