First Selectman Weekly Update 10-18-2019

nosto update

Hello North Stonington!

We hope everyone has recovered from the storm which really took a toll on our town. We are being told that nearly all power restorations in town will be complete by approximately 3:00pm today. I would like to thank our emergency responders, our emergency management director, our State Troopers, the highway crew, and state and local officials for working diligently to get the roads cleared and power restored as quickly as they could.

This week I took part in a meeting with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, State Representative Kate Rotella and State Senator Heather Sommers along with law enforcement to discuss safety on the exit ramps to Route 95. Ideas were discussed and will now be weighed and investigated by our DOT. Thank you to our State leaders for setting this meeting up.

Things are continuing to progress on the storage building at the Center for Emergency Services. We anticipate the shell of the building to soon be complete with the entire building completed within a couple of weeks.

The school modernization efforts are continuing to take shape. At the Elementary school nearly all PCB and hazardous material remediation is complete, and we are starting to see framing in the school take place. Mechanical installations have begun with units being installed on the roof. The roof is now watertight though additional detail work is to be completed on the roof. You will soon see the large openings in the school rebricked to begin to close the building up before winter. The punch list on the middle high school is nearly done at this time and landscaping is nearly done as for what can be done this year. The landscaping that is not finished and the grass that has not come in properly will be rectified next spring. Thanks to the committee for continuing to keep things on task.

This week I attended the monthly Council of Governments meeting with leaders in our area to discuss regional issues affecting us. Discussion included a regional biking plan among other things. We appreciate the work the COGG does on behalf of our region.

The Southeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce held a networking session at Chelsea Groton Bank on Thursday morning. It was great to have some local networking taking place in our community and hope to have more of these events in the near future.

The highway crew remains very busy getting ready for winter hauling sand and continuing mowing throughout town and tree trimming. You may have seen the state repair of the lower portion of Cossaduck Hill Road which is now complete.

For those who had not heard, we are happy to report Boom Bridge Road bridge is now “out to bid” and is slated for the work to begin spring 2020. We are very excited to finally have this project underway and I know residents who live in the area are anxious to use the bridge again after it being out for so long.

We remain under advisement to avoid outdoor activities 1 hour prior to and following dawn and dusk as we have yet to see a hard frost. We continue to have weekly discussions with Ledge Light Health District, the Department of Health and the Mosquito Authority. Though activity has slowed there is still a serious risk and recommended precautions should be observed. Please visit Ledge Light Health District’s website at www.llhd.org for further information.

A debate will take place this Monday evening at the Wheeler Library from 7-8pm for the candidates seeking the position of 1st Selectman and Selectman. It is free and open for the public to attend.

That’s it for today, we hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mike Urgo
First Selectman