STAMFORD — After deliberations that amounted to nine hours, and twice went late into the night, the Board of Representatives approved a contract to fix the historic, dilapidated West Main Street bridge.The vote Tuesday night was 21-19.
The debate, which goes back nearly two decades, was marked by dissonance - car bridge vs. walk bridge; downtown vs. West Side; preserving history vs. building new; moving quickly to restore the failing bridge vs. holding off to pursue funds for a rebuild.
But contention ended in compromise, and the board approved a $2 million contract that pauses after the first phase, in which the contractor - for a maximum of $98,000 - will have 100 days to evaluate the 1888 bridge and estimate the cost of repairing it to preserve its historic character and accommodate pedestrians and light emergency vehicles.
If city officials approve the estimate, the contractor, Wengell, McDonnell & Costello, will move on to the second phase and complete the design for no more than $457,300. After that, construction will go out for bids and the work is to be finished in two years.
Despite the deal, both sides felt let down.“I’m happy with the outcome. I’m disappointed with the debate,” said Arthur Selkowitz, chairman of the Mill River Collaborative, the nonprofit group that is working with the city on a multimillion-dollar renovation of Mill River Park, which sits between downtown and the West Side. “We were trying to help.”
The 130-year-old bridge, one of the few vestiges of city history left downtown, is in the park, and the collaborative offered city government a $2 million grant it received from the state if the city will repair it for pedestrians only, in keeping with the character of the greenway being created through central Stamford. The group also wants to preserve the rare bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Mayor David Martin’s administration agreed, saying there is little other money available to fix the bridge, which the city engineer said could wash away in the next storm.
But little consideration was given to an old promise to the West Side that car traffic on the 125-foot iron bridge would return, said Rep. Rodney Pratt, D-9.
“I’m very disappointed,” Pratt said. “The West Side was cheated out of a choice. It was walking bridge or no bridge.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Groton submarine base to get microgrid
Luther Turmelle
The U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton will be getting a more reliable source of electricity, courtesy of a $5 million grant from the state that will be used to create a microgrid at the defense facility.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the grant on Wednesday. Construction of the microgrid is expected to begin next year.
“Make no mistake, climate change is having an impact on our communities, and we must take real steps now to strengthen our infrastructure, and plan for future storms and resulting power outages,” Malloy said in a statement. “Our state agencies, industry leaders, and Navy officials demonstrated an unrelenting commitment to collaborating in this very complex project, producing another innovative partnership between the Navy, our state, and the communities that support the base. This effort once again highlights our resolve to preserve the sub base and our historic distinction as the Submarine Capital of the world
A microgrid is a small network of electricity users that have their own generation source. Although, a microgrid is usually attached to a centralized larger electric grid, it is able to function independently.
The state’s microgrid program is administered by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection The agency’s commissioner Rob Klee said the creation of the microgrid at the submarine base “promises to enhance the resilience of important national security infrastructure in preparation for climate change, sea level rise, and severe weather events.”“Our staff will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that the Navy’s energy and resilience objectives are met ,” Klee said.Captain Paul Whitescarver, who is the submarine base’s commanding officer said having a microgrid there “will enhance our power diversification, our physical and energy security, and most certainly our community collaboration.”
Energy security at the submarine base has been a major concern that was identified during the Base Realignment and Closure process in 2005. State officials are hoping the creation of the microgrid on the base will improve its standing when the next round of reviews for possible facility closures occurs in 2021.
Connecticut’s Office of Military Affairs had originally proposed a microgrid there in 2010, but the technical complexity of the project and the need for senior endorsement of the project by senior Naval officials slowed the process down.
Danbury-based FuelCell Energy is producing the fuel cells that will be used to generate the electricity for the microgrid. The base fuel cell park will be financed by a public-private sector long-term power purchase agreement, according to state officials.
