Over the last few weeks I have outlined areas any ways we as a town can cut costs and not cut services. In this column I'd like to identify some areas of concerns where I believe we need to focus to improve our ability to respond to emergencies and improve the quality of life for all our citizens.

In one of my most recent columns I addressed our town's ability to respond to emergency situations or natural disasters. I believe we can improve/expand our capability of response by networking our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) with our local community based organizations, such as south End Residents and Merchants Association (SERMA); North End Residents and Merchants Association (NORMA); Mayberry Village NRZ, in addition to other civic/fraternal/veterans groups.

With proper training these neighborhood groups could provide additional emergency support for our citizens until the first responders are available or additional back-up to free up the first responders for more critical requirements.

Another area of concern that has arisen, from discussion with local veterans, is that the veteran's community as a whole is being underserved by the town. To that end at the last council meeting I requested that the Ordinance Committee review the current make up of the patriotic Commission and requested certain positions be limited to only veterans to insure proper veteran representation on the Commission.

In addition, as mayor it is my intention to appoint a Veteran's Ombudsman for a single town point of contact for all veterans in the town. The volunteer position would report directly to the mayor and would be some one from our community who is familiar with issues facing our vets and programs, be it federal, state, or town, that are available to help them and their families. I envision the position residing in the Health and Human services area who are also familiar with other programs that might be available. I believe the Veterans Ombudsman position will go a long way to address our veterans needs in an affordable manner.

In discussion with parents there is concern that there is no regularly supervised activities for our youth that would help to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. To that end I am proposing that in conjunction with the Board of Education and Parks and Recreation to open some schools on a regular schedule in the evenings (most likely Friday evenings). This would give our children some place to go, with supervision in place, for regulated activities to help keep them out of trouble. I know a program such as this was in place when I was a teenager and it did provide an affordable, safe place to spend time with your friends.

Another item that has surfaced with folks during the campaign is the need for one Senior Center, such as the new Glastonbury facility and other towns around us have, in place of the two we have now, which is currently not servicing our seniors as efficiently as possible. Having one center makes sense in terms of not having to duplicate efforts and programs, be it medical programs, meals, or community building efforts. As mayor I would appoint a Senior Center Advisory Committee to evaluate the overall needs of our seniors, relative to building needs, the best location for the center if the need is confirmed, and going forward steps.

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