Post by Dr.Ken Sokolowski on Sept 17, 2004 19:20:29 GMT -5
TO: The Honorable Mayor and Town Council Members
FROM: Bonnie L. Therrien, Town Manager
DATE: September 17, 2004
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Manager
*I will be away from Friday aftternoon until Sunday evening. Chief Cetran will be in charge and will be able to reach me if necessary.
Upcoming Events
*There will be a forum on September 22nd at the Community Center at 7 p.m. to discuss the Metropatterns findings done by Myron Oldfield. A flyer on this event is attached. Please make sure you encourage people to attend this important event.
*The annual Health Fair will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Wethersfield Ambulance Facility on Prospect Street. I have attached a flyer on this event.
*A Tri-Town YMCA Motorcycle rally that will pass through Wethersfield is scheduled for Sunday September 26, 2004.
*On September 28, 2004, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Global Companies will be hosting a grand reopening of their business at 80 Burbank Road (the former Cargill, Inc.). You are invited to attend if you wish.
*An Economic Development Summit is planned for September 29, 2004 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Town Manager of South Windsor will be there to discuss their development plans along with two other speakers whose names will be announced next week.
*On October 1, 2004, Central Connecticut State University is sponsoring a conference entitled, "Shaping State and Local Tax Reform in Connecticut." The conference will be held at Central from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
*The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities will host the CCM Convention and Exposition on October 14, 2004 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Cromwell.
*The Silas Deane Middle School PAC is holding a fund-raising art auction on November 5, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pitkin Community Center. Tickets are $15.00. The flyer is attached.
*The tentative date for the annual Chamber/EDIC sponsored Salute to Business is December 8th. More details will be forthcoming.
Council Committee Dates
*Public Works Committee - Monday, September 20, 2004, 5:30 p.m., Town Manager's Office, (Karangekis, Forrest, Montineri and Hemmann).
Department/Division News
*Library - Sunday hours will begin on October 3, 2004. The Library will be open from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays from October through May. Registration for the Library preschool story hours opened on Wednesday. September 15 at 10:00 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., over 90 children were signed up. Library Directpr Laurel Goodgion informs me that the Library Board will be asking the Hartford Foundation for public giving to fund a strategic planning grant for the Library.
*Tax Assessor - The Assessor has determined that the Town is eligible fo a $40,529 Payment in Lieu of Taxes from the Wethersfield Housing Authority for the Highview project.
*Tax Collector - 3,465 delinquent notices were mailed for real estate, personal property and motor vehicle taxes.
*Recreation & Parks - Attached is the monthly report from Director Bagley.
*Physical Services - Director Turner has proposed rescheduling a portion of the road paving, specifically the streets around Nott Street, until Spring as a result of the completion time table of mid-November for the Nott Street work. He plans to continue prep work and the Adams cul de sac removal.
*Fire Department - All firefighters are required to have an annual Pulmonary Function Test and fill out an OSHA respirator questionnaire in order to be cleared to wear a Scott air pack. This testing will cost $60 per person and the Chief estimates that between 40 and 50 people will require this test annually. This was an item not budgeted for in this year's budget.
*Police - For the first two months of the six month Citizen Survey 92% of the respondents rated the overall quality of service to be either Higher Than Expected (46%) or About What Expected (46%). Only 8% rated the quality of service as Lower Than Expected. An overall review of the specific areas of contact showed that approximately 70% of those surveyed rated the overall officer contact as being "excellent." That percentage increases to just under 94% if combined with officer contacts rated as "good." The categories with the highest ratings of "excellent" were in the areas of Professional Conduct (76%), Personal Appearance (75%), and Putting You At Ease (71%). Less than 5% of those surveyed rated their contact with officers as "fair" and only 1.2% rated the contact as "unacceptable." Detectives: During August members of the Detective Division initiated or were assigned forty-seven (47) new cases. Members of the Detective Division investigated six (6) commercial burglaries, three (3) residential burglaries, one (1) strong arm robbery, seven (7) fraud cases, four (4) narcotics investigations, three (3) wanted person cases, six (6) larceny cases, two (2) disorderly conduct cases, five (5) sexual assault cases, one (1) physical child abuse incident and two (2) assist other jurisdiction cases. During the month of August the Detective Division was directly involved in five (5) narcotics cases in Wethersfield, which resulted in five (5) arrests. The Detective Division has eighteen (18) active or pending arrest warrants for narcotics possession and/or trafficking. Total Seizures for the month of August 2004: Crack Cocaine, 3 grams; Cash Seized, $141.00; Marijuana, 13.2 grams; Heroin, 61.7 grams. Lt. Dillon is working with Physical Services personnel in completing the renovations of the town dog pound. The renovations are approximately 50% complete.
*PERFORMANCE MEASURES: The following are the burglary and robbery statistics for the month of August 2004, along with comparative statistics for the same period of last year. The figures in the parenthesis represent the number of cases cleared by arrest, or in which the perpetrators have been identified.
*Criminal Activity August 2003 August 2004
Residential Burglaries: 4 (0) 3 (0)
Commercial Burglaries: 2 (1) 6 (3)
Armed Robberies: 0 (0) 0 (0)
Strong-arm Robberies: 2 (2) 1 (0)
Patrol Bureau Statistics for August 2004:
Board/Commission News
*The Board of Assessment Appeals will be held on September 9, 11, 22 and 24.
*The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, September 21, 2004.
*The Advisory Recreation & Parks Board meets on Thursday, September 23, 2004.
Council Questions/Answers
*The Soccer Jamboree expenses for Physical Services were $1,343.36 and are absorbed into the Physical Services budget.
CRCOG
*Nothing this week.
COST
*Nothing this week.
ICMA
*Nothing this week.
Miscellaneous
*None.
PROJECT UPDATES
*Sidewalk Referendum: Attached is a copy of the letter sent to residents affected by the bond proposal to install new sidewalks at various locations.
Lights for the Football Field: Attached is a letter from the Wethersfield *Taxpayer's Association regarding the Cottone Field Lights that was given to the Board of Education. The date for the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will be October 25, 2004.
*Nott Street Project: I met with about 30 residents in the Nott Street project area to give them an update on the construction. Depending on the weather, General Paving feels they can have the project done by early November. The only thing that might have to be completed in the spring would be sod and tree plantings.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
*None this week.
ATTACHMENTS
*Art Auction flyer
*Recreation & Parks Department Monthly Report
*Mew Sidewalk Installation letter to Resident
FROM: Bonnie L. Therrien, Town Manager
DATE: September 17, 2004
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Manager
*I will be away from Friday aftternoon until Sunday evening. Chief Cetran will be in charge and will be able to reach me if necessary.
Upcoming Events
*There will be a forum on September 22nd at the Community Center at 7 p.m. to discuss the Metropatterns findings done by Myron Oldfield. A flyer on this event is attached. Please make sure you encourage people to attend this important event.
*The annual Health Fair will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Wethersfield Ambulance Facility on Prospect Street. I have attached a flyer on this event.
*A Tri-Town YMCA Motorcycle rally that will pass through Wethersfield is scheduled for Sunday September 26, 2004.
*On September 28, 2004, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Global Companies will be hosting a grand reopening of their business at 80 Burbank Road (the former Cargill, Inc.). You are invited to attend if you wish.
*An Economic Development Summit is planned for September 29, 2004 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Town Manager of South Windsor will be there to discuss their development plans along with two other speakers whose names will be announced next week.
*On October 1, 2004, Central Connecticut State University is sponsoring a conference entitled, "Shaping State and Local Tax Reform in Connecticut." The conference will be held at Central from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
*The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities will host the CCM Convention and Exposition on October 14, 2004 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Cromwell.
*The Silas Deane Middle School PAC is holding a fund-raising art auction on November 5, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pitkin Community Center. Tickets are $15.00. The flyer is attached.
*The tentative date for the annual Chamber/EDIC sponsored Salute to Business is December 8th. More details will be forthcoming.
Council Committee Dates
*Public Works Committee - Monday, September 20, 2004, 5:30 p.m., Town Manager's Office, (Karangekis, Forrest, Montineri and Hemmann).
Department/Division News
*Library - Sunday hours will begin on October 3, 2004. The Library will be open from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays from October through May. Registration for the Library preschool story hours opened on Wednesday. September 15 at 10:00 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., over 90 children were signed up. Library Directpr Laurel Goodgion informs me that the Library Board will be asking the Hartford Foundation for public giving to fund a strategic planning grant for the Library.
