Ice rink proposal on Fairfield Hills agenda
NEWTOWN -- With spring finally here, some might find it odd that folks are considering bringing ice sports to Newtown. But as hockey and skating fans are aware, winter isn't necessary to play these sports. The Fairfield Hills Authority is slated Monday to consider a proposal to build an ice arena suitable to accommodate a National Hockey League-size rink with seating for 1,200 spectators and an accompanying smaller rink with four curling lanes. Locker rooms, lounge areas, a restaurant, a pro shop and party rooms are part of a plan spelled out in a letter of intent forwarded in November to town Director of Planning and Land Use George Benson. Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Thomas Connors said the letter will be discussed before considering what the authority wants to require of prospective tenants and developers. Connors said the authority has at times wrestled with what constitutes a bona fide proposal. "This fits into our effort to make the development process a little bit easier for potential tenants and developers," Connors said of crafting the criteria for the project approval. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Putnam pushes for regional partners
A growing regionalization trend is manifesting itself in northeastern Connecticut as Putnam seeks nearby municipalities to partner with it in the construction of a new technology park. Putnam Town Administrator Douglas Cutler said the state’s 169 towns can’t effectively promote economic development on their own. “We have to come together on a regional basis. If there’s a way we can encourage this so it helps out the region, we’re willing to come to the table and share in the investment of the project and the rewards of the project,” Cutler said. Canterbury First Selectman Roy Piper said his interest was piqued when he heard Putnam leaders present the idea at a Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments meeting last month. “I think it’s interesting and could be a lucrative thing for the town,” Piper said. “We’ve been through a recession and we’re trying to bounce back. I’m looking for companies to come in and create jobs for residents in the area. A regional tech park might be a way to do that.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
More than 63,000 U.S. bridges need structual repair
Data from a new government report show that if all the structurally deficient bridges in the United States were placed end-to-end, it would take you 25 hours driving 60 miles per hour to cross them. That''s like driving the 1,500 miles between Boston and Miami. And it''s a problem that''s close to home.An analysis of the 2013 National Bridge Inventory database recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) shows cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation''s more than 63,000 structurally compromised bridges 250 million times every day. The most heavily traveled are on the Interstate system.The problem could get a lot worse, the chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) says, as states across the nation face a slowdown in reimbursements for already approved federal-aid highway projects in August. Without congressional action, Dr. Alison Premo Black says there will be no Highway Trust Fund support for any new road, bridge, or public transportation projects in any state during FY 2015, which begins October 1. "Letting the Highway Trust Fund investment dry up would have a devastating impact on bridge repairs," Black says, noting the trust fund has supported $89 billion in bridge construction work by the states over the past 10 years. "It would set back bridge improvements in every state for the next decade. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE