Greenwich selectmen and finance officials have endorsed a proposed settlement between the town and the firm that oversaw the beleaguered construction of Hamilton Avenue School -- an agreement that would resolve years of litigation between the two parties. The Board of Selectmen and Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee this week unanimously endorsed the $1.2 million settlement, which if given final approval will resolve a nearly $6 million lawsuit filed by Worth Construction against the town and an approximately $2 million countersuit by the town against the Bethel-based firm. The two sides have been negotiating a settlement for several months.
"Given the nature of the case and the timeframe, this seems to be the best result," said First Selectman Peter Tesei. "It's not a zero or 100 percent proposition. It's not a case where one side is going to give all and one side is going to give nothing. It's going to be where each side has to give a little."
The settlement, which also needs approval by the full BET and the Representative Town Meeting's Claims Committee, would close the book on a construction fiasco that displaced kids and enraged parents and taxpayers as the school project dragged on and its cost swelled. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Natural gas line means more energy for Stamford
The installation of a new natural gas line is underway along the southern end of Washington Boulevard with the goal of providing service to residential and business customers.
Running between Henry Street and the railroad trestle to the north, the project started Tuesday and should take up to two weeks to complete, according to Ed Easley, general manager of the Connecticut operations of Pennsylvania-based Danella Construction, contractor for Yankee Gas, a division of Northeast Utilities. The work incorporates the use of 12-inch polyethylene pipe instead of more traditional steel pipe. "This is the first 12-inch plastic gas main installed in Connecticut," Easley said, adding that smaller diameter polyethylene pipe has been used to transport natural gas for three decades in Connecticut. "Plastic has a 50-year lifespan. The problem with a steel main is that the lifespan is 20 years." The pipe will run about 500 feet, said NU spokesman Mitch Gross, declining to discuss the price of the project. "This is an investment by Yankee in anticipation of future construction by Building and Land Technology along Washington Boulevard," said Gross, referring to the developer who has transformed an 80-acre tract in the South End of the city through its Harbor Point mixed-use development. "There have been conversations with Building and Land Technology regarding potential plans." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
South Main Street under construction
NEW BRITAIN — The downtown road work that began causing headaches for many pedestrians, motorists and business owners this week will be completed by Oct. 10, according to state Department of Transportation officials.
Crews from Tilcon began milling the 2.45-mile of road from South Street to Route 175 (Allen Street) on Monday. The milling of the state-owned roads — which entails removing the old surface of the roads and leaving the pavement grooved — will be complete on Wednesday, said Judd Everhart, state DOT spokesperson. He said the repaving and resurfacing of the roads will begin on Sept. 29 and is slated to be completed by Oct. 10. The work has resulted in numerous lane closures. “This is a very typical project,” Everhart said. “A completely resurfaced road should last for another 20 years.” The approximate $750,000 project will be paid entirely by the state, Everhart said. Everhart said the New Britain project is one of “dozens” the state DOT works on during the construction season, which runs from April 1 through Nov. 30. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CCSU getting makeover
NEW BRITAIN — A number of improvements have been made at Central Connecticut State University, including exterior and interior renovations that took place over the summer. Sal Cintorino, director of facilities management, said in a recent interview that the goal of the improvements is to make the campus more student-friendly. “We began several years ago, with a strategic plan to improve the quality of life on campus,” he said. The summer break saw more than $1.5 million in upgrades to the campus grounds, including renovations to the center of campus, replacement of cracked concrete with stamped asphalt and improvements to dorms, wifi capabilities and plumbing. “For the past several years we have been doing renovations to ‘behind the wall’ things, like the roofs or the new underground fuel cell,” Cintorino said. Starting in late May, crews began work on changing out all the deteriorating concrete on campus with stamped asphalt, which has a brick-like appearance. “We wanted to get two things done this summer, make our campus a safer one and make it a more attractive one,” Cintorino said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Low bids mean added amenities at Clinton's new Morgan School
CLINTON >> Favorable bids on construction of the town’s new high school have allowed the addition of some amenities to the facility, while still holding the total expense below projected estimates, school and town officials say. In advance of the ground-breaking ceremonies for the new school Monday, the Morgan School building committee Tuesday settled on a firm construction cost of $51,959,000, just under the projected $52 million cost but including an extensive list of extras that would not have been covered by the estimate, committee Chairman Gerald Vece said. The total cost of the school, including construction, site acquisition, contingencies, and other expenses, stands at $64,750,000, of which the state will pay nearly half, leaving the town to bond a net cost of about $34 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Torrington receives $100K grant for brownfields
TORRINGTON >> The city received a $100,000 grant Thursday to help start brownfield assessment of the vacant and contaminated Nidec property on Franklin Drive. The city is one of 11 municipalities who together received $1.7 million for property clean up and brownfield redevelopment from the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), according to a release from Gov. Dannel Malloy’s office. Mayor Elinor Carbone said the money will be used to assess the Nidec Corporation warehouse on 100 Franklin Dr., which the company told the city earlier this year it planned to demolish. This assessment includes environmental impact studies needed to determine what kind of development is possible on contaminated sites. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
EPA rejects NY Gov's Tappan Zee loan approval
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to appeal a decision by federal regulators to reject his plan to use clean water funds to help finance the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
The Environmental Protection Agency said earlier this week it had rejected $482 million of the $511 million in clean-water loans Cuomo wanted for the bridge. The administration says the loans would reduce the bridge's $3.9 billion cost while helping to mitigate its environmental impact. Cuomo says the EPA decision won't affect the replacement project. The EPA specifically rejected proposals to use the loans for dredging and removing the existing span. The agency authorized $29 million for smaller related projects including marsh restoration. Environmental groups praised the decision, saying funds for drinking water, sewers and other water projects shouldn't pay for bridge construction.