Dear CBB Members and Concerned Citizens:
Each year the 4th of July Committee works to provide
a celebration of our nation for all to enjoy! An
estimated 16,000 people from Bridgewater and the
surrounding area come to our town to participate
in the numerous activities for all - starting with
the parade, the arts festival, music, entertainment
all day and fireworks display to conclude the night.
There is something for everyone to celebrate. The
4th of July Committee needs your help to make this
year's fireworks display happen. The committee has
been working feverishly to raise enough funds but
still needs help from all who enjoy the festivities
each year. Please see the article in today's Enterprise
online:
"Bridgewater's
annual fireworks display in question": http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/x1056106849/Bridgewater-s-annual-fireworks-display-could-fizzle The
Board of Selectmen have set up a telephone bank at
their office to receive donations at 508-697-0919
or visit www.bridgewater4th.com for
more information or to make a donation.
Lets join together to make this year's celebration
one we will all remember!
If you have already donated,
THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
CBB Steering Committee
Registration
has started for the Bridgewater Recreation Summer
Programs. Forms and information
are available on the Recreation website: www.bridgewaterma.org/government/recreation.
Programs being offered are Archery, Basketball, Summer
Recreation Program, Skyhawks Sport Program, and the
Aquatics program offered through Bridgewater State
College.
Also, new this year:
FREE PARK PASS - "Use Nature as Your Guide" Program
Bridgewater Recreation is offering residents of Bridgewater
a FREE ParkPass. This pass entitles the bearer to
free parking for one vehicle (no buses or vans) at
over 50 facilities in the Massachusetts state parks
system. Go on your own, or participate in one of
the two new parks programs:
1) 2008 Great Park Pursuit - a free family adventure!
The Great Parks Pursuit is a six week challenge aimed
at teaching kids about the great outdoors and the
vast number of state parks throughout the Commonwealth.
This is part of the No Child Left Inside Initiative,
designed to build the next generation of environmental
stewards. Register online at www.greatparkpursuit.org.
2) Park Passport Program - The program provides free
passport books and invites participants to visit
each of the 76 featured facilities. The passbooks
will be stamped with a custom park stamp depicting
a special feature of the park. For more information,
visit www.mass.gov/dcr. Contact Bridgewater Recreation
at 508-697-8020 to reserve your one day pass.
Bridgewater
Buzz - 6th Edition - June 27, 2008
Mission
Citizens for a Better
Bridgewater (CBB) is an organization of concerned
and active citizens dedicated to improving Bridgewater
through resident education. The purpose of this
bi-weekly newsletter is to foster communication
and active involvement. If you would like an event
announced in a future edition of Bridgewater
Buzz, please send a request to betterbridgewater@gmail.com.
Political News
Special Election The
override attempt held on June 14th failed to pass.
Presently, the town will adhere to the base budget
passed at the spring town meeting.
Highlights from the
Board of Selectmen's Meetings
Due to the failed override the Board
of Selectmen voted to continue the ban on discretionary
spending and to implement a hiring freeze, excluding
two fire fighter positions that are well into the
hiring process. It was also revealed at the June
17th meeting by State Representative David Flynn
that Bridgewater was unlikely to receive $200,000
in aid from the State for snow and ice removal.
At the June 24th Board of Selectmen's
meeting, due in part to the deficit caused by the
lack of snow and ice aid, the Board of Selectmen
voted to propose $515,957 in cuts to the budget
at a special town meeting. The date of this town
meeting is expected to be set at a special Board
of Selectmen's meeting to be held on June 27.
***UPDATE: At their special
meeting held this morning, 3 of the 5 members
of the Board of Selectmen voted to take a "wait
and see" approach before addressing any possible
shortfalls in the FY2009 budget. ******
Also during the June 24th meeting,
the Board voted to accept Massachusetts General
Law Chapter 32B section 19. This establishes a
public employee committee to explore the impact
of having municipal employees join the Massachusetts
Group Insurance Commission.
The Selectmen also voted in favor
of on the following actions: to review the implementation
of the grant associated with the Emergency Operations
Center (EOC), to establish a committee to draft
the criteria necessary for a town manager and a
full time town accountant, and to accelerate the
timeline for the FY2010 budget process.
Finally, the Board of Selectmen
appointed an implementation committee to oversee
the restoration and reuse of town owned buildings
as presented in the building study plan conducted
by Newport Collaborative Architects, Inc.
Five voting member and two non-voting members,
including Selectman Flynn, were named to this committee.
Town Government Study Committee
The Town Government Study Committee is soliciting
feedback from citizens until July 1st. Please take
a moment to complete the survey which can be found
at http://www.bridgewaterma.org/Government/BOARD/TownGovernmentStudy.shtml
Community Preservation Committee Pre-applications
now available
The Community Preservation Committee is currently
accepting applications for projects to be voted on
at Fall Town Meeting. The deadline for pre-applications
is July 10th. To obtain a copy of the process chart
and pre-application visit http://www.bridgewaterma.org/CPA/index.shtml.
Community News
Bridgewater 4th
of July Activities
The following events have been planned by the Bridgewater
4th of July Committee
-
10 a.m.: The parade starting from BSC's Kelly
Gymnasium and continuing along route 18 to Town
Center.
-
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.: The Artisan's Festival on BSC's
Boyden Quad. Activities include arts and crafts,
face painting, children's performances and a petting
zoo.
-
6 p.m.: The celebration continues with music
and other activities on Legion Field.
-
9:30 p.m.: Fireworks!
Bridgewater Recreation
Summer Programs
-
Registration has started for all summer programs
being offered by the Bridgewater Recreation Department.
Programs include archery, basketball, a summer
recreation program, Skyhawks sport programs, and
aquatics offered through Bridgewater State College.
Also available this year are free park passes that
entitles the bearer to free parking at over 50
facilities in the Massachusetts state parks system.
For more information on these programs and for
registration forms visit www.bridgewaterma.org/government/recreation or
call 508-697-8020.
Bridgewater
Lion's Club Annual Charity Poker Run, July 13
-
The Bridgewater Lion's Club Annual Charity Poker
Run will be held July 13. Registration begins
at 9 a.m. at the 49ers club, 161 High St., in Bridgewater.
This motorcycle run will also include food, entertainment,
raffles and other prizes. Proceeds will benefit
the Bridgewater Lions Club charities. For more
information contact Bruce Maher at 508-697-3113
or Mike Tibert at 781-603-7546.
Bridgewater Cultural
Committee Seeks Your Input by July 31
-
The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) is the
largest grassroots cultural funding network in
the nation, supporting thousands of community-based
projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences
annually. The program promotes the availability
of rich cultural experiences for every Massachusetts
citizen.
Administered by 2,500 municipally appointed volunteers,
the LCC network consists of 329 councils serving
all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns. Each year,
local councils award more than $2 million in grants
to more than 5,000 cultural programs statewide.
The Bridgewater Cultural Council (BCC) promotes
excellence, access, education, and diversity in
the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences
in order to improve the quality of life for all
Bridgewater residents and contribute to the economic
vitality of our community. Last year, BCC awarded
$9,200 to 11 recipients. The next deadline for
grant applications is Oct. 15. BCC is required
to seek community input regarding its funding priorities.
Please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0nYSk9cOsWfZ4QbCIw_2bkRw_3d_3d to
take the survey. Please respond by July 31.
Friends of the Library Wine Tasting
Event, August 12
-
The Friends of the Library is sponsoring a wine
tasting event at the Wine Palace, 793 West Center
St. in West Bridgewater. This event will be August
21 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person
and can be purchased by contacting Jean Guarino
at slgjeg4@gmail.com.
You must be at least 21 years of age to purchase
tickets and attend the event.
Bridgewater Irish
Festival - Committee Members Wanted
-
Are you interested in helping create an Irish
festival in Bridgewater? The tentative idea is
to hold a festival in March that would include
food, music, Irish step dancing and more! This
event will be sponsored by Around the Common and
hopefully local businesses will sponsor the event
as well.
The Bridgewater Irish Festival will seek to be
a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association of
Massachusetts.
If you are interested in helping out in any way
to make the Bridgewater Irish Festival a reality,
please email bridgewaterirish@gmail.com.
The Stand for Children state-wide
organization is lobbying to increase
school funding in Massachusetts. They're
going to be asking House members and Senators
on Beacon Hill to pass legislation that would
close corporate tax loopholes and dedicate
more revenue to the Chapter 70 education
funds that fund schools.
Their opening session is from 10:15-11:10
in Nurses Hall at the State House. For more
information, visit Stand's website: http://www.stand.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=783&srci=d263
The blurb from their website:
Day on the Hill - April 15, 2008 This spring,
Beacon Hill lawmakers face decisions that
affect every child in Massachusetts. Schools
remain inadequately funded, and with dropout
rates approaching 50% for some communities,
it's high time the public and lawmakers tackled
the changes we need.
On April 15, lawmakers need to hear that you
care about improving our schools. Please join
citizens from over 50 communities us as we
converge on the State House and call for relief,
reform and innovation in public education.
NOTE*****
CBB does not necessarily support
or endorse this
campaign given its potentially harmful effects
on
local businesses; however, we realize that
a
significant portion of our membership is comprised
of
parents with school-aged children so we wanted
to make
you aware of this opportunity. As members,
it's your
decision whether or not to support this effort.
|
We Need You!
The Citizens for a Better Bridgewater has recently
reorganized our group into the following Committees:
- Membership/Fundraising
- Communications
- General Government Partnership
- School Partnership
We need volunteers on each of these Committees. To
see
full Committee Descriptions, please visit the "Get
Involved" page
Volunteers can put in as much or as little time
as
they feel comfortable. We ask you to consider
investing a small portion of your time to helping
create a better Bridgewater. Thank you! |
