A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass

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Good afternoon,

It is time to put Covid 19 at the top of the post. There is definitely a resurgence in the state and a small rise in Easton. Our schools remain open, although I personally think about that on a day to day or week to week basis and am thankful for every day of relative normalcy that occurs. This could not have happened without the tremendous efforts of our staff at Central Office, administrators, teachers and all those responsible for our children’s education, including and especially the families of this town who continue to cooperate to make it all work. We have settled into this new reality and we need to continue to keep our collective guard up for our own sake and for our neighbors. Our Senior Center has reduced its programs, but is serving our seniors, recently with a very successful flu shot clinic.  Athletics on our fields continue, apparently with no significant spreading of disease. There is room for hope still but need for caution.

We are in the process of recruiting a consultant to look at our emergency services, and how they might be  reorganized for greater service and efficiency. This is a good time to consider that a significant part of our Fire and EMS Departments are volunteers. These are huge time commitments by these individuals, not to mention that they put their lives on the line to support us. Without volunteers these services would cease to function. We thank everyone who gives so freely of their time, but more volunteers are always needed. Contact the Office of the First Selectman.

Last night there was a spirited discussion about an application for a grant to get state funds to improve the intersection of Route 136 and Center Road. We are a town with limited revenue and need to look for every source of funding that we can find to help improve our town. In every project there will be some who say it is not needed, or could be done better. Inevitably the town will need to spend some funds to get larger grants. Our priorities are safety and quality of life and the town will continue to look for ways that we can propose to our citizens to improve on those with the  greatest value for all of us.

There were also discussions this week about the maintenance of our fields by the Park and Rec Department. There are some in town who believe there are greater efficiencies to be had by putting field maintenance  under the Department of Public Works because of the broader range of services DPW can provide i.e. equipment repair, construction, and because the need for field maintenance varies by season and are far less in the winter. This would require a change in the Park and Recreation Ordinance, which would require a Town Meeting.

It is our hope that we could have a Town Meeting before the end of the year. It is frustrating as a First Selectman to have everything on hold indefinitely when the town has business to conduct. That will require some creativity, but I am hopeful. The Town of Easton staff, in all departments, has done a great job in continuing to provide services and assistance to the residents of our town, although in a much different pre-COVID way. I couldn’t be prouder of how we have all worked together to not only keep ourselves, but our residents safe.  We continue to look at ways we can streamline processes to make this a helpful and becoming place to build, renovate or just raise a family.

Be well and be safe. Have a great weekend.

Dave Bindelglass