Mayor's Community Update Week of April 6, 2015
Most Improved:
At the Town Council Meeting Tuesday night, I was presented with the “Most Improved Golf Course” award for 2014 from Billy Casper Golf for all the work that has been done to improve the aesthetics and playability of East Hartford Golf Club. The club, which is managed by Bill Casper Golf, was chosen from among 29 other clubs in the region at a conference in Virginia and notified in early March.
Billy Casper Golf, who helps manage 140 golf facilities, in 29 states, took over managing the club in November of 2013, after the Town Council voted to contract with them to bring the course up to better standards from the previous management company
Major work has been done to improve the overall aesthetics of the club and improve curb appeal. Under my direction, the club made major strides towards updating and improving the landscaping of the course, updating the bathrooms, redoing the men’s and women’s locker rooms and adding fencing and golf carts, as well as adding a flagpole with a decorative stone wall.
Those improvements, along with the work that Billy Casper has done for the playability of course, have turned East Hartford Golf Club into a public course that rivals golf courses in the Greater Hartford region and I’m excited for what the 2015 golf season will bring.
Donate Life Flag Ceremony:
For my fifth consecutive year as Mayor, I had the pleasure of raising the Donate Life flag with resident Jane Andrews. This ceremony was part of a program named Flags Across Connecticut, which is sponsored by Life Choice Donor Services and Donate Life Connecticut. The Connecticut program was inspired by Flags Across America and encourages workplaces, hospitals, and municipalities to raise the flag together to show support for donors, recipients and their families.
As a registered organ donor, events like this are important reminders that organ donation is a very important act that saves lives in our communities and across the country. That little red heart on your license may be small, but it is a significant symbol that only a portion of Connecticut residents have signed up for.
While 40% of the state’s licensed population is registered, the need is still great. Over 1,400 Connecticut residents are waiting for an organ transplant and countless others depend on donated tissues, such as corneas, tendons, heart valves and skin, for restored health. Additionally 21 people die every day in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant, and the national waiting list currently is more than 123,000 people.
That’s why on Thursday, I declared the month of April as “Donate Life Month” in the Town of East Hartford and I challenge everyone who hasn’t signed up to the registry to do so. In order to register as an organ and tissue donor in Connecticut, residents can visit the Department of Motor Vehicles or any AAA location, or sign up online at Donate Life New England.
Update on LED Conversions:
Since making the decision to switch over to energy-saving LED lights in our streetlights, we have been working hard to smoothly transition the Town of East Hartford, which has been a long process, but we are finally seeing great results.
Total Energy Electric, which is the subcontractor for the LED changeover, has worked through most of the neighborhoods and has completed Silver Lane, Burnside Ave, Park Ave, Long Hill, Goodwin and School Street, in addition to most of Main Street. Overall the streetlight portion of the project is 80% complete.
For all the LED outages, a separate crew has been dispatched to address the newer reports of LED lights that are malfunctioning. The majority of these complaints have to do with a known issue with the photocells, the sensors that tell the light fixtures whether it’s night or day. This is affecting less than 1% of the new LED lights and the photocells will be replaced under warranty.
The Cultural Center was the latest location completed and the next building that will be worked on is the Public Safety Complex, so hopefully we can have everything completed and installed soon
East Hartford’s Finest:
On March 28th, while Officer Lisa Magnano was volunteering at the Special Olympics “Cop on Top” fundraiser at Cabela’s, an elderly male citizen collapsed in the store. Finding the man in distress with no pulse Officer Magnano, along with other Cabela Staff members, began to administer CPR.
They continued working on the man until the East Hartford Fire Department Paramedics arrived to take over the treatment of the patient. Due to the quick response of Officer Magnano and the Cabela Staff members, the victim regained a pulse and was transported to the hospital for further treatment.
I would just like to take a moment to recognize Officer Magnano for her quick response, which saved a man’s life. Officer Magnano is just one of many officers that go above and beyond the call of duty for our citizens.
Lunch with the Mayor:
Interested in voicing your questions or observations to me? Join me at my next Lunch with the Mayor meeting!
These meetings are generally held on the fourth Thursday of each month. These luncheon meetings are a great opportunity for East Hartford residents to meet with me and discuss any questions or concerns they may have through an in-person, Q&A session. Each meeting will also include town updates from me as well as information and updates from various department directors.
We recently had the pleasure of having Development Director Eileen Buckheit as guest speaker at our last meeting on March 26th. Attendees who came to the lunch received updates on multiple projects going on in town and had some good questions.
At the April 23rd lunch, Tim Bockus, Director of Public Works, will be joining us to go over some of the work that is being done by the department on our roads, as well as a slew of additional updates.
If you have any questions on this event, or are interested in joining me, please click here for dates and more information.
Notable Events and Highlights:
Shred Day on April 18
On Saturday, April 18th, the Town of East Hartford will be hosting a “Shred Day,” in conjunction with EnviroShred at their facility at 22 Prestige Park Circle from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. This event is part of our efforts towards becoming more environmentally friendly through the town’s “Recycle East Hartford” campaign. Participants can bring up to 3 bags/boxes to be safely and securely shredded at no cost in addition to ink cartridges. We will also be giving away 1,000 free reusable shopping bags with giveaways inside and the event is free and open to the public.
Blood Drive, April 16, 1-5:45 p.m.
There will be a blood drive being hosted by the American Red Cross on Thursday, April 16, from 1-5:45 p.m. at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center. Appointments can be made by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by visiting redcrossblood.org.