The 'downtown' Storrs Center project now has two crucial wetlands permits

In the Master Plan for Storrs Center, LeylandAlliance promises to conserve 30 acres of the overall site as wetlands and upland forests.

Storrs Center, the “downtown” development planned for Route 195 across from the University of Connecticut, has received two of three crucial permits for the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-New England District has determined that site work will have “minimal” impact on local wetlands and water sources and has issued what’s known as a Connecticut Programmatic General Permit with conditions, according to LeylandAlliance, the Master Developer for Storrs Center.

The permit allow filling .29 acres of wetlands that have already been damaged by local activity and are therefore considered “degraded.”

The project received a local permit from the town’s Inland Wetlands Agency in October 2007.

In the Master Plan for Storrs Center, LeylandAlliance promises to conserve 30 acres of the overall site as wetlands and upland forests.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection also has approved a 401 water quality certification permit for Storrs Center. This authorizes the projected storm water discharges from the project.

Still awaiting approval is a third important permit, this one from the Connecticut State Traffic Commission for improvements to Route 195/Storrs Road. For more information about the Storrs Center project, click here.

[Editor's note: There will be a special Town Council meeting on the marketing feasibility study for Storrs Center on Monday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building, 4 South Eagleville Road.]

Posted Nov. 24, 2008

For more information see: http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/storrs_center_downtown_gets_two_new_permits_2008.html

No. 1-ranked UConn Womens Basketball takes on BYU on Nov. 25

The game, with a tip time of 9 p.m. (ET), will be broadcast on CPTV.

The Huskies are set to play Brigham Young University at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The game, with a tip time of 9 p.m. (ET), will be broadcast on CPTV.

All the action also can be heard on the UConn Radio Network with Bob Joyce and Kara Wolters. The network includes 1080-AM WTIC (Hartford), 1400-AM WILI (Willimantic), 600-AM WICC (Bridgeport), 940-AM WINE (Danbury), and 1510-AM WPUT (Brewster, N.Y.)

And all games are available via streaming audio by logging on at www.UConnHuskies.com

Up next, the Huskies come home for an early season showdown on Sunday, Nov. 30 with Oklahoma, before a nationally-televised ESPN audience at Gampel Pavilion, beginning at 8:15 p.m.

The ESPN National Telecast features Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (color).

The Huskies then host Patriot League member Holy Cross at Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 3 in their final game before a 10-day break for final exams.

For more on the UConn Women’s Basketball team, see the attachment, “Women’s Basketball vs. BYU on Nov. 25, 2008.”

Posted Nov. 24, 2008

For more information see : http://mansfield.htnp.com/sports/uconn_womens_basketball_versus_byu_nov_25_2008.html

New funds available for helping elderly with heating bills

The income limits are much higher than the usual energy assistance guidelines.

If your household includes someone who is at least 65 years old, you may be eligible for help with heating bills, under a state grant program

This program provides a one-time grant of up to $500 for eligible households towards heating bills incurred between Nov. 1, 2008 and May 15, 2009.

The income limits are much higher than the usual energy assistance guidelines, and provide assistance for households with an income up to 100% of the State Median Income (SMI). For example, for a household of one, the annual State Median Income is $48,78. Or for a family of two, it is $63,798.

Applicants also must fulfill an assets test. Renters, for example, may have liquid assets up to $7,000 and homeowners may have liquid assets up to $10,000. Amounts above this limit are added to annual income to determine eligibility for the program.

The heating bill must be in the name of the 65+ year-old applicant or the applicant’s spouse, and they must be unable to make timely payment on that heating bill.

The benefit is paid directly to the utility or fuel company.

In this area, the program will be administered by the Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM). Appointments can be scheduled after December 1 by calling 456-7270.

If the household is eligible for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), it must first use those benefits.

For more information about this program, call Senior Services’ Social Worker Jean Ann Kenny at the Mansfield Senior Center at 429-0262 (Ext.103), or call the Mansfield Department of Human Services at 429-3315.

Posted Nov. 24, 2008

For more information see : http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/995.html

You won't have to remember where you parked your car

Take advantage of the Fare Free Bus Program.

The price of gas may have dropped – just in time for holiday shopping – but there’s more to riding the bus than saving some cash.

You don’t have to worry about a parking spot when you get to your destination.

And if you’re worried about air quality, then your car is one less on the road, pumping pollution into the air.

Your patronage also helps insure there continues to be funding for mass transit.

And if you are without a car, here’s some good news.

The town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut are sponsoring free ridership for Mansfield residents and UConn faculty, students and staff on the WRTD bus line that runs from the Holiday Mall in the northern part of Mansfield down Route 195 to Main and Valley streets in Willimantic.

The fares for these riders (amounting to approximately $34,000 per year) are being paid in advance by the town and UConn. All you have to do show a resident pass or UConn ID.

The prepaid fare program began in 1993 through the efforts of UConn’s Director of Transportation, the UConn Graduate Student Government and the Eastern Connecticut Transit Alliance, an ad-hoc transit advocate group.

The town of Mansfield joined the effort so that town residents could also ride the bus for free.

The program has increased ridership on the bus system by more than 50 percent, especially in the last two years, with a tally of more than 60,000 rides per year.

The fare-free program also helps ease the parking crunch at UConn and provides an alternative transportation mode for low-income and disabled students and residents.

The town of Mansfield built two sets of secure bike lockers on the WRTD bus route: one at the Eastbrook Mall, the other at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (town hall). There are six lockers at each location and some empty slots are now available on a first-come, first-serve basis. To reserve a bike locker, Mansfield residents should call 429-3331. There is a $10 refundable deposit for the key.

The WRTD buses have external bike racks, as well.

Resident bus passes are available at the Town Clerk’s office at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building at 4 South Eagleville Road/Route 275. Proof of Mansfield residency is required.

Posted Nov. 24, 2008

For more information see: http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/uconn_mansfield_sponsor_free_bus_fare.html