Minutes of March 9, 2017 meeting of Whitneyville Civic Association Held at Board of Education Building 60 Putnam Ave., Hamden

President Janet Kazienko called the meeting to order at 7:08.

• Owner Spotlight: Chris Fiore owner of Wine 101 gave a presentaion about the new business at 1220 Whitney Ave. Unit C. Chris said that he met his partner, Carol Cyr, giving wine tastings to raise money for their childrens’ school. But as they did, they came to believe that wine classes should not be pretentious and, if done right, can open people up to new ideas and learning to be passionate about what they like. The two launched a business which grew through word of mouth as they gave tastings in peoples’ homes. Their store brings in small, eclectic wines and exposes people to new tastes. Customer service is the highest priority. The store also carries craft beer, spirits, and cheese, but the main product is the wine.
• Elections: Janet announced that elections will take place at the May meeting. The President’s position is open.
• LED Light Follow-Up: The bulb standard that UI would like is 4,000k, and no alternatives in terms of bulb warmth (measured in k) were previously considered for municipal use. But due to citizen education and activism, now UI is looking at 3000k LED lights, which Hamden may be able to get by waiting until UI has them. Mayor Leng wrote a letter to UI and has been vocally supportive of the warmer lights.
• Lighting Change: Janet reported that Hamden Hall is requesting a lighting change for their athletic fields that could affect other parks. The town’s next meeting is April 14th.
• Library Committee: Dave Bechtel reported that the Whitneyville Branch of the Hamden Public Library has a lot of structural issues. The town passed a capital budget with $40,000 for the two branches, and maybe a $15,000 carry over from last year. Also, there will be a tree planted at the branch on Arbor Day which is also when WCA has its spring clean-up. A fundraiser and friendraiser to be held April 21 at the Playwright is also planned. The event will be called Books and Booze.
• Summer Music Series: A committee met, and decided to stick with the same set-up of three different events in the evenings once a month in June, July, and August at Denicola Park. There were a lot of new ideas that could appeal to a more diverse crowd. The next committee meeting is at Janet’s house on March 19 at 5:00 pm.
• Backyards for Wildlife: National Wildlife Foundation has a program that is being brought to Whitneyville.  Deirdre Dolan announced that citizens can start anytime by going to the NWF website and signing up. All that’s needed is food, shelter, and water sources for wildlife to qualify to be certified. An effort will be made to advertise to all residents, especially younger people with families who can’t make it to WCA meetings, so they will sign-up   Information sessions can be arranged at the library and at the Hamden Earth Day event.
• Traffic Committee: Mark Foran spoke about meeting with Mayor Leng and Police Chief Wydra about traffic in the Whitneyville area. They discussed a new roundabout at Ridge and Hartford Turnpike that should make this intersection safer. The town has done a lot of work in Whitneyville, and is now looking at other neighborhoods that need attention. The Traffic Committee has compiled a preliminary list of other traffic calming issues which was discussed. A final draft of this list may be posted on the WCA website.
• Gardening committee: Liz Hellwig set dates for work at the Pocket Park. May 7, June 11, July 9, Aug. 13, and Sept. 10, all at 8:30 am.
• Dues: WCA Dues are due and Deb Weckerle can accept them any time.
• Judy Gordon requested that we ask our government representative to discuss impacts of the budget cuts we will most likely see as a result of expected cuts to the federal budget. Janet agreed that was an excellent idea.

Meeting adjourned by Janet at 8:30