Arrigoni Bridge Meeting Promises to be Important One

I would like to thank the Common Council for its vote to approve an assistance fund of $40,000 that will be allocated to downtown Middletown businesses that have been affected by the Arrigoni Bridge construction.

While there are critics of this decision, I applaud the Council for being proactive.  This decision was not an easy one. However, the most important result that this monetary support will have is that it will enable businesses to retain workers and not be forced to make layoffs. Each business must document its need by opening its books and proving a financial shortfall that coincides with the time of the bridge repair. 

This past week, there has been a tremendous residual buzz from the inaugural Middnight on Main Event Dec. 31. The atmosphere at this past week’s Central Business Bureau meeting is a case in point to this statement.

Our CBB is composed of owners of downtown businesses, City of Middletown officials and non-profit organization leaders. Each of these stakeholders in Middletown’s downtown region shared the same opinion of the event: it was absolutely outstanding.

Reports from local restaurants and retail merchants indicated that it was one of the most profitable nights of the year. This profit is a result of more than 6,000 tickets sold for the event and its combination of 100 shows and fantastic fireworks display.

Again, an event is only as good as the people who run it. On this night, Mark Masselli, Jen Alexander, Lucy McMillan and the 270 event volunteers were not good but great.  The event’s success was a reflection of their commitment and meticulous planning.

Another person who is committed to his community is Rich Jukonski, who operates his own business in Middletown and always gives back to our city. I had an outstanding time at his annual New Year’s Eve celebration at the Canoe Club in Middletown, which had a crowd that was the who’s who of Middletown. The venue was a great place to have an event and they did a great job on a very busy night.

There was also a huge buzz last week on Jan. 5 at the UConn Health Center where I attended a press conference with the Governor, state legislators and Edison Liu of Jackson Laboratories. The deal between the laboratories and the state was finalized and it is the beginning of a great transformation. This is a company that is committed to being in Connecticut and this partnership will pay dividends in the long run.

Also, it was great to see Woody D’Oench last week. Woody is the former owner of the Middletown Press along with his brother, Derry, and he continues to be a great community leader and is interested in our region.

As a reminder, the Chamber has several important meetings and events coming up to start off the new year.

Today, our Car Cruise and Motorcycle Mania committees will meet at First and Last Tavern in Middletown to discuss this year’s installment of each event. The Chamber’s golf tournament committee meets Thursday to also begin planning for the annual tournament in May. We certainly have many things to look forward to.

This week will then end on Friday with an Arrigoni Bridge Committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. here at the Chamber, which should be electric. 

Finally, I had a great meeting last week with John Olson of Whalen Engineering.  John has been a wonderful supporter of our Chamber and a strong voice of manufacturers of our county. I am very proud of him and the entire Whalen team.

For information, contact Matt Fraulino at (860) 347-6924 or email matthew@middlesexchamber.com.