In order to offer continuity and consistency with state and local orders we have established the “Reopen Milford Advisory Group”. The mission of the group is to safely reopen industry in Milford by; (1) communicating information from and to various industries and providing information to those industries on state/local guidelines; (2) assembling key industry sectors and stakeholders and; (3) planning a safe reopening for Milford to include safety, strategy, and confidence in the marketplace.

Julie Nash, Economic Development Director along with Pam Staneski, Executive Director of the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce will serve as liaisons and administrators.

Next meeting Tuesday, May 19 at Noon

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/95973973757

You can find the recording of the first meeting here.

Password: 3b%94%1* 

Manufacturing

 

John Schuld, Swistek Machinery America

Born and raised in Milford, Connecticut, John Schuld has been part of the manufacturing industry his whole life. After getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University, John returned to Connecticut and began his career in machinery sales for Rudel Machinery working side by side with manufacturers as big as Sikorsky and Medtronic as well as smaller local shops. Big or small, John worked with all his clients to help them select the best tools and machinery to efficiently get the job done. After 10 years of machine sales, John decided to go out on his own and started ISMS Machinery Sales in 2004. Then, in 2009, he started Swistek Machinery America located right here in Milford, CT, where he imports and sells his own brand of Swiss Type CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled) machines all over North America as well as supplying all the tools and accessories required to run a machine shop. More recently, John has become a strong advocate for getting young people involved in manufacturing. When John isn’t at the office or home spending time with his wife and his two children, he can be found fishing at local beaches, playing golf and basketball around town, or enjoying a meal at Stonebridge, Lasses’, or River Street Restaurant.

Retail

 

Ken Sterba, CRRP, Centennial



Ken began his Retail Property Management career here in Milford when he was named the Assistant General Manager at Westfield Connecticut Post in 2006 and was a Milford resident for 6 years. In 2017, Ken returned to the Connecticut Post Mall as the General Manager after stints at Westfield Trumbull and Westfield Meriden. While in Meriden, Ken served on the Board of Directors for the Midstate Chamber of Commerce from 2013 through 2017. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Ken earned his B.A. from Bowling Green State University. Ken, his wife Patrycja and their 3 kids currently reside in Derby.

Healthcare

Dr. Clifford Kramer, MD

Dr. Kramer has lived in Milford 35 years and maintains a cardiology practice in town affiliated with The Hartford Heart and Vascular Group.

Past president Milford Hospital medical staff, Chief of Cardiology Milford Hospital 1995-2019, Assistant Clinical Professor Yale University School of Medicine.

Financial

Robert Creigh, VP, Patriot Bank

Robert has been in retail banking for almost 30 years, and he is one of Patriot Bank’s most tenured branch employees. His long career in banking has included roles as Investment Specialist, Mortgage Loan Office and Branch Management. Robert has assisted many small business owners with the type of financing they need to grow and prosper. Bob earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of New Haven and has lived in Milford for the last 25 years.

Restaurants

Elena Fusco, Owner and Founder of Bin 100 Restaurant

Elena has been the owner-operator of Bin 100 Restaurant since 2007. She has more than 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Elena is a Director of the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Milford Restaurant Council. Elena maintains a membership with the Connecticut Restaurant Association.

  Real Estate

Al Franke, President, Advisra

Mr. Franke is responsible for driving the overall valuation and brokerage business strategy within Advisra. His personal valuation practice involves complex and high-value real estate in a litigation setting, including expert witness testimony. He has over 30 years of real estate industry experience. Mr. Franke’s appraisal and consulting practice is litigation-centric, focusing on property tax assessment appeal matters, diminution in value and stigma, impact studies and litigation support, including expert testimony. His appraisal experience involves commercial, residential, industrial, special purpose and open space properties. Mr. Franke also serves on Milford’s Economic Development Commission.

As Governor Lamont announced last week, the state is looking at May 20 as a possible date to reopen some of our businesses, as long as we continue to meet certain health risk assessments. We are working closely with members of the Reopen Milford & Connecticut Advisory Group, and we will provide industry-specific guidelines as they become available. 

The State of Connecticut, in partnership with the Connecticut Arts Alliance, has issued preliminary guidelines for arts organizations operating during COVID-19. These guidelines, which are subject to change, cover workplace safety, programming, and other considerations. 

 

To access the working draft of these guidelines, please visit

Arts Organizations COVID19 Operations Guidelines

We anticipate industry-specific detailed state and local guidelines to be released in the very near future based upon information that we have received to date and in an effort to streamline and make the process more efficient, Milford restaurants should be prepared to submit the following information to the respective state and / or local agencies:

 

 

The Milford Health Department has developed its own guidelines for operating an Outdoor Dining Area here .

 

As indicated above, these recommendations/guidelines are neither exhaustive nor definitive at this time. They are predicated upon the information we have received to date and the caution that the information is subject to change. In addition to providing sketches, inspectors from the respective agencies, for example, Health, Zoning, Building, Fire Marshal, may need to perform periodic site inspections in order to ensure compliance with these guidelines prior to and throughout the course of operation. Please be reminded that for those who do not already have permits issued by the City of Milford Zoning and / Building Departments, for any operation of an Outdoor Dining Area is temporary and subject to modification and / or termination upon the expiration of local and state executive orders. 

 

Stay tuned for more direction as we receive guidelines from the state and formulate a plan to Reopen Milford in the safest way possible

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is now available for self-unemployed applicants.

In honor of Mother's Day, we will chat with some of Milford's prominent mompreneurs on how they get it done.

Friday, May 8, 2020

Noon

Join Zoom Meeting at

https://zoom.us/j/93933660756

Send questions to jnash@milfordct.gov