Print
Share page with AddThis

First Selectman’s Report- 3/21-3/25/2022

Posted on: March 25, 2022 - 5:13pm
Dear Colchester Residents,
 
 
Spring Love!!
Spring has arrived, and everything continues to move in a positive direction for our town. There are plenty of key updates from this week.
Andreas Bisbikos
First Selectman
 
Current Updates:
First Selectman’s Report: 3/21-3/25
 
  1. The United Way awarded Youth and Social Services a $10K grant. The grant will be utilized to help in community rental assistance. A big thank you to Valerie Geato for her hard work to secure this grant for our community!!
  2. ARPA Initiative Update: Today, I consulted with UHY and Giverrang, a gift card company that could potentially facilitate the Community Gift Card Proposal. A special meeting with the ARPA Ad-Hoc Committee will be scheduled soon to discuss the project and its potential rollout. The intent is to provide each household the opportunity to claim a $100 gift card. With historic inflation and rising gas prices, this will be an opportunity to help our citizens directly. With the geofencing technology that the cards will have, purchases will be limited to Colchester – allowing our local businesses to benefit.
  3. ARPA Phase A Initiatives – Parks & Recreation (Playgrounds, Field Irrigation, Tennis Courts, Pickleball Courts, Strategic Planner) the community gift cards, Police Station Renovation & Expansion, and a new Youth Center (at the old Senior Center). Tentative Phase B Initiatives – Town Hall review, current Youth Center review (potential museum and home for our Veterans’ groups), and a Fire Department review.
  4. The ARPA Committee is still accepting small business applications. As a reminder, there is $1M in ARPA funds specifically earmarked for our local businesses. A business may receive up to $25K in federal funds. Please apply and complete your ARPA Application here:  https://www.colchesterct.gov/your-government/arpa-ad-hoc-committee. You may reach out to [email protected]  if you have any further questions. Deadlines for local businesses are April 30th. The Board of Selectmen will begin approving business applications at their next meeting on Thursday, April 7th. 
  5. This week, I had a successful conference with a major developer who is interested in coming to Colchester. This developer will soon be applying for a C-TIP application and could potentially generate up to 500K of additional revenue on a yearly basis. Information on the project will be forthcoming.
  6. This week, I had a successful conference with Andrew Tierney, the Town Manager of Hebron, over nearly 500K in sewer & water costs owed to Colchester. This shortfall was something that I inherited upon entering office. Nevertheless, the Town of Hebron has agreed to pay the costs in full. A special thank you to Pam Minella, our interim Water Supervisor, and Steven Coyle, our Sewer & Water Commission Chair, for being part of the very smooth negotiation process. 
  7. Maggie Cosgrove and I have been working on the town budget. We have a little more work to do – but we are certainly moving in the right direction. Stay tuned!!
  8. The Board of Education would like the public to attend a Budget Workshop on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022, at 6 pm.  
  9. The Town of Colchester offers both state and local options for tax relief and exemptions. To view a list, please follow this link: https://www.colchesterct.gov/assessor/pages/exemptions-and-tax-relief-op...