PLYMOUTH — All four projects included in a $6.9 million infrastructure improvements bond package passed in Tuesday’s referendum, however one involving improvements to Town Hall passed by a one vote and may be subject to a recount.
A total of 1,094 votes were cast, about 14.3 percent of eligible voters.
Each capital improvement project was presented as a separate question. The second question on the ballot was to appropriate $550,000 for renovations to Town Hall, which involve upgrades to the heating system, removal of underground tanks, connection of natural gas, front parking lot/sidewalk repairs, etc. It passed 543 to 542.
Cheryl Gianesini, Democratic registrar of voters, said she didn’t know if that would trigger a recount. “It would have to be a charter decision,” she said. “It would be an automatic recount for a candidate but I’m not sure because this is a ballot question.”
The first question on the ballot authorized $350,000 for the design, construction, engineering, and installation of a roadway and parking area for Eli Terry Jr. Middle School. It passed 596 to 493.
The work at Eli Terry involves building a traffic entrance behind the school on Charles Street for parents to drop off and pick up children without interfering with the buses using the North Main Street entrance in front of the school.
The third question was for $2,300,000 for various town road improvements, for Todd Hollow Road, Lake Plymouth Boulevard, Edward Avenue, West Park Road, Hosier Road, West Lakeview Road, Lakeside Drive, and Sunrise Avenue. It passed 607 to 481.
The fourth question authorized $3,750,000 for improvements to Fire Station No. 2, at 691 Main St. It passed by the highest margin, 765 to 327, drawing applause from firefighters when the result was announced.
The project would expand the station property to allow fire trucks to exit onto nearby South Street (Route 262) instead of going directly onto Main Street (Route 6). A 7,000-square-foot addition to the 50-plus year old station would include larger bays to accommodate modern fire trucks, plus extra lavatories, office space, a fitness room and more.
“We’re very pleased,” said Victor Mitchell, chairman of the Firehouse Committee. “It’s been a long time getting to this point. It’s all the result of the study that we did back in 2006, when we said we have to look at what’s going on with an eye toward the future, not the past.”
Mitchell said the next step is to hire an architect to put the plans together and then go out to bid by next spring. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
In his 11-page ruling, Judge Robert Young wrote that Kaestle Boos “is not presently claiming fraud or corruption and has not demonstrated evidence of favoritism… Kaestle Boos has no standing to seek injunctive relief.”
The temporary injunction will remain in effect for 20 days. If Kaestle Boos does not file an appeal during that time, the Bridgeport-based Fletcher-Thompson will be allowed to begin work on the project. Charles Boos, Kaestle Boos CEO, was not available for comment late Tuesday. In addition, Updike Kelly & Spellacy’s Donald Doeg, who represents Kaestle Boos, was also unavailable for comment.
Citing a local ordinance, Kaestle Boos sued the city claiming that as a New Britain-based bidder it should have been considered the “lowest responsible bidder” because its bid was not more than 2 percent higher than the lowest bid on a project.
The ruling also stated: “Courts will intervene to prevent the exercise … to deny a bid only where fraud, corruption or favoritism has influenced the conduct of the bidding officials or when the very object and integrity of the competitive bidding process is defeated by the conduct of municipal officials.”
Kaestle Boos bid $1,710,000 to perform the consulting and architectural services. Fletcher-Thompson bid $1,610,000. Its total bid was $1,695,000, when taking into account retrofitting the now vacant St. John Paul II School, which would serve as “swing space” for displaced students from Smalley while construction was occurring at the school.
“We understand the concerns of all parties, but our focus is certainty to get this Smalley building renovation off the ground as soon as possible so we can meet all deadlines to have the construction begin next summer,” said Paul Salina, school district chief operations officer. “We had a good head start and if it starts in 20 days, we anticipate everything moving along as it should.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Equipment company seeks move to Southington
SOUTHINGTON — An industrial and construction equipment supply company, looking to expand, plans to move from North Haven to a new facility on Town Line Road.
Tradon LLC, owned by Don Turcotte, will build a new facility to help expand its line of equipment offerings.
The company’s application to build a new warehouse was tabled by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday. Stephen Giudice, an engineer with Harry Cole & Son of Plantsville, said the Town Line Road site was part of a subdivision and is vacant. Construction should be straightforward, and he’s hoping for approval at the next meeting.
The building will include 17,400 square feet and will allow the company to grow its inventory as well as its workforce, Turcotte said.
“We’re delighted he wants to come to Southington,” commission Chairman Michael DelSanto said after Giudice’s presentation.” Also on Tuesday, a lawyer representing a potential West Street property buyer talked with commission members about possible uses for a 54,000-square-foot parcel.
James Ziogas, a Bristol-based attorney, said his client has an option to buy land at the corner of West Main Street and West Street. The town’s GIS shows a 1.1-acre vacant property at that intersection.
Ziogas said his client considered the possible uses for the land, which is zoned industrial.
He asked the commission if professional offices defined in the zoning regulations for industrial land included stock brokers or banks.
“We’re trying to make it a productive piece of property,” Ziogas said.
Commission members said they supported a potential new development, but were concerned about the traffic implications of a bank with a drive-through.
“I’m very concerned with the traffic in that corner,” commission member Susan Locks said. “You have a lot of major items in that area.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The application is on the agenda of the meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Plans call for a 138,000-square-foot Costco building, a fueling station with a monitoring system and 644 parking spaces on a 14.7-acre site on Flanders Road near Interstate 95, according to the application filed last month at Town Hall.
Thursday's Zoning Commission meeting will include a site plan review by the commission, but there will not be a public hearing.
The Zoning Commission approved in 2008 a Master Development Plan for Gateway Commons, a proposed development with residential and commercial components, after public hearings, according to Zoning Official Bill Mulholland.
The application for site plan approval of the store falls under the implementation of the Master Development Plan, according to Mulholland.
The regulations for the commercial phase of the development allow up to 425,000 square feet of retail space, with no more than one "anchor store" and no more than five "junior anchor stores."
The Inland Wetlands Agency approved a permit for Costco last spring.
Early design work begins on Norwich's Sherman Street bridge
The project is slated to cost about $8 million, with the city picking up 10 percent, or $800,000 of that, Thompson said. Another 10 percent will be paid for through state funds and the remainder by Federal Housing Administration money, he said.
"It's moving into the preliminary design phase," Thompson said.
The two-span bridge, called the Canada Bridge, crosses the Yantic River, bringing Sherman Street across a small island that divides the river and a former mill canal. The bridge ends at an intersection with Asylum Street.
"Both sections will be completely new, and the bridge is also going to be raised in elevation," Thompson said.
The bridge looks like it's in need of replacement, with patches of pavement on the roadway and cracked and breaking cement sidewalks. Fencing and railing along the span is rusted and nonexistent in places. The shorter of the spans has a 20-ton weight limit.
Thompson said a conceptual design for a replacement bridge has been decided on by the state Department of Transportation and the city. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Centerplan Allowed Into Dunkin' Donuts Park To Photograph Conditions
Centerplan Construction Co. representatives, accompanied by city officials, were allowed to bring cameras into Dunkin' Donuts Park on Tuesday to document conditions at the still incomplete ballpark, according to several sources familiar with the project.
The photographic tour of the $71 million, publicly financed project would appear to put to rest concerns that an emergency motion filed by a former developer to preserve evidence could stop work from resuming as early as this week.
Centerplan's attorney, Raymond Garcia, said last week that his client was not trying to prevent work from restarting, and that a motion filed last Thursday was only seeking to document conditions as part of legal action it initiated against the city, the baseball team and the team's owner, Josh Solomon.
Garcia was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
Last week's Centerplan filing followed an announcement by Arch Insurance, the company guaranteeing completion of the ballpark, that a new contractor had been hired to finish the project in time for a Hartford Yard Goats home opener next April. Arch Senior Vice President Patrick Nails had said that work could begin in the park as early as this week. Nails was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
In court papers, both the city and the Yard Goats opposed Centerplan's request, which still awaits a judge's ruling. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Larson Says I-84 Viaduct Would Stay While Tunnel Is Built
U. S. Rep. John Larson says one of the big benefits of his $10 billion tunnel plan would be that construction could occur while the aging I-84 viaduct remains in place.
Even though the state has dropped the idea for an I-84 tunnel in Hartford as too costly and is proceeding with its own plan to rebuild the highway at ground-level, Larson, D-1st District, said he is still pushing ahead with the idea because he's seeking federal money.
"The governor does like big ideas,'' Larson said. "He said, 'You get me the federal money, and I'm all for your plan.' But he said, 'I'm not going to stop what I'm doing, given Congress's record.' He's right about that.''
With federal money uncertain in the future, Malloy is simultaneously pushing forward with the state's plans to improve I-84 through Hartford — without a tunnel.
In the attempt to win federal money, Larson has met in Hartford with U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican who serves as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Shuster is open to the idea, Larson said, even though construction could be years away. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hamden bridge project cost increases 50 percent to more than $8 million
HAMDEN >> The cost of replacing a bridge on Skiff Street has increased by about 50 percent, leading to questions from the Legislative Council Tuesday as it voted to approve the town’s contribution.
The project to replace the bridge near the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Skiff Street has been in the works for more than a year and originally was estimated to cost about $5.5 million. But now, with the bids in and all of the costs known, that price tag is now more than $8 million, with the town’s share at $1.2 million. Councilwoman Marjorie Bonadies said that bothered her. “I’m concerned about the increase in the town’s share of the costs,” she said. It wasn’t possible to know until now exactly how much the project would cost, Town Engineer Mark Austin said.
“Now we have the final numbers — up until now, it was estimates,” said Austin, who was named to the position this summer. “We weren’t sure what the costs would be but now we have the numbers including for the RWA and the final construction costs.”“That is a significant increase,” said Councilman Myron Hul, questioning how the original estimate could have been so much lower.It wasn’t previously known how much it would cost to replace the water mains, Austin said. That cost now is expected to be $600,000, which wasn’t included in the original estimate, he said. The construction estimates were done by consultants hired before he joined the Engineering Department, Austin said. Hul also questioned why there isn’t a building committee overseeing the project. Town building committees oversee projects that cost far less, he said. The council would have to create an ordinance authorizing it to create a building committee for such a project, council President James Pascarella said. “My concern is the estimate went up 50 percent,” Hul said. “That is a huge number in and of itself. I understand there is oversight but we have had building committees for less money than the $8 million we have here. I think we should consider one.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
In court papers, both the city and the Yard Goats opposed Centerplan's request, which still awaits a judge's ruling. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Larson Says I-84 Viaduct Would Stay While Tunnel Is Built
U. S. Rep. John Larson says one of the big benefits of his $10 billion tunnel plan would be that construction could occur while the aging I-84 viaduct remains in place.
Even though the state has dropped the idea for an I-84 tunnel in Hartford as too costly and is proceeding with its own plan to rebuild the highway at ground-level, Larson, D-1st District, said he is still pushing ahead with the idea because he's seeking federal money.
If approved, the I-84 tunnel would start near the Flatbush Avenue exit in Hartford and would continue as cars drive overhead on the viaduct that carries cars past the Aetna insurance headquarters and the Capitol. Larson is also proposing to put I-91 through Hartford in a tunnel, reconnecting the city to the Connecticut River.
When the I-84 tunnel is ready years from now, the viaduct would be dismantled, according to the proposal. All of the property above the tunnel would then be redeveloped, Larson said. Larson has spoken about his plans with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and transportation Commissioner James Redeker. "The governor does like big ideas,'' Larson said. "He said, 'You get me the federal money, and I'm all for your plan.' But he said, 'I'm not going to stop what I'm doing, given Congress's record.' He's right about that.''
With federal money uncertain in the future, Malloy is simultaneously pushing forward with the state's plans to improve I-84 through Hartford — without a tunnel.
In the attempt to win federal money, Larson has met in Hartford with U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican who serves as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Shuster is open to the idea, Larson said, even though construction could be years away. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hamden bridge project cost increases 50 percent to more than $8 million
HAMDEN >> The cost of replacing a bridge on Skiff Street has increased by about 50 percent, leading to questions from the Legislative Council Tuesday as it voted to approve the town’s contribution.
The project to replace the bridge near the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Skiff Street has been in the works for more than a year and originally was estimated to cost about $5.5 million. But now, with the bids in and all of the costs known, that price tag is now more than $8 million, with the town’s share at $1.2 million. Councilwoman Marjorie Bonadies said that bothered her. “I’m concerned about the increase in the town’s share of the costs,” she said. It wasn’t possible to know until now exactly how much the project would cost, Town Engineer Mark Austin said.
“Now we have the final numbers — up until now, it was estimates,” said Austin, who was named to the position this summer. “We weren’t sure what the costs would be but now we have the numbers including for the RWA and the final construction costs.”“That is a significant increase,” said Councilman Myron Hul, questioning how the original estimate could have been so much lower.It wasn’t previously known how much it would cost to replace the water mains, Austin said. That cost now is expected to be $600,000, which wasn’t included in the original estimate, he said. The construction estimates were done by consultants hired before he joined the Engineering Department, Austin said. Hul also questioned why there isn’t a building committee overseeing the project. Town building committees oversee projects that cost far less, he said. The council would have to create an ordinance authorizing it to create a building committee for such a project, council President James Pascarella said. “My concern is the estimate went up 50 percent,” Hul said. “That is a huge number in and of itself. I understand there is oversight but we have had building committees for less money than the $8 million we have here. I think we should consider one.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE