SOUTHINGTON — Southington Town Attorney and Deputy Town Manager Mark Sciota opened bid packages for the new senior center to replace the Calendar House Monday.
More than 50 representatives from local and area businesses gathered in the Town Hall Council chambers to see if they were the low bidder for various aspects of the project at 388 Pleasant St. Town Manager Garry Brumback said that the number of responses to the bid proposals was “refreshing.”
“I’m glad that we got as many as we did,” said Brumback. “We are very happy and appreciate the competitive nature of this bid process. We are asking KBE Building Corporation to compile and analyze the bids.”
Sciota said that, due to the new senior center being a project that will involve state funds, the bids will be reviewed closely and that the town will take its time to make decisions.
There were seven bidders in total for the electrical work on the building, with the low bidder being A&S Electrical services of Durham, who offered to do the work for $550,000.
There were 10 bidders for the HVAC work, with Triad Construction Services of North Haven making the most inexpensive proposal of $382,885. Triad was also the low bidder of seven who applied for the plumbing work, offering to do it for $297,198.
HHS Mechanical Contractors of Manchester and Mark Fire Protection were tied as the low bidders for the building’s fire prevention systems, offering to do it for $77,000. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Next phase of Meriden flood control project to begin this summer
MERIDEN — The next phase of the city’s flood control improvement and linear trail expansion project is expected to begin this summer. The project will widen and deepen over a mile of Harbor Brook to enhance flood control in the area between Coe Avenue and the Cooper Street bridge.
Officials will present the next phase of the project on Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall.
“It’s so important because it has an economic impact on the city,” Public Works Director Bob Bass. “If we don’t solve it then residents, businesses are going to continue to pay for flood damage.”
The project will involve restoration of 6,600 feet of the brook between Coe Avenue and the Cooper Street bridge. It will also include the construction of a stretch of paved walking trail along the channel. At the Columbus Avenue bridge, the trail will be built alongside Harbor Brook and run under the bridge through a tunnel.
The work is expected to cost $6.5 million.
Pending state approvals, work could begin this summer and last about a year, Bass said. “Any flood control project in Meriden is of the utmost importance because each project is not done in isolation or by itself, it’s all connected in some way shape or form to the transformation of the city and its infrastructure,” said City Councilor Cathy Battista, also a member of the Flood Control Implementation Agency. “You can’t start one big one flood control project and not go on to the next one.”
The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 389 Route 2, Preston. Copies of the plan are available for review at the selectmen's office at Town Hall during business hours and are posted on the PRA’s website at www.preston-ct.org. Copies also will be available at the public hearing.
Written and oral comments on the plan will be accepted at the hearing.
The PRA will meet following the hearing to review the comments received, evaluate the comments and the plan based on a state statute that governs redevelopment plans, PRA Chairman Sean Nugent said.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted on Jan. 31 that the conceptual plan as a whole is consistent with the town Plan of Conservation and Development. Some aspects that might not be in compliance can be addressed at a later date, when the plan becomes more solidified, the commission said.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority unveiled its conceptual plans for the entire 393-acre former Norwich Hospital property on Jan. 17 as negotiations with town officials over the purchase of the property neared completion. The final draft of the proposed Property Disposition and Development Agreement is still being negotiated by the two parties.
The Mohegans' plan calls for a 40-acre theme park, indoor water park, outdoor adventure park, synthetic skiing, a large sports training facility, a large outdoor-themed retail chain store, hotels, senior housing and timeshare units overlooking the Thames River and a marina with possible ferry or water shuttle service across the river. A public park with access to the riverfront area also is planned.
Study: Pipeline expansion would cost ratepayers
A study commissioned by environmental and consumer groups claims that the Access Northeast pipeline expansion would cost more than its proponents have said.
Written by Massachusetts-based Synapse Energy Economics, the Feb. 7 study says the proposed expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission network -- which crosses Connecticut -- would cost $6.6 billion instead of the $3.2 billion estimated price tag previously stated by its developers.
That's because of operation, maintenance and other costs over a 20-year period, it said.
According to Synapse's calculations, the pipeline -- which faces an uncertain future due to legal rulings in several surrounding states -- would cost New England $277 million over 20 years, including $85 million in Connecticut.
In addition, Synapse concluded there will be a reduced need for natural gas capacity moving forward, due to state-level clean energy laws and ongoing other expansions that will alleviate capacity restraints that have been cited by grid operator ISO-New England and Access Northeast's developers, which include Spectra, Eversource and National Grid.
Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross on Thursday called the figures in the report "overstated" and said the report "fails to recognize the energy challenges facing consumers and businesses in New England."
"The lack of adequate natural gas infrastructure is threatening our region's energy reliability, driving up costs and hurting efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "In fact, in December alone, New Englanders paid electricity prices that were 47 percent higher than the national average – in large part due to inadequate natural gas supplies."
Concerns over the retirements of non-gas power plants in New England have led ISO CEO Gordon Van Welie to express concern about meeting power demands in the coming winters.
A recent presentation about the topic can be seen here. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Study of Farmington's Village Center Completed
Enhancing Farmington's village core would highlight the town's commitments to historic character, aesthetics, accessibility and sustainability, a recent report concluded.
Meriden-based BL Companies finalized the report last month after about six months of analyzing the Farmington Center zone.
That zone was adopted based on the town's redevelopment plan for the Farmington Gateway, a 40-acre area, bisected by Route 4 adjacent to the Farmington Center historic district and bounded on the west by the Farmington River.
The planned project stems from a Department of Transportation initiative to improve Route 4 from Garden Street to Mountain Spring Road. The DOT work began last April and is expected to continue through June 2018.
BL Companies used environmental, market and traffic analyses to develop a conceptual site development plan. The full report is available on the town's website.
The plan incorporates the DOT construction and complete street and universal design principles. This means the area would be made accessible to older people, people both with and without disabilities, and will also incorporate accommodations for various modes of transportation.The report emphasizes the importance of a walkable community, saying that characteristic is a "great demand" of Millennials – a group that will comprise about 30 percent of the population by the end of the decade – as well as empty nesters. This shift requires the town to rethink design of residential properties to attract developers, according to the findings.
It also takes Farmington Center's character into consideration, outlining the importance of protecting the area's historic and cultural assets and architectural landmarks. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Torrington: 62-unit apartment building approved on Torringford West Street
TORRINGTON >> The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a 62-unit apartment complex at 380 Torringford West Street Wednesday evening. The four-story apartment building will feature 50 affordable units and 12 market-rate units, according to City Planner Martin Connor. The building was proposed by the Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that also owns the neighboring Torringford West Apartments senior living complex at 356 Torringford West Street.
POAH originally proposed a second senior-living complex be constructed on the property at 380 Torringford West Street, which was approved by the commission in 2014. State priorities changed in the interim, according to previous statements by Cory Fellows, vice president of real estate development with POAH, making it effectively impossible to secure funding for senior-only housing. This prompted the group to change its plans regarding the development of the property. Commission member Greg Perosino objected to the altered project Wednesday, suggesting that creating further affordable housing in Torrington would inappropriately concentrate such housing in the city, as opposed to the rest of Litchfield County, and that housing for seniors was of greater need for the community given its demographics.
Perosino referenced a 10 percent state threshold for affordable housing, which allows developers to appeal decisions in communities with a lower amount of such housing to state Superior Court.“I see it this way — we’ve met the threshold of what we were asked to do at the state level. Going beyond that is a burden we’re taking on — and it’s an unnecessary burden,” said Perosino. Rejecting the project because of the shift from senior-only to all ages would likely be considered discriminatory, Connor said, and open the city up to a lawsuit. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE