Enfield’s Regional Farmer’s Market
Sunday, July 26, kicked off this year’s Enfield Farmer’s Market! The event was a huge success with over 30 vendors and hundreds of attendees. We want to extend our appreciation to all those who joined us and abided by social distancing guidelines and wore masks.
This Sunday, August 2, the Farmer’s Market continues on the Town Green between 10 AM and 1 PM. Back by popular demand, Noah Lis from The Voice will be performing and there will be free ice cream for all attendees!
The Enfield Regional Farmer’s Market will run on Sundays between 10 AM and 1 PM, through September 27. Hope to see you there!
Public Works
Work has begun on converting the South Road tennis courts to a dedicated Pickleball complex. We look forward to the completion of this project in the coming weeks.
The Enfield Annex pool was upgraded over the winter. The original filtration system was replaced with a modern and more efficient filter and sanitation system. The efficient design will lower the operating costs of the pool and provide a higher level of reliability. Our Department of Public Works staff performed an extensive renovation of the pool deck and stadium. Staff performed a deep cleaning of the pool, re-grouted tiles, deep-cleaned and repaired the pool deck, replaced all lighting, and repaired ceilings. In addition, the whole area was repainted, new doors were installed, and the stadium seating and railings were removed and stained.
Finance
The Town of Enfield recently completed the sale of bond anticipation notes and its refunding of the general obligation bond issue of 2014. In a bond refunding, the Town issues new bonds at a lower interest rate which are used to repay the bonds originally issued. The $25 million in bond anticipation notes will provide short term funding for the renovation of John F. Kenney Middle School, the renovation of the Enfield High School and the Water Pollution Control Facility upgrades.
The bonds, which have a final maturity in 2034, were sold with an average coupon of 1.66% compared to 3.48% for the original issue. The lower interest rates will provide significant savings to the Town over the next 14 years. S&P Global Ratings assigned the town a long-term rating of AA/Stable for the Town’s 2020 General Obligation Refunding Bonds. This rating and the excellent interest rates reflect the town’s strong financial positions and demonstrate investor confidence in the Town of Enfield. The results of the refinancing will be discussed at Monday’s Town Council meeting which will be held virtually at 5 PM.
Senior Center
The following services are available via phone and are free 15-minute consultations. Call the Senior Center at 860-763-7425 to schedule an appointment.
Ask the Real Estate Agent: August 5
Ask the Lawyer: August 26
Legal Consultation: August 18
Ask The CPA: Open availability
Virtual Bingo will be presented by Home Helpers on August 27 @ 11:00 am. Zumba classes are available virtually every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:00 am and Thursday is at 6:00 pm.
Virtual Dementia Caregivers group affiliated with Hartford Health is available 4 times per week. Caregivers can call in to join a virtual group. The Senior Center is also working with Bay Path University’s Occupational Therapy students to create telehealth sessions in a group format and/or individual, If you are interested, please contact either Nancy Darrah at ndarrah@enfield.org or Alexis Ferioli at aferioli@baypath.edu.
The Senior Center is partnering with a local Girl Scout Troop for a Pen Pal Program! You can be paired up with a Girl Scout to exchange letters in the mail. Every Tuesday at 11 AM, join us for a fun game of Scattergories via Zoom. To register for either of these programs, please call the Senior Center at 860-763-7425 or email at seniorcenter@enfield.org. Join us for Virtual Coffee Hour, every Thursday from 9:30 -10:30 AM. To attend the chat, email us or send us a message in Facebook messenger.
Make it and Take It activities are still available! Please call Nancy at 860-763-7437 to arrange curbside pick-up for a kit to create a handmade greeting card. Our Medical Equipment Loan program continues to operate. All equipment is sterilized and quarantined prior to being distributed.
Library
The Enfield Public Library is open to the public and the Pearl Street Library is available by appointment only. Curbside pickup continues to be a popular option for library patrons who do not feel comfortable coming into the building. Families have been loving the take and make crafts that the Children’s Department has put together. On July 29, nearly 100 dragon themed crafts were handed out at the Central Library.
Kids have enjoyed learning about the town as they complete the town-wide scavenger hunt that the Children’s Department is running. The scavenger hunt ends on August 10, so be sure to get those entries in! Check out https://www.enfieldpubliclibrary.org/summer-reading for more details as well as a list of all of our summer reading programs.
On July 31 at 9:00 PM, we will be showing the movie Shrek on the lawn at the library. Tickets are still available for our annual Tie Dye program on August 5. Due to social distancing requirements, we will be holding several sessions. Also, on August 5, we welcome Mark Black for an evening of rock ‘n’ roll on our lawn. Please bring a blanket and place it 15 feet from your neighbor! We will be hosting our second Blanket Bingo of the summer on August 10. The Afternoon Book Chat will meet virtually on August 12 to discuss The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs. The Library Board has agreed to help with the further digitization of the Enfield Press. The funding will convert the microfilm from 1960-1974 to digital files which will be accessible online.
Recreation
The Angelo Lamagna Activity Center Pool is open daily, 12 – 7 PM for open swim sessions. Capacity is limited - Enfield residents are encouraged to reserve their spot in advance. This can be done online at www.enfield-ct.gov/recreation.
Registration information for new programs, including Skyhawks Sports Camps, pre-school Martial Arts Clinic, Babysitter Safety Course, Field Hockey Camp, and Adult Self Defense came out earlier this week. All classes will be held in the month of August. Pre-registration is required, and spaces will be limited.
Sign up for Updates!
Our staff and I are available to assist you and will continue to provide services. Please continue to check our website for updates. For alerts from the Town of Enfield, please go to https://enfield-ct.gov/List.aspx to sign up for Notify Me and select Public Notices. Follow Enfield Town Manager on Facebook and on Twitter.