Keith M. Phaneuf
A coalition of construction businesses and trades launched a new television and online advertising campaign Tuesday that makes a pitch for electronic tolling to refinance a critical rebuild of Connecticut’s highways, bridges and rail lines.
First established last spring to support tolls, the Move CT Forward coalition is renewing its efforts as legislators near a conclusion on this year’s transportation financing debate.
“With tolls, trucks and out of state drivers will pay more, we will pay less,” the narrator of the ad states. “And taxpayers will get a break. Connecticut needs to fix our roads now, our families’ safety depends on it.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed establishing electronic tolls on Interstates 84, 91 and 95 and on the Merritt Parkway. Lamont estimates tolls could raise $800 million per year and as much as 40 percent of revenues could come from out-of-state motorists.
Republican legislators have offered a counter-proposal, Prioritize Progress, which would avoid tolls.
Most transportation capital projects are funded with a mix of state borrowing and matching federal grants. The GOP recommends redirecting some state borrowing currently used for school construction and other non-transportation programs to instead support highway, bridge and rail work.
Move CT Forward includes the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council, and the Connecticut Ready-Mixed Concrete Association.
“Connecticut’s roads and bridges continue to worsen before our eyes,” said Don Shubert, president of the construction industries association. “We have to act now. If we keep doing nothing, we will watch as our roads and bridges continue to deteriorate, putting drivers’ safety at risk. Inaction simply does not represent the best interests of the people of Connecticut.”
The new campaign also opposes raising existing taxes that support transportation, such as the state’s retail and wholesale fuel levies, arguing this approach largely would spare out-of-state motorists.“Raising the state’s gas tax or borrowing to simply add hundreds of millions of dollars will only leave Connecticut taxpayers footing the bill for fixing our roads and bridges,” said David Jarvis, Business Representative and Organizer for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. “There are real, fair solutions out there that do not unfairly burden Connecticut residents.”
“Failure to make necessary repairs on our aging roads and bridges puts every single Connecticut resident at risk,” said Keith Brothers, Business Manager of the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council. “This campaign is meant to ensure that people get the real facts on available options so they can decide what is the fairest, best way for Connecticut to fix its infrastructure crisis.”
Dan Haar: Tolls letter from executives could sway some thinking
Dan Haar
Around the first of April, Gov. Ned Lamont stopped off in Stamford on the way home to Greenwich to talk tolls with a hastily assembled group of executives at the Fairfield County Business Council.The council had long since endorsed highway tolls as the best way to raise the tens of billions of dollars Connecticut needs for transportation, nowhere more than in Fairfield County. Lamont wanted more from this small gathering — CEOs and top-level folks at some of the region’s best known employers.
No, he didn’t need their money. He wanted their support for tolls as individual members and directors of the council.“He said, ‘This is really critical, I’m betting my governorship here’,” Joe McGee, the council’s vice president for policy, recounted Tuesday. “He said, ‘I need you guys, I need people to know that you as individuals see this issue as important.’”
McGee continued recounting: “I know some of you who are CEOs can’t speak for your companies, but I really need to know that you as individuals are supporting electronic tolls as a revenue source.”
“Connecticut’s economy simply can’t endure more self-inflicted harm,” the letter, dated April 16, said.
Darrell Harvey, a Darien resident and co-CEO of The Ashforth Co., a multistate real estate development and management firm with 13 million square feet, 1 million in Stamford alone, was among the signers. He’s also a well-known Republican, former chairman of the David Stemerman campaign for governor.
I had spoken with Harvey in March, as the General Assembly’s transportation committee heard public comments on tolls. He’s no fan of higher taxes and fees, obviously. But the numbers for tolls make sense compared with the alternative.
If we need to raise $800 million, we could levy $900 million in tolls, of which 40 percent can come from out-of-state motorists and trucks. The total cost to Connecticut residents: $540 million.
Or we could borrow that same $800 million and pay maybe $1.2 billion for the same money, depending on rates and length of debt issues, with interest paid to Wall Street.
“Give me that deal any day,” Harvey said of the tolls option, compared with borrowing.
It remains unclear whether this letter, not widely circulated in the crunch of tax deadlines and Lamont’s 100th day in office, will change any minds. But it’s part of a push by Lamont on the final turn before the home stretch.
Sometime very soon, Lamont will meet with Democratic leaders and the co-chairmen of the transportation committee to turn three bills into one, unified document.
At the moment, a vote on tolls — quickly becoming Lamont’s centerpiece economic and transportation policy — is too close to call, especially in the House, where all Republicans and some liberal Democrats oppose the idea. Place a bet at the window that Lamont will use hardball tactics to “gently persuade” some of those holdouts — ahem Danbury delegation, I’m thinking of you.
