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The What

The What: What Do SW CT Residents Want, Budget Votes, Norwalk’s 98 South Main Street, and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of May 5.

The What: What Do SW CT Residents Want, Budget Votes, Norwalk’s 98 South Main Street, and more
Happy May! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, May 5

Happy Monday! And happy first week of May. Hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this past week. Let’s take a look at what’s happening this week. 

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • Over the past few months, hundreds of you spoke out at budget hearings across southwest Connecticut. Explore the top three requests we heard from residents across communities. 
  • Norwalk’s 98 South Main Street, which is in the works to become a new community center, is back on the agenda as construction costs are now more than $500,000 than expected. 
  • Fairfield’s Representative Town Meeting and Westport’s Representative Town Meeting are voting on their budgets this week.  
  • In Westport, the Board of Education is hosting a town hall on Tuesday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. to gather feedback on if Staples High School should become a phone-free school.

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of residents from Stamford to Fairfield, Greenwich to Norwalk have shared their thoughts with local elected officials about what they wanted to see in their communities at local budget hearings. 

While each city and town has their own programs, initiatives, plans, and unique budget challenges, there were a few themes that came up across the region. Here are the top three requests we heard across communities: 

  • More support for local schools, particularly teachers and classroom learning
  • Funds for social services and community resources
  • Support for projects that connect communities

See what residents asked for across southwest Connecticut. 

This Week at a Glance

This section aims to highlight the most important meetings and news taking place each week. 

  • In Bridgeport, the Public Safety & Transportation Committee will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6 and host an information session with city engineer Jon Urquidi to “discuss bridges, roads, and other transportation related projects in the City.” 
  • In Stamford, the Board of Representatives will meet on Monday, May 5 at 8 p.m. and vote on a resolution that calls on the administration to fix Scofield Manor, a residential care facility serving the elderly and disabled. 
  • Also in Stamford, the Zoning Board will meet on Monday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. and host a public hearing on an amendment to create a research overlay zone around UCONN Stamford that officials said would “promote higher education and cultural institutions, encourage affordable housing for students, faculty, and staff, allow for faculty, students, and staff to live in the vicinity of their work, promote uses that complement the needs of higher education and cultural institutions, improve multimodal access and create a more pedestrian-oriented environment.” Residents have questioned what this means for those who currently live in the neighborhood and if they will be forced out. 
  • In Norwalk, 98 South Main Street has been at the heart of the community for decades and is in the process of getting rehabilitated to be a new community center. This week, the Board of Estimate & Taxation (on Monday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m.), Land Use & Building Management Committee (on Monday, May 5 at 7 p.m.), and the Planning and Zoning Commission (on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m.) will review a request for an additional $583,668 for the project due to rising construction costs. 
  • In Fairfield, the Representative Town Meeting will meet on Monday, May 5 at 8 p.m. and vote on the town’s budget. 
  • In Westport, the Representative Town Meeting will vote on the budget across meetings on Monday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Also in Westport, the Board of Education is hosting a town hall on Tuesday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. to gather feedback on if Staples High School should become a phone-free school.

Plan Your Week

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Stamford

Norwalk

Fairfield

Greenwich

  • Monday, May 5: RTM Committees: Education Committee at 7 p.m. | Finance Committee at 7 p.m.| Public Works Committee at 7 p.m. | Land Use Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Legislative & Rules Committee at 7:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, May 6: Old Greenwich School Building Committee at 7 a.m. | Planning & Zoning Commission at 4 p.m. 
  • Tuesday, May 6: RTM Committees: Transportation Committee at 7 p.m. | Appointments Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Health & Human Services Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Parks & Recreation Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Town Services Committee at 7:30 p.m. 

Darien

Westport

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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