BETHEL -- One side calls it semantics. The other side calls it misinformation.
The complications and delays on the reconstruction of Walnut Hill Bridge and how it's been presented have become a lightning rod in the first selectman's race.Democratic two-term incumbent First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker called the project a state project, which needed state approval for steps along the way to qualify for state and federal funds.But Republicans are pounding Knickerbocker, saying he is the one in charge and has botched the project. They say he misrepresented the bridge reconstruction as a state project.The bridge, which crosses the Lime Kiln Brook on Walnut Hill Road and is an important artery that Bethel residents use to reach Interstate 84 and Route 6, is supposed to be done by Dec. 1. Despite unforseen engineering delays, the contractors said the goal will be to make the bridge passable -- if not finished -- before winter. Republican first selectman candidateWill Duff has signs around town saying "Fix the bridge, elect Will Duff."
Demolition begin for new Boys & Girls Club
BRISTOL — A century-old Gaylord Street house came tumbling down Wednesday to make way for the Bristol Boys & Girls Club’s new $11 million facility.Workers from Tabacco & Sons, a city-based contractor, razed the house to finish clearing the property so construction of the building can get under way. The company donated its services.Michael Suchopar, the club’s director, said he was happy to see the work progressing. He said the large section of the fenced-off property that faces West Street will be the front of the new facility, slated to open by Labor Day. The area behind it, along Gaylord Street, will be used for parking and a bus dropoff.The three-story house, built in 1900, crumbled like matchsticks as a large payloader ripped it to pieces starting just before noon.
Wallingford schools face roof work delays
WALLINGFORD — The roofing project at Parker Farms School is being delayed because of problems with the materials, according to Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Marc Deptula.
Contractors were working through the summer to complete the second phase of the school system’s roofing project, which includes installing new roofs at six schools: Moses Y. Beach, Rock Hill, Pond Hill, Cook Hill, Parker Farms and Highland. It also included completed sections of Sheehan and Lyman Hall high schools. Deptula told the school board Monday night that after discovering a problem with the glue holding pieces of the roof together at Parker Farms, contractors had to tear apart portions of the roof and reapply the glue, which led to a delay. At that time, Deptula believed the project would be finished by October. However, in addition to the problems they had to address, the contractors have been limited to working on weekends on areas of the roof over classrooms, Deptula said.
OLD SAYBROOK - Two weeks after the town approved $15.1 million to pay for capital projects, project planning efforts are already moving forward in earnest.To access the funds the town authorized, last week the Board of Selectmen adopted a resolution to sell $15.1 million in municipal bonds this month. First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., said the town would issue the new bonds for sale to investors on Thursday, Oct. 31. Projections assume the town will need to pay investors in those bonds a rate of between 3.5 and 3.75 percent interest.On another front, the town asked for town land use bodies to conduct the required reviews of the various capital projects.The town's Planning Commission held a special meeting Oct. 23 to review the collection of capital projects for consistency with town plans.On the agenda for review as municipal improvements were the proposed police facility at 36 Lynde Street and the new turf playing field at the high school. The school maintenance and repair projects-replacement of the middle school roof, Goodwin windows, high school tennis court, and high school track-were also up for review per town plans.In parallel with action by the Board of Selectmen and town Planning Commission, the town's project building committees are also re-starting their work.
Storrs center looks good except that it lost its town green
Storrs Center, the new town center adjacent to the University of Connecticut campus, is nearing completion and by and large, I like what I see.As a town resident, UConn employee and local pedestrian, I see a novel design, quality construction, locally owned business establishments, good parking, and best of all, a combination bookstore and cafe fronting a town square under construction. And though I've been paying little attention to the political machinations of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc., the process has seemed quite transparent.However, something funny happened along the way. The town green became a putting green. The village atmosphere of a town green that residents had talked about for decades, the very one recommended by the "Storrs Green Task Force" in 1995, disappeared into a simulated urban landscape complete with a five-story canyon opening to a boxed-in town square containing a circle of sod 55 feet in diameter. I have no right to complain because I was looking the other way. Rather, I'm lamenting and writing a respectful minority opinion.
Solar park proposed for North Haven landfill site
NORTH HAVEN >> Plans are under way to take unused land and cultivate it for the town’s benefit.
A proposed solar park is headed to North Haven’s landfill on Universal Drive. It’s wasteland, it’s out of the way, and solar panels can be built on the kind of land that holds trash underneath it According to Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC’s proposal for the project, the plan is for North Haven to buy into a solar power purchase agreement. This means, in short, that Greenskies would own and maintain the solar panels, while the town would purchase the power created by the panels at a lower rate than otherwise available. “The solar project described here will be one of the largest in New England and will provide the town with a way to save on its electricity costs by transforming an otherwise dormant capped landfill into a symbol of ingenuity and economic developement,” wrote Michael Silvestrini, president of Greenskies.
Will the busway be the best way?
NEW BRITAIN — Commuters will soon have a new way of traveling to work: CTfastrak, a 9.4-mile dedicated busway that can take riders from New Britain to Hartford in 17 minutes — regardless of traffic conditions on the highway. Busway construction, which is slightly ahead of schedule, will be substantially finished in November 2014 and is expected to go into operation in February 2015. Towns along the busway route are already starting to benefit from transit-oriented development, officials say.
Storrs center looks good except that it lost its town green
Storrs Center, the new town center adjacent to the University of Connecticut campus, is nearing completion and by and large, I like what I see.As a town resident, UConn employee and local pedestrian, I see a novel design, quality construction, locally owned business establishments, good parking, and best of all, a combination bookstore and cafe fronting a town square under construction. And though I've been paying little attention to the political machinations of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc., the process has seemed quite transparent.However, something funny happened along the way. The town green became a putting green. The village atmosphere of a town green that residents had talked about for decades, the very one recommended by the "Storrs Green Task Force" in 1995, disappeared into a simulated urban landscape complete with a five-story canyon opening to a boxed-in town square containing a circle of sod 55 feet in diameter. I have no right to complain because I was looking the other way. Rather, I'm lamenting and writing a respectful minority opinion.
Solar park proposed for North Haven landfill site
NORTH HAVEN >> Plans are under way to take unused land and cultivate it for the town’s benefit.
A proposed solar park is headed to North Haven’s landfill on Universal Drive. It’s wasteland, it’s out of the way, and solar panels can be built on the kind of land that holds trash underneath it According to Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC’s proposal for the project, the plan is for North Haven to buy into a solar power purchase agreement. This means, in short, that Greenskies would own and maintain the solar panels, while the town would purchase the power created by the panels at a lower rate than otherwise available. “The solar project described here will be one of the largest in New England and will provide the town with a way to save on its electricity costs by transforming an otherwise dormant capped landfill into a symbol of ingenuity and economic developement,” wrote Michael Silvestrini, president of Greenskies.
Will the busway be the best way?
NEW BRITAIN — Commuters will soon have a new way of traveling to work: CTfastrak, a 9.4-mile dedicated busway that can take riders from New Britain to Hartford in 17 minutes — regardless of traffic conditions on the highway. Busway construction, which is slightly ahead of schedule, will be substantially finished in November 2014 and is expected to go into operation in February 2015. Towns along the busway route are already starting to benefit from transit-oriented development, officials say.