Details? It’s unclear whether Sen. Alex Bergstein’s transportation infrastructure bank, a vehicle for public-private partnerships in financing projects, will be part of the unified bill.
Lamont has already said the number of gantries will now be 50 at most, along Interstates 84, 91 and 95 and Route 15. They’d come up every six or seven miles and would electronically reach into our pockets for a quarter, maybe as much as 30 cents, at each overhead gate. That’s about 4.4 cents per mile for holders of a Connecticut E-ZPass or frequent drivers.Lamont needs to do much more. He needs to load specific tax cuts or credits into the package. I suggested $175 million in property tax credits against the income tax in March, and that needs to be combined with an equal or greater benefit for lower-income people who don’t pay property or income taxes.
That’s half the amount the state would receive from out-of-state motorists, a minimum dividend for Connecticut taxpayers. Cutting the gas tax a few cents a gallon may work as well, though if the idea is to create incentives for less driving, that’s a bad move.Lamont also needs to create a detailed spending plan for long-term improvements to highways, bridges and mass transit. It’s not enough to say we need $60 billion, or whatever. Show us the details item by item, not just a list, as the Senate bill does, and not in a document that comes out the day of the House vote.
The point is, if we can agree the state needs to spend the money over the next 30 years, and we can agree that tolls are more efficient than borrowing, then the argument is won. As McGee points out, it’s a matter of trust: Do residents believe the state can spend the money wisely and responsibly?
The opposition is real, supported by Main Street businesses and populist Republicans along with a smattering of Democrats. Big business, represented by the executives at the council, is stepping up to the tolls plate.
“Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure needs a reliable revenue stream to assure regular maintenance, enable new construction, and regularly introduce system enhancements, the April 16 letter said. “The experience of states throughout the northeast demonstrates that electronic fare collection - modern tolls - are a reliable way to finance transportation operations and infrastructure investments.”
Signers included James Fitzgerald Jr., chairman of the council and an executive vice president at Wells Fargo Bank; Pamela K. Elkow, the board treasurer-secretary and a partner at Carmody Torrance Sendak Hennessey; and among CEOs, John Garrison of Terex Corp., Rey Giallongo of First County Bank, Margaret Keane of Synchrony Financial, Eric Schadt of Sema4, John Ciulla of Webster Financial. Others included managing partners at large law and accounting firms and the former CEO of Nestlé Waters North America.
The days are over when CEOs call the shots on public policy, but logic matters. “Failure to adopt toll legislation in this session would be an acceptance of drifting economically downward, continuing to suffer a loss of jobs and a drain of talent,” the executives wrote.
Construction near SoNo station steaming ahead
Kelly Kultys
NORWALK — “Full steam ahead.”
That’s how Michael DiScala described the status of the work taking place on his company’s project, SONO One.
The upscale, four-story, 40-unit apartment building, at 1 Bates Court near the South Norwalk train station, is now “right on schedule,” according to DiScala, the president of M. F DiScala & Co. The project broke ground in fall 2018 and will feature a mix of one and two bedroom units with amenities, parking and walking distance to the train station and downtown South Norwalk. Recently, rock chipping machinery could be seen taking down a rocky ridge on the property at the corner of Lowe Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “I think the whole area down there — it’s starting to turn around,” DiScala said on Tuesday. “I really see great future down there for new apartments, houses and the revitalization of that area.
This is DiScala’s latest project in the city, which also includes the Head of the Harbor South projects apartments off of Wall Street.
His projects were also highlighted by city officials during a tour of the South Norwalk area, with U.S Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., during an economic development tour last week.The location of the site, which used to be the home of Penmar Industries, extremely close to the train station, was one of the key selling points both DiScala and city officials highlighted. The project was approved in late 2016.
On the other side of the train station, the Norwalk Zoning Commission approved another transit-oriented development project on Chestnut and Monroe Streets. Spinnaker Real Estate Partners’ plans for the site call for a six-story apartment building at the corner of Chestnut and Monroe, with retail spots. The project also plans to reshape the Leroy Shirt Building on Chestnut street into 16 additional studio and one-bedroom units and 11,000 square feet of retail and office space.
DiScala said that he believed the South Norwalk area was a “real sleeper” and would be taking off especially as development continues, particularly larger-scale projects, like the Sono Collection mall“The mall will be great for Norwalk, with Nordstrom and Bloomingdale,” he said. “That’s saying something about how Norwalk has progressed.
Officials in the city’s Planning and Zoning Department said that the Bates Court project had secured its zoning permits and work was expected to continue increase over the next 30 days.
