NEWS RELEASE

December 4, 2001

MDC PROGRAMS DESCRIBED FOR MEMBER TOWN OFFICIALS

HARTFORD – Officials from the Metropolitan District Commission’s (MDC) eight member towns gathered to view exhibits and to hear presentations about the many and varied programs and activities that the MDC provides.

The event was held November 28 at the Chowder Pot IV on Brainard Road. The gathering was held soon after the November elections especially to acquaint newly elected councilpersons with the MDC.

Displays featured the MDC’s role in drinking water and wastewater treatment; hydroelectric power, geographic information system, Riverfront Parks, household hazardous waste collection, natural resources and the reimbursement program for the installation of backwater valves, which offer protection from sewer backups.

In his remarks, Anthony H. Gallicchio, MDC Chairman, said: “The MDC and the MDC member towns enjoy a unique relationship. The MDC, after all, is a partnership of our member towns, who join together to provide essential services to our residents. This was a new idea when the MDC was created in 1929. Now, because of our special relationship, the MDC has become a model for intergovernmental cooperation.”

Commissioner Trude Mero, chair of the Community Affairs Committee, told the officials that, “From school presentations to summer concert sponsorships, the MDC is active in our communities in ways that you may not have realized. We see the MDC as a partner with you in improving the quality of life in our communities. This has been our goal for the past 72 years and will continue to be so.”

Besides the officials from the MDC’s eight member towns, guests included Joe Marfuggi, director of Riverfront Recapture, which has a close working relationship with the MDC. The MDC provides maintenance services for the riverfront parks and plazas and funds the Riverfront Rangers.

A non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1929, the MDC supplies water and sewer services to its eight member municipalities: Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor. The MDC supplies treated water to the Town of Portland and portions of Glastonbury, East Granby, South Windsor and Farmington. The MDC owns and operates two three-megawatt hydroelectric power stations, one at the Goodwin Dam in Hartland and one at the Cole-brook River Dam in Colebrook.

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For further information, contact: Matt Nozzolio
(860) 278-7850, ext. 3209