3/9/2018 First Selectman Weekly Update featuring- storms over past week, thanks to emergency personnel and highway crews, project updates
Good morning-
This week was another eventful week in North Stonington.
This week we had meetings with the center for emergency services on Monday, Historic Village improvement committee met Tuesday, (the joint Board of Finance/Selectmen meeting scheduled Wednesday has been postponed until next Tuesday), Planning and zoning and Economic Development groups met Thursday.
As you know we have been faced with two storms over the last week which affected many parts of the town with trees and wires down. First, I would like to thank the Emergency Services personnel for their continued response to these issues. Their dedication to the community is unparalleled and we are truly blessed to have such a great group serving the town. Second, I am so thankful for the highway departments efforts in getting most roads passable in such a short period of time. Both of these teams have worked incredibly hard over the past couple of storms and we are very fortunate to have them. Finally, I would like to thank Eversource for having crews on site immediately during the storm.
Though most of the town has power restored there are still neighbors without power. It could still be some time before all power is restored. Additionally, there are still wires down on Button Road with that road being closed. It’s important that everyone does realize that our crews cannot remove trees when there are wires down in the road. It is unsafe to go near wires when we are uncertain if they are live or not. This is why sometimes we see trees remain down in the road or roads closed for longer periods of time when wires are involved. Eversource is working hard to get everyone restored and we ask for your continued patience as they finish the process. Please do not go near or underneath downed wires. We do not leave roads in “closed” status unless there is good reason to do so. We hope to have all roads opened very soon. We know it is very difficult to be without power and we truly appreciate your patience as we work as quickly and safely as we can to get everything back to normal.
On a side note, scientists are predicting more and more erratic and unpredictable weather patterns in the future due to climate change. I would urge people to take steps to be prepared for these types of events in our lives and consider taking steps to reduce your carbon footprint such as asking the power company to get your own personal energy from renewable sources like wind and solar. For those interested, here are some tips that may be of interest to you in helping to reduce your own carbon footprint… https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/Cooler-Smarter-Top-Ten-List.pdf
You may have seen sitework beginning at the school. The area has been fenced off where work will commence. We hope to bring you a detailed video update next week regarding the phasing plan for the schools. We want to remind everyone that the construction sites at both the Center for Emergency Services and School are no-trespassing areas. There are many hazards and these areas are fenced off because we do not want anyone getting hurt by inadvertently walking around the grounds. Both projects provide pictures regularly of the progress so feel free to see the websites associated and the notes for the projects to keep up on the progress. I will also look to bring regular updates as I have throughout the projects. It’s very exciting to see things progress with both projects!
This week the highway staff assisted North Stonington school department with moving some equipment in preparation for the new building project. Some brush cutting took place and of course storm plowing and cleanup. Next week we will continue cleanup from the storm.
A town wide party is being planned at Hewitt Farm by both the Republican and Democratic Town Committees together. The date is June 9th and will feature lots of entertainment and fun for all ages. More info will follow in the coming weeks.
The North Stonington Quarterly Spring edition is in the process of editing and will be in mailboxes early next month.
Our meeting schedule next week is a busy one and includes the Center for Emergency, Hewitt Farm, School Modernization meeting Monday, Board of Selectmen/Finance joint meeting Tuesday, Inland Wetlands & Board of Ed on Wednesday, & Economic Development on Thursday.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Mike Urgo
First Selectman