State budget deal heading for Monday votes
HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy held the line against proposed new sales taxes on veterinary, accounting and other services late Saturday, winning a final closed-door budget deal with fellow Democrats in the General Assembly. The budget will drastically change the way cities such as Bridgeport, Stamford and Danbury receive supplemental aid for hosting tax-exempt property including hospitals and institutions of higher learning.
It would allow cities and towns with high tax rates to adopt a lower, uniform car tax, lowering property taxes on vehicles in many cities while not affecting the level of revenue the municipalities receive.
The two-year, nearly $40-billion package is expected to reach floor debates and votes by Monday, probably without support from minority Republicans, who were shut out of the negotiation process after they offered an alternative budget last month.
The plan would provide seed funding for Malloy’s 30-year $100-billion transportation vision, increase income taxes on the state’s wealthiest and provide property-tax relief.
Few details are available this morning, but legislative leaders worked throughout the day with their staff and Malloy’s budget negotiators led by Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and Mark Ojakian, the governor’s chief of staff.
Shortly after 9 p.m. House and Senate staff members were shaking hands outside the third-floor Capitol office of Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, co-chairman of the tax-writing Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, where the final details of the package were hammered out. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Aging rail bridges need repairs, replacement
Metro-North commuters know what to expect when the 118-year-old Walk Bridge in Norwalk fails to close after boats pass underneath -- long hours stuck on a train waiting for repairs.
A federal Northeast Corridor advisory commission says the Walk Bridge, and three other 100-year-old rail spans in Westport, Greenwich and between Stratford and Milford, are seriously deteriorated and in need of replacement.
"These aging infrastructure assets are unreliable, technologically obsolete and increasingly prone to failures that create delays for riders," the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission said in its first capital plan.
Established by Congress to develop recommendations for the rail corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, the Northeast commission proposes spending billions of dollars over the next five years to replace bridges and improve the vital rail system.
All of the Connecticut bridges highlighted by the commission are beyond the definition of old. The Devon rail bridge, which spans the Housatonic River between Stratford and Milford, was completed in 1905 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"Bridges built in the 1800s are, by definition, safety concerns," said U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who, along with others, is calling on Congress to immediately allocate $555 million for rail safety projects. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bristol planners Downtown needs critical mass to succeed
BRISTOL — Even though the Renaissance Downtowns project has been stalled for years, the city's proposed long-term development plan cites downtown revitalization as one of Bristol's key objectives.
The proposed development plan doesn't support or oppose Renaissance's Depot Square concept, but endorses many of the company's ideas for bringing vitality back to the center of the city. The plan also says that residents will need to be patient.
"For a number of years, local residents, business owners and governmental and civic leaders have expressed interest in the future of downtown Bristol," the draft plan says.
"During this period, it has become apparent that, in order to achieve lasting success, transforming the goal of revitalization into bricks‐and‐mortar reality will be a long‐term, incremental process that involves an equally long‐term commitment by both the public and private sectors of the community," it states.
The plan recommends attracting visitors with farmers markets, antiques markets, outdoor concerts and similar events, and considering fresh uses — such as artists' lofts or retail shops — for older industrial buildings downtown. At the same time, Bristol planners should discourage new development that undermines the downtown revitalization, it says.
"Limit the types of new retail uses in other areas of Bristol in order to encourage destination retail uses in downtown Bristol," the draft plan advises.
The city's planning commission has worked with a consultant for more than a year to update the previous long-term plan, which was written in 2000. Communities use such plans to guide decisions about zoning, commercial development, preservation of water resources and parks, road construction and more. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
State DEEP gives tenative approval for UConn water permit
he state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has cleared the way for Connecticut Water Co. to send thousands of gallons of water to the University of Connecticut and Mansfield.
The proposed diversion permit is the final hurdle for Connecticut Water's plan to bring the water into town and the university. Up to 1.2 million gallons would be brought in along a 5-mile pipeline from the company's Lake Shenipsit Reservoir in Tolland. A final permit could be issued within a few weeks.
In the report, hearing officer Janice B. Deshais said Connecticut Water and UConn's application contained "provisions that are sufficient to protect the environment, comply with all relevant statutes and regulations." The permit has specific provisions that will maintain the streamflow releases to the Hockanum River to protect downstream fishery habitats.
"This approval will help ensure a long-term water supply for UConn and the Storrs area that is environmentally prudent while at the same time being fiscally sound," Jason Coite, environmental compliance manager in UConn's Office of Environmental Policy, said in a statement.
"The University is committed to being good stewards of this natural resource through our ongoing water conservation and reuse initiatives, along with robust education and awareness programs," he added.
In summer 2005, a section of the Fenton River in Mansfield was pumped dry in an effort to meet the school's water needs. Since then, the university has implemented strict conservation efforts and placed tighter restrictions on its river well field. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Haven pact to give small businesses construction work hits snafu
NEW HAVEN >> The city has revamped its process for getting contracts for small businesses on large construction jobs, but a dispute has broken out that could slow those awards. Lil Snyder, who is manager of the city’s small contractor development program, said they have a new Project Labor Agreement in place for city construction work that has goals for the hiring of small business owners.
Snyder said in previous agreements, the hiring referred to the owner of businesses, but it didn’t cover the companies’ workers.
The newest version, as codified in the PLA, allows nonunion small businesses that have been officially certified to use up to five of their own nonunion workers. If more workers are needed, they would have to be found at the union hiring hall.
The agreement also requires that the workers be paid the prevailing wage rate and the owner is obligated to pay union dues as well as contribute to the union’s benefit pool. Snyder said the PLA essentially says the nonunion subcontractor joins the union for this specific job.
The agreement also references “the selection of the lowest responsible qualified bidder without regard to labor organization affiliation, which is covered by P.A. 12-70. The PLA for construction of the new Helene Grant School on Goffe Street was signed in June 2014 by Gilbane Building Co., which is the construction program manager for the New Haven Board of Education, and by Andrew Esposito, who was president of the New Haven Building and Construction Trades Council at the time.
Under Esposito’s name, it says he is duly authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of himself and the unions, which Will Clark, the chief operating officer for the city’s public schools, said is standard procedure. Snyder said the PLA lays out the rules for 16 individual construction unions that will perform work at the school site over the next year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Derby school officials seek $4.7M for Ryan athletic fields
DERBY >> School officials got the green light to submit a proposal to the state seeking $4.8 million to give the Ryan Field Athletic Complex a major facelift. The Board of Aldermen at its May 28 meeting unanimously voted in favor of enabling Superintendent of Schools Matthew Conway to seek full funding for the project. The city is not being asked to foot any of the costs. “We have submitted the proposal through our local state legislatures as part of a House Bond Request Application,” Conway said Friday. “The estimate for the project is $4,788,792.” School officials in March commissioned a feasibility study, which was done by Blades & Goven Landscape Architects, based in Fairfield. The $7,500 study was necessary to determine if the Ryan Field Athletic Complex and Marcucio Little League Complex could be outfitted with artificial turf. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Crews continue tree work, will install bridge near I-84
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WATERBURY -- Construction on the Interstate 84 widening project will continue this week, with additional work in several new areas.
This week, crews will begin jacking a new sewer pipe under I-84, east of Hamilton Avenue. Also, they will begin building a pedestrian bridge across the Mad River south of Hamilton Park. Tree removal will begin this week in a new location along I-84 eastbound, north of the Mad River and west of Harpers Ferry Road. Two lanes will remain open in each direction during the day, except for brief traffic stoppages during blasting operations at Exit 23 eastbound on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
At night, the right lane of I-84 westbound will be closed from Exit 23 to Exit 26, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. for shoulder reconstruction.