Rockville Community Alliance :: Improving Rockville's Neighborhoods

The mission of the “Rockville Community Alliance” is to improve and preserve the greater Rockville area of Vernon through the cooperative efforts of residents, the Town of Vernon, and other stake holders, including but not limited to: businesses, property owners, religious organizations, cultural services, and non-profit organizations.

Rockville —

RCA brainstorming progresses toward future plans for Rockville

BY STEVE SMITH Staff Writer

The Rockville Community Alliance held its monthly meeting last Monday to update its priorities for Rockville’s improvement. Brainstorming flowed, as is typical at these meetings, attended by residents, town officials, and leaders of organizations and businesses.

Jim Sendrak, the Communications Director of the group, explained the concept of the RCA–to bring organizations together to share plans, ongoing activities, and ideas. “We find that many of us are striving to do the same things,” he said. “Previously we were doing them privately, quietly, on our own, and we’d come to find out that three of us were going after the same thing.”

Sendrak gave a presentation that outlined the top 10 priorities, which the RCA intends to finalize and present to the Town Council in August.

Blight was mentioned as an ongoing problem. “Unless we take care of this, so many of our other efforts get mitigated ,” Sendrak said, adding that there is a disproportionate amount of deteriorated buildings in Rockville.

“These buildings are a bad advertisement for our town,” he said. “They diminish desirability as a place to live and work.”

The RCA would also like an updated organizational chart of the town’s management and employees. “Everybody should know where you can go for help, and who works for whom,” Sendrak said, “so you can compliment people when they do their job correctly, or you can say ‘something’s not right, what are you doing about this?’”

Much emphasis was placed on the revitalization of existing resources.

“There’s a foundation here,” Sendrak said, adding that Rockville would be a great place for a Connecticut Rock and Roll museum, given that it’s the home of Gene Pitney. “It would be cool to have him dove-tailed in with the Connecticut state museum,” Sendrak hypothesized, “and build on the theme, ‘Rockville Rocks.’”

The New England Civil War Museum, located in Town Hall, faces staffing and funding issues that keep its hours limited . It was proposed that if there was more help, it might bring more visitors and tie-in with other future museums.

Hank Cullinane, department Commander for the state Sons of Union Veterans , who volunteers at the museum, said a grant is being looked into, that that would enable the hiring of a fulltime person.

A more definitive future for Rockville’s development was called for. “It needs a comprehensive, long-term plan,” Sendrak said, adding that although there are plans for specific buildings, in various stages of development , there should be a master plan that provides a cohesiveness.

“We should have an idea of what we want it to look like when its done,” he said, “and then build each piece of the puzzle [and] make sure they all fit together .”

An energy plan was also discussed. The town has entered into an agreement to obtain 20 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2010.

Jeff Boulrice, the local clean energy contact for the program, said the town signed the resolution in August 2007, and that a comprehensive energy plan is actually quite simple. “What we’d like to do is to save the taxpayers money, “ he said, “and provide assistance to town businesses and residents.”

For each 100 residents that sign up for the program, the town earns a photovoltaic solar panel worth $10,000.

He said that there are also monies available to towns, through direct energy conservation block grants from the federal government, that Vernon is not yet taking advantage of.

“If you can show the government, that by giving us money, we’re going to put it to good use,” he said, “[ the money] will come to Vernon.”

Boulrice said the best course of action would be to form an energy committee to look into these and other programs, evaluate energy use in town, and advise the town council.

RCA Director Bryan Flint said utilizing the Hockanum River as a power source (via small hydro-electric generators ) would be an interesting way to provide a lot to the town.

“One of the best social services is jobs,” said RCA Director Bryan Flint. “If you get into clean energy, and if Rockville were ever to take the lead... because of the river, there’s all these other options you can tie in.”

For more information, visit www. rockvillect.com.

Vernon —

Rockville Community Alliance forges ahead with improvements

BY ANNIE GENTILE ReminderNews

The motto of the Rockville Community Alliance is “Improving Our Town Together.” At the group’s March 24 meeting at Bev’s Corner in the Union Congregational Annex, members and friends of the Alliance shared some of their recent improvement efforts since first bringing together community stakeholders in February.

