In an effort to keep our community informed, my goal is to send out weekly communication and updates about our town.
On Monday night, I was honored to deliver my first State of the Town address before members of the Representative Town Meeting and Board of Finance as called by our town charter. You can watch the speech by clicking on the image below or you can read it here.
This week my administration completed more budget meetings with department heads from our Fire, Police, Human Resources and Economic Development departments. I am close to completing this process and am now crafting my first budget as your First Selectwoman.
On Tuesday, I received proposals from four licensed environmental professionals (LEP) that visited the fill pile. With the guidance of our environmental attorney, I have selected one to assist us in complying with the Notice of Violation orders our town received from the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency. My offices is in communication with Congressman Himes' and Senator Blumenthal's office requesting opportunities for possible funding to help us with the clean-up costs.
Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of speaking to the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors. They have a direct pulse on what is going on in our community. I enjoyed sharing a town update, listening to their concerns and answering questions.
I had a productive meeting with officials from Sacred Heart University, and the Fairfield and Westport Police Departments, to help finalize the new Emergency Communication Center (ECC) plans. This project will relocate and consolidate Fairfield and Westport's emergency communication centers into one multi-town center. The current Fairfield facility is in a flood zone and is outdated. The new facility will be located on the West Campus of Sacred Heart University and the use of this space will result in significant savings to taxpayers. Westport will pay for 50% of the cost to build the new center resulting in lowered costs to Fairfield taxpayers.
The State will also provide grant funding of up to $500,000 dollars to offset some of the costs to construct the center. Once the center becomes operational, residents of both communities will see increased service levels such as a reduction in call processing times, increased effectiveness during large-scale incidents effecting one or both communities and improved management of both internal and field resources. This will be accomplished by having additional staffing in the room and dedicated supervisors overseeing daily operations.
This morning I attended the ribbon cutting and toured the IDEA Lab at Sacred Heart University, which is an incubator for our college students interested in engineering, advanced manufacturing and 3D printing.
The Idea Lab together with the new iHub, puts the University is on the cutting edge and I am excited to see the results.?
Linda McMahon, member of the Board of Trustees, pictured here with President Dr. John Petillo, was the guest speaker at the unveiling this morning.
As we gear up for Super Bowl Sunday, I hope that while you are out shopping for your party you will consider adding a few extra groceries in your cart for Operation Hope. Drop off times are February 1 and 2 at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church. See below or click here for the flyer.
I hope you find this information helpful.