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Enfield Rainbow

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Enfield CT rainbow, taken June 12th 2026, 8:15 p.m.

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Photo: Suburban lot

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November 25, 2018

Enfield

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About this blog

Patrick Thibodeau is an Enfield native and longtime journalist. The purpose of EnfieldThings is to provide reporting, analysis, and occasional opinion to help residents understand how today’s decisions shape tomorrow’s town. The goal isn’t just to share news, but to foster informed civic conversation. Fairness and transparency guide every post, and errors are corrected openly. Contact: dcblogs@gmail.com

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Town faces lawsuit after DPW worker killed in North Main Street crash

North Main Street at Enfield Town Hall As some people noticed, Enfield got behind in its mowing schedule, in part, because of town employee lawn maintenance training. This training follows a crash in Sept. 2025 between a town lawnmower and a car on North Main Street at the town hall. A Department of Public Works employee operating the mower was killed. The town is being sued by the estate of Jamie Nickerson, the town employee. The plaintiff is his wife, Amy Nickerson. The lawsuit, filed in Hartford Superior Court, also names the vehicle driver, Alexander Torres. The lawsuit alleges the town was not following safety policies for regulating traffic around a worksite or meeting safety standards. It seeks unspecified monetary damages. Police have not released the accident report, citing an ongoing investigation. The lawsuit states the mower was being operated on the roadway during grass cutting and clean-up operations when the crash occurred. The lawsuit argues the town failed to fo...

Enfield Democrats' Overwhelming Win Delivers a Message

November 05, 2025

Councilmember-elect Linda Allegro, second from left, at the Democrat's watch party, shortly after learning that she won District 1, unseating Republican Mayor Ken Nelson. To the immediate left is former State Rep. Bill Kiner, Councilmember Bob Cressotti, and former State Rep. David Kiner. Taking the photo is Board of Education member-elect Roberta 'Bobbie' Kiner. Enfield Democrats won Tuesday's election by a landslide, capturing an 8-3 Town Council supermajority in what appears to be a clear rejection of local Republican priorities. Democrats received about 63% of the vote in Town Council races and also won the school board. While Republicans may take some solace in the fact that their defeat came amid a statewide Democratic wave, there is evidence that Enfield voters were responding to specific local frustrations with Republican governance. That message may have been most evident in District 1. The Democrats considered this a Republican district, which was won by the D...

Four of Five Enfield Fire Districts Considering 2027 Merger

The sample assessed value is based on my Southwood Acres home assessment. I live in the Hazardville Fire District. I'm using it for illustrative purposes. Take these figures with a large grain of salt. This estimate was taken from the minutes of meeting and any proposal has a long way to go before it makes to a voter referendum. But they do give an idea of what might happen. Four of Enfield’s five fire districts — Thompsonville, North Thompsonville, Hazardville, and Shaker Pines — are planning to consolidate, possibly by 2027. The districts have been meeting regularly and posting minutes of their discussions, which provide new details. This is an update to my previous post . I didn’t have the Consolidation Committee minutes at the time, but they provide necessary context. The minutes confirm that only four of the five districts are working on a merger. Enfield Fire District 1 is not part of this effort. This is new: The estimated combined tax rate for the four districts is ...

Vote ‘No’ — This Budget Referendum Politicizes Enfield and Solves Nothing

October 01, 2025

Sample Ballot District One referendum question: Shall the Enfield Town Charter be revised as proposed by the Charter Revision Commissionand as approved by the Enfield Town Council by Resolution #7276 at its regular meeting of June 16, 2025? (Click on ballot to see clear version) On Nov. 4, voters will face a yes-or-no decision on the Charter Revision Commission's work. It's a mess of things, but only one provision matters: Should the town have an Automatic Budget Referendum? Any budget the Council approves with more than a 5% spending increase must be put to a town-wide vote This referendum question is entirely political. [ Sample ballot , and Explanatory Text ] Why it's misleading The referendum idea was hatched by Republican leadership on the Charter Commission and sold as something that will be fiscally responsible and increase voter accountability. It will do no such thing because of how the town's finances work in the real world. What really determines whether tax...

Election Issues: Goodbye, Mark Twain Pickleball Courts. Hello $600K Fermi Pickleball Courts. What About the Fermi Building?

Fermi -- aka Enfield Annex -- sports field We don't have local elections in Enfield. Sure, we go through the motions—candidates put up signs, pen the obligatory Patch profiles, and stuff our mailboxes with slogan cards. But we don't have debates or forums. Our appointed mayors fade into the background and run as individuals. It's disappointing. The community remains disconnected from the government at the most consequential time. Without election engagement, unpopular ideas can and will be adopted by the council majority—without sufficient public input. That has to change. This is the first in a series of posts I'll be writing on issues that should be part of this year's local campaign. I'll label each post "Election Issue" and present an argument. Election Issue 1: Enfield's Transparency Problem The town insists it's open—except when it doesn't want to be. Take the $586,000 Fermi Pickleball Court project. It was approved just two months a...

New Council Takes Office, with Education as Top Priority

November 10, 2025

Council members congratulate Enfield’s new mayor, Gina Cekala, at the Town Council’s Nov. 10, 2025 meeting. From left are Republicans Lori Unghire and Marie Pyznar, and joining by video, State Rep. Carol Hall. Democrats, from left, are Cynthia Mangini, Bob Cressotti, Mayor Gina Cekala, Deputy Mayor and State Rep. John Santanella, Linda Allegro, Maya Nicole Matthews, Aaron Thomas, and Zach Zannoni. The new Enfield Town Council took office Monday night, six days after a landslide Democratic victory that unseated the Republican majority, opening its term with a commitment to education funding and a promise of unity. Gina Cekala, an attorney and seven-term councilmember, was unanimously elected mayor after being nominated by Councilmember newcomer Maya Nicole Matthews, who called the moment “a turning point” for Enfield and praised women’s leadership in local government. “People are tired of drama and division,” Matthews said. “Women in Enfield turned out to vote in record numbers, and b...

Enfield Square Redevelopment: What Enfield Could Have Asked For—And Didn’t

The town approved millions in public support—without tying the deal to walkability, entertainment, or shared spaces residents said they wanted. Proposed project presented to Town Council last year. The Target store is to the right rear. Redeveloping Enfield Square is critical. Once our downtown—a hub of activity and identity—the mall is now a shell of its former self. In public comments and a survey of over 1,000 people, residents voiced a clear desire for the redevelopment: not just retail, but gathering places—entertainment venues, a movie theater, live music, family-friendly spaces, and walkability. Yet on June 2, when Enfield had the most leverage, the Town Council approved a generous package of financial incentives without securing any binding commitments to many of those community goals. Progress, But Not Vision For sure, the town is taking steps to address the problems at Enfield Square. The developer, Woodsonia Acquisitions, will redevelop the site into a mix of hou...

Enfield Square Redevelopment Plan Faces Harsh Criticism From PZC Chair: “This Is Our Town"

September 26, 2025

Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Linda DeGray holds up rendering of Enfield Square redevelopment proposal at Thurday's meeting with the developers. To her left is Commissioner Terrence Lynch, and right, John Petronella. Source: YouTube A plan to demolish and redevelop the Enfield Square Mall is facing sharp opposition from the Planning and Zoning Commission. At a meeting on Thursday, PZC Chairwoman Linda DeGray stated that the latest proposal — which includes the potential for 700 apartments, a new big-box store, and smaller buildings for restaurants and retail — was not what the town had wanted. "I understand you're businessmen, but this is our town," DeGray said. "These people live here. You guys live in Nebraska." "This is still way too much," she said, at one point holding up a rendering of the development plan. "We are looking for more open space. We want something that is a little bit more representative of a town, not a city." ...

Enfield Set for Biggest Housing and Population Growth in Decades

October 27, 2025

Open space and existing homes — the balance Enfield must navigate as new housing proposals emerge. Enfield is quietly on the verge of its largest housing expansion in decades. Over the past several years, the town has approved or is reviewing projects that together could add nearly 1,400 units — most of them smaller, rental apartments. If built, these developments would bring about 2,300 to 2,600 new residents to town. The town needs this new housing. Enfield's population is flat. It's getting older. Young people are declining. Our job market growth is flat. (see appendix) Young People Are Key Without young people, Enfield will face a long and persistent decline and soaring taxes. We're surrounded by communities that help underpin our commercial sector that are seeing similar demographic shifts. Enfield Has 5,000 Fewer Residents Than in 1970 In 1970, our population was 46,200. The U.S. includes prisoners in the local population, but our prison population at that time was n...

News Analysis: What Happens When ICE Comes to Enfield?

January 16, 2026

Freshwater Pond, Enfield CT Concern is high, generally, about what happens when ICE makes a concerted push in our community. Would we see something similar to Minnesota? That operation involved a saturation surge -- of more than 2,000 agents into the Twin Cities -- that overwhelmed local police capability. The question becomes do all communities face a similar risk, especially from agents that don't seem well-trained in de-escalation techniques. Enfield is too small of a town to get a massive ICE response. But it is the practice of ICE to operate independently from local police departments, which creates its own set of risks. Connecticut has a law, the Connecticut Trust Act, that sets some restrictions on what local police can do to help federal immigration enforcement. The Trust Act explicitly forbids local police from assisting federal agents unless specific serious criteria are met. But does the Trust Act protect residents, or does it just keep local police from helping in ce...

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