First Selectman's Report - April 12, 2024
2024 Earth Day Clean Up
Next Saturday, April 20th, celebrate Earth Day and register to help clean up Colchester! There are many different areas that you can choose to work on. Bring a team, a family, or friends. We will provide garbage bags and free garbage pickup. Jobs include spreading mulch, raking, weeding, picking up garbage, and more. Locations include the schools, town buildings and parks.
Meet up at 12pm at Mel’s Downtown Ice Cream for a free ice cream as our way of saying “Thank you!" Sign up online by clicking here.
If you have any questions, please call the Recreation office at (860) 537-7297.
Environmental Initiatives
On Thursday, April 18, Public Works Director Joe Leone and I will present requests to the Board of Selectmen to begin utilizing money received under the state’s nip bottle deposit to clean up nips and other litter around Town. Stay tuned for more information…
Budget Workshops
The Board of Finance will host its first budget workshop of the year on Monday, April 15 at 6:00 PM. This workshop will focus on the Board of Education budget. Workshops will be held in-person at Town Hall and via Zoom.
Recreation Needs Committee Appointed
Last Thursday, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint seven members and two alternates to our newly formed Recreation Needs & Coordination Ad-Hoc Committee. The committee will be charged with evaluating Colchester’s recreation assets including at town and school properties, including viability of a turf field. The committee will also examine how we can better coordinate access to resources between schools, town groups, and private sports leagues. At our next meeting on Thursday, April 18, the BOS will discuss refining the charge and tasks we want this committee to complete as we plan for the future of Colchester’s recreation needs.
Airline Trail Spur Improvements
This week, Public Works crews have been hard at work at the downtown spur of the airline trail between Lebanon Ave and Old Amston Road to improve drainage along this section of the spur. This area has been increasingly prone to washouts and ruts in recent years.
This spring, Public Works Director Joe Leone and I walked the trail to review these issues and develop a plan to address the cause of these repeated washouts. By improving drainage, the Town will spend less money and resources on frequent repairs to this spur. Work will continue next week.
Lions Club Night of Giving
This week, the Colchester Lions Club and Colchester Leos hosted their annual Night of Giving in which they use funds raised throughout the year to make donations to other community organizations and causes. This year, the Lions distributed almost $20,000 to 30 organizations, including the Colchester Senior Center, Cragin Memorial Library, Collaborative for Colchester's Children (C3), the Norton Park Committee, and Colchester Social Services.
The Night of Giving is the culmination of the efforts by volunteers at events all year long which makes these donations possible. On behalf of the Town of Colchester, I want to thank the Lions Club members for their hard work throughout each year to improve the lives of people in our community.
Colchester Veteran's Coffee House Meetup
The town of Colchester invites all former military members (female members, too) to meet on Friday, April 19th, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm at Cragin Memorial Library. The meetups may include presentations about a variety of issues including veteran benefits, local programs and opportunities and health and well-being. Coffee and light snacks will be provided. For questions and/or suggestions, call Mary Emerling at (860) 537-2921.
Food Truck Festival
Mark your calendars, and come hungry!
The weather is warming up, and it's almost time for the Colchester Food Truck Festival! On May 4th and 5th on the Town Green...come enjoy a wide variety of food offerings and fun for the whole family!
Bacon First Robotics
Bacon Academy's FIRST Robotics Team 1699 has been performing at the top of their game this season. At their first competition in Hartford, they won the Autonomous Award for consistent, reliable, high-performance robot operation during autonomously managed actions. Their next event was at Western New England University where they were finalists and brought home the Excellence in Engineering Award. This past weekend, they were Alliance Captains and battled their way several matches into the semi-finals.
According to Statbotics, our robot's performance is 2nd best in the State and 57th Worldwide. Team 1699 is preparing for their final competition at CT State Championships in Glastonbury on May 19th.
Good luck Robocats!