June update
Below is an update from Killingworth First Selectwoman Cathy Iino:
Shutdown isn’t exactly the word for life in Killingworth over the last three months. Scores of volunteers have helped their neighbors shop for groceries, haul their trash, and stay connected. Skilled craftswomen produced and donated thousands of face masks to medical workers and residents. The Killingworth Volunteer Fire Company and the Killingworth Ambulance Association have instituted new levels of protection from infection with the coronavirus. Library staff have produced on-line programming.
Our local restaurants quickly shifted to take-out meals and are now starting to reopen under state guidelines, with limited outdoor seating. Local retailers increased promotion of their existing on-line shopping options and even scheduled on-line events. Killingworth True Value actually did a booming business, as people could see what needed to be done around their homes and set out to do it!
Meanwhile, the town government is learning how to conduct business remotely and serve constituents safely. A few examples: The Town Clerk has reduced fees for online access to land records. We adjusted Transfer Station hours to facilitate social distancing. We now conduct meetings and hearings on line. We equipped town hall staff to access our computers remotely, allowing us to work from home, and we have just put our first public works project out to bid electronically.
Back to the future. Until 1965, Killingworth’s town offices were in the homes of the officials themselves. Now, of course, the population is four times as large, and many town records are stored in the Cloud instead of in shoeboxes. One of the biggest tasks facing Town Hall as we move forward is how to put systems in place to allow more remote access—for people paying taxes, applying for permits, doing research on real estate listings, and so on. These changes would have come anyway, but the COVID-19 pandemic makes them more urgent.
We do believe we will be able to handle town functions responsively with revised schedules and some physical changes. As recommended by the CDC and the state, about half of our staff will be in town offices at a time, with the others working from home. We are installing clear “sneeze guards” and hand sanitizer dispensers. As much as possible, traffic flow through Town Hall will be one way; we have installed a temporary ramp to permit that.
The biggest change that residents will feel is that, for the near future, appointments will be required to visit Town Hall. We miss seeing the faces—and puppies—of townspeople! But we ask that everyone use the mail—email and snail mail—as much as possible. Tax payments and dog license applications can be sent electronically. We will mail dog licenses and receipts for payments. And, please, allow a little extra time for us to respond to your inquiries and requests.
The governor has issued an executive order permitting absentee voting by anyone who does not wish to appear at the polls in person for the August presidential primaries. In June, the state will mail an absentee ballot application to every active voter registered as a Democrat or a Republican. Please mail that application back as quickly as possible, so that the actual ballot can be mailed back to you.
Building permit application forms can be downloaded from TownofKillingworth.com. Unfortunately, we can’t accept the applications electronically yet. Nevertheless, our zoning, building, and health officials are all hard at work approving permits and conducting inspections as promptly as possible.
Over the last few years, sharing information with residents has become a bigger and bigger part of my work. Haddam-Killingworth News is a welcome addition to local media, but even this paper cannot afford to pay a staff of reporters. Since March, I have been emailing “Killingworth Copes: Coronavirus Update” several times a week to everyone who has signed up to receive town emails. If you want to receive those updates, click “Email Signup” on the TownofKillingworth.com home page. While you are there, sign up for CTAlert and AlertKW, which will provide emergency email, text, and phone messages when we need to reach you in a hurry.
We have never faced an emergency quite like this one—medically, socially, or economically. Our understanding of the disease and its consequences is evolving rapidly, although not as rapidly as we would like. Data and recommendations change almost daily. That’s a hard thing to get used to. It doesn’t mean that something has been concealed or that false information has been issued. It isn’t a reason to stick with one course of action when a change in direction becomes warranted. If we continue to act as responsibly as possible, we may discover that we did more than was necessary, but at least we will not cause suffering and death that we could have avoided.
