North Stonington Weekly Update 2-5-2021- Vaccination Clinic in North Stonington Next Friday, Elderly Tax Exemption, Thanks to our Emergency Responders and Highway Crew and More!

Happy Friday North Stonington,

Next Friday there will be a vaccination clinic in North Stonington for those 75+ at the North Stonington Education Center (former middle/high school) 298 Norwich Westerly Road. It will take place in the cafeteria which is most easily accessible by Main Street. People can sign up by clicking this link https://hipaa.jotform.com/Neil_nhoward/021220NS. Any senior who would prefer to call to make an appointment may call the Selectmen’s office 860.535.2877 ext 1 between 11-2pm tomorrow (Saturday 2/6/2021). Or they may also call Ledge Light Health Monday-Friday including today. Please be advised this clinic will be more heavily advertised to the general public as of Monday so we encourage any seniors to register sooner than later as it will fill quickly. We are also hearing that people are having luck getting their vaccines from their primary care physicians so you may also check there if you are eligible to receive yours.

The State of Connecticut has a program to help elderly (over 65 on January 1, 2021) and disabled homeowners with their real estate taxes. The program is income dependent. The income changes yearly, with income for the tax year that ended on December 31, 2020 being no more than $37,600 for a single person or $45,800 for a married couple. All taxpayers who qualified for the Connecticut Elderly Homeowners Program and the additional veteran’s program in past years will automatically be eligible this year per Governors executive orders. Anyone not on the homeowner or veteran program who has attained the age of 65 years old before January 1, 2021 and who may qualify for the programs should contact the assessor’s office before May 1, 2021.

We have a few vacancies on Boards and Commissions and town and could use your help! Here is a list of them. Should you have interest, please consider attending one of their meetings and seeing what they do. If you like what you read and see, please fill out the application here https://www.northstoningtonct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4806/f/uploads/application_for_boards_and_commission_writeable.pdf to join the team! Applications can be emailed to townclerk@northstoningtonct.gov or dropped in the drop box at Town Hall.

Vacancies

Planning and Zoning Commission Alternate (must be Republican due to minority representation and board balancing requirements)
Affordable Housing Committee – several openings
Hewitt Farm Committee Alternate - 1 opening
Inland Wetlands Commission - 1 opening
Recreation commission – 1 opening

This past week we began the budgeting process. The Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen met jointly to hear from a few departments on their budget requests. Next Wednesday that work will continue. We welcome public to come and listen to the process and to share feedback at the meetings. Within a month or so we hope to have a budget completed to go through the steps for approval. As mentioned previously, we have asked on the Governors bi-weekly call to be sure the public will be able to vote on the budget this year rather than the Board of Finance having to approve it like last year and there seemed to be assurance that would be able to happen this year.

The North Stonington Board of Education will be sponsoring a Vaccine forum for parents and staff to discuss and answer vaccination questions on Feb 8 at 7:00 PM. The panelists are…

Dr. Jody Terranova - Scientific Review Sub-committee Member Governor's COVID vaccine advisory committee -
Dr. David Boisoneau - MD - Has had COVID and both shots
Heather Somers - Communications Chair -Governor's COVID vaccine advisory committee

The purpose of the discussion is to focus on questions about the vaccine itself and not about when the vaccine will be distributed. Questions can be sent ahead of time to erika.pocock@cga.ct.gov.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87412555599

Meeting ID: 874 1255 5599

Join by phone-13017158592 meeting id 87412555599

We are incredibly thankful to our highway crew and our emergency responders for their continued coverage and work during the recent storms. This last storm required some long hours and we are so grateful to everyone putting the time in to keep us safe and our roads clear and clean. In addition to the storm work, the highway crew also continued with tree work and keeping waterways clear. We had a lot of truck repair happening due to wear and tear during the storms and thankfully were able to keep things moving during this long lasting storm event.