Oct. 24 Update From Bethel First Selectman Carter

**News Release Submitted by Bethel First Selectman Carter**

Oct. 24, 2025

Dear Bethel,

2025 Municipal Election

Early Voting for the Municipal Election on November 4th is underway at Town Hall! As of noon today, we have had 391 Early Voters and the afternoon appeared to be steady. Early Voting continues through the weekend and every day until November 2nd between 10 am and 6 pm, with extended hours of 8 am to 8 pm on October 28th and October 30th. In November of 2023 we had 4456 voters turn out to determine the direction of our community. Let’s see if we can do better this year! The 8 ballot questions for changes to the Bethel Charter are posted outside Meeting Room A and are available at https://bethel-ct.gov/2025-Elections.

Downtown Sidewalk Repairs

From the last update, the Board of Selectmen approved downtown sidewalk repairs at 24 locations where the pavers have recessed were there were trees or past repairs. Repairs could start as next Friday, October 31st, depending on the weather and attempts to not disrupt local businesses. The goal is for all repairs to be completed prior to Winterfest. Please use caution when walking downtown during the repairs.

Bethel Leaf Collection

Town of Bethel performs curbside pickup of leaves in paper bags from October to December each year. Please not to rake leaves into the streets, it could cause storm drain clogging and localized flooding. Bethel Residents may also bring bagged leaves to the transfer station at no extra cost. Please bring a picture ID confirming Bethel residency when you drop off your leaves. To learn more and see a tentative schedule by street, visit https://bethel-ct.gov/leaf-collection.

Aquarion Water Sale

Attention Aquarion Water customers: The Connecticut Water Fairness Coalition has set up an information page for residents and businesses concerned about the proposed sale of Aquarion to RWA, with an opportunity to share their thoughts with PURA. Visit https://waterfairness.org for more information.

Town of Bethel Jobs

Working for your own town is a really great opportunity, especially when that town is Bethel! Check out the new posts on the town website for a Plow Truck Driver/Street Maintainer, a Purchasing Agent/Account Assistant, and an Assistant Town Clerk. If you know someone who would fit in with an amazing group of town employees, please recommend they visit https://bethel-ct.gov/Employment or contact town hall. The Town of Bethel is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Childcare Needs Assessment Continued

As we shared last week, over 1 in 4 families have unmet childcare needs during the school year. Summer childcare is even greater challenges for Bethel families. According to the Bethel Youth Commission’s 2024 childcare needs survey, only 58% of families said their summer childcare needs are being met. Many rely on summer camps or daycares (57%), while 36% rely on a parent, guardian, or family member. Just like during the school year, top challenges in the summer are cost (62%), availability (33%), and hours of operation (30%). Summer care is also more expensive: 72% of families spend more than $200 per child per week, compared with lower costs during the school year.

Greenwood Ave. Closed Tomorrow

Greenwood Ave will be closed tomorrow, October 25th between 12 pm and 3 pm. Use caution along Greenwood Ave, PT Barnum Sq, and School during Trick or Treat Street between 1 and 3 pm. We sent the notification of the closure to residents through our mass notification system, so if you haven’t received a text or email, you might want to sign up and stay connected! Visit https://bethel-ct.gov/ and select “Mass Notification” from the scrolling menu just below the Town Hall photo.

Pinkleball

Attention Pickleballers! Don’t miss the first ever “Pinkleball” event tomorrow, October 25th at the pickleball courts behind BHS from 1 pm to 4 pm to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. Players can sign up by finding the google form link under @henry.wears.pink on Instagram, in the Bethel Teamreach for Pickleball, or click HERE. If you do not play pickleball and are interested in learning more about the sport, bring a chair and come watch the event. You can also donate HERE.

Town Hall Trick or Treat

The Town Hall Trick or Treat is Thursday, October 30th from 4 pm to 5:45 pm. Trick or treat through the halls of Town hall where our town employees will share in the fun. We will also collect non-perishable food donations. Thank you again to Union Savings for joining us and sponsoring the event!

BPL Halloween Spooktacular

Have a K-5th grader who loves Halloween? Don’t miss the Halloween Spooktacular at the Bethel Public Library on Thursday, October 30th at 6:30 pm. Enjoy an hour of thrilling games, dance to spooky tunes, and enjoy some Halloween treats. Come in your favorite costume and have a blast! Space is limited, so register soon at https://www.bethellibrary.org/events/.

Shoutouts

The Bethel Navy JROTC program will be honoring the 250th anniversary of the armed services prior to the home football game tonight. Arrive by 6:40 pm to see the pregame event. Good luck Wildcat Football!

Congratulations Hannah Lipman who has been recommended as Bethel’s next poet laureate! Once officially appointed by the Board of Selectmen in November, she will serve for three years beginning January 1, 2026. Hannah is well-known as the creator and editor of “The Bethel Grapevine” and is very involved with the arts community in Bethel. Thank you to the Laureate Committee, Cortney Davis, Alice Hutchinson, Rick McGee and Brian Clements for your time and effort to expand our community’s knowledge of literature and poetry!

Congratulations Tony Rizzo and the Rizzo Family for your recognition by Catholic Charities this week! Your generous support of our residents in need does not go unnoticed and we are grateful for the positive impact you all make on our community!

Good luck to the BHS boys soccer team in the SWC finals on Sunday, October 26th at 4 pm! They are taking on Weston at the WestConn field.

BHS Athletes of the Week are Vicky Dembeck and Kaden Islami! Vicky, a senior captain for Lady Wildcats Volleyball, for her consistent presence all season her leadership on and off the court. Kaden, a senior captain on the BHS Football team, had 149yds on 16 carries including a rushing and receiving TD. On defense Kaden had 10 tackles and a pass deflection in the Wildcats win over New Milford. Congrats!

A huge shoutout to Bethel Public Schools, Bethel Youth Football, Gridiron Club and the BHS All Sports Booster Club for your contribution to DeSantis Field with the new sound system! Go Wildcats!

Have a great weekend!

Dan