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07/07/2020 12:30 PMClinton lost one its staunchest environmental advocates when Harold “Hal” Dolan died on June 14 at age 90.
Dolan and his wife JoAnn called Clinton home starting in 1962 and both became active in starting several organizations that are now familiar part of Clinton’s community, from the Parks and Recreation Department to The Clinton Touchdown Club and the Clinton Country Club.
What Dolan will be best remembered for in recent years was his commitment to helping solve Clinton’s long-term wastewater issues. At a virtual meeting on July 1 the Clinton Town Council read a statement commemorating Dolan’s legacy. The statement noted his many contributions to Clinton.
For years Dolan was the chair man of the Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) and then became a member emeritus. The statement read by the Council recognized Dolan’s work with the WPCC and his commitment to asking pointed and tough questions of state officials. “He would never sit one out, he fought and pushed back and said it was because it was the right things to do,” said Matt Kennedy, the current WPCC chairman.
“He was single-minded in that if someone assigned him something, he’d say ‘well you asked me to do it I’m going to do it’,” said Kennedy. Former WPCC Clerk Carol Walter worked for several years with Dolan and said he was a “Pitbull with state regulators.”
“He worked them so hard to get them to pay attention to Clinton,” Walter said.
Kennedy said that Dolan’s focus helped get several projects off the ground in Clinton.
A comprehensive facilities plan to address all the wastewater problems in Clinton that Dolan worked on was approved by the state, and a town ordinance governing septic pumpouts was also approved.
Kennedy also mentioned the closures of Clinton’s septic lagoons. The lagoons were located on Knollwood Drive and had been out of use since 2005. However, the state continued to erroneously bill the town. That is, until Dolan found out, got the town to stop paying the bills, and got the lagoons to finally close last year.
“By paying attention to the facts and staying on top of the money he saved the town a ton of money,” said Kennedy.
On a personal level, Dolan was known for his wit and humor too.
When Dolan stopped being the chairman, the WPCC members presented him with a tropey that was a golden toilet which they engraved with for him and then they gave him a plaque when he left the commission. Besides his work on the WPCC, Dolan was also known throughout town for running the Dolan Tree Farm. He served in the United States Marines in his teens and later had a successful businesses career after graduating from UConn thanks to the GI Bill.
“There were two sides, the tenacious side and then the grandfather driving kids around his tractor during Christmas tree sales. Both sides of him which were loved and we’re all going to miss him,” said Walter.
Dolan is survived by four children, his grandchildren, and great grandchildren as well.