Caring Connection Receives Grant

The Town of Windsor's Adult Day Health Center, The Caring Connection, received a grant award in the amount of $26,500 for 2007 from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.  This is a combination of funds from the Brainard and Archer Foundations.  The goal of these funds is to aid private pay clients and caregivers suffering a financial hardship due to a medical condition to help pay for adult day services.  This is an increase in funding of $7,860 over 2006.

MDC Building Inspection Program

Beginning on April 16, the Metropolitan District Commission will conduct a door-to-door building survey in areas where the MDC has seen higher sewer inflows and/or backup problems. This survey will involve MDC and its contractors visually  properties, including basements in some homes.  During the inspections, the MDC will be looking at how these buildings currently connect into the sewer system. Additionally, the MDC will be reviewing its distribution system for infiltration problems, such as aging pipes or unsealed sewer covers. The goal of the inspection program is to evaluate the magnitude of private inflow to the sewer system, eliminate all structural overflows, decrease the burden on treatment facilities during and following rainfall, and reduce the number of private property backups. The MDC has developed a notification procedure to alert property owners of the program, including direct mailings.  In addition, information about the program has been posted on the MDC Clean Water Project’s web site: thecleanwaterproject.com.  The MDC estimates that it will contact 1,400 households in Windsor for inspections.  The majority of these homes are in three primary locations: east of Windsor Avenue and south of Batchelder Road, clustered around Highway 218, or in the area south of Highway 218 and west of Interstate-91.

Intersection Improvements

We have awarded the contract for the intersection work on Day Hill Road to Simscroft-Echo Farms, Inc.  The work to be performed is at the intersections of Northfield Drive and also Marshall Phelps Road, with additional turn lanes and traffic signal modifications at both locations.  While Day Hill Road will be kept open during the work, traffic will be diverted in some cases causing minor delays.  The contractor will began work about this week, starting first at Northfield Drive. 

Work also has started at Route 75 and Marshall Phelps along with Route 75 at Exit 38.  This intersection work is being conducted through a separate contract and is being paid for in full by the private sector.   Work  will be completed later summer or early fall.

Highway work on I-91

The Department of Transportation has announced that beginning this week work will begin on bridge decking and pavement on I-91 between Exist 37 and I-84. This work is part of the resurfacing and safety improvements project that along this stretch of 91. 

Lane closures are required at various locations in both directions during different times of the project. All traffic lanes will remain open during weekday morning (6 to 9) and afternoon (3 to 6) commuter hours.

The project is scheduled to be completed in November 2007.

Childhood Conversations Conference

The Start Smart program in addition to the Windsor Early Childhood Council and Windsor Family Resource Centers are sponsoring a conference entitled “Childhood Conversations – What’s best for our kids?” The conference will be held on Saturday, April 28^th from 8am to 4pm at the Hilton Garden Inn. Registration costs $20.00 and space is limited. Keynote speakers will include: Congressman John Larson. The conference’s workshops will address topics such as how children learn, literacy issues, the importance of active fatherhood and how play promotes children’s development.  To register please contact Deb Sheldon at 683-1068.

Windsor Community Service Council and the Foodbank

The Windsor Community Service Council has been inducted into Foodshare’s 2006 Partner Agency Honor Roll.  This recognizes the “outstanding efforts to make the best possible use of Foodshare resourcces.”  The service council was one of two agencies awarded this honor out of over three hundred agencies and food banks in Connecticut.  In addition to this, the WCSC was awarded a certificate recognizing its long standing partnership with Foodshare.   These awards were presented to the service council last week during Foodshare’s twenty-fifth anniversary celebration.   Special thanks to Joe Cymerys, Edward Michael, Steve Carter for their continued work at the foodbank.

 


New Voting Technology

As of last week the town has received all of the new voting technology and equipment necessary to conduct an election.  This includes:

• 15 Tabulators - 2 per district and 1 for centralized absentee ballot counting
• 77 Privacy booths to be distributed to the districts according to 250 voters per booth
• 7 Handicap privacy booths - 1 per district

The new voting technology will be used for the first time during the May budget referendum.  Training will be conducted for the Referendum poll workers and moderators on April 10th in the Council Chambers.

If the council would like a demonstration the Registrars would be more then happy to accommodate the request.  There are also plans to tape a demonstration for broadcast on WGTV.    

Street Sweeping Program

Street Sweeping has begun.  The sweeping of streets is beginning this year in the Hayden Station neighborhood, and will continue through Rainbow, Poquonock, Matianuck, Wilson, Deerfield, Town Center and finish in the Millbrook neighborhood (Pleasant St. area).  The order of the neighborhoods to be swept changes each year so that one neighborhood is not always swept first or swept last. 

It is estimated that this schedule will be completed by the first week of June, weather permitting.

Sweeping of Town streets will be postponed during school vacation in order to clean the school parking lots before returning to sweeping the streets.  The Day Hill Corporate Corridor will be swept over two Saturdays during this period. 

To see a detailed schedule of the sweeping, please visit the Town's website at http://www.townofwindsorct.com/DPW/sweeping_schedule.htm.

Landfill Announcements

As a reminder to landfill customers, the landfill will be closed Saturday, April 7th due to the Easter holiday. 

Free Dump days will be Saturday May 5th & Saturday May 12th.

Household Hazardous Waste day in Windsor is scheduled for Saturday June 2^nd, from 8:00a.m. until 1:30pm.   This is sponsored by MDC and it held at 1222 Poquonock Ave,  MDC’s wastewater treatment plant.