Mayor's Community Update Week of August 17, 2015
Volunteers Needed for Mayor’s Cleanup Day:
As part of our initiative to beautify Main Street, I am urging all local youth groups, churches, organizations, civic clubs, businesses, and individuals today to register to volunteer and join me in an for my Annual Mayor’s Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 12, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Mayor’s Cleanup Day, an annual tradition, consists of community volunteers completing a “bridge-to-bridge” clean-up of Main Street and the “gateways” of East Hartford, tidying up, sweeping sidewalks, spreading mulch, cleaning, as well as planting flowers along Main Street from Main and Pitkin up through Main and Burnside.
On the morning of Mayor’s Cleanup Day, volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. on the Town Green, where they will sign in, as well as choose their task for the day. The town will provide all supplies for the day, but volunteers are permitted to bring their own work gloves, brooms or rakes, if they so choose. At the end of the work day, a celebratory lunch will be provided for all registered volunteers, to thank them for their service, a group photo will be taken and a community service participation certificate will be provided upon request.
Businesses interested in participating in Mayor’s Cleanup Day, but unable to make it from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., are still encouraged to help with the beautification efforts that day by working towards cleaning up their properties, street and storefront on September 12.
Local organizations, businesses, youth groups, individuals and civic clubs interested in volunteering are asked to contact my office at 860-291-7200, or email jcarrero@easthartfordct.gov, to pre-register for the event.
First Choice Health Centers Ribbon Cutting:
At an event on Thursday, August 20, I had the pleasure of presenting a proclamation to First Choice Health Centers, on a day in which they were celebrating many accomplishments. On August 20, CEO Eugene Market opened a beautiful new fitness center, which I had the pleasure of cutting the ribbon on. In addition, First Choice also received a $50,000 check from CVS Health towards their Diabetes Initiative and also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the National Association of Health Centers.
I just wanted to thank First Choice Health Centers and Eugene Market for inviting me to join them in their celebration and take a chance to recognize an institution that has been a pillar in healthcare for this community since 1996. With this new fitness center, patients will have access to a facility that contains a fitness trainer and nutritionist and will be available to patients at a lower cost than a health club. With these improvements, First Choice can better serve the nearly 18,000 patients that enter their doors over the course of a year.
East Hartford Alert Network:
EH Alert, our newly engineered alert messaging system is now up and running, but we are still trying to get the word out, in order to gain as many subscribers as possible.
By visiting our website at www.EHalertCT.gov, users are brought to a page where they can sign up, enter in their best contact method, their location, their preferred types of alerts, as well as any special needs the individual may have. Using this system, residents can now receive notifications not only pertaining to emergency situations in town and their individual neighborhood, but also receive notifications on any interruptions in town services, notices on upcoming special events, as well as traffic alerts and road closures. When we issue a message about a potential safety hazard or concern, messages are sent to all standard voice and text communication devices that you have registered, including landline phones, cell phones, e-mail, and more. If you do not confirm receipt of the message, the system will then reach out to your next method of contact.
So help us help you. While grassroots advertising efforts are effective in growing subscription rates, word of mouth has always been the best avenue to adding as many citizens as possible for our alert system. Tell a friend, speak to a neighbor or post our URL to social media. With every subscriber we add, we gain a better informed citizen. With advances in technology, I have made it my mission to bring East Hartford into the future and EH Alert will disseminate information through a more effective means, as well as keep each individual member of this community safe and secure.
Textile Recycling:
Starting this week, we are now offering textile recycling in our transfer station at 61 Ecology Drive, courtesy of our agreement with Bay State Textiles, Inc. According to the company, 95 percent of textiles can be reused or recycled, but Connecticut residents are only reclaiming 15 percent of all unwanted textiles. Every year in Connecticut, over 200 million pounds of textiles are disposed of at incinerators or landfills. As an added bonus, the Town will also be receiving a $100 rebate from Bay State Textiles for each ton of textiles recycled.
Items that can be recycled include: bed sheets, pillow cases, blankets, comforters, belts, boots, coats, curtains, draperies, dresses, flip-flops, hats, jackets, jeans, jerseys, pajamas, pants, purses, shirts, shoes, shorts, skirts, slippers, socks, stuffed animals, suits, sweaters, sweatpants, sweatshirts, table linens, ties, t-shirts and undergarments. Worn, torn, ripped and stained items are also acceptable.
A bulky waste permit is not required to recycle textiles. Place all clean and dry items in a plastic bag and show your ID or driver’s license at the Transfer Station to confirm that you are a Town of East Hartford resident.
Questions about the Town’s solid waste program may be answered by calling (860) 291-7363. Information is also available on our website.
This is a wonderful option for our residents that will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint and take waste out of our trash operation and allow us to improve our recycling productivity. Whether it be mattresses, textiles, waste oil or electronics, my mission has constantly been to increase revenues in town, as well as allow for a greater and varied level of services for our residents.
Revaluation in Beginning Stages:
For the next year, we will be doing our initial revaluation work, which is the home inspection part of the process. For this part, there will be employees from a company we contract with, going around and assessing the value of property in town, which is completely voluntary for any homeowner in this town. If you chose to let these employees in, they will be able to get a more accurate representation of the assessed value of your home.
While the Assessor uses a variety of sources to estimate the condition and amenities in the home (including permits taken out, a site visit from the street, original plans, an appeal to the BAA, or even the MLS when a person sells the home), there is no more of an accurate way to collect information on a home than to visit it and view the amenities and condition.
Currently, there are currently a couple of these assessors going around town. Each of these individuals has town ID’s on them, so be wary of any person trying to inspect your home, unless they specifically have a town ID.
For more information, please call our Assessor’s department at 860-291-7260.
Pools Officially Closed for the Season:
With the summer winding down, we have officially closed our town pools for the summer. Even though these pools are now closed, the East Hartford High School pool is still open for lap swim.
The High School Pool opens for public swim on Wednesday, August 26 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM, Lap Swim 8:30-9:15 PM.
Early Morning Lap Swim is held at the High School Pool from 6:30-7:30 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesday, August 26, Early Morning Lap Swim will begin at 6:15 and run till 7:15 AM.
For more information, please contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 860-291-7160.