Vertical’s Dream Center celebrates opening Saturday

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 26, 2023 — Leaders of Meloy Road-based Vertical Church are holding a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. Saturday to mark the grand opening of the church’s Dream Center at 263 Center St.

The approximately 3,000-square-foot Dream Center is conveniently located in the heart of downtown and features a clothing closet and a food pantry.

Other services include employment counseling, financial education and resources for emergency support needs, including medical services and education assistance.

According to its mission, the Dream Center aims to help people who are marginalized, such as those without homes or jobs or with low incomes, “to restore hope and allow them to dream again.”

“We will accomplish this by reconnecting them to God and providing services that address immediate and long-term needs in areas, such as hunger relief, clothing support, job training, recovery support ministry, medical care, and education,” according to the center’s mission statement.

The ceremony will open with remarks by Vertical Church Senior Pastor Ken Vance, who will thank the city and the administration of Mayor Nancy R. Rossi for their “tremendous partnership in serving the people of West Haven.”

The event will include remarks by church Outreach Pastor Paul Bronson, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3.

It will also include remarks by state Reps. Charles J. Ferraro, R-West Haven, Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, and Treneé McGee, D-West Haven.

The public is invited.

Consultant chosen for Boardwalk Eco-Restoration

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 24, 2023 — The West Haven Shoreline Restoration Committee has chosen GEI Consultants Inc. for Phase 2 of the West Haven Boardwalk Resilience and Eco-Restoration Project.

Over the next four months, the committee will collaborate with the Glastonbury consulting company to complete the coastal resilience and ecological restoration of a 1 ½-acre portion of the West Haven shoreline adjacent to Old Grove Park.

The committee, also known as the SRC, will announce its final plans to the public in February 2024.

“The project addresses challenges associated with restoring and preserving native coastal habitat in a densely populated urban area and in response to climate change,” said project co-leads Marilyn Wilkes, the vice president of the Land Trust of West Haven, and Mark E. Paine Jr., the director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation. “It will help the community understand the connection between robust ecosystems and coastal resilience, will provide accessible and healthy green spaces to systemically marginalized and vulnerable populations, and will manage the shoreline space so that wildlife and people can thrive.”

The project’s target outcomes and impacts include:

— The restoration of 1 ½ acres of native coastal habitat and improved habitat connectivity to adjacent public green spaces.

— A long-term plan for invasive plant control and restoration maintenance at the site.

— A living classroom for public school and public use that includes interpretive signage linking by QR code to in-depth information on the Land Trust’s website.

— Free educational events on-site designed to appeal to a range of audiences and ages.

— Improvements to public amenities, including benches and walking paths at the site.

— Access for residents under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including access mats to the beach area.

— The creation of a replicable model for use by similar coastal restoration efforts in other communities.

— More site visitors equating to more economic opportunity in the area.

In August 2022, Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, secured $200,000 in state funding for the project’s design phase.

Additional funding is needed for the construction phase, and the committee is applying to a number of state and local environmental agencies.

GEI, a full-service ecological firm, provides geotechnical, environmental, water resources, civil design and construction services throughout the project’s delivery lifecycle, from conceptual planning to permitting, design, engineering and construction management.

The committee chose GEI from a competitive pool of request-for-proposal applications because of its innovative strategies, extensive experience with successful shoreline projects and team approach.

The SRC is composed of members of the Land Trust, the city and the City Council, as well as residents who volunteer with local environmental groups.

Extensive community outreach contributed to Phase 1’s completion of preliminary engineering plans to 30% design.

Phase 1 plans and community surveys can be viewed on the project’s website.

Shoreline Restoration Project updates can be found on the Land Trust’s website or the city’s website.

Montagna calls it a career after 52 years of service

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 20, 2023 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi on Friday congratulates retiring Park Maintenance Superintendent Joseph “Joe” Montagna on 52 years of “dedicated service” to the departments of Public Works and Park Maintenance.

During a morning reception attended by Montagna’s co-workers at the Park Maintenance Department at 91 Bull Hill Lane, Rossi presented him with a mayoral citation for his “hardworking spirit” and “remarkable career in public service.”

Reading the citation, Rossi said, “Your wholehearted devotion to maintain our park system has placed our parks among the finest in Connecticut.”

Montagna was hired in 1971 under the administration of then-Republican Mayor Alexander F. Zarnowski.

(City Photo/Kara Comfort)