The energy produced by the fuel cells will be sold to the community grid during periods of normal usage. But in the event of a disruption of the larger regional grid, the microgrid will divert uninterrupted electric power to the base for critical operations.The State of Connecticut was the first state to pioneer a process to make direct investments into a federal military installation so as to improve infrastructure and enhance military value, helping improve the facility’s relative standing in the next BRAC round, which is widely expected to happen as early as 2021.
Brookfield’s $78.1 million Huckleberry plan heads to Municipal Building Committee
Julia Perkins
BROOKFIELD — The $78.1 million plan to build a new Huckleberry Hill Elementary School will head to a committee that is meant to see the project through approval and construction.
The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday evening to have the first selectman ask the Municipal Building Committee to oversee the project. The town hopes to hold a referendum in March on the plan to build a new school for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
First Selectman Steve Dunn and Selectman Sue Slater approved the motion, but Selectman Harry Shaker abstained because he said he wanted the task force that developed the proposal to be more involved.
This committee includes Chairman Paul Checco and Josh Flowers, who were on this task force.
Several residents at Tuesday’s meeting urged the town to communicate better with the public about the project to garner more support for the plan.
Dunn said he and Colette Sturm, chairman of the education board, are developing a communication plan. He said the selectmen and finance boards hope to hold a meeting on Oct. 11 to hear a presentation from the school board and delve into the impact the project could have on town finances and debt.
The Municipal Building Committee’s next meeting is not yet on the town’s online calendar, but the town website says the committee meets on the third Thursday of the month.
Losing bidder for Smalley Elementary roof contract sues New Britain
LISA BACKUS
NEW BRITAIN - A portion of the $53 million Smalley Elementary School renovation project is stalled after a contractor filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming favoritism was shown in awarding the contract to put a new roof on the building.
Silktown Roofing Inc. contends in the lawsuit filed July 24 that their bid came in higher because it was calculated on the exact specifications for the new roof, including more expensive materials in a customized color.
The bid winning for the $1.1 million roof replacement went to Elite Roofing and Reconstruction which came in at about $30,000 lower than Silktown, court papers said. Silktown is now claiming that the city used favoritism in the selection of the roof contractor, the lawsuit said.
Attorneys on both sides are expected to present evidence Thursday during a hearing at New Britain Superior Court on whether a temporary injunction barring any construction on the roof should be issued.
A judge ruled Aug. 13 that work couldn’t go forward until a court has determined if there was enough evidence to put an injunction in place.
“We’re hoping for a quick resolution,” said attorney John Bradley of the law firm Rome McGuigan, which is representing the city. Bradley said the city denies any favoritism took place, that it “properly awarded the bid to the lowest bidder.”
The roof is part of an extensive renovation of Smalley School that started in May. Students are attending the former Pope John Paul II School while the renovation is taking place.
The project will essentially revamp the school, with new parking lots, more classroom space and an updated, modernized look. The renovations are expected to be complete in time to allow students back in the building for the 2019-20 school year.
The price tag for the entire project was put at $53 million, with the state kicking in about 80 percent.
Paul Salina, the school district’s chief operations officer, said on the day of the groundbreaking that he expects the cost to come in closer to $45 million.
The bidding process for the roof renovation opened on May 30. The contract was awarded to Elite on June 20, Bradley said.
Attorney Lawrence Rosenthal, representing Silktown, said in the lawsuit that, during the bidding process, Silktown called the project manager to clarify whether the bid should include a particular type of material in a particular color, even though the materials were more expensive.
Rosenthal did not return a request for comment from The Herald Friday.
According to the lawsuit, the project manager told Silktown that the bid should include the more expensive materials. Silktown later found out that the winning bid, which went to Elite, did not include the more expensive materials, the lawsuit said.
After being made aware that they had not been chosen for the roofing project, Silktown requested that the city disqualify the two bids that came in lower than its own, based on what it had been told by the project manager. The city refused, saying it had chosen the lowest bidder, the lawsuit said.
Centerplan blames subcontractors for Dunkin' Donuts Park delays
Matt Pilon
Centerplan Construction Company, embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with the city of Hartford over its firing from the Dunkin' Donuts Park and Downtown North developments, is now blaming a half-dozen subcontractors for construction delays, cost overruns and alleged shoddy work, according to legal filings.
