It has been a while since my last message, but Town Hall has been closed to the public since our Declaration of the State of Emergency on March 19. Most of our administrative staff have been working from home, except our Finance Director, Laura, who has been in her office quietly working alone and answering the phone. The police department is operating 24/7, with usually only two officers on each shift, mostly on the road. The utility department, also an essential function, mostly works at the WWTP or the elevated storage tank building. They have been responding to calls while the utility clerks remain in house, taking payments, answering requests for service, and issuing water and sewer taps for new addresses. Our public works employees are continuing to work around town keeping things tidy.

The administrative staff has returned to the office and are interacting with visitors on a limited basis. However, we have no definite plan to reopen Town Hall to the public until the pandemic shows some sign of abatement.

Speaking of the pandemic, there has been an exponential increase in the number of reported cases lately. Since early on I read that an estimated 85% of cases went unreported, now that testing has become universally available there has been many more detected positive cases. Even though it is possible that there has not been a substantial acceleration in the incidents, there is still cause for concern and need for personal protection.

I have received complaints about the seriously deteriorated R/R crossing at Lexington Avenue. I have contacted the repair scheduler, but I have not received a reply. I will continue to work on this issue as the crossing is in serious disrepair.

On June 11, Nicholle Burroughs, our Public Affairs Director, arranged a forum on race relations in the Chapin community. This forum called Building Bridges is the first step towards making meaningful and impactful change to create a more vibrant and engaged community. Several influential leaders in our community participated.

The result was a stimulating session with many thoughtful and candid remarks made by the attendees. So today on Juneteeth we invite our community to listen to our forum and use it to spur additional conversations with your friends, neighbors and colleagues. While I believe that our Chapin community can be very welcoming to all cultures, there is a real need to reach out to those whose voices might not be heard. We need to actively listen to each other’s experiences and be intentional about seeking out ideas for improved relations. We are a wonderful community, one that I am extremely proud to be a part of, and together I know we can make great strides in creating a better tomorrow.