GOP Transportation Claims Don't Stand Up
HARTFORD — For weeks, Republican gubernatorial hopeful John McKinney has scolded Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for having "raided nearly $190 million" from a major transportation fund to shore up holes in the state budget. In public campaign events, Capitol appearances and legislative mailers, McKinney has pointed to the alleged transfers as evidence that Malloy is spending irresponsibly. The account he has referenced is the Special Transportation Fund, which supports a number of transportation operations, including the debt service on bonds sold to fund nearly all the state's transportation projects as well as operations at the Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles. The number making the rounds is $189 million. That's how much McKinney says Malloy has diverted from the fund — by modifying the automatic transfer schedules he inherited from predecessor M. Jodi Rell — to cover shortfalls in the state's general fund. Earlier this month, McKinney devoted an entire legislative mailer, sent to 12,500 households in his district, to publicizing the claim. Last week, Tom Foley, who came within 6,400 votes of beating Malloy in 2010, used a similar attack. "Gov. Malloy and his administration have raided [the fund] to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars," he said on WFSB's Sunday political talk show, "Face the State." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Developers hope zoning change is OK'd for old Nike site in Cromwell
CROMWELL >> The first step is about to be taken in the effort to redevelop the former Nike site for luxury apartments. The Belfonti Corp., LLC, is scheduled to present a proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday to revise the zoning in the area that surrounds the 8.5-acre site, which is located off Country Squire Road. The site was used as a command-and-control center for a dozen Nike anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries which were located elsewhere across much of the state in the 1950s and ‘60s. The site has long been abandoned and has fallen into disrepair and vandalized. Three local developers hope to change the zoning to enable them to construct what they term “high-end luxury apartments.” At present, the site is zoned strictly for single-family residential housing, Town Planner Stuart Popper explained on Wednesday. Belfonti, a Hamden-based development company that is working with the three local developers, will present a request for a zone change during Tuesday’s meeting. “They will be submitting an application to amend the zoning code to allow multi-family housing in an R-25 residential zone,” Popper explained. The commission will accept the application and set it down for a public hearing, most likely during the second meeting in September, Popper said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Worst of contaminated Meriden Hub soil sent to Canada
MERIDEN — More than 800 tons of highly contaminated soil excavated during the Hub redevelopment project has been shipped to Canada. Project planners had hoped to dispose of most of the contaminated fill at the infamous “tire pond” site on the Hamden-North Haven line, but much of the material was deemed hazardous and unsuitable for disposal there. A facility in Canada has received about 840 tons of the hazardous soil removed from the 14.4-acre Hub site, Director of Public Works Robert Bass estimated. It is estimated in total that 100,000 tons of soil will be removed over the next 18 months.“All of what is classified as hazardous was delivered to Canada,” Bass said, unsure of the name of the facility. “We had expected and had a base bid that we would haul off 150 tons ... As we continued to dig, the soils kept coming back really bad.” Officials had initially planned to haul the hazardous soil to a location in the Midwest, but the contractor, LaRosa Construction, preferred the Canadian site and said it was a simpler alternative, according to Bass. City officials and environmental testers expected to find hazardous materials in the soil. The site was once home to the International Silver Co. and the Meriden Britannia Co., as well as auto repair shops and gas stations, among numerous other businesses through the years. Although five “hot spots” were identified for hazardous materials, Bass said it was difficult to tell exactly how far the contamination had spread in some cases. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Reconstruction begins on town portion of Niantic Bay Boardwalk
East Lyme - While beachgoers relaxed on the sandy shore or sat on benches at McCook Point Park on Thursday, a project was underway nearby to rebuild the town's portion of the Niantic Bay Boardwalk. The boardwalk design calls for a reconstructed concrete pathway, with a steel bulkhead, that will form, along with Amtrak's existing walkway, a 1.1 mile path along Niantic Bay. Within a fenced-in area at McCook Point Park on Thursday, construction workers operated equipment to break up and crush a pile of concrete to later use as fill for the boardwalk. A fence also blocked off an access route, stretching from the park along a portion of Hole-in-the-Wall Beach, to the public. Workers will broaden and strengthen the road to transport materials during construction, said First Selectman Paul Formica. During construction, Hole-in-the-Wall will stay open and safety personnel will monitor the area, he said. The work, which began within the past two weeks, is slated to wrap up in late spring of 2015. Steel sheet piles for the boardwalk will be on site within 4 to 6 weeks, and workers are expected to begin pouring concrete for the structure in the late fall, said Formica.
The town has $4.9 million to rebuild the boardwalk from insurance and lawsuit settlements, Federal Emergency Management Agency Funds and a Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant. The town has hired Wiese Construction, a local company, to build the structure. Amtrak is also making an in-kind contribution to the project and will provide safety personnel to monitor the tracks during construction. Beyond the boardwalk, the town has additional plans for the waterfront area. The town is applying for grants to install six to 12 transient moorings and dinghy docks near Cini Park, according to Formica and town engineer Bill Scheer. Now that the replacement of the Niantic River railroad bridge has created wider channel access, town officials hope to install these new features to attract boaters to town, rather than having them leave for Block Island or Long Island. "It'll make it more of a destination place," said Formica about the town.
Yankee to break ground on $7B natural gas expansion
Berlin utility Yankee Gas on Monday will break ground on its natural gas system expansion, part of a statewide plan to make natural gas the fuel of choice in Connecticut through the addition of 280,000 customers. Yankee on Monday will start the first project of this expansion in Wilton, which will connect to the town's downtown business district, municipal buildings, and schools by the end of November. Wilton's energy commission estimates the town will save $500,000 annually in energy costs. The Wilton project is a segment of the overall $7 billion natural gas system expansion performed by utilities Yankee, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas. By hooking up customers near existing mains and building new mains to anchor customers – like manufacturers – the utilities plan on replacing heating oil as dominant heating fuel in Connecticut. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy championed this natural gas expansion in his comprehensive energy strategy in 2012, since natural gas currently is cheaper than heating oil and emits 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases when burned.
Deadlines quickly approaching for CT Studios
It's been five years since the initial construction plan for Connecticut Studios was presented to the town of South Windsor, and construction still has not begun. Although the plan has gone through several changes and delays to the project have been many, the Town Council remains hopeful that it will come into being and be of benefit to the town. "We have no reasons to walk away from the project," said Mayor Saud Anwar. "Based on what I've seen in the last seven months, the upside is significant." The project is set to be built at the intersection of I-291 and Route 5. The two main parts of the project include the studio itself and a fuel cell project. The contractors for the project are dck North America. An August 31 deadline is set for the company to present a construction plan for approval to the Town Council. October 31 is the deadline for the fuel cell project to be completed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE