Candlewood Lake Authority Receives Two Grants For Public Safety

The Candlewood Lake Authority (CLA) recently announced that they received two grants from First Light Power Resources.

The first grant enabled the CLA to upgrade their radio systems on their CLA Marine Patrol boats (CLAMP), which operates under the direct supervision of the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).

Communication between dispatch, CT DEEP EnCon Police and the CLA Marine Patrol is crucial in order to ensure the safety of the boaters on Candlewood Lake. This winter, the State of CT moved to a new radio system, going from a low frequency to a high frequency system. The older radio system the CLA used was low-frequency and could not receive any communications from the new, high-frequency system the State of CT DEEP was migrating to.

The grant allowed the $20,000 upgrade for the new radio system. The CLA applied to First Light Power earlier this season for a grant of $10,000, which was generously matched by the Goldring Family Foundation.

The second grant of $10,754 was used to replace aging hazard marker buoys. Each spring the CLA deploys approximately 80 hazard, speed and navigation buoys. In the fall, the buoys are taken out and put into storage over the winter. Over time, the aging buoys need to be replaced. The grant allowed the CLA to replace the old buoys with new ones.

The CLA said in a statement, “Thank you both to First Light and the Goldring Family Foundation for their generosity, which will help keep everyone safer while boating on Candlewood Lake.”

Photo: Volunteers at the 2015 John Marsicano Memorial Candlewood Lake Clean Up