One of the major concerns for the Alliance is blight and how it takes away from the many positive aspects of the area. Earlier this month, RCA President Bryan Flint met with Zoning Enforcement Officer Abraham Ford and Assistant Building Official Harry Boyco , while Communications Officer Jim Sendrak met with the Fire Marshal Ray Walker and Building Official Peter Hobbs. Their aim was to learn how issues of blight are dealt with and how Rockville citizens can lend their support to clean up and maintain the town.

“We want to find ways to get people to pay attention to what citizens want,” said Sendrak, adding that they need to use a positive spirit to encourage those responsible to fix problems as they occur . Sendrak said his experience in meeting with officials is that while they are doing their best to do their jobs, there are a few speed bumps that slow the process down. Those challenges include absentee landlords, a need for stronger ordinances, slow legal processes and the financial realities of pursuing problems through the court system, and holding tenants accountable for problems they create.

“It’s easy to formulate an opinion just by what you see on the surface, but you need to have thorough knowledge of what is going on,” Sendrak said. He recommended creating a top 50 or 100 list of blighted properties, including vehicles, beginning with the most visible areas and working to change the environment so that undesirable businesses would also be less comfortable setting up shop in town.

“We need to find a way to say, ‘You need to clean up or else,’” said Town Council member Marie Herbst. She called for establishing a task force that believes in this action and gets more citizens involved and keeping the Town Council informed about what they are doing. Herbst said a committee from the Town Council is currently reviewing all existing ordinances in town and recommended that they ask the committee to let them know when they are reviewing ordinances that are related to RCA goals.

Others weighed in with their own blight-reducing ideas, such as recommending rental property owners get a new certificate of occupancy every time a new tenant moves in, or a narrowing of the Alliance’s focus to just one area at a time, rather than taking a global approach.

While the meeting focused on shared goals, it also provided various groups such as the Vernon School Readiness Collaborative an opportunity to share their individual goals and initiatives, giving a broader picture of what Rockville /Vernon residents are seeking as a community.

“People love Vernon’s walkability, its history, its traditions, highway access, diversity and affordability,” said Wendy Pfrenger, when describing VSRC’s One to One Listening Campaign. She said her group interviewed 127 residents to get a feel for what people like about the town and what they would change if they could. Pfrenger reported a desire for more affordable children’s activities, as well as a need to address affordable housing and concerns about poverty forcing many families to uproot their children each year, switching them from one school to another.

Local businessman and JesusFest Chairman Drew Crandall shared his group’s efforts to transition the annual interdenominational event from a country fair atmosphere at the Tolland Agricultural Center to an urban block party in downtown Rockville, utilizing the Union Congregational Church’s central location, Central Park and possibly the Vernon Senior Center for events and displays.

Crandall said they are planning on renting trolleys to provide guided tours to some of Rockville’s beautiful church sanctuaries. He added that they are partnering with representatives from the Civil War Museum to provide special materials on the role Christianity played in the anti-slavery movement. “The tours will give [local churches] an opportunity to showcase who they are,” said Crandall.

Vernon —

Future of town’s image discussed at ‘Rockville Roundtable’ meeting

BY ANNIE GENTILE ReminderNews

We’ve got to stop planning. We’ve got to do,” said Bryan Flint, president of the Rockville Community Alliance, at the “Rockville Roundtable” meeting on Feb. 24.

Flint’s comments – made to a gathering of business owners, religious organizations , non-profits , local elected officials, town employees and others from the Greater Rockville community – were a call to join forces to help promote the positives and reduce or eliminate the negative perceptions that often define the Rockville section of town.

The meeting was held at the Bev’s Corner annex of Union Congregational Church and was moderated by RCA Communications Officer Jim Sendrak. A two-year resident of Rockville, Sendrak said he and his wife moved to the area from a nearby community specifically because they were drawn to the unique history and texture that defines the 1.75-square-mile section of Vernon called Rockville.

“[ Rockville is] a diamond in the rough,” said Sendrak. He pointed to the city’s impressive architecture and historic value – Victorian-era homes, government buildings and former mills. He called on community groups to find ways to promote its other plusses, such as the Civil War Museum, and to use Rockville’s status as birthplace of prolific rock’n’roll singer and songwriter Gene Pitney to push for its selection by the state to house a future Connecticut Music Hall of Fame.

“We should make noise about Gene Pitney. He was a class act, a brass ring,” said Sendrak. “A Music Hall of Fame would anchor the town theme, ‘Rockville Rocks,’” he said, adding that such an attraction would pave the way for other businesses, including shops and restaurants, to move into the area.

