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Willington committee plans outreach and equity toolkit work after Sustainable CT briefing
Summary
Sustainable CT staff outlined the certification program and Equity Toolkit; Willington members agreed to schedule a community outreach event and use surveys (via Human Services) to meet Equity Toolkit requirements while pursuing technical assistance and possible grant funding.
John Teehan, commissioner and meeting host, opened the Willington Sustainability and Energy Committee meeting on April 8 and introduced Katie Meter of Sustainable CT, who outlined the group’s certification program and its Equity Toolkit requirement.
Meter told the committee that Sustainable CT’s certification has bronze, silver and gold levels and that the Equity Toolkit (Action 1.1) is a required element for bronze and silver: “The purpose of the Equity Toolkit is to complete a project in our program with feedback from the community,” she said, describing two common ways municipalities complete the action — targeted outreach (surveys, tabling, events) or by documenting existing community feedback and incorporating it into a completed project.
Teehan and other committee members discussed whom to target in Willington. Teehan said the town’s Black and Latino populations are small (about 3% each) but that the town shows a roughly 14% poverty rate he suspects is inflated by off‑campus students. “I would really love to have some actual demographic data to back that up before I try to bring it up in any public policy discussion,” he said; the committee asked Meter to share DataHaven resources and to connect Willington with Sustainable CT’s free equity coaches, who can help design outreach and write the required equity‑toolkit submission.
The committee agreed to pursue two parallel actions: schedule a community education/outreach event (targeting late May or early June) and run a targeted survey through Human Services to gather direct input for the Equity Toolkit. Teehan said the event could be held at the library or the community room and that the town would publicize it through the town website and local channels.
Meter offered additional supports: Sustainable CT fellows are available in summer to help municipalities with certification and Meter offered to connect Willington with Mansfield’s Sustainable CT team for mentorship. She cautioned that equity coaches are advisers who “help you develop those discussions regarding equity community outreach” but do not implement projects for the town.
The committee closed the discussion by assigning follow‑up: Meter will share links to DataHaven and Green Bank workshops and contact the Green Bank outreach team about community workshop options; Willington members will draft an outreach plan and place the event on a future meeting agenda.
The committee expected to use the outreach findings to identify and complete a project that could be submitted as part of the Equity Toolkit.
