Town of Fairfield News
12/4/2020 - 12.4 TOWN UPDATE
Good Afternoon Fairfielders,
As we wind down the last month of 2020, I think it is safe to say we are all looking forward to a New Year, which I hope will be less challenging than this one was. We still have work to do as a community, State and Nation, but with news of the vaccine on the horizon, I think we can all feel more positive about our future.
There will be no finite end to this pandemic. We just have to push through together a little longer, to get past this second peak, to ensure our hospitals don't become overcrowded and to keep our loved ones and our community safe. Thanksgiving was very different for most of us this year; Hanukkah and Christmas will also be different. However, I believe we are all used to coming up with creative ways to keep and cherish the connections we have with our family and friends. We can also find joy in this time of year through gift-giving, giving back to our community, and helping or doing something special for a neighbor or a loved one.
Fairfield has numerous resources including, grocery delivery, mental health services, and the COVID relief fund for businesses and residents in need of financial assistance. I'm including more information below including upcoming activities for the holidays, resources available and our Non Profit of the Week, which will continue through the end of the year. |
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HOLIDAY SHOPPING
 While this year's Shop & Stroll was very different without our school choirs singing carols and the bustle of Fairfielders crossing off their lists, there’s still opportunities for our community to support our local Mom & Pops to ensure they can survive this challenging year.
One easy way is to purchase e-gift cards for family and friends through our  Chamber's “Love Local” program. It’s super easy, and a lovely gift that allows family and friends to use at a long list of Fairfield businesses. I hope you’ll join me in supporting our businesses while giving fun and safe gifts for the holidays. Find out more here. And the Town also has a Virtual Holiday Gift Guide for Fairfield you can view here.
Kicking off Thursday's Shop & Stroll with State Representative Laura Devlin,
Economic & Community Development Director Mark Barnhart, and Chamber President Beverly Balaz
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HOLIDAYS IN FAIRFIELD
It is my hope that the caring and giving nature of our community shines brighter than ever before. Here are some ways we can all make this holiday season more joyful for our neighbors in need.
The Fairfield Police Department is hosting the Annual Holiday Toy Drive, which provides toys to low-income housing developments in our area. Click here to find out more about how to participate.
The Fairfield Fire Department is hosting a fun Light Up Fairfield Holiday Lighting Competition. You can click here to register and participate in this fun and safe holiday event.
Have your kids write a letter to Santa and drop it in any one of Santa's Mailboxes throughout Town, and it will be delivered to the North Pole, Polar Express style! Santa's Mailbox will be available through December 18th. Please make sure a RETURN ADDRESS is included so Santa can respond! Click here for a map.
There is also the Kiwanis Club's Annual Poinsettia Sale, which benefits Scholarships to Fairfield High School's students. Click here to purchase a poinsettia and support our youth.
Join the Chabad of Fairfield for a Menorah Parade on the Post Road to spread light, warmth and celebration on Thursday, December 10th and a Menorah Lighting on the 13th with more information here.
The Virtual Tree Lighting will be streamed tonight, Friday, December 4th at 7pm on Fair TV and Ch12, and live on the Park & Recreation Facebook page here. |
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COVID-19 Data
The Town of Fairfield currently has 2,295 cases, and 157 of Fairfield residents have sadly lost their lives.
Charts and data on Fairfield cases, including age, gender, nursing home statistics, testing results, different trends, and university statistics, can be found at www.fairfieldct.org/covid19data. When looking at the data page, please be sure to read the notes around each chart as they explain some of the changes in the data. The Health Department updates this page daily.
The Health Department also updates the COVID-19 School Data page, which details the school-related metrics and is updated each week as the State releases the data. The Fairfield Board of Education has a dashboard on their homepage at https://www.fairfieldschools.org.
Both Fairfield and Sacred Heart Universities published dashboards with their daily testing information, which can be found here:
Fairfield University's Dashboard
Sacred Heart University's Dashboard
I urge our residents to continue to wear masks, frequently wash your hands, and maintain a social distance from others. When you wear a mask, please be sure it is covering your mouth and nose. |
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STATE GRANTS FOR THE ARTS
Governor Lamont announced $9 million in grants to support the arts community during COVID-19, and Fairfield was lucky to have several benefactors including: the Fairfield Theater Company, Broadway Method Academy, Connecticut Dance School, Fairfield County Children's Choir and the Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras.
