At a time when the upstate jobs picture is bleak, New York contractors say they have construction jobs open.
The problem is there aren't enough skilled craft workers to fill them.
Data from the Associated General Contractors of America released on Wednesday shows the Empire State is not immune to a nationwide trend of skilled worker shortages, and contractors say that the New York state government's push for use of union labor (and higher wages for workers) has little bearing on reversing the drought.
The survey of New York contractors found that 61 percent have difficulties with filling some hourly craft jobs. Fifty-nine percent of contractors said they are having trouble filling superintendent positions, 40 percent said they are having trouble hiring carpenters and 26 percent said they're can't find basic laborers.
What's more, 41 percent of contractors say they believe it will only become harder to hire hourly craft personnel over the next 12 months.
The trouble seems to be derived from a skills gap that exists in part because of what is seen as fair to poor local pipelines for supplying well-trained craft personnel. Thirty-two percent of contractors said they believe their local pipeline is poor, and 46 percent said it's at least in fair condition.
The study comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has offered vociferous support of union labor and higher wages for laborers amid discussions on reviving a tax abatement program for New York City real estate developers who include a certain percentage of affordable housing in their projects.
But some contractors who sorely need workers say they already are offering higher wages, in addition to other benefits, in an effort to fill positions. Thirty-one percent surveyed by AGC said they've increased base pay rates for hourly craft workers. Twenty-seven percent said they are not considering raises or other improved employee benefits.
"We're an open shop contractor but we also employ union subcontracts on our projects, and it's really not the issue whether it's union or open shop," said Scott Clark of Georgia construction firm R.W. Allen, who helped break down the survey data. "It's the issue of the bodies that are in place to construct the buildings. And as we sit here today in our region the unions are having the same problems as the open-shop (subcontractors) are with manpower issues." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
A long debate: Discussion of future of Merritt Apartments rages on
NEW CANAAN — There were no seats available Tuesday night in the Town Hall Meeting Room as the Planning and Zoning Commission finished a special meeting before a public hearing on the contentious proposal for the new Merritt Apartments.
People continued to stream into the room well past the posted start time of 7 p.m. and, even after nearly five hours of public comment, debate between the commission and the development team and expert testimony, much is still to be decided on the future of Merritt Apartments.
The commission is reviewing a special permit request from M2 Partners that would allow the firm headed by Arnold Karp, to become a Pedestrian Oriented Multi-Family Zone (POMZ), which is intended to add to the diversity of housing types in the proximity of the train station and downtown, according to New Canaan Zoning regulations.
Concerns had mainly to do with the size and scale of the proposed project and how it would look from the road and in relation to the houses and buildings surrounding it. Members of the public also expressed concern that if the M2 project were allowed it could set off a domino effect in town, in which building heights would steadily rise and the quaint, small-town feel that many residents value would give way to a more urban landscape.
“We do need more senior housing, but that doesn’t mean we need more density and when you approve this… you create a domino effect,” Mark Noonan said.
Karp’s attorney, Steve Finn, of Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin and Kuriansky of Stamford, however, said that because of the specifications of the POMZ, it would make it virtually impossible for other properties in the suggested overlay zone to meet the criteria. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Portland selectmen set priorities for $10 million infrastructure bond
PORTLAND >> The Board of Selectmen is reviewing a proposed $10 million bond issue members hope to present to voters in November. The bond — which is still in its most preliminary form — calls for spending money to establish the Route 17 recreation complex, to begin repairing sidewalks in the vicinity of the town’s schools and to begin addressing a long-delayed series of wants and needs.
The selectmen met Tuesday discussing the issue and hearing reports on a long list of so-called capital items — big-ticket infrastructure repair projects and one-time expenditures. The selectmen will continue their review with bond counsel present and then hold a public hearing on the matter early next week. Tuesday’s three-and-a-half-hour long meeting was just the latest in a sudden series of unusually long meetings which generally involve extended discussion but, like Tuesday, little or no action. It was made more difficult for the nearly two-dozen mostly town officials — minus Selectman Michael Pelton, who was absent — because none of the six selectmen present availed themselves of the microphones at their places. That made it particularly problematic because both selectmen Frederick R. Knous and Benjamin Srb speak in very soft tones. The meeting was a joint one with the town’s Long Range Capital Improvements Committee, which reviews requests from all departments, including the school administration, for a wide array of big-ticket items. Among the items in the list of $33 million “absolute needs,” “needs’” and “wants” were a new roof for the senior center, replacing the track at the high school ($80,000), a new fire engine ($500,000), new self-contained breathing apparatus for the fire department ($350,000), upgrades of communications equipment for both the police and fire departments, the eventual replacement of Fire Co. No. 3 ($3.5 million), $3.2 million in needed improvements for the water department and $2.1 million for the sewer department. The five member committee reviews the various requests and then assigns them to one of the three categories. (Many towns use alphabetical listings — A, B, C — with A being the most immediate needs.)
“Absolute needs” are just that — needs that should be met within “less than one year,” Chairman Michael Agogliati explained. “Needs” should be addressed in one to three years, while “wants” should be addressed within three to five years, he added. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Home builder, car parts maker plans West Street development in Southington
SOUTHINGTON — West Street is the focus for economic activity both planned and underway and one of the developers who’s optimistic about the stretch is a former factory worker and racing car parts maker.
Frank Fragola owns Fragola Performance Systems and FK Bearings on West Queen Street. The two businesses produce parts for racing cars as well as other industrial uses. Fragola and his family also own real estate in town as well as Bagno Custom Homes.
The family is looking to use a collection of properties on West Street near West Pines Drive for a new development.
“It won’t be homes,” Fragola said. “It’ll be for retail.
Easy highway access and the lack of available land on Queen Street has led developers to turn to West Street. On Executive Boulevard near Exit 31, Northstar Properties is building a Chip’s Family Restaurant, Home Goods, Michael’s and Pet Valu to augment the Lowe’s and Target already there.
Across West Street farther north, developer Mark Lovley and planner Sev Bovino are looking to build a hotel as well as shops.
Fragola and his lawyer, Bryan Meccariello, said there’s potential to the area.
“I think it’s a few years away from really getting developed,” Fragola said. “It’s a good area. Once businesses get built it’ll be something.”
ESPN, just to the north in Bristol, offers stability and a source of travelers and workers to West Street. Meccariello described the sports media company as an anchor.
Al Fragola, Frank Fragola’s son and business partner, said the investments ESPN has made in its campus shows they’re not moving anytime soon.
“You don’t think twice about spending your money on West Street with ESPN,” he said.
The Fragolas’ property near West Pines Drive includes a number of residential lots. They’ve taken down some of the houses that were in disrepair.
The family has several residential projects underway such as a 17-lot subdivision on Fragola Drive that’s being built. Frank Fragola said they’re also working on revamping a Laning Street housing plan for an age-restricted golf community. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
"You know the old saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words'? The most important picture in this room today is not behind me, it is ahead of me," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, said, noting the large crowd of attendees seated in front of him during the public meeting.
"I hope the FRA brings that picture back to Washington, D.C., because I know I certainly will," he said.
The FRA had agreed to attend a public meeting in Old Lyme, which Sens. Chris Murphy and Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, had requested so local officials could discuss how to serve the region's rail needs while preserving its history and environment.
One alternative considered in the Tier 1 draft environmental impact statement for NEC FUTURE, the FRA's long-term investment proposal for the Northeast Corridor, features a potential Old Saybrook-Kenyon, R.I., bypass cutting through the historic district of Old Lyme and traveling through the region.
More than 1,800 comments against the bypass through Old Lyme were submitted during the public comment period for NEC FUTURE, which ended in mid-February.
Wednesday's meeting, which comes prior to an official announcement on the FRA's preferred alternative, was a roundtable discussion with state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker, Blumenthal, Courtney and state and local officials representing communities from Old Saybrook to Stonington.
Courtney juxtaposed the "long list" of upgrades that are needed along the Northeast Corridor — including work to the Connecticut River Railroad Bridge between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme — to NEC FUTURE. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction on new Grasso Technical High School to begin next year
Groton — The state is moving forward with plans to build a $134.9 million school to replace Ella T. Grasso Technical High School, with construction beginning in June 2017.
The school will be specifically equipped to train future Electric Boat employees, said Seth Duke, corporate marketing and communications manager for Torrington-based O&G Industries, which was awarded the construction contract for the school.
The program is state-funded through bonds, not paid for by the town.
Grasso Tech collaborated with Electric Boat, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods Resort Casino, the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board and consultants from the Connecticut Technical High School System home office to determine what trades to offer in the new building, Principal Patricia Feeney said.
“The decisions were made specifically to meet the needs of the area,” she said.
The school now houses a training program for adults intended to produce skilled workers for the region's advanced manufacturing sector, including Electric Boat.
But after the new school is built, welding will become a trade also offered to Grasso students, Feeney said.
“There’s a huge need in this area,” she said. “Electric Boat is in need of welders as are other businesses, and really there isn’t much in this area in the way of training.”
In 2030, EB expects to have 18,000 employees turning out both advanced nuclear attack submarines and a new class of ballistic missile submarines.
More than 90 percent of that growth will be in the shipyard trades, such as welding, pipefitting and sheet metal work.
The new school also will combine culinary arts and hospitality into a new trade called “Hospitality management, culinary and tourism,” Feeney said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
West Haven initiates eminent domain to acquire 6 properties for The Haven South project
WEST HAVEN >> The city, through its Redevelopment Agency, has initiated eminent domain proceedings to acquire six properties within The Haven South project area for the first phase of the proposed The Haven upscale outlet mall. The agency filed the six “statement of compensation” documents Tuesday, according to attorney Gary O’Connor of Pullman & Comley.
The documents were filed with the City Clerk’s office and sent to attorneys for the property owners, some of which are holdouts and some of which have unclear status that the proceedings are meant to clarify, he said.Each of the six statements specify how much the city proposes to pay the respective properties via the eminent domain process based on the legally mandated formula of 125 percent of the average of two independent appraisals.The figures are as follows:
• $862,500 for the Citgo station property at 60 Elm St., owned by SZS Enterprises LLC, owner of the Citgo station and mini-mart at Elm Street and First Avenue. Representatives on both sides have said that at one point the developer had offered $1.8 million.• $236,875 for 341 First Ave., owned by Robert McGinnity, his mother, Natalie McGinnity, and his uncle, Michael Perrone.• $225,000 for 349 First Ave., owned by Robert McGinnity. • $450,000 for 38 Elm St. (at the corner of Elm and Water streets), owned by 38 Elm St. LLC. City officials have said that at one point the owner agreed to a settlement, but never followed through with the closing.• $198,125 for 395 First Ave., owned by Charles Gore. O’Connor said the owner at one point had agreed to a settlement, but the mortgage holder did not respond.• $23,750 for the FMR Grinding Wheel Corp. property at 0 Center St. O’Connor previously has said that condemnation proceedings would clarify this property’s status. FMR no longer is in business. The city and developer, The Haven Group LLC, also are listed as potentially having interests in the property. “Unfortunately, the city has been left with no other viable choice than to initiate the use of eminent domain for the advancement of The Haven South Municipal Development Plan,” said Mayor Ed O’Brien in an emailed statement. “Eminent domain will proceed because negotiations in good faith between the city and the property owners have concluded with no success,” O’Brien said. “Accordingly, on Aug. 30, letters were delivered to inform the remaining property owners that the city has filed statements of compensation ... to begin the eminent domain process.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE