August 20, 2004
The Glastonbury Town Council
2155 Main Street
Glastonbury, CT 06033
Re: Town Manager’s Report
Dear Council Members:
The following will keep you up-to-date on various topics:
1. APPLE HARVEST FESTIVAL PARADE:
The 2004 Apple Harvest Festival Parade is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 17th. I have registered the Council as participants and wanted to confirm the time and date for scheduling purposes.
2. NIKE “REUSE A SHOE” PROGRAM:
Glastonbury participated in the Nike “Reuse a Shoe” athletic shoe recycling program for the first time this year. The program ran at the Transfer Station from April 15th through August 4th. Approximately 1,220 pounds of athletic shoes, or 540+/- pairs, were recycled in Glastonbury. The state wide program collected over 22,500 pounds, or approximately 10,000 pairs of shoes. We will look to expand Glastonbury participation next year. In the meantime, this was a very successful first year.
3. ANNUAL REPORT:
A copy of the 2003 Annual Report is attached. Printing was delayed slightly for this year’s edition. I think you will agree the report is once again very well done. Thanks to go all who contributed to the 2003 report and particularly to Human Resources Director, Pat Washington, who coordinated the project.
4. EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS:
Town staff consistently look for ways to improve service, reduce costs and implement operational efficiencies. The following are recent initiatives include:
· Senior Picnic. For over 20 years, the Parks & Recreation Department has sponsored the annual Senior Citizen Picnic in August. Generally 250-400 seniors attend and not only enjoy a chicken barbeque lunch but also participate in various activities and performances. Arbor Acres typically prepared the chicken; however, with their recent relocation they were no longer available. Parks & Recreation staff member, Anna Park, contacted Boston Market which expressed an interest in working with the Town. Boston Market provided the chicken, accompaniments including the side dishes, paper goods, etc. Through Boston Market’s help, the entire
program was prepared at a lower cost than the previous costs for food and supplies. The number of staff required for support was also reduced.
This established a very good relationship with a local vendor. Thanks go to Anna Park and Boston Market.
5. ROAD PAVING – CHIP SEALING:
In recent years the annual road paving program has consisted primarily of hot mix bituminous overlay. In prior years, the Town was able to “stretch” road maintenance dollars by using chip seal when possible. This is a cheaper treatment and subject to appropriate conditions, the Town can complete more road miles at a lower cost. Based on a recent evaluation, a number of roads are suggested for chip seal this fall. These include: Minnechaug Drive, Natchaug Drive, Timrod Trail, Woodhaven Road, Woodpond Road, Evergreen Lane, Mosley Terrace, Knob Hill Road, and Newell Lane. All of these roads have been chip sealed at some point in the past and pricing is very favorable this year.
7. GLASTONBURY HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT:
The majority of bids are received for the High School renovation and expansion project, and contracts will be awarded over the next several weeks for work to begin in September. The combined bids exceed budget estimates and work is underway to revise certain work items to match costs with budget. This should be finalized over the next week or two, and at this point does not appear to represent a significant issue. While the start of construction is behind schedule, additional time was invested in making certain that all bidder questions were thoroughly reviewed and plans and specifications revised for clarification. This will help expedite matters as construction proceeds. In the meantime, rooftop unit replacement is complete, on time and within budget. Design of the bus yard is complete
and under review by local boards and commissions, and the first phase of asbestos abatement complete. This is a multi-year, complicated project that will experience a variety of phases and issues through completion.
8. PUBLIC ACCESS COORDINATOR:
Business commitments prevent the Town’s Public Access Coordinator, Lenny Colon, from continuing in this part-time position. As you know, Lenny is employed by ESPN. Christopher Cameron was recently appointed to replace Lenny and I will plan to introduce Chris at the September meeting. He will not be in attendance on the 24th. Chris graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Communications and English, and currently manages his own video-sound business. Not only will Chris work with Public Access, he will coordinate the Town’s newsletter that was previously distributed 3-4 times annually on a town wide basis. We also plan to reimplement the periodic public access program addressing various Town programs and projects.
9. ELDERLY TAX RELIEF:
This year’s elderly tax relief involved 412 households (286 single, 126 married) which received a total of $206,442 in Town elderly tax benefits, an average of $501 per household. The total benefit represents a 48% increase due in large part to the changes recently approved by Council. The $206,442 is approximately $16,000 less than estimated and the 412 households is approximately 115 less than originally anticipated. In all, the changes approved by Council were successful and we will continue efforts to make eligible parties aware of the program.
I will be happy to review the preceding and any other items Tuesday evening.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Johnson
Town Manager
RJJ:yo
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