STAMFORD — Building and Land Technology CEO Carl Kuehner made a surprise appearance Monday night at the latest public hearing on his company’s proposed Southfield Avenue boatyard.
But BLT’s top official, who rarely appears in public land use meetings, was not prepared to answer most of the questions the Zoning Board had.
“We’re committed to try to figure out what the right answer is,” Kuehner said, before admitting that he wasn’t prepared to give details about how BLT planned to integrate a list of 23 requests the board made earlier this month into for a boatyard on just over 4 acres in the Waterside neighborhood.
Some of the requests on the board’s list have already been agreed on by the developer, like the addition of security lighting at a proposed boat storage yard on Magee Avenue. Others, like a suggestion that the Harbor Point general development plan be amended to create a 3-acre public park on 14 acres in the South End, are new.
“How much time do you need?” Zoning Board Chairman Thomas Mills asked Kuehner and John Freeman, BLT’s general counsel.
“About two to three weeks,” Freeman responded.
“We will have a response to every line item then,” Kuehner added.
Board members Rosanne McManus and Bill Morris suggested giving BLT a month to address the board’s concerns. It was agreed upon that BLT officials would respond to the board’s list on March 28. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bond approval to bring upgrade to A.W. Stanley Park
NEW BRITAIN — With the recent Common Council approval of $5.3 million in bonds, A.W. Stanley Park will undergo a major face lift that will include a new pool, a bathhouse, new lighted basketball courts and Little League fields.
"Everything will be moved closer to each other so that all of the facilities are on one side of the park as opposed to throughout the entire park," said Parks & Recreation Director Erik Barbieri.
A recommendation — by the Chester-based TLB Architecture and the parks department — calls for the outdated facilities to be replaced by the summer of 2017. It is possible, Barbieri said, that slight changes to the current plans could be made prior to that time.
The pool, Barbieri said, "has outlived its useful life. It was first used in 1965 and a repair of it is more costly and makes no sense. We need to build a new one."
The current pool will be open from June 18 to Aug. 13 while construction is taking place nearby, Barbieri said.
The new pool, he said, will come complete with special features like diving boards, climbing walls and water slides. The basketball courts "have major cracks and the hoops need to be replaced" while the left field of the Little League park "is like a hill and it should not be that way for a baseball field," he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
— The Town Council is expected to approve locally based Manafort Brothers Inc. as contractor for the demolition of Old Linden Street School.
Town Manager Robert E. Lee announced Tuesday that Manafort Brothers, 414 New Britain Ave., was the low bidder for the project, at $1,535,000. The second lowest was Weise Construction Inc. of Norwich, at $1,792,000. Lee said he didn’t think the bidding process could have turned out any better.“The bids we received were well below what we budgeted,” he said. “I’m also very happy that the low bid was submitted by a local contractor. Manafort Brothers will do a good job; they have an investment in the town.”
The Fiscal Year 2016 budget included a project budget authorization in the amount of $2,636,813 for demolition of the old school. As it stands now, Lee said the project is under budget by $612,498. In addition, the local share of the project after state reimbursement is under budget “in excess of $300,000.”
Old Linden Street School, abandoned since 2009, was built more than 100 years ago and is attached to the new Linden Street Elementary School at 69 Linden St.
Due to its location on school grounds, town officials had ruled out renovating and repurposing the building, citing zoning conflicts, already congested parking and potential security risks that any repurposed building would have operating on school grounds. Additionally, Lee estimated that bringing the old structure up to code and removing hazardous materials would have cost the town $7 million or more.
The town’s current timetable for the project calls for separation of the abandoned school from the active Linden Street School during April vacation, removal of hazardous materials between April and June and the demolition itself to take place over summer vacation. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mystic Aquarium unveils major renovation and expansion plan
Mystic — This winter’s groundbreaking for a new $5 million research facility and Monday’s announcement of a new 30-species frog exhibit to open Memorial Day weekend are the initial phases of what Mystic Aquarium officials envision as a $25 million to $50 million update of the institution and its exhibits over the next decade.
Preliminary designs call for the possible introduction of new animals such as otters, new species of penguins and sharks, puffins, elephant seals, Arctic foxes, sea birds, owls and eagles.
Stephen Coan, the president of the Sea Research Foundation, the aquarium’s parent organization, and other aquarium officials outlined the aquarium’s master plan, called “One Ocean, One Mission,” during a meeting in his office late last week. The aquarium completed a $50 million renovation and expansion in 1999 that updated all of the facility’s exhibits, created a new entrance pavilion and built the Institute for Exploration that featured the expeditions of Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard.
Since then, the aquarium has opened other new exhibits featuring alligators and rays and renovated the Institute for Exploration into the Ocean Exploration Center after Ballard ended his 15-year relationship with the aquarium in 2014 to focus on his many other endeavors.
“The facility is 45 years old. It’s very much in need of an update in terms of our infrastructure,” Coan said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Orchard Hill School Groundbreaking
The groundbreaking for the new Orchard Hill Elementary School in South Windsor took place on Feb 20. Members of the South Windsor Board of Education, town council, public building commission, and Support South Windsor Schools were all present along with administrators, families and other notable town figures. Mayor Tom Delnicki, who was there, attended Orchard Hill as a young student. Former Mayor Saud Anwar said that he was glad to play an instrumental role during the passing of the referendum for new school building. The new location will be 380 Foster St. in South Windsor. Construction is expected to be completed in 2017.
Plans Pitched For Thompsonville Train Station
ENFIELD — Members of the town council will consider two preliminary design concepts for a future train station in Thompsonville and are expected to endorse one at a council meeting next week.
Monday night, representatives from the state Department of Transportation and Parsons Brinckerhoff, the principal consulting firm tasked to complete the design, presented two plans to the town council and about 50 residents at Edgar Parkman Elementary School. The station would be situated along the Connecticut River.
Both concepts include a 500-foot platform on each side of the tracks along North River Street, as well as a redesign of North River Street to include a new turnaround for car and bus traffic and a turnaround next to the Bigelow Commons apartments. The Main Street train-bridge would be redone to allow buses to travel underneath, Parsons Brinckerhoff's Robert Yirigian said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
HARTFORD - Lawmakers on Monday were told Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed “lockbox“ for transportation funding has no holes and is completely airtight.
Karen Buffkin, Malloy’s general counsel, told legislators the proposed constitutional amendment — which if passed would go before voters in November — ensures that revenue from gas taxes and other fees dedicated for transportation improvements would go into the Special Transportation Fund and could not be diverted.
The only way the funds could be altered is by removing the fee or tax fueling the funding, Buffkin said in response to questioning by Republican lawmakers on the General Assembly’s transportation committee.
“This requires that if there is a dedicated source of funds it still continues to be deposited in the special transportation fund,” Buffkin said. “Once this passes it requires no further action by the General Assembly. This is also intended to stand the test of time.”
State Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield, said many lawmakers are skeptical about how secure the lockbox would be, noting the Legislature has raided transportation funds in the past. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Karen Buffkin, Malloy’s general counsel, told legislators the proposed constitutional amendment — which if passed would go before voters in November — ensures that revenue from gas taxes and other fees dedicated for transportation improvements would go into the Special Transportation Fund and could not be diverted.
The only way the funds could be altered is by removing the fee or tax fueling the funding, Buffkin said in response to questioning by Republican lawmakers on the General Assembly’s transportation committee.
“This requires that if there is a dedicated source of funds it still continues to be deposited in the special transportation fund,” Buffkin said. “Once this passes it requires no further action by the General Assembly. This is also intended to stand the test of time.”
State Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield, said many lawmakers are skeptical about how secure the lockbox would be, noting the Legislature has raided transportation funds in the past. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE