Clinton Town Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2025
Clinton Town Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2025
The Clinton Town Council held its regular meeting on November 5, 2025. Key topics included updates on tree management at Liberty Green, economic development initiatives, the town manager's report on recent events and upcoming holiday celebrations, discussion of property revaluation, and a report on the skate park situation. Several actions were taken, including approval of previous meeting minutes with one abstention, and a future executive session was scheduled for tax status updates.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from the October 15th meeting: Motion carried; Councilor Dennis abstained.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke.
Discussion Items
- Tree Warden Update on Liberty Green (Gary, Tree Warden): Gary reported that several sugar maples on the town green are in decline and pose a risk to the statue. He proposed removing trees this winter, reimagining the green with a new plan for replanting diverse species, and possibly installing a town Christmas tree. Council members expressed support for the plan and asked about timing and number of trees.
- Economic Development Coordinator Update (Alan Felgate): Alan provided an overview of his work, including the Connecticut Main Street Center working group, revitalization of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) with new members and subcommittees, a small business breakfast planned for January, and new businesses opening downtown (CareVet, Crooked House, a 3D print shop, pottery studio, antique store, and Henry on Main/Caffeinola). He noted there are only 2-3 vacant storefronts. He is developing a business inventory with a CRM system and data visualization for public and internal use. The Hangry Goose 2 restaurant is expected to open in May in the former Coffee Break location. Discussion touched on the need for public restrooms downtown.
- Town Manager's Report (Michelle): The manager apologized for omitting a grant update from Human Services and said it will be presented later. She reported on the successful Trunk or Treat event (over 500 children), a Pink Casual Dress Day fundraiser ($500+ for Smilo), the launch of the Clinton Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) team, high voter turnout in the recent election, and the start of the budget process. She previewed the upcoming Clinton Christmas celebration, scheduled for early December, with numerous activities across various venues.
- Chairman's Report: The chairman addressed concerns about property revaluation letters that have been mailed, noting the need to explain the increases to residents. He also thanked Councilor Mike for his service.
- Council Discussion: A grant opportunity from Connecticut Main Street ($25,000, due November 14) was mentioned for downtown economic development. The issue of sand accumulation on the basketball court at the beach was raised; Public Works is addressing it, and a long-term mitigation plan is being developed with the tree warden. Councilor Dennis requested a report on the tax status of certain properties (related to Indian River) and was told it would be on the next meeting agenda. There was also discussion about the overall grand list increase from the revaluation.
- Committee Liaison Reports: A council member reported on the Park Commission's discussion about the skate park. The commission is struggling with usage data (cameras have been vandalized), high maintenance costs (graffiti, debris), and safety concerns. The town manager noted that the commission should bring a single recommendation to the council, supported by data on usage, crime, and repair costs.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve minutes of October 15 passed (1 abstention).
- The tree warden will proceed with tree removals over the winter and develop a replanting plan.
- The economic development coordinator will continue work on business inventory, CRM, and marketing; a grant application will be considered.
- The town manager will schedule the Human Services grant update for a future meeting.
- A future executive session (likely December 3) was planned to discuss tax status of certain properties.
- The Park Commission will be asked to provide a specific recommendation on the skate park, including cost and usage information.
Meeting Transcript
Morning, everybody. Welcome to the town council regular meeting on November 5th. If we can start with a pledge. For which it stands one nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Item number two, are there any visitors who wish to speak? All right. Item number three, approval of minutes for the October 15th meeting. Is there a motion? So moved. Second. Second. Discussion. All in favor? Opposed. Abstaining. Dennis abstains. Item number four, appointments or reappointments. We have none this morning. Item number five, uh, tree warden update on Liberty Green, and Gary is here to speak to us. Hey, Gary, how are you doing? Morning, everybody. Some of you may know we've been monitoring, Todd and I have been monitoring the trees and on the town green. Most of them are sugar maples. Most of them were planted all about the same time, and they've been declining for years. We've already removed several. Um I've been watching one of them in particular, and I'm now worried that if we were to have a catastrophic failure with it, it would take out the statute, which um you know is pretty significant of importance. So uh Todd, Abby, and myself met at the town green about a week ago, and uh came up we we're all in agreement of reimagining the town green, taking down several trees, uh, then coming up with a plan uh to replant, not with the same amount of trees, but replant it and and make it space for Clinton. Uh one idea is a uh you know, a town Christmas tree somewhere in the center off offset from from the statue that you know that'll provide sustainability for the years because it won't be as dangerous to that statute. Um it's gonna be a big change. People you know you're gonna get phone calls, and and we want to make sure that you all realize what that there is a plan and that you know we don't love taking trees down and historical trees, but it's it's time. Um the one especially that one is in really really bad shape. So that's about it. If you have any questions. When do you plan on taking the tree down? Gary's gonna have to we're gonna have to post it, then we'll we'll take them down. Um it'll probably be sometime over the winter. That's that's generally we're trying to do a lot of the tree work in between if we get snowstorm. Well, we try to do it in between. All right. Anyone else? Do you plan on replanting as a significant number of trees? Not a significant number of trees, but those are such big trees. Well, I think that I don't think the plant is a significant number, but and and the right species, you know. Gary's got some ideas and you know, meeting with Abby and trying to plant some stuff that mixes versus all the same species and stuff like that. So right tree, right place, sustainability, diversity. Uh we don't want to monoculture. They all fail at the same time. We're in a situation we're in here. Some aesthetically pleasing trees, get some flowers on the town green. It's not that big a parcel of land.
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