If the Board of Education turns down the General Electric site off Boston Avenue for a new Harding High School, the city will lose grant money and pay more to start the project from scratch.
That warning from city officials was enough to win a unanimous site-plan nod last week from members of the city's School Building Committee. What remains is a Planning and Zoning Commission nod -- a meeting is scheduled on Tuesday -- and approval by the city school board.
Without school board approval, the project won't go forward, Scott Baillie, a project manager for O&G Industries, the city construction managers, told the building committee. Baillie and others also told the committee that a shovel must be in the ground by June 30 or state funding for the $78 million project will be lost. The state is picking up about 80 percent of the costs. Although the city has already received three extensions, Ruben Felipe, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, said he does not believe the city would get a fourth, based on newly raised concerns by a school board that is questioning the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which would decide if the property is safe enough for a school.
Depot Crossing developer brings broker aboard
BERLIN — Little by little, the pieces of the Depot Crossing project are coming together.
Goman+York Property Advisors has been enlisted by the project’s developer, CIL Development Inc., to provide brokerage services for the commercial space at the mixed-use 848 Farmington Ave. building. Tom York, a principal with Goman+York, said Depot Crossing will house prime space. “With the benefits of the new construction, ample parking, excellent visibility plus the close proximity to the new train station and area amenities, Depot Crossing represents the finest office and retail space available in Berlin,” York said. Depot Crossing will consist of 16 apartments on the second and third floors and a 9,000-square-foot commercial condominium on the first. The property has sat unfinished for five years. Foreclosure brought construction of the 23,900-square-foot building to a halt shortly after work began in 2008. The town entered into an agreement to buy the property in February 2013. It was sold to CIL this month. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Bond helps Watertown catch up on road repairs
WATERTOWN — Following years of working with bare-bones maintenance budgets, Public Works Director Roy E. Cavanaugh said the proposed funding for next year includes all the work his crews can handle. Between the town manager's recommended $2.3 million budget for highways and the funds left from a $4 million bond for bridges, culverts, drainage and roads, Cavanaugh said his workers will be busy next year. He said, however, that road maintenance will become problematic again in 2015-16 if the budget is funded at the same level without the help of the bond, which will have been used up. "The bond has put the finger in the dike for a couple years," Cavanaugh said.
That is why Town Council member Thomas Winn, a Public Works Subcommittee member, is asking to add $50,000 to the budget to set up a road maintenance fund to bank for future repairs.
Cavanaugh said the maintenance fund is a good idea, but didn't know if the town could afford it.
"It's a balancing act between needs and the ability to pay," he said. The department has a similar fund for replacing construction equipment, which is funded at $75,000 per year, and a vehicle maintenance fund at $42,300. Cavanaugh said the department has 15 big trucks, each with a useful service life of 10 years. By sandblasting and repainting a truck about halfway through its life cycle, Cavanaugh said, he can extend the life of the truck by about three years. "Rust is the big enemy of the big trucks like that," he said. He estimates that the $6,000 the town spends per truck saves $12,000 to $18,000 per vehicle by extending its life 20 to 30 percent. In the 2014-15 proposed budget, Town Manager Charles A. Frigon recommended purchasing a new 2014 truck and a new 2014 H2 pickup truck, but passed on requests for a new loader and mini-excavator. Frigon also denied Cavanaugh's request for sidewalk projects on Green Street, Buckingham Street, Munson Street and Academy Hill Road.
Winn said he is OK with delaying sidewalk projects and equipment purchases, but will not negotiate on infrastructure, which he said is a safety issue. He said the town is paying for its neglect of roads in the past through the 2013 bond. He said he doesn't want another expensive bond in 10 years because the town neglected yearly maintenance. "The infrastructure of this town should not be something where we can balance our budget on. It's happened time and time again and we can't continue to do that," Winn said. Winn also said he would argue against a the removal of the Sylvan Lake Road drainage project and engineering for repairs to the Woolson Street bridge. The Woolson bridge is in the worst condition of five town bridges inspected by the State Department of Transportation, Cavanaugh said. He said it is the only one that hasn't been replaced in last 20 years.
"It's showing its age. We wanted to start addressing it, but I guess now it'll have to wait," he said.
Another bridge project, the 161-year-old bridge on Skilton Road, is a go, with the town funding $150,000 of the $750,000 project. Frigon also took out Cavanaugh's $17,280 request for maintenance on Turkey Brook. In 2012 the town spent $136,000 for flood prevention and debris cleanup. If maintenance is deferred for too long, adjacent properties will be subject to flooding, which could cost more to clean up, Cavanaugh said. "It's a gradual building up thing then all of a sudden, whammo," he said. Cavanaugh said the $3.76 million public works budget, which includes a $99,000 increase in personnel, is responsible, fair and affordable. "It's a rival year so there's going to be sticker shock whatever happens," Cavanaugh said.