Chris Poulos

This week, I visited Enterprise Rent-A-Car and met with their leadership team to learn about their operation in Southington. I was impressed to find out that the Connecticut Enterprise group is rated third worldwide for customer service satisfaction based on customer surveys.  We discussed the upcoming legislative session and the company’s legislative priorities.   

Later this month, I plan to meet with the Executive Director of the Southington Chamber of Commerce. As we get closer to the start of the session, as a member of the Commerce Committee, it is my goal to speak with as many Southington business as possible so that I can hear their perspectives, learn how they operate, and position myself to best represent them in Hartford. I encourage all Southington businesses to reach out to me and I welcome an invitation for an on-site visit, so I can best understand how to help them thrive. 

Please continue reading below for other noteworthy items, and thanks as always for taking the time to read them!

The 19th Annual Sloper Plunge is Saturday, February 24 at 1 p.m. Proceeds from the plunge support camp scholarships for children and teens to attend day camp this summer and the YMCA Camp Sloper Capital Campaign.

I support every brave and charitable person who plunges into the cold winter water for this worthy cause!

Click HERE for more details.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has initiated a project to implement signing and pavement marking improvements at unsignalized municipally owned and maintained intersections, including several in Southington. The systemic application of these low-cost proven safety countermeasures at higher crash-risk, stop-controlled intersections aim to lower the potential of future crashes.

The design plans for this project are expected to be completed in January 2025 with a tentative advertising date of April 2025.

The intersections in Southington are:

Pleasant St. & Woodruff St.
W. Main St. & Summer St. (pictured below)
Pleasant St. & Hobart St.
Buckland St. & Mulberry St.
South End Road & Mulberry St.
West St. & W. Center St.
Newell St. & W. Queen St.

It’s important to CTDOT to ensure the public’s feedback and thoughts are heard and included. At this time, it is anticipated that an informational meeting or formal public hearing will not be necessary. If anyone has any questions or comments on these projects, contact Jonathan J. Corilla, Project Manager, at (860) 594-2755 or Jonathan.Corilla@ct.gov. Please reference to State Project No. 0171-0488.

Operation Fuel's energy assistance program opened this week for the Winter/Spring season. Applications will be accepted until March 1 unless available funds run out before that date.

Households with incomes that do not exceed 75% of the State Median Income Guidelines may qualify for assistance. These households include - but are not limited to - the elderly, disabled, working families, or individuals facing a financial crisis.

Eligible clients may apply for energy assistance (gas, electric, oil, or other deliverable fuel) ONCE per year and receive a grant of UP TO $500.
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For utility assistance (electric & gas), clients must show they made at least four payments in the past 12 months, must owe a past due amount, and provide at least four weeks of income information.

Operation Fuel is accepting applications for water and energy bill assistance for:

Electric: Eversource, United Illuminating (UI), and Norwalk Public Utilities
Gas: Eversource, UI, Yankee Gas, Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), and Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG)
Water: CT Water and The Metropolitan District (MDC)

Operation Fuel has been assisting Connecticut residents for 46 years. In that time, Operation Fuel has distributed millions of dollars in assistance to help thousands of Connecticut households.
 
For more information and to apply for assistance, click HERE.

On January 20, 2014, I visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument in Washington, DC. That visit reaffirmed my commitment to read the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" annually as a reminder that, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Click HERE to read a "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."