House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, called Tuesday on the General Assembly's Democratic majority to reduce their new initiatives on transportation and municipal aid in order to restore cuts recently imposed on hospitals and services to persons with disabilities.
The transportation and municipal aid initiatives were adopted this year and set to begin in the next fiscal year. Klarides said the new municipal aid and transportation appropriations effectively form a reserve fund that is bound to eventually fall victim to future budget deficits.
Klarides’ made her willingness to cut the programs known during a press conference with Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, to once again call for a special session to revise $103 million in budget cuts ordered last month by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
With the GOP otherwise refusing to offer a list of alternative cuts, Klarides' stand on the municipal and transportation spending was off script. Fasano was noncommittal, calling her idea premature -- something possibly to be taken up in negotiations with Democrats.
The news conference followed a piece of political theater: The delivery of petitions calling for a special session.
The leaders delivered to the secretary of the state's office the signatures of every Republican legislator. For the petitions to trigger a special session, the GOP would need a majority of the General Assembly -- meaning signatures from at least 12 Democrats in the House and four in the Senate. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Candidates suggest relying on Development Authority for Depot Square project
BRISTOL — When the city created the nonprofit Bristol Downtown Development Corp. to oversee the former mall site downtown, the property had a shuttered shopping center and a popular if somewhat rundown grocery store.
Eight years later, it’s just a sea of crumbling asphalt. Now city candidates appear ready to try a new approach to the site. “When created, its purpose was to insulate the critical downtown project from politics and to have a single focus on downtown revitalization,” said city Councilor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu, the Democratic mayoral candidate in the Nov. 3 municipal election.
Once the economy “took a sharp downturn, their job became almost impossible,” she said, and with the developer Renaissance Downtowns fading from the picture “I don’t think we need BDDC anymore.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
UConn breaking ground on $183.5M tech park
Ground will be broken Wednesday on a new technology park at UConn and construction of the Innovation Partnership Building, the inaugural building associated with the project. More than $180 million has been earmarked in state and federal funds for the project.
In May, the state Bond Commission approved $131.5 million to construct the first building in UConn's technology park. It will offer specialized equipment and shared laboratory space for UConn researchers, industry scientists and businesses. The borrowing brings the total amount of state and federal funding for the tech park to $183.5 million.
According to a statement from the university, the 113,000-square-foot Innovation Partnership Building will house cutting-edge laboratories and highly specialized equipment. The goal is to have teams of academic researchers, private industry scientists, and business entrepreneurs working together onsite to develop new technologies in energy, electronics, materials science, microscopy, additive manufacturing, cybersecurity and other fields. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Suffield Voters OK Community Center, Town Hall Renovation
own voters agreed to transform the former Bridge Street School into a community recreation center and headquarters for the town's parks and recreation department.
On Oct. 8, the day of the referendum, a group of residents gathered in the Suffield Middle School gymnasium to await the results. Residents were asked to vote on three questions, one of which has been at least 10 years in the making.
By a margin of just 100 votes, residents agreed to appropriate $8.4 million to renovate Bridge Street School, which was formally closed in 2004. Since then, the topic of what to do with the 90-year-old building has been a topic of heated discussion among town officials and residents. The site has been considered as a potential home for a new library, for apartments and for town offices. An independent contractor was hired in 2013 to hold forums on potential uses for the building. In the face of overwhelming support for its use as a community center, an eight-member ad-hoc committee was assembled in 2014, which ultimately brought the project to a point where it could be voted on.
After letting out a few cheers, many who were excited by the results of the vote stayed around to congratulate one another on a long hard battle won. Ray Pioggia, a member of the ad-hoc committee was thrilled and explained what he thought was the thing that moved the project forward in the last year. "When the ad-hoc committee was formed, that really was the catalyst," he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUENew Haven officials praise planned development unit
NEW HAVEN >> The third and largest residential development proposal on Crown Street by Metro Star drew high praise from city staff Tuesday as the company made a case for a planned development unit with 78 apartments that straddle two blocks. Architect Sam Gardner told the Board of Zoning Appeals that the plan is to situate the housing in five buildings on property previously owned by the Salvation Army that fronted on Crown Street with a former church and rehab center behind it on George Street. After discussions with the New Haven Preservation Trust, Metro agreed to the historic rehabilitation of the Victorian Gothic chapel built in 1867 and designed by Henry Austin, an important New Haven architect.
Gardner described the church “as the heart of the design” for the project.
Its facade will be preserved, following secretary of the interior guidelines, while it will also accommodate four apartments. This will be connected by a glass annex to a four-story addition with 10 more apartments.
Attorney James Segaloff said incorporating part of the chapel into the design cost Metro in excess of $1 million and resulted in a less-dense site.
Gardner said it was clear that the chapel was really valued by the trust. A second Austin building that housed a home for indigent women will be razed, but portions will be preserved for re-use as part of interpretive displays to explain the history of these parcels that were once owned by Trinity Church on the Green. The majority of the units - 55- will be in a six-story podium building fronting on George. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT seeks public information on Kent railroad bridge project
KENT — The state Department of Transportation will be conducting a public informational meeting for four bridges on the Housatonic Railroad line. The meeting will be held Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the large meeting room at Kent Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Boulevard.
Due to the poor condition of the stone masonry arch railroad bridge over Cobble Brook and the ballasted deck railroad bridge over an unknown swamp, the DOT has determined to replace these two bridges; the masonry arch will be replaced with a precast concrete arch within the existing masonry arch and the ballasted deck with a twin precast box culvert. The project schedule indicated that construction is expected to start in the fall of 2017, assuming acceptance of the project, availability of funding and coordination with the Housatonic Railroad. DOT personnel will be available during the meeting to discuss the project.
Naugatuck High set for 're-opening'
NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck High School alumni can expect to a see a renovated school building that they won't recognize next month during homecoming festivities.
The school has scheduled a "re-opening" of the high school between 5 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 25. The public is invited to tour the building at 543 Rubber Ave.
"By that point, we are expecting to be about 99 percent done with the project," NHS Principal Janice Saam said.
"We might have a few punch list items to complete, but otherwise, it will be pretty much completed."
November will mark four years since officials held a groundbreaking ceremony in front of the school. Since then, there have been a few hiccups in construction through the $81 million renovate-to-new project, but officials say they are more than satisfied with the final product and are proud to show it off.
Burgess Robert A. Neth, who leads the NHS Renovation Committee, said he believes the renovations will be completed on time and under budget. He said audited cost totals will not be complete for a while after the project is complete, so exact monetary figures will not immediately be available.
Still, he said, he does not expect any surprises.
The committee has been pleased with the development team from Torrington-based O&G Industries, Inc., and the architects from Kaestle Boos in New Britain, Neth said.
Nearly every square inch of the school has been updated in some way.
There are modern looking classrooms with Smartboard technology, new wooden desks and chairs, and dry-erase boards.
The athletic facilities have undergone a massive transformation, so much so that the workout facilities mirror those at many colleges and universities.
The library media center is currently undergoing transformations, as is the auditorium and a new Board of Education office complex. Officials expect those will be completed by the end of the year.
Since construction began, have been some setbacks that officials say they have worked out with O&G and Kaestle Boos. For example, swimming parents were upset because there were initially obstructed views in the pool. The committee overseeing the project spent about $120,000 to trim load-bearing beams to enhance the view, though parents say there are still minor sight issues. O&G also added about 40 seats, bringing the total seating area to 299. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE