Mayor's Community Update Week of March 9, 2015
Ramping Up For the New Library:
While there have been no concrete dates for the grand re-opening of the library yet, library staff are making preparations to have the space ready when patrons first walk through the door.
Some of the things that people can expect are a "Maker's Space," which will feature a 3D printer and an expanded children's section, in addition to the brand new, state of the art meeting rooms that will give citizens and business-owners alike the ability to stage important functions.
While the library prepares for the big move back, there will be some changes to the library hours starting at the end of this month.
Starting Saturday March 28, the temporary space for the Raymond Library, located at the East Hartford Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Place, will close at 5 p.m. and only the Wickham Library will be open until the renovated Raymond Library opens in late spring.
Hours will be extended to compensate and Wickham Library will be open starting on March 30 from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Thursday and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
When the library finally opens, the town will have a building that will be state of the art and an envy of every town in the state! Construction at Raymond Library on PhotoPeach
Always Prepared:
It has been announced that myself and the town have received an award from the American Red Cross for our emergency preparedness, for all of the efforts my administration has made to properly prepare this community for any danger to our citizens.
On March 20 at 7 a.m., I am honored to be the recipient of the 2015 Community Resilience Award. East Hartford has been recognized for our great advancement in Emergency Planning instituted under my leadership.
The largest example of our preparedness came during the Halloween storm of 2011, when the Emergency Operations Center was opened for one full week.
The strength of our teamwork was evident with 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, The C.E.R.T team and a host of community volunteers who distributed over 100,000 readymade meals.
Since 2011 steps have been taken that have brought the town to the forefront of emergency preparedness and I will continue on my work in order to completely safeguard our community from any natural disaster.
2015-2016 Budget:
As the season turns over to spring, the new town budget starts to bloom and change.
On February 23rd, the Mayor's Recommended Budget was issued in hardcopy, as well as an electronic copy on the website.
I worked with all the departments to create a budget that was financially responsible and in the best interests of the citizens of East Hartford.
To look at the 2015-2016 budget more in-depth, please click here.
The Town Council will adopt a budget for the FY 16 budget on March 10 at 7 p.m. All budget meetings will be televised on local access.
I am confident that we can work to put out a budget that will help our town government run efficiently while providing the best possible value to the taxpayer.
East Hartford’s Finest:
Our police officers are always there to help during an emergency, but in East Hartford we do things a little bit differently. Our officers are always striving to lend a helping hand and go above and beyond for our citizens.
On 2/13/15, the Police Department received an email from Mathew Nevi, recognizing Officer Adam Aborn for his actions after he Mr. Nevi slid into a snow bank.
The email reads as follows: “On Monday I managed to slide right into a snow bank at the intersection of Forbes St/Roberts St. I didn't have a shovel and I had a critical court appointment (personal civil matter) to attend. Officer Aborn stopped by and along with a few citizens helped to shovel out my car.
I have never ever experienced that before in my 45 years. I have always respected police officers for what they do to protect us but to just jump right in without even saying a word and helping out like that just added to my respect. I wanted to make sure that I sent along this thank you note to acknowledge Officer Aborn and that his supervisors and commanding officers know that their officers are appreciated. I am sure that there aren't nearly enough of these thank you notes that are deserved coming in to the department.”
Well done Officer Aborn! This is one of the many shining examples of the exemplary work being done in our police department.
Supporting Our Troops:
I am proud to announce that in February I was recognized for my exemplary track record of hiring members of the Guard and Reserve portions of the military.
The letter of recognition came from the Connecticut Employer Support of The Guard and Reserve.
The recognition is one that I take with a badge of honor for myself and the town! Veterans are hard-working and dependable employees and those are the type of people that always go above and beyond in their duties.
Going Digital:
As a town, we are always striving to evolve and bring our practices into the future.
For the eleventh year, East Hartford’s Town Clerk received a non-competitive grant through the Public Records Administration of the Connecticut State Library, this year’s grant was in the amount of $7,500.
East Hartford’s Town Clerk used these grant funds to convert 46,875 microfilmed land record documents into digital images. These digital images were then linked to our existing land records index, allowing title searchers, the public and staff the ability to view and print documents from the office without having to remove the volume from the vault. The public also has the convenience of viewing and copying a document from their home computer. The Land Record index is now on line back to January 1969, with free viewing. There is a fee for viewing and printing of the Land Documents, and the availability of images goes back to August 2000, volume 1912.
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.