The COVID Relief Fund for the Arts, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), was created to support arts nonprofits that:
- Are performing arts centers, schools of the arts, or performing groups for whom grants will make a difference in terms of survival or rehiring; and
- Have had to curtail operations for a period of time due to the pandemic and have had limited ability to reopen due to pandemic restrictions or have had to pivot their service delivery due to pandemic restrictions.
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FAIRFIELD REVALUATION
For the past few weeks, I have included information in this weekly newsletter about the revaluation taking place in Town. The Connecticut General Statutes requires each town to do a revaluation every five years. This revaluation analyzes all sales in Fairfield between October 1, 2019 and October 1, 2020 and will correspond to the tax bills that will be due beginning in July of 2021.
Revaluation notices are in the mail and you should expect to receive them next week. The notices will indicate the prior assessed valuation from the 2015 revaluation and the new proposed assessed value from the 2020 revaluation. The value provided to you will be the total assessed value, which is equal to 70% of the market value. Please do not use the current Mill Rate to estimate your taxes as the Mill Rate may change based on the final overall Grand List and the town budget.
Should you have questions concerning your revaluation, the letter will provide instructions on how to schedule an informal hearing with the revaluation company, Municipal Valuations. The valuation information found on our website, https://gis.vgsi.com/fairfieldct/ is scheduled to be updated December 7, 2020.
To listen to the presentation from Assessor Ross Murray and Mike Fazio of Municipal Valuations from the October 5th Board of Selectman meeting, click here.
At the December 7th Board of Selectman 4:00 meeting, there will be another presentation to update residents. Please tune in on Fair TV to listen.
You can check https://www.fairfieldct.org/taxassessor for updates.
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FAIRFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Fairfield Public Schools is hiring substitutes for all schools and grade levels. If you are interested, please submit an application at this link: https://www.applitrack.com/fairfield/Onlineapp/default.aspx
Any questions should be directed to dgallo@fairfieldschools.org.
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I hope you will tune in for the virtual tree lighting tonight. While I wish we could all physically come together as a community like we do every year, we can still be together in each other's minds and hearts.
We're in this together, please stay safe.
Brenda L. Kupchick
Fairfield First Selectwoman |
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Westbridge Inc, is a group of local individuals who have joined together to  form a working team to do projects for homeowners who are not able and/or cannot afford to make essential repairs to live safely and comfortably in their homes. In addition, we help other charitable organizations with needed repairs. Westbridge, Inc.is incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Connecticut and has been approved for 501(c)(3) status as a charitable organization. We have no paid staff, no rent or other overhead other than insurance . All the donations we receive go to purchase materials for our projects with labor provided by our volunteers. Examples of the work we do are: constructing handicap ramps, replacing rotted flooring, fixing indoor and outdoor stairs and railings, and expanding bathrooms to make them handicap accessible. |
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FAIRFIELD SOCIAL SERVICES HOLIDAY GIVING PROGRAM
On behalf of the families that receive the support from the Holiday Giving Program, the Town of Fairfield and Department of Human and Social Services would like to thank the community for keeping all our residents in mind for the upcoming holiday season. Can we count on your support again this year? Rather than collecting wrapped gifts and toys, this year we are requesting gift cards for local supermarkets, toy stores - anywhere families may shop for their loved ones for the holidays. If you are interested in donating or receiving holiday help, please contact Fairfield Social Services by calling 203-256-3170 or by email at socialservices@fairfieldct.org.
Donations are gratefully accepted during business hours 9 AM to 4:30 PM at the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities, 100 Mona Terrace, Fairfield CT 06824. Learn more by watching the short video below.
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GET INVOLVED! TOWN BOARD AND COMMISSION VACANCIES
Interested in giving back to our community? Want to have a voice in shaping Fairfield? The Town relies on the hard work of citizen volunteers who are appointed to provide guidance and governance on various Boards and Commissions. The list of vacancies for Boards and Commissions are on the Town Website. Be sure to check back often as the list is updated as positions become available. https://fairfieldct.org/vacancies
You can also visit our Boards and Commissions page to learn more about roles and responsibilities: https://fairfieldct.org/boards
To learn about the application process click here: https://fairfieldct.org/appointmentprocess |
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| EMERGENCY ALERTS | WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Get alerted about emergencies and other important community news from the Town of Fairfield, CT, by signing up for the Fairfield Alert system. This system enables us to quickly provide you with critical information in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, evacuations of buildings or neighborhoods and other emergency situations.
You will receive time-sensitive messages wherever you specify, such as your home, mobile or business phones, email address, text messages and more. You pick where, you pick how!
If you were previously registered with us on the CodeRed system, you must sign-up again by following the instructions below, in order to continue receiving Emergency and Community alerts from the Town of Fairfield.
