East Hartford hoping new channel resolves issues

Apr. 14—EAST HARTFORD — Town Hall has introduced a number of service changes, including a phone line for reporting quality-of-life issues and a temporary closure of the town clerk's vault.

The quality-of-life phone number, launched earlier this week, will exist alongside the existing My East Hartford reporting system available on mobile devices and through the town's website.

Residents can use either service to report potholes, blight, and other non-emergency concerns related to quality-of-life.

The number to call is 860-291-7765. Residents are asked to provide a description of the issue, where the issue is located, and the time of day it occurs, as well as full name and contact information for progress updates.

Mayor Mike Walsh said the phone number and reporting applications use a backend alert system that the town has had in place for 10 years, but his administration has made it a bigger priority.

"We use it to work through problems quite frequently," Walsh said.

Walsh said that the town is liable for issues such as potholes once they have been given official notice of the problem, putting the pressure on the town to fix it.

"Complaining on social media is not official notice," Walsh said.

Walsh said the new phone number is designed to give residents more options to report problems, especially for those without cell phones or internet access.

As part of renovations to Town Hall, the town clerk's vault will be closed to the public until May 2, limiting access to records prior to 1960.

Walsh said during this time, a large piece of steel will be placed in the hallway leading to the vault in order to support the floor.

"It will not be safe, " Walsh said.

Access to records from the 1960s to the present will not be affected, as they are available on the town clerk's page of the town's website.

The town clerk's office will remain open at its current location in a business trailer outside Town Hall, 740 Main St. The office's hours have been limited as a result of the renovations, and notary and fishing license services are suspended until further notice.

Walsh said Town Hall renovations are within the town's $21.6 million budget and on track for completion by late January or early February 2024.

A report provided by the town from contractor Downes Construction Company dated April 10 lists the project's estimated contingency balance at $1.2 million.

The town also has announced that starting April 23, the old Web Assessor Lookup tool will taken offline, to be replaced by a town-maintained website.

Residents will have to use the town's new mapping system, located at https://gis.easthartfordct.gov/.

Walsh said the new system is powerful and more accurate because of the combination of assessor and mapping data, but different enough that he needs new training.

"I was surprised as anybody that we have a new property card system," Walsh said.

Walsh said the police department also has begun publishing weekly arrest logs through the town's website.

Logs are updated on Mondays and include arrest dates, court dates, and charges filed for the prior week.

Joseph covers Manchester and Bolton for the Journal Inquirer.