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The What

The "What": This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut gives residents a chance to learn about what's happening in their communities during the week of Feb. 14.

The "What": This Week in Southwest Connecticut
This week felt a bit like spring, even just for a few days...Photo by Kelly Prinz

February 14

Happy Monday! Happy day after the Super Bowl, and of course, Valentine’s Day.

We’re continuing to keep tabs on a busy budget season, zoning protocols, and changes to COVID-19 policies. Our goal with this newsletter is to highlight the key events happening in our area and help you know what’s coming in the week ahead.

What’s happening around Coastal Connecticut:

Let’s take a look at what’s happening this week.

Stamford

The Board of Education’s Fiscal Committee will be discussing and voting on a resolution to approve this year’s budget at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The $306.9 million budget is a 4.56% increase over last year. The main reasons for the increase include increases in wages and healthcare costs; the restoration of kindergarten paraeducators; $1.5 million for social-emotional support programs, and additional staff such as special education teachers, school psychologists, and social workers.

The Board of Education is also hosting a special board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. on an update to the mask mandate.

Other meetings this week include:

  • Monday, Feb. 14: Board of Reps Steering Committee at 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 15: Housing/Community Development/Social Services Committee at 6 p.m.; Harbor Management and Shellfish Commission at 6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 16: Parks and Recreation Commission at 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, Feb. 17: Environmental Protection Board at 7:30 p.m.

Norwalk

The Common Council and the Board of Education will be hosting a special joint workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the 2022-23 budget. The budget process has been contentious this year, as noted above, and this meeting provides a chance for members of both boards to discuss major items in the budget.

Speaking of the budget, the Common Council’s Finance and Claims Committee will be hosting a public hearing on it on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m.. The committee also plans to recommend an overall cap for the budget to the full Council following the hearing.

The Ordinance Committee will be hosting a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.  on a proposal to temporarily prohibit cannabis establishments in Norwalk. At the committee’s last meeting, Jessica Vonashek, the city’s chief of economic development, said that the goal of the temporary ban would be to allow the city to conduct research on the state’s legalization of recreational cannabis and to determine what types of restrictions, if any, would be put on these types of businesses.  

The Industrial Waterfront Land Use Study Committee will be reviewing the public feedback on its proposed plans for areas around the Norwalk River on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. The committee will also discuss more opportunities for the public to weigh in and environmental opportunities in the plan. The proposals explore different uses for five districts—the Broader Marina District south of Washington Street, the Washington Street/Oyster Shell Park Waterfront District, the Industrial CBD Transition District that runs parallel to West Avenue up to Wall Street, East Bank Industrial-Mixed Use Transition District, and the Mini Industrial-Marina District in East Norwalk. Some of the ideas include incentivizing marina owners to allow mixed uses on the parts of their properties away from the water, improving public access and signage to allow people to access the river, and preserving existing industrial uses along the water, such as manufacturing.

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

The Board of Education will receive a presentation of the five-year District Improvement Plan on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. The board will also receive an update on its federal funds at that time.

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

The Finance Committee of the Representative Town Meeting will be launching its capital budget review on Friday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. The committee plans to review the $87 million capital plan proposed by the First Selectman, explore the 15-year project priority list to gain a better understanding of the town’s short-term and long-term capital needs, and discuss the schedule for funding these requests. The capital budget proposal includes more than $20 million in soil remediation projects for Greenwich High School and Western Middle School; neighborhood enhancement projects, such as traffic and safety improvements in Byram, updated streetscape in Old Greenwich, sidewalk work in Cos Cob and along Shore Road, and improvements to the Glenville Center; preliminary work at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park; and school renovation projects.

The Greenwich Sustainability Committee, Conservation Commission, and Chamber of Commerce are hosting an event called, “Could Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Profit Your Business?” on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. The goal is for local business owners, developers, and landlords to learn about how charging stations could help them earn money.

Other meetings include:

Darien

After the Board of Education approved its budget last week, the Board of Finance, will discuss and review updates on the budgets from the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. The Board of Finance approves the overall annual town budget in April before the Representative Town Meeting officially adopts it in May.

The ARPA Committee is continuing to explore how the town will invest its $6.4 million in federal funds at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 9 a.m.

Other meetings this week include:

Westport

The Board of Finance is hosting three special budget workshops this week to hear from departments about their budget requests for the upcoming year. The board will hear from parks and recreation, public works, and human services on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m.; from the police, EMS, transit district, fire, and building departments on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m.; and from the library, health district, information technology, and general government on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m.

Other meetings this week include:

Thanks for reading. A special thank you to those of you who have filled out our survey about your news habits. We’ll be in touch with those of you who said you’d like to be involved with future projects soon. If you haven’t, please fill out this short survey, which will help inform our work. Let us know how you like the new additions!

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times


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