By Sarah Opdahl

At their monthly meeting in June, the Candlewood Lake Authority (CLA) was happy to welcome New Fairfield’s Ms. Sofia Licht to the role of Director of Ecology and Environmental Education. Licht is enthusiastic about the role, saying she is “really excited to learn about what you guys do, and to continue the great work,” including the in-depth water monitoring. Licht studied freshwater management at the University of New Hampshire for both her graduate and undergraduate degrees.

Treasurer Mr. Will Meikle shared, “we continue to be in solid financial shape,” as they near the fiscal year’s end. He said a “large piece of that contribution is the result of very generous donations from the public at large, both individuals, families, as well as businesses, and we thank them all for their generosity and contributing to the CLA.” Meikle explained, following the full outfitting of the marine patrol and science vessels, the group is looking to sell off older vessels. Having successfully sold a couple of vessels recently, “we’re actively trying to sell the other two that we have currently.” All proceeds go to the capital fund for future capital purchases.

CLA members approved the purchase of a lift for the new science vessel. The lift will better protect the boat, in part because of where it sits and due to the fact that it will not be used every day. The chosen lift is designed for “shallow water situations, which is what we have/ where our science vessel is situated. It comes with a 15 year warranty, and minimum maintenance is required in our capital plan.” The funds will be reallocated from money set aside for future new docks, “which it’s not clear at this point that we need those.” It was noted that the lift is “about as simple as you can get. As far as putting a boat on a lift, it’s a vertical lift, so it’s just straight up and down.” The manufacturer will install the lift and it was described as “better operated” and “pretty maintenance free.”

Regarding public safety, it was noted that the boating season “has been pretty eventful.” At the beginning of the season there was a large boat fire with a couple of injuries. Chief Mr. Nick Mellas shared, “there was a significant injury over around Deer Island…we have had six or eight tows already…batteries are dying, or oil is dried up, and no one checked it…but overall everything’s going okay.” CLA members discussed that people are  using the islands that were closed for the better part of last  season. Mellas shared that the marine patroI is stopping to tell people the islands are closed;  There is a lot of signage in place, in addition to fencing, which is largely ignored. The hope is for the islands to revegetate and be allowed to remain less trod upon. There was a discussion about furthering the clean up efforts on the islands, which would also help in monitoring them.

It was noted that the new personal water crafts are almost ready to deploy. Final movement of lights and sirens is occurring and new graphics are being  placed. In addition, the recently approved ballistic vests have arrived.

In public awareness, CLA Executive Director Mr. Mark Howarth thanked all members for their  efforts in relation to the annual cleanup of the lake.  He was happy to report, “we are filming several new videos in a week, and we also have a number of videos that we still are releasing that we filmed last year. We always try to plan to have a few in the pipeline for the beginning of the season, while we are filming and editing and getting the others ready.”

The next regular Candlewood Lake Authority meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, 7:00 p.m.