EAST HAMPTON >> The effort to build a new Town Hall/police station took additional steps forward Tuesday, although it was dogged by friction and complaints from two town councilors.
After decades of discussing and debating the idea of building a new Town Hall, the Town Council is suddenly racing ahead with a proposal to build a new facility on a 5.4-acre parcel of land in the Edgewater Hill mixed-use development.The land is being donated by the project developers, Stephen and Lisa Motto.In exchange for the land, Stephen Motto will serve as construction manager for the construction of the new building — or buildings. Motto’s fee is expected to amount to as much as $400,000 — or more, depending on the size of the building. Last week, a nine-member building committee held its first meeting and chose a chairman, Glenn Gollenberg, and a vice chairman, Kurt Comisky. Gollenberg is the architect for the high school renovation project. However, when the council moved Tuesday to exempt Motto from the normal selection process, councilors Ted Hintz Jr. and Mark Philhower raised objections. Hintz opposes the plan, while Philhower voted for it with reservations. In introducing the proposal to exempt Motto, Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said having “a single-source provider is a better fit” for the project — and the town. Unimpressed, Philhower described the exemption as “a real back-door way to get something accomplished.” Hintz said having Motto oversee construction of the Town Hall created a conflict of interest. Motto would put the needs of the Edgewater Hill project ahead of the town’s best interests, Hintz argued.
“The fox is going to be watching the hen house,” Hintz said. Philhower also complained that no one else was allowed to present an arrangement like Motto proposed when the Council reviewed eight potential sites for the new town offices. Councilor Melissa Engel disagreed, saying Motto should not be penalized for his “creativity.” When Council James “Pete” Brown began offering his thoughts, he abruptly stopped speaking. “What annoys me most,” Brown said, is that Hintz carries on making sub rosa comments to Philhower as other councilors are speaking. When Hintz dismissed Brown’s complaint, Brown said, ”Oh, OK, let’s be kids. To which, Hintz replied, “Bring it on, Pete.” Brown paused for a moment and fixed Hintz with a steady stare before moving on. “We had Mr. Motto came forward with what I thought was a great idea,” he said. “He was going give us some land, the price was right, so I thought we could get this by the town. So, this to me in my estimation is the best way to do that.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Southington retail plaza nearing completion, Chip’s restaurant to open in June
SOUTHINGTON — A restaurant in a commercial plaza under construction on West Street will open in June, while other businesses are seeking town approval to open in the plaza.
Northstar Properties, a New York-based company, owns the land near the West Street exit off Interstate 84 near Lowe’s Home Improvement and Target. Owner Fred Leopold said the company is building 62,000 square feet of retail space that’ll include a Michael’s, HomeGoods and Pet Valu. The development is called Village Shops.
The plaza will also include a Chip’s Family Restaurant, a chain of eateries that specializes in breakfast foods and pancakes in particular. The restaurant is built on a pad separate from the store The restaurant group took out a billboard on Interstate 84 that announced their Southington location “coming soon.”
Maria Bakis, manager at the Orange location, said the Southington Chip’s will open in June. It will offer the same foods as other locations.
“It’s under construction now,” Bakis said.
Once open, it will be the sixth restaurant for Chip’s, in addition to locations in Trumbull, Wethersfield, Fairfield, Southbury and Orange.
Leopold couldn’t be reached Tuesday to discuss when the development might be finished and open to the public.
Adding more stores to the area around Lowe’s and Target, which opened in 2008 and 2009, respectively, was always the plan, according to a statement from Leopold last year.
Rob Philips, Southington’s town planner, said Northstar is looking to get a temporary occupancy certificate. That would allow store employees to begin setting up shelving and other equipment in preparation for a full opening. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The bond sales include $4.45 million in tax-exempt capital bonds at a 2.94 percent interest rate, $2.83 million in tax-exempt refunding bonds at 2.59 percent interest rate and $1 million in taxable capital bonds at a 3.73 percent interest rate.
The bonds cover road and bridge construction projects, the purchase of firefighter air packs and Norwich Public Utilities natural gas expansion.
City Comptroller Joshua Pothier said the refinancing of $2.83 million in principal and interest on bonds initially sold in 2009 will yield a net savings of $246,000.
The city received a AA bond rating with a favorable long-term outlook by Standard & Poor's bond rating agency in early February in anticipation of the bond sales, City Manager John Salomone said.
“These low interest rates reflect the market and the credit worthiness of the city,” Salomone said in a news release announcing the bond sales.