Fairfield’s finance board approves additional $300K grant for wastewater treatment project
Josh Labella FAIRFIELD — The town is one step closer to accepting an additional $300,000 for the wastewater treatment plant hardening project, which aims to make the site more resistant to coastal flooding.
The Board of Finance unanimously approved a resolution to accept a Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery at a recent meeting.
Town officials reached out to the state — which administers the grant for the federal government — to request more funding after contaminants were found at the plant during construction on the project, said Brian Carey, the acting director of the Public Works Department.
“The state was able to come up with additional funding for us in the amount of $300,000,” Carey said. “So, we’re just back in front of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance at this time to get the agreement signed so that we can acquire that (funding).”
In February, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said the project would cost a total of $7.4 million but $3.33 million would be funded through a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Carey said workers noticed oily water coming in from one of the excavations about six weeks into the work, which started in March and April. The water was tested and showed petroleum and PCBs.
“We actually ended up having to do soil testing, and the extent of that has just grown over time as we’ve discovered that there’s PCBs pretty much throughout the northeast corner of the site and, then, sporadically through the rest of the site,” Carey said, who has previously stated the contaminants are unrelated to the fill pile scandal.
The town is working with its licensed environmental professional, Tighe and Bond, as well as with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to come up with a remediation plan, Carey said.
Carey said the town is currently excavating areas where the sheet wall and storm water infrastructure will be placed as part of the project. He said there will need to be further investigations in the future to identify the degree and extent of contamination, so the town can remediate it.
“The PCB contamination that we are finding is most likely due to the historic operation of the treatment plant,” Carey said. “The highest levels that we’re finding at the site appear to be where they, historically, did their sludge drying operations on the northeast corner of the property.”
Carey said the hardening project is still under budget, but the town is running into issues with the amount of material buried on the site.
“Between stumps and rocks and everything else that was land-filled throughout the site... we’ve had to go in and over-excavate those areas in order to drive the sheets,” he said, noting that added costs to the project.
Carey said the project is about a third of the way done. He said the town is hoping construction will go more quickly now that it has a handle on the environmental issues.
“We’re looking, probably, at best case scenario, working through the better part of December into January before we’re completed with the project,” he said.
Vice Chair Christopher DeWitt, who lead the meeting, reiterated that it does not appear the contaminants are related to the fill pile.
“This is just contamination just from years of dumping stuff and being all the things that that parcel of land was in its prior history,” he said, asking Carey if he agreed.
Carey, who has previously said the land was the location of a Nike Site up until the 1950s, said local manufacturers were pumping and discharging processed wastewater into the sewer without treatment prior to the Clean Water Act.
“As that sludge dries, they basically put it out and spread it out and allowed it to dry,” Carey said. “Then they would use it as fill or whatever on other parts of the property. That is most likely the source of the issue. It is not a Julian issue. The areas that were being excavated as part of this project are not sites that have not been disturbed in decades of the operation of the plant.”
When asked about the cost associated with remediation, Carey said the cost overrun in the context of the project is about $300,000 and was covered in the initial contingency. He noted any further upgrades to the plant would require a full investigation of the site.
Windsor Locks moves forward on downtown marketplace development proposal
Joe Chaisson he Windsor Locks Board of Selectmen on Tuesday adopted a mission statement for a downtown marketplace that would go hand-in-hand with the new train station expected to be built next year.
First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick explained during Tuesday’s meeting that accepting a mission statement for the proposed development is the first step in the “implementation” process.
“I know it could be viewed as a relatively modest step. We’re not really looking to answer all the questions at this point, we’re really seeking to just get the ball rolling,” Kervick said. “But even though it’s modest, it’s also symbolic. Really, it represents the community embracing this concept.”
The mission statement read:
“The mission of the Connecticut River Valley Public Market at Windsor Locks Station is to create a powerful regional engine for economic, community, and agricultural development that takes advantage of Windsor Locks’ historic location adjacent to the Windsor Locks Canal and the Connecticut River and its position as a key rail stop between Hartford and Springfield and the home of the second-largest airport in New England.”
It continues, “The market should be filled with successful and distinctive owner-operated private businesses and public events that represent the unique character and culture of the Connecticut River Valley region. It should increase visitation; provide a net benefit to our citizens for fresh and prepared food; fine local, handmade crafts; entertainment, and education.”
The project will temporarily be titled the Connecticut River Valley Public Market at Windsor Locks Station.
Kervick introduced Aaron Zaretsky, whom he labeled as “the nation’s preeminent public market expert.” Zaretsky is a private consultant who studies public markets nationally and internationally. Prior to that, Zaretsky served as the executive director for Pike Place Market in Seattle for 15 years.
