East Windsor Selectman's Report - July 19

EAST WINDSOR, CT — Here is the latest Selectman's report from Jason Bowsza, from the meeting of July 19, 2016:

On Tuesday, July 12, Planning and Zoning considered a text amendment change to section 802 of the town zoning regulations to allow for elderly housing.

• To register for free for Windsor Locks-East Windsor breaking news alerts and daily newsletter, click here.

That same night, Calamar Enterprises offered a presentation that outlined their elderly apartment complex proposal. They had some issues with the town's senior housing regulations, as well as the landscaping regulations. At this point in time, Calamar is not proposing an open space gift or a fee in lieu of open space.
Calamar has indicated that they may be flexible on the age restrictions, whether it be 55 or 62 years old. Commissioners expressed some concern about potential issues arising from traffic patterns on Rt. 140, as well as multiple access points.

The units would rent out somewhere between $1,100 and $1,400 per month.

On Wednesday, 7/13, I attended the Board of Education meeting with two asks. The first was to encourage the board and the school district to start thinking about how they can be included in the planning for the town's 250th celebration festivities to take place in 2018.

The second ask dealt with student retention. I've heard from parents who have decided to send their kids out of district that the decision dates for out of district schools precedes recruitment efforts by our own district. If we were to start recruiting students earlier in the school year, we could better market the great things happening in our district, keep more of our students here, and keep the money from the state from following the children out of the district.

The 250th anniversary celebration committee held a video screening on Friday, July 15, to view the video from the 200th Celebration. I'm hopeful that the Town can host those videos on the town website.

Respectfully submitted,
Jason E. Bowsza
Selectman

Photo credit: Mia Jensen