The Town Hall is closed next Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday. There will be no Management Report next week. I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy time with one another.
Upcoming Events
EDIC's Salute to Business will be held on December 3rd from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wethersfield Country Club. A flyer with registration form is attached. Please register as soon as possible, as we are expecting a very large turnout this year.
The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Carol Sing will be held on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Solomon Welles House.
EDIC will be hosting a Ribbon Cutting for the work that was done on improvements to the Silas Deane/Church Street intersections and in front of Town Hall on Wednesday, December 10th, at 4:00 p.m. It will take place right at the corner of Silas Deane and Church in front of the new stairs going up to the Town Hall.
The COST Connecticut Town Meeting 2009 will be held on Wed. January 21, 2009 in Cromwell. Please let me know if you wish to attend.
Shared Services - The Shared Services Meeting of December 1, 2008 has been cancelled. A new date for this group to meet with be announced soon.
Department/Division News
Tree Warden: Attached are two letters, one from Bruce Graver, Tree Commission Chairperson and the other from Tree Warden John Lepper that respond to questions raised by Council on the Town's tree program. Also attached is a letter from Linda Case dated November 15th regarding Wethersfield's "tree problem," with an attachment from the Village Improvement Association.
Assessor: The hearing schedule for Vision Appraisal is attached for your information.
Police Department: Attached is a press release from the Police Dept. regarding the State grant for DUI enforcement for the upcoming holiday season.
Building Department: The October 2008 Monthly Report is attached.
Nature Center: The Eleanor Buck Wolf Nature Center will open Thanksgiving weekend on Friday 1:00-4:00 and Saturday 10:00-1:00.
Health Department: Attached for your information is the CCHD "Year in Review" July 1,2007 to June 30, 2008.
Board/Commission News
Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission: Attached is the legal notice on the actions taken by the Commission at their November 19, 2008 meeting.
Council Questions/Answers:
Springdale Drainage Problem: The drainage work for Springdale is on our drainage problem list that was developed by Milone and McBroom some years ago.. It is very low on the priority list and we still have many drainage projects that must be completed before this will come up on the list. This was an issue brought up during your Public Comment section of the Town Council meeting.
Rocky Hill Former Landfill Permit: I spoke to Barbara Gilbert, Town Manager of Rocky Hill, about the questions raised at your Council meeting on their former landfill site. We would not ever be notified about any permit requests, etc., on this site, as the land is no where near our borders. The question in front of their Planning and Zoning Commission is whether the land owners should be granted a temporary permit to allow the State to put the dredged materials from the River on this property, for about 3 months, while the dredging material dries out. The State would then move the materials to a permanent site, once they have dried. The owners are also looking to utilize the property for other uses, but that has not gone through any permitting at this time. The Rocky Hill Planning Zoning Commission has scheduled a hearing on this matter.
Wolcott Hill Road Sidewalks: The Town of Wethersfield Standard Specifications for residential sidewalks is 5 inch thick concrete on a 9 inch stone base. Contractors often use 2 x 4 lumber as forms, but raise and pin the forms or secure the forms to adjoining slabs to achieve the full depth. The forms are set flush at grade level to allow the concrete to be screeded off. Our sidewalk inspector Lonnie Davis inspects all sidewalk forms prior to allowing the contractors to pour the concrete.
The light on the flagpole in Old Wethersfield is fixed.
Youghiohamy Communications: I have attached a sketch of where the equipment is needed to be placed for the telecommunications addition to Kelleher Court tower. The cabinet they need to use will be in the same shelter area already in place, and no additional parking spaces will be needed.
COST
Event at the Capitol: The Connecticut Economy, December 10, 2008, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This event will be a briefing for members of the media and policy-makers on the issues contained in the winter edition of The Connecticut Economy. More information is in the attached email.
We recently received the attached notification from the State DOT on their decision not to install a traffic light on Maple Street at Griswold Road. This had been a request from a resident in that area.
The Office of Fiscal Analysis has released their report outlining the FY09 through FY12 Budget Projections and Fiscal Information. It can be found on OFA's website at this link: http://www.cga.ct.gov/OFA/Documents/Statements/2009/111408Statement.pdf [PDF file]. When you read through this, you will see the projections for the State are not good at all.
Riverfront Recapture will be electing Board members at their April 2009 Board meeting. They would like input to help develop a list of potential candidates for the Board, and have asked for the name and qualifications of anyone whom you think would make a good addition to the Riverfront's Board. Please submit this information to dforand@riverfront.org by Friday, November 28, 2008.
The State Dept. of Labor reports the unemployment rate in Wethersfield for September 2008 was 5.6% compared to the State average of 5.9%
I have been contacted by The American Radio Relay League to work with us in emergencies utilizing ham radios. Dick Fippinger, Emergency Management Coordinator, and Mike Turner, Director of Public Works, are working with the League members to see what their needs would be in our EOC. I will then bring this program to you, once I have all of the details.
There will be a meeting held on December 16th at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the issue of parking vehicles on the Town's rights of way. A report will be given to you shortly thereafter.
I have attached an article from the Washington Post concerning the need to lobby our Federal representatives to increase the amount of dollars being given to cities and towns for infrastructure needs.
PROJECT UPDATES
Council Chambers: The Council Chamber has been thoroughly cleaned out and work has begun in this portion of Town Hall.
Rebanding: A meeting took place yesterday with our staff, our Rebanding Attorney, Motorola, Nextel and the mediator to try and work out an acceptable plan for Nextel to begin the rebanding process. We should hear back from the mediator whether Motorola and our costs are acceptable to him, within the next few weeks. If acceptable, a timetable to begin the work can be drawn up.