Over the protests of the city's lawyers, Centerplan has successfully brought into the case six companies that were involved in the stadium's design. The third-party defendants include Missouri-based Pendulum Studio, which was the architect of record on the project, as well as The S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Newman Architects of New Haven, BVH Integrated Services of Bloomfield, BETA Group of Hartford, and DTC Engineers of Hamden.
The city hired Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC, both controlled by Robert Landino, in early 2015. Delays in stadium construction following a $10 million cost overrun forced the Hartford Yard Goats to play their inaugural season entirely on the road.
The city fired Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC in mid-2016, prompting the companies to file a $90 million lawsuit against the city. Performance bond insurer Arch Insurance hired a new new contractor to finish the job.
The city filed a counterclaim against Centerplan and DoNo in Oct. 2017, alleging breach of contract, negligence and professional malpractice -- much of it related to alleged defects and deficiencies in the stadium design.
Responding to that countersuit, Centerplan and DoNo have denied that they're liable to the city for any damages suffered as a result of design defects, or that they were negligent with respect to the supervision or management of the design services related to the stadium.
Instead, they argue that damages the city suffered resulted from negligence, carelessness, omissions or other actions by the six design subcontractors. Centerplan and DoNo claim they performed no design work themselves, and that the design was in the exclusive control of Pendulum.
Centerplan and DoNo say the third-party defendants should have to pay any financial damages that may result.
The city of Hartford's attorney, Terence Brunau of Murtha Cullina, argued in a June court filing that Centerplan, not any of the six design firms, forced design changes to the stadium that led to delays and higher costs, including changes to part of the right-field roof, and modifying the design of interior walls and risers.
Brunau called DoNo and Centerplan's attempt to deflect blame "a litigation tactic to divert attention from their own various and well-documented management, supervision, design and construction defects and deficiencies on the project."
He wrote that the companies were "painting the design professionals as the scapegoat for [Centerplan's] and DoNo's own failings."
Despite that objection, Judge Thomas Moukawsher approved the motion to bring new defendants into the suit on July 24, court records show.
The city declined comment for this story. In a statement, S/L/A/M, which was hired by Pendulum to perform a specific scope of work on the project, said it will "vigorously defend any claim that our performance caused damage to either Centerplan or the city."
Attorneys for Pendulum and the other third-party defendants, as well as lawyers for DoNo and Centerplan, did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, Ballpark Digest has named Dunkin' Donuts Park the best Double-A ballpark in the country for the past two years in a row.
Hartford Residents Air Concerns At First Hearing On Downtown North Development Plan
Jenna Carlesso
A shortage of parking spaces. Gentrification that pushes longtime residents out of the city’s northern neighborhoods. “Shiny, new development” that clashes with the ornate characteristics of Hartford’s historic buildings.
Those were among the fears shared by community members at the first public hearing on an expansive proposal to redevelop 13 acres around the city’s minor league ballpark. The land has sat vacant since an earlier plan collapsed in a legal fistfight.
Developer Randy Salvatore and his Stamford-based firm, RMS Companies, are in talks with city leaders to build 60,000 square feet of retail and 800 housing units on the properties. The project would unfold in four stages, beginning with 200 apartments and associated retail behind the Red Lion Hotel on Trumbull Street.
Another 150 units are planned for the corner of Trumbull and Market streets, and 300 more for the intersection of Main and Trumbull — directly across from the ballpark.
The final phase would feature 150 housing units near the three-way intersection of Main Street, Ann Uccello Street and High Street.
“If you are building this, that and the other, I think there is a perception among people in the community that there is a wall shutting them out,” said Tina Franklin, who lives in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood. “The idea that folks in the community have an aversion to ‘new and shiny’ is erroneous. We want new and shiny … but we want to be a part of it.”
Franklin and others who gathered in the SAND School library Wednesday night urged Salvatore to work with local groups, community activists and small businesses already established nearby to create a seamless transition into the neighborhoods.
