May 11, 2015

CT Construction Digest May 11, 2015

Fight between Stamford residents and contractor moves from court to zoning

After waging an uphill battle for years against a perceived neighborhood nuisance, residents in the city's South End thought they had finally won.
In April 2014, after more than a decade of complaints from the community about noise and dust, a state Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city's claim that rock crushing was illegal in Stamford, and ordered A. Vitti Construction to cease operations at 10 Rugby St. For more than 15 years, Antonio Vitti Sr. had used his property, which is nestled against a residential street, to crush excavation and demolition material that he would later sell to contractors as processed construction fill.
But in September, residents were dealt a setback they say left them bewildered. Vitti won a stay that allows him to continue crushing operations until a decision was made on his appeal. That process is still ongoing. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Steel work completed on new Greenwich fire station

Work on the Central Fire Station is advancing rapidly after a hard winter caused construction delays.
The frame of the building was completed this week, with an American flag hoisted on top of the structure to mark the occasion.
"The steel is all up," said town Building Construction Superintendent Al Monelli, "They're going to lay down pans, and concrete floors will be poured. Then the electricians and plumbers will be moving in."
"We're making up a lot of time," said Monelli, "With the bad weather we lost a lot of time."
Workers could be starting a six-day work schedule in the next week to speed the process. Discussions are underway over the new labor schedule, Monelli said.
The expected opening date is now September 2016 -- not June as previously indicated -- but within the basic time frame of the project.
Workers broke ground on the site in May 2014, after years of deliberations over where to build an advanced fire station in central Greenwich. The $16.5 million facility will serve as the headquarters of the Fire Department. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Feds award $1.3M grant to repair bridge

WESTPORT -- The bridge to the Saugatuck Shores community will be replaced with a $1.3 million federal grant, officials announced last week.
The "pre-disaster mitigation" grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will replace the wooden bridge on Harbor Road to the island with "one that can serve ambulances and first responders during the event of a future storm," according to a joint announcement from U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, each a Connecticut Democrat.
The 50-year-old span was dislodged during Superstorm Sandy, leaving it impassable. The only other entrance to the neighborhood is a low road along the canal bank that is regularly submerged by high tides and during storms.
Superstorm Sandy "devastated much of our coastal communities. We are pleased to support such federal and state projects to better prepare for serious weather and ensure the safety of our people and sustainability of our region," the federal legislators said.
The FEMA grant will cover about 75 percent of the cost to remove the old bridge and build a new one, officials said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Indecision plagues Berlin police station plan

BERLIN — The question has lingered for years: Will the town build a new police station?
On May 5, it appeared the answer was “no,” but on Thursday that seemed to change to a “maybe.”
The Town Council, just days after voting along party lines to dismiss the Police Commission’s newly-revised Statement of Need, the board unanimously decided to go ahead and move it into the next phase. The document now goes to the Public Building Commission, keeping the dream of a new facility alive.
With a member of the majority Democrats not in attendance at the May 5 vote, the motion to move it forward failed in a 3-3 deadlock, with the “no” votes coming from council Republicans.
GOP members said the votes were not because they don’t want a new police headquarters. Rather, they said, they are still not convinced the proposed location on Farmington Avenue is appropriate. At the very least, councilors Charles Paonessa and David Evans said, the Public Building Commission should be charged to look at keeping it in its current location attached to Town Hall, as well as moving to the site of the old Kensington Furniture building. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Housing board to rebuild downtown neighborhood

WATERBURY >> Not so long ago, Jim Lawlor believed that Willow Street, with its blighted houses, weed-choked vacant lots and drug crime, was no place to raise children. When a developer asked for his support for the renovation of an apartment building there, Lawlor, the chairman of the city’s housing board, immediately said no, children don’t belong there. “Then it hit me,” Lawlor said. “Willow isn’t going to fix itself.” Instead of running from Willow, Lawlor decided to embrace the struggling neighborhood. He devised a $38 million proposal to buy, raze, and rebuild the entire city block of West Grove Street.  It would be the Authority’s first new construction in two decades. In recent years, at the direction of its former chairman, WHA has taken steps to demolish its public housing, not add to it. West Grove is a side street linking Willow and Sperry that once was home to brass mill workers. But now, about half of Sperry’s two dozen properties are litter-strewn, vacant or burned-out lots. Only a few of the houses still standing are occupied. The rest of them are empty and boarded up, seized by the city or the banks for unpaid taxes or mortgage payments. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Work on next phase of Meriden linear trail slated for this summer

MERIDEN — Officials hope to begin design work on the third phase of the city’s linear trail this summer. The next phase will be roughly a mile and a half long, and pick up near the tennis courts at Platt High School, continuing east along Coe Avenue past Bradley Avenue, where it will follow Harbor Brook along Hanover Street and connect to Bronson Park on Cook Avenue by way of Columbus Avenue.
Last year, members of the City Council approved $170,000 for the design costs.
Public Works Director Robert J. Bass said on Friday that a contract with the Wethersfield-based VHB engineering and design firm is soon to be inked. Once that’s complete, survey work can begin to assess the benefits and drawbacks of a series of potential routes.
“There are a couple routes that could be taken between Platt and getting over to Columbus Avenue — for instance, are you going to take the north or south side of Coe Avenue?” Bass said. “At the intersection of Hanover Road and Coe Avenue, what do you do when you get to Grove Road? We have to decide which makes the most sense.”
Once a set of options are established, Bass said he’ll consult the Meriden Linear Trail Advisory Committee, city officials, and hold a public hearing to get input and decide on one.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
north central Connecticut casino, if approved by the legislature, would generate the most of the three satellite casinos under consideration in the state, according to a consultant hired by Connecticut casino-operating tribes.
The analysis by Clyde Barrow of Pyramid Associates — the third report published since lawmakers began considering a gaming expansion in the state — concluded that three satellite casinos would generate gross revenue of $558.2 million. Just over $500 million of that total would be gaming revenue.
And a proposed casino on the I-91 corridor would bring in the most, $241.9 million, Pyramid said.
CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Water, sewer bonds sought in Waterbury

WATERBURY — The city wants to bond $28 million to improve its aging water and sewer system, including the treatment plants, but it will have to raise rates to do it.
The city's current water and sewer rates cover the cost of daily operations of the systems, like worker salaries, but not the kind of maintenance that an aging system needs, officials say.
"We can't continue to defer maintenance on our old systems," said Mayor Neil M. O'Leary. "The city has done it in the past, and it's caught up with us, sometimes at great expense."
The city hired a consultant to conduct a rate study and catalog the long-term capital investment needs of the system, which found that rates were low and maintenance needs high.
As a result, the city wants to increase water rates by 9 percent over five years to repay a $17.7 million water investment bond and sewer rates by 16 percent to repay a $10.3 million bond.
This would cost the typical family $67.38 a year more by 2019.
The Board of Aldermen will hold hearings on these proposals, and the increased rates needed to repay the bonds over time, today, starting at 6 p.m.
The capital improvements funded by these bonds vary widely, from manhole cover replacement to dam repairs to making a dent in the cleaning and lining of the city's century-old water pipes.
Here is a breakdown of the biggest proposed water projects:
$6.4 million to clean, line or repair 10 miles of water mains throughout the city, based on condition, volume, and timing of city road repairs.
$3.8 million to repair two dams, including repointing of the Wigwam Dam, and replacing the crumbling concrete at the Shepaug Dam.
$2 million to replace the 28-year-old sludge removal equipment at the water treatment plant.
1.8 million to replace the backup generator at the water plant, which is also 28 years old; some years this isn't used at all, but has run the plant for up to a week after a storm.
$1.5 million to repair and repaint three water tanks. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE