Mayor Nancy R. Rossi welcomes the appointment of new Planning and Development Commissioner Fred A. Messore on Tuesday afternoon at City Hall. Messore, a native of West Haven, is senior vice president of Colonial Properties Inc. of Orange. His first day on the job is Jan. 29. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Rossi appoints economic development director

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 18, 2018 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi has appointed city native Fred A. Messore to the position of commissioner of planning and development.

Messore, whose first day of work is Jan. 29, succeeds Joseph A. Riccio Jr., who held the post for the past four years.

The annual salary for the job is $99,499, according to a letter from Rossi on Tuesday confirming the appointment of Messore, who is senior vice president of Colonial Properties Inc.

“It is a pleasure to offer you an opportunity to serve the City of West Haven,” Rossi wrote. “I look forward to working with you and making the future of West Haven a brighter one for all of our residents.”

Messore, 48, now of Orange, is charged with managing the Department of Planning and Development, which incorporates the Building and Grants-in-Aid departments and the Community Development Administration.

Messore said he met with his West Haven department heads prior to accepting the position.

“I am very grateful and excited about the opportunity this position will lend to the betterment of the community,” said Messore, a 1987 graduate of Notre Dame High School who majored in accounting at Southern Connecticut State University. “I also look forward to working with the administration and staff of City Hall, many of whom I had the pleasure of partnering with in my previous capacity with the city.”

In 2000-06, Messore served as executive director of the West Haven Economic Development Corp.

Along with overseeing his departments, Messore will have a voice on the Conservation and Open Space Land Commission, Economic Development Commission, Harbor Management Commission, Inland Wetlands Watercourse Agency, Planning and Zoning Commission, Redevelopment Agency and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Rossi said Messore will bring a wealth of experience to the city as an economic development professional with a proven track record.

“Fred Messore knows how to close the deal,” said Rossi, referring to Messore’s trove of real estate transactions in the city in recent years.

Messore, who has been with Colonial Properties since 2008, said he will continue his role with the Orange-based company, where he has amassed several awards of excellence during his career for brokering commercial development projects in New Haven County.

Just last August, Messore brokered the sale of 117 acres on Route 34 in West Haven to Yale New Haven Health for its future Yale New Haven Health Regional Operations Center, an advanced warehouse for distributing medical supplies throughout the Yale New Haven Health System.

Other high-profile transactions he has brokered in the city include the sale of Hallock’s appliance store on Main Street to the developer of The Haven luxury fashion outlet mall, the assemblage of land for The Atwood apartment and commercial development on Boston Post Road, the assemblage of 26 parcels on what is now the Engineering & Science University Magnet School on Route 1, and the sale of a Walmart parcel on Sawmill Road to McDonald’s Corp.

Messore, who has also served as Seymour’s economic development director since 2011, has spearheaded a multitude of economic development initiatives for the Valley town, most recently completing the first phase of the Seymour greenway trail in the heart of downtown, adjacent to the Tingue Dam fish bypass channel.

Messore said he has submitted a letter of resignation to the town of Seymour to coincide with the start of his tenure with the city of West Haven.

Mayor Rossi and her executive assistant, Louis P. Esposito Jr., back, are all smiles with Fred Messore and his daughter, Nicolina, 18, and his father, Fred. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

‘Plungers’ brave icy L.I. Sound to aid breast cancer fight

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 18, 2018 — About 175 intrepid participants dash in and out of the 34-degree water of Long Island Sound during the 18th annual Icy Plunge for the Cure benefit Saturday morning at Savin Rock Beach.

As pledges continue to roll in, the plunge, presented by the West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness Committee, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for breast cancer research and education, buoyed by top individual fundraiser Anthony Cordone’s $6,080 and $920 collected by the Pink Angels, the top group fundraiser.

After the event, as plungers thawed out inside the Savin Rock Conference Center, committee member and event organizer Beth A. Sabo, the city’s commissioner of human resources, recognized Cordone for having raised close to $200,000 for the cause since the inaugural plunge in 2001.

(Photo/Russ McCreven/West Haven Voice via City of West Haven)

For the first time, the plunge included a follow-up event, the Spike for the Cure beach volleyball tournament, also a benefit for breast cancer, at Sea Bluff Beach.

Parks and Recreation Director Bill Slater, back left, recreation program coordinator Diane Dietman, back right, and West Haven High School girls volleyball coach Kate Coldren, second from back right, join the tournament champions, Team I’d Hit That.

Sponsored by Park-Rec and organized by Dietman and Coldren, four six-person teams competed in the single-elimination tourney, netting $475 for breast cancer awareness.

(City Photo)

Tax help offered in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 18, 2018 — The West Haven Senior Center is offering a free tax preparation service to help low- to middle-income taxpayers.

The AARP Tax-Aide program is available by appointment from 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting Feb. 7, at the Johnson Community Center, 201 Noble St.

Special attention is given to help those 50 and older fill out federal tax forms.

The service, which includes tax counseling, is offered by trained volunteer tax preparers from AARP, in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service.

For an appointment, call the senior center at 203-937-3507.

Residents reminded to shovel their sidewalks or face a fine

Residents reminded to shovel their sidewalks or risk a fine

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 9, 2018 — In the wake of Thursday’s snowstorm, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi is reminding residents and businesses to shovel their sidewalks within 24 hours after a storm or face a $25 fine “for each day that the violation persists.”

Rossi said that after the storm, a number of residents and businesses had allegedly been in violation of the “Removal of Snow and Ice” ordinance under Chapter 195 of the West Haven Code.

According to the ordinance, residents and businesses are given 24 hours to remove snow from sidewalks on and bordering their properties. Violators are subject to the $25-per-day fine, which is enforced by the Police Department, the ordinance states.

To report a complaint, call the department’s non-emergency line at 203-937-3900. Complaints are kept confidential.

Rossi also pointed out that plowing or blowing snow into city streets is prohibited and violators are subject to a $60 fine for each offense, per the ordinance.

During the next storm, she said, residents and businesses will see police step up enforcement of the ordinance.

To help crews expedite snow removal, Rossi is also reminding residents and businesses to observe parking regulations during and after storms.

Once snow begins to fall, a parking ban is in effect on the even-numbered side of most roads, unless one is posted with a “No Parking” sign on the odd side.

The ban is in effect for 36 hours after a storm. Residents are urged to park in driveways or designated private lots.

However, during an official snow emergency declared by Rossi, a parking ban will run from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on both sides of Campbell and Savin avenues, Morgan Lane, Elm Street, Meloy Road, Second Avenue from Elm to Beach streets, and Main Street from Savin to Washington avenues.

Police will tag and tow vehicles violating the “Severe Weather” parking ordinance under Chapter 188 of the West Haven Code at the owner’s expense.

Also, residents and businesses with mailboxes damaged by snow thrown from a plow are the responsibility of the property owner. The city will only repair mailboxes damaged by the striking of a plow blade if there is visible evidence, such as paint or tire tracks.

Snow removal around mailboxes is the property owner’s responsibility.

Residents are also urged to help firefighters keep hydrants clear of snow.

For more information, call the Department of Public Works at 203-937-3585 or visit Public Works.

For the latest news and information, subscribe to the city’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CityofWestHaven.

West Haven Youth Hockey sets coaches game benefit for Gardner

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 9, 2017 — West Haven Youth Hockey will hold its fourth annual Coaches vs. Coaches benefit game at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Bennett Rink.

Tickets cost $5, but admission is free for Youth Hockey players who wear their jerseys.

All proceeds will support West Haven High School Principal Pamela B. Gardner, who has cancer.

The Friday night event will include raffles, including a chance for Youth Hockey players to win $500 off their 2018-19 tuition, along with Rita’s Italian Ice.

Details at Youth Hockey.