Zaretsky explained that he initially expressed doubt about a market in Windsor Locks.
“When Chris first approached me about a public market in Windsor Locks, I was pretty skeptical. Windsor Locks doesn’t have a huge population, and about one of every three feasibility studies that I do come to a negative conclusion,” he said.
“But the more I looked at it, and the more that I understood that within 12 miles there is about 300,000 people between Springfield and Hartford — that Windsor Locks was a transportation hub both by rail and by air. When we did the feasibility study it was really clear that it could be tremendously successful.”
After the meeting, Kervick said Zaretsky’s feasibility cost $30,000, paid for by a state grant. Kervick also said a business plan for the project was completed in August, which cost $85,000, paid for with money raised by the Tax Increment Financing district.
Zarestky said the project would create 400 new jobs, nearly 100 entrepreneurial opportunities, and several million dollars in tax revenues.
“It could be a major cash cow for Windsor Locks,” he said.
Roughly 20 residents spoke during the public input section, with all but a few expressing support for the proposed development.
Selectman Scott A. Storms asked Kervick how he intends to make sure more residents become aware of the project, suggesting a public hearing.
“I want to make sure our citizens are engaged and are a part of the decision making, and this isn’t something decided by a small group of people,” Storms said.
One resident said the idea was extraordinary, while another said the project would be a great influence to surrounding towns.
Kervick said the project will head to the Planning and Zoning Commission “soon.”
With a goal to ‘de-concentrate poverty,’ Bridgeport Housing Authority slowly modernizing properties
Brian Lockhart BRIDGEPORT — Seven years after demolition began on the aged Marina Village public housing site in the South End, a new — and much smaller — replacement is rising up at Park Avenue and Johnson Street.
The long-planned, $27.1 million Windward Commons development is the latest public-private effort to modernize the Bridgeport Housing Authority’s stock of archaic low-income properties.
But in doing so, Marina Village went from about 36 buildings with 400 total units to a new, 54-unit, mixed-income development, 11 of those market-rate.
“One of the goals of all housing authorities and of the city is to de-concentrate poverty,” said Jillian Baldwin, who started work in mid-June as the new executive director of the authority, rebranded Park City Communities a few years ago.
So Marina Village came down and its 782 tenants were relocated. But, Baldwin said, they received tenant protection vouchers — essentially rent subsidies that traveled with them as they were moved into other, scattered rental housing properties not necessarily owned by the authority.
“This tool helps in the de-concentration strategy,” Baldwin said. “We’ve seen the impacts of socioeconomic issues that can be associated when developments are high concentration, high density with economic challenges.”
The 27 acres where Marina Village was built was also prone to flooding, which was another reason officials wanted to build something that took up less land.
David Ghio, the authority’s director of planning, development and modernization, said new regulations required Windard Commons be elevated 8 to 10 feet.
“The area you see being developed has been elevated on the Park Avenue and Johnson Street corner and a large portion of the structural fill came from (Marina Village’s) crushed and recycled concrete masonry,” Ghio said.
The private developer is JHM Group of Stamford which, Baldwin said, will have “day-to-day management of the properties.” And while the authority has invested over $2.7 million in the project, which also received significant state and federal funding, and will continue to own the land, the redevelopment arrangement essentially takes much of Windward Commons off of the cash-strapped authority’s books.
“Affordable housing in the city and elsewhere, we see our best results when we engage in public-private partnerships in this way,” Baldwin said.
JHM Group previously built the mixed-income Crescent Crossings, which opened in 2017 atop the site of the former Father Panik Village. Some Marina Village residents were moved there.
The visions for Crescent Crossings and Windward Commons date back to earlier in the decade when Mayor Bill Finch was in power, and since then there has been regular turnover in the authority’s director’s office. Baldwin said she has been scrutinizing those “very old, very thick” deals, as well as proposals for other authority acreage, to see if they need updating.
“It’s important we tap into the market to get the most competitive pricing and development partners whose mission strictly aligns with the authority’s,” Baldwin said. “It’s important we look at our redevelopment efforts strategically across our entire portfolio.”
Baldwin said the authority’s existing contract with JHM calls for the developer to construct some additional housing, but nothing beyond Windward has been finalized.
JHM did not return requests for comment.
Meanwhile Baldwin is moving ahead with an inherited effort by her predecessor, James Slaughter, and Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration to shutter, demolish and rebuild the 270-unit Charles F. Greene homes, known for its obsolete, unsanitary and unsafe buildings.
Ghio last week submitted the initial application to decommission what residents call “The Greenes” to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees housing authorities across the nation.
