West Haven reopening recreational venues June 17

WEST HAVEN, June 16, 2020 — In accordance with federal, state and local guidelines, the city will reopen certain recreational venues this week, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and city Health Director Maureen B. Lillis announced.

On Wednesday, the city will reopen the West Haven High School track and tennis courts, the Painter Park tennis courts, and the shoreline bocce and horseshoe courts.

Also on Wednesday, the city will increase the capacity of beach parking lots to 75%, Rossi said. Beach parking is for West Haven residents only until further notice.

Rossi noted that the boat launch on April Street is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. It is closed overnight.

Use of the boat launch is for city residents only. Residents must comply with COVID-19 boating guidelines from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Lillis said.

Rossi is encouraging residents to continue keeping West Haven’s 3 miles of public beaches clean and litter-free, saying, “Whatever you carry in, carry out.”

Registration underway for West Haven summer camp programs

WEST HAVEN, June 16, 2020 — Registration has opened online for the Department of Parks and Recreation’s modified camp and playground programs this summer, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and Park-Rec Director Mark E. Paine Jr. announced.

Register at http://www.whparkrec.com.

All programs will hold three sessions: July 6-16, July 20-30 and Aug. 3-13. Each session is for West Haven residents only and will meet Monday through Thursday.

Painter Park Day Camp, which costs $190 per session, will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Junior Day Camp, which costs $110 per session, will meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pagels Elementary School.

Playground camps, which cost $48.50 per session, will meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bailey Middle School, Carrigan Intermediate School and Washington Elementary School.

Paine said the Junior Counselor in Training program and Tiny Tots Camp are canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Suggs sworn in as West Haven police commissioner

WEST HAVEN, June 16, 2020 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi swears in Christopher M. Suggs to the Board of Police Commissioners during a ceremony attended by dozens of colleagues, friends and loved ones Wednesday at The John C. Ireland Bandstand on the Green.

Suggs and Rossi were joined by state Rep. Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven; City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath; city Treasurer Michael P. Last; Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Kathleen Hendricks; and City Council members Bridgette J. Hoskie, D-1, Elizabeth Johnston, D-3, Robbin Watt Hamilton, D-5, Peter V. Massaro, D-6, Treneé McGee, D-7, Chrystal Fanelli, D-8, Robert Bruneau, D-9, Barry Lee Cohen, R-10, and Gary Donovan, D-at large.

Suggs, a longtime member of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Democratic Town Committee, succeeds Commissioner Peter BonTempo, a former deputy chief of the Police Department who retired in 2000 after a career of nearly 23 years.

A lifelong Westie, Suggs represented the 5th District on the City Council from 2007 to 2011.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

West Haven announces modified summer camp programs

WEST HAVEN, June 16, 2020 — The Department of Parks and Recreation will offer modified camp programs at several locations this summer, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and Park-Rec Director Mark E. Paine Jr. announced.

Paine said the department will follow the youth camp guidance for COVID-19 issued by the state Department of Early Childhood. Restrictions will limit many usual camp activities and include such mitigations as monitoring children’s temperature, frequent hand-washing and sanitizing contact points, especially around restrooms, he said.

Paine also announced the following camp restrictions and mitigations:

— Camp numbers will be limited, and children will be separated into groups of no more than 10 to minimize overall contact. Siblings will be grouped together.

— Camps will run Monday through Thursday. No early drop-off, late pickup or bus service will be available.

— Camps will be canceled if it rains.

— No pool or structured aquatic instruction is currently permissible.

— Temperatures will be taken upon arrival and must be at or below 99.9 degrees. Any camper not feeling well will have a sequestered area to be attended to while they wait for immediate pickup. If a camper falls ill and tests positive for the coronavirus, the entire contact group will be sent home for the session.

Park-Rec staff will be required to wear face masks and use personal protective equipment until those protocols are lifted, Paine said.

Recognizing the need for day care, Painter Park Day Camp will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other camps at city playground sites will operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for those who prefer a shorter day.

On Thursday, Park-Rec released specific information on registration, locations and fees.

All programs will hold three sessions: July 6-16, July 20-30 and Aug. 3-13.

Mayor Nancy R. Rossi issues statement on death of George Floyd

WEST HAVEN, June 4, 2020 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi has issued a statement on the death of George Floyd.

Read the Statement.

Applications available for summer public works jobs in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, June 4, 2020 — The city is accepting applications from residents ages 18 and older for summer seasonal employment for the Department of Public Works.

The minimum wage jobs consist of working 40 hours per week until Sept. 1.

Download an Application.

Applications are also available by calling the personnel office at 203-937-3558.

Send applications to the City of West Haven, Department of Personnel, 355 Main St., West Haven, CT 06516. Applications can also be inserted into the drop box at the Main Street entrance of City Hall.

New UNH deputy police chief takes oath of office

WEST HAVEN, June 4, 2020 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi swears in new University of New Haven Deputy Police Chief Adam Brown on June 3 at the World War I Armistice Memorial on the Green.

Attending the ceremony were Brown’s son, Trevor, 21; his daughters, Mikayla, 18, and Catalina, 16; and his girlfriend, Jennifer Cretella. Joining them were UNH Police Chief James T. Gilman and Sgt. James Daniels; Ronald M. Quagliani, UNH’s associate vice president of public safety and administrative services; and Christopher J. Reed, UNH’s director of safety and training and fire marshal.

Brown, who most recently was the civilian public safety director for six years at UNH, succeeds former Deputy Chief Donald F. Parker, who retired in January after eight years of service.

A resident of Branford, Brown is a former 20-year member of the Connecticut State Police.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Trevor Brown, 21, pins a deputy police chief badge on his father, new UNH Deputy Chief Adam Brown. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Rossi sets committee to mark West Haven’s centennial

WEST HAVEN, June 1, 2020 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi is commissioning a special committee to create, organize and oversee events for West Haven’s 100th anniversary next year.

The West Haven Centennial Committee will celebrate the 1921 birth of Connecticut’s youngest town with a series of commemorative events 100 years in the making.

The centennial will include a kickoff ceremony and other events that observe West Haven’s rich and diverse heritage, Rossi said.

In addition to Rossi, the committee members are city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, mayoral aide Ruth G. Torres, Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy, city Treasurer Michael P. Last, Charter Revision Commissioner Rohan Smith and West Haven Historical Society President Jon E. Purmont.

The honorary members are state Sens. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, and James Maroney, D-Milford; state Reps. Charles J. Ferraro, R-West Haven, Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven, and Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven; City Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, D-at large; and council members Bridgette J. Hoskie, D-1, William X. Conlon, D-2, Elizabeth Johnston, D-3, Mitchell L. Gallignano, D-4, Robbin Watt Hamilton, D-5, Peter V. Massaro, D-6, Treneé McGee, D-7, Chrystal Fanelli, D-8, Robert Bruneau, D-9, Barry Lee Cohen, R-10, Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Colleen O’Connor, R-at large.

Rossi said the committee will meet in the coming months to plan various centennial events for 2021. The committee will announce the events once they are finalized, she said.

West Haven, now a city, incorporated as Connecticut’s youngest in 1961, is also one of the state’s oldest communities.

In 1648, West Haven, then known as West Farms, was settled by farmers from the New Haven Colony. West Farms became the separate parish of West Haven in 1719 through a petition granted by the General Assembly. In 1822, the parish united with North Milford to form the town of Orange before separating from Orange in 1921 to become the town of West Haven.

According to the Historical Society, West Haven was founded by several New Haven Colony leaders who recognized the value of the extended shoreline, unadulterated forests and potential farmland. The historic crossing into West Farms was by horse bridge over the West River near New Haven Harbor. The West River Crossing is an event that is commemorated to this day both in ceremony and in a master mural in the post office on Campbell Avenue.

Soon after, according to information on the society’s website, guilds built six large post-medieval houses within a short distance of the community’s central Green, a common grazing and meeting site. The earliest settlers shared the lands with three major Native American tribes that historically summered in West Farms, using the resources of forests, three tributaries and a shoreline abundant with both freshwater and saltwater life.

The brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh, File)

Application deadline for Brick Campaign extended to July 17

WEST HAVEN, May 21, 2020 — The West Haven Veterans Council has extended the application deadline to July 17 for the 13th phase of its popular Brick Campaign.

Download a Brick Application.

Veterans Council members and city officials will dedicate the 13th phase of the brick Veterans Walk of Walk of Honor at 10:45 a.m. Nov. 11 in Bradley Point Park.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing restrictions, the event, originally slated for May 23, has been rescheduled to coincide with the annual Veterans Day tribute.

In November 2006, the council began the first of 13 campaigns selling bricks to memorialize veterans on the 100-yard Walk of Honor between the William A. Soderman and Vietnam Veterans memorials.

The bricks, which cost $75, have charcoal lettering for personalized messages.

More than 2,700 bricks have been installed so far, including 51 for the 12th phase, which was dedicated May 25, 2019.

Park-Rec holds photo challenge

WEST HAVEN, May 21, 2020 — Are you running out of ideas and looking for something to do during this unprecedented time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Why not test your knowledge and awareness of things and locations found right here in West Haven!

The Department of Parks and Recreation will post a photo weekly at https://www.whparkrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29656 for you and your family to figure out “what or where is it?” Then all you have to do is respond by registering* and give your answer.

The names of individuals with the correct answer for each week’s photo challenge will be placed in a random weekly drawing* for a $50 Park-Rec gift certificate/household account credit.

So, are you up for the challenge? Good luck!

* Please, only one registration/entry per family per week.

West Haven participates in Low Interest Rate Program

WEST HAVEN, April 30, 2020 — The City Council on April 22 approved a motion allowing the city to participate in the Low Interest Rate Program authorized by Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

The council’s endorsement of the proposal amid a special meeting paved the way for the low-interest program to aid city taxpayers affected by COVID-19.

According to Section 6 of Executive Order 7S, the program mandates that delinquent taxes remaining due and payable from April 1 are subject to a reduced interest rate of 3% per year for 90 days from April 1.

New taxes due July 1 will have a 30-day grace period and in the event they are paid late will also qualify for a reduced interest rate for 90 days.