October in Review
Dear Stonington,
There have been many positive happenings in Town thanks to the dedicated work of many of our Town staff, elected officials and volunteers. Below we have highlighted just a few examples. Please remember, we are always happy to have you call us in the First Selectman's office to set-up a time to connect in-person or on a call to discuss any existing projects, new ideas or areas of concern.
Communications Update
We are optimistic that before the end of the year, we will be able to begin our pilot Town Newsletter, which we will be seeking feedback on over the coming months. The new monthly, digital Newsletter is one of the final outcomes of the Stonington Communication Ad Hoc Committee's research and recommendations. You can read more about our communication work here: https://www.stonington-ct.gov/selectmens-office/pages/stonington-communi....
Pawcatuck River Kayak Trail
The official Quad Town Kayak Trail was launched at the end of September. Please read more about this exciting update, including a brochure and photos, here: https://www.stonington-ct.gov/home/news/wild-and-scenic-pawcatuck-river-.... In October, the Board of Selectman were invited to join local residents to kayak a longer portion of the trail, and a local writer for The Day, did a lovely write-up on the experience of an October Kayak down the Pawcatuck River, found here: https://www.theday.com/columns/20211028/fall-paddling-at-last-peace-and-.... It was a wonderful experience and residents and visitors alike are encouraged to kayak our Wild and Scenic local river next year when the weather turns a bit warmer again. Many thanks go out to our local residents for the invitation to join them. Those interested in learning more can also watch a video interview with two of these residents, Tom Sanford and Maggie Jones, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjrmalZj0ZM&t=28s. (Photo attached to this post, courtesy of The Westerly Sun)
Sidewalks
Hard work is happening behind the scenes on the South Broad Street sidewalk project. The State Department of Transportation (DOT) has reviewed the Town’s plans and asked for additional information. Detailed review of seven existing sidewalks is happening to make sure they are ADA compliant. Details around the Pawcatuck Shopping Center Traffic Signal area are being finalized. To date, 16 easements have been granted to the Town and two more have committed to sign them. Three properties will need temporary landscaping rights. Another property had stalled due to easement issues; however, after a detailed research effort, was found to have enough room on the state property to install the sidewalk without an easement. In the next month, the State DOT will review the additional information that the Town has gathered. Then the Town will be able to move forward with additional reviews by the Town’s Police Commission, after which construction bidding packages will be put together. Advertising for contractors will likely happen in late Winter to set-up the project to go to construction this Spring. If you are holding an outstanding set of easement paperwork, the Town would appreciate it if you would bring it back in so that we can move forward quickly with these plans. Questions may be directed to Susan Cullen, Director of Economic and Community Development at scullen@stonington-ct.gov
American Rescue Plan Funding
We continue to be grateful for the strong collaboration with the Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, Town staff and various, dedicated stakeholders during the budget process. It is always a complex balance of priorities, but everyone comes together through months of team efforts to achieve our common goal. In a similar fashion, the collaboration to create a finalized ARPA budget was not without its challenges; however, in the end we were able to put forward a plan to residents that represented a balanced funding proposal. Many Towns and Cities are still working their way through their own process for allocating the federal grants and I am very proud of how effectively our Stonington team came together to ensure the funds would go to where they were needed as efficiently as possible. Thanks to residents passing this proposal last week, a number of nonprofits will be receiving funding in the coming weeks and longstanding infrastructure projects will be able to begin. Stay tuned for more updates on these various projects!
Climate Change
The Board of Selectman and the Climate Change Task Force held our first joint meeting in October. At this meeting, we discussed how to move various ideas into action in the coming year. Conversations touched on new grant funding opportunities for various climate-related projects, the importance of investing in Town personnel to access funding and move projects along, as well as the various impacts the Town should be preparing for ranging from increased heat, rising sea-levels, and increased storm intensity. At the meeting, we also discussed populating the 'Stormwater Taskforce' and new 'Flood Prevention, Climate Resilience, and Erosion Control Board' in the coming months. Please reach out to get involved or share ideas.
Brownfield Projects
There has been a great deal of work from many individuals, which enabled us to get a remediation grant for the Mystic River Boathouse Park and an assessment grant for the former Stillmanville Mill site. The remediation grant will enable the Town to create a public park, along the Mystic River, and provide a home to the future Stonington Community Rowing Center (SCRC). The assessment grant of the former Stillmanville Mill site along the Pawcatuck River, will enable the Town to have the information required to determine what are the best next steps for rehabilitation of that site. Over the course of the past month, the Board of Selectman have taken all the steps needed to move this grant forward. Thanks to the work from various officials, volunteers and staff we are very close being able to put out a 'Request for Proposals' for both projects, with a goal of having firms in place to take this work forward in early 2022. You can read more about the work of the SCRC, as well as videos on various related topics, and their fundraising efforts here: https://www.stoningtoncrc.org/
Veterans Monument
We are so grateful for all the community support for this project. This month we were able to surpass $50,000 in donations, towards our $180,000 goal. We have also been able to connect with so many different veterans and their families, which has been such a bright spot of this project. We will continue to work towards meeting the fundraising goal so we can have a dedicated monument to honor all those who have served our country and have called Stonington home. We are very thankful for all the volunteers who have been helping us with this project. If you wish to get involved or learn more, please visit: https://www.stonington-ct.gov/selectmens-office/pages/stonington-veteran...
Homeless Outreach
Thanks to the proactive leadership from our Stonington Police Department and team at Human services, we have been meeting since August to discuss a social service focused approach to help individuals in our community who are homeless or face other significant challenges in their lives. Our meetings have included representatives from the Police in Stonington, including the Chief, Captain and a number of different officers, as well as representatives from the Westerly Police Department, members of our Human Services team, our Department of Public Works the Warm Shelter, New London Homeless Hospitality, local chaplains, several volunteers, and the First Selectman's office. Outcomes from these meetings have included outreach to individuals spending time in Donahue Park, as well as new case management from Human Services to the Elm Tree Inn. If any residents would like to discuss our work in more detail please reach out to the First Selectman or Human Services directly.
Grants
We had been able to identify two potetnial grants for important projects in our community this past month. The first, was a potential grant offered through the State of CT's Long Term Recovery Task Force. For this opportunity, we partnered with members of Stonington's Southern New England Lobster and Fishermen's Association (SNEFLA) to request funding for various issues the fleet is facing. This is not the first grant we have applied for, and if we are not sucessful here, we will keep trying. The second grant was offered by CT DEEP- the Sustainable Materials Management Grant. For this program, our Solid Waste team applied for a pilot program for curbside composting. This is a project we have been working towards for quite some time and feel optomistic about our chances of obtaining the grant! We continue to closely monitor grant opportunities, and have more on our radar for November. Please feel free to share any opportunities you might see with us as well.
Thank you,
Danielle