Important Info for West Haven Residents Who Selected to Use the Quarterly Tax Payment Option

Dear West Haven Residents:

While the city sent out letters to banks and mortgage companies letting them know that residents had an option to pay taxes in four installments this year, it appears that some mortgage companies sent out checks to mortgage holders for overpayment of escrow. Prior to cashing a check from your bank or mortgage company, please confirm with your mortgage company that your escrow account remains sufficient to cover the three remaining installments for this tax year. The second installment is due Oct. 1, 2025.

West Haven public safety expo set for Saturday at Savin Rock Park, 6 Rock St.

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 30, 2025 — The city will join West Haven’s three fire departments on Saturday to mark Fire Prevention Week at an exposition of all things fire, emergency management, public safety, police and health.

The fifth annual West Haven Fire, Emergency Management, 911 ERS, Police & Health Expo is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Savin Rock Park, 6 Rock St. The rain date is Sunday.

Free parking is available in the former Savin Rock Conference Center lot and the Bradley Point Park municipal lot, both off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

According to organizers, the expo will bring together families and first responders — firefighters, police officers, EMTs, health care professionals — from across the state for hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations to promote public safety education.

The large public exhibition, held on the eve and 103rd anniversary of Fire Prevention Week, is organized by West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien, West Shore Fire Department Chief Rafael Zayas, City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio and retired city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who is now a volunteer in Mayor Dorinda Borer’s office.

Check out the flyer.

West Haven’s storied fire service includes the independent West Haven Fire Department, which serves the First Fire Taxation, or Center, District, and the independent West Shore Fire Department, which serves the Shore’s 2nd District. It also includes the 3rd District’s formerly independent Allingtown Fire Department, which was taken over by the city in July 2012 and is now known as the City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown.

Collectively, the departments have been in operation for 356 years: West Haven since 1888, Allingtown since 1907 and West Shore since 1918.

The free exposition will feature an array of fire engine and firetruck displays, including antique fire apparatus, spread along the park grounds of historic Savin Rock.

The shoreline expo will include marine units, a hazmat trailer and rides in West Haven’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck, along with live music, food trucks and face painting.

It will also include Life Star, Hartford HealthCare’s critical care transport helicopter, as well as educational demonstrations on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, drone technology, home fire sprinklers, and fire code and investigation.

Danny, the West Haven Fire Department’s station and therapy dog, and Sparky the Fire Dog will engage with children.

Members of West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will collect for their annual charity event benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

On the Savin Rock stage, INITY, a reggae dance band, will perform a set of soulful, funky reggae favorites. The concert is sponsored by Surfside Veterans.

West Haven Fire Marshal Roger Sicotte will demonstrate the department’s smoke trailer and show children what to do in case of a fire. Sicotte and fire inspectors will also display information on fire education and prevention.

West Haven and West Shore firefighters will demonstrate the Jaws of Life tool by prying open parts of a vehicle to free those trapped inside.

As part of Allingtown’s Child Safety Car Seat Installation and Inspection Program, firefighters will install car seats for people. They will also inspect those already installed to ensure that the portable seats are properly fastened for securing small children. The department has installed over 100 car seats in the past four years.

Representatives from the Coast Guard and other armed forces and members of the University of New Haven’s Fire Science Club and paramedic program will present information on programs. Members of the UNH club will also show children and adults how to use a fire extinguisher.

West Haven fire Capt. Andy Bennett, the chairman of the West Haven Fire Department Historical Library, and retired West Haven fire Lt. William Heffernan III, the department’s historian, will sell the department’s 125th anniversary merchandise. Heffernan will also show his 1920 Ford Model T firetruck.

Acting Director Rick Fontana and dispatchers of the 911 Communications Center at West Haven police headquarters will educate people on the city’s Emergency Reporting System and hand out coloring books, emergency care kits and other informational materials. ERS dispatchers will also show city residents how to call 911 during an exercise in which they call the 911 center so the residents can talk with the call-taker and listen to questions.

Members of the West Haven police Special Response Team will show the department’s BearCat armored vehicle. Community outreach officers will give out informational materials on public safety, crime prevention and law enforcement programs, along with coloring books, mugs and key rings. Animal control officers will hand out information on programs and services.

In addition, the West Haven police and Connecticut State Police K-9 units will hold demonstrations.

Members of the city Health Department will display information on the flu season, vaccines and food sanitation.

Representatives from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center will display information on health care services, and representatives from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation will sign up participants for clinical trial research studies.

Fontana, who is also West Haven’s emergency management director, will present information on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team, storm preparation, post-storm recovery, and natural and human-made disasters.

Fontana said the CERT program, which needs volunteers, educates volunteers on disaster preparedness for hazards that could impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

Fontana will also sign up residents for the city’s emergency notification system to receive alerts. Sign up at https://www.cityofwesthaven.com/alerts.

The Citizen Notification System enables the city to quickly provide residents with critical information in various situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, and building or neighborhood evacuations, Fontana said.

The system is operated in partnership with Everbridge Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts, the world leader in incident notification systems.

Once registered in Everbridge’s secure database, the site will send subscribers time-sensitive messages via cell, home or business phones, email or text messages, hard-of-hearing receiving devices, and more. The notifications are broadcast through West Haven’s Emergency Operations Center.

If you build it, they will come

West Haven partners with The Grind on Morse Park transformation; fields to be new home for baseball tournaments

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 19, 2025 — Mayor Dorinda Borer on Sept. 18 announced an exciting new partnership between the city and The Grind LLC, a premier travel baseball program across Connecticut and the Northeast.

The Grind, which also owns a training facility and is based in Orange, has entered into a long-term mutual licensing agreement with the city where it will make significant investments and maintain the fields at Morse Park on Beach Street and in turn host games and tournaments in West Haven.

The agreement covers batting cages and fields 2, 3, 4 and 6, according to city Human Resources Commissioner John M. Carrano, who helped negotiate the new partnership.

“This is a win-win-win for the city, the Grind, and the young residents who deserve quality fields to play on and be proud of,” Borer said. “The Grind has the professional reputation for delivering the results we are looking for.”

Under the licensing agreement, the Grind will transform the city-owned ballpark into a first-class tournament destination for teams from around the Northeast.

“This partnership is about more than just baseball; it’s about building something lasting for the next generation,” said Michael Moras, who owns the Grind. “We’re excited to help transform Morse Park into a place where young athletes can compete, grow and take pride in their community. If you build it right, they don’t just come — they stay, they thrive and they come back!”

The seasonal tournaments are expected to drive thousands of players, ranging in age from 10 to 18, and their families to the West Haven shoreline during the season, which will boost the local economy, Borer said.

“Having an attraction that brings nonresidents into our city for sports programs will benefit our businesses, which benefits all of us at the end of the day,” the mayor said. “In addition to creating quality fields for our athletes, this area will go from a drain on resources to a revenue driver.”

Under the agreement, Carrano said the Grind will invest in capital improvements to the seaside ballpark, including reconditioning and resurfacing all infields and outfields, updating the sprinkler system, and drill-seeding and fertilizing all fields. The Grind will also install artificial turf pitching mounds, maintain all fields, and renovate and resurface all batting cages, he said.

The city will continue to maintain fields 1 and 7, along with areas adjacent to the fields.

“Our Public Works Department lines, trims and mows the fields; but it’s hard for them to mow dirt, and that’s what these fields have become — dirt and rocks due to lack of investments over the years,” Borer said. “This has not only resulted in poor aesthetics but can cause unsafe playing conditions. That’s all about to change with this partnership.”

Borer said the agreement will not affect the West Haven Little League, whose teams have played on the Morse Park fields for decades. The Grind will work around the Little League’s seasonal schedule, she said.

Games, practices and tournaments will all conform to city ordinances regarding times and lights, Borer said, and additional parking spaces are being created to allow for ample parking.

Founded in 2012, Grind Baseball has grown into Connecticut’s premier travel program. Grind travel teams are coached by a professional staff of former collegiate and pro standouts. Teams begin at age 10 and continue to the age 18 college showcase team.

Tony Inzero Farmers Market open through Oct. 11

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 19, 2025 — The 2025 season of the Tony Inzero Farmers Market is in full swing.

The farmers market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday on the Green, at Campbell Avenue and Main Street, and every Saturday next to the Oak Street Beach parking lot, off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

The market will feature homegrown fruits and vegetables, baked goods and homemade crafts through Oct. 11.

Parking is available on Campbell Avenue and in the City Hall municipal lot, 355 Main St., as well as in the Oak Street municipal lot and on Palace Street. Oak Street is on the senior shuttle route and the CTtransit route.

The farmers market was dedicated in 2010 in memory of Anthony F. “Tony” Inzero, a leader in the downtown business community who co-owned Flower Affair on Campbell Avenue with Betty DelVecchio for many years. Inzero was a founding member and longtime president of the West Haven Business Association who spearheaded a variety of events and programs to drum up business for fellow merchants, including the first farmers market in 2000.

Inzero, who lived in Hamden, died in 2009 at age 59.