Baldwin said she would like to have begun relocating those tenants “yesterday” but acknowledged the entire planning process must be a methodical one.
D'Amato Construction grows out of current facilities, looks to move headquarters
Brian M. Johnson BRISTOL – D’Amato Construction has grown beyond its current facilities and is looking for new options for a headquarters, including possibly relocating to Plainville and renovating the former White Oak property.
D’Amato Construction, located at 400 Middle St., was founded in Bristol in 1961 and was listed in February as the city’s 10th largest taxpayer. However, Tony D’Amato, operations manager for D’Amato Construction, said the company has grown “significantly” in the last 10 years. In addition to the main Middle Street building, he said they have multiple sites throughout the city and are looking to consolidate them going forward.
“We are looking into viable options in Bristol and surrounding towns and we saw that the White Oak property in Plainville was a viable option for us,” he said.
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said D’Amato Construction had been slated to go to Horizon Drive before that building owner signed a lease with Amazon.
“D’Amato has strong Bristol roots and several business interests in addition to construction, including land development, real estate and property management,” she said. “Wherever they land for actual corporate offices, I know that Bristol will still be their hub of operations due to their extensive portfolio of business interests which have them as one of our top 10 taxpayers.”
D’Amato said he is still looking for alternate sites within Bristol as well.
“Bristol has been more than helpful,” he said. “There’s nothing that Bristol isn’t doing. We’re just exploring all of our options.”
Plainville Town Manager Robert E. Lee confirmed at Monday’s Town Council meeting that D’Amato Construction Company and Meyer Enterprises were one of two groups who had submitted proposals for the 15-acre site, which is located next to the Plainville Municipal Center. The other proposal came from Manafort Brothers, Inc., Newport Realty and TWM Development LLC.
Both groups will make a presentation of their proposals at the cafeteria of Plainville High School at 47 Robert Holcomb Way at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. Susan Corica contributed to this story.
Middletown’s $1.08M Alliance Grant to support critical school projects
Casandra Day MIDDLETOWN — City and state officials Wednesday praised the approval of $1.08 million in Bond Commission funding, which they said will allow the school district help ensure energy savings, protect the environment, lower the achievement gap and upgrade lighting systems to cost-effective LEDs.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim, Superintendent of Schools Michael Conner, state Sens. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, and Mary Daughtery Abrams, D-Meriden, and state Rep. Quentin Phipps, D-Middletown, praised the dispensation outside the Board of Education offices at 311 Hunting Hill Ave.
In all, $30 million is slated for the state’s 33 Alliance Districts. These monies go to school districts with the lowest Accountability Index measures in the state, according to the state.
This grant-in-aid also will pay for improvements to school buildings and allow the installation of touchless sinks in the elementary schools, which will further the safety and health of all during the pandemic.
“We are in a better position than ever, in many ways, when it comes to our school infrastructure,” Florsheim said, pointing to the construction of the $87.35 million Beman Middle School across the street, which will be part of an “educational campus” on Hunting Hill Avenue.
That involves the creation of a recreational complex once the remainder of the Woodrow Wilson Middle School building is knocked down, incorporating the gym and swimming pool.
Funds also will be used for future changes, including those at the elementary school level to prepare students for entering the new state-of-the-art middle school, he said.
For the first time, the city is budgeting for capital projects on an annual basis as well as other initiatives to be considered during budget season, the mayor said. In the past, grants were earmarked for salaries and day-to-day expenses.
“That money we are saving can be repurposed back to our kids to achieve our mission of unlocking potential in all students,” Conner said.
The superintendent is entering his third year of leading the public schools. He’s overseen a departure from the city’s traditional uses for these dollars, and is now directing them toward operational costs, “so we can begin to build upon innovation, close the achievement gap, and addressing professional capacities so we can have better classroom instruction,” he said.
The district’s new Aerospace Manufacturing Academy is one example.
Lesser told those gathered that this is a most critical time for investing in the schools. “Dr. Conner is one of the most transformative leaders education has seen in Connecticut in a long while. He is moving mountains to close the achievement gap and achieve equity in Middletown.”
Especially during the pandemic, Lesser said, more investments in the schools should be of the utmost importance. “We’re dealing with the biggest challenge we have ever had to deal with. We are seeing huge and growing equity issues across the state as school districts struggle to both educate young people and keep them safe.”
Abrams, a retired educator and vice chairwoman of the state’s Education Committee, has been helping guide the delegation to secure tens of millions of dollars for construction of the Beman Middle School, she said.
Being sure every student fulfills their potential is particularly important to her, Abrams said. “Infrastructure does matter. You can have the best curriculum, the best instruction, but if the infrastructure doesn’t support that, you won’t get the full potential from students,” she said.
Both Phipps and Bysiewicz are graduates of the local school system.
Other Alliance Districts and their grants include: Ansonia, $477,647; Bridgeport, $2 million; Danbury, $1.08 million; East Haven, $477,647; Hamden, $1.08 million; New Haven, $2 million; Norwalk, $1.08 million; Stamford, $2 million; Thompson and Torrington, $477,647 each; and West Haven, $1.8 million.
Seely School proposal moves another step forward in Groton
Kimberly Drelich Groton — The Town Council has approved the conceptual plan for the proposed Triton Square apartment complex at the former William Seely School property at 55 Seely School Drive.
Since DonMar Development, the preferred developer, unveiled its proposal in February, the North Haven-based company made modifications — including increasing the number of apartment units from 280 to about 304, adding some public amenities and reconfiguring the parking area, DonMar project executive Anthony Di Gioia said.
The council signed off Tuesday on the conceptual plan for the 14-acre property, a step required in the option agreement between the developer and the town. The developer still needs additional approvals to move forward, including from the Inland Wetlands Agency and Planning and Zoning Commission.
The developers envision the project as a three-building apartment complex with a clubhouse and amenities “to attract the young professional and empty nester whose housing needs are not being met by the available housing stock,” according to a document from the developers.
Di Gioia said the developers made some changes to the initial plan based on feedback from the town and residents.
With many residents of the surrounding neighborhood concerned about losing open space at the former school site, DonMar proposed adding a playscape toward the back of the property that will be accessible to the public, as well as making the dog park accessible. He said there also are plans for public access to a walking trail.
The developers reconfigured the parking lot in response to concerns that too much asphalt covered the property, he said. The site plan features 358 parking spaces, but the developers designed the parking area “to minimize the amount of asphalt used,” according to the document.
The developers are planning to keep the proposed lower parking lot of 37 spaces as “deferred parking,” meaning they won’t develop it into parking unless necessary.
The developers also are exploring different types of parking lot lights to cut down on the impact to neighbors, Di Gioia said. A traffic study also is underway.
The proposed access to the development is from Walker Hill Road, across an easement over the water tower property, Groton Planning and Development Director Jon Reiner said. The city granted the town the easement in 2018, he said.
While the project originally was presented as a 280-unit complex, Di Gioia said it is expected to have 300 to 304 units, which he said will make the project financially feasible and allow DonMar to include the planned amenities. Based on a market study, the developers are proposing to make 14% of the units studio apartments, 61% one-bedroom apartments, and 25% two-bedroom units.
Next steps include seeking approvals from the Inland Wetlands Agency, potentially in late October, and the Planning & Zoning Commission, Di Gioia said. Reiner said another step is for the council to approve a short-term tax agreement for the project.
If all goes as planned, Di Gioia said the goal is to begin demolition and asbestos abatement on the school property in November and break ground on building construction in March. The two-year construction project is expected to be completed in March 2023, though he anticipates residents could begin moving into some units 18 months after breaking ground.
The council voted 7-2 on Tuesday to approve the conceptual plan, with Councilors Portia Bordelon and Aundré Bumgardner in opposition.
During discussions at the Sept. 22 Town Council Committee of the Whole meeting, Bumgardner raised concerns, including about traffic in the area, which he said is already backing up with a Chipotle and Jersey Mike's that recently opened up and a package store.Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky said she appreciates that the developer was sensitive to requests to leave green space for the public and implement the playscape. She said she, like Bumgardner, laments the loss of trees, but she said that is balanced by the green space and the proposed retention pond, which will help the environment.
Bordelon said she hoped the developers will consider a shuttle bus to the casinos, the Navy base, Pfizer and Electric Boat, which she said would reduce some of the traffic and also help the environment. Di Gioia said DonMar is considering a shuttle bus.
“I think this is going to be really, really good for Groton and maybe some things in the future we have to work out, but I think overall your plan is very good,” said Councilor Lian Obrey, who thanked the developers for their time and added she was looking forward to the project.
Other former school building projects
Groton Economic and Community Development Manager Paige Bronk said projects for the town’s other vacant school buildings also are moving forward.
He said efforts for the proposed mixed-use development project at the Mystic Education Center, called Mystic River Bluffs, also are advancing, including finalizing tax increment financing, drafting special zoning and working with the town’s consultant regarding which proposed indoor amenities should be included at the Pratt Building.
He said the town issued a request for proposals for the former Pleasant Valley School and is in talks with a preferred developer for the former Colonel Ledyard School.
He said the town is working through some technical items with the Groton Heights School preferred developer, ThayerMahan, and though the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the process somewhat, the developer still is interested in the property.