Parks We are reconditioning all of our equipment for spring use.

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1 TOWN OF HEBRON WEEKLY MANAGEMENT REPORT FEBRUARY 12, 2016 TOWN MANAGER: President s Day Monday, February 15, 2016 Town Offices will be closed. Special Meeting Regarding CNG Proposal Regarding Natural Gas Line Expansion Wednesday, February 17, :00 p.m. Company # 1 Fire Station, 44 Main Street SELECTMEN BOARD/COMMITTEE DATES: Board of Selectmen Thursday, February 18, :30 p.m. - Library LIAISON MEETINGS: RHAM BOE Monday, February 22, :30 p.m. RHAM High Chorus Room - Larson Parks & Recreation Monday, February 22, :00 p.m. Burnt Hill Park O Connell Economic Development Monday, February 22, :00 p.m. Celio Room Richmond/Stuart COMMISSION/COMMITTEES: Town of Hebron Health and Safety: We have worked 11 days without a work related injury or accident. DEPARTMENT NEWS Parks We are reconditioning all of our equipment for spring use. Recreation Zumba Zumba is an exciting Latin inspired dance n' tone program that blends body sculpting techniques and specific Zumba moves. This challenging workout helps to build coordination. This class is designed to offer a safe, yet effective, total body workout. Instructor Brian Laroe. Wear comfortable clothing. All are welcome. (8 weeks) Location: Gilead Congregational Church Age Day Time Date Fee Adult TH 7:00-8:00P 3/10-5/5 $40 (8 weeks) no class 3/24 Pilates Join Tina Catanzaro in this dynamic mind/body class. The focus is on core strength and stabilization using the Joseph Pilates method. Please bring a mat, water bottle and towel. Wear comfortable clothing. All are welcome. (6 weeks) Location: Gilead Hill School Activity Room or Music Room Age Day Time Date Fee Adult W 6:30-7:15P 2/10-3/16 $60

2 Page 2 Weekly Management Report February 12, 2016 Tax Free in Retirement Workshop Many Americans assume that their taxes in retirement will stay the same or go down, unfortunately for most this may not be the case. Historical federal tax rates have been as high as 91% in the 50 s, 70% in the 70 s and 50% in the 80 s. Upon retirement social security may be taxable as high as 85% to the recipient and required minimum distributions from retirement accounts also can create substantial taxable income. Include pensions, rental property income, capital gains, dividend and interest income and you can see the picture is somewhat unclear on future taxes. Join us to learn about strategies that can help you get closer to a tax free retirement. Location: Gilead Hill School PREP Room Age Day Time Date Fee Adult TH 6:00-8:00P 2/11 Free Hotshot Contest Youth Basketball fans get ready for a little competition and fun. This contest challenges the speed, shooting and rebounding of boys and girls ages 9 to 14. Each player will have three oneminute rounds to shoot from hotspots. Top scorers will move onto the next level of the contest. Call the Parks and Recreation Office to be added to the contact list. Date: Wednesday February 24th, 2016 Location: HES Gym Times: 5:00 pm-7:00pm Fee: Free Hebron s Got Talent Dancers, musicians, vocalists, comedians, performers of all kinds! All proceeds to benefit the Children s Scholarship programs of AHM Youth and Family Services and Hebron Parks & Recreation. For more information please contact Gilead Congregational Church at Date: Friday, February 26 th, 2016 (snow date of April 8 th ) Location: RHAM High School Auditorium Time: 6:30 pm Fee: Free to all (donations accepted) Snow Sculpture Contest The 2016 snow sculpture contest celebrates the spirit of winter and creative outdoor activities. So bundle up and create an entry for the snow sculpture contest this winter. Use your imagination and create a unique snow sculpture (for example: snow castles or snowmen). The contest will be ongoing from the first snow after January 1 st through March 4 th, The top winner from each category will receive a gift certificate to use towards a Parks & Recreation Program. How to Enter: Send or bring a picture of your snow sculpture to the Hebron Parks and Recreation Department by March 7 th. Pictures will not be returned. Include your name, address and a brief description of your snow sculpture and indicate the age group of the sculpture s designer. Age Groups: 1.Child K-3 rd Grades 2. Child 4-8 Grades 3. Family Sculpture 4. Adult Only 5. Business

3 Page 3 Weekly Management Report February 12, 2016 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Brownfields Assessment Grant Awarded: The Town's application to the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) for an environmental assessment grant was awarded on Wednesday, February 10th. The $95,000 grant will be used to perform a Phase II and III environmental assessment testing on the property at 459 Church Street, the former Turshen Mill. The purpose of the grant is to assist the property owner in marketing the building for a new owner / developer in order to bring a new viable use to this historic building. This grant follows up on a previous grant award, under the "Making Places" program, from CT Trust for Historic Preservation. That grant funded a number of other important studies of the building, including a Phase I environmental assessment, as well as the research required to nominate the building for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places as the building is not only architecturally significant but historically important in the history of our Town. A National Register designation would open up the way for potential tax credits for a future developer. The grant application was made by the Town's Economic Development Coordinator, John Guszkowski, from CME Engineering, working with the Town Planner. The Town s Plan of Conservation and Development, approved in 2014, contained objectives to focus efforts in this area of Town to promote new economic development potential. As another follow-up to the Plan s recommendations the Town s Planning and Zoning Commission adopted new flexible mixed-use zoning regulations that apply to this building and other properties.

4 Page 4 Weekly Management Report February 12, 2016 See attached for Maple Festival News! CONSERVATION See attached information on a film series on environmental issues sponsored by the Conservation District. PUBLIC WORKS The Public Works Department worked on snow removal most of the week. 4-6 inches on Monday closed school and snow squalls and flurries kept the crew maintaining the roads Tuesday through Thursday. The trucks were washed and the crew started to chip the brush on the roadside that fell from the previous weekend s storm. THE DOUGLAS LIBRARY The Library will be closed on Monday February 15th. We will re-open on Tuesday January 16th at 10 am. The Library has a limited number Connecticut Tax Booklets for both in-state and out-of-state filers. We can also help you print your CT or Federal forms from the web. They are no longer sent to us.

5 EVENT UPDATE-February 3, 2016 Thank you to everyone who has shown such great enthusiasm and excitement for this year s Hebron Maple Festival. As you know, we have tried to include as many people as possible in the planning of this year s event and want to make sure that everyone is up to date on how the event is developing. Just a few things to keep you all in the loop: The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March from 10 am until 4 pm. Additional events will be held outside of those times (like a pancake breakfast). Vendors and activities will be concentrated in three locations during the festival. The locations are RHAM High School, Ted s IGA and the Town Green. All vendors and activities will set up at one of the three locations. We will try to accommodate everyone s wishes as to where they will be set up and any assistance they may need. The decision to have three concentrated locations was made for the following reasons: guests of the event had issues finding vendors and getting around (especially the disabled), this limits the number of people crossing over Rt 66 which decreases safety concerns and keeps police coverage costs reasonable. It also made it easier for us to insure the event and all of the participants. Guests will be directed to park at RHAM High School. Although we all agree that some people will do what they want, we are encouraging everyone and are providing signage to direct people to park at the school. There will be signs at the other larger lots saying no event parking and some will have volunteers available to give directions to the school. This decision was made in response to last year s guests reporting that parking was difficult to find, especially with all the snow, and looking for spaces clogged up Rt 66. We also considered the input from the local businesses who have been upset that their customers could not park in their lots because of the amount of event parking. There will be buses running at short intervals that will drop guests off at the three locations. We have made arrangements for the disabled. There will be a printed program for the event exactly like the one last year. It is a 5 x7 full color, glossy booklet that contains maple recipes, stories and the schedule of events. It is free to everyone. There will be an information booth at each of the three locations with the programs available. Anyone can take out an advertisement which starts at only $50 so that we can continue to print this high quality publication. Maple Sugar Houses participating: Wenzel Sugar House, Hebron, Woody Acres, Hebron, Bright Acres Farm Sugar House, Hampton, Fabyan Sugar Shack, North Grosvenordale, Norman s Sugarhouse, Woodstock, River s Edge Sugar House, Ashford, Oweneco Farms Sugar Shack, Lebanon, Hydeville Sugar Shack, Stafford Springs. Events: kids center with crafts, face painting, coloring; dog sled demo, petting zoo, music, snow sculpture contest, snow painting, fruit pop making, cookie decorating, dance performances, hula hoop fun, quilt show, where milk comes from, greyhounds, colonial demonstrations, craft fair, expo.

6 Update continued There will be portable toilets at each of the three locations to accommodate guests which should limit the amount of use in local business bathrooms. Sponsorships are available and are very popular because of the amount of view time of the ad posters. We have been working with the Eastern Region Tourism District and several other organizations to promote the event. We have been sending out press releases to get participation and to save the date. Additional press releases will go out to all media in the state as well as MA and RI weekly starting next week. We have discussed the event on both the Chamber s and Windham Arts weekly radio shows for the past two months and will continue to give updates on the vendors and activities up until the week of the event. The event has been included in our e-newsletters and has been added to several other event websites. One article has already been published with another scheduled for this Friday in River East. We have paid for a social media marketing campaign and a facebook campaign. Posters are up all over town and a large 4 x8 sign is going up by the end of the week on the corner of Rt 66 and 85. The Hebronmaplefest.com website went live Feb 3. We had some technical difficulties getting it changed over from the old one. We think it looks great and is easy to use. The event calendar will be updated daily or as we have new additions to add. To date almost everyone from last year is participating with a few exceptions who are working on finding volunteers or are not interested. The response from people who participated last year has been very positive and most like the organizational changes. There is still room for additional vendors so anyone interested should apply. A vendor is not registered until they have completed an application and paid. All vendors are paying $50 to participate with the exception of the major food vendors. Each vendor pays $50 regardless of how many things they are selling. This was well received. To date we have 22 paid and confirmed vendors and are waiting on several more to work out their details. We have not raised enough money through sponsorships to cover the event costs. To date we have only $1500 collected. Our overall budget for the event is $5200 which includes police, insurance, toilets, signage, and buses. The program costs about $3000 to print which is additional and will be covered by ads. What is still needed? We are looking for vendors who bring fun and value to the event. We need sponsors especially for the buses and the toilets. And of course, we could use additional ads in the program. It would be great if anyone is available the day of the event to volunteer. SPONSORSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE: Bronze $50 Silver $100 Gold* $250 Platinum* $500 *on all promotions All sponsors are listed on website, social Media, signage and event program. TOILET SPONSOR $100 BUS SPONSOR $500 MAPLE RECIPE BOOK & PROGRAM: The official program for the event will be printed and distributed throughout the region and at all vendor/ activity locations. It will also be available online in a flip-book format. 1/4 page ad $50 V: 2.5 W x 3.75 H H: 5 W x 1.75 H 1/2 page ad $100 5 W x 3.75 H Full page ad $200 5 W x 7.75 H We hope this information is helpful and we look forward to working with everyone in town to make this event successful. For more information please call Sheri at or info@hebronmaplefest.com.

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