Two Special Anniversaries for Some Great Plymouth Staples

December is here and the first
snowfall has arrived. To kick off
the holiday season, we hosted
our annual Town Tree Lighting

on the Plym-
outh Green. It

was great to
see so many
members of

the commu-
nity come to-
gether and

enjoy a fun
event. A special thank you to the
Rotary Club for donating the tree
this year — it was planted at the

green so we now will have a per-
manent tree, rather than needing

to buy a new one every year. I
want to thank all our volunteers
and vendors for making the event
possible, and a special thank you
to the Plymouth Congregational
Church for hosting once again.
We have had a few things to
celebrate in town lately, and I

was honored to join in two spe-
cial anniversaries for some great

Plymouth staples.
First, a congratulations to the

Pequabuck Golf Club, who re-
cently celebrated their 120th an-
niversary. I joined Bristol Mayor

Jeff Caggiano to present the club
a proclamation on behalf of the
Town of Plymouth. For those
who don’t know, the golf club
is technically located in Bristol,
but a few holes are in Terryville/
Pequabuck. Even if you don’t
play golf, their new restaurant,

Mulligan’s Grille has some great
dinner options, I recommend
checking them out.

Second, our Terryville Pub-
lic Library is celebrating their

100th year of continuous opera-
tion. Librarian Gretchen Delceg-
no and her team are doing a tre-
mendous job. If you think librar-
ies are becoming irrelevant in

today’s day and age, I encourage
you to visit our library to see for
yourself that our library plays a
vital role in our community. We
have one of the best small-town

libraries in the state — I encour-
age residents to take advantage of

that.
In the last month, Emergency

Management Director Tony Ors-
ini, Interim Public Works Direc-
tor Paul Pronovost and myself at-
tended a crisis leadership seminar

that focused on the preparation

and response to Hurricane Har-
vey in 2017.

Hopefully, we never have to

deal with a storm of that mag-
nitude here, but it was a helpful

reminder of how to properly plan
for weather disasters, especially
as we head into a New England
winter.
Speaking of winter, I recently

ordered a freeze to all discretion-
ary spending at least through the

season. With the rumored electric
rates increasing, I want to make
sure we have enough funds in our
budget to cover any deficits we

may run in utility costs. Our fam-
ilies will be tightening their belt

this winter to adjust to this new
reality, and so will the Town of
Plymouth.
The holiday season also
means another budget season is
approaching. Budget templates
have been sent to our department
heads to get a head start, and I’ve

asked them to look at their bud-
get with a critical eye. We will do

everything possible to keep any
increases to a minimum, while
still addressing the many needs
throughout town. It’s always a
tough balance, which is why I

encourage as much public par-
ticipation through the budget

process as possible in an effort
to address our needs, while also
not passing on an ever-increasing
burden onto our taxpayers.
I hope you and your family
enjoy a relaxing holiday full of

love. To add a little fun, my of-
fice has teamed up with the Ter-
ryville Lion’s Club to brighten

our town and give families the

chance to spend some time to-
gether. You can check out all the

houses who’ve joined the May-
or’s Merry Plymouth Contest on

the Town’s web site or the May-
or’s Facebook page. Check out

the lights and don’t forget to vote
for your top 3! The winners will
be announced on Dec. 24th.
Wishing you a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year,
— Mayor Kilduff