Sadly, I would like to mention the passing of John Hayes. John worked for the Town of Easton for many years as the land use consultant. He made great contributions to our town and will be missed greatly.

Last night at the Board of Selectmen meeting, I was asked about our progress on the South Park property. The purchased portion along the river, sold to the Aspetuck Land Trust, is nearing closing. There are details regarding mapping and testing that are being finalized with the complete cooperation of the land trust, who as always, the town works closely with. There are two old tanks on the grounds that Public Works is addressing. I have every confidence that the work will be done efficiently and economically with Ed Nagy in charge.  One of the benefits of the Land Trust deal, is that it provides the impetus to do cleanup work on the property which has not been done for many years. This benefits the town and is essential to our primary goal which is to preserve and protect the land as it should be.

As we near the beginning of 2023-2024 budget season, as always, we want to provide the town with the services that make Easton great, while being mindful of keeping our taxes in check. The Department heads work incredibly hard as does our Board of Finance to put the town’s budget together and we thank them for their efforts. This culminates with the Annual town meeting in April and the referendum in May to pass the budget. Last year, we provided what I thought was a very reasonable budget which passed easily. More to come.

We have also received the long-awaited consultant report on our emergency services. It has been circulated to the Chiefs of the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.  A presentation by the consultants to the Boards of Finance and Board of Selectmen will take place later in January.

Have a good weekend,

Dave