*Tax Assessor - The Assessor has determined that the Town is eligible fo a $40,529 Payment in Lieu of Taxes from the Wethersfield Housing Authority for the Highview project.
*Tax Collector - 3,465 delinquent notices were mailed for real estate, personal property and motor vehicle taxes.
*Recreation & Parks - Attached is the monthly report from Director Bagley.
*Physical Services - Director Turner has proposed rescheduling a portion of the road paving, specifically the streets around Nott Street, until Spring as a result of the completion time table of mid-November for the Nott Street work. He plans to continue prep work and the Adams cul de sac removal.
*Fire Department - All firefighters are required to have an annual Pulmonary Function Test and fill out an OSHA respirator questionnaire in order to be cleared to wear a Scott air pack. This testing will cost $60 per person and the Chief estimates that between 40 and 50 people will require this test annually. This was an item not budgeted for in this year's budget.
*Police - For the first two months of the six month Citizen Survey 92% of the respondents rated the overall quality of service to be either Higher Than Expected (46%) or About What Expected (46%). Only 8% rated the quality of service as Lower Than Expected. An overall review of the specific areas of contact showed that approximately 70% of those surveyed rated the overall officer contact as being "excellent." That percentage increases to just under 94% if combined with officer contacts rated as "good." The categories with the highest ratings of "excellent" were in the areas of Professional Conduct (76%), Personal Appearance (75%), and Putting You At Ease (71%). Less than 5% of those surveyed rated their contact with officers as "fair" and only 1.2% rated the contact as "unacceptable." Detectives: During August members of the Detective Division initiated or were assigned forty-seven (47) new cases. Members of the Detective Division investigated six (6) commercial burglaries, three (3) residential burglaries, one (1) strong arm robbery, seven (7) fraud cases, four (4) narcotics investigations, three (3) wanted person cases, six (6) larceny cases, two (2) disorderly conduct cases, five (5) sexual assault cases, one (1) physical child abuse incident and two (2) assist other jurisdiction cases. During the month of August the Detective Division was directly involved in five (5) narcotics cases in Wethersfield, which resulted in five (5) arrests. The Detective Division has eighteen (18) active or pending arrest warrants for narcotics possession and/or trafficking. Total Seizures for the month of August 2004: Crack Cocaine, 3 grams; Cash Seized, $141.00; Marijuana, 13.2 grams; Heroin, 61.7 grams. Lt. Dillon is working with Physical Services personnel in completing the renovations of the town dog pound. The renovations are approximately 50% complete.
*PERFORMANCE MEASURES: The following are the burglary and robbery statistics for the month of August 2004, along with comparative statistics for the same period of last year. The figures in the parenthesis represent the number of cases cleared by arrest, or in which the perpetrators have been identified.
*Criminal Activity August 2003 August 2004
Residential Burglaries: 4 (0) 3 (0)
Commercial Burglaries: 2 (1) 6 (3)
Armed Robberies: 0 (0) 0 (0)
Strong-arm Robberies: 2 (2) 1 (0)
Patrol Bureau Statistics for August 2004:
Board/Commission News
*The Board of Assessment Appeals will be held on September 9, 11, 22 and 24.
*The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, September 21, 2004.
*The Advisory Recreation & Parks Board meets on Thursday, September 23, 2004.
Council Questions/Answers
*The Soccer Jamboree expenses for Physical Services were $1,343.36 and are absorbed into the Physical Services budget.
CRCOG
*Nothing this week.
COST
*Nothing this week.
ICMA
*Nothing this week.
Miscellaneous
*None.
PROJECT UPDATES
*Sidewalk Referendum: Attached is a copy of the letter sent to residents affected by the bond proposal to install new sidewalks at various locations.
Lights for the Football Field: Attached is a letter from the Wethersfield *Taxpayer's Association regarding the Cottone Field Lights that was given to the Board of Education. The date for the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will be October 25, 2004.
*Nott Street Project: I met with about 30 residents in the Nott Street project area to give them an update on the construction. Depending on the weather, General Paving feels they can have the project done by early November. The only thing that might have to be completed in the spring would be sod and tree plantings.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
*None this week.
ATTACHMENTS
*Art Auction flyer
*Recreation & Parks Department Monthly Report
*Mew Sidewalk Installation letter to Resident