2/11/2022 A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass

Good afternoon,

The Covid numbers continue to improve.  As you are all aware, there is more discussion about moving away from mask mandates. We will watch closely and are probably getting close to the point where we would consider dropping the mask mandate for public buildings.  I hope to be able to have in person/ hybrid meetings for the board of finance budget meetings.

Reliable internet service continues to be a priority for me. We are working on two levels. First, I hope to be able to provide public WIFI around town buildings and we are working toward that. Second, I hope to have competition for home internet services available. We have held discussions with Frontier who hopes to be able to connect most homes in Easton by fiber optic cable. They have already begun to do some laying of cable and will work with the town and public works to do more. I realize Frontier has not been the most reliable service either. They have stated that since coming out of bankruptcy they are much better, but that remains to be proven. They will nonetheless provide competition for Optimum. The competition that we have helped to create is also driving Optimum to “up their game and make improvements in town as well”.  We are keeping Gonetspeed in the mix as well. All of these steps should bring us better internet service.

Last night people were able to give their input to the consultant and the committee assisting him in developing our town plan for affordable housing.  With your input, they will continue to work on constructing the plan which must be submitted to the state. I know that everyone working on this report is mindful of the need to preserve the character of our town and of the watershed.

We continue to work on finalizing the grand list and should have more to share by the end of the month.

Some of you may recall that the town submitted a proposal to make safety improvement at the intersection of Westport and Center roads in front of Grieser’s. A proposal was submitted but we did not get that grant. Now the state has found extra money for the program and has offered to fund our proposal.  The need for safety improvements at that intersection was noticed in the road safety audit that was done. Since we were told we would not be getting the grant, no work was done to further any plan. We are now evaluating possible plans given that we have funding. We will keep you posted about the next steps.

Please remember that we are not out of winter yet and more snowy weather is possible this weekend. Please be safe and be careful and enjoy the Superbowl. 

Dave