GREENWICH — A three-phase, $6 million project to replace underground drainage pipes throughout town has begun with the first project: replacing storm drain lines on Mason Street.
Mason Street from Lexington Avenue to East Putnam Avenue and the Amogerone Crossway will be closed for about a week; digging began on Tuesday. Utility lines were moved over the past month to keep them from being affected by the digging. Detour signs will be posted.
Contractor for the project is Joken Development. The work is being done to help fix flooding in the area caused by too much storm water through the narrower pipes.
“We’re upgrading the size and capacity of the drainage pipes in the area,” Deputy Commissioner of Public Works James Michel said on Tuesday. “The town’s Flood and Erosion Control Board had identified this as a priority. We need to do this to meet the capacity of the flow for the area.”
This first segment of the project will cost about $1.4 million. Completion was projected for November, depending on weather.
The plan is to install about 80 feet of pipe per day. The work will cover Mason Street from Lexington Avenue to East Putnam Avenue, Church Street from East Putnam Avenue to William Street and East Putnam Avenue at its intersection of Church Street and Mason Street. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
House To Meet Next Week in Special Session
HARTFORD — The state House of Representatives will meet in a special session Thursday, but it is still unclear whether lawmakers will vote on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's controversial criminal justice reforms.
The House needs to return to vote on the annual bond package of construction projects that has already passed in the Senate.
But legislators said Friday they are unsure if they will also vote on Malloy's Second Chance Society proposals. That decision will not be made until lawmakers discuss the issue in a closed-door caucus.
Malloy's legislation calls for changes in the way young criminals are treated by the courts, and the changes would go further than any other state in the nation has gone, administration officials said. The proposal envisions a new legal category of "young adult" criminals within the juvenile justice system. The group would include 18-year-olds, beginning July 1, 2017; 19-year-olds, beginning July 1, 2018; and 20-year-olds, beginning July 1, 2019.The measure also would alter the way bail is handled, including eliminating cash bail for most misdemeanor charges while still giving judges the authority to impose non-financial conditions on a defendant, such as GPS monitoring so that those arrested would not be kept in jail. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hartford, Centerplan Speak Of Finishing Ballpark But Give Few Details After Closed-Door Meeting
HARTFORD — Officials from the city, the developers and the company guaranteeing completion of Dunkin' Donuts Park met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss how to finish the $63 million minor league baseball stadium.
After the nearly two-hour meeting at city hall, both Mayor Luke Bronin and Jason Rudnick, president of Centerplan and principal with DoNo Hartford LLC, spoke of working together to reach the common goal of seeing the ballpark finished and soon. They provided no details of when that might be. "Every single day we are closer to finishing," Rudnick said. He said the ballpark is more than 95 percent complete.
Bronin did not attend the meeting, leaving that to development director Sean Fitzpatrick and director of projects Michael Looney, but the mayor spoke with reporters afterward.
"We want the stadium to open as quickly as possible," Bronin said. No new completion date has been set, he said.
Both Bronin and Rudnick, in separate interviews, declined to provide further details on what was discussed Tuesday and did not respond to questions about whether there is enough money left to finish the project without the city paying more. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Ansonia receives $750K state grant to finish industrial park access road
ANSONIA >> The city has received a $750,000 shot in the arm from the state to complete the access road under construction at the Fountain Lake industrial park.
State Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia, and state Sen. Joe Crisco, D-Woodbridge, recently issued a press release announcing the funding from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
“Completing the access road is necessary for the continued development of the industrial park,” said Gentile. “It will allow interested parties ease of entry into the development zone, thereby providing new and much needed revenues to our Grand List (of taxable property) and create opportunity for new jobs … all of which are good for not only our local community, but also for the communities that surround us.”
Crisco said helping secure the funds was necessary to keep the longtime Ansonia company in town. “We had a company that had been in Ansonia for 160 years and was considering leaving if there was not an access road built to the new Fountain Lake industrial park,” Crisco said. “This is just another example of Connecticut’s commitment to keep and growing our local manufacturing base, and spending the money necessary for the infrastructure improvements that businesses expect and demand.”
Gentile and Crisco said Fountain Lake’s proximity to both Route 8 and Route 334 makes it “an attractive location for businesses” to relocate or build here, and completion of the road is expected to promote economic growth for the area. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE