By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer joined Gov. Ned Lamont at City Hall on Monday to announce $1.8 million in state bond funding for neighborhood upgrades around the West Haven VA Medical Center.
The morning announcement featured remarks by Lamont, Borer, Matthew J. Pugliese, a deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, and state Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven, whose district includes the VA hospital.
It also included remarks by West Haven Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana and city grant writer Olivia Bissanti.
Lamont and Borer were also joined by Becky D. Rhoads, the executive director of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, and state Reps. Bill Heffernan (D-115), and MJ Shannon (D-Milford), along with West Haven Councilman Gary Donovan (D-4), and city police traffic Sgt. Charles Young.
The funding was allocated by Lamont to the latest State Bond Commission agenda and will pay for VA neighborhood pedestrian safety improvements, including new paving, sidewalks, lighting and bus shelters, as well as other beautification and streetscape enhancements.
“Thanks to you,” said Lamont, turning to Borer, “West Haven is back on track!”
The governor continued: “West Haven has made such incredible progress. Look at what this (funding) is going to mean for this community — what it means in terms of safety, what it means in terms of pedestrian, walker-friendly. I love everything in and around veterans and veterans hospitals. Investments like this show that we believe in your community, you believe in your community, have pride in your community.
“For me, it’s just one more example of: ‘Here comes West Haven — on the march!’”
Borer thanked Lamont for coming to West Haven for the third time in six months and for supporting the city’s infrastructure needs.
The mayor also touted the VA hospital.
“We are very proud in West Haven to be the home host city to one of the largest veterans health system in the Northeast region, which provides care to our veterans,” Borer said. “Services are provided by 2,000 staff members, as the VA is also one of our largest employees. All in all, the VA system serves approximately 56,000 veterans per year and has 450,000 outpatient visits per year.”
However, the mayor pointed out that the bustling VA campus has taken a toll on the surrounding roads and sidewalks and has presented a public safety challenge for the neighborhood.
“This neighborhood is already a distressed area, and it’s important that we address this area for our residents, the employees and our veterans,” Borer said. “The goal of this project is to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety and to bolster economic development because these upgrades include Campbell Avenue, our main corridor, and provide overall better aesthetics, which all lead to a better quality-of-life enhancement.”
Bissanti said the city will receive the CIF grant funding through DECD.
She also said the VA neighborhood project ties into the city’s 2024 $250,000 CIF grant for a downtown development plan.
“Walkability is great because, whether you’re a resident on Ely Street or a patient at the VA or an employee at the VA, we really want you to be able to walk down Campbell Avenue and enjoy the community,” Bissanti said.
“These safety improvements are going to make a huge difference,” Fontana said. “It’s not only walkways and sidewalks but bus shelters and blue lights with moving cameras in them — kind of tapping into the camera system that we now are putting citywide, this will just be an extension of that.”
“These upgrades will save lives,” he emphasized.
McGee, a neighborhood resident who spoke on behalf of the city’s General Assembly delegation, said: “We must see neighborhood upgrades as a steppingstone to an even greater opportunity in our community. I’d like to thank the governor for this CIF allocation and really prioritizing us, and I would really love to thank Mayor Borer, who’s always prioritized public safety and veterans support.”
Donovan, whose district includes the VA hospital, said: “I am very excited that we are getting money to put into our district. Hopefully some of that money can be allocated to fixing up Stevens Avenue to eliminate the dumping issue we have there.
“I would also like to see some of that money be put to cosmetic areas around the VA hospital, including a fence on Boylston Street, which is a dead end. I am very happy with what Mayor Dorinda Borer has done so far and continues to do for our city going forward.”