The unity that bonds us during times of prosperity and the collective resilience that lifts us during the challenging times are dim in comparison to the concern and compassion and empathy that we share with one another when tragedy strikes any member of the Local 478 family.
The loss of any of our Local brothers or sisters is heart wrenching, but somehow the shock and disbelief are intensified when a tragedy happens on a job site. Unlike an illness or a non-work accident, injury and death on job sites are so much harder to process both logically and emotionally. Too often, workers and their families have difficulty coming to terms with the loss of life because there are rarely absolute or timely answers to the question," How did this happen"? One need only look back to April 23, 1987, when a concrete floor at L’Ambiance Plaza, a 16-story apartment complex in the middle of construction, collapsed killing 28 workers under its massive weight. Our own operating engineers worked around the clock with the other trades digging through the rubble and crumbled concrete in a heroic effort looking for survivors and recovering bodies. And, yet still today, 30 years later, many of the parents and children and wives of the men killed at L’Ambiance have never understood exactly what went wrong. Since the L’Ambiance tragedy, our Local has lost other members to worksite accidents some of which had complete analysis and specific conclusions about what happened, others that will forever remain unresolved.
As you read through this "Special Safety Edition" of the Local 478 quarterly newsletter, it is imperative that you fully understand that YOUR LIFE AND WELL BEING ON THE JOB SITE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO THIS LOCAL. I know you hear me preach about politics and prevailing wage and project labor agreements; but, have no doubt, my number one priority is the personal safety of every one of our operating engineers whether you are in the field, in a shop or quarry or wherever. You returning home safely from work each day is the number one goal of this business manager, the business agents, the referral manager and every individual who works for Local 478. Every year, the construction industry ranks in the top three on the most hazardous industries list. As manufacturing decreases, construction injuries and
deaths have pushed our industry to the top of the list for several years. The hazards of working around fast moving equipment, heavy materials and in tight spaces are only going to continue to increase as employers must meet higher production goals to remain competitive and as our industry expands to more trenching and sub-terrain work. It would seem like having more experience in a job would automatically make one safer; but sometimes, just like when we drive our car to our own home, we are so habitual (almost robotic) in our movement and our work, that we can do things without really being aware of our surroundings. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in the work and so in the swing of things that we fail to notice changes, like a truck that pulled in behind us or a person who moved into a spot that was vacant just moments before. Furthermore, as the old saying "time is money" rings louder for both the employer and the workers, the desire to get in, get going and get it done as quickly as possible overpowers us, and then we disregard the importance of taking our time and making sure that everything and everyone is safe before we proceed to work. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Energy company eyes South Mountain Road parcel in Meriden for solar panels
MERIDEN — An energy company has requested two years to study the feasibility of solar panels on the former NRG power plant site on Cathole Mountain.
Officials say the city has little to lose in allowing the study because of the high cost of bringing development to the area.
Energy Advantage Inc. approached the city in March about five acres at 600 South Mountain Road, just off Chamberlain Highway, said Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski. Representatives from Energy Advantage did not return a request for comment. City officials gave representatives from the company a tour of the site, which is a cleared area off the road.
The city owns about 300 acres surrounding the former power plant site. The partially built plant was demolished in 2014. The city paid for two studies in 2015 to determine the possibility of developing the site. The studies concluded that a $13 million investment would be required to route utilities and roadway improvements up the mountain.
“If you were to fully develop it for manufacturing the cost would be significantly more than the market could bear,” Burdelski said.
Energy Advantage is requesting exclusive rights to conduct a study and do “other work necessary to complete a full assessment including the estimates of construction, management, and photovoltaic energy production,” on the site, according to a resolution approved by the Planning Commission earlier this week.
During the meeting, City Planner Bob Seale said the study could be advantageous because the company would “run some utilities out to the site.”
“One thing these guys would be installing would be transmission lines,” Seale said. “This could be economically beneficial to the city.”
Seale emphasized that the study would not legally bind the city to move forward with solar. He added that Energy Advantage would likely keep the findings of the study private.
The proposal will still need to go before the council’s Economic Development, Housing & Zoning Committee and the full City Council.
“I’m in support of it. I don’t mind having a firm come in and give us information,” Burdelski said. “I don’t see us really putting a development strategy together there for some time, so a 24-month window seems reasonable for me.”
City Manager Guy Scaife said the continued growth of renewable energy is important not just in Meriden, but nationwide. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — The Planning Commission approved a proposal to redevelop 1 King Place, the abandoned Meriden-Wallingford Hospital, into a senior living and commercial complex in addition to a two-year study to examine the feasibility of adding solar panels to a vacant parcel off South Mountain Road.
The city selected Diversified Financial Resources, operating under the name 1 King LLC, as preferred developer on the site last year. City Planner Bob Seale said the city has applied for a $2 million grant and will be applying for a $2 million dollar loan, of which the developer will cover up to 50 percent. Remediation of the 285,000-square-foot building has been estimated to cost $5 million.
Potential tenants for the retail and commercial space have already been identified by the developer, Seale said, including a medical walk-in center and a steak house. Plans also call for potentially relocating the Meriden Senior Center into the facility as well as the Pratt Street fire station. The complex would be marketed toward seniors and contain elderly-assisted living and market-rate apartments. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New London — Despite only bringing in about $500,000 in donations since the start of the year, the head of the Coast Guard Museum Association says the group still is budgeting for $13 million in private donations in 2017.
Dick Grahn, CEO of the museum association, said that donations are likely to come toward the end of the year, when companies look at their budgets and may choose to donate available funds.
"As we proceed through the rest of the year, we're prepared to adjust that number either up or down," Grahn said of the fundraising goal by phone Friday.
Fundraising efforts ramped up when the museum association announced its first national fundraising campaign in Washington, D.C., in late April 2015. So far, about $34 million in total has been raised for the estimated $100 million National Coast Guard Museum planned for downtown New London. That includes a recent allotment from the federal government of $5 million and a commitment from the state for up to $20 million. The money from the feds can only be used for exhibitory purposes and the state's commitment is strictly for the construction of a pedestrian bridge to provide safe access to the museum.
The remaining $9 million has come from individuals and corporations. Louisiana shipbuilding mogul Donald "Boysie" Bollinger donated $1 million, as did James David Power III, founder of J.D. Power & Associates, a leading market research company. Power's daughter Susan Curtin is on the museum association's board of directors. The American Waterways Operators, the national advocate for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, donated about $2 million through its members.
Grahn and Wes Pulver, executive director of the museum association, said there's "lines in the water" for an additional $30 million.
"No one has told us no," Grahn said.
Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons and Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown were tapped late last year to co-chair a regional fundraising campaign to raise $2.5 million by summer 2018. There hasn't been any update since then on how this segment of the fundraising is progressing.
"I would like to see a broader outreach to members of the public and to the Coast Guard community, including high-ranking Coast Guard officers and noncommissioned offers, to demonstrate the interest at that level that I think will stimulate giving at other levels," Simmons said by phone Friday, when asked how those efforts were proceeding. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Shubert: Tolls a 'viable' revenue source to finance infrastructure improvement
One of the state's most ardent transportation advocates, Don Shubert has been executive director of the Connecticut Construction Industry Association for the past eight years.
A coalition of construction industry trade associations, the CCIA represents nearly all aspects of commercial construction in Connecticut involving building, transportation, environmental and utility work. The association particularly works closely with labor groups to advocate for greater public investment in Connecticut's transportation infrastructure.
Shubert, 59, spent nine years before his tenure at CCIA as head of the Connecticut Road Builders Association.
An attorney, Shubert has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Eastern Connecticut State University and a law degree from the University of Connecticut. He and his wife, Loren, live in West Hartford.
Shubert spoke to The Mirror this past week about Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's stalled, $100 billion transportation rebuilding program, a Special Transportation Fund headed for insolvency, the sticky question of tolls on state highways, and the risk of squandering federal transportation dollars in years to come.
A little more than two years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed a 30-year, $100 billion investment to rebuild Connecticut's aging, overcrowded transportation infrastructure.
But since then the state still hasn't funded the final 25 years, has reduced sales tax receipts dedicated to the first five years, and the Special Transportation Fund is projected to run in deficit this fiscal year and become insolvent by 2019-20.
How does the construction industry view all of this?
As far as the construction industry is concerned, we have always taken a very careful look at the actual delivery of the governor's transportation proposal. Because the first five years of the plan were mostly design services, there wasn't a lot of new construction work in the five-year ramp-up.
So in our long-range planning we hadn't considered that [30-year commitment] would ever happen.
We've also watched the performance of the DOT [Connecticut Department of Transportation] more than the governor's actual plan itself. Our focus is on how DOT can develop, design and deliver projects. And that, in our mind, is a better indicator for where Connecticut is going.
We knew, right away, that the first five years of the ramp-up plan would mean very little in terms of construction, delivering projects and actually making a difference in Connecticut's transportation infrastructure.
Do you see Connecticut moving toward this 30-year vision in the coming years, staying stagnant, or even losing ground?
In order to understand the 30-year vision, the one thing you really need to focus on is 60 percent of that [funding] is needed just to maintain the current level of services, maintenance and operations. And the amount that's needed for that — just keeping things in a state of good repair — over the next 30 years, is double the level we are spending on that now.
When you think you need to double the current program over the next 30 years, just to stay where you are with transportation, you first have to ask yourself, have we even done that yet? And the answer is no.
We haven't seen any indication that there is any leadership willing to make the decisions that they need to make to do that.
Do most transportation advocates understand that over the next 15 years Connecticut is grappling with another enormous expense — unfunded retirement benefit obligations — that is expected to consume even more resources than the governor wants to commit to transportation?
Most transportation advocates see the Special Transportation Fund is in jeopardy because of the larger problems with the General Fund.
And for years the Special Transportation Fund paid for itself. But we're at a situation now where the revenues directed to transportation aren't enough. … It's going to take some General Fund revenue in order to sustain the Special Transportation Fund over the next couple of years.
For the longest time, state government would take money away from transportation and the program still would sustain itself. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Concerns aired over marina project for historic Essex waterfront
ESSEX >> The proposed Carlson Landing project — a new marina building and restaurant proposed for the Essex waterfront next door to the Connecticut River Museum — may not be as simple as it seems on paper.
Neighbors, namely the museum and some residents, expressed concerns over the current plan at the Essex Zoning Commission’s public hearing on the project held May 15.The hearing was continued to 7 p.m. tonight in the Essex Town Hall auditorium when the proposal will be discussed again. Documents pertaining to the project are available at the Land Use office. Essex Boat Works, LLC and Carlson Landing, LLC seek special exceptions to construct a marina building and to allow a 59-seat restaurant as an accessory use to the marina. The plan calls for using two lots to fulfill space requirements without actually merging the two lots into one property, which raises parking and access concerns should the two properties ever be sold separately in the future. The building would be about 8,000 square feet and require 63 parking spaces, which the developers say would all be on site.
The developers are Rick Carlson, a 35-year resident of Essex, along with Essex Boat Works. Centerbrook Architects created the project’s design. Carlson said that he never intended for the project to be controversial as he surveyed the standing-room only crowd. He said the project will “provide public access to the property and allow people to enjoy a public waterfront dining option,” adding, “It’s going to be a good thing.” He also said that the architecture will blend in with the historic buildings in downtown Essex, and there will be ample access to parking. Vehicle access will be from Ferry Street near Pratt Street and a gravel in-only access point on Main Street between the river museum’s main building and the Lay House, also owned by the museum. The developers already own the 40-foot strip of land required for the driveway access from Main Street. Residents expressed concern about the occasional flooding near the proposed Ferry Street access, which would require use of the Main Street access for both in and out access. The restaurant would occupy the bottom level of the building with offices above and operate from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., serving lunch and dinner. The marina patrons would share the restaurant’s restroom facilities as locker/shower rooms. Sewage would be pumped to a leach field along the driveway between the two museum properties. The septic design had not yet been approved by the health department at the time of the meeting. CLIK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Survey Finds Connecticut Struggles To Fill Energy Sector Jobs
HARTFORD, CT — The good news: there’s growing demand for energy-related jobs in Connecticut. The bad news: like their counterparts in manufacturing, most business leaders in the energy sector are struggling to fill entry-level positions due to a lack of qualified candidates, a new survey found. As interest in renewable energy and energy efficiency continues to swell, the sector is poised to continue growing in the state. Of the business leaders polled, 56 percent plan to hire in the next year, 82 percent plan to in the next three years, and 61 percent plan to within five years, according to the 2017 Survey of Connecticut Energy & Energy Efficiency Workforce Needs.
But many worry whether they will be able to fill those jobs. More than half, or 57 percent, said they have trouble finding qualified entry-level workers — for HVAC and plumbing jobs, in particular.
Of those surveyed, 73 percent said a lack of required technical skills and certifications was among the biggest obstacles, and 45 percent cited basic career skills like teamwork, communication, and problem solving as barriers.
The survey was commissioned by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and developed with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Education & Workforce Partnership. It was sent in April to 820 business leaders, of which 62 responded.
Energy sector leaders are echoing concerns voiced just last month by manufacturing business owners, who said in a separate survey they will have more than 13,000 jobs to fill by next year but struggle to attract and retain qualified workers.
“The state has responded robustly to the needs of the manufacturing sector,” Andrea Comer, vice president of workforce strategies for the CBIA Education & Workforce Partnership, said in a statement. “While the need in terms of numbers in the energy sector may not be as high, the aging of the workforce is just as real. We must be committed to ensuring that all businesses in the state have the talent pipeline needed to thrive and contribute to our economy’s health.”
There currently are 63,000 jobs in the energy industry in Connecticut, at 5,600 businesses, according to the partnership. The greatest number of employees work in high efficiency HVAC and renewable heating and cooling firms.
“Statewide, we see a growing need for trained technicians to work in energy efficiency and weatherization programs,” Diane Duva, director of DEEP’s Office of Energy Demand, said in a statement. “We support efforts to close the gaps between workforce training and clean energy industry needs,” she added, including the energy management degree program and Tunxis Community College.
CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE