From the First Selectman's Desk

*For details of all of these events, or to register, please check out the appropriate websites. Due 
to space constraints, only a few are detailed here

Last Saturday, I enjoyed a very informative walk through of the Winthrop and Union Street Firehouses. The Boards of Selectman and Boards of Finance were welcomed by several members of the Fire Department who gave a history of the department and its buildings and also spoke about the current space and equipment needs. They shared with us that there are some major issues at the Union Street firehouse, such as a failing roof section, old oil burner and generator that need replacing and lack of storage areas to house all of their personnel safety equipment and supplies 
to name just a few. The idea of this walk through was so that we all could get a firsthand account of the needs of the fire department so that we can support them when drawing up the budget.  The Union Street fire house, built in 1961, needs to be replaced.

After the tour, I stopped at the Town Hall to watch the making of a media ad for a local college using our beautiful auditorium. The cast and crew filled the room and stage as they enacted a graduation ceremony which was photographed and filmed for their college brochure. It was very cool 
to see such a production taking place here. It was also wonderful to chat with so many of the actors and crew who told me how much they loved the space and the history and thought our town so cute.  As I stated last week, we do rent the space out for small gatherings and small theater 
productions. However, we do not have paid staff but instead rely on volunteers. If you have any interest on serving on the auditorium management committee, give me or Tina a call.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Ryan DeMik, the town’s Assistant Emergency Management Director (Assistant EMD) to continue the planning of our Emergency Operations Center (EOC). We will be applying for the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) which would give us $5000.00 to spend on equipment if we are awarded the grant. Ryan and our EMD, Barry Luft are both eager to get 
our center up and running.

I met with Joann Hourigan from Kirtland Commons. We had a conversation about grants and other items regarding the Housing Authority. She and her staff do such an amazing job always looking for new ways to help their residents and the town.

I attended the Region 4 public informational meeting regarding the 5.8-million-dollar project to address the mold at John Winthrop Middle School. It was so great to see so many new faces in the audience that were able to gather information and to ask questions. Remember, the goal of the 
project is to get the students back into the school. The proposed project consists of just what is necessary to achieve this goal and does not address every issue discovered at the school. Please plan to come out and vote on Tuesday, March 26th. You may also vote early for this referendum and 
if you will be out of town on the date of the referendum, then please apply for an absentee ballot. Make your voice heard. If you couldn’t make this meeting, go to the Region 4 web site and read all about it. I do want to express my appreciation for our volunteer Board of Education members who 
have put in countless hours trying to find a reasonable solution to this terrible problem.https://www.reg4.k12.ct.us/

I had a meeting with the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) as well as our town engineers to continue our discussion about Deep River’s former bulky waste site that needs to be properly closed and capped. The town will apply for a grant from the state to help offset costs to the town. Estimates for this work are close to 1-million dollars. The capping of the former bulky waste site will not affect the normal operations of the transfer station. A previously capped dump site is located to the left of the road leading in to the town garage. It is 
in this area, where the solar array farm is planned. Estimated time to begin that work is late April or May.

Because of this meeting, I was unable to be present when the Deep River Police Department received their accreditation certificate at the Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) headquarters in Meriden. Congratulations; your hard work to achieve this Tier I accreditation is 
applauded.

There was a Board of Finance budget workshop this week as well as a Board of Selectman meeting. I attended a DRES facilities meeting and an online CTDOT Municipalities ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) audit workshop; this was a RiverCOG sponsored program. I tried to make two other meetings, but I was double booked! I spent time this week communicating with both, the Sustainable Deep River Committee as well as the Conservation and Inlands Wetlands Commission, so it would have been great to get to their meetings. I support the work that you are doing, even if I can’t be there.

The Sustainable Deep River committee is planning a ‘Community Resilience Building’ workshop sometime in April. The Workshop is part of the Sustainable CT program. The goal of the workshop will be to foster collaboration with and among community stakeholders that will advance the 
education, planning and ultimately implementation of the town’s priority actions. The participants in this unique community-driven process, will identify top hazards, current challenges, and strengths and then will develop and prioritize actions to improve our community’s resilience to all 
natural and climate related hazards today, and in the future. These Community Resilience Building Workshops provide a friendly “anywhere at any scale” process for developing resilience action plans for communities. Look for more information from the Sustainable Deep River Committee. If you’d like to get involved with this workshop, please call Tina @ the town hall and leave your name and contact info. The workshop will 
be held in the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium.

 A few things to note:
Update from the Animal Control Officer:
If you are interested in adopting a dog, please fill out an adoption form on the town of Essex web page. We have approximately 8 dogs left and some puppies coming shortly. Photos of some of the dogs have been published. ACO Fountain, will reach out to each qualified applicant to schedule a time to talk and make an appointment to meet the dogs. Everyone interested in adoption, must fill out the application.

 The Deep River Junior Ancients’ annual fundraiser, the Spring Flower sale, is right around the corner. Plan to stop by on Friday and Saturday, March 29th and 30th and support the DRJA. The sale takes place in the parking lot across from the firehouse at the corner of Union and Elm St.
Early Voting has come to Connecticut. Early in person voting will be held on 3/26, 3/27, 3/28, 3/30 for the Presidential Preference Primary which will be held on 4/2.  Absentee ballots may still be requested. Get more information on voting on the town web site or on early in person voting here: 
http://Welcome to Early Voting – an informational presentation (deepriverct.us)

John Winthrop Middle School musical: The John Winthrop Middle School students will present their musical, ‘FAME’, on Friday & Saturday, March 22 & 23, 2024. Show time is 7 PM. Tickets are: Adults - $10:00; Children and Seniors - $5:00. There is General Admission Seating. Doors will open at 6:30 PM. The performance will be held at the Valley Regional High School Auditorium. Tickets may be purchased at 
Celebrations in Deep River or at Valley.

• Recording Secretary Board of Selectman part time Recording Secretary Board of Finance part time
• Social Worker-part time
• Transfer Station Attendant-part time
  See the town web site for job descriptions and how to apply.

Have a great weekend and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Carol