State Rep. Claire Janowski reported the town has been using a Department of Culture and Tourism grant to do a feasibility study on the reconfiguration of the Citizen’s Block building for such a Hall of Fame. “We have their ear,” Janowski said about the state officials.

The Alliance’s presentation demanded accountability and performance from both its town employees and its residents to get behind the town’s Neighborhood Revitalization Campaign by cleaning up blight. By not addressing problems, Sendrak said, it sends the wrong message to people outside the community that those who live here don’t care.

Most importantly, Sendrak urged stakeholders to work together toward common goals, explaining that a prosperous Rockville benefits the entirety of Vernon. Increasing the value of downtown buildings and adding vibrant businesses will help reduce the mill rate for all taxpayers in Vernon, Sendrak said. “Rockville really should be a jewel,” he said.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to brainstorm ways people might collaborate and to share what they have been doing. For example, Matt Reardon , executive director of the New England Civil War Museum, said a shortage of volunteers has created difficulties in keeping the museum open more hours, and Town Council member Marie Herbst, noting that high schools may be adding a community service requirement for graduation, suggested Rockville High School history students might provide volunteer time for this purpose.

George Arthur of the Hockanum River Linear Park Committee and Bruce Dinnie, director of Vernon Parks and Recreation, demonstrated how groups can work together to promote historic Rockville. With the help of a grant award, Dinnie said they will be rolling out a series of historic signs along a walking trail from the former Saxony Mill site on West Street up along West Main to the Paper Mill Pond Park. The signs at various historic sites along the trail outline the many aspects of Rockville’s rich history. Dinnie said the Linear Park Committee and members of the Gene Pitney Commemorative Committee cooperated with them to provide historic information.

Vernon resident and Rockville Downtown Association member Bill Breslau also reported that the RDA has been working on incremental projects to redevelop Rockville and to look at possible zoning changes that would allow a different mix of businesses in the downtown area.

“Let’s be one of the first [communities ] to really do some things,” said Sendrak. “Let’s create publicity that puts us on the map.”

Rockville —

Rockville Roundtable

VERNON- The Rockville Community Alliance (RCA) is sponsoring a “Rockville Roundtable” on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7 pm at Bev’s Corner, 3 Elm Street, next to Union Congregational Church. Leaders of the various community and non-profit groups that work in the Greater Rockville area are being asked to share their goals and visions for an improved Rockville. The public is also invited to attend to learn more about all of the positive progress that has been building in recent years and to offer input and suggestions. Citizens and businesses are encouraged to attend and perhaps offer to volunteer with one of the many groups and to support specific missions and plans to improving Rockville.

The purpose of the roundtable meeting is to bring together individuals, organizations and businesses of greater Rockville to share concerns, identify common interests and draft plans to achieve our goals sooner than later in more cost-efficient ways. By learning as much as we can from each other we are more likely to build a stronger, more comprehensive vision of what Rockville can and should be.

If you would like to incorporate anything about your ideas or from your organization (events, achievements, etc.) into the presentation and/or have questions, please email them to: jimsendrak@rockvillect .com

Vernon —

Rockville Community Alliance forges ahead with improvements

BY ANNIE GENTILE ReminderNews

Vernon — 03/03/2009

RCA member Mike Hescock receives VF 100 Award from Daniel Myers, Store Manager
VF Outlet, Inc. #151
1181 Tolland Turnpike
Manchester, CT 06042

VF Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Eric Wiseman recognized participants in the 2007-2008 VF 100 volunteer program during VF Day celebrations on Friday, Sept. 26. VF associates logged 32,000 hours of community service as part of the 2007-2008 VF 100 program, an increase of 3,000 hours from the previous year.

The VF 100 program annually recognizes the 100 associates who accumulated the highest number of community service hours in the VF 100 work year. Each of this year’s winners will receive $1,000 to be donated to the qualified charity of their choice. In addition, their names have been engraved on a plaque that will be displayed in the lobby of VF’s world headquarters in Greensboro.

“VF’s success is directly attributable to our 44,000-plus associates across the world, and the key principles of our VF 100 program – integrity, ethical behavior and respect for others – are invaluable to our company,” Wiseman said. “As we recognize this year’s VF 100 leaders, I applaud all of our associates for continuing to make VF great through their hard work and generosity.”