Town of Colebrook, Connecticut

Greetings from Colebrook Town Hall.
Colebrook Town Hall offices, the Public Works Department, and the Community & Senior Center and Food Pantry will be closed on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday, January 21st.
Curbside trash and recycling will operate on a normal schedule next week. A reminder regarding recycling: items placed in your recycling bin should be loose. No bagged items are permitted. Also, bulk items left curbside for pickup need to be called in by Thursday of each week.
Earlier this week, the Colebrook Planning & Zoning Commission hosted a public hearing to consider: 1) an application for a Special Exception for a resident of Old Creamery Rd. to accommodate a home-based business; and 2) a Text Amendment to allow for new uses by Special Exception in the town’s General Business district (along Routes 8 and 44).
Specifically, the Text Amendment would allow for future Special Exception applications for motor vehicle, boat and equipment sales or rental; and motor vehicle, boat and equipment repair or service. Future applications would be considered by the Planning & Zoning Commission on a case-by-case basis, and would include public hearings. The proposed Text Amendment seeks to reinstate language that existed in Planning & Zoning regulations prior to 2021.
Both proposals will be considered by the Planning & Zoning Commission in the coming weeks. The Commission next meets on Monday, February 10th.
At the Board of Selectman meeting earlier this week, Sean Barry, Brad Bremer, Jeb Burrows, Tom McKeon and Becky Roy were re-appointed to the Capital Improvement Committee. John Lossin was re-appointed to the Inland Wetlands Commission, and Christopher Beaulieu was appointed to the Recreation Board.
At the January Board of Education meeting, Ashley Gawricki and Becky Roy were nominated for the Colebrook-Norfolk K-6 Educational Collaboration Exploratory Committee. They will serve with Andrew Bakulski and AJ Ruwet-and four representatives from Norfolk. Meetings are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Colebrook Consolidated School 20th out of approximately 800 elementary schools in the State, placing us in the top 2%. Learn more here<www.usnews.com/education/k12/connecticut/colebrook-consolidated-school-235447#students-teachers>.
The Assessor’s office reports that eQuality Valuation Services has finished photographing improved properties in town, as part of our 2025 revaluation process.
The Colebrook Associates food pantry, located in the vestibule of the Community & Senior Center, is open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m.-noon. Thank you to those who recently answered the call for donations.
In an effort to improve accessibility for the Community & Senior Center, we are exploring the opportunity to install automatic door openers through a grant. Stay tuned.
As noted last week, taxes are due. Because February 1st falls on a Saturday, to avoid penalty, payment must be made by Monday, February 3rd, 2025.
Upcoming community events and fundraisers
The Colebrook Fire Department will host its annual ice skating party on Saturday, February 1st from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Colebrook Recreation Area (behind Town Hall). Come enjoy hot cocoa, donuts and a warm fire.
Upcoming municipal board meetings
Inland Wetlands – Tuesday, January 21st, at 6:30 p.m. at Colebrook Town Hall (Land Use office) Board of Education – Wednesday, February 5th, at 7 p.m. at Colebrook Consolidated School Board of Finance – Thursday, February 6th, at 6 p.m. at Colebrook Town Hall (Upstairs meeting room)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at bbremer@colebrooktownhall.org<mailto:bbremer@colebrooktownhall.org>, or call me at 860.379.3359, extension 202.
Cordially,
Brad Brad Bremer Colebrook First Selectman 860.379.3359 ext. 202 bbremer@colebrooktownhall.org

On Monday, December 9th, there will be a brief special town meeting at 8 p.m., adjourning to referendum on Tuesday, December 10th, when taxpayers will have an opportunity to consider a proposed 20-year, $4.9 million tax stabilization agreement with Wind Colebrook South. Polls will be open on Tuesday, December 10th, from noon to 8 p.m.
Absentee ballots are available in the Town Clerk’s office during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today through Thursday; 8:30 a.m.-noon on Friday; and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Monday). Requests must be made in person and will only be issued for the individual making the request, except in the case of illness rendering the applicant unable to appear. Details are available through the Town Clerk’s office.
The special town meeting adjourning to referendum (similar to the process we follow for the approval of our annual town and Region 7 budgets in May) is a statutory requirement and does not allow for public discussion of (or a vote on) the referendum question.
Unlike municipal, state and federal elections, any property owner with $1,000 in assessed value is eligible to vote on December 10th.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or contact Town Clerk Debi McKeon at dmckeon@colebrooktownhall.org<mailto:dmckeon@colebrooktownhall.org>.
Cordially,
Brad Brad Bremer Colebrook First Selectman 860.379.3359 ext. 202 bbremer@colebrooktownhall.org

The Town Garage will no longer accept brush, tree limbs, tree trunks or any other residential yard waste. Please bear with us until we are able find a way to dispose of this waste.

To All Colebrook Residents:
Yesterday the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) approved the Metropolitan District’s (MDC) application to abandon its rights to use approximately 10 billion gallons of water stored between elevation 644 feet and 701 feet with in the Colebrook River Lake (aka Colebrook Reservoir). The MDC will still own the rights to 3.5 billion gallons of water stored behind the Colebrook River Dam. The permit was granted and is subject to many conditions identified in the Source Permit. The MDC , Save the Sound, and the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that commits the MDC to granting a conservation easement to the NCLC on 5,500 acres of open space land that surrounds Colebrook River Lake Reservoir. The question that I am sure you all have is what happens to the land? It will have an easement on it that will preserve and protect the land in perpetuity, the MDC will still own the land and has to own the land. In accordance the CT Gen Statute 12-76., the MDC will still be required to pay taxes on the land that they own in Colebrook, assessed at what would be its fair market value were it assessed as improved farmland. That is how the land is currently assessed “Improved Farmland”.
I am sure this news will raise a lot of questions. Before you call or send me an e-mail, please read the DPH Source Abandonment Permit. The Source Abandonment Permit contains a lot of detail and rationalizes why and the process that the DPH used to approve the MDC application.
Respectfully,
Chris Johnstone First Selectman