Project Team

RiverCOG, the RPC, and our consultant Fitzgerald and Halliday are working to create the first RPOCD for the region.

Here, you can see a breakdown of the project team. As we move through this process, these will be the people reaching out for your input, keeping you connected, and writing the draft plan.

RiverCOG Board

The municipal Chief Elected/Executive Officials (First Selectman, Mayor, or Town Manager) sit on the RiverCOG Board.

Regional Planning Committee (RPC)

The Regional Planning Committee, or RPC, is a volunteer committee, created by the RiverCOG Board and made up of appointed representatives from each of the 17 municipalities. Several planning responsibilities have been delegated to the RPC, including oversight of the creation of the Regional Plan of Conservation and Development (RPOCD) for Board approval. On completion of the RPOCD, the Board may adopt the RPC’s plan, or propose revisions to it.

The RPC members will act as public representatives in this process. Find your representative in the list below and feel free to reach out to them with your thoughts, comments, and concerns. The RPC will be meeting regularly to review drafts of the RPOCD and direct the regional land use policies in it. In addition, your RPC members can provide you with the latest information on the plan or connect you to the team members who can answer your questions.

Your RPC Members (click on your town to send an email to your representative)

Chester – [email protected]
Michael Sanders, Member
Cindy Lignar, Alternate

Clinton – [email protected]
Alan Kravitz, Member
Martin Jaffe, Alternate

Cromwell – [email protected]
Chris Cambareri, Member
Anthony LaCava, Alternate

Deep River – [email protected]
Bruce Edgerton, Member
Tony Bolduc, Alternate

Durham – [email protected]
Frank DeFelice, Member (Chairman)
Joe Pasquale, Alternate

East Haddam – [email protected]
Crary Brownell, Member
Louis Salicrup, Alternate

East Hampton – [email protected]
Michael Kowalczyk, Member
Vacancy, Alternate

Essex – [email protected]
Alan Kerr, Member
Sandra Childress, Alternate

Haddam – [email protected]
Raul deBrigard, Member
Vacancy, Alternate

Killingworth – [email protected]
Alec Martin, Member
Stephanie Warren, Alternate

Lyme – [email protected]
Mary Stone, Member
Humphrey Tyler, Alternate

Middlefield – [email protected]
Vacancy, Member
Vacancy, Alternate

Middletown – [email protected]
Beth Emery, Member
Kellin Atherton, Alternate

Old Lyme – [email protected]
Harold Thompson, Member
Vacancy, Alternate

Old Saybrook – [email protected]
Thomas Cox, Member
Karen Jo Marcolini, Alternate

Portland – [email protected]
Vacancy, Member
Vacancy, Alternate

Westbrook – [email protected]
Bill Neale, Member
Marie Farrell, Alternate

RiverCOG Staff

Margot Burns, Torrance Downes, Sam Gold, and Megan Jouflas

RiverCOG currently has eight full-time and one part-time staff, with professional certification and advance degrees in urban planning, law, digital mapping, environmental science, and geology.  RiverCOG staff has decades of professional work experience in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Region.  For more information visit the RiverCOG Staff page.

Consultant FHI, Inc.

Francisco Gomes, Rory Fitzgerald, and Adam Tecza

Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. (FHI) is a planning and engineering consulting firm that prides itself on strong knowledge of the planning process, innovative conceptual design and visualization services, and award-winning public involvement. FHI provides comprehensive transportation, land use planning, environmental planning, and public involvement services to a wide variety of public and private sector clients including state departments of transportation, regional agencies, municipalities, corporations, institutions and developers.

FHI staff specialists include planners, engineers, environmental scientists, and cultural resource experts. FHI has been providing services to public and private sector clients since 1987 and the high quality of our products is backed by a strong track record of repeat clients, both as prime consultant and as a supporting team member. FHI has offices in Hartford, CT, New York City, NY, and Cherry Hill, NJ and is certified as a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) in over 25 states.

FHI staff are experts in land use planning that sets the framework for public and private sector clients to realize their vision for the future. FHI’s land-use professional support communities by provide comprehensive planning, redevelopment, zoning, placemaking, and transit-oriented development (TOD) planning services. In every effort, FHI tries to provide a high quality of life for all through smart, equitable, and sustainable growth that promotes community cohesion. The result are resiliency communities that are great places to live, work, and visit.