The Town Hall has had many meetings this week. The Board of Selectmen met on Monday for a short time to attend to some appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees. On Tuesday, the Board of Finance continued with their review of the budget. This week they reviewed the Social Services and Public Works requests. The Board of Finance will not meet this Tuesday, as many members are traveling due to the school vacation week. The Water Pollution Control Authority met on Tuesday as well. This group is working on finalizing the Equivalent Dwelling Unit formula for Sound View Residents. Please note that the bid opening for the Sound View portion of the sewer project was moved to February 25^th.

Ed Adanti, Public Works Director, and I are finalizing the bid packet for the road paving that will take place in the fall of 2025. This is the first year in many that we have solicited bids for this project. Erik Olsen, Facilities Manager, and I will be working on a bid packet next week for the paving of the Lyme Street Firehouse project.

Your Feedback:

• Once again, I appreciate community members who alert me to issues in town that need to be addressed. I always welcome those that call to tell me that a section of road needs to be plowed or sanded again after a storm. We recently had a resident contact us about a dead bird. As many of you might be aware, the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) is monitoring for H5N1 in wild birds. The information we currently have about H5N1 indicates that outbreaks usually involve the death of a large number of waterfowl or shore birds, and so they are particularly interested in situations where five or more dead birds are observed. Groups or individual dead birds can be reported to them online. Individual deceased birds will not be collected or tested. You can find their recommendation for appropriate disposal and more information about Avian Flu on the DEEP website. 
• Please remember that we have five more days to vote in USA Today's best Small Town Arts Scene contest. They are no longer posting the current rankings, but we were in second place the last time they were sharing.
• The Parks and Recreation Commission is seeking your input on potential enhancements to Hains Park (Rogers Lake). If you are an Old Lyme resident, please complete the following short survey. Thank you for your time and input! 

Please remember Town Hall will be closed on Monday, February 17^th in observance of the holiday. The Transfer Station will also be closed on Saturday and Monday. You may see some construction taking place at Town Hall on Monday. Erik Olsen, Facilities Director, has informed me that the new front doors for the main part of the building will begin to be installed on that day. Please use alternate entrances (Meeting Hall doors or lower level doors) during installation on Tuesday.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone. I hope you have special plans over the weekend to celebrate with those you love.