NEW MILFORD — The town has fired the Century Brass demolition contractor following a dispute over who was responsible for paying to clean up the mill’s 1,500 tons of contaminated steel.
Trumbull-based Standard Demolition Services has removed its construction trailers from the Scovill Street site and the temporary fencing around the 320,000-square-foot building will soon be taken down.
“The contractor’s position is that the town is responsible for the PCB remediation of the steel,” Mayor David Gronbach told the Town Council Monday night. “The contractor contends that should have been done before they came to the project. Our contention is that they were hired to handle the PCB cleanup.”
The contract signed in October between the town and Standard Demolition Services stated the building would be razed by Feb. 1 and approval was needed from the Environmental Protection Agency for the cleanup plan. Standard Demolition informed the town last month the EPA had not approved its plan for the site, Gronbach said. The EPA required the steel beams in the mill be brought to a decontaminated state before being moved off site.
“The EPA letter allocated contamination risk to the contractor,” town attorney John Tower said. “The contractor waited until day 75 of the contract to contact the town that they had an issue. The building cannot come down by Feb. 1. We feel solid that they assumed the risk implied and then reneged on it in an unsatisfactory timeframe.”
Town officials hope the insurance company that holds the contractor’s performance bond will agree and find a qualified company to complete the demolition project.
However, Tower also said Standard Demolition, which was contracted to do $2.7 million worth of work, could claim it was wrongfully terminated. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Yard Goats Home Opener Pushed Back To At Least Mid May; Open With 17 Road Games
HARTFORD — Professional baseball was set to return to Hartford on April 7.
But the first pitch at Dunkin' Donuts Park won't be thrown until at least the middle of May. The Eastern League announced Tuesday that the Yard Goats' home games in April and early May will be played on the road.
With uncertainty surrounding the construction of the downtown Hartford stadium, the league moved the team's first 17 games to the road. Instead of hosting the Richmond Flying Squirrels April 7 in Hartford, the Yard Goats will debut at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.
The teams were scheduled to play a four-game series April 7-10. The revised schedule will have the Yard Goats and Flying Squirrels playing a doubleheader on April 9, with April 10 now an off day as the team travels to Manchester, N.H., for the next series. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats were scheduled to visit Hartford April 11-13, but that series will be played in Manchester. From April 11-24, the Yard Goats will play all their games in Manchester and Portland, Maine. Besides the scheduled home games shifted to the road, the Yard Goats had scheduled road games in those cities. There will also be three home games shifted to Harrisburg, Pa., April 25-27 and the Goats will return to New Hampshire for another series May 6-8.
The Yard Goats are still "working with the other teams" to iron out financial details of the games, such as revenue and operational costs. But the team is offering season ticket holders complimentary tickets to the relocated games, as long as fans are willing to travel.
"All of the teams have been very supporting and willing to help us take care of our season ticket holders," team general manager Tim Restall said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Winsted Planning & Zoning approves industrial park on Torrington Road
WINSTED >> Two local men were given the go-ahead to create Still River Industrial Park Monday evening as the Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved an application put forward by Gene and Bill Berlinski.
The park is to be located at 137 Torrington Road, which, according to state property records, totals just over 11 acres and was appraised at a value of $66,000 in 2015.
“Good luck with it,” said Planning and Zoning Commission alternate member George Closson, who was seated during the meeting in the absence of his wife, Susan Closson.
Commission members continued an ongoing public hearing on the application Monday evening, speaking with Robert Colabella of Lenard Engineering. Discussion during the meeting centered largely around the width of a road that would, if needed, be used to provide emergency access to the park.
Town engineering consultant Richard Calkins recommended that this road be made 32 feet wide during the Dec. 14 meeting of the commission, as described in the corresponding minutes, as opposed to the 22 feet wide originally proposed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Did Construction Gain or Lose Jobs in December?
Construction firms added 45,000 workers in December as the industry's unemployment rate declined to 7.5 percent from 8.3 a year ago, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the robust job gains come as a new industry outlook shows most firms expect to expand their headcount in 2016 amid growing private and public sector demand.
“Based on what most contractors have reported, the robust hiring the industry has experienced during the past few months should continue through 2016,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “While contractors continue to be worried about labor shortages, regulatory burdens and health care costs, most expect growing demand for many types of construction will allow them to expand this year.”
Construction employment totaled 6.5 million in December, the most since January 2009, and is up by 263,000 jobs compared to a year ago, a 4.2 percent increase. Residential construction increased by 23,100 in December and by 137,200, or 5.7 percent, compared to a year ago. Nonresidential construction employers added 21,200 jobs for the month and 125,400 jobs compared to last December, a 3.2 percent increase.
Within the nonresidential construction sector, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 11,300 employees in December and 95,300 for the year. Nonresidential building contractors added 5,100 jobs for the month and 9,900 jobs since December 2014. And heavy and civil engineering construction firms added 4,800 jobs in December and 20,200 jobs during the past year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEWork Suspended for Winter on Westport's North Avenue Bridge
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced that work on the North Avenue bridge over Route 15 in Westport, will be suspended until April 2016 after the site is prepared for the winter season shutdown.
The project began on May 5, 2015 and the North Avenue Bridge was closed to traffic on June 26, 2015. The bridge was opened to alternating one-way traffic on August 26, 2015, to accommodate school bus traffic while work continued on the west-side parapet.
Unfortunately, due to numerous accidental strikes by unauthorized oversized vehicles on Route 15, the integrity of the temporary support system was compromised. The temporary support system was removed on Sept. 13, 2015, and a different system with additional clearance will be installed next spring when weather conditions allow for the remaining work to be performed. The contractor will perform work and secure the site for the winter.
The project consists of full rehabilitation of the existing bridge structure, including removal of the western spandrel, concrete patching of the top and under-side of the bridge and full deck replacement. The purpose of the project is to improve the structural deficiencies and preserve the integrity of the bridge.
The project was awarded to Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman Inc. of Branford, Conn., on March 12, 2015 at a cost of $2.855 million and is scheduled to be completed approximately August 2016. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE