NEWTOWN -- A new Sandy Hook Elementary School is not expected to open for students and faculty until the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, a later time frame than some Board of Education members had anticipated.At a Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, Svigal & Partners and Consigli Construction said that while school construction is progressing, the need to acquire land for a new road to the school will likely push substantial completion to May 2016. The summer would then be spent completing landscaping and other such features for a official opening that August.School board member John Vouros said the goal has been to "get us into that school as fast as you can,'' and he was a bit surprised with the May date. Bearing the new time frame in mind, Vouros emphasized that it is imperative that the budget for the new school structure does not exceed the state grant of $49.25 million approved by the taxpayers. An additional $750,000 was set aside for preliminary site work."We cannot go over on this," Vouros said. "I can't impress on you that enough. You've all been alerted.''Consigli Construction Project Manager Aaron Krueger said it is a little early to have firm budget figures, but based on security needs and other essentials, he said the team is confident the company will be able to build "an exceptional place'' for the amount allocated.
Malloy announces more Super Storm Sandy to remove dam in Norwalk
This from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy:
“Roughly a year after Storm Sandy hit Connecticut’s coastline, Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that federal funding has been obtained to better protect communities along Long Island Sound by restoring natural features – such as marshes, wetlands, beaches, and the flow of rivers – that can help reduce damage from severe storms in the future.
“Residents and communities that suffered damage as a result of Storm Sandy will benefit from new U.S. Department of the Interior funding that will improve the resiliency of coastal and riparian areas by providing effective buffers to better protect us from powerful storm surges and damaging flood waters,” Governor Malloy said. “This is part of our effort to aggressively pursue all available federal funds to help our state rebuild and to better prepare for the future – an effort that has resulted in nearly half a billion in aid for Connecticut and its citizens.”
The U.S. Interior Department (DOI) recently announced $162 million for 45 protects designed to better protect Atlantic Coast communities from Virginia to Maine. Under this program, Connecticut will benefit from $5.2 million for five state-specific projects to improve water flows and reduce the risk of flooding by removing dams and restoring natural habitats.
Construction work at Maloney High School on schedule
MERIDEN — Cranes were moving construction materials, trucks were driving back and forth and workers were all over the grounds of Maloney High School Wednesday. Nearly all of the area to the north side of the building has been transformed into a construction site, other than the school’s baseball field.The $107.5 million renovation project is well underway and the new addition to the school is moving along at a rapid pace. With plans for a four-story classroom wing on the north side of the building, the renovation hit a significant milestone Wednesday when the first piece of steel was installed. Shortly after 11 a.m., a large crane hoisted a steel beam into the air and maneuvered it over the crescent-shaped wing. It was lowered to the east side of the wing, where a small group of workers put it in place. City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior, Deputy Mayor Matthew C. Dominello and city Purchasing Officer Wilma Petro, along with former city councilors, were on hand to watch and receive an update on the project. They walked the grounds with former City Councilor George McGoldrick, who was hired by architectural firm Fletcher Thompson to help with on-site review.
“It’s on schedule,” said Kendzior, who appeared pleased with his review of the site.
The laying of the first piece of steel is significant in the construction field, as the school classroom wing will begin moving upward and taking shape.
SOUTHINGTON — Residents had some questions and concerns during a public hearing at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday night over a proposal to transform nine of the 18 holes at Pine Valley Golf Course into a residential subdivision. Sev Bovino, a planner with Kratzert Jones & Associates in Milldale, representing Lovely Development Inc., explained to the commission that the developer is proposing 94 lots on the property. The single-family homes would be in the price range of $470,000 to $600,000. About 30 applicants have shown interest in the subdivision and many were looking for “smaller homes” with a master bedroom on the first floor. The development, on Welch Road, could take up to five years to complete.Bovino said the plans are to keep 70 acres of the 138-acre property for open space and said any open space would act as buffers. “Our goal was to preserve as much open space as possible,” he said.Mark Lovely, president of Lovely Development, said in July that a contract was signed to purchase the golf course and surveying of the land started that month. Monica Cusano, of 90 Welch Road, wanted to make sure that the trees on her property were staying and weren’t going to be torn up.
The bulk of the $7 billion cost of adding 280,000 customers to the natural gas system will be businesses and residents buying new home heating equipment. This $3-4 billion expense will be borne by the individuals making the conversion, although the state has established methods where residents can pay off the equipment purchase through their heating bills and businesses can use public-private financing.The utility costs of expanding pipelines and hooking up new customers ($2-3 billion) will be folded into ratepayer bills. The new customers who convert to natural gas after Jan. 1 will pay a premium in their rates, so they will share the greatest burden in the cost of the expansion. Those customers will pay the premium rates for 10 years.
Demoloition of belighted Manchester buildings begin
MANCHESTER — Demolition of blighted town-owned properties on Broad Street is underway.
On Wednesday, the operator of a tracked machine with a giant saber-toothed claw was busy chewing up one of the buildings and separating crumpled metal from masonry and other debris.
Known as the Nichols properties, the site had been occupied years ago by a muffler shop, the former Tires International and the former J&M Corvettes. The town foreclosed on the properties because the owners had failed to pay taxes and then bought the properties at auction.
Starting in early October, crews removed materials containing asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from the buildings. Tear-down of the former retail and service buildings and removal of underground heating oil tanks should be completed by the end of the year, Public Works Director Mark Carlino has said. Pavement is to be removed in the spring.