O&G relocation plan stirs opposition
BRIDGEPORT — Joe Provey is worried about his health, if O&G Industries moves its cement and asphalt recycling plant from the East End to property near his Seaside Village home.
“The primary concern is health and the pollutants released from the crushing operation,” said Provey, who is organizing Seaside Village residents to oppose relocation of the plant.
“Silica (dust from the crushing operation) can lodge in people’s lungs,” Provey said. “The younger, the greater the impact. There are also a number of other sensitive sites nearby, such as schools and the Marina Village and the P.T. Barnum apartments. There are neighborhood parks.”
O&G Industries, one of the state’s largest construction companies, is asking the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals for permission to build a new cement and asphalt recycling plant at 92 Howard Avenue, along Cedar Creek. A public hearing is scheduled for May 10 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Zoning officials said O&G intends to relocate its existing recycling operation from 1225 Seaview Avenue, near the Interstate 95 ramps. The Torrington-based company has owned the Seaview Avenue property since 1995, city records show.
O&G crushes cement and asphalt and recycles the resulting material into new product. The process requires that large piles of material be stored on the site, and creates dust and noise. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
It’s official: FedEx Ground will build hub in Middletown
MIDDLETOWN >> After negotiations in the city and locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, FedEx Ground has officially committed to building a new distribution hub in Middletown.
Late last week, Mayor Daniel Drew and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced FedEx Ground’s plans to open a new 525,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art package-sorting hub facility at the former Aetna campus on Middle Street.
The announcement comes one month after the city clerk’s office recorded the corporation’s purchase of the property for $18 million. The sale generated a $90,000 conveyance tax for the city and $135,000 for the state, records show.
In a news release, Drew said the facility is expected to cost approximately $220 million to build and is slated to open in August 2018.
The acquisition of the former Aetna site is part of FedEx Ground’s major network expansion plan that has resulted in the construction of 11 new distribution center locations in the United States. This year, FedEx Ground will open three other hub facilities in Florida, New Jersey and California.
During its first year of operation, the hub is expected to employ nearly 400 full- and part-time employees. But once the operation is in its final stage, FedEx would be able to employ 400 full-timers and 600 part-time employees, company representatives said in a meeting last year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hartford microgrid construction begins
Four and a half years after a freak October snowstorm knocked out power to more than 800,000 utility customers, Hartford is finally getting its first microgrid.
City officials, electricity supplier Constellation and fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy on Wednesday marked the start of construction of an 800-kilowatt fuel cell in Hartford's Parkville neighborhood.
Under a 15-year power-purchase agreement between the city and Constellation, the microgrid will power Parkville Elementary School, Dwight Branch Library, Parkville Senior Center and Charter Oak Health Center.
If the power goes out, it will also provide emergency power to C-Town Supermarket and a nearby gas station.
Because the microgrid has won acceptance into the state's Low Emissions Renewable Energy Credits (LREC) program, excess electricity produced by the fuel cell plant will also help lower power costs at four other city schools: Bulkeley High School, Hartford High School, Weaver High School and the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy.
"That's a win-win for our city — and we hope to build on this model elsewhere in Hartford," Mayor Luke Bronin said in a statement. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Hartford school project ready to go
NEW HARTFORD — The School Building Committee has positioned the town to move into the second phase of construction at Ann Antolini School. The Board of Selectmen last week approved the SBC's recommendation and authorized First Selectman Daniel V. Jerram to sign the contract.
The SBC already has had an organizational meeting and will hold its first job meeting on Tuesday.
Construction will start immediately following the close of school to allow substantial completion of the work before school reopens on Aug. 29. When the project is complete, there will be new windows for the entire school, providing improved insulation and operation; new air handlers — the current ones are 48 years old and can no longer be repaired — and other improvements to comply with the American with Disabilities Act. ADA compliance work will include new handicapped parking spaces and nine additional standard parking spaces; replacement of counters and cabinets to meet ADA requirements; renovations to the girls, boys and staff bathrooms; replacement of cracked and broken sidewalks; the extension of sidewalks on the west end of the school; new ADA signs; lighting improvements and several other minor initiatives. SBC Chairman Denton Butler said the low bidder is Scope Construction Co. of New Britain at $1,563,800. Montagno Construction of Waterbury submitted the only other bid of $1,741,800. The best news was that, even with additional work factored in, possible contingency costs, architects' fees and potential abatement issues, the total budgeted amount of $2,427,850 is $384,950 less than the original $2,812,800 estimate. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE