Opening Note:

Happy Pride! Pride Month, which honors the Stonewall Riots of 1969, celebrates LGBTQ progress and tells us to push back on hate, misinformation, and discrimination and embrace love. Pride reminds us that we are equal regardless of sexuality or gender. I want to recognize the people in the LGBTQ community who remind and inspire us to continue to strive for more equality and freedoms.

Road repaving:

Paving work on Farrell Road and Tannery Road South is done. The Town plans to mill and pave the following roads over the next few months:

-Davis Hill Road from the intersection of Steep Hill Road to the intersection of Valley Forge Road. Driveway aprons to be repaired are associated with house numbers 66, 89, 95 and 111. This Road also includes the entrance apron to Martin Road

-Merry Lane from the intersection of Georgetown Road to the complete circle of Merry Lane back to Georgetown Road. Driveway aprons to be repaired are at house numbers 12, 45, 42, and 30

-Trails End Road from the intersection of Georgetown Road to the intersection of Langer Lane. Driveway aprons to be repaired are at house numbers 81, 71, 37, 22, 29, and 17

-Lords Highway from the intersection of Newtown Turnpike to the intersection of Birch Hill Road.  Driveway aprons to be repaired area at house numbers 42 and 58

Crosswalk News!

The State of Connecticut has begun an exciting pedestrian safety project on Weston Road.  The State hired the NyConn Corporation to install two Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons - one near the Weston Shopping Center signage and the other directly across the road from that signage.  The underground construction portion of the work was completed last week. The installation of the beacons themselves should be completed by NyConn in July.

Update on the Spending Plan for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds
On June 1^st, the Board of Selectmen met and did the following via unanimous votes:

-Approved a revised ARPA Spending Plan.  The attached document shows the original proposed funding plan and the BOS approved funding plan:  https://www.westonct.gov/government/municipal-departments/finance

-Established a Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, June 7th at 7 pm at the Weston High School Cafeteria for the purpose of discussing the following question:  “Shall the American Rescue Plan Act spending plan, as determined by both the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance, be approved?"

-Established a machine ballot vote to take place on Saturday, June 18, 2022 from Noon to 8 pm in the Weston Town Hall Meeting Room for purposes of voting yes or no to the following question:  “Shall the  American Rescue Plan Act spending plan, as determined by both the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance, be approved?”  Tabulators will be used.  Absentee Ballots will not be accepted.

On June 2^nd, the Board of Finance met and approved the ARPA Spending Plan that was approved on June 1^st by the Board of Selectmen. The website https://www.westonct.gov/our-community/meeting-calendar contains info about how you can attend the Special Town Meeting and the Machine Ballot Vote.  To see the ARPA spending Plan that people will vote on, visit the Town Clerk’s office or https://www.westonct.gov/government/municipal-departments/finance 

Assessors Office Hours June 6-10

The Assessors Office will close at 2:15 pm from June 6^th through June 10^th due to training.

BOS Meetings Access

Please feel free to Zoom into the virtual BOS meetings, which are always posted on the Town website. Documents, recordings, and minutes are available at: https://www.westonct.gov/government/boards-commissions/elected/board-of-selectmen

Questions for Constituent Corner may be emailed to sne[email protected] and I will either answer you myself or forward you on to the right people! 

Covid-19 updates and information are posted regularly on the town website. Please see here https://www.westonct.gov/government/municipal-departments/emergency-management/covid-19 for more information.

Support for Ukraine

Big Dreams Children Foundation Inc. is raising funds to support Ukrainian civilians during the war. Consider supporting its mission to address specific needs of Ukrainian people at the right time during this humanitarian catastrophe. Email Weston resident Iryna Akolzina for more information: [email protected]
Big Dreams website: http://www.bigdreamscf.org/ukraine-humanitarian-aid  Link to donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=82BBTYF39YEK4

Please visit the Town of Weston Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/westonct.gov) to see the results of our efforts to date.

Get Rid of Your Hazardous Waste

Weston residents have multiple opportunities in 2022 to get rid of household hazardous waste: Below is a schedule of regional collection events that Westonites can participate in:
- June 4th from 9 am to 1 pm in Bethel at Bethel High School
- September 10th from 9 am to 1 pm in Weston at Hurlbutt Elementary School
- October 8th from 9 am to 3 pm in New Milford at John Pettibone School
- November 12th from 9 am to 2 pm in Brookfield at Brookfield High School
- April (exact date to be determined) from 9 am to 2 pm in Danbury at the Public Works Facility
- May (exact date to be determined) from 9 am to 2 pm in Newtown at a Public Works Facility

No need to bring money. Each town gets billed for the waste that their own residents drop off.  For details about what to bring and location addresses, please visit the website of the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority here: https://hrra.org/household-hazardous-waste/

Volunteers Needed!

The following appointed boards have positions available: Commission for the Arts, Assessment Appeals, Beautification, Conservation Commission, DEI Advisory Committee, Historic District Commission, Insurance Advisory Committee, Marketing & Communications Advisory Committee, Parks and Recreation, Sustainable Weston and the Veterans Affairs Committee.

Social Services

Governor Ned Lamont announced the launch of MyHomeCT – a new State of Connecticut program that is providing mortgage relief to homeowners who have experienced financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CT homeowners who have experienced a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for assistance with both mortgage and non-mortgage expenses. For more information about eligibility and to apply, please visit: http://www.chfa.org/MyHomeCT or call 877-894-4111

Cavalry Road Bridge Project Update

The project appears to be very close to completion. We are hoping that the bridge will be open up to traffic next week.

Bayberry Lane Bridge Replacement Project

The Town of Westport has begun replacing the Bayberry Lane Bridge over the Aspetuck River. The roadway will remain closed through November 30^th 2022.  Local traffic has been directed through the designated detour route - Easton Road to Coleytown Road to North Avenue to Lyons Plain Road to White Birch Road, or the reverse, as necessary. Residents adjacent to the bridge have been notified of the road closure and detour. Motorists are advised to drive with additional caution, allow extra travel time, and obey all detour and safety signals.  Please direct questions about the project to Westport Town Engineer Keith Wilberg at 203-341-1128.

Newtown Turnpike Road Work

The Newtown Turnpike Roadside Erosion Remediation Project is still ongoing.  Depending on the weather, it should be finished in 1-2 weeks.

Weston Public Library

Virtual Art and Gallery Tour with Riva Blumenfeld
June 9, 7PM Via Zoom 

Please join Riva this month as she explores artists such as artists like Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler and others. New York usurped Paris as the center of contemporary art with the rise of Abstract Expressionism, a distinctly American painting style defined by spontaneous marks and obsessive explorations of color, which by the beginning of the ’50s had become a world-famous aesthetic movement.

Please register at www.westonpubliclibrary.org and a Zoom link will be sent to you the day before the program.

Coworking Wednesdays

Work From the Library and Enjoy a Free Cup of Starbucks Coffee from 9am-12pm on Wednesdays in June!

Have you been working from home or do you have a home-based business? Do you need a place to work outside of your home or conduct a conference call? The Weston Public Library has spaces available for you!

Come take advantage of our free WiFi and ample seating. Small conference rooms are also available to Weston residents on a first come, first served basis, or may be reserved at   www.westonpubliclibrary.org. 

In recognition of Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Day in June, the Library will also provide free coffee from its Starbucks Grind and Brew station on Wednesday mornings for the entire month from 9am-12pm (regular price: $2)! 

Children's and Teen Summer Library Adventures starts June 15th! 

What is Summer Library Adventures?

It's what we here at the library call our reading challenge and programming that takes place throughout the summer. This year, our program is Summer Library Adventures: Read, Do, Go! And our theme is "Read Beyond the Beaten Path." The program runs from June 15th through August 11th, but pre-registration for our summer reading challenge and all of our special performer events and weekly in-house events starts June 1. Visit www.westonpubliclibrary.org for details and to pre-register!

Melty Mondays

Mondays, June 6 & 13 @ 3:30-4:45 PM in Community Room. Ages 5+. Registration required.

Melty Mondays is back! Come in and create a wonderfully unique Perler Bead creation. Projects must be completed by 4:45 in order to be ironed and taken home the same day. Register at www.westonpubliclibrary.org.

With gratitude,
Sam

PS: Check out my previous THH by visiting the following link!  

https://www.westonct.gov/Home/Components/News/News/506/1