May-June Around Town Journal

Read the Around Town Journal

FY16 Budget Adopted

The Town Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2015-16 (FY16) Budget Ordinance at the May 11th Town Council Meeting.

The Real Property Tax Rate will remain at $0.136 per $100 of assessed value; the Personal Property Rate (Business) was increased to $0.65 per $100 of assessed value; and the Personal Property Utility Rate (Utility) was increased to $3.20 per $100 of assessed value. The total Capital and Operating Budget for FY16 is $3,046,583.

Movie in the Park

The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD) and the Town are proud to present the 2015 Summer Schedule for Movie In the Park:

SATURDAYS at SUNDOWN

May 30th—Toy Story

June 27th—Aladdin

July 25th—Finding Nemo

August 29th—The Lion King

September 6th—Frozen

Movie admission is free, but KVFD is raising money to buy a new ambulance so they may continue to provide great fire and rescue service to our community. Please consider making a donation at one or all of the movie nights to help our fire department meet its goal!

SUMMER 2015 Safe Swimming Tips by the American Red Cross

Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.

Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. Even at a public pool or a lifeguarded beach, use the buddy system!

Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and Learn-to-Swim courses.

Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.

Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.

Establish rules and enforce them without fail. For example, set limits based on each person’s ability, do not let anyone play around drains and suction fittings, and do not allow swimmers to hyperventilate before swimming under water or have breath-holding contests.

Even if you do not plan on swimming, be cautious around natural bodies of water including ocean shoreline, rivers and lakes. Cold temperatures, currents and underwater hazards can make a fall into these bodies of water dangerous.

Pets—Watch for signs of heatstroke

Extreme temperatures can cause heatstroke. Some signs of heatstroke are heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, excessive thirst, lethargy, fever, dizziness, lack of coordination, profuse salivation, vomiting, a deep red or purple tongue, seizure, and unconsciousness.

Animals are at particular risk for heat stroke if they are very old, very young, overweight, not conditioned to prolonged exercise, or have heart or respiratory disease. Some breeds of dogs—like boxers, pugs, shihtzus, and other dogs and cats with short muzzles—will have a much harder time breathing in extreme heat.

How to treat a pet suffering from heatstroke:

Move your pet into the shade or an air-conditioned area. Apply ice packs or cold towels to her head, neck, and chest or run cool (not cold) water over her. Let her drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes. Take her directly to a veterinarian.