MONROE, CT — The Monroe Technology Department, which serves the town’s municipal government and Board of Education, was housed in an old stone building behind Monroe Elementary School, before its recent move into a new space in the town community center at the former St. Jude School.
“It doesn’t compare,” IT Director Paul Koorse said. “It’s night and day. It’s a huge morale boost.”
Koorse said his department still has a presence in the stone building, where it houses its data center, while its offices are at St. Jude.
Off a hallway of the community center, the Monroe Technology Department entrance leads to a large open room with a row of cubicles with desks, computers and other equipment, and the room has a copier machine, and a conference table in front of a wall-mounted screen for presentations.
“There was no place to do meetings,” Koorse said of the 1930s building behind Monroe Elementary School. “It was just a room with a couple of desks and a countertop.”
“We all work really well together,” Network Administrator Ryan Dailey said. “It’s a nice place to collaborate.”
In the new office, cabinets and a counter are against one wall of the main room. A door leads to Koorse’s private office and another doorway at the far end of the room leads to more work stations.
On Tuesday morning, the counter was covered with plates stacked with sandwiches from Last Drop Coffee Shop in Monroe, including roast beef and turkey.
First Selectman Terry Rooney’s office had organized a grand opening to celebrate the new office space. “To me, this is a very important day,” Rooney said.
In addition to Koorse and his staff, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kobza, Town Councilman Jason Maur, Monroe Police Chief Keith White, Finance Director Ronald Bunovsky Jr., Public Works Director Chris Nowacki and Deputy Public Works Director Bill Phillips attended the event.
Rooney praised the work of Koorse and his IT staff and spoke of how serious cyber threats are to sensitive data.
“It’s a very real threat in communities and municipalities every single day,” he said. “The IT department was in the back of Monroe El in what was a very, for lack of a better term, dilapidated situation.”
Rooney said those who protect Board of Education and municipal information deserved better.
“We had to do it,” he said. “I hope you’re all happy with this. I’m very happy with this. This is a way that we move the town forward. This is a way of us looking into the future to protect our information. This is all for you guys, because that’s what you do every day. It’s a threat that people do not see.”
Aside from being a large and clean space, Rooney said there is room to grow if needed.
“I know the citizens of Monroe, whether they’re going to realize it or not, should be very appreciative of the work you do,” he said. “I certainly am. I know our staff is.”
Maur thanked Koorse and his staff for being “kind of the guinea pigs” as the first town department to move its offices into the community center.
“This space is a testament to what this building can be for the town of Monroe, so we’re really excited to see that grow as well,” Maur said of the sentiments of Town Council members.
“Thank you guys for taking that first step,” he said. “From the Town Council, this is an awesome thing to see. These are the first steps of a project that’s long in the making.”
“This is so needed for these guys,” Kobza said. “They work so hard. To have a professional office space to do the caliber of work they do is well deserved.”
Koorse thanked the first selectman for his leadership, the Town Council for its support and members of Monroe Public Works for their hard work in setting up the new office space.
“Thank you to my team,” Koorse said. “I probably, arguably have the best team in the state when it comes to supporting municipal and K-12 environments. This has been a tremendous milestone in this department.”
“I volunteered us to be the first to come in here and bring the network with it, so that it would be an easier transition,” he said. “Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. It finally feels like we got a place to call home. Everybody is under one roof now, which is a huge help and it certainly helps the cybersecurity aspect, because we’re now within the same area and we’ve expanded our staff. I think great things are gonna come.”
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