On the road: Selectman back Kings Highway upgrades
A $1.2 million project, funded almost entirely by a state grant, would add sidewalks, bike paths and bicycle racks on a stretch of Kings Highway from Chambers Street to Brentwood Avenue.
The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday authorized First Selectman Michael Tetreau to accept the grant, though the request from Town Engineer Bill Hurley and Economic Development Director Mark Barnhart hit a brief roadblock during the meeting.It wasn't the project itself that had the selectmen hitting the brakes, but the fact that no bond resolution accompanied the request. The grant requires that the town first spend its money and then be reimbursed.The money has been accounted for in the town's capital projects spending plan, and Chief Fiscal Officer Robert Mayer said it wasn't necessary to have a bond resolution at this point. He said the $1.2 million would be included in the annual capital projects bonding package next year.
New Canaan YMCA unveils plans for big expansion
The New Canaan YMCA is preparing to submit plans for a major rebuilding at its South Avenue facility.The organization plans to add 13,000 square feet to the building, a 29 percent increase, by replacing its pools and locker rooms and reorganizing other spaces for basketball, yoga, child care and wellness."The board decided several years ago to address the second half of the building, which has failing parts of it and failing infrastructure," YMCA Executive Director Craig Panzano said.
The two pools at the YMCA were built in 1964 and 1977, and the locker rooms have consistently been a top priority among members for improvements, he said."In order to bring it up to standard, it's a little bigger, but within town regulations and setbacks," Panzano said of the expanded building.
CCSU relinquishes over 17 acres of land to help further Costco deal
NEW BRITAIN — One of the final pieces to the complicated Costco puzzle has finally fallen into place.The governing body of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system voted unanimously Thursday to turn 17¾ acres of land along the Ella Grasso Boulevard that belongs to Central Connecticut State University over to the state Department of Transportation.As a result of Thursday’s decision, Costco is getting closer to breaking ground on its new store on Hartford Road.
Mayor Timothy O’Brien said it looks like closing on the Costco property deal will now take place in either November or December.“Costco doesn’t want to do any work until they actually have possession of the property,” O’Brien said. “After they take possession, they’ll be ready to go.”
Although the particular tract involved in Thursday’s manuever will never be touched by the wholesale giant, it ties directly into the Costco deal. Because the proposed Costco facility will consume a portion of Stanley Golf Course, the city is looking to replace that land, and the links it is losing.It will be able to do so when the DOT transfers approximately 15½ acres adjacent to the golf course to the city in exchange for 68 acres of land and 23 acres of conservation land elsewhere.
But, because the land the DOT will give the city has been tagged with “preservation” status under an Army Corps of Engineers permit, it must be replaced with land coming from the same watershed. The CCSU property along the Ella Grasso Boulevard fulfills that requirement.
After failed referendum, Colchester pumps brakes on building project
COLCHESTER — The task before Colchester leaders looking at how to proceed with improvements to the town’s middle school and senior and youth centers is threefold.They’re aiming to get feedback from residents in the wake of a failed $57 million proposal to renovate William J. Johnston Middle School and build a new senior center and community facility.Secondly, the middle school has immediate maintenance needs that require attention — and funding. And officials have to decide the future of the Building Committee that formed and guided the rejected plan.Members of the boards of Selectmen, Education and Finance met Wednesday night and decided on taking a slower approach and getting more input from residents. They’ve decided against trying to put a new referendum question before voters by next May to make a June 30 state deadline for reimbursement funds for school construction projects.
Flatbush Ave. bridge opens Friday
A newly constructed West Hartford bridge that will carry Flatbush Avenue traffic over the Amtrak rails will open Friday, transportation officials said.The four-lane bridge, 1,100-foot span, which has a pedestrian walkway, cost $23.1 million. The project also included a realignment and reconstruction of the intersections at New Park Avenue and Flatbush Avenue and at Newfield Avenue and Flatbush Avenue.
Rocky Hill board OK's River Edge permit
ROCKY HILL – The planning and zoning commission has given the go-ahead to River's Edge, the multi-use project planned for the long-blighted former foundry property along the bank of the Connecticut River.By unanimous vote, the commission Wednesday night agreed to issue a special use permit, and approve a site plan for the developers, Riverfront Future Partners, headed by New York real estate magnate Lenard Thylan.The decision came one week after the open space and conservation commission agreed to issue a five-year wetlands permit to the developers.Like the wetlands commission, the town planners held an extensive public hearing on the project, with four sessions continuing from June through September.