CT CONSTRUCTION DIGEST

CT CONSTRUCTION DIGEST WILL RESUME ON A REGULAR BASIS JANUARY 2, 2018.

MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL....

CT Construction Digest Wednesday December 20, 2017

$8.6 million fed grant will enhance, enlarge State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown

MIDDLETOWN — Officials broke ground Tuesday at the State Veterans Cemetery on two projects totaling $8.6 million that are designed to expand and beautify the Bow Lane grounds.
As the wind whipped on a brisk afternoon with a bright sun overhead, firefighters held tight against their backs the edges of a 60-foot American flag hoisted high from the South Fire District ladder truck off Bow Lane.
“This is a sacred place,” Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
“The men and women interred here made tremendous sacrifices to Connecticut and our nation. We will serve them as they served us, and ensure they have a final resting place where the families can come to reflect and remember,” she said. Civil engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill of Manchester prepared the design for the improvements project, which includes raising, realigning and cleaning more than 7,000 headstones, as well as improving the turf throughout the grounds as part of a federal grant.
Construction on that portion of the project is estimated to be finished by February 2020. It is being paid for by a $3.18 million federal grant. “This is an important milestone as we continue to honor those who have given so much,” said George Eisenbach Jr., director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.
He retired with the rank of first sergeant after serving 23 years in the U.S. Army, said Thomas J. Saadi, acting commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Best Buy distribution center to be built at Northrop Industrial Park on Meriden/Wallingford line

WALLINGFORD — Developer John Orsini has a deal with Best Buy to construct a new 80,000-square-foot distribution center in the Northrop Industrial Park.
The new Best Buy facility is being constructed at #8 Northrop Road Industrial Park West, 1070 North Farms Road. Northrop Industrial Park is part of an 88-acre parcel that straddles the Meriden/Wallingford line.
Best Buy spokesman Jeff Shelman said the facility will be a “delivery pad” where washers. TVs and other items too large to go through a conveyor belt will be held until they are delivered to customers.
“This is just going to give us more home delivery capacity,” Shelman said.
Orsini said about 50 employees will work at the new facility. Best Buy signed a seven-year lease for the building.
According to site plans, 10,000 square feet of the building will be office space and the remainder will be warehouse space. There will also be a 7,800 square foot storage building and parking space for 117 cars.
Orsini said the company chose the site because it’s centrally located and has easy access to the highways. Construction, which recently began, will be completed by the end of July.
“One of Walllignford’s many strengths is proximity to the highway system and we think Best Buy recognized that,” said Tim Ryan, the town’s economic development specialist.
The warehouse will have multiple truck docks and loading doors along the south side. Orsini will also enlarge an existing detention pond to detain water for the industrial park. The project will require 10,000 to 20,000 cubic yards of fill to complete.

Hotel plans for Fort Trumbull hit potential snag in New London

New London — Development of an aquaponics farm is off the table at Fort Trumbull but the Renaissance City Development Association, the city’s development arm, is expected to start the new year with continued negotiations for a hotel on the Fort Trumbull peninsula.
The hotel plans face an obstacle, however, with the nine-month negotiating period with J-Patel Hotel group for a $15 million hotel set to expire on Jan. 5. The RCDA has not been able to come up with a viable place to relocate the commercial fishing operation located on the waterfront pier that is a critical part of the 90- to 120-room hotel proposal. The RCDA does have the ability to extend talks for at least 30 days.
RCDA Executive Director Peter Davis called it a “Catch-22” situation because the state requires the RCDA to either have a valid relocation plan for the commercial fishing operation or maintain the proposed hotel property as a “water-dependent use,” something mandated in the Fort Trumbull municipal development plan approved in 2000.
For several years there has been discussion of relocating the fishing fleet to Central Vermont Railroad Pier, or C.V. Pier., at the New London Port near State Pier. Davis said the Connecticut Port Authority, because of the state budget woes, has not designated funds to make necessary infrastructure investments at the pier to support the idea.
“With the current condition of the C.V. Pier, it would be difficult to support commercial fishing or a growing commercial fishing fleet there without improvements,” Davis said. “There really is no place to relocate them to currently. There is not the infrastructure in New London Harbor."
Davis said the RCDA is “looking at other options” to potentially satisfy all parties but could not elaborate while in talks with the hotel developer.
Known as New London Seafood, the commercial fishing operations based at the Fort Trumbull pier has existed since 1989 when the business started leasing what was then private property. The lease predated the seizure of land by eminent domain in the Fort Trumbull development area that led to a Supreme Court case in 2005. The RCDA now owns the pier.
New London Seafood moves more than seven million pounds of seafood through its facilities each year and it is a regular stop for fishing boats from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.
Attorney Gordon Videll, who represents New London Seafood, said in the event the RCDA’s negotiations with the hotel developer end, New London Seafood will present the RCDA with a development proposal of its own for Fort Trumbull. He said he is barred from any discussions of the proposal while the RCDA is in talks with another potential developer. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Centerplan Construction sued for falling behind on Middletown rent payments

Centerplan Construction Cos., the original developer of Dunkin' Donuts Park that was fired from the project by the city of Hartford after falling behind on the development schedule and going over budget, is being sued for failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in back rent on its former Middletown headquarters and ignoring a Nov. 24 eviction notice, court records show.
Centerplan owes a monthly $12,920 base rent -- on its former Middletown second-floor office at 10 Main St. -- that has gone unpaid since Sept. 1, 2016, according to a civil suit filed Dec. 15 in Superior Court's Middletown Housing Court.
The current landlord, Elmsford, N.Y., based MK-Menlo II, acquired the building at 10 Main St. in 2014. Centerplan's 10-year lease for about 9,650 square feet was originally signed in 2013.
It is unclear exactly how much in back rent Centerplan allegedly owes, but the suit says the company still occupies the space even though an eviction was scheduled for late November.
Centerplan's attorney, Jeffrey M. Donofrio of Ciulla & D'Onofrio LLP of North Haven, said Tuesday that Centerplan relocated its office to 250 Sackett Point Road in North Haven, "sometime between September and November of 2016."
"That (Middletown) space has been vacated, but in order to terminate the lease the landlord brought an eviction action, which under Connecticut law formally terminates the lease," D'Onofrio said. "We're working with them."
Hartford lawyer Robert E. Kaelin, who represents MK-Menlo II, the Middletown landlord, said "We're working to resolve the eviction action." He did not comment further about the back rent allegations.
On Tuesday, a receptionist at Centerplan referred a reporter's call for CEO Robert Landino to voicemail. Landino did not return a call seeking comment.
MK-Menlo II also is also trying to evict Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC, which, according to the complaint, sub-leases office space from Centerplan. On Tuesday, Greenskies announced it has been purchased by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Clean Focus Yield Limited, a group of renewable-energy companies. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Calif. renewable energy developer acquires Greenskies

Middletown-based Greenskies Renewable Energy, which has been called the most prolific solar developer in Connecticut, has been purchased by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Clean Focus Yield Limited, a group of renewable-energy companies.
Terms of the deal, which the company said Tuesday was completed during the summer but not made public until today, were not disclosed. Key Greenskies investors and executives -- including former President Mike Silvestrini, co-founder and state Sen. Art Linares, Executive Vice President Andrew Chester and investor Bob Landino, who is also CEO of Centerplan Construction Cos. -- were bought out in the transaction and are no longer active in management of the company.
Clean Focus says the deal makes it the owner and operator of the largest commercial and industrial solar portfolio in the United States.
Greenskies, which develops, constructs, and maintains renewable-energy projects, will continue to operate from its Middletown headquarters at 180 Johnson St.
The company said it expects personnel growth in Connecticut and across the country.
Greenskies will gain added financial resources and international scale as a result of the deal, the two companies said.
"This acquisition strengthens Greenskies, grows Clean Focus, and provides new opportunities for our customers and financing partners," said Stanley Chin, CEO of Clean Focus, who is now also listed as Greenskies' CEO.
Greenskies has a project pipeline of 350 megawatts of renewable energy and intends to expand into new segments including schools, hospitals and community solar, said Will Herchel, who has been president since November 2016.
The Clean Focus group of companies originates, develops, finances, constructs, owns, and operates renewable-energy projects in the United States, Taiwan and China. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest Monday December 18, 2017

GOP candidates light on ideas at transportation forum

Southington — Republican candidates for governor drove away from a transportation forum Friday without saying how they would stabilize Connecticut’s depleted transportation fund, disappointing an audience of union members and contractors whose livelihoods rely on the state’s ability to maintain and improve its aging infrastructure.
It was an opportunity for a field of candidates with no frontrunner to address a major issue highlighted last week by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who warned that without significant new revenue the transportation fund would need to curtail rail services, boost fares and suspend capital projects to remain solvent.
Only Joe Visconti, a former one-term West Hartford councilman who has raised no significant funds since opening an unconventional campaign for governor in April, talked about finding new funding, proposing electronic tolls and expressing a willingness to consider limited tax increases.

Nine others glided through their allotted 10 minutes without telling an audience of more than 300 how they would address what the forum’s sponsor, the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, views as a crisis: Projections that the state’s Special Transportation Fund will be insolvent by 2022 and unable to support new borrowing for infrastructure even sooner.

“Hearing the general comments about transportation today and where it stands in the overall scheme of things, I think, is a good start,” said Don Shubert, the president of the association. “I’d like to see the candidates delve a little deeper into the actual problems with the special transportation fund and how they plan to address those.”
The association is holding a similar forum for Democratic candidates for governor next month.
Others in attendance at the Aqua Turf Club were more critical of the GOP candidates, saying they saw little understanding of a long-percolating crisis or a willingness to confront it with a discussion about raising revenue, either by enacting tolls, raising the gasoline tax or both.
“It was supposed to be about transportation,” said Nate Brown, a business representative of Local 478 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, whose 3,100 members operate heavy construction machinery.
“It’s all about money,” said Lyle Wray, the executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments. “This is not a new story. This is a U.S. infrastructure story. Since 1975, we’re spending half the rate of other developed countries. It’s biting us on the tail. This is not new.” Six of the candidates present have raised significant funds for their campaigns, trying to establish credibility among potential nominating convention delegates. They are: Mike Handler, the chief financial officer of Stamford; Tim Herbst, the former first selectman of Trumbull; Mark Lauretti, the mayor of Shelton; Rep. Prasad Srinivasan of Glastonbury; Steve Obsitnik, a technology entrepreneur; and Dave Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

$3.8-million project could close Merritt Parkway lanes in Greenwich

GREENWICH — The launch of a $3.8-million project from the Connecticut Department of Transportation could lead to lane closures along the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich over the next year.
The DOT announced the start of construction activities on the Merritt Parkway northbound between Exits 29 (Lake Avenue) and 31 (North Avenue) this week. The project will see a new drainage pipe installed under the Merritt Parkway to increase the flow capacity of the Horseneck Brook into the Putnam Lake reservoir.
“Construction access to the project jacking pits is only available from the Merritt Parkway therefore motorists should be aware of new concrete barrier installation and construction vehicles entering and exiting the project access roads at any time,” said the DOT in a press release. DOT officials said that the majority of the project work will be completed behind a barrier on a temporary access road on Route 15 northbound and southbound, however the road work may result in occasional lane changes.
On weekdays, commuters can expect closures on northbound side of the Merritt at any point between 9 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekdays. The southbound lanes may also be closed between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
 Lane closure hours will be extended on weekends, according to officials The project is expected to be completed by Nov. 27, 2018.

GOP gubernatorial candidates mark their turf

SOUTHINGTON-Several Republican candidates vying to be the next Connecticut governor debated at a Transportation Forum at the Aqua Turf Club Friday morning.

“When (transportation) works, it’s invisible…but when it doesn’t work, it’s troublesome,” Don Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, said.
Hosted by the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, more than 300 people from union workers to business leaders from various Chambers of Commerce listened as each candidate made comments about transportation and other accompanying issues that affect the state’s economy and quality of life.
Only candidates who filed candidate committees were invited to speak, which Michael Handler, Chief Financial Officer for Stamford; Timothy Herbst, Trumbull First Selectman; Mark Lauretti, Mayor of Shelton; Eric Mastroianni, U.S. Navy Veteran; Scott Merrell, Rowayton resident; Steve Obsitnick, businessman; Prasad Srinivasan, State Representative for Glastonbury and physician; Joseph Visconti, former West Hartford Councilman; Peter Thalheim, attorney and real estate agent; and David Walker, former United States Comptroller General.
“Connecticut is not just 203 or 860. It is one state with a bunch of assets who’ve done a poor job collaborating over the years,” Obsitnick said.
As a high-technology business entrepreneur who’s worked in Silicon Valley, Obsitnick hopes to break up the routine of politicians with similar career backgrounds sitting in office.
“The air, dirt, sand and water are all the same here as it is in Massachusetts and New York. So why are people leaving?” Obsitnick asked.
He said the key to growth is through industry lead urban ecosystems, which will attract industries, lead institutions to better train for jobs, bring in millennials and then restaurants and other economic development will flourish.
Similarly, Handler said the focus needs to be on prioritizing spending.
“We all want to do good things, but we need fiscal order to get there,” Handler said.
When he began working in Stamford five years ago, he said the city was facing a financial crisis despite looking strong and thriving. Since then Stamford has stabilized by investing and improving the “not sexy” things first, rather than building new attractions to bring in people.
Herbst mimicked similar statements.
As First Selectman of Trumbull, he also entered into his role during a time of trouble eight years ago, but he has since cut taxes and increased money into the pension fund.
If elected he wants to focus on the next generation and invest in infrastructure, something he said has been long ignored, but is just as critical as other issues.
“(Pulling back on funding infrastructure and transportation) will not help economic growth. Businesses will not want to come here,” Herbst said.
Aside from transportation, Mastroianni said if he gets elected he would give a portion of his salary to support scholarships, specifically to support trades and trade schools.
Self proclaimed “Rowayton Cowboy” - although sporting a baseball cap and pony tail - Merrell said he’s “not a normal candidate.”
Much of his speech jumped around from ranting about Connecticut having the most crooked court systems he’s ever seen, to the state destroying itself with increased taxes year after year.
Although the other candidates didn’t directly call out Gov. Dannel Malloy, Merrell did.
“You’ve got to give him credit for one thing, he’s consistent. He’s wrong about everything,” he said, which led out a few chuckles from the audience.
First generation immigrant from India, Srinivasan, said when he first came to America he had many hopes and dreams, but now his vision for the future isn’t as viable for his grandchildren.
“The future generation is at stake,” Srinivasan said.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

UConn’s top designer Cruickshank cleared big projects from her ‘17 to-do list

Laura Cruickshank, UConn's chief architect-master planner, got to check off this year several major buildings on her project to-do list.
In August alone, Cruickshank and her team of design, engineering and construction overseers pulled off the wraps on a 320-bed residence hall in Stamford — UConn's first student housing not built on its flagship campus in Mansfield's Storrs section.
But the highlight was the Aug. 23 grand opening of the university's relocated West Hartford campus to downtown Hartford, the centerpiece of which was the $140 million redo of the former Hartford Times building at 10 South Prospect St.
"Universities don't get to open new campuses very often,'' Cruickshank said.
The building houses 160,000 square feet of classroom, lecture and faculty space, along with 19,000 square feet of retail space. Well before UConn's Hartford campus opened, downtown apartment landlords and developers and retailers scrambled to revamp existing or build new space to accommodate the more than 1,000 extra feet the campus has since brought to downtown.
"The campus opening in Hartford, in terms of what we're trying to achieve … all of that has been achieved,'' Cruickshank said. " … People just come up to me and say how excited they are to have UConn in downtown Hartford.''
But the Hartford and Stamford projects were among other juicy morsels of her full development-construction plate in 2017, some of which will be completed in 2018 and beyond.
In all, more than $385 million worth of new construction and renovation projects for another science-focused building, athletic and student-life facilities, among others, were in various planning and design stages in 2017, according to UConn's April 2017 planning documents.
"Lots of stuff going on,'' Cruickshank said.
At the main campus, a $10 million replacement of the 2,093 aged ceiling tiles that comprise Gampel Pavilion's geodesic dome was completed well ahead of the start of the 2017 women's and men's basketball season.
Also completed was the $95 million, 115,000-square-foot Engineering and Science Building and the $162 million, 114,000-square-foot Innovation Partnership Building, a linchpin of UConn's Technology Park.
Cruickshank said she is most proud that all the completed projects came in either under budget or on time, or both.
Meantime, renovations are about to begin on the south wing of the Gant Building, home to several departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Gant west wing will be renovated next, and prior to beginning the final phase in the north wing, a new science research building will be constructed to house the current north wing occupants.
Next spring, work will begin on the second phase of improvements to UConn's fine-arts facilities, including a budgeted $24 million, 31,000-square-foot addition and upgrades to Nate Katter Theater and related drama-music facilities.
In between managing their extensive construction-renovation checklist, Cruickshank said her team implemented new project-management software that, among other things, will allow UConn "to improve our ability to issue change-orders in a timely way.'' CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Plymouth firehouse project on track

PLYMOUTH – Mayor David V. Merchant says the Main Street Firehouse renovation and expansion is both ahead of schedule and under budget.
The project is a part of the 2016 $6.9 million bond package; the firehouse project began construction this past summer, with a projected completion date of the summer of 2018.
As drivers pass by the Terryville Volunteer Fire Department at 80 Main St., bulldozers and trucks surround the newly built 7,000-square-foot extension behind the existing 3,000-square-foot firehouse.
“The roof is now on the new garage building and they’re pouring the floor today. Once that’s done the building is ready to have the garage doors installed,” Merchant said.
He said once those next steps are complete within the next couple of weeks, the trucks will be able to be moved into the new bay areas so inside renovations on the original firehouse, built in 1965, can begin.
“Now we’re able to go in and start renovating. We had some positive change orders which caused a reduction of what it will cost. As of right now we’re under budget and ahead of schedule,” Merchant said. The firehouse project is budgeted to cost $3,750,000.
Merchant said although the original completion date was set for July 4, he said he believes the project will be completed earlier than that.
“This is exciting for a lot of us. This has been seven years since conceiving this idea and drawing it up on the back of a napkin,” said Merchant, who previously served on the fire commission. “This is one project I’m truly proud of and that the town will be proud of when it’s completed.”
Burlington Construction of Torrington is the contractor. The renovated firehouse, which will now become a 10,000-square-foot structure, will soon have a training center and full kitchen that can be used as an emergency shelter, offices, sleeping areas and a workout room and will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE




 

CT Construction Digest Friday December 15, 2017

Please join us today for a Transportation Forum with the 2018 Republican Candidates for Governor of Connecticut at the Aqua Turf Club.
This will certainly be your best opportunity to meet and hear from candidates for Governor as they discuss their views on transportation and other related issues.
SAVE THE DATE: We will also be hosting an identical forum with the Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates on January 19, 2018.
To register quickly, send e-mail to John Wilhelm, with a listing of your attendees, at jwilhelm@ctconstruction.org.  To register by fax or mail, please see the attached form.
For questions about the program, please contact Don Shubert at dshubert@ctconstruction.org or at 860-529-6855.

Office complex, warehouse approved for Wallingford industrial park

WALLINGFORD — John Orsini recently won town approval to build an 80,000 square foot office and warehouse at #8 Northrop Road Industrial Park West at 1070 North Farms Road.
The application is part of a revised site plan to develop the Industrial Park, which was approved in 2005. Because there were no changes in use or any special conditiions, the plan was approved administratively after review by members of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“We can review after it’s been submitted,” said commission member Jim Fitzsimmons. “ It speeds up the process.”
Orsini, doing business as 1070 North Farms LLC, could not be reached for comment about the intended use for the parcel and building.
 According to plans, 10,000 square feet of the building will be office space and the remainder will be warehouse space. There will also be a 7,800 square foot storage building and parking space for 117 cars. 
Northrop Industrial Park is part of an 88-acre parcel that straddles the Meriden/Wallingford line. Orsini received town approval in 2005 to build two structures and two access roads and has since built out the park for various tenants.
Orsini tried unsuccessfully four times to build an auto auction on the land beginning in 1998. Neighbors in the Murdock Avenue, North Farms Road and Northrop Road areas vehemently opposed the plan. Orsini eventually abandoned the auto auction plan and in 2002 won permission to build seven warehouse-style buildings and two access roads on the nine lots.
The current plan calls for developing lot 8 of the western side of the industrial park and lot 6 for drainage improvements. The warehouse will have multiple truck docks and loading doors along the south side. Orsini will also enlarge an existing detention pond to detain water for the industrial park. The project will require 10,000 to 20,000 cubic yards of fill to complete.

CT's preliminary conclusion: Millstone profitable through 2035

State energy officials concluded in a preliminary report released Thursday that the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford will be profitable through 2035, undercutting its owner's assertion that Connecticut must change how its electricity is sold or face the early retirement of New England's largest source of carbon-free power.
But the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority conceded in a dense, 32-page assessment of the state's deregulated energy market that the nuclear industry generally is under stress because of its high fixed costs and a market in which prices are set by relatively cheap natural gas.
It made no predictions about the plant's future, other than concluding its owner, Dominion Energy, was unlikely to close it before 2022, the end of its current contractural obligations to produce power. The soonest it could begin the complex retirement process is March 2018, a month after DEEP and PURA are to issue their final report.
Rob Klee, the commissioner of DEEP, said it had reached no conclusion about whether the profitability meets Dominion's requirements for a sufficient return on investment. As an unregulated "merchant plant," Millstone faces more risk and volatility than generation plants owned by regulated utilities, which get a predictable return based on cost of service.
"Owners of merchant generation bear all of the risks and rewards of operating in a competitive market, and they and their shareholders — not state regulators — make the determination of what is a sufficient return on their capital investment," the agencies said in the report. "Merchant generators' financial goals may exceed the regulated rate of return earned by cost-of-service generators, given merchant generators' exposure to the risks of low energy prices, unplanned outages, and other costs that a regulated generator can recover from electric ratepayers. Ultimately, these financial goals are unknown to state regulators in a deregulated market."
Katie Dykes, the chair of PURA, said the two agencies have reached no conclusions about Millstone's economic viability.
"This report is laying out the dots," she said. "It's not necesarily connecting the dots."
Kevin Hennessy, who oversees governmental affairs for Dominion in the region, said the company probably would have no detailed response until Friday to the report and other material released Thursday. But he disputed the conclusion Millstone was assured of long-term profitability.
"We are profitable now. It's at a margin that is very low compared to what people think and what assumptions are out there," Hennessy said.
The agencies will make no recommendation on whether DEEP and PURA should open a new competitive solicitation process that would benefit Millstone by allowing it to compete with more expensive sources of clean energy until the conclusion of a public-comment period Jan. 8.
Under a law passed earlier this year, DEEP and PURA could allow Millstone to sell up to three-quarters of its output in competition with other zero-carbon sources of electricity, a more favorable market because solar, wind and hydro power generally command higher prices.
The assessment was hampered by Dominion's refusal to share detailed financials, the agencies said.
"Despite DEEP and PURA's specific data requests, Dominion only very recently provided a limited, two-page, high-level document with forward-looking financial projections," they said. "The document lacked the standard documentation supporting the projections concerning its actual financial condition."
They also offered a caution: "As with any assessment based on market projections, determining viability cannot be conclusively determined. Even the most careful analysis is fraught with uncertainty, since revenues and/or costs in the future will not precisely follow modeled projections."
The report is a primer on the nature of Connecticut's bifurcated electric system.
The state's two major utilities, Eversource and United Illuminating, no longer generate power; they buy electricity in a fast-changing commodity market and then deliver it over a transmission system that is still regulated, its rates set based on PURA's finding of what the cost of service and reasonable rate of return are.
Electricity is bought and sold in three markets that offer a mix of short- and long-term prices: a "Day-Ahead Energy Market," a so-called balancing market in which prices can change in minutes, and longer-term transactions between buyers and sellers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Hartford Travel Center set for spring debut

Construction continues on a refueling-rest stop along I-91 in Hartford's North Meadows, with opening now set for next spring, the owner says.
Robert "Bob" Bolduc, owner of Pride Convenience Inc., said Wednesday that the facility's size, amenities and staffing are unchanged for his Hartford Travel Center, located on 6 ½ acres at the northeast corner of Jennings Road, on the northbound side of I-91.
"It's a big job,'' Bolduc said of the travel-center's development.
Originally, it was set to open July 4, 2016, later pushed back to late 2016.
Bolduc previously said it will house 16 fuel pumps; a travel-center building equipped with showers and lockers for motorists; and a food court featuring Subway, a café-bakery and the "91 Grill,'' offering burgers and fries.
French industrial-gas supplier Air Liquide will erect and operate the hydrogen depot on the travel center's premises.

Firms Signal Interest In Hartford's Downtown North Project

The deadline to submit bids for the development of properties around Dunkin’ Donuts Park is still months away, but several companies signaled interest in the project Thursday, turning up in Hartford to ask questions and see the parcels up close.
City leaders issued a call last month for firms to build on 32 properties across four pieces of land near the newly opened minor league ballpark, an effort meant to link Hartford’s bustling downtown to its North End.
Representatives from more than a dozen organizations came to the baseball stadium Thursday, when city officials gave an overview of the project and fielded questions.
Development Director Sean Fitzpatrick has said Hartford is hoping for a blend of retail and housing in the area. Multiple developers could be chosen.
“There have been many starts and stops, and I think this time they’re getting it right,” Patrick Hulton, director of corporate and legal affairs for The Associated Construction Company, said at Thursday’s meeting.
Hulton, a Hartford resident who worked on the recently completed Delamar Hotel in West Hartford, said he’s aiming to put a team together and bid on some of the properties.
“We’d love to do this,” he said. “We like the mixed-use residential and retail. Hospitality wasn’t mentioned, but we’re talking with a couple of hotel developers. We’d love to see them go with a Hartford team.”
The parcels, labeled A, B, C and D, cover 16 acres and surround Dunkin’ Donuts Park. The area is now a sea of parking lots. One property includes a bunker-like former data-processing center.

Parcels B, C and D, along Main and Trumbull streets, overlook the ballpark. Parcel A sits between Main and High streets across from Hartford’s public safety complex.

Thursday’s gathering drew a mix of big-name companies and smaller firms. Officials from Whiting-Turner, which completed the ballpark after the original developers were fired, attended, along with representatives from Shelbourne Global Solutions, O’Connell Development Group, Freeman Cos., JCJ Architecture, Fuss & O’Neill Civil and Environmental Engineering, Crosskey Architects, BETA Group, Langan Engineering, Richter & Cegan, Red Technologies, GEI Consultants, AKF Group, Aegis Energy Services and HB Nitkin, the developer for Hartford’s Front Street district. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Thomaston residents get a look at final plans for road reconstruction

THOMASTON – Residents who live on Hickory Hill Road were presented with the final road reconstruction plans during the last informational meeting for the project.
First Selectman Edmond V. Mone said Tuesday about 30 to 40 residents who live in the area attended the meeting on Nov. 30 in the Thomaston Center School auditorium, where representatives from Tighe & Bond – contractor of the project – presented their final plans and answered questions regarding how properties may be impacted.
The project, funded entirely with a $5.7 million Local Transportation Capital Improvements Projects state grant, will bring the roadway up to state Department of Transportation standards.
Mone said the estimated completion date for the project is the fall of 2019. It will go out to bid in February 2018, and construction will take place during the spring and summer seasons of 2018 and 2019.
During the first information meeting on Sept. 11, residents expressed a number of concerns to Tighe & Bond.
Mone said the biggest change made was the reconfiguration design for the intersection of Hickory Hill and Walnut roads. Instead of the current Y-shaped intersection with two stop signs, Hickory Hill will be reconfigured to curve into a T-shaped intersection with Walnut Road and only one stop sign.
Mone said the contractor also had been planning to narrow a section of Hickory Hill Road near Old Morris Road, but it scrapped that plan after residents said they’d prefer to have the extra space in the road during snowstorms.
The first selectman said most of the impact to property owners will be within the town’s right of way, which is within 25 feet from the center line in both directions.
“We will work with the property owners and are open to opinions on how we can satisfy residents in these situations as best as possible within reason,” Mone said. “This isn’t just simply repaving the roads. It’s rebuilding the roads.”

CT Construction Digest Thursday December 14, 2017

Please join us for a Transportation Forum with the 2018 Republican Candidates for Governor of Connecticut at the Aqua Turf Club on Friday, December 15, 2017.
This will certainly be your best opportunity to meet and hear from candidates for Governor as they discuss their views on transportation and other related issues.
SAVE THE DATE: We will also be hosting an identical forum with the Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates on January 19, 2018.
To register quickly, send e-mail to John Wilhelm, with a listing of your attendees, at jwilhelm@ctconstruction.org.  To register by fax or mail, please see the attached form.
For questions about the program, please contact Don Shubert at dshubert@ctconstruction.org or at 860-529-6855.

Site work begins at New Lebanon, blasting coming soon

GREENWICH — Preliminary construction work is under way on a new New Lebanon School.
This week, crews are beginning tree and stump removal at the building site located behind the existing school and adjacent to the William Street Ball Field, according to Gilbane Building Company, the firm contracted to oversee construction of the $37.3 million new school. Crews will also remove a stone wall and set up the trailers that will be their on-site construction headquarters for the coming year.
Throughout the rest of December, construction workers will finish tree removal and strip top soil from the site, exposing the ledge rock below. They will survey the site to verify existing contours.
In the first week of January, crews will begin blasting ledge rock to make way for the new building. Some blasting may occur during daytime school hours. New Lebanon School, Byram Shubert Library and neighbors of the property will be given notice of blasting times, said members of the New Lebanon School Building Committee.
“It’s not that disruptive,” said Jake Allen, a building committee member and founder of Allen Construction and Consulting. “It’s a thud.”
Workers will develop the footprint of the new school and create a level grade on which to lay the foundation, said Dan Phillips, the new school’s project manager. A foundation will be poured in January or February.
Beginning in January, the building committee will produce monthly communications updating the public on construction, members said Wednesday. The newsletters will be distributed electronically through the school district and displayed in the Byram Shubert Library. Members of the public will be able to ask questions and share feedback through an online portal on the Greenwich Public Schools website.
New Lebanon Building Committee meetings will move to a trailer next to the building site in January. These meetings are open to the public.
A groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 7 launched the long-awaited construction phase of the building project. State, town and school officials marked the occasion with speeches before an audience of more than 200 hardhatted New Lebanon students.
“This is a project for all of Greenwich,” said Peter Bernstein, Board of Education chair and New Lebanon Building Committee liaison. “This is a project for student achievement and growth. This is a project that shows what the efforts of people can do even in the face of adversity.”
New Lebanon fifth-grader John Kilgallen said, “I’ve been hearing about a new school for years and I am so excited. ... It will be wonderful to have space to roam and places to quietly work. We will have rooms that don’t need to be shared and hallways where no one will have to learn to read. The staff will not have to work in closets and cramped quarters.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Maplewood breaks ground on Fairfield senior living facility

What began with a single senior center in Danbury continues to expand in Fairfield County as construction of Maplewood Senior Living’s latest 93,000-square-foot facility is underway in Fairfield.
Representatives of the Westport-based company and officials from Fairfield broke ground Wednesday at the site where Maplewood at Southport is set to open, celebrating another development project since the company started more than 10 years ago.
When it opens in spring 2019, it will be Maplewood’s seventh senior home to open in Connecticut, since CEO Gregory Smith started the business with his Maplewood at Danbury facility at 22 Hospital Ave.
Since then, the upscale senior living company has opened locations in Bethel, Darien, East Norwalk, Newtown and Orange while also expanding into Massachusetts, New York and Ohio.
 “I’m excited for the seniors in Fairfield and Southport and to be able to provide them with some additional options,” Smith said. “It’s a good feeling to know that you’re bringing well-needed services to the community, and we’re excited about the prospects of the project and what that means for the town of Fairfield.”
The development is on a 27-acre parcel just off Interstate 95 at 917 Mill Hill Terrace.
Norwalk-based architecture firm Stein Troost is taking point on the building designs, with a variety of local contractors working on the project.
Ten acres of the project will be devoted to the 98-unit facility, which will house an array of amenities, including spacious lounges, a bar, bistro and dining areas, and more.
The remaining acreage will be converted into courtyard spaces and outdoor trails for residents, with a pond covering 4 acres of the site. “We’re taking advantage of the size of that particular parcel to be able to offer not only internal amenity packages, but also a lot of external amenities, as well,” Smith said. “We’re looking to preserve as much of the land as we can. We’re looking to create a beautiful landscape environment over 10 acres of landscaping that is going to be done.”
Like other senior homes owned by Maplewood, the Southport location will offer assisted living and memory care services.
Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau was among the officials who attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
“I see this a very important addition to our community,” Tetreau said. “We’ve got an aging population, and we’re looking for ways to help people stay in Fairfield if they choose but also stay close to their family members. … I’ve lost my two parents within the last few years, and I know they needed extra help at the end of their life, and a facility like this would’ve been very beneficial to them.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest Tuesday December 12, 2017

Transportation Armageddon is here...

Fare increases, reduced train service, less highway snowing plowing, postponed construction. All of these and more are on the horizon, say Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut DOT because our Special Transportation Fund is running dry.
I hate to say I told you so, but…
We’ve been talking about this issue for years and our lawmakers have done nothing. In fact, they’ve hastened this transportation Armageddon by their own short-sighted political pandering.
Remember in 1997 when the Legislature lowered the gasoline tax by 14 cents a gallon? Seemed like a popular move in a state with such high gasoline taxes. But those taxes are how we fund our transportation!
And with lower oil prices, greater fuel efficiency and electric cars, people are buying less gas and the STF is running on empty. And our debt service on transportation is growing faster than CDOT’s spending on operations.

 Last week the governor warned us that Wall Street won’t buy even our general obligation bonds, let alone transportation bonds, if the STF goes into the red. So unless we find new revenue sources soon, any bonding will be more expensive if not impossible.

