June 19th First Selectman Update to the Community
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June 19, 2020
Dear Stonington Residents,
Before the update for this week, I also want to take a moment reflect on today in history.
More than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
thousands of Black Americans remained enslaved. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in
Galveston, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people in the state—more than 250,000—were free.
As we reflect on this day in history today, it is an important time to consider the challenges
that we've overcome, those we still face and what it will take to create lasting, positive change
together. Thank you to residents who have been sharing ideas for our community, region and
state. Please know your thoughts are very welcome and we encourage you to engage your
friends, family and neighbors. If you have ideas on specific undertakings, you would like to
see in our community or you might like to involved in please reach out to our office.
Since my last update on June 5th we have all been working hard on a number of front.
Thirteen Board and Commission virtual meetings were held, some who were meeting for the
first time since the pandemic took hold. Meetings included, the Beautification Committee,
Economic Development, Police Commission, Planning and Zoning, Shellfish Commission,
Stonington Housing Authority, Board of Selectman, Board of Education, Police Commission
and Facilities Committee. A critical meeting, which was the focus of the June 5th update, was
also held- the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA). Given the long focus of the last
email update on this topic, we won’t go into details again, but did want to share that after
reading and discussion the public letters received the WPCA voted to send the $10 Million
bond proposal to the Board of Selectman and Board of Finance. This meeting will be on
Tuesday at 4pm. As a reminder the full calendar of town meetings and events can be found
here.
After a extensive search and interviews with many qualified candidates, we are happy to
announce an offer was made and accepted for a new Director of Administrative Services. An
official release will come out next week, but we wanted you all to know that this new addition
to the Stonington team will be starting on July 6th and we are very excited about this positive
development.
It was also a distinct pleasure to welcome Governor Lamont, and members of his team,
including the Commissioner of Agriculture to our town this week. During lunch at Grass and
Bone, both our State Representative, State Senator and myself were able to speak about many
topics we know are pressing on members of our community, including plans for the schools in
the fall and how to make this as safe and affordable as possible; support for small businesses
and how we can better support our local farms, fishing, and shell fishing community.
As we continue to move forward with reopening plans we are working to keep the community
informed on local and state updates. Under the Selectman's Blog you can find more detailed
information on both Phase 1 and Phase 2 Reopening information, along with other state and
local updates.
• Detailed guides can be found here for each sector opening in both Phase 1 and 2.
• All businesses are required to self-certify prior to opening. Click here for form. Please
know, if you already self-certified your business during Phase 1, your business will
NOT need to certify again during Phase 2.
• Information on municipal reopening to the public, along with requested guidelines can
be found here. Of note for this week, playgrounds opened on Wednesday. We urge
anyone using the playgrounds to remember frequent hand washing for children and
adults is critical and personal consideration will be needed to determine if using the
playground is right for your family. Though transmission of COVID-19 from
contaminated surfaces is less likely than from close contact with an infected person,
frequently touched objects like playground equipment can result in transmission of
COVID-19.
As the new Executive Orders come out increasing social gathering size both indoors and
outdoors, please keep in mind that contract tracing remains a key way our local health
officials are able to help curb the spread of this virus. Consider watching this video from
LLHD to learn more, or simply remember limiting your interactions with those outside those
in your ‘inner circle’ remains critical, as does wearing a protective mask and practicing social
distancing. Remember, it is not for you, but for the more vulnerable around you.
And importantly, all of us at Town Hall, DPW, the Transfer Station, Police and Human
Services are sending warm wishes to the Class of 2020, as well as their friends and families
on Graduation Day!
If you have questions, ideas or concerns please call or email my office.
Warm regards,
Danielle Chesebrough
Stonington First Selectman