P&Z Commission blasts Greenwich substation proposal
A proposal to build a new electric substation in Greenwich received a rough reception before the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday night.
Commission Chairman Donald Heller told Eversource Energy, formerly Connecticut Light and Power, that it should drop plans for a new substation would be built at 290 Railroad Avenue. After hours of a public hearing where several residents spoke out in strong opposition to the plan, Heller told the utility that he recommended they either drop the plan and come up with an alternative to it or the commission would report to the state its findings against the proposal.
“If you’ve ever had clear direction on anything, you’re getting it tonight,” Heller said to representatives from the utility.
The Connecticut Siting Council is the ultimate authority on the proposal. The commission, like other town agencies, can only make recommendations to it.
Under the proposal, the new substation would be built and then connected through underground wires to the existing substation in Cos Cob. The utility claims this is being done to meet rising customer demand that they project could place the existing substation beyond maximum capacity in 2017.
At Tuesday night’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, residents voiced their concerns about the disruption the construction would cause and the potential health risks of the new equipment. Residents also questioned the need for the project, saying the technology used for this substation would soon be outdated, and, that this was about redistribution of the power load as opposed to generating more power.
Christine Edwards, questioned the price tag and the need for the project, going so far as to term the proposal “insane.”
Pet Pantry, which is currently located at 290 Railroad Avenue and subleases the property from Eversource, also spoke in opposition. Its attorney John Rubrich said that the business did not want to relocate and that this move could potentially result in the loss of 35 jobs and “a good corporate citizen” from the town. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Police commission wants full cost estimate on new station
BERLIN — There are now two proposals on the Police Commission’s table regarding the next move with the police station.
Both estimates — one to construct a new police headquarters on Farmington Avenue and the other to expand the current space attached to Town Hall — are $17 million. That figure is some $4 million less than the proposal that was overwhelming defeated at referendum back in November.
The commission, however, isn’t quite ready to make a recommendation as to which route is the best to take in order to meet the department’s growing need for more space. The commission said it wants to take some time for a full cost estimate study to be done on the proposals so that it has all the information before making its official recommendation.
Mayor Rachel Rochette said that she fully trusts that the commission is doing its homework and is obtaining all it needs to make the most informed decision possible.
“Building a new police station will have a significant impact on our town, both for the force and the residents,” she said. “I have faith that the Police Commission is doing their due diligence and exploring all options to ensure the recommendation they send to the council is the right one for everyone.”
The price tag, members of the council have said, is the number one reason the previously proposed station was shot down.
The planning and design of that station, and the overall need for the department to gain more square footage to work, came as a result of the department having outgrown its current space. The department has been in search of additional space as far back as 1995. When it moved into its current spot attached to Town Hall, it had 18 officers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bill would allow up to 3 new casinos run jointly by tribes
HARTFORD— Connecticut could have as many as three new casinos near three different highways, all managed jointly by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, if a new bill announced Tuesday becomes law.
The measure was made public by a handful of legislators, and leaders of both tribes, during a news conference Tuesday morning at the Capitol.
Lawmakers touted the measure as a way to protect jobs at a time when new casinos in neighboring states are vying for more of Connecticut's casino patrons. Most threatening is the $800 million casino that MGM Resorts International is building in Springfield, to open in 2017 or 2018, legislators said.
"Massachusetts has declared economic war on us, and we're going to fight back," said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.
Also at stake is the state government's share of gambling revenues, which could be eroded if people spend their dollars on slot machines and table games in other states. As part of the tribes' agreement with the state for their existing casinos, the state gets 25 percent of slot revenues.
MGM Springfield is in the early stages of construction, but Connecticut is already competing with Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, N.Y., and casinos in other states. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Berlin Train Station closed for repairs
ERLIN — The town's century-old train station is closed for several weeks for emergency structural repairs, and metal fencing blocks public access to the Victorian-era brick building, though passengers can still board trains from the platform.
The station will be closed for at least three weeks, according to Amtrak, which uses the tracks.
An Amtrak spokesperson had no specific information on the nature of the repairs, which began Monday. But they are likely to include roof repair, masonry work and electrical upgrades.
"During this time, the train will continue to stop at the Berlin station. Passengers can wait for trains on the station platform," Amtrak said in a statement.
Passengers will not be able to buy tickets at the station, though, and should buy or reserve them online and give the conductor the reservation number or display the ticket information number on their mobile devices.
The work also means that train riders will have no waiting room, restrooms, or station agent at this stop until mid-April, at the earliest. The Berlin station is the first station south of Hartford on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield passenger line.
The station is scheduled for a more renovation in the next few years, part of an upgrade of the passenger rail service on the line. That will include larger platforms, more parking and enclosed pedestrian crossovers so people can board and leave trains comfortably no matter what the weather
The middle of the station roof is covered in plastic tarps, the brick façade in an upper section of the back wall has fallen out and the main electrical cable into the station appears to be pulling away from the building. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CT likely to bear most of transportation cost overhaul
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The federal government will be an improbable source of new revenue as Connecticut lawmakers and a new commission try to come up with ways to pay for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed 30-year, $100 billion overhaul of the state’s aging transportation system.
Recent Federal Highway Administration data compiled by The Associated Press show Highway Trust Fund spending in Connecticut has declined 9.4 percent, or $51 million, between 2008 and 2013. The state received more than $551 million in 2008. But that figure dropped to $499.5 million in 2013.
State Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said the possibility of extra federal funding wasn’t even considered when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s transportation plan was drawn up. He said the Democratic administration is assuming flat federal funding during a five-year “ramp-up’’ period when an additional $2.8 billion in state bonding is earmarked for planning, engineering and design of some key highway and rail projects.
That list of immediate design projects includes fixing Hartford’s I-84 viaduct, replacing the Route 8 and I-84 “mixmaster’’ interchange in Waterbury, improving the Merritt Parkway interchange at Route 7 in Norwalk, and widening a stretch of I-95 from Old Saybrook to New London.
In the past, when revenue from the federal gas tax was growing, Connecticut received money earmarked for special projects, such as reconstruction of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, also known as the Q-Bridge, along I-95 in New Haven. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Demolition to begin at Warner Gardens
WATERBURY — Warner Gardens, with its rows of tightly packed houses in varying degrees of decay, could be a ghost town. The tenement-style apartments, built for factory workers during World War II, have long outlived their life span. Window panes are boarded up with plywood, walls hang diagonally and foundations are riddled with cracks. "Every roof up there is shot, the floors are rotting through, it's been a nightmare for quite awhile," said Allen Sinclair, former president of the Warner Gardens co-op. But a Rhode Island-based development firm won't wait for the walls of the 122-unit housing complex to cave in. Omni Development plans to break ground this month on plans to rebuild Warner Gardens. The first phase of the project, which includes demolishing and reconstructing 16 buildings containing 58 units, is fully funded and is expected to begin in the next two to three weeks, said Eric Shorter, vice president of Omni Development. The new buildings will be combination of one-, two- and three-bedroom townhouse-style apartments. When the project is finished, there will be 28 buildings with 122 units — the same as the original Warner Gardens. "Essentially, what we're doing is we're razing buildings and constructing new buildings on the existing footprint," Shorter said. The development will have a community center, children's playground, community garden with a gazebo, fences and an irrigation system. Phase one includes 99 parking spaces. Phase one will take 20 months to complete from the day construction begins. Shorter said that funding for the project is contingent upon meeting that timetable. Once phase one is finished, Omni hopes have funding in place to start phase two immediately. Funding for the $35 million project comes from a variety of sources, including state and federal tax credits, a loan from Bank of America and private equity, some provided by Omni itself.
Omni purchased the 14-acre property from Warner Gardens Co-Op, which was the first black-owned co-op in the state, in 2012. Co-op members voted to sell the development to Omni for about $731,000.
Sinclair called selling it the "lesser of two evils." "There was no way the place would survive any longer given the debt owed to the city and condition of the complex," Sinclair said.
The money from the sale was used to pay overdue sewer and water fees to the city, which had threatened to sell Warner Gardens in a tax auction. The profit will be distributed evenly among members of the co-op. Omni has received the zoning permits it needs to proceed, and the Building Department expects to issue permits for the first phase of the project within two weeks.
On Monday, the Board of Aldermen approved agreements and easements giving Warner Gardens access to the city's water and sanitary sewer system, while granting the city access to utilities on the property. Households are eligible to move into Warner Gardens if their income is less than 60 percent of the area median income. Also, there will be 15 units set aside for households that make 25 percent of the area median income. Tenants' rents will be based on household income.
About 34 people still live at Warner Gardens, eight of whom have been relocated, Shorter said. A housing relocation service is helping the remaining residents find temporary quarters. As new units become available, former residents of Warner Gardens will receive priority.
"It's our sincere hope that these people who have been living in these conditions for so many years have opportunity to move back to a new renaissance development," Shorter said. When the project is finished, Omni plans to maintain ownership of Warner Gardens. It has hired Winn Management to handle day-to-day maintenance and operations. "One of the things we pride ourselves on is the quality of our developments," Shorter said. "You're not going to drive by and say 'that looks like affordable housing.'"