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08/19/2020 08:30 AMDue to COVID-19, North Branford’s Stanley T. Williams (STW) Community Center still awaits the go-ahead to reopen safely, but that’s not stopping the town’s new recreation director, Jessie Caetano, from finding silver linings in the pandemic clouds.
The center serves as the town’s recreation center and its senior center, with Jessie responsible for overseeing staff and programming for both. During the pandemic, she notes fresh coats of paint have been applied to brighten the walls and a new, workout-friendly rubberized floor will soon be installed in the fitness room, replacing worn carpeting. Right now, in partnership with Northford business neighbor Nature Works, some new pollinator-friendly gardens are in the works for future installation outside the STW center.
“It will be a nice way to freshen up the facility and partner with a local business. They’re working on a design right now,” says Jessie. “So we’ll have some new gardens that will not only freshen up the outside and contribute to the pollinator pathway, but will also make it nice for the seniors and the community to enjoy.”
While the STW building has been closed to the public, staff members have been hard at work. Jessie says the kitchen staff has also been very busy throughout the pandemic, cooking up and delivering meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to about 30 seniors in need, with a total of 180 delivered last week.
“The entire staff here has been working on overdrive to make things happen for the seniors and the entire community,” she says. “I can’t say enough about how great the team is here.”
In her role, Jessie’s responsibilities also include all parks permitting and improvements. She works closely with the town’s Department of Public Works and its director Fran Merola and notes that this week, bids will open for new fencing around the soccer field at North Farms Park.
Jessie is looking forward to phasing in indoor use of the STW center for recreation and seniors. She says the hope is to begin taking appointments for those wishing to use the equipment in the fitness center by mid-September and points out that the Parks & Recreation Commission recently approved allowing free use of the fitness room for all North Branford veterans.
Throughout the pandemic, recreation and seniors programming online and outdoors has been keeping the community engaged, thanks to ideas Jessie say are just bubbling up from her “very creative and innovative team.”
“We still are following all the guidance for [having] no high-risk sports, but we’ve been doing a lot of outdoor programming and hosting special events following social distancing guidelines,” she says. “Coming up, we have a movie night planned for Sept. 12 out at the Augur Field property, and we’re really looking forward to that. And we just had 36 people come out, with social distancing, for an Evening with Li Liu.”
Families watched Shenyang, China acrobat Li Liu perform during the free event outside the STW Center on Aug.11, with an ice cream truck brought in to provide treats for sale. The program was co-hosted by North Branford Public Libraries.
On Aug. 7, cars filed through the PoCo grounds for “PoCo To-Go,” Park and Rec’s answer to this year’s canceled Potato and Corn Festival. Jessie credits PoCo coordinator Jenn McCullouch and the entire STW center team, as well as plenty of PoCo volunteers, for helping to give away bags of ears of corn during the drive-up event. Three thousand ears of fresh corn were donated to the cause by Cecarellis Harrison Hill Farm of Northford. Participants could also make a $10 donation to “Mail a Potato” from a socially distanced post office or receive a PoCo Euro magnet for a $10 donation.
“We had a wonderful response, and I believe we collected over $1,000 in donations,” says Jessie. “People were very generous, and the event was really well received, although we’re all looking forward to getting back to the regular Potato and Corn Festival next year.”
Planning for PoCo 2021 is already in the works, she adds.
“We’re definitely planning full-force for next year, and looking forward to offering a really great festival for the community,” says Jessie.
Jessie hints community members may be able to enjoy other great events in the future at the Augur Field site where PoCo is held each year. She says one idea recently brainstormed by the Town Council, the possibility of incorporating an amphitheater or concert set up at the site, has already caught the imagination of her department.
“We’ve already had the conversation about running an outdoor theater there,” says Jessie. “So there’s been all sorts of wonderful conversations and dialogs going on among many people, and I’m really excited to partner with all of them, and anyone in the local community, to make these things happen.”
She adds the Parks & Recreation Commission has been “terrific to work with” as well as Town Manager Mike Paulhus and the Town Hall team.
“Everybody has been so welcoming and inviting. It has just been a wonderful environment to work in,” says Jessie, who started her role with the town on June 15.
“North Branford attracted me because it has this wonderful community vibe. I had heard fabulous things about the team here, and it just fit with my personal and professional aspirations,” says Jessie, while also adding that “starting a new position during the pandemic was certainly an interesting time to start!”
For example, instead of a typical meet-and-greet with Town Council and community members at a regular Town Council meeting, Jessie was introduced to North Branford and the Town Council via live-feed video during a Zoom meeting.
“I was able to get some face-to-face time and they were able to ask me questions about my background,” she says. “I think, like everything else, you get creative with how to make these things work.”
Before coming to North Branford, Jessie served as Bristol’s recreation supervisor for six years, and prior to that, as the city’s aquatic supervisor. As recreation supervisor for a city of 60,000, Jessie managed a portion of her department’s budget that was actually pretty similar in size to the entire recreation budget for the Town of North Branford, she notes. She says she loves working for a small town.
“In a small town, you get to have more robust involvement and you get to have more involvement in different pieces,” she says. “One of the nicest parts now is that I have integration with the Senior Center, which I didn’t have in Bristol.”
She’s looking forward to one day, hopefully soon, offering seniors and all community members full-time STW facility use again, and the resumption of travel offerings and many other programs. Jessie notes this year’s fall programming brochure, which has been a bit delayed due to planning around the pandemic, is set to come out in early September. Links to the brochure will be available online at northbranfordct.myrec.com or by checking Facebook (@NBParksandRecreation).
“I think everybody is desperate to get back to some semblance of normal,” says Jessie. “But in the meantime, we’re doing the best we can to make sure that we’re offering everything we can safely, and keeping the community safe.”