2/2/2024 A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass
Good Afternoon,
On Monday, we held a press conference at EMS headquarters attended by Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz and State Senator Tony Hwang to mark the grant of $396,000 to Easton from the Governor’s state bond commission. This will pay for site work around the current, soon to be renovated EMS building. It was a nice event, recognizing our dedicated volunteers and highlighting the state’s support of our town. Specifically, I addressed the importance of writing grants and obtaining available funding from the state and other sources which allows us to do important work in town without always having to rely on your local tax dollars to fund projects. We all pay a lot of taxes to Hartford, so it is important that we continue to work with the state administration to get some of those funds back into Easton. They have been extremely responsive and we appreciate that.
We have begun reviewing individual budgets in town hall. This is a month-long process. Our Department heads work hard to present responsible and cost-effective budgets which allow the town to still provide a high level of services to our residents.
As we approach our first year supporting our sister city of Sviatohirsk, Ukraine, I am pleased to announce that we have raised over $55,000. We have been able to provide a dump truck, a machine for turning wood into fuel chips for heating, and a water filtration system. In addition, we have set up programs for our children and seniors to reach out to each other in the spirit of friendship and support. We are extremely grateful for the amazing work done by our local steering committee. Some have had questions about the legitimacy of the aid group that we are engaged with, Ukraine Aid International. Their Form 990 is available through my office, please contact Ginger at gfiore@eastonct.gov.
Last night at the Board of Selectmen meeting, Chief Doyle answered questions about harassment. To avoid any possibility of editorializing, I would ask that when the meeting tape is posted please listen to his comments, questions and answers. After the Chief spoke, we discussed a charge for the task force for the protection of town volunteers and officials. The charge will be attached to the February 1st Board of Selectmen minutes on the town’s website. I am happy to say that despite the ongoing discussions surrounding attacks on volunteers, there is still robust interest in joining boards and commissions.
For many years Dan and Gina Blaze have lived and run the New England Prayer Center at 18-22 South Park Ave. The history of that arrangement is long and complicated, including the fact that for many years there has been no formal lease. With much hard work by our town attorney’s, we have a proposed lease acceptable to all. That lease was approved last night by the Board of Selectmen. Because of the value of the property, our Land Use Ordinance states that the lease must also be approved by a town meeting which should be scheduled by the next Board of Selectmen meeting. I will write a summary of the lease and background in an article in the Courier shortly. The lease can be found at https://www.eastonct.gov/board-of-selectmen/pages/south-park-information.
Also, our Town Clerk, Debbie Szegedi attended a recent Connecticut Town Clerk’s Academy Certification class where she learned that when a person resigns from a board or commission they must submit their resignation letter with an original signature to the Town Clerk office.
Enjoy the sunny weekend ahead!
Dave