Register for our Annual Meeting, a new social media campaign + more news

May 18, 2023 | Issue 5

The CRCOG Connection

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CRCOG on LinkedIn | CRCOG on Twitter | CRCOG on Facebook

Our Annual Meeting is next month on Thursday, June 15. This year it will be held at Riverfront Boathouse in Hartford from 1:30-5:30 pm. Registration is open. Tickets for the Policy Board, municipal members, and other guests will be $25. Payment can be made by cash or check. Please register by Friday, June 9. We look forward to seeing you!

Today’s newsletter is 1462 words and is about a 7-minute read. Happy reading!

CRCOGWhat, CRCOGWho, CRCOGWhy, a new social media campaign

Although CRCOG and other councils of government have been around for many years, anecdotally, CRCOG employees find that many in the public are unaware of our organization and the work we do. CRCOG what? We aim to change that with the CRCOGWhat, CRCOGWho, CRCOGWhy social media campaign!

With this new campaign, we’re going to focus on helping educate our social media followers with content that illustrates how:

We work with public officials to improve our region.
We help towns and cities save tax dollars and enhance operating efficiencies.
We advocate for the capital city and member towns and provide various shared services to facilitate governmental efficiency.
We promote regional public safety and inter-agency strategies for public safety service delivery, managerial cooperation, training, and use of advanced technology.

As part of this campaign, you’ll see graphics, infographics, and new video content that highlight what, who, and why we do all of the impactful things we do to enhance our region.

Join us online, if you aren’t currently following us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

In the community: Coventry’s new anaerobic digester unveiled

On Monday, May 8, 2023, the town of Coventry unveiled its new anaerobic digestor, which was created through a collaborative partnership between HyTone Farm (Coventry) and Ag-Grid Energy (PA). The facility digests cow manure from the 400 dairy cows on the farm and local, source-separated food waste to produce up to 4.4M kwh of renewable electricity for municipalities, including New Britain, Connecticut.

This innovative project between Hytone Farm, a fourth-generation dairy farm, owned and operated by the Peracchio family since 1944, and Ag-Grid Energy CEO, Rashi Akki, along with many stakeholders, including DEEP, EPA, USDA NRCS and Rural Development, state and local representatives and public/private partners, will create an a sustainable, environmentally-friendly means to reduce methane emissions from cow manure storage and food waste, decrease the need for landfilling, produce renewable energy, and ensure the economic survival of farms.

The anaerobic digestor diverts dairy manure and food waste to an on-site storage facility, creating biogas (methane and CO2) that produces for, which is provided to municipalities. Solids (like sand) are separated into a storage lagoon or provided as bedding to the farm’s 400 dairy cows. Using the latest technology, the anaerobic digestor takes approximately 21 days to digest manure and food waste into renewable energy. The facility takes in over 8,000 gallons of food waste daily, including grease from fast food restaurants and liquid food waste from de-packers. In the future, HyTone and Ag-Grid Energy look to expand operations to include a solid food waste de-packaging operation upon permit approval from CT DEEP.

At a total cost of approximately $5-$6M, including $600,000 in rural grants, $3M from Live Oak Bank, and equipment funding through E-Quip, the anaerobic digestor will also support Connecticut’s commitment to net zero emissions of carbon gas by 2050 and Connecticut’s food waste diversion goals.

Through innovation and entrepreneurship, the goal is to reduce our carbon footprint. According to Michael Casella of the CT Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC), we can “do well by doing good.”

CRCOG Who: Best wishes to Anthony Diaz

Anthony Diaz's internship at CRCOG is coming to a close. We’re grateful to him for all his hard work this year and want to congratulate him on his graduation from UConn’s School of Public Policy. We decided to check in with him one more time before he says goodbye. Thank you, Anthony!

Q: How has your internship with CRCOG helped you to prepare for work life post-grad school?

A: One way in which CRCOG has helped me would be introducing me to new technological communication and collaboration tools. For example, I’ve been using Microsoft Teams during my work hours to conveniently communicate with my coworkers on collaborative projects. Also, I’ve been using SharePoint to collaborate on documents and spreadsheets with my coworkers. SharePoint is quite a neat tool that allows multiple people to write simultaneously on the same document in real-time. It makes collaboration between team members much easier and more convenient. I think being comfortable with software tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint is going to be quite helpful for me in the job that I end up in after graduation.

Q: What's the most memorable project you worked on? Why?

A: My most memorable project at CRCOG was helping out with the upcoming Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). This is a comprehensive document that encompasses Land Use, Transportation, and Housing, among other things. My assignment was to research the progress that our region has made since CRCOG enacted their previous POCD using the performance metrics in the State of Connecticut POCD. Finding data on the performance metrics was both fun and challenging, and it required me to filter information efficiently while I was researching in order to manage my time effectively and avoid an information overload! I also learned a lot of interesting and insightful facts about our region, such as the percentage of residents who use public transportation, and the percentage of households in our region that are Cost Burdened (households paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgage).

Q: Have you made any plans for after graduation?

A: After a lot of thought and consideration of my career desires, I’ve decided that I’m going to pursue a position as a Talent Recruiter. I believe the transferable skills I’ve learned both at school and at CRCOG are going to help me land this job after graduation. I also have the desire to live in a walkable community, so I will most likely be leaving Connecticut relatively soon. I want to thank the CRCOG staff for treating me with kindness and respect, and for bringing me in on collaborative projects and activities during my internship. I want them to know that I appreciate all how they have helped me and guided me!

We’ve launched the CRCOG 2024 Plan of Conservation and Development Survey

We have launched the CRCOG 2024 Plan of Conservation and Development Survey. The survey is intended to help us better understand how residents in our region feel about their communities and the region.

Your input will help CRCOG develop policies to serve the communities in our region better.

CRCOG 2024 Plan of Conservation and Development poll question

Does your town/city amenities meet your needs?

My town/city has all the amenities I need.

My town/city has most of the amenities I need.

My town/city has some of the amenities I need.

My town/city has very few of the amenities I need.

National Observances for May

May is a busy month when it comes to national observances. These events help to bring awareness to special topics and events. Looking to get involved? You may want to help increase awareness with your personal or professional networks. Here are May’s national observances: