January 16, 2018

CT Construction Digest Tuesday January 16, 2018


Please join us for the next Transportation Forum with the 2018 Democratic and Unaffiliated Candidates for Governor of Connecticut at the Aqua Turf Club, Friday, January 19, 2018.
                                                        Bring as many people as you can!
                                                         Buffet Breakfast Provided Starting At 8:00
I hope you can join us to show your support for transportation!!!
For questions about the program, please contact Don Shubert at dshubert@ctconstruction.org or at 860-529-6855.


Getting There: Blame Legislature, not governor, for transportation project delays

Fare hikes, rail service cuts and a freeze on transportation projects. As he promised in December, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced them all last week.
Rail commuters and highway drivers are understandably outraged, but they should direct their anger not at the governor or the state Department of Transportation, but instead at the Legislature.
Why now?
This funding crisis has been years in the making, exacerbated 20 years ago when lawmakers’ political pandering saw them lower the gasoline tax. Coupled with better gas mileage and increased use of electric cars, the Special Transportation Fund (STF), which pays for our roads and rails, has been running out of money. By next year, it will be in a deficit.
Raids on the STF
Malloy’s critics are quick to blame him, correctly noting he raided the STF for money to balance the state’s budget. But so did former Govs. M. Jodi Rell and John Rowland. Blaming their past mistakes doesn’t answer the question of what we do now.
Fare hikes
Metro-North riders already pay the highest commuter rail fares in the U.S. The proposed 10 percent hike in July, while unpopular, will be absorbed by commuters who have no other choice to get to their jobs in New York City.
Public hearings
Required by law 90 days before they go into effect, the public hearings on fare hikes will be cathartic, but meaningless. Think of them as political theater. The state DOT will present the numbers, explain why the STF is running out of money and sit patiently as commuters yell and scream. Then they will do what they must: raise fares.
Rail service cuts
Why is Malloy cutting off-peak weekday and all weekend service on the New Canaan, Danbury, Waterbury and Shore Line East lines? Because, unlike the main line, these branches are subsidized 100 percent by Connecticut, have lower ridership and are much more expensive to operate.
Economic impact
While higher fares are never popular, cuts in train service can be economically devastating. Without daily trains, houses in communities like Wilton and Redding will be less desirable. Property values will decrease, affecting local taxes. Transit-oriented development dreams for communities in the Naugatuck Valley will be dashed.
Future projects
Not only is the governor threatening fare hikes and service cuts, he’s freezing $4.3 billion worth of transportation projects across the state. Forget about the new Stamford rail garage, the “mixmaster” in Waterbury, the Barnum rail station in Bridgeport, and hundreds of other projects.
There may even be a 15-percent staff cut at the state DOT. That means months or years of delays on these projects if and when money is ever found, making our state even less desirable for new business investment.
Road maintenance
These cuts may even affect the state DOT’s ability to plow our roads in the next blizzard, let alone fix the potholes and our aging bridges.
What can be done?
 It will be up to the Legislature to finally address STF funding. None of the alternatives will be popular, especially in an election year. But I’d expect tolls, taxes, and yes, fare hikes — all predicated on passage of a true STF “lock box” in November’s referendum.
If you’re as angry as I am, do something. Call your state representative and senator and demand they vote on new funding sources for the STF to stop these service cuts and project delays.
They created this problem. Now they’ll have to solve it.

New Haven residents seek public hearing on removing municipal funds from Wells Fargo

NEW HAVEN — Local residents pushing the city to move its funds from Wells Fargo over the bank’s contribution to the Dakota Access Pipeline could have an opportunity to address the Board of Alders as the board considers their request to hold a public hearing.
A letter from several city residents and activists requesting the city remove its municipal funds from Wells Fargo is being presented to the Board of Alders and could lead to a public hearing within the calendar year.
The request isn’t new. Demonstrators held a rally outside City Hall last September urging the city to remove its money from the bank. They reiterated their reasoning in the letter, which was co-signed by six residents and addressed to Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers in August.
Wells Fargo Northeast Corporate Communications Manger Kevin Friedlander issued a statement Friday, saying in itthat Wells Fargo values the long-standing relationship with the city. Wells Fargo donated more than $307,000 in 2016 and similar figures in 2017 to local nonprofits and events, according to Friedlander’s statement.
“Regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline, we were one of the 17 financial institutions involved in the financing of the Pipeline,” Friedlander said in the statement. “That said, the pipeline has now been operational since June, and our facility has been fully funded. Our commitment to the responsible development of all forms of energy remains unchanged, and since 2012, we have invested more than $70 billion in clean technology and other environmentally sustainable businesses.”
City spokesman Laurence Grotheer issued a statement Friday on the possible public hearing. Mayor Toni Harp had previously stated during a radio appearance on WNHH Radio that she would gradually withdraw funds.  “Mayor Harp continues working with Controller Daryl Jones and the rest of her financial team to see how the City can distance itself from Wells Fargo with a competitive bank that’s suitably equipped to safeguard the City’s assets and handle the high volume and complex transactions the City requires,” Grotheer said in the statement.
Wooster Square resident Geremy Schulick was among the co-signers of the letter. On Friday, Schulick said the main reason some residents want the money removed is due to Wells Fargo’s investment in the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. The $3.8 billion project started shipping oil in June 2017, according to the Associated Press. Schulick cited the Seattle city council voting last year to remove more than $3 billion in annual cash flow from the bank as an example that such a move is feasible. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bridge, tunnel plan for L.I. Sound still far off, if not far out

BRIDGEPORT — A road straight to Long Island could shave commuting time and free access to jobs — but right now it’s still mostly in the realm of science fiction and fantasy.
A report released last week explores what a tunnel or bridge spanning Long Island Sound might look like, and Bridgeport, Milford and Port Chester, N.Y, are all part of the speculation.
The Long Island Sound Crossing Feasibility Study was published in December, funded with a $5 million grant from New York State.
Public and private firms have been considering similar pie-in-the-sky projects every decade or so since 1938.
“It’s an interesting idea,” said Av Harris, Bridgeport’s Director of Public Policy of a roughly 20-mile-long bridge or tunnel. “Not sure how feasible it is given the geographic distance between the two locations and the fact that we have a long-standing, successful ferry between Bridgeport and Port Jefferson. But we’ll be interested to see how and if this project develops further.”
New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the his state Department of Transportation are pushing forward with the concept.
“We should continue to (pursue) a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester or Connecticut," said Cuomo in his Jan. 3 State of the State address. "DOT has determined it’s feasible, it would be underwater, it would be invisible, it would reduce traffic on the impossibly congested Long Island Expressway and would offer significant potential private investment."
Justifying the $5 million expenditure for the study, Cuomo said last year that “Right now the only way to get off the Island is to drive all the way to the end, or you have to be a great swimmer.’’
The study considered a $45 toll and a $20 toll, and concluded that the economics would “moderately” address the goal of developing cost-effective transportation options. It calculated that the $45 toll would earn around $699 million per year.
Now, a basic one-way ferry ticket with a car from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson, N.Y., costs $59. It saves time and toll costs for anyone considering driving 86-mile journey to a Long Island town like Kings Park.
Cost estimates for Bridgeport and Devon designs ranged from $13 billion (for a bridge) to $31.2 billion (for a tunnel/bridge hybrid). CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Brainerd Hill project enters final stages in Portland

PORTLAND — One the casualties of the Jan. 4 snowstorm was a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, during which there was to be further discussion of the site plan for the proposed Brainerd Place/Elmcrest project.
That meeting was canceled as a snowstorm buffeted the state.
Now, weather permitting, a meeting Thursday will take up the issue, said Land-use Administrator Ashley Majorowski, who thinks the commission will close the public hearing that evening.
Doing so would set the stage for a final decision on moving forward with the mixed-use project, which has an estimated price tag of some $30 million.
Developer Daniel Bertram and his team have been trading analyses of the project with members of a similar town’s team of experts, as both sides work to narrow differences and clarify various issues.
“There is mutual respect” between the town and developer, Majorowski said last week. “It seems like everyone wants to see it happen,” she said of the project, which has been under one or another form of study since 2014.
However, Majorowski said once the public hearing closes, “approvals will take some time.” The commission will require certain conditions — involving issues as varied as site restoration, erosion control and settlement bonds — that will shift as the project takes shape. “It will probably be an extensive list of conditions,” Majorowski said.
Once the commission completes its list of conditions, “It will have to go to the town attorney for review.”
This is the most significant project presented to the town in years. It is also the largest major project that Majorowski has worked on since she was hired last year Despite that, she has won praise for her careful approach to the project, and her insistence on making the approval process as transparent as possible so residents can follow the journey from idea to reality.
Bertram’s proposal calls for construction of upward of 240 studio, one- and two-bedroom rental units on the 14.7-acre former hospital property at the intersection of Main Street and Route 66/Marlborough Road. There will also be retail/commercial space on the site, including, possibly, a chain pharmacy, coffee shop and various restaurants.
Bertram said while he has had preliminary discussions with potential tenants, nothing definite has been decided, and won’t be until the site plan wins approval.
The plan is the most detailed description of the various aspects of the project, including parking areas, buildings, amenities, such as public spaces, and in this instance, the preservation of a number of specimen trees that will be dotted throughout the property.
First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield, who has advocated for the project, said it could provide needed housing for millennials, as well as create a village center that could serve the needs of residents and visitors alike. Just as importantly, Bransfield said the project would contribute to much-needed economic development in town.
That issue has acquired added significance in light of deep cuts to the town — some $800,000 in state aid — during the continuing state budget crisis. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State funds keep Terex in Westport

Connecticut has seen the departure big-name companies like General Electric, Westport-based Terex Corp. is staying put — for the foreseeable future — with the help of state funding.
Terex’s lease at the Nyala Farms complex in Westport was soon to expire in 2017. According to Senior Vice President Eric Cohen, executives were considering their options as they looked to the future. While a possible exit was on the table, the Fortune 500 company ultimately chose to keep its corporate headquarters in southwestern Connecticut.
“There were a lot of factors that went into (staying in) Connecticut,” he said. “The primary one is this is where we were, this is where our people were, and to move that, which we did consider, that’s a big undertaking.”
 Terex was one of 13 businesses statewide to receive a portion of almost $57 million in funding approved by the State Bond Commission in November to assist with expansion and relocation efforts with the goal of helping the state’s ailing job market.
While Terex is staying put, the state’s economic woes and recent developments in tax reform could create challenges. The funding is contingent on job retention and creation which may be a tougher task following the passage of the new tax law.
 “We have a 10-year lease now, which may be, potentially, slightly shorter depending on certain options and rights that we have and the landlord has, and we will continue to monitor the situation,” Cohen said. “Where that takes us long-term in Connecticut will really depend a lot on what happens with the state and how it reacts both to its current fiscal situation as well as to the change in the tax law.”
Cohen said executives are still looking at how it will ultimately affect the company’s operations, especially regarding the deduction of state and local taxes.
“It does put pressure on being able to retain and bring new jobs to Connecticut because most of our operations and many of the people we find come from different areas and different parts of the country, many of which are no-state and local-tax states,” Cohen said. “Attracting them to come to our local headquarters is certainly going to be more challenging today than it was a while back.”
 Terex received a $1 million grant for capital improvements to its headquarters, which requires the company to retain 140 local employees over the next four years. The business stands to see an additional $500,000 in funding if it can create 30 new jobs over the same period. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Durham water main project flowing again

DURHAM — The Durham-Middletown water project is moving forward after a year of revision.
The Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of a revised proposal to build a water main, water tank, pump station and meter vault to bring clean water to 55 properties in Durham that have been contaminated for decades.
“Sometimes our duties are mundane and routine,” First Selectman Laura Francis said to the commission, “however there are times when we are fortunate to have the opportunity to make a transformative and highly impactful decision.”
She added that the project would be “life changing” to several hundred Durham residents. Affected properties have relied on well filtration and bottled water historically.
The project now goes to Middletown’s Water Pollution Control Authority and then onto the Common Council. If the Common Council authorizes Middletown Mayor Dan Drew to enter into the water purchase agreement, the plan goes to Durham’s Board of Selectmen for approval.
The Environmental Protection Agency expects to go out to bid on construction by the end of February, said Edward Hathaway, of the EPA New England Region and project manager for Durham Meadows Superfund site.
Construction is estimated to take two years to complete, and water could start flowing in 2020.
The plan is to install a water tank on Cherry Hill, near Talcott Ridge Road. According to Hathaway’s presentation, the water main will run down Route 17 into downtown Durham and connect to the existing water main at the Durham center booster station.
Middletown and Durham entered into a memorandum of understanding in June 2012, Hathaway said, where Middletown would allow construction of the water main to supply the water and Durham would purchase the water, an agreement that allowed design to begin.
Although most of the public outreach was in Durham, in 2013 describing the project with an invitation to a June meeting was mailed to all the addresses on Talcott Ridge Drive and Watch Hill Drive.
In 2016, the EPA sent letters with more information to about 180 property owners, including 11 on Talcott Ridge Drive and Watch Hill Drive, which was the first targeted outreach to neighborhood residents.
The commission ruled unfavorably on the project in January 2017, after several residents complained about the lack of community outreach on the tank location and height.
From then on, the EPA hosted informational meetings with residents throughout the year. A list of concerns was developed and shared with city leaders.
The new design lowers the height of the water tank by six feet, making in less visible above the tree line. They also added a new water booster pump station, scrapping the plan for individual pumps on residences, and a new flow meter vault at the town border located in Middletown.
The water tank remained a sticking point with Middletown residents. At Wednesday’s public hearing, several residents of Talcott Ridge Road and nearby Round Hill Road voiced their opposition to the water tank location in their neighborhood, saying they have lingering concerns about water pressure, property values and the potential to install a cell phone tower on the water tank in the future.
They also raised concerns about the operation and maintenance costs, which they believed would fall solely on Middletown. However, Francis said Durham would share the costs. What the cost will be is undetermined and will be worked out in the water purchase agreement, she said.
Joe Fazzino, Middletown Water and Sewer Department chief engineer and acting director, said through the additional meetings with residents, the city addressed their concerns to the best of its ability.
“Even with the current changes, the project will not satisfy everyone,” Fazzino said. “We will however abide by our commitment to assist our neighbors in Durham.”

With a price cap proposed, North Stonington school building project on track to break ground in February

North Stonington — Over a year and a half after the town approved a $38.5 million project to renovate the town's schools, the project is nearing the end of its planning stage and town officials expect to break ground next month.
On Tuesday the Board of Selectmen will vote on a proposed guaranteed maximum price — or GMP — for the project provided by the School Modernization Building Committee. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Wheeler High School media center. The proposed GMP of $33,875,455 is lower than the maximum approved in the resolution the town passed back in May 2016.
If the board approves the maximum price, the town will then deliver that price to U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural loan program for loan approval. If USDA approves it, the town will then award bids, and Downes Construction Co. will mobilize and move toward breaking ground around Feb. 15.
Downes Construction is the construction manager for the project, while Rusty Malik of Quisenberry Arcari Architects is the prinicipal architect.
"This is the final stretch," said Pamela Potemri, chairwoman of the School Modernization Building Committee. "We're extremely aware of making sure we've done our due diligence and anticipated everything."
Potemri added that the committee has been dedicated to ensuring it can confidently say this is the best GMP, and hopes to return money to the town. The committee will present the maximum price at the selectmen meeting Tuesday.
Approved in a tight vote during a 2016 referendum, the project will renovate the elementary school, build a new combined middle and high school wing attached to the gymatorium, end the use of the tunnel under Norwich-Westerly Road and address issues with the roof at the Board of Education's central offices.
The entire project is expected to be completed in 2020 and will involve different phases beginning with renovations for the gymatorium's additions on March 1 through Oct. 1. Then in March 2019, renovations will focus on the elementary school.
There still remains an aspect of the project that has not yet been definitively determined though, and that is what the town will do with the existing middle high school building.
The committee elected to defer possible demolition of the building until after the project is already underway. This delay also contributes to the committee having a lower budgeted number.
Potmeri said deferring demolition and rebidding it at a later date helps the committee ensure the project stays within budget and also allows more time for the town to explore the possibility of having a new tennant move into the building.
Adding to excitement surrounding the advancement of the project was news that the project's financing cost was going to be lower than expected.
First Selectman Mike Urgo said USDA has elected to close the the loan as three separate loans, and the town has also received a waiver on a requirement that the school must be a certain size based on enrollment. The waiver could save the town $1.1 million to $1.5 million, Urgo said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

New Groundwork Set For Hartford's 'Bushnell Park South' Development

A planned parking garage near The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts would lay the groundwork for transforming a sea of asphalt parking lots into a neighborhood of housing, shops and restaurants connecting Bushnell Park to south Hartford.
The $16 million garage would be built on the site of the former state health department laboratory on Clinton Street, which will be demolished starting next month.
The 350-space garage will provide parking for state office workers who now park on the state-owned, 2.5-acre lot to the east of the historic State Office Building. The lot — one of a half-dozen or so, some owned by the state, others privately — is seen as particularly ripe for redevelopment.
Revitalization would add to tax rolls and dramatically boost the vibrancy of an area that has morphed from “Bushnell Square” to “Bushnell Park South,” and is considered on of the city’s prime assets.
“I can’t think of anything more important to the future of Hartford than bringing these large parking lots back online as functioning parts of the city,” said Norman W. Garrick, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. “They are a wasteland and are also an assault on the very identity and image of the city. They are a large part of the reason Hartford is seen as a wasteland to many people.”
If publicly funded financing is secured, the garage would lay the foundation for “district parking” seen as critical to the success of redevelopment, with the garage being shared with future residents and patrons of The Bushnell. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE