Mayor's Community Update Week of March 23, 2015
Award Recognition:
On March 20th, I had the pleasure of being presented with the 2015 Community Resilience Award from the American Red Cross in at a ceremony held in Hartford. East Hartford has been recognized for our significant advancement in emergency planning and preparedness instituted under my leadership. Since becoming mayor in January 2011, we have opened the Emergency Operations Center numerous times due to significant weather-related incidents. Prior to that, the EOC had not been opened for 30 years before I activated it in 2011.
The strength of our teamwork is unquestionable with Fire Chief John Oates as our Incident Manager, along with the capable support of Public Works Director Tim Bockus, Finance Director Mike Walsh, Corp. Counsel Scott Chadwick, Assistant Corp. Counsel Richard Gentile, Director of Health and Social Services Jim Cordier, Emergency Management Coordinator Bruce Lockwood, C.E.R.T members and a host of community volunteers who work around the clock during emergency situations.
Since 2011, we have taken steps that have brought the town to the forefront of emergency preparedness and this award is the culmination of all the work that has been done by myself, my directors and a host of hard-working volunteers.
Hole in One:
I am very pleased to share that through efforts that have been made over the past year, East Hartford Golf Club has been recognized by Billy Casper Golf as “Most Improved Golf Course of the Year” for 2014.
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 make the green more playable, including removing dead spots, improving the overall aesthetics of the club, reviving the Men’s Club and doing a complete aerification of the course. The club, with help from myself and multiple sources, has been working systematically to improve the course to the point where we can be considered one of the best public golf courses in the state and the region.
When spring is finally fully in bloom, the club will be open for business and we will finally be able to enjoy golfing on our new and improved course.
Strengthening Our Roads:
With a brutal winter starting to dissipate, the aftermath is starting to rear its ugly head in the form of our roads. Cold temperatures and repeated use have caused pot holes to spring up and cause problems for drivers.
We are doing our very best to help eradicate potholes from our roads and are doing all we can to make roads safer for everyone that travels through East Hartford.
For more information on how to report a claim for pothole damage and for more information on potholes in general, please click here.
East Hartford’s Finest:
In the past few weeks, two of our police department members have been busy saving lives and receiving recognition for their work. One of the department members, Officer Woodrow Tinsley was faced with a situation where he showed great poise and preparedness, when on March 11th he saved a woman’s life after performing CPR at the Stop and Shop on 940 Silver Lane.
Officer Tinsley originally responded to a call about a woman who wasn’t breathing. Once he saw no pulse, he began CPR for approximately two minutes, which caused the woman to start showing signs of having a heartbeat. The East Hartford Fire Department then arrived shortly after and the woman was then taken to the hospital via ambulance.
The next day, on March 12th, one of our other police department members, Sgt. Paul Neves was awarded the Rafael Segarra Intelligence Liason Officer Distinguished Service Award by the Connecticut Intelligence Center CTIC. Sgt. Neves won this award for his effectiveness and success coordinating the sharing of law enforcement intelligence with local, state and federal agencies. Neves, along with Deputy Chief Beau Thurnauer and Lt. Ken Rosa are part of a regional intelligence sharing network that includes Vernon, South Windsor, Glastonbury and Manchester. This network meets regularly to share information on critical cases that potentially cross town lines.
These two department members are examples of how well-prepared our police department is to each and every situation, so that we can be on the forefront of crime prevention and emergency situation preparedness. On behalf of myself and the town, I wanted to personally congratulate these two outstanding members of our police department.
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 Mike Walsh as guest speaker at our last meeting on February 26th. Attendees who came to the lunch received a walkthrough of the recommended budget for 2015-2016.
Of the people in attendance, many provided valuable input and comments and the overall sentiment of the crowd was that the town was providing an extensive network of services to residents they described as “well worth it.”
Participants also made observations on the mill rate, the value of properties in town and the services provided by the budget, putting into context the need to understand housing values when compared to surrounding communities as well as the package of services provided by the budget in order to understand the mill rate composition.
At the March 26th lunch, Eileen Buckheit, Director of Planning, will be joining us to go over some exciting developments in town.
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:
Parks and Recreation
On Saturday March 28, the Parks and Recreation Department, in conjunction with East Hartford High School will be holding a “Breakfast with Peter Cottontail” for children 10 and under in the EHHS cafeteria, which is $5 for adults and $2 for kids 10 & under, which is going on from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Beginning at 11:00 a.m., there will be a spring egg hunt, which is free to all participants
Tickets required and are available in main office of EHHS or at the Parks & Rec Office. Call Parks & Recreation at 860-291-7160 for more information.
Youth Services
The Department of Youth Services will be hosting an open house for the community. This is an opportunity for residents to become familiar with the various services that we offer and for you to help Youth Services Bureau plan for community’s needs.
The event will be held at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on April 22, from 5-8 p.m. and will feature activities for kids, free raffle prizes, as well as dinner and free childcare.
Lions Club
The East Hartford Lions Club will be raising money by having their annual spring flower sale. The club will be on hand at the American Eagle Financial Credit Union on 417 Main Street on April 1 and April 3 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and in the Town Hall on April 2 from 10-2 p.m.
The Lions Club will be selling Lilies, Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths for $7, and proceeds will go towards the club’s charitable efforts.