Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations crossed the finish line Wednesday on the last day of the General Assembly’s annual session, victors in a two-year struggle for authorization to jointly develop a casino to compete with an MGM Resorts International casino under construction in Springfield.
The House vote of 103 to 46 was surprisingly lopsided, exceeding the 2-1 margin last month in the Senate. A companion bill that helps the pari-mutuel industry by expanding the number of available off-track betting licenses from 18 to 24, passed on a closer vote of 77 to 72. It was drafted to attract some Democratic votes.
With Gov. Dannel P. Malloy set to the sign the bill, MGM says its battle to keep a competitor off its doorstep now will shift to U.S. District Court, where the Las Vegas gaming giant will argue the legislature violated the Equal Protection and Commerce clauses of the Constitution by refusing to consider other suitors for the state’s first commercial gaming license.
“That’s not a threat. That’s a promise,” said Uri Clinton, a senior vice president and legal counsel at MGM.
The legislation authorizes the tribal owners of Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun, two of the world’s largest gaming resorts, to open a satellite casino off I-91 in East Windsor, a community of 12,000 between Hartford and Springfield that already has approved the project.
Approval by the House came shortly after 1 a.m. after a low-key debate of barely 90 minutes, an anticlimactic conclusion to one of most intense and most expensive lobbying battles in recent years.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said the margin surprised him. One of the factors was personal lobbying by the employees of the two casinos.
“Nobody wanted to risk the jobs,” he said.
The bill’s prospects were uncertain in the House until late Tuesday afternoon, when CT Mirror reported that a deal had been struck.
“There are families across the state breathing a sigh of relief tonight thanks to leaders in both chambers and from both parties,” said Kevin Brown, the Mohegan tribal chairman.
Rodney Butler, his Pequots’ counterpart, said, “Tonight the Connecticut General Assembly passed one of the most significant jobs initiatives of the legislative session. With more than 9,000 jobs at risk, legislators banded together to save an important sector of Connecticut’s economy.”
Support for the tribes was bipartisan: Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, presented the bill to the chamber. Brief closing remarks were delivered by Rep. Mike France of Ledyard, a Republican whose district covers both tribal casinos.
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, found herself on the same side as Malloy, who called the bill important to the economy.
“I commend and thank both chambers of the General Assembly for keeping Connecticut jobs and workers at the center of this debate,” Malloy said. “Our state has a longstanding partnership and compact with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations, who employ thousands of Connecticut residents in their casinos. I have been very clear that I will not sign a bill that puts these jobs at risk, and I look forward to reviewing this proposal.”
Point of Interest: Residence Inn Marriott construction begins
23 Atlantic St.: Work has quietly begun at the Residence Inn Marriott, which sat untouched for two years after its original developer declared bankruptcy. The project has received a building permit and crews have been working on the roof and elevators, said Dan Palmier, president of UC Funds, which acquired the unfinished building in April. Palmier expects the hotel to be operational in about a year. The 156-room Residence Inn, will be comprised of suite-style rooms with full kitchenettes, and amenities like a fitness center, breakfast area, business center and meeting spaces. The Residence Inn is down the road from the Courtyard Marriott, which UC Funds acquired from Seaboard in an auction last year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-95 paving to close highway ramps
Over the next two weeks some I-95 ramps will be closed at night in Bridgeport and Fairfield for a paving project.
The state Department of Transportation says the project involves milling bridge decks, repairs to exposed bridge decks and paving a section of I-95 between the New England Avenue overpass (near Exit 24) and the Wordin Avenue overpass (near Exit 26) for a total distance of 2.3 miles.
The contractor will then reverse direction proceeding southbound on Interstate 95 all within this construction season.
There will be milling and paving of on-ramps and off-ramps and repair of existing concrete bridge decks, DOT says.
Detour routes will be provided should ramps need to be closed for construction activities.
The $14.5 million project, awarded to Waters Construction Co. of Bridgeport is scheduled for completion on Nov. 14.
LANE CLOSURE INFO:
The following ramps are scheduled to be closed:
The times for all ramp closures will be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Only one ramp will be closed per direction at a time.
Week of June 5:
• I-95 NB On-Ramp 25 will be detoured to NB 26 On-Ramp
• I-95 NB Off-Ramp 25 will be detoured to SB 25 Off-Ramp
• I-95 NB On-Ramp 26 will be detoured to NB 25 On-Ramp
• I-95 NB Off-Ramp 26 will be detoured to SB 26 Off-Ramp
Week of June 12:
• I-95 NB On-Ramp 25 will be detoured to NB 26 On-Ramp
• I-95 NB Off-Ramp 25 will be detoured to SB 25 Off-Ramp
• I-95 NB On-Ramp 26 will be detoured to NB 25 On-Ramp
• I-95 NB Off-Ramp 26 will be detoured to SB 26 Off-Ramp
• I-95 SB Off-Ramp 25 will be detoured to SB 24 Off-Ramp
• I-95 SB On-Ramp 25 will be detoured to SB 24 On-Ramp
• I-95 SB Off-Ramp 26 will be detoured to SB 25 Off-Ramp
• I-95 SB On-Ramp 26 will be detoured to SB 27 On-Ramp
Route 150 railroad underpass in Wallingford closes to traffic
WALLINGFORD — The Route 150 railroad underpass in Yalesville has closed to traffic for construction of a second railroad track.
The underpass closed at 7 a.m. Monday. It is expected to reopen on June 25.
“The work will include, but is not limited to, installation and repairs of supporting bridge structures, such as retaining walls and joints, as well as preparation of the rail bed for a new track,” the state Department of Transportation said in a statement.Ahead of Referendum, Farmington Residents Express Support of New High School
Farmington residents told their fellow citizens Monday that they generally support a plan for a new high school in town, ahead of next week's referendum that will determine the fate of the proposal.
More than 150 people attended a special town meeting Monday, many saying the plan for a new, $135 million high school is an investment in the town's future.
"The high school project that has been proposed is by far the biggest opportunity ever for our town to embrace the importance of our schools and support the growth and improvement of the high school as an endorsement of what we can and should do to support our community as a whole," said resident Beth Kintner, "because when our schools do well, our community does well."
The matter will now head to referendum on June 15. Unlike the town's budget referendum, in which less than 15 percent voter turnout results in automatic approval, the majority vote will decide if the project moves forward.
Over the course of the three hour meeting, held in the Farmington High School auditorium, a majority of the nearly 30 people who spoke during public comment said a new high school will be beneficial to both students and residents by providing quality community space, improving the learning enviroment for students and enticing more people to move to Farmington.
"My tax dollars living in this community should go to this kind of a project," said resident Richard Scalzo. "That's why we live in a community. That's what America is all about. We're here not just for ourselves, not just for our kids, but for each other."Many also cautioned those in attendance that should the project be rejected at the polls next week, the town could lose out on $25,000 in state grants budgeted in the current fiscal year CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
House inches CT closer to tolls — but stops short
The House of Representatives took two steps Tuesday — one legal and one symbolic — to move Connecticut slightly closer to the imposition of tolls on its highways.
The House narrowly approved a resolution to establish a constitutional “lockbox” amendment to safeguard revenues earmarked for transportation. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he would not consider any discussion of tolls unless a lockbox amendment is sent before voters on the 2018 statewide ballot.
The House also debated a bill directing the Department of Transportation to craft a plan to establish tolls. But it tabled the measure — in a pre-arranged, bipartisan deal — after 110 minutes of debate.
The question of tolling is not expected to be taken up again before the regular 2017 General Assembly adjourns Wednesday, though some supporters hope it will remain in talks during the summer special session to resolve the next two-year state budget.
“Please tell me what we are waiting for?” Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, one of the legislature’s most ardent advocate of tolls, asked the House. “We all have children. We all have grandchildren. We all have friends. It is our obligation to make the roads the best they can be.”
Noting that state analysts project Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund will be insolvent by 2020, Guerrera said he fears Connecticut will not act until some highway tragedy happens because of deferred maintenance.
The Special Transportation Fund, which involves $1.46 billion or 7 percent of the overall state budget, is expected to finish in deficit this year. It’s $143 million emergency reserve will be reduced to $106 million.
And analysts say recurring yearly deficits are coming soon.
Lackluster growth in fuel tax receipts and a growing backlog of maintenance on an aging infrastructure translate into a $46 million deficit forecast for 2018-19 and a $93 million shortfall one year later
“We cannot afford to have another bridge collapse,” Guerrera said, a reference to the 1983 collapse of the Interstate 95 bridge over the Mianus River in Greenwich, which claimed the lives of three motorists. “And you all know it is going to happen.”
“Public safety is not an option,” said Rep. Cathy Abercrombie, D-Meriden.
Unless Connecticut provides a new revenue source for transportation, infrastructure repairs only will drain resources away from General Fund priorities such as health care and education, Abercrombie said, adding “Let’s bite the bullet and do it now.”
But critics argue that some Democrats, who hold a 79-72 edge in the House, are most interested in establishing tolls as an indirect way to raid the remaining transportation fund reserves. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE