Windsor Journal

Town Manager's Report - March 4th, 2013 includes the following: Keeping Your Heart Healthy Cholesterol Classes, Palisado Avenue Sidewalk Repair, Senior Services Grants Update, and Bradley International Airport Noise Exposure Map Update Study.

Keeping Your Heart Healthy Cholesterol Classes

The Town of Windsor Health Department will be sponsoring a free two-part program, “Keeping You and Your Heart Healthy,” presented by Kristen Goric, Registered Dietitian.  The program will be held Tuesday April 2 and Thursday April 4 from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Windsor Town Hall in the Ludlow Room.   A variety of topics will be covered.  This interactive program is for adults age 18 & over.  Free cholesterol screening will be offered to those attending the classes and dinner will be served.  To register for the program call Sharon Enot, R.N. at 860-285-1824.  Funding for this program is provided by the State of CT Department of Public Health.   

Palisado Avenue Sidewalk Repair

A section of the retaining wall supporting the sidewalk along Palisado Avenue near the railroad bridge fell during the plowing operations over the weekend of the February blizzard (February 9 &10). While there is no immediate threat to motorists, pedestrians or other infrastructure in the vicinity, it should be repaired as soon as possible. Sections of the retaining wall in this area have been repaired a couple of times within the past decade, once in 2000 and again in 2009. The responsibility for the maintenance of the wall lies with the Town of Windsor as noted in a 2009 letter from the State of CT Department of Transportation.  

Approximately 70 feet of the retaining wall has been identified to be repaired this spring. We are currently assessing the structural integrity of the remainder of the wall to determine its longer-term viability and working with our on-call contractor to determine estimated construction costs and a schedule.

It would be prudent to begin the repair work when the weather will allow concrete pouring, in late March or early April. We anticipate the duration of construction for the identified sections would be 10 calendar days.

Senior Services Grant Updates

Senior Services will submit the town’s annual Dial-A-Ride operations assistance grant this month.  Windsor is eligible for $38,096 according to the state’s formula.  As you know, this grant is a critical component of our ability to provide our current level of transportation services. The Department of Transportation will announce grant awards in June 2013.

Town staff will also submit a grant to North Central Area Agency on Aging for funding of our evening and weekend Senior Transportation Program. NCAAA offers a 50% match to cover costs for this program. Last year we asked for $11,500 and we received $5,500.  This year we plan to ask for $10,000 in funding.

Bradley International Airport Noise Exposure Map Update Study

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is preparing an update to the Noise Exposure Maps (NEM) for Bradley International Airport (BDL). The NEMs were last updated in late 2003.

A Public Informational meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at the New England Air Museum located in Windsor Locks, CT at 7:00 p.m. to review the updated NEM.

This NEM update for BDL will re-evaluate the existing and future noise contours generated by aircraft operations at BDL.  BDL-generated noise will be evaluated for existing conditions (2013) and for a five-year forecast condition (2018). The overall goal of the update study is to update the noise contours and to address aircraft noise impacts in surrounding communities.

In this noise study, the noise metric used to determine land use compatibility is the Day-Night Average Noise Level. The FAA uses a level of 65 decibels as the threshold of compatibility for noise-sensitive land uses such as homes, schools, places of worship and hospitals.