I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts on the recent West Haven ARPA grant awards. As many of you know, I applied for this grant to support BISTRO BUDDY, a project that already brings in roughly 10,000 visitors from outside Connecticut to our local cultural events every weekend.

It's disheartening to learn that our application was not selected, especially when the very events that received the grant are the ones we could have supported and enhanced further. Many of these events are single-day occurrences that can be easily canceled due to weather, whereas BISTRO BUDDY consistently supports our community with ongoing cultural engagement. Our proposal included a profit-sharing component aimed at benefiting the entire community, ensuring that our growth translates into broader economic and cultural benefits for West Haven.

The pandemic has been tough on all of us, and like many, we were relying on this grant to help us recover and continue making a positive impact. Despite this setback, I remain committed to our mission of promoting and supporting local culture and events.

Thank you to everyone who has supported BISTRO BUDDY so far. Your belief in our vision keeps us moving forward. We will continue to strive for excellence and look for other opportunities to bring even more value to our community.

Keep posted— I may update this as I still wrap my head around it all.