Click above on Town Seal to go to the official Town of Weston website;  our "Central Part of Town" page - and a picture story on the High School Auditorium redo!

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CONTENTS:


FROM APRIL 13, 2011 BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING
An example of the window to be used at Weston High School project (silver one).

Old areas of the Weston High School have few and little windows and no air conditioning...

Why?  Because the Town of Weston ran out of money when building the high school in the 1960's and it had been designed for air conditioning. No money available then for redesign either, we presume!

The Building Committee 2011 is in the process of preparing specifications for the bidding process that will be both excellent design that is consistent with the TAC prize-winning high school design (original part), economical and healthier - fresh air supplied via more windows (example above).

LIBRARY ROOF MONEY'S IN HAND...WILL GET A NEW BOILER, TOO...FINISHED!

THE PARTIAL ROOF REPLACEMENT FINISHED - FINAL BILLS APPROVED 4-13-11.

WESTON LIBRARY PARTIAL ROOF REPLACEMENT TO FINISHED A MONTH LATE...OR SO.    


Library Looks To Technology To Improve Efficiency;  Radio Frequency Identification Designed To Help Track Materials
By AMANDA FALCONE, afalcone@courant.com
September 20, 2010

In a few weeks, staff and volunteers at the Wethersfield Public Library will begin the laborious task of sticking small white tags on the library's more than 100,000 items.

The tags are a key part of a new radio frequency identification system, a new way of tracking materials. Wethersfield is one of a few libraries in Greater Hartford preparing to use the system.

Librarians say the radio frequency identification system could help streamline taking inventory, enhance library oversight of materials and allow patrons to check out and return their own items. That would free library staff to help patrons find what they need or run programs.

Radio frequency identification relies on tags applied to library materials. The tags emit radio signals that allow multiple items to be counted quickly at the same time.

Most libraries currently use a bar code system, which means items are counted one by one by an employee using an optical scanner. Many libraries look to the radio frequency identification system as the next technological step, said George Christian, executive director of Library Connection, a consortium in Greater Hartford.

Of Library Connection's 27 members, only Simsbury's library has made the switch to radio frequency identification tags. It just started using its new system, with its self-checkout station that doubles as a place to pay late fines, last week. It must still install a few more self-checkout stations and an automated book drop before the project is complete.

Wethersfield Public Library is next in line to get the radio frequency system. It is preparing to install the necessary equipment, and the town council recently agreed to use 3M as the vendor for the project, which is expected to cost a total of $144,600.

Other libraries would like to install a radio frequency system, but don't have funding in place, Christian said. Although the systems are relatively expensive, the idea is to free staff from routine services so that they can improve efficiency and give better service, he said.

In Simsbury, the library spent $147,000 in federal funds to purchase radio frequency identification equipment. Its Friends of the Library group bought the necessary identification tags.

Library Director Susan Bullock said Simsbury decided to switch to a radio frequency system while drawing up plans for a renovation project that was completed in 2008. She said she knew she needed a lot of technology to operate a bigger library without hiring more workers.

Bullock hopes radio frequency identification will help ease the burden. "It really changes the way work flows in the library," she said.

In Wethersfield, an increase in library use prompted Director Laurel Goodgion to push for funding for radio frequency identification.

"It's a struggle to keep up the pace," she said, noting that her library was visited by more than 185,000 people last fiscal year, and 363,390 items were borrowed — 15 percent more than in the previous fiscal year.

Goodgion attributes the increase in library use to the bad economy and to renovation work that has made the library more attractive. She can't hire more workers, but can improve productivity, she said.

Wethersfield hopes to start using a radio frequency identification system next fall. The project will be done in phases and is expected to be completed in 2015.

Currently, the library only has money for the first phase, which includes tagging all the items and using radio frequency for self-checkouts and returns. The $63,600 is a combination of local dollars, a grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and money from the library's trust fund.

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Special Board of Selectmen's meeting April 26, continued to April 29 - awarding of contract on the agenda.
Underway!  Low bidder very experienced and working hard...
NEXT BIG BUILDING COMMITTEE JOB THE WESTON MIDDLE SCHOOL ROOF:  Results ("Yes") of Special Town Meeting here.
Special Town Meeting voted "Yes" (@250 - FORUM undercounted, we think - but maybe they were correct, since we saw them talking to the Registrars of Voters.  Bids came in at 2pm Wednesday March 24, 2010 - simple numbers (the full bids are being evaluated by H.B. Fishman and will, we think, be discussed at the next Building Committee meeting/Selectmen's meeting) ranged from $1,775k TO $2,987k among 8 companies. 


The Referendum project as approved Nov. 15, 2001;  School Road in Weston in 1991(c) and a recent flight - photos from TerraServa website. 

Entrance to Weston Middle School;  Floor Plan, WMS with arts center (not built);  WMS has had additions made, including the swimming pool (which can be used by all Westonites).

Some of the work done on the WMS during the Referendum...it seems the Middle School has looked the same forever (photo on the right has my 1984 Honda Prelude in it)!

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES...ON TOWN HALL ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT!   FINISHED SUCCESSFULLY!!! BUCKETS TRANSFERRED TO W.M.S.:
Selectmen voted unanimously (3-0) on August 7th to proceed with roof replacement as the Historic District Commission required (Wednesday, July 2, 2008).

Monday, January 19, 2009:  workers hard at work altho' Town Hall closed for MLK Day.  Lookin' good!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008:  looking to the east (l.)  looking west (r.) gives you a view of the work being done on the new wing...

Tuesday, September 30, '08:  grey day, prep work around windows going forward;  banging is getting to be usual as the Town Hall roof replacement moves ahead!

By Wednesday, the three sides of the Town Hall with easy pedestrian access had scaffolding in place.  Some banging and clanging - note that the cupola (center) had its paint scraped.

We photographed this bright and early Monday, September 22, 2008, as the Town Hall Roof replacement project got underway!  No banging and clanging that we heard, yet...

The Roofs of Weston:  note that Town Hall leaks are to be a thing of the past...how about WMS, the Library, DPW...etc.?  And how about a Police Station - more than just a roof here!

"Through the Roof" watercolor of Weston Town Hall;  Weston Town Hall leaks in December 2007 and April 2008.  Town Hall addition @1986 in need of repair from water damage.

Weston Library (now, in 2010, due for a new roof) addition under construction (left), Weston High School doubled in size during @2005;  WHS roof replaced on the old half of the building in 2007.

Weston Middle School roof next?  YUP!  Lyons Plain Fire House?  Old one (above, CENTER) replaced in Joint Development project sharing the cost 50-50 (of original price) with the Town of Weston. 
KAESTLE BOOS REPORT LINK HERE