Town Manager's Report - September 20, 2021
COVID Vaccination
As of September 15, 2021, 67.30% of our total population was fully vaccinated. This is up from 66.86% as of September 8th. This is also 3.83% higher than the state-wide rate of 63.47%.
76.04% of town residents, 12 years old and above, have been fully vaccinated. This is up from 75.54% as of September 8th. This is also 1.84% higher than the state-wide rate of 74.20%.
In the month of September, the town’s Health Department will be conducting several COVID vaccination clinics. Dates and locations can be found on the town’s website.
Also, private providers such as the two CVS locations in town are offering COVID vaccinations as well.
Adjustment in Town Clerk’s Office Hours
The Town Clerk’s Office will be closed to the public on Friday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. starting on Friday, September 24th thru October 22nd due to a staff vacancy.
The Town Clerk’s Office has had a long-term absence related to a medical leave these past several months in one of their 3 full-time positions. While we have reassigned other staff to provide basic assistance when available and added temporary part-time hours, there is a need to adjust the hours the Town Clerk’s Office is open to the public. This will help to provide an uninterrupted block of time for staff to more efficiently meet various workload demands, complete any required in-service training, as well as give the flexibility to take personal leave which has been extremely difficult to schedule over the past 3 months or so.
Paving Update
The 3rd of three milling and paving phases is currently in progress. Phase 3 streets include Brewster Road, Long Hill Road, Mohawk Circle, William Street, and Mountain Road. Public Works staff and a contractor have completed drainage improvements and repairs. The roads have been milled and paving is slated to start the week of September 20th.
Wilson Community Clean Up
There will be a Wilson Community Clean up event on Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon which is being sponsored by the Wilson/Deerfield Advisory Committee. Let’s join together and keep the Wilson community clean. Help pick up trash and debris and make Wilson a more walkable, beautiful neighborhood. Gloves, bags and water will be provided to all volunteers. Participants should meet at Sharshon Park on Skitchewaug Street on the day of the event and sign up at: https://townofwindsorct.com/community-development/wilson-community-cleanup/
For more information or questions, contact Flavia Rey Decastro at 860-285-1985 or via email at: reydecastro@townofwindsorct.com
Rain date: October 16, 2021 – 10:00 AM – 12:00 NOON
Chili Challenge
The Windsor Jaycee’s will be hosting the 25th annual Chili Challenge on October 9, 2021 on the town green from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. More than 30 local businesses, civic groups and creative cooks will be there with some of the best chili you have ever tasted. There will be prizes and entertainment for all! Proceeds will go directly back into the Windsor community. For more information, please go to www.windsorjaycees.com.
Windsor Hunger Action Team Spearheads Successful Snack Collection
September is National Hunger Action Month where people across America stand together with Feeding America and the nationwide network of food banks to fight hunger. Windsor’s community-based Hunger Action Team spearheaded an effort to collect snacks for the Weekend Wheels kids backpack food distribution program run by the Windsor Food and Fuel Bank. A total of 275 snack bags were assembled plus a surplus of snacks to make more snack bags as needed.
The Windsor Hunger Action Team is comprised of town and school staff as well as Windsor churches and community organizations. Collection boxes were placed at the Windsor Town Hall, Windsor Woman’s Club, L P. Wilson Lobby, Windsor Senior Center, Fed Ex 63 Rainbow Road, Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Center, and Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate. Thank you to all the community partners for their generosity.
Public Relations Team Receives Award of Excellence
Our Public Relations team was recently recognized with an Award of Excellence at the annual 3CMA Conference Savvy Awards presentation. The 3CMA (City, County, Communications and Marketing Association) 2021 Savvy Awards competition honors government communication professionals from across the nation each year to recognize creative and successful programs in a wide variety of categories including printed publications, communication plans, graphic design, social media, websites and videos that help foster public engagement.
Our entry, “Employee Engagement Video”, was created using all GIFs and was a finalist in the “Best Use of Humor” category. The video was created to encourage town employees to participate in, and gain a better understanding of, the employee engagement survey. The judges’ comments noted that the video was a simple, yet creative way to get buy-in from staff; a clever way to get people comfortable taking the survey, and the use of GIFs was an innovative concept. Orlando, Florida and Bristol, Tennessee were the Savvy and Silver Circle winners.
Police Cadet Open House
Are you between 11 and 20 years old? Are you interested in community service, law enforcement, or making new friends?
If so, please join us for the Windsor Police Cadets Open House, to be held on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Windsor Police Department, 110 Addison Road, Windsor, CT. Non-residents are encouraged to attend. To learn more about the program, please visit our website at www.windsorpolicecadets.org.