DiScala said construction will continue on the site through the rest of this year, with a goal of having tenants by early 2020.L’Ambiance Plaza memorial honors 28 who died
Jordan Grice
Roughly 100 people joined city and state officials to remember the 28 workers killed in the L’Ambiance Plaza Collapse more than three decades ago.
It’s been 32 years since the tragedy and the annual memorial service continues to symbolize community support of the workers, said Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.“I certainly want to remember what a terrible tragedy and loss it is, but I will say…looking back at how individuals really demonstrated the best in themselves and in each other by coming together,” he said.L’Ambiance Plaza was a $17.5 million, 16-story luxury apartment complex under construction on Washington Avenue in 1987.
Construction workers were laying concrete slabs for the floors using the lift-slab method, which involved pouring concrete into slabs stacked on the ground and then lifting them with hydraulic jacks to the upper floors. The slabs for the east tower had been placed in position and those for the west tower had just been lifted — when a slab slipped, setting off an enormous domino-like cascade, killing 28 people in the process.
The incident is regarded as one of the worst construction accidents in the U.S. in modern times and the worst in Connecticut’s history.
While April 23 marks the tragedy in the Park City, it also represented a call to action of area residents and business owners to support union workers, officials said.
It started back to 1987, when people delivered food, refreshments, clothing and blankets to workers during their 10 days of rescue and recovery efforts. It has since transformed into the annual memorial.
Some at the Tuesday’s event even likened it to recent support of thousands of Stop & Shop employees who spent the last 11 days striking for fair pay and benefits. This year’s event comes after picketing ended Sunday in a compromise that union representatives are touting as victory for workers.
“We can’t forget what we can achieve when we stand united,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. “Unions negotiated in good faith, and we got a good outcome, but what is not negotiable is the safety of our men and women.”
Impassioned by the recent strike and even this year’s federal shutdown, Connecticut AFL-CIO President Sal Luciano said to honor those who are lost “we renew our pledge to fight for the living.”
“We must fight back,” he said during his address. “We can take inspiration for the Stop & Shop workers who took on a giant corporation and didn’t back down.”
Since the L’Ambiance tragedy, Ganim said awareness and the enhancement of worker safety remains a priority in the city, which has seen several developments proposed and debuted in recent years.
Lift-slab construction was banned in Connecticut and an OSHA satellite office was established downtown. Additional safety rules for workers were put in place.
“The workmen safety rules that have gone into place make it safer,” he said. “Clearly workplaces are not incident free, but they are much safer.”
Meriden close to construction contract for phosphorous project
Matthew Zabierek
MERIDEN — The city is close to awarding a construction contract for a state-mandated $48 million project to lower the levels of phosphorus discharge at the city’s wastewater plant on Evansville Avenue.
The city put the project out to bid earlier this year after design work was completed by the engineering firm AECOM The city plans to enter a contract with the lowest-bidding vendor and is awaiting approval from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to award the contract, according to Frank Russo, manager of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Russo declined to name the possible vendor. Public Utilities Director Dennis Waz didn’t return requests for comment.
According to bid documents, the lowest bid for the project was submitted by C.H. Nickerson & Co., Inc., a Torrington-based contractor that has completed wastewater treatment plant upgrades for several Connecticut municipalities.
Construction is expected to start this summer, Russo said, and will last about 30 months.
“We’re thinking hopefully by July or August they’ll be on site,” he said.
Meriden is on track to enter into a contract by July 1, DEEP’s deadline set for municipalities to receive the maximum amount of state funding.
Meriden is expected to receive state funding for about 38 percent of the project’s costs, or just over $18 million, according to Russo. The city will receive a low-interest loan from DEEP for the remaining costs, which the city will pay back largely through water and sewer rate increases.
Meriden is one of several municipalities, including Wallingford, working to meet the new phosphorus limits. Phosphorus is considered an environmental hazard because it causes algae bloom, which depletes oxygen in water bodies and poses a threat to wildlife, according to DEEP.
Russo said DEEP implemented the stricter phosphorus limits because rivers and streams located downstream from municipal plants were getting “inundated” with algae. When the algae dies, it creates “a huge oxygen demand” for fish and other wildlife.
Russo said Meriden’s project will have two phases, the first of which will include all construction associated with the phosphorus upgrades. The city also plans to make upgrades to an aging pump stations located away from the wastewater plant.
There are different phosphorus filtration methods municipalities can use to lower discharge. Meriden plans to use an “upflow sand filter.” Untreated water will be injected with a coagulant, ferric chloride, which “binds to phosphorus in the water and makes it form larger particles which are easier” to catch as the water moves through the sand filter.
Russo said the plant currently discharges about 0.7 milligrams per liter of phosphorus, which will get lowered to under 0.1 milligram per liter with the new upgrades.
At groundbreaking, community celebrates Groton Middle School project years in the making
Kimberly Drelich
Groton — Groton Board of Education Chair Kim Shepardson Watson said she remembers as a fledgling on the board the discussions about the importance of bringing Groton together into one space, but never thought it could happen.
But on Tuesday afternoon she and other officials and community members gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the new Groton Middle School, where heavy machinery was already at work. She noted the efforts by many people over the years toward creating the Groton 2020 plan to bring equity into the school system.
The middle school, which will be located adjacent to Robert E. Fitch High School and will serve all of Groton's middle school students, is expected to be completed by June 2020.
Watson said that though she cares about what the building will look like, for her, it's what's going to happen on the inside of the structure that's really important.
"It's going to be the learning. It's going to be the teaching. It's going to be bringing groups of people together and making us as a community really proud," she said.
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, thanked everyone who made the project possible over the years.
"When we talked about having the groundbreaking ceremony today, I was thinking back and it's hard to believe that almost eight years ago in 2011, when I was the mayor, we set up the first school planning task force, and there's been so many people that have been involved in getting this to the point where it is right now, where we’re going to be pouring concrete, I just heard, in a few days," she said.
Somers said none of it could be possible without the dedication of so many individuals that "stayed the course" over those eight years. She praised those who came together and supported the project, including project leaders, teachers, parents, administrators, students, community members and elected officials.
Somers presented Watson, Superintendent Michael Graner, and Town Manager John Burt with a citation from the General Assembly — which she had introduced with Reps. Christine Conley and Joe de la Cruz, both D-Groton — congratulating Groton on the project.
She also encouraged everyone to vote during the May 6 referendum on revising the Groton 2020 plan so the town can build two new elementary schools, rather than convert the existing middle schools into elementary schools. Though voters already approved the revised plan in December, another referendum needs to be held because the December referendum didn't meet the 30-day legal requirement for notification.
Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky thanked all the people from all different parts of the process who came together to finally make it happen. She said Conley and de la Cruz couldn't make the ceremony because they are in session in Hartford, but have done amazing work along with Somers.
"This building is going to be amazing," Permanent School Building Committee Chairman Robert Austin-LaFrance said, as he stood by other members of the committee.
Graner said so many people gathered at the ceremony worked so hard for so many years to bring the Groton 2020 vision to life and then to get the referendum passed.
He said providing a high-quality, equitable education for all the middle schoolers in Groton is the driving force behind the project. The new consolidated school will feature magnet-themed pathways to provide socio-economic diversity within the classroom.
After the speeches, local officials and community members broke ground with shovels on the site and posed for photos on the sunny afternoon.
"This is the day we've been waiting eight years to celebrate, and the weather is just the exclamation point on a truly marvelous experience," Graner said.
Borough begins reconstruction of Cross Street
LUKE MARSHALL
NAUGATUCK – After years of planning, the Cross Street reconstruction project is underway.
Crews started work on the project on April 1, Public Works Director James Stewart said.
The first part of the project is realigning the Cross Street and Cotton Hollow Road intersection. The two roads intersect at an angle now. According to the plans, the two roads will be realigned so they meet at a T-intersection.
The project will also include full-depth reconstruction of the 4,150 feet of Cross Street from Route 8 to New Haven Road, horizontal and vertical realignments, and widening the street to a uniform 30 feet, as well as a new storm drainage system, curbing, retaining walls, sidewalks and guiderails.
“The road is getting widened and improved,” Stewart said.
The state bought two residential properties at 16 Cotton Hollow Road and 10 Cotton Hollow Road, and demolished the houses to straighten the road and the intersection. The demolition work was completed earlier this year. The project also required the state to acquire small portions of a dozen properties along Cross Street.
Stewart said the work will continue this year as long as weather allows and resume in the spring of 2020. The project is expected to be completed by July 2020, he said.
The road is one lane with alternating traffic for now, Stewart said. Once the school year ends in June and buses and parents do not need to drive to Cross Street Intermediate School, traffic only be allowed to travel from New Haven Road to Route 8, Stewart said. Traffic coming off Route 8 and heading toward New Haven Road will be detoured onto Cotton Hollow Road to Beacon Valley Road, Stewart said. In preparation for the added traffic, the borough will be repaving the portion of Beacon Valley Road near New Haven Road, he added.
In January, the Board of Mayor and Burgesses awarded a $3.35 million contract for the project to Bloomfield-based Mather’s Construction. Federal funds will cover 80 percent of the cost of the project. The state will pay for 10 percent, leaving the borough to pick up the remaining 10 percent, or about $335,000.