West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, right, leads Santa and Mrs. Claus in a countdown to light the Christmas tree on the Green as Rossi’s special guests prepare to flip an electric switch at the city’s annual holiday kickoff Saturday. The guests are, from left, Kaitlyn Burras, the University of New Haven’s assistant director of residential life; UNH senior Saniyah Brinney, the president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association; and West Haven resident Kathy Wielk, Notre Dame High School’s executive vice president. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Special guests help Rossi light West Haven Christmas tree

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 28, 2022 — Santa and Mrs. Claus accompanied Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and a trio of special guests to light the Christmas tree on the Green at the city’s annual holiday kickoff Saturday.

After arriving in the West Haven Fire Department’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck, Santa and Mrs. Claus were escorted to a portable stage on the Main Street side of the Green by the West Haven Seahawks cheerleading team to the sound of applause and shouts of glee from several hundred merrymakers.

Before the lighting, radio personality Brian Smith, the master of ceremonies, thanked and praised the guest trio — a Notre Dame High School executive, a University of New Haven staff member and a UNH senior political science major — as the all-ages crowd clapped and cheered.

Rossi then wished people a merry Christmas and helped Smith lead them in a countdown to set the tree — and the Green — aglow.

Read the full story and see the photo spread at Christmas Tree Lighting 2022.

Mayor Rossi holding town hall in person, on Facebook Live Tuesday

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 28, 2022 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi is inviting residents to participate in a town hall meeting in person at City Hall or virtually on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The community event is aimed at fostering communication and transparency between City Hall and West Haven residents.

Residents can attend the town hall in the Harriet C. North Community Room of City Hall, 355 Main St., or they can participate in the meeting on the Facebook Live page called UNH Mayor’s Advisory Commission. Face masks are recommended for City Hall attendees.

The town hall is sponsored by the mayor’s office and the University of New Haven Mayor’s Advisory Commission, a collaborative, student-driven task force founded in 2015 to strengthen town-gown relations.

The UNH commission is led by Christyllis A. Douglas, a junior studying psychology, and adviser Chris Haynes, an associate professor of political science and national security.

All members of the community are encouraged to participate in the town hall and ask questions. The moderators are Haynes and commission member Brian Cao.

Participants can send questions before the meeting by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. They can also submit questions during the meeting in the “Comment” section on Facebook Live.

Participants are allowed one question with a one-minute time limit. At the beginning of the question, they must state their name and the subject of their question, with all comments related to the city or government of West Haven.

Participants must keep all dialogue courteous and respectful.

For more information, call the mayor’s office at 203-937-3510, or email [email protected] or [email protected].

UNH men’s hockey team collects food for city’s needy

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 23, 2022 — (Pictured): University of New Haven men’s ice hockey coach Devin Bertrand delivers eight bags of food items to West Haven Youth and Family Services Director Diane Dietman in the first-floor hallway of City Hall on Nov. 22.

The UNH hockey team collected the nonperishable items from players, coaches, staff members and fans during its annual food drive at West Haven’s Bennett Rink on Saturday.

Dietman said the food will benefit families of the West Haven Interagency Network for Children.

(City Photo/Lenny Ialeggio)

Community Development Block Grant applications available

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 16, 2022 — The West Haven Community Development Administration is accepting applications for federal Community Development Block Grant funding for program year 49.

The program year begins July 1, 2023, and ends June 30, 2024.

Interested agencies can obtain an application by contacting the Community Development Administration, 355 Main St., West Haven, CT 06516, or by calling 203-937-3550 or emailing [email protected].

The application deadline is noon Dec. 22.

West Haven heralds launch of state’s largest food-to-clean-energy program

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 14, 2022 — West Haven is the first city in the state to offer a citywide curbside food scrap diversion option to all single-family residents, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi said the program allows all single-family homes — one, two and three families — to easily separate food scraps and have them collected at the curb in the same container now used for residents’ trash collection.

The city has received a $1.3 million Sustainable Materials Management grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to develop and launch a food-to-clean-energy program.

Grant Coordinator Doug Colter, who secured the funding for the city, said the state is facing a solid waste disposal crisis, as traditional options for disposing of municipal solid waste are diminishing or becoming more expensive. With fewer and rapidly aging disposal options in Connecticut, residents and municipal leaders can expect disposal costs to increase at the remaining waste incineration facilities “as well as out-of-state landfilling,” Colter said.

On Nov. 7, the West Haven Food to Clean Energy program launched a nine-month pilot project for curbside food scrap diversion. Participation in the program comes at no cost to the 16,000 eligible households.

Colter said the funding covers the purchase of special color-coded bags for trash and for food scrap separation for the nine-month pilot. It also covers the cost of educational materials — mailers, a website and a Connect mobile app — along with personnel to sort the bags and the shipment of food scraps to Quantum Biopower in Southington, where the food will be converted into clean electricity, he said.

More details at Food Scrap Recycling.

Informational Materials

The Downsizing Donation Guide: A Resource for Residents of New Haven County (PDF)

What’s In? What’s Out? A Guide to Recycling (PDF)