FARMINGTON — Tom Trutter, UConn Health Center’s associate vice president of campus planning, design and construction, recently won a coveted construction award. The New Britain resident received a 2013 Construction Industry Recognition Award from Associated General Contractors of Connecticut, the building division of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association.Trutter, who has overall responsibility for the entire construction program at the center, was named the “Public Owner Representative of the Year.” Award criteria include leadership, understanding of construction principles and theory, record of professional and personal accomplishment, skill level, experience, judgment, and fair and responsible business practices.
A couple of weeks before the Oct. 17 awards dinner, he got a call from one of the judges informing him he was one of three nominees for the award. “I didn’t know until they called my name at the dinner that I was the winner,” he said.Trutter, 56, a transplanted Midwesterner, earned his undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
CHESHIRE — A few doors lean against trees, waiting to be hung. Construction equipment and a trailer dot the two-plus acres of ground, which is covered with light green fertilizer.
Attorney General George Jepsen asked state regulators on Friday to fine Connecticut Light & Power up to $143 million for its deficient and inadequate response to the 2011 storms.
CL&P is seeking to recover $414 million in restoration and recovery costs from the storms in 2011 and 2012, including Tropical Storm Irene, the October 2011 nor'easter, and Superstorm Sandy. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will rule on how much of those costs CL&P can recover. A draft decision is expected in late December.In investigating CL&P response to Irene and the nor'easter, PURA found the utility was deficient and inadequate to the more than 600,000 outages caused by the events, as some customers were without power for up to 11 days. In its investigative report, PURA said CL&P should be assessed a penalty by not being allowed to recover a portion of its storm costs.In its filing to PURA for all of its 2011 and 2012 storm costs, CL&P said it incurred $111.2 million from Irene and $175.1 million for the nor'easter.Jepsen said in his filing Friday that CL&P should suffer a 30-50 percent penalty of these Irene and nor'easter costs. That equates to $86 to $143 million.
Westport's North Ave bridge re-opens
After enduring several months of road closures and traffic detours, the commuters of Westport can celebrate the official opening of the North Avenue Bridge.The completed North Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Aspetuck River, was widened by six feet to allow for two 12-foot wide travel lanes and a new four-foot wide sidewalk. A new water main and fire hydrant were also installed to service the nearby community.Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC) was brought onboard to design the new bridge, as well as ensure the bridge achieved flood management certification.
Quarry application recieved by East Granby Inland Wetland Commission
On July 12, 2011 Galasso received Zone Change from the Planning and Zoning Commission for a 75 acre parcel south toward Hatchet Hill Road, East Granby. Phase III of the Quarry Expansion south will be for approximately half of the approved quarry zone area and will include clearing of 22.9 acres and excavation of 17.6 acres. For the last 2 years Galasso has been putting together their application to expand the Quarry.The first step in this process will be to submit an application to Inland Wetland Commission. The finalized application will be received at the Nov. 6 Inland Wetland Commission meeting. There will be no presentation that evening regarding the Quarry expansion. The commission will only accept the application and schedule for a public hearing at their next meeting which is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Organic recycling in CT gets boost with partnership
The New Jersey-based company that operates trash-to-energy plants in Wallingford, Bristol and Preston, is working with a company in suburban Philadelphia to develop a facility to recycle food and yard waste as well as other types of organic refuse.
Covanta Energy Corp. and Turning Earth LLC of King of Prussia, Pa., said construction of the organic waste recycling plant will start in late 2014 after a site somewhere in central Connecticut has been selected and all the necessary permits have been obtained. Officials from the two companies aren’t saying where that site will be, and the locations being considered for the organics recycling plant include either of Covanta’s waste-to-energy facilities in Wallingford or Bristol.
The 10-year agreement the two companies have signed calls for Turning Earth to build, own and operate the organics recycling facility. Covanta will provide organic waste from its municipal and commercial customers.Stephen Diaz, Covanta Energy’s vice president, said company officials “couldn’t be more excited about our partnership with Turning Earth.”
Except for a few finishing touches, the long-awaited Foote Commons affordable housing units on West Main Street are almost completed.“I’m excited about it, very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said Brian Klein, Cheshire Housing Authority board president. “This is the vision we had. The hardest part was not being discouraged by the bureaucratic process. I like to think of it as a legacy I’m involved in that will serve people for many years to come.”
MERIDEN — Standing on the downtown Hub site Friday afternoon, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recalled a conversation with Mayor Michael S. Rohde about some of the key projects in the city and the need for them to occur in order for the city to thrive.The most important of all projects, Malloy said, was the need to improve flood control in downtown in order for economic development growth. Having led a flood control project of his own as mayor of Stamford, Malloy is no stranger to creating a dry downtown.“I immediately saw the wisdom of this project ... It makes too much sense, quite frankly, and I don’t know why other governors didn’t engage in this project,” Malloy said.
In addition to picking their next mayor and City Council, Norwich voters on Tuesday will decide the fate of a $5 million public works bond that will pay for continued infrastructure repairs and miles of street resurfacing.Continued maintenance: With taxpayer approval, the borrowing would be the third such bond since 2006, part of a financing plan that put the city on a 20-year paving schedule to complete about eight miles of new streets annually. Since 2007, a third of the city’s roads — just more than 52 miles — have been either repaved or treated. Where the money would go: About half of the funds — $1.92 million — would pay for seven miles worth of repaving at Grove Street, Pond Street, Canterbury Turnpike, Hickory Street, Brook Street, Jennings Street, Burghardt Street, South Second Street, Shea’s Lane, Main Street, Broadway, Chelsea Parade South, Court House Square, Market Street, Mohegan Road, Lathrop Court, New London Turnpike, School Street, Church Street, School House Lane, Old Division Street, Fountain Street, Scott Street, Woodside Avenue, Whipple Avenue, Glen Court, Aborn Street, West Street, Bushnell Place and Wisconsin Avenue.
The Putnam Water Pollution Control Authority has won an award for the sewage treatment plant that’s been years in the making. The Atlantic States Rural Water and Wastewater Association awarded its annual Facility Improvement Award in recognition of the “WPCA’s continued commitment to protecting public health and surface water quality through significant upgrades to their facilities.”The award comes as the town is finishing $18.8 million in upgrades to the facility.“This is a peer award,” said Town Administrator Douglas Cutler. “This award shows we’re very progressive in making sure our infrastructure is up to par, meeting regulatory requirements and the needs of our community.”The town’s sewage treatment plant had not had any significant upgrades since it came online in the mid-1970s, Cutler said, and since then, federal regulatory requirements — and the age of the facility — have demanded upgrades. However, Putnam often could not afford the improvements, he said.
CL&P is seeking to recover $414 million in restoration and recovery costs from the storms in 2011 and 2012, including Tropical Storm Irene, the October 2011 nor'easter, and Superstorm Sandy. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will rule on how much of those costs CL&P can recover. A draft decision is expected in late December.In investigating CL&P response to Irene and the nor'easter, PURA found the utility was deficient and inadequate to the more than 600,000 outages caused by the events, as some customers were without power for up to 11 days. In its investigative report, PURA said CL&P should be assessed a penalty by not being allowed to recover a portion of its storm costs.In its filing to PURA for all of its 2011 and 2012 storm costs, CL&P said it incurred $111.2 million from Irene and $175.1 million for the nor'easter.Jepsen said in his filing Friday that CL&P should suffer a 30-50 percent penalty of these Irene and nor'easter costs. That equates to $86 to $143 million.
Westport's North Ave bridge re-opens
After enduring several months of road closures and traffic detours, the commuters of Westport can celebrate the official opening of the North Avenue Bridge.The completed North Avenue Bridge, which crosses the Aspetuck River, was widened by six feet to allow for two 12-foot wide travel lanes and a new four-foot wide sidewalk. A new water main and fire hydrant were also installed to service the nearby community.Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC) was brought onboard to design the new bridge, as well as ensure the bridge achieved flood management certification.
Quarry application recieved by East Granby Inland Wetland Commission
On July 12, 2011 Galasso received Zone Change from the Planning and Zoning Commission for a 75 acre parcel south toward Hatchet Hill Road, East Granby. Phase III of the Quarry Expansion south will be for approximately half of the approved quarry zone area and will include clearing of 22.9 acres and excavation of 17.6 acres. For the last 2 years Galasso has been putting together their application to expand the Quarry.The first step in this process will be to submit an application to Inland Wetland Commission. The finalized application will be received at the Nov. 6 Inland Wetland Commission meeting. There will be no presentation that evening regarding the Quarry expansion. The commission will only accept the application and schedule for a public hearing at their next meeting which is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Organic recycling in CT gets boost with partnership
The New Jersey-based company that operates trash-to-energy plants in Wallingford, Bristol and Preston, is working with a company in suburban Philadelphia to develop a facility to recycle food and yard waste as well as other types of organic refuse.
Covanta Energy Corp. and Turning Earth LLC of King of Prussia, Pa., said construction of the organic waste recycling plant will start in late 2014 after a site somewhere in central Connecticut has been selected and all the necessary permits have been obtained. Officials from the two companies aren’t saying where that site will be, and the locations being considered for the organics recycling plant include either of Covanta’s waste-to-energy facilities in Wallingford or Bristol.
The 10-year agreement the two companies have signed calls for Turning Earth to build, own and operate the organics recycling facility. Covanta will provide organic waste from its municipal and commercial customers.Stephen Diaz, Covanta Energy’s vice president, said company officials “couldn’t be more excited about our partnership with Turning Earth.”