WALLINGFORD — T own councilors expressed concern Thursday that a payment in lieu of taxes the town receives annually for hosting the Covanta trash-to-energy plant on South Cherry Street could disappear or be reduced if a proposal from Covanta to turn the plant into a transfer station moves forward. Leaders from Meriden, Wallingford, Cheshire, North Haven and Hamden — the five towns under contract to send waste to the 10-acre plant at 530 S. Cherry St. — have privately considered the proposal for the past two months. Negotiations are ongoing.
Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson confirmed this week that the Covanta plant isn’t meeting its targets for waste processing due to increased recycling. The facility is capable of processing 420 tons of solid waste a day. By burning trash, up to 11 megawatts of energy can be generated daily, which is sold to Connecticut Light & Power. Jackson said Covanta has proposed turning the plant into a transfer station that sends waste elsewhere for processing. No decision has been made yet, Covanta spokesman James Regan said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
SOUTHINGTON — Police plan on hiring a dozen extra officers to assist with detours for the Interstate 84 bridge closure and replacement in June. The state Department of Transportation is building a replacement bridge next to the structure carrying I-84 over Marion Avenue. The new bridge will be wheeled into place and installed from Friday, June 20 at 9 p.m. to Monday June 23 at 5 p.m. Exits 30 and 29 will be closed, along with Marion Avenue. State police will divert highway traffic on I-84 off the highway before the bridge, onto Marion Avenue, and then back onto the highway after the bridge via the ramps. Local traffic won’t be able to cross Marion Avenue under the highway so police are preparing to divert traffic. \ Lt. Michael Baribault said a dozen extra officers will be brought on to direct traffic around the clock for the entire weekend. The cost of these officers will be paid by the state. Traffic on Marion Avenue will be diverted to Diana Road west of the highway and West Street, West Main Street and Route 10 east of the highway. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
After hearing outlines of the two proposals, the City Council's Public Safety Committee voted to recommend to the full council that the ad-hoc Police Station Study Committee be asked to review the two proposals. Both sites were rejected by the committee in its ranking of some 30 sites considered for a new police station. Henry Resnikoff told the Public Safety Committee that his group has an option on the former YMCA property, now controlled by Chelsea Groton Bank, which holds the mortgage from the defunct YMCA corporation. That proposal calls for building below-ground parking and a three-story police station. Resnikoff admitted that the site is small; at 0.62 acres, it was rejected outright by the Police Station Study Committee as falling well short of the 2.72-acre minimum size. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CT unemployment drops to 6.9%
Connecticut's unemployment rate in April dropped below 7 percent for the first time since 2008, as the economy marked its third straight month of job gains with an addition 2,200 people employed, according to data from the state Department of Labor released Thursday. The unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent, its lowest level since the 6.7 percent in December 2008. The April metric was down from 7 percent in March and from 7.8 percent from April 2013. The pace of Connecticut's employment recovery is moderate but on solid footing, said Andy Condon, DOL director of the Office of Research. The additional 2,200 jobs added to payrolls in April were led by the trade, transportation, and utility industry, followed by leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and financial activities. The industries that lost jobs were professional and business services, manufacturing, and information. Connecticut has recovered 55.7 percent of the 119,100 jobs that were lost during the 2008-2010 recession.
DECD creates $20M superfund site
The Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development has started accepting applications for $20 million in brownfield remediation grants and loans.
The proposed projects will be ranked by their financial need, the project feasibility, the economic impact, the growth initiatives, and the applicant capacity and experience.
Grants will be awarded up to $4 million and are available to municipalities and economic development agencies. Low-interest loans will be awarded up to $2 million and are available for businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and agencies. The money can cover abatement, demolition, site investigation, assessment, groundwater monitoring, installation of controls, and professional services fees. The deadline is June 30. DECD will hold a series of sessions to discuss this round of funding in Waterbury, Hartford, Killingly, Norwich, New Haven, and Bridgeport.
East End school gets nod
WATERBURY — The Board of Education unanimously voted Thursday to move ahead with a $49.6 million proposal for a new elementary school in the East End. The vote came after the board trimmed $1.6 million from the proposed budget. Board members also resolved to continue to seek savings as the project moves forward. The project is far from assured, however. School board members approved an application for state aid. If approved by the state legislature, this will cover nearly 70 percent of cost. Before the application goes to the state, however, it must also meet with approval of the city's Board of Aldermen. The school board and aldermen are scheduled to hold a joint meeting and hearing on the proposal at 6 p.m. on May 28 at Chase Elementary School. Some board members expressed reservations about cost last week, but all agreed to press forward Thursday. Board member Thomas Van Stone Sr., one of the more fiscally conservative members, praised consultants for finding savings. "I think in just one week's time we have shown the public we have looked for and found some savings," said Van Stone. Board Vice President Karen E. Harvey warned about public concern about increased taxes, but ended up voting in support. She also questioned if there are alternatives if this plan fails. "I don't think there's any debate that we need the school," Harvey said. "It's just a question of how and what school." Board member Catherine Awwad continued to press district staff to consider reusing plans for one of three recent elementary school building projects in the city. School construction consultants O&G Industries sharpened their pencils after cost concerns were raised last week. At Van Stone's suggestion, they cut $546,147 for rooftop solar panels.
Van Stone argued that the solar panels wouldn't yield enough energy savings over their 25-year life expectancy to cover installation costs. After some protest, board member Elizabeth C. Brown reluctantly agreed, provided planners look for other ways to incorporate clean energy and conservation measures. The remaining reductions come mostly from reducing budget padding, which means more risk if costs are higher than expected. Planners cut $227,307 from design contingency. This lowered the construction budget, which impacts several fees and costs based on the size of the budget. O&G Industries took a $200,000 cut in their $2.4 million fee for this project. Guidone said O&G hadn't used up its budgeted amounts in prior projects, and the new estimate is in line with past experience. Another $200,000 was cut from the original budget of $1.2 million for financing costs. And $30,000 was cut from a line item that would cover property management related expenses. Unlike some recent projects, no homes or structures would be claimed as part of this project.