Patricia Williams, programs director for the Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative, shared Franklin’s concerns. She worried about struggling store owners who don’t have the money to update their buildings so they blend with the new development “If you put all that new stuff there — which is a good thing — and what’s left are places owned individually that don’t have the funds to fix themselves up, they’re going to get pushed out,” she said.
A few residents asked about the parking lots displaced by construction. Hundreds of new spaces are planned, Salvatore said, with many in tiered structures. A garage with about 1,200 spaces would be built around the corner from the baseball stadium.
City dweller Alyssa Peterson asked Salvatore to consider Hartford’s historic architecture when designing the project.
“Hartford has torn down so much. Our city, once the Victorian jewel, is no more,” she said. “You go look at New London, you go look at New Haven, you look at Springfield, those are interesting places. A lot of Hartford isn’t interesting anymore.”
The bid winning for the $1.1 million roof replacement went to Elite Roofing and Reconstruction which came in at about $30,000 lower than Silktown, court papers said. Silktown is now claiming that the city used favoritism in the selection of the roof contractor, the lawsuit said.
Attorneys on both sides are expected to present evidence Thursday during a hearing at New Britain Superior Court on whether a temporary injunction barring any construction on the roof should be issued.
A judge ruled Aug. 13 that work couldn’t go forward until a court has determined if there was enough evidence to put an injunction in place.
“We’re hoping for a quick resolution,” said attorney John Bradley of the law firm Rome McGuigan, which is representing the city. Bradley said the city denies any favoritism took place, that it “properly awarded the bid to the lowest bidder.”
The roof is part of an extensive renovation of Smalley School that started in May. Students are attending the former Pope John Paul II School while the renovation is taking place.
The project will essentially revamp the school, with new parking lots, more classroom space and an updated, modernized look. The renovations are expected to be complete in time to allow students back in the building for the 2019-20 school year.
The price tag for the entire project was put at $53 million, with the state kicking in about 80 percent.
Paul Salina, the school district’s chief operations officer, said on the day of the groundbreaking that he expects the cost to come in closer to $45 million.
The bidding process for the roof renovation opened on May 30. The contract was awarded to Elite on June 20, Bradley said.
Attorney Lawrence Rosenthal, representing Silktown, said in the lawsuit that, during the bidding process, Silktown called the project manager to clarify whether the bid should include a particular type of material in a particular color, even though the materials were more expensive.
Rosenthal did not return a request for comment from The Herald Friday.
According to the lawsuit, the project manager told Silktown that the bid should include the more expensive materials. Silktown later found out that the winning bid, which went to Elite, did not include the more expensive materials, the lawsuit said.
After being made aware that they had not been chosen for the roofing project, Silktown requested that the city disqualify the two bids that came in lower than its own, based on what it had been told by the project manager. The city refused, saying it had chosen the lowest bidder, the lawsuit said.
Centerplan blames subcontractors for Dunkin' Donuts Park delays
Matt Pilon
Centerplan Construction Company, embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with the city of Hartford over its firing from the Dunkin' Donuts Park and Downtown North developments, is now blaming a half-dozen subcontractors for construction delays, cost overruns and alleged shoddy work, according to legal filings.
Over the protests of the city's lawyers, Centerplan has successfully brought into the case six companies that were involved in the stadium's design. The third-party defendants include Missouri-based Pendulum Studio, which was the architect of record on the project, as well as The S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Newman Architects of New Haven, BVH Integrated Services of Bloomfield, BETA Group of Hartford, and DTC Engineers of Hamden.
The city hired Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC, both controlled by Robert Landino, in early 2015. Delays in stadium construction following a $10 million cost overrun forced the Hartford Yard Goats to play their inaugural season entirely on the road.
The city fired Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC in mid-2016, prompting the companies to file a $90 million lawsuit against the city. Performance bond insurer Arch Insurance hired a new new contractor to finish the job.
