Groton support for school building plan tied to cost
Groton – A survey done last month found 51.8 percent would support the proposed school construction plan if the vote were held tomorrow and the plan cost an additional $250 in annual property taxes, according to results provided to the Groton School Facilities Initiative Task Force.
The Center for Research and Public Policy surveyed 386 residents by phone from June 9-25 to gauge public support for the proposal, according to Jerry Lindsley, president of the firm. Results were released to the School Facilities Initiative Task Force last week. The group plans to issue a press release on the findings shortly.
Residents qualified for the survey if they confirmed they were at least 18 and registered to vote in Groton.
Surveyors found the biggest issue with the plan was taxes and cost. Initially, when residents were asked how they might vote on the plan if a referendum were “held today,” just over one-third, or 36.5 percent, said they would definitely or probably support it. Nearly 20 percent were unsure or didn’t know, and 44.6 percent said they would probably or definitely oppose it.
The two most common reasons given by those opposing the plan were that taxes are already too high or the cost was too much and new buildings were not needed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Newington Council to hear recommendations for town hall project
NEWINGTON — After more than eight months of deliberation and debate, the town hall building committee will bring two options to the town council at its meeting Tuesday.
One is to tear down the existing town hall and community center, originally built in the 1950s as the community's high school, and replace it with a new structure. The other is to rehabilitate the existing building.
Complicating the decision is the fact that both plans exceed the $30 million that the council had hoped to spend on the project. A new building would be cheaper — about $37 million — compared to a rehabilitation, which would cost approximately $44 million, experts have told the committee.
A rebuild would cost more because of town hall's poor condition. It has numerous structural problems and badly outdated electrical and other systems and it's significantly bigger than a new building would be, experts say.
While the committee has not formally voted, a consensus appears to have formed in favor of a new building. The council, however, is likely to have final say. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Renovation work at I-84 rest stops to be completed by fall
Regular travelers along I-84 east- and west-bound may be really missing the welcome and familiar "Free Coffee" and "Take A Break" signs so often put up by Scout Troops, 4-Hers, churches, and other non-profit organizations leading to the highway rest-stop exit ramps in Willington. They can rest assured, however, that the rest stop closures are only temporary.
"The project was started on February 23 and is anticipated to be completed on October 25," said Dilraj Josen, project engineer with the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
According to the DOT, the $2.99 million renovation project, which was awarded to Baltic, Conn.-based Mattern Construction, includes interior and exterior improvements to two rest area structures, with the majority of the work being done in the restrooms.
"The work inside the building involves renovating the men's and women's restrooms. The work in the basement level includes chemical feed system equipment, instrumentation and controls," said Josen. "Site work in each rest area consists of a new septic tank, waste water equalization tank, nitrogen treatment system, leaching fields, installation of wastewater pipe, installation of drainage structures and installation of new pavement, metal beam rail and landscaping." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE