By Sean Donlan, Haddam First Selectman
(September 10, 2026) — On August 2, 2026, Haddam residents and visitors from surrounding towns were honored to participate in a drive-by birthday party for a remarkably brave three-year old, Jacob Rene Barrera. The memory of Jacob sitting in his chair surrounded by his family and friends with that big, beautiful smile on his face will be with us forever. Jacob, thank you for being an inspiration and showing us your strength and power during your battle. Thank you to Jacob’s family and friends for allowing us to be part of his life on his birthday, an afternoon that will not be forgotten. (Donations may be made in Jacob’s memory to St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, or the Closer to Free Ride).
Thank you to all the volunteers who donated their money, talents and many hours of their free time to the Reading of the Declaration of Independence, the America 250 Celebration Picnic and decorating Haddam with patriotic symbols. The America 250 Celebration Picnic was such a tremendous success that we are going to have a yearly picnic to celebrate Haddam. The strongest message received from the planning and execution of these events is the overwhelming desire from residents for additional town-wide occasions.
I want to emphasize again the importance of patronizing our local businesses. With the change of seasons, our needs and shopping habits change, and this gives us another opportunity to explore what Haddam businesses have to offer. I encourage you to look through the Haddam business directory on our Town website. I am confident you will be surprised at the variety of Haddam businesses. I have sent out a memorandum to all Haddam’s governmental departments regarding the use of Haddam businesses first and to use out-of-town businesses only if that item or service is not available locally. On that note, if you are a Haddam-based business or if you are a Haddam resident and own a business, please register your business in our business directory so that your contact information and the nature of your business is readily available.
The town-wide referendum on the Regional School District 17 budget was approved on the fourth vote. Although the process was long and costly, it was good to see participation and cooperation on such an important impactful decision. Thank you to all who voted. Please continue to vote when needed and know that your vote is your ability to express your opinion and that Haddam needs your participation. Thank you to the Haddam-Killingworth School System’s Administration, the Board of Education and other volunteers for working so diligently to publish information about the budget through workshops and for making tough adjustments to accommodate resident concerns.
The completed application by Rak Realty for funding from the Connecticut Housing Department for the affordable senior housing portion of the Haddam Elementary School project was submitted during the last week of August. This is the last hurdle we have to get over before breaking ground and starting the physical redevelopment of the property. The approval and funding of this portion of the project by the Connecticut Housing Department is far from guaranteed. We believe we have put together a great package and application showing the many benefits Haddam will experience if the funding is approved. It is difficult to pin down how long the Connecticut Housing Department will take to decide on the application. If this application is not approved with the appropriate level of funding, we have other avenues we will pursue to get the project to a financially sustainable position.
You may have noticed activity at the Scovil property as we tackled a few obstacles and are moving forward with our obligations. Our timeline remains on schedule and we are hoping that the developer will commence work on the buildings prior to winter. We have received proposals for architectural and engineering drawings for the renovation of our Public Works Department buildings and grounds. We are working to keep the cost down as much as possible while making sure we construct buildings that will last well beyond their normal expectancy. Once we get these renderings to a point that we have a good understanding of the estimated cost, we will move to public hearings.
As the warm weather fades, we are developing our road projects for next season. Haddam Public Works has done a great job on the road projects completed this season and I am confident that next season we will see more of the same quality. The cost of these road projects is steep, as the last road study completed some months ago concluded that Haddam is more than $12,000,0000 behind and these costs continue to rise. We will accomplish what we can with our own resources to minimize outsourcing to minimize these costs.
September 11, 2026 will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the most horrific, traumatic and tragic days in our country’s history. Please take time to honor the heroes who lost their lives and the friends and families who continue to carry those losses with them today. This date also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of some of the proudest and most patriotic periods in our country’s history. Thank you to millions of responders from every state and the servicemen and servicewomen from every branch of our military, as well as citizen volunteers who risked their lives and health to aid the injured and protect all of us. The level of unity and cooperation during that time should be a powerful inspiration now and for years to come, as it revealed the truth as to what we can accomplish as a community when we work together.
