Mayor's Community Update Week of October 5, 2015
Raymond Library Grand Opening:
On September 26, I was proud to stand with Governor Malloy, our State Librarian Kendall Wiggins, our local delegation, Congressman Larson and many residents and donors, cutting the ribbon on our brand new renovated and expanded library, children’s section and adult section.
Through all the work that has been done to bring this to fruition, this day was truly a proud moment for me, as well as a proud moment for the members of this community. On that day we celebrated our accomplishments and brought food vendors and activities to engage the children and families of East Hartford, which represent the next generation of library patrons.
So come in and take a look! We have 3D printers, an expanded children and teen’s section and a new rare books room, in addition to many other amenities.
Flu Clinics for 55 and Older
With the flu season coming up quickly, I am urging all East Hartford residents age 55 and older, who have not yet received the 2015-2016 flu vaccine, to consider obtaining it on Friday, October 16th and Friday, October 23rd at the South End Senior Center. The East Hartford Department of Health is holding free flu clinics on these dates from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM at the Center’s location at 70 Canterbury Street in East Hartford. Proof of age and residency is required.
Ninety percent of deaths during a typical seasonal flu season occur in people older than 65, according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control. Even though seniors are especially at high risk, 66 percent of them receive the vaccine, and this number is diminishing.
In addition to the flu vaccine, people should practice frequent hand washing, use waterless hand cleaners when water is unavailable, avoid those who are ill, stay at home if sick with the flu and practice cough/sneeze etiquette (i.e., cough/sneeze into bend of elbow). Prescription antiviral medicines are available for use in certain circumstances.
For more information on this free health clinic, please call the health department at 860-291-7324.
Lunch with the Mayor October 22:
On October 22, I will be holding my monthly Lunch with the Mayor meeting and all are welcome to join from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.
These meetings are generally held on the fourth Thursday of each month. Each meeting will include town updates from me as well as information and updates from various department directors.
At this month’s lunch, we will be having Public Works Director Tim Bockus, who will join us to speak about leaf pickup and new Public Works projects. If you have any questions on Lunch with the Mayor, or are interested in joining me, please click here for dates and more information
Revaluation Inspections:
As the town of East Hartford undergoes its state-mandated revaluation program, I wanted to remind all residents that the firm of Municipal Valuation Services, LLC, which was hired by the town to collect data for revaluation, will be traveling around East Hartford for the next year performing exterior inspections of properties, as well as voluntary interior inspections.
The revaluation program is important for all property owners, as it will establish current values, resulting in fair and equitable assessments for the October 1, 2016 Grand List. Although this revaluation is an important initiative for East Hartford, Mayor Leclerc wants all residents to know that they should take all precautions when inviting people into their homes for inspections and that interior inspections are completely voluntary.
All employees of Municipal Valuation Services, who are contracted to work on this project, will have proper paperwork, as well as Town of East Hartford ID cards. The tasks of these employees will include taking exterior photos, as well as exterior and brief voluntary interior inspections. The purpose of the visit to each property is to verify the existing data on town records, as well as enhance the Assessor’s office ability to identify and maintain its property inventory throughout the Town of East Hartford.
For more information on the revaluation program, interested parties should contact the Assessor’s office at 860-291-7260.
School Street Square, UConn Health East Hartford Ribbon Cuttings and Bank of America Hillside Cemetery Cleaning:
During the past few weeks I had the pleasure of attending two ribbon cuttings for the new Dunkin Donuts at School Street Square, the UConn Health East Hartford office, with our State delegation and Chamber of Commerce at 800 Connecticut Boulevard, as well as visiting Bank of America volunteers, who were cleaning veteran’s gravestones in Hillside Cemetery. For the Dunkin Donuts, the new owners did a beautiful renovation of the building complete with outdoor seating, fireplace and flat screen TV and for the UConn Health building, our residents will now have access to: Blood Drawing, Cardiology, Diabetes Education, Internal Medicine/Primary Care, Nephrology,Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics,Rheumatology. These three businesses are offering great services and to our residents and I wanted to thank them for inviting me to their ribbon cuttings and events.