The city filed a counterclaim against Centerplan and DoNo in Oct. 2017, alleging breach of contract, negligence and professional malpractice -- much of it related to alleged defects and deficiencies in the stadium design.
Responding to that countersuit, Centerplan and DoNo have denied that they're liable to the city for any damages suffered as a result of design defects, or that they were negligent with respect to the supervision or management of the design services related to the stadium.
Instead, they argue that damages the city suffered resulted from negligence, carelessness, omissions or other actions by the six design subcontractors. Centerplan and DoNo claim they performed no design work themselves, and that the design was in the exclusive control of Pendulum.
Centerplan and DoNo say the third-party defendants should have to pay any financial damages that may result.
The city of Hartford's attorney, Terence Brunau of Murtha Cullina, argued in a June court filing that Centerplan, not any of the six design firms, forced design changes to the stadium that led to delays and higher costs, including changes to part of the right-field roof, and modifying the design of interior walls and risers.
Brunau called DoNo and Centerplan's attempt to deflect blame "a litigation tactic to divert attention from their own various and well-documented management, supervision, design and construction defects and deficiencies on the project."
He wrote that the companies were "painting the design professionals as the scapegoat for [Centerplan's] and DoNo's own failings."
Despite that objection, Judge Thomas Moukawsher approved the motion to bring new defendants into the suit on July 24, court records show.
The city declined comment for this story. In a statement, S/L/A/M, which was hired by Pendulum to perform a specific scope of work on the project, said it will "vigorously defend any claim that our performance caused damage to either Centerplan or the city."
Attorneys for Pendulum and the other third-party defendants, as well as lawyers for DoNo and Centerplan, did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, Ballpark Digest has named Dunkin' Donuts Park the best Double-A ballpark in the country for the past two years in a row.
Hartford Residents Air Concerns At First Hearing On Downtown North Development Plan
Jenna Carlesso
A shortage of parking spaces. Gentrification that pushes longtime residents out of the city’s northern neighborhoods. “Shiny, new development” that clashes with the ornate characteristics of Hartford’s historic buildings.
Those were among the fears shared by community members at the first public hearing on an expansive proposal to redevelop 13 acres around the city’s minor league ballpark. The land has sat vacant since an earlier plan collapsed in a legal fistfight.
Developer Randy Salvatore and his Stamford-based firm, RMS Companies, are in talks with city leaders to build 60,000 square feet of retail and 800 housing units on the properties. The project would unfold in four stages, beginning with 200 apartments and associated retail behind the Red Lion Hotel on Trumbull Street.
Another 150 units are planned for the corner of Trumbull and Market streets, and 300 more for the intersection of Main and Trumbull — directly across from the ballpark.
The final phase would feature 150 housing units near the three-way intersection of Main Street, Ann Uccello Street and High Street.
“If you are building this, that and the other, I think there is a perception among people in the community that there is a wall shutting them out,” said Tina Franklin, who lives in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood. “The idea that folks in the community have an aversion to ‘new and shiny’ is erroneous. We want new and shiny … but we want to be a part of it.”
Franklin and others who gathered in the SAND School library Wednesday night urged Salvatore to work with local groups, community activists and small businesses already established nearby to create a seamless transition into the neighborhoods.
Patricia Williams, programs director for the Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative, shared Franklin’s concerns. She worried about struggling store owners who don’t have the money to update their buildings so they blend with the new development “If you put all that new stuff there — which is a good thing — and what’s left are places owned individually that don’t have the funds to fix themselves up, they’re going to get pushed out,” she said.
A few residents asked about the parking lots displaced by construction. Hundreds of new spaces are planned, Salvatore said, with many in tiered structures. A garage with about 1,200 spaces would be built around the corner from the baseball stadium.
City dweller Alyssa Peterson asked Salvatore to consider Hartford’s historic architecture when designing the project.
“Hartford has torn down so much. Our city, once the Victorian jewel, is no more,” she said. “You go look at New London, you go look at New Haven, you look at Springfield, those are interesting places. A lot of Hartford isn’t interesting anymore.”