So pick your poison: tolls, sales taxes, Vehicle Miles Tax, gas tax, higher fares… none of them are popular, but some combination will be necessary.
The alternative is to cut spending, cancelling things like new railcar orders for the standing-room-only Metro-North… eliminating off-peak and weekend trains on the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches… cutting Shore Line East rail service by 50 percent... and three fare increases from 2019 to 2022.

Forget about rebuilding the crumbling Stamford rail station garage, a new station garage in New Haven, widening I-95 or rebuilding the disintegrating Route 7 - I-84 “Mixmaster” in Waterbury. And as CDOT faces further staffing layoffs, don’t be surprised if our highways don’t get plowed. Agency insiders tell me they’re already down 50 percent in snow plow staffers in some parts of the state.

Oh, but here come the uniformed suggestions for a quick fix. You’ve heard them and maybe thought of them yourself.
Why not cancel the new New Haven to Springfield rail line? Sure… but because it’s being built with federal money, the state would owe Washington a $191 million refund it doesn’t have.
Why not stop the raids on the STF to balance the budget with a lock-box? Great idea and you’ll get a chance to vote on that in a November 2018 referendum assuming you think it’s a real lock on that box.
Why not wrap all Metro-North trains in advertising… collect all tickets… sell naming rights for stations? Sure, but that would bring in chump change compared to the $1 billion we need just to keep the STF solvent and the state afloat.
Tolls and taxes are the only realistic alternatives. But our legislators, facing an election year, have no stomach for either. They’re still recovering from wrenched shoulders from patting themselves on the back for achieving an unbalanced budget while they’re in serious denial about the real mess we are in.
Come January the CDOT will start a series of public hearings on the necessary fare hikes and spending cuts. It will be a great time to see who among our lawmakers will be honest with us about the financial crisis they created.

Meriden Commons II nearing construction

Plans call for Meriden Commons II to sit behind Meriden Commons on four acres off State and Cedar streets. Both projects will cost more than $60 million combined, and provide 151 units of mixed income housing and more than 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Residential leasing at Meriden Commons I will begin in early 2018, while commercial leasing has started.
“We’re through planning and zoning, our drawings are in, and we’re waiting for permits,” said Pennrose Regional Vice President Charles Adams.
Building A of Meriden Common II will be four stories tall at the corner of State and Park streets, with parking between Meriden Commons I. The other two buildings will stand three-stories tall, with Building B will fronting Park Street and Building C sitting at the corner of the existing Mill and Cedar streets.
The project includes parking for about 125 cars between the buildings and a playground on Cedar Street, and Mills Street will eventually be eliminated. The city has federal funds and a permit to demolish the Mills Memorial apartments.
Environmental testing is currently ongoing and the city is working on bid specifications, and demoliltion is expected to start late spring early summer. Construction on Meriden Commons II can begin without the Mills demolition because the building sites are not occupied by any of the apartment buildings.
“It’s an exciting project for us to be involved in the transformation downtown,” said MHA Executive Director Robert Cappelletti.  “We’re going to be leasing up Phase I in the spring.”
The MHA is giving the land currently occupied by the apartments to the city to allow them to extend the Meriden Green flood control and park project to Cedar Street.
Building A of Meriden Common II will contain ranch-style apartments in a single building. Buildings B and C will have townhouses with separate entrances.The city has federal funds and a permit to demolish the Mills Memorial apartments and turn the land back to the MHA to build the housing component.
Environmental testing is currently ongoing and the bid has issued the specificiations for the demolition, expected next year.  At Meriden Commons II, 61 units are considered affordable with the remaining 15 units at market rate. It will also contain more three and four bedroom units than Meriden Commons I.
Pennrose Properties LLC received a variance recently to allow it to build one less entrance than laws currently allow. They plan to put the main entrance in the lobby at the corner of State and Park streets.
A single entrance to the building is better for security purposes, Adams said
"The reason that we've got only one door there is for security purposes," Adams said . "If we had to comply with the strict requirements of every 75 feet we would have to put a door within another group of units. It would be another point of entry that would not be as s ecure."

Meriden quarry proposes concrete recycling facility

MERIDEN — The Suzio York Hill company is expected to  present plans to add a new concrete recycling facility to its Westfield Road operation at an upcoming Planning Commission meeting.
The facility will sort concrete, stone and sand so the materials can be used for other purposes, indicative of an industry trend toward more sustainable practices.
“More and more, that’s definitely the way of the future for everybody,” Suzio said. “It’s not real profitable. It’s really a way to just recycle the material instead of just dumping it some place.”
The project replaces an older recycling facility at 975 Westfield Road. The company has been recycling concrete since the 1970s, Suzio said.
Plans call for a 1,200-square-foot building and accompanying 7,500 square foot open air space, with several holding pits located about 300 feet southwest of the main offices. Trucks will transport leftover concrete to the new facility, which will sort the materials using a large screw mechanism and water filtration system into separate piles of stone, sand and concrete.
The materials can then be sold for reuse in other projects, but the stone and sand can also be utilized under bedding plants in nurseries or as a filler for closing landfills, Suzio said. Selling the recycled products is not particularly profitable.
“We realize we have to do something to limit the concrete waste, so it’s just one of the costs of doing business,” Suzio said. “If we can sell some of it, that’s great, but it’s really just a waste disposal with some recycling coming out of it.”
A trend toward more sustainable practices is the norm for concrete production facilities in urban settings such as Meriden, Suzio said
The project received conditional approval from the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission on Dec. 6, according to Associate City Planner Paul Dickson, who added the project includes the construction of a water basin that would increase the quality of storm water run off in the area.
“It’s a net improvement for storm water quality for the site from a wetlands point of view,” Dickson said.
The Planning Commission is expected to review the project Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 131.

Killingly council expected to postpone vote on power plant deal until January

KILLINGLY — The newly elected Killingly Town Council chairman hopes to have a resolution by January on proposed tax and benefit agreements with a developer working to launch a power plant project.
Jonathan Cesolini said the council on Tuesday will likely re-table agenda items concerning a tax stabilization and Community Environmental Benefit, or CEBA, agreements that, if approved, would net the town $95 million in cash and tax revenue over 20 years.
Citing the imminent swearing in of a new council, the previous council last month declined to vote on whether to accept the agreements with the NTE energy company. The firm is hoping to construct a 550-megawatt power plant in the Dayville section of town.
Cesolini said all new council members have received copies of the latest draft agreements, which have undergone several revisions in the last year.
“NTE is also holding an informational session between our December and January meetings which will give us chance to review the project and ask questions,” he said. “My plan is resolve these contracts, either with a yea or nay vote, in January.”
The previous council spent two hours on Nov. 30 amending the proposed agreements, the latest in a series of meetings on the contracts. The most recent changes largely revolved around language relating to plant decommissioning and prohibitions on any material changes to initial project plans,
NTE previously agreed to increase its initial $2 million CEBA proposal to $5 million. That “unrestricted” money could be used for a variety of environmentally oriented projects, including a scholarship fund, for water testing at Alexander’s Lake and to plant trees throughout town.
A revised tax stabilization agreement now calls for $91 million — up from $90 million — in revenue to be paid to the town over 20 years with more paid out in the early years of the contract.
The draft version of the plan called for the company to pay the town $90 million in taxes over a 20-year period, but that figure rose to $91 million after further negotiations. The amended tax agreement also calls for more money paid out in the early years of the contract.
“I have faith in the reviews of these contracts conducted by the previous council,” Cesolini said. “I’m impressed with their work. We have three members who are now new to this council, so it’s matter of getting them up to speed on the discussions before we vote.”
Because NTE’s permit applications were rejected by the state Citing Council earlier this year “without prejudice,” the company is expected to re-file early next year. The siting council, not the Town Council, has final say on whether the plant will be built. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bidders, vision emerge for development around Dunkin' Donuts Park

The New York landlord of downtown Hartford's Stilts Building and 100 Pearl Street office skyscrapers wants to reinvigorate "desert" acreage around Dunkin' Donuts Park into a viable commercial mixed-use development.
Principals with Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC confirmed they are planning to take a run at redeveloping some 20 acres of city-owned land, grouped into four parcels now used for commuter and stadium parking, into apartments, retail — including possibly a supermarket — and other amenities.
Also considering a redevelopment proposal is Florida hotel owner/operator Inner Circle, owner of downtown Hartford's 18-story, 350-room Radisson Hotel, 50 Morgan St., overlooking Dunkin' Donuts Park, according to Inner Circle advisor and board member Mark Hall. Inner Circle has been working to convert 200 rooms in the hotel to 96 apartments, but has hit some construction setbacks. It hopes to finish that project early next year.
Shelbourne and Inner Circle are among eager bidders interested in redeveloping the Downtown North, or "DoNo," parcels after the city in October fired Centerplan Construction Co. of Middletown and its DoNo Inc. affiliate as developers. The city recently issued a new request for proposals for the project and is hosting a question/answer session for interested developers Dec. 14. Final DoNo bids are due in Feb. 2018.
Centerplan garnered the city's ire after it fell behind on construction of Dunkin' Donuts Park, which anchors the DoNo parcels. Principal Robert Landino and partners were originally chosen for both projects by the Segarra administration after wowing the city with their vision of office, retail, more parking, apartments and condos. Later, Landino announced plans for a Hard Rock Hotel in DoNo.
Centerplan was also fired from the ballpark project and sued the city for wrongful termination. The legal dispute remains ongoing.
Meantime, the city is eager to get DoNo development moving because repayment of millions borrowed to build the stadium hinges not only on rent the ballclub pays but also on the collection of property taxes from DoNo buildings and parking revenue from visitors to the development. According to the city, annual debt payments alone on the ballpark debt runs about $4.6 million.
The 6,000-seat stadium's first-year success in attendance and glowing reviews for its design is seen by some as a promising omen for DoNo's eventual transformation.
"What's happened over there with the ballpark has been great," said Jim Lewis, owner of Harvey & Lewis Opticians, a long-time downtown retail fixture. "To keep building on that is terrific."
Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon said the ballpark proves that "if you build a quality product, the right product for this market, people will come."
Ahead of the city's Dec. 14 question/answer meeting, the Hartford Business Journal sampled some of the city's downtown landlords and other neighborhood stakeholders about their interest in the project and wish-lists of DoNo amenities.
Shelbourne and Inner Circle are the only potential DoNo bidders HBJ has identified. Some other landlords and developers said they had no interest in redeveloping DoNo or didn't return calls seeking comment.
Shelbourne officials say they are assembling a "world class" team to bid on DoNo. They say the downtown relocation of UConn's suburban campus, plus demand for downtown housing signals "that the city is on the verge of a breakout."
"It is true that the budget debacle, out of control property taxes and the threat of bankruptcy created a hostile atmosphere for investors, but Shelbourne is and will continue to invest in Hartford," Principal Bernard Bertram said via email.
New York City-based Shelbourne, whose 20 Church St. property also houses its Upward Hartford co-working spaces, did not elaborate as to its specific vision for DoNo. However, officials say that in 2018, Shelbourne intends to demolish and rebuild the parking garage at Main and Talcott streets that LAZ Parking owns.
Developers' options
The DoNo redevelopment area consists of 32 properties that fall within four distinct clusters, three of which overlook the ballpark. A fourth parcel is adjacent to the city's new public safety complex, a 150,000-square foot building located on a 5.7-acre site that houses Hartford's police, fire, and first responder dispatch operations.
Developers can propose to purchase the land or do a ground lease. They can redevelop parcels individually or in any combination, according to the RFP.
The city hopes to receive a plan for a mixed-use urban neighborhood that reestablishes essential connections between Hartford's north side neighborhoods and downtown.
Despite the stadium's inaugural success, Solomon, who besides being a team owner is president and chief investment officer of a Massachusetts realty company — DSF Group — that has invested more than $2.5 billion in properties, says he has no plans to pursue development of DoNo.
"Hartford is much better served with me as the owner of the baseball team," he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bloomfield Council Votes To Reinstate Spending On Building Project

After several weeks of discussion and changes of heart, the town council Monday voted 8-1 to restart spending on the $22.3 million human services building project.
“As a council, we wanted to make sure we had deliberation,” Mayor Suzette Brown said prior to the vote and after several residents gave differing view points on the project’s validity.
However, Solomon and others had some ideas of what they would like to see — or not — DoNo transformed into.
“We thought it prudent to take time and gather information.”
The project, which calls for a new, 52,000-square-foot facility to house the town’s senior center and leisure and youth services departments, has been in limbo since the council halted spending in November over concerns about cost overruns.
Current estimates show the project to be about $2.9 million over budget, but supporters have said that the true cost won’t be known until the construction drawings are finished and go out to bid.
The council Monday approved spending the $312,000 needed to complete the drawings, which would put the total spent on the project so far at about $1.1 million.
As part of the same vote Monday, the council also directed Town Manager Philip Schenck to spend up to $50,000 for an updated estimate on the cost of renovating the current human services building, an aging 92,000-square-foot former school.
At a minimum, the building would need a new roof, heating and cooling system and a sprinkler system. Town officials have said the building does not comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations regarding bathrooms and entrance ramps.

Blue Hills Fire Marshal Bill Lewis has said that he would consider shutting the building down if plans to build the new facility are scuttled, and the town does not move quickly to remedy fire, safety and other code compliance issues.

The council also directed the building committee to expand the scope of its work to include determining the cost of an indoor pool or increasing the size of the new building by about 5,000 square feet, or even building separate facilities for the departments in other locations.
The discussion prompted council member Elizabeth Waterhouse to suggest spending up to $30 million on the project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Eversource Threatens Lawsuit Over Accusations It Manipulated Gas Deliveries

Eversource on Monday threatened to sue the Environmental Defense Fund unless the group backs off its accusation that the utility manipulated gas deliveries to create shortages that led to higher electricity prices costing consumers $3.6 billion over three years.
“These statements and publications are irreparably harming the reputation of Eversource Energy,” Gregory Butler, the utility’s executive vice president and general counsel, said in a letter to officials of the Environmental Defense Fund.
Jon Coifman, a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the group had only recently received the Eversource letter and referred it to its lawyer for review.
“We stand by the analysis and reject this obvious attempt to intimidate and chill legitimate public inquiry," he said.
Three university researchers and an economist at the New York-based environmental group wrote in a 74-page paper that they found “strong evidence” the gas and electricity utilities “regularly restricted capacity to the region by scheduling deliveries without actually flowing gas.”
As a result, from 2014 to 2016, prices were driven up for electricity generated by power plants that rely on natural gas.
Limited pipeline capacity is partly responsible for extreme prices during particularly cold winters, the authors said. But “scarce capacity” is often used to support the case for more pipeline construction, they said.
In his letter to Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp and N. Jonathan Peress, the group’s senior director of energy market policy, Butler said Eversource “adheres scrupulously” to regulations. The utility is not permitted to profit from higher prices on natural gas or other fuels, he said.

“Your publication of statements that are contradicted by statute and regulation is accordingly either knowingly false or in reckless disregard of easily ascertainable facts,” Butler said.

Eversource demanded that the Environmental Defense Fund halt all publication of the statement in writings, interviews and presentations and to have its statements related to the gas study removed from websites.
The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority began an investigation in October of Eversource and Avangrid. Avangrid also has denied the allegations. Regulators will examine the utilities’ “adherence to appropriate practices,” such as forecasting and deliveries.
Eversource spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said the utility acted now by threatening a lawsuit because the Environmental Defense Fund has been disseminating the study in news publications, on websites and elsewhere.
“We decided enough is enough,” she said.

State DOT Looking To Bridge Another Trail Gap

ith construction crews working on the Charter Oak Greenway in sight of Bolton Notch, the logical question is: Where to next?
The newest ribbon of multiuse trail that runs from the banks of the Connecticut River in East Hartford through Manchester and into Bolton has made its way to the Route 6/44 exit of I-384. With the painted American flag of “Flag Rock” in Bolton Notch State Park glimmering in the distance, officials at the state Department of Transportation are determining the best way to get trail users safely from Bolton Notch into the Bolton Post Office shopping area along Route 44. Right now, bicyclists and walkers are prohibited from traveling on the Route 6/44 connector to 384.

Although the Hop River Trail — a former railroad — passes under Route 44 and Route 6, there is no access to either road from the path. A tunnel allows the trail to pass under the highways, and towering rock ledges prevent any access off the path.

While the greenway’s eastern terminus will be Bolton Notch State Park and the Hop River Trail, the DOT is proposing what it calls a shared-use path to Quarry Road. That half-mile path would allow trail users to access Route 44 along a paved stretch on the northern side of 6/44. A concrete barrier would separate trail users from the busy road. The path would end at a crosswalk and traffic signal at the shopping center and Bolton post office.

The shared-use path is part of a larger, $7.7 million project that includes realigning Route 6 eastbound, relocating Notch Road farther to the west and removing a portion of the rock outcropping along the highways so the sight lines are better for those exiting Notch Road.

Right now, the trail and roadway improvements are in the early concept phase. And money for the project? Well …
“It’s very dire times, fundingwise,” said William Britnell, principal engineer for the project, adding that the DOT is scaling back on projects. “We’re just saying this is an idea.”
The plan calls to shift Route 44 a bit to the south into the grassy median. The path would be squeezed in along a ridge where a local landmark known as “Squaw Cave” is located. According to a local legend, it’s the location of a cave where an Indian maiden and her Dutch lover hid from colonists. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Northeast rail plan stymied by lack of funding, concerns in Fairfield County

Washington – An ambitious  — and to some in Connecticut controversial — plan to overhaul the railroad in the Northeast Corridor has come to a full stop, a victim of lack of funding.
There also has been pushback to the plan from Fairfield County residents who fear the impact of laying down new high-speed-ready tracks and other development near their neighborhoods.
The Federal Railroad Administration in July issued its final Northeast Corridor (NEC) Future plan that detailed a long-term vision to improve and grow passenger rail service in the corridor at a cost between $121 billion and $153 billion.
The plan, called “Tier 1,” included adding 200 miles of expanded track capacity between Washington, D.C., and Boston, and making sure most of those new tracks can carry trains traveling at up to 220 miles per hour.
But Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Marc Willis said none of the eight states that would be impacted by the plan have submitted new project proposals so that NEC Future can move into the “Tier 2,” or project-level, phase of the plan.
“Right now, there is nothing going on,” Willis said.
A major problem is money. Some states are waiting for the Trump administration to follow through on a promise of a major infrastructure plan, a costly endeavor whose prospects have been dimmed by the current push to overhaul the federal tax code – which would cost the U.S. Treasury about $1.5 trillion.
While federal money could pay up to 80 percent or more of a new project, Connecticut’s transportation budget is facing a severe shortfall and is not likely to come up with the difference.Then there’s concern about the impact of development on densely populated and historical areas in the state.
The NEC Future plan was met with heavy resistance in the eastern coastal section of the state, especially in the town of Old Lyme, because of the plan’s proposal to put a second set of tracks further inland along that coast.
The final Tier 1 plan scrapped that idea, and instead called for a New Haven-to-Providence “capacity planning study” to address capacity constraints, speed restrictions and the threat to the rail system posed by flooding along the Connecticut and Rhode Island shoreline.
Now resistance to the NEC Future plan is coming from Fairfield County.
Westport has recently reached out to the Washington, D.C., mega-law firm of Akin Gump Strass Hauer and Feld in case there’s a need to legally challenge NEC Future’s proposed changes in the area, which include turning its local Green’s Farms train station into an infrastructure hub and establishing new elevated tracks in the region.
To Sara Harris, operations director in the town of Westport, the idea of expanding the Green’s Farms station makes no sense since there are better locations in Fairfield County for a new hub.“We want to preserve the character of the (Green’s Farms) station,” Harris said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Signs Agreements With Construction Trade Unions

Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC announced Dec. 9 it has signed Project Labor Agreements with the nation's four leading building and construction trade unions. The agreements reaffirm the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project's commitment to hiring skilled union workers for the pipeline's construction.
The agreements were signed with the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA), Teamsters National Pipeline (Teamsters), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States (United Association).
“From day one we've committed to building this project to the highest standards of quality and safety,” said Leslie Hartz, Dominion Energy's vice president, Engineering & Construction. “These organizations represent the most highly-skilled and well-trained professionals in the industry. They have the training, dedication and experience we need, and we're proud to have them on board for this historic project.”
Commitment to Hiring Local
Under the agreements, the four trade unions will be responsible for hiring and training the 13,000 construction workers needed to build the pipeline. The unions have committed to hiring at least half of the construction workforce through local union membership in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Furthermore, the organizations have committed to hiring at least 25 percent of all new hires – individuals joining the trade unions for the first time – from the local communities where the pipeline will be built.
Biggest Job-Creating Infrastructure Project in Decades
“This is the biggest job-creating infrastructure project we've seen in our region for many decades,” said Dennis Martire, LiUNA's vice president & Mid-Atlantic regional manager. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our region's infrastructure and bring back the middle class jobs that have disappeared from too many of our communities. Our members live in these communities, so we have a personal stake in doing this the right way and with the utmost care for safety and the environment. We have the skills and the work ethic that it takes to build a project like this, and we're just grateful for the opportunity to put those skills to work for our economy and our energy security.”
Free Training and Apprenticeships for Local Residents
In addition to employing thousands of local tradesmen and craftsmen, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide opportunities for many local residents to pursue new careers in the construction industry. The trade unions are offering free local training and apprenticeship programs so local residents can develop new skills and gain real-world experience in the industry. After construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is complete, many will go on to pursue long-term careers in the building and construction trades.
Opportunities for Local Veterans
Through their participation in the 'Helmets to Hardhats' program, the trade unions will also provide job opportunities to many local veterans. 'Helmets to Hardhats' is a national, nonprofit program that connects National Guard, Reserve, retired and transitioning active-duty military service members with skilled training and quality career opportunities in the construction industry.
“This project is going to be a game changer for working people in our region, including our veterans,” said Matt Yonka, president of the Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council. “We're talking about thousands of new jobs for men and women who have spent their careers developing their craft and contributing to our economy. We're also talking about hundreds, if not thousands of local residents, including our veterans, who will have the chance to start a new career and earn a better livelihood. We're ready to get to work on this project so we can grow our economy and support our families.”
Skilled Crafts and Trades
The four organizations signing the agreements represent the crafts and trades that will perform the bulk of mainline construction activity for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline:

The laborers who install environmental control devices, perform ground clearing, coat and install the pipe and restore the right of way.

The teamsters who transport personnel, materials and equipment.

The operators who operate excavators, dozers, pipe bending and laying machines, cranes, forklifts and other construction equipment.

The welders who weld and bend the pipe, install road bores and perform hydrostatic testing.

 

CT Construction Digest Friday December 8, 2017

One lane on Route 68 in Wallingford to close early next week for gas line installation project

WALLINGFORD — One lane of Route 68 near Interstate 91 will be closed early next week while Eversource Energy installs a new gas line.
The eastbound lane will be closed between the I-91 southbound on-ramp and I-91 northbound off-ramp from Monday morning through Wednesday night while crews work in the area of the highway overpass, Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said in a statement. The construction is part of a multi-million dollar project to link natural gas distribution systems in Wallingford and Middletown.
Ramps will remain open during construction. Police will direct traffic in the area.

Tribes counter MGM, hinting at their bid for new casinos

The tribal owners of the Foxwoods Resorts and Mohegan Sun casinos sent legislative leaders a letter Wednesday asking for a chance to compete with MGM Resorts International's proposal for a Bridgeport gambling resort if the legislature is intent next year on considering opening Connecticut to casino expansion.
The letter from Rodney Butler and Kevin Brown, the chairmen of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations, hints that they are less interested in open competition than in legislation similar to the bill passed in 2017: A law authorizing the tribes to jointly develop a casino in East Windsor to blunt the loss of business to an MGM resort opening in Springfield.
Connecticut, tribes sue feds to break deadlock on third casinoState, Foxwoods scuffle over tax status of new gaming machinesTribes' lawyers tell Interior it must accept casino dealMGM pitches Bridgeport casino as feds delay tribes' expansion
The tribes originally proposed that the state consider up to three gateway casinos to maintain or even grow its market share: one in the I-91 corridor of north-central Connecticut to compete with MGM Springfield, plus others off I-84 in the Danbury area and I-95 in Fairfield County.
"It was the Legislature's decision to move forward with only one site in the north-central Hartford region. If circumstances have changed and there is now real interest in putting a casino in Bridgeport, we want to be a part of that discussion," the tribal chairmen wrote Wednesday. "Over the past 30 years, many promises have been made to residents of the Park City. Few if any have come to fruition. We like so many others see the tremendous potential of Bridgeport and would love to be one of the catalysts that lead to a real revival."
The 2017 law giving the tribes exclusive rights to a new casino in East Windsor was unique, a reflection of the state's de facto partnership with the Pequots and Mohegans. In return for exclusive rights to casino gaming, the tribes pay Connecticut 25 percent of gross slots revenue.
States typically create competitive processes for casino licenses, such as the competition waged recently in Massachusetts for up to three casinos. MGM Springfield is to open next year, while Wynn Boston Harbor is under construction in Everett, Mass., and projected to open in June 2019. The Mohegans were among the competitors.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Malloy Says State Facing Crisis In Transportation Funding With Widespread Cutbacks Looming

Connecticut’s transportation system is in crisis and needs almost $1 billion in new revenue over the next five years or the state will have to cut major road and rail programs and raise bus and rail fares, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned Thursday.
The governor said tolls, higher gas taxes or dedicating more sales taxes to transportation should be considered by the legislature. But those are politically unpopular options lawmakers have rejected in the past and will find hard to swallow, particularly in an election year like 2018.

“Today we are at a crossroads, and a decision must be made,” Malloy said. “Will we cancel important projects and let our roads and bridges deteriorate, or will we endeavor to face these problems head-on and find new ways to support our transportation system?”

Major projects, such as rebuilding the elevated portion of I-84 in Hartford, the “mixmaster” interchange in Waterbury, and dozens of other road and bridge projects, might have to be delayed. The state Department of Transportation would have to cut jobs and bus and rail fares would have to be increased, Malloy said.
Without action soon, Malloy said, the state fund dedicated to transportation will go into deficit and the state will no longer be able to borrow money to finance road and rail projects.
State transportation experts estimate that it would take a 14-cent-per-gallon increase in state gasoline taxes to keep the transportation fund out of deficit over the next five years.
The governor said the budget recently passed by the General Assembly doesn’t solve the nearly bankrupt transportation finance system. 
Malloy, who isn’t running for re-election next year, denied that he should bear responsibility for the state’s failure to resolve a funding problem that’s been getting worse during his seven years in office, insisting he’s repeatedly tried to get the General Assembly to approve solutions. He said he did manage to push through a plan to dedicate half-a-cent of the sales tax toward transportation funding.
The Senate’s top Republican, Len Fasano of North Haven, rejected Malloy’s claim that the GOP is responsible for the crisis. “This is a result of bad policies that have been enacted by Gov. Malloy and his Democrat colleagues — policies that have run the transportation fund into the ground,” Fasano said.
“These problems were further exacerbated by a $100 billion transportation plan that was enacted without a way to pay for it,” Fasano said. “All of these actions combined have continued Connecticut down the road of fiscal ruin.” Fasano said he doesn’t believe the legislature should raise any taxes to deal with the problem.
House Republican Leader Themis Klarides of Derby also laid the blame for the current crisis at Malloy’s feet. She said a GOP budget that was proposed and vetoed in September by the governor would have solved the transportation fund problems without new taxes.
Malloy said improving Connecticut’s transportation system has been a major theme throughout his seven years in office, and he has repeatedly promoted his plans for a $100 billion, 30-year transportation infrastructure upgrade. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Construction on new Derby High School

DERBY >> Ground likely won’t be broken until January on a major-league facelift slated for the school district’s athletic complex.
That’s according to Superintendent of Schools Matthew Conway, who recently gave a brief update to the Board of Aldermen on the multimillion-dollar makeover.
“We expect to have shovels in the ground in January,” said Conway.
Two separate committees — the Athletic Complex Building Committee and the Field House and Baseball Field Committee — have been working with two architects on the projects.
City Treasurer Keith McLiverty, chairman of the Athletic Complex Building Committee, said the magnitude of the projects, from the design process to acquiring the necessary approvals from land-use boards, takes time.

“This is the type of project where the up-front work, such as design and site plans, take longer than one would expect,” said McLiverty.

McLiverty said once a Request for Quotes goes out to select contractors to put the designs in motion, the projects will move ahead more quickly.
“We are balancing the privately funded project pace with the pace of the publicly funded project,” McLiverty said. “(The goal is) keeping both trains moving at the same speed to arrive at the station at the same end date. ... The coordination is a methodical process.”
New Britain firm Kaestle Boos Associates Inc., the successful designer behind the minor league stadium that formerly housed the New Britain Rock Cats, is onboard as project manager, overseeing the design and construction of an artificial turf football field, multi-purpose field and eight-lane rubberized track at the Leo F. Ryan Sports Complex on Chatfield Street.

Derby received $2.9 million in funding from the state Bond Commission for that project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

A new push to tackle an old problem: transportation neglect

 

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Thursday a day of reckoning has arrived for Connecticut’s depleted special transportation fund and the services and projects it finances, outlining what is likely to be an election-year challenge for the General Assembly next year and, perhaps, the last major initiative of a lame-duck governor.
With a long hit list of projects and services destined to be shelved without an infusion of revenue, Malloy is attempting to bring a sense of urgency to a legislature that has proven to be remarkably indifferent to a crumbling and underfunded transportation infrastructure over the tenures of a half-dozen governors.
“This goes back decades,” Malloy said. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now in a critical moment.”
Connecticut paid close attention to infrastructure after a section of I-95 collapsed into the Mianus River in Greenwich in 1983, but the neglect resumed as the economy cooled and the state struggled to balance its budget. A 2013 study found that from 1989 to 2008, the state’s highway spending per mile fell 35 percent when adjusted for inflation, the worst drop of any state.
Malloy won passage of a measure diverting a half-cent of the sales tax to the transportation fund in 2015, but legislators have balked at bolder moves, rejecting a push by Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, the co-chair of the Transportation Committee, to place electronic tolls on the highways.
On Thursday, the governor and his transportation commissioner, James P. Redeker, said the revenue crunch means the state could continue to spend $6.2 billion of the current five-year capital plan, but defer as much as $4.3 billion. The cuts would affect projects across the state and also likely force more fare increases in rail and bus service.

CT Mirror reported the extent of the problem Wednesday.

As Connecticut prepares for a major bond sale next month to finance transportation improvements, projections sent recently to bond-rating agencies show the new state budget won’t prevent the Special Transportation Fund from falling into a series of annual deficits starting in July — or from reaching insolvency by mid-2020.
Typically, every dollar in state capital spending on major transportation projects leverages roughly four dollars in matching federal funding.
The Department of Transportation estimates that to avert this crisis with revenue alone would require a 14-cents-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes — at least until tolls could be fully implemented about six years from now. The DOT estimates tolls could raise $700 million annually by about 2024.
Guerrera said lawmakers generally shy from controversy in election years, but the revenue shortfall must be addressed by the end of the session in 2018, when all 187 seats in the General Assembly will be up for election.
“We all have to make a decision here as legislators,” Guerrera said. “Do you want to cut programs? Do you want to cut infrastructure projects? Do you want to raise fares? Or do you want to look for other sources of revenue? This isn’t brain surgery here. This is what it comes down to, and I understand it’s an election year.”

The state’s per-gallon gas tax was cut in 1997, resulting in a cumulative loss of $4 billion since then. In 2012, the legislature capped how much money could be raised by its other fuel tax, an 8.1 percent levy on the wholesale price of gasoline and some other fuels. A further complication was that oil prices fell, as did total miles driven.

In the two-year budget passed in 2015, when legislators struggled to balance the budget, $37.5 million was taken from the special transportation fund, resulting in increases in fares for buses and trains and reductions in highway maintenance. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Infamous S-curve on I-84 is gone

WATERBURY — The infamous I-84 S-curve near Harpers Ferry Road is now history.

Contractors working on the Interstate 84 road project switched that portion of the road eastbound to its new alignment Thursday night, without the infamous S-curve.

Starting at 9:30 p.m., eastbound traffic shifted to the south into its new alignment, just west of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge. From there, traffic continues under the new Harpers Ferry Road Bridge, next to the realigned Reidville Drive and Mad River. It rejoins the existing I-84 eastbound just before the Scott Road Bridge.

The traffic shift will allow the contractor, I-84 Constructers, to perform bridge demolition, new bridge construction and roadway construction.

“Shifting the lanes opens up an entirely new work area for winter and into next year because it separates eastbound traffic from westbound traffic,” said state Department of Transportation Project Engineer Christopher Zukowski.

Crews worked around the clock to complete blasting, excavation, paving and markings to open the new eastbound section before temperatures became too cold to work with bituminousconcrete. “We were rushing, we’ve been literally working 24 hours a day,” Zukowski said. “We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount of work in the last month or so.”

There are benefits for drivers. The new alignment is straighter and easier to navigate. In addition, it has two lanes with a 12-foot shoulder along the right lane.

“It’s going to make driving safer and more efficient in this area,” Zukowski said.

The final eastbound alignment will have three lanes, a new Exit 25 off-ramp and a new Exit 23 on-ramp. Another 5 inches of bituminous concrete will be poured over the surface of the roadway, making the ride smoother, Zukowski said.

The final, three-lane alignment isn’t scheduled togo into effect until 2019, but the DOT says it will work with the contractor to open sooner if possible.

Meanwhile, the westbound direction of I-84 will shift to its new alignment in spring 2018. At that time, it will be two lanes as well.

The project remains on track to be substantially finished by the end of August 2019, when three continuous lanes in each direction will open.

The $330 million reconstruction project includes rebuilding a 2.7-mile section of I-84 between Washington Street and Pierpont Road, along with improvements to the highway, bridges, utilities and local roads. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE