Town Council Chair Report 2/2/2026
Before we launch into our agenda, I ask that we all take a moment of silence in honor of those who have been murdered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. We are seeing heartbreaking images across our nation, most recently in Minnesota. I believe the ICE actions we are witnessing daily are relentlessly cruel and inhumane abuses of authority, depriving individuals of their lives and their right to due process. We should all be deeply concerned about the fate of our country; of our cherished democracy. As your elected leader, it is my responsibility to make sure that all of you, whether you were born on this soil, immigrated here, or fled here, feel safe, respected and protected. It is my responsibility to do for you what was done for my family when they fled Nazi horrors in Poland. In CT, the Trust Act protects civil liberties and ensures that state and local police are not deputized to carry out immigration enforcement that violates those civil rights. I take this very seriously and I know that our police officers do as well. We are neighbors. We are friends. We are family. Please join me now in a moment of silence.
On January 22, Peter Larson and I had our monthly update meeting with Town Manager Jim Drumm . Key points we discussed include:
Citizens Budget Guide
Jim and Alex are taking lead on this
Will be ready for March 5 public hearing
Posted online; copies available at public hearing, town meeting, library, town hall clerk’s office; copies to PTO Presidents to share at meetings
Strategic Planning goals
Plan to hold brainstorming sessions with key staff in April
Purpose is to “dump” ideas and then organize and cross reference them; find connections from one to the other
Finance Committee will partner with infrastructure goal
Steering Committee will partner with economic dev’t & housing goal
Citizens Government Academy
Plan to get these workshops up and running by June/July
Connect launch with America 250 celebration and emphasize civic engagement
Jim will be negotiating 4 union contracts this spring
Jim Drumm and I attended the CT Council of Small Towns meeting last week. Gov. Lamont, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz, Atty. General Wiliam Tong, and Comptroller Sean Scanlon all spoke. They discussed CT’s strong fiscal health but tempered their comments with the significant and growing financial impacts of federal cuts to everything from education to healthcare to infrastructure and climate resilience. There was also a moderated panel discussion with Majority leaders Sen. Looney and Rep. Ritter, and Minority leaders Harding and Candelora.
I attended a CRCOG sponsored 4 hour social media workshop for elected officials last week. The focus was on the most effective forms of social media for messaging about town needs, as well as maintaining civil discourse in that media. I learned a lot and look forward to using that new knowledge.
I also joined a webinar on PA 25-1, lso referred to as the “Housing Bill”. This was an overview provided by staff from CCM, Councils of Government, and COST. Several of our staff also joined, included Director of Planning and Development Jana Roberson, ZEO Heide Leach, and Town Engineer Todd Penney. It is a complex bill that we will be dissecting and digesting for a while. It includes several incentives that we will look to pursue as we develop our strategicplans for infrastructure and housing. Copies of the slide deck and a link to the webinar recording will be sent to all Councilors. A written summary guide will be shared by CCM and the COGs soon.
Lastly, I attended the Coventry Arts Guild Poetry Festival on Saturday night. It was a wonderful night with talented poets included Manchester Poet Laureate Nadia Sims and Coventry poet John Stanizi. There were also musical interludes from local musicians including the Zelltones and Our friends Jim and Ruth from Song A Day. I want to offer congratulations and appreciation to the Arts Guild for this outstanding night, and especially to Linda Blakeslee who was the main organizer of the event.