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FAIRFIELD SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 2020
The Fairfield Sustainability Task Force was formed to encourage community action in  support of putting Fairfield on the path to using clean, renewable energy sources.
The plan - which can be viewed here at the Sustainable Fairfield site – is a newly updated version of a sustainability “roadmap” for the Town first created by the Sustainable Fairfield Task Force (SFTF) in 2018. It lays out a sweeping array of activities, both ongoing and planned, designed to strengthen the environmental sustainability and quality of the Fairfield community, covering such important issues as air and water quality, energy efficiency, renewable energy, recycling, transportation and many others.
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TOWN LEAF PICK UP:
This is the last week for leaf pick up. Please click on the image below for more information. |
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FEELING IN CRISIS?
When you're feeling overwhelmed, know that there are free options to help you talk through your crisis--and to send help when necessary. Fairfield Social Services is here to help. Call 203-256-3170 for more information.
Being a parent or caregiver during COVID can be extremely stressful. It is perfectly normal to be experiencing varying emotions and feel overwhelmed. No matter what you're feeling, we're here to listen. Parents and caregivers can call the toll-free Talk It Out line to discuss their feelings in a judgement-free environment. Call: 1-833-258-5011 or Visit: www.talkitoutct.com
Resources for Mental Health:
If you or a loved one is struggling:
- CT Information Hotline 211 or go to www.211ct.org for mobile crisis support for individuals and/or children.
- The Hub CT is Southwest Connecticut’s Regional Behavioral Health Action Organization. Check their website for useful resources for mental health, prevention and wellness. https://www.thehubct.org/
- Mental Health Crisis Text Line - Text “SHARE” to 741741
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
- Kids in Crisis also has a 24-hour hotline for assistance 203-661-1911.
- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health):If you need to talk to someone, text NAMI to 741741 or call the NAMI Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).
- Alcoholics Anonymous - Please contact your site to see if meetings are continuing in your neighborhood.
- Bridgeport Hospital’s REACH Program is an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. REACH is accessible to anyone, and covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial insurance programs. Please click this link to learn more about the extensive range of treatment options available |
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FAIRFIELD FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION
Eat in • Kids Win! is Fairfield Foundation for Education’s creative fundraising approach during our pandemic. If you like great food, then this event is perfect for you.
Two of Fairfield’s wonderful restaurants, Aurora’s and Centro, have developed special take-out menus for Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 8 and 9, between 5 pm and 7:30 pm.:
- There are SEVEN different prix fixe menus to suit any taste, which can be found on the website, www.FairfieldFFE.org/eat-in-kids-win/
- Meals range in price from $60 for two to $200 for four.
- You have the option to have the meal delivered to your home or business for free by a FFE volunteer, or pick your meal up at the restaurant.
An added bonus: 50 percent of the cost of your meal goes directly to FFE, and that means you are directly enriching the lives of our public-school children. Although our times demand different approaches to just about everything we do in life today, FFE’s focus has remained constant: To provide grants to Fairfield public school teachers whose objectives are to enrich the curriculum with new and original ideas and stimulate learning opportunities for their students.
We hope you place your order today, to support our Eat in • Kids Win! event. If you need further information, please call Val Foster, 203-209-2731.
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HOLIDAY EXPRESS TRAIN SHOW
Fairfield Museum Holiday Express Train Show is open weekdays from  10am-1pm and weekends from 10am-4pm now through Jan. 3, 2021.
Advance ticket purchase is required! We still have spots open through Dec. 6. Tickets for the week of Dec. 7-13 will be released for sale on Dec. 6. Go to https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/train-show/ for more info and to purchase tickets/reserve your space today.
Sign up for our e-newsletter at https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/ to learn about future ticket releases and other events. |
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| FAIRFIELD PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT |
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What’s your story? What’s your reason?
DO YOUR PART...Wear a mask!
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| Download the video here so you can upload it to social media to continue to remind our residents that part of our civic responsibility to each other is to wear a mask. |
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APPLY FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE 
The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program is for families in need of energy assistance, Fairfield Social Services coordinates with Alliance For Community Empowerment to help to obtain necessary energy services for Fairfield residents in need. To make an appointment to see if you’re eligible, or if you have questions, please call Social Services 203-256-3170. |
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FAIRFIELD BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE: 
The Town of Fairfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee has been working to encourage walking and biking for transportation, recreation, exercise and quality of life.
Working with multiple town departments we have established bicycle routes, installed bicycle repair stations, worked to improve pedestrian infrastructure, and authored the Town of Fairfield Complete Streets Policy (approved by the Board of Selectman in 2018).
With more and more of our citizens using our roads, we would like to provide you with some important safety reminders for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. View the document here. |
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TOWN GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Sullivan Independence Hall and Old Town Hall are open to the public by appointment only for the safety of employees and residents. Please visit this summary page for an overview and follow links to specific departments for more information. |
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Help is available to Fairfield small businesses that are struggling due to the pandemic. The Fairfield COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Program was established to provide limited, one time direct financial assistance to eligible Fairfield small businesses that have no more than five full-time employees and that have been adversely affected by the public health emergency. Applications are still being accepted by the Office of Community & Economic Development. To learn more or to apply, please visit the website: www.fairfieldct.org/covidsbr.
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The Fairfield COVID-19 Relief Fund was established to provide limited, one-time assistance to Fairfield residents who have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Use of the funds must be directly related to the effects of the virus. Donate to the fund or apply for relief by clicking below.
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BIGELOW CENTER
Transportation services are running on a limited basis for medical appointments and grocery shopping. Reservations for rides are first-come, first-served for shopping and medical appointments and must be made no less than one week in advance. Please call the senior center for more information: 203-256-3166.
The buses may only transport four riders per trip. For those who do not live in Senior and Disabled Housing, Fairfield Senior Transportation will provide rides Tuesdays or Thursdays each week. Masks must be worn to board the buses. Rides are now available to medical appointments for Fairfield’s seniors and people with disabilities on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between the hours of 9:30 – 3:00 PM.
If you or anyone you know are homebound and unable to shop, the Mobile Food Pantry is available every other week and lunches are available for those who are homebound. Please call Social Services for more information: 203-256-3170. |
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COVID-19 TESTING
Testing capacity has increased in our area. To view locations where to get tested, please visit fairfieldct.org/covid19testing.
Contact Tracing
One of the key tools we have to contain the spread of COVID-19 is Contact Tracing. For this initiative to be successful, the Health Department needs the cooperation of residents who test positive for COVID-19. Both Universities were trained and assisted by our Health Department to manage their own contact tracing for their respective campuses.
The primary purpose of contact tracing is to identify and notify direct contacts of confirmed cases as quickly as possible and to ensure those exposed are self-quarantining. The information provided in the interviews with confirmed cases helps reduce the potential spread of the virus in our community.
Any Fairfield resident who tests positive for COVID-19 and has not received a phone call from the Fairfield Health Department or the Connecticut COVID Tracing system within 24 hours of receiving their result is urged to contact the Fairfield Health Department at 203-256-3022. Calls received after hours or on weekends, will be returned by the next business day. |
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OPERATION HOPE FOOD PANTRY
Operation Hope wants to make sure residents of Fairfield are aware that the food pantry remains open and is ready to help by providing food and other basic needs to community residents, as they have for nearly 35 years.
Hours of Operation: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 10:00-12:00; Thursday from 4:00 -6:00. Visit operationhopect.org. |
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FAIRFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY
 The Fairfield Public Main Library is open for quick browsing and checkout Monday-Saturday afternoons 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm and Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5:00pm – 7:00pm. Learn more about Library Express service.
Please visit fairfieldpubliclibrary.org for full details regarding Curbside Pickup at the Main Library and Woods Branch Library. Fairfield Public Library continues to offer 24/7 access to their digital collection of books, music, magazines, movies and databases. Visit the Library Event Calendar to find a wide and varied assortment of Virtual Programs.
Need a library card? Follow this link fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/my-fpl/library-cards/ and get started today! Sign up for the library newsletter here. |
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PEQUOT LIBRARY: WE'RE HERE, WE CARE 
Pequot Library offers curbside pickup and limited browsing hours from 3-6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and from 2-4pm on Saturdays. During browsing hours visit us to check out a book or view our exhibition Crossing the Border: The Challenging Truths of Human Migration.
Outside of browsing hours, enjoy digital programs like story times, author talks, book clubs, and more! Get details on our website and social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Sign up for Pequot Library's Digital Digest eNewsletter or contact our Chief Librarian for personalized book recommendations. |
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Important COVID-19 Links:
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Contact Information:
For general questions you can call 211
Hartford HealthCare’s COVID-19 Clinical Command Center hotline, staffed by healthcare professionals, is now available to the community. To reach the 24-hour hotline, call 860.972.8100 or (toll-free) 833.621.0600.
YNHH has a call center number it’s 1-833-ASK YNHH that’s open from 7am - 7pm.
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