Groton Town Council votes to send school construction program forward
Groton — The Town Council voted 6-0 on Monday to adopt an ordinance appropriating $184.5 million to design and build a consolidated middle school and convert the two existing middle schools into renovated elementary schools.
The ordinance goes to Representative Town Meeting on July 13, with a vote expected on August 10.
If approved, it would go to voter referendum on Nov. 8.
Of the total project cost of $184.5 million, Groton taxpayers would pay $84 million.
The project assumes a diversity grant of 80 percent state reimbursement for one of the schools, as well as other accommodations.
But Groton can't formally apply for financing without a voter-approved project.
Mayor Bruce Flax said said there would be an "out" if the support doesn't materialize.
The financial impact on taxes would vary by year and not hit immediately, according to a memo from Finance Director Cindy Landry.
The project would cost the least in the first year of financing, or the 2018-19 fiscal year: About $9 for every $100,000 of assessed property value.
The project would cost the most in the 2023-24 fiscal year, or $179 for every $100,000 of assessed property value, unless the town uses fund balance to lessen the amount.
The cost would then drop in the following years, falling below $150 in the 2031-32 fiscal year.
The school construction initiative, called the "Groton 2020 Plan" would build a new middle school on the town-owned Merritt property at 35 Groton Long Point Road, between Ella T. Grasso Technical High School and Robert E. Fitch High School, and convert West Side and Carl C. Cutler middle schools into renovated pre-kindergarten through grade 5 elementary schools.
Each elementary school would have an 11,000-square-foot addition built.
Groton would close S. B. Butler, Pleasant Valley and Claude Chester Elementary schools, three of the district's oldest facilities. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Special meetings Wednesday for The Haven in West Haven
WEST HAVEN >> The Redevelopment Agency and the City Council both will hold special meetings Wednesday to approve an amendment to the development agreement for The Haven high-end outlet mall project and, in the council’s case, approve the sale of four properties to the developer.
The Redevelopment Agency will meet at 4:30 p.m.in the City Council chamber on the third floor of City Hall, 355 Main St. The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. in the same room.Sale of the properties, which include 1.14 acres at 16 Elm St.; 0.5 acre at 70 Water St.; 7 Richards Place; and 3 Richard Place will net the city a total of $402,500 — coming at the very end of the fiscal year when the city’s finances are at their tightest. The four properties are being sold for $250,000 for 16 Elm St.; $110,000 for 70 Water St.; $21,500 for 7 Richards Place; and $21,000 for 3 Richards Place, according to information released by the city.
They will join the 4.13-acre 105 Water St. parcel that was sold to The Haven Group LLC of Dallas on June 23, 2015. The agendas and other information released Tuesday did not divulge the nature of the amendment to the development agreement. The Redevelopment Agency agenda lists a “presentation by Attorney O’Connor regarding the proposed Second Amendment to the Development Agreement by and between the City of West Haven, the West Haven Redevelopment Agency and the Haven Group, LLC.” It also lists “action by the West Haven Redevelopment Agency for consideration and approval of the proposed Second Amendment to the Development Agreement by and between the City of West Haven, the West Haven Redevelopment Agency and the Haven Group, LLC.” The City Council agenda listed the same presentation as well as a presentation “regarding the proposed Land Disposition Agreement for 70 Water St., 3 Richards Place and 7 Richards Place” and a separate presentation on the proposed land disposition agreement for 16 Elm St., as well as action on all three items. Developers Sheldon Gordon and Ty Miller have proposed to build the $200 million, 347,826-square-foot waterfront development project in two phases, with about 60 stores and seven restaurants in the first phase and about 100 stores if both phases ultimately are built. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Watertown facility set to open
WATERTOWN — A new construction debris recycling facility on Frost Bridge Road is getting ready to open the first week of July, according to owner Robert Sachs. He said construction on the new Frost Bridge Transfer Station should be complete within the next week or so, with only a few minor details left to finish. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the project at the old Watertown Drive-in in 2013, but delays in upgrades to rail lines stalled the project for a while.
The Frost Bridge Transfer Station will collect construction debris from Sachs' business, Cherry Hill Construction in North Branford, as well as other commercial haulers. The debris will be sorted inside the facility and transported out of state. "There's been a lot of interest in it from the area," Sachs said. "There's other smaller transfer stations in the Waterbury area, but this area will allow the debris to be removed out of the facility by rail to one of several landfills in Ohio." He said a few other transfer stations in Connecticut can move debris by rail, but this is the only one in the Waterbury area. The rail system allows the facility to move more debris at once, while putting fewer trucks on the road and reducing traffic, Sachs said. He developed a new siding off main Naugatuck Railroad line to bring rail cars right into the building to be loaded up. Two to three cars can fit inside the facility at one time and several dozen can be stored on site. Sachs said he's not sure exactly how many cars he will have on site, as that will depend on demand, but some are already lined up on tracks along the driveway. We're very excited about the opening of the facility. We think its going to be a great asset for the community," Sachs said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New committee may oversee school's renovation project
WATERBURY — The Board of Education will appoint a committee to oversee planning and construction of a $46.3 million renovation and addition of Wendell Cross Elementary School
For the first time in at least a decade, school board members are looking outside their body for people to help. The Board of Education's Building Committee on Monday recommended a Wendell Cross building committee that includes five school board members as voting members, and two members of the Board of Aldermen; a Wendell Cross parent or East Mountain neighborhood community member and Wendell Cross Elementary Principal Joseph N. Amato as nonvoting members.
In the past decade, the Board of Education's School Building Committee has routinely appointed itself as the committee overseeing individual building efforts. This time, however, Mayor Neil M. O'Leary and members of the Board of Aldermen expressed reluctance at the cost of the project. Aldermen, who hold the city's purse strings, voted for the project last week, but with the understanding they'd keep an extra-close watch and seek ways to trim expense. Building Committee Chair Ann M. Sweeney said Monday that aldermen are always invited to take part on an informal basis. But it rarely happens. "They felt informally was not working, so they wanted something more formal," Sweeney said. It may be some time before the Wendell Cross Building Committee is needed. Local officials have approved funding, but the project will require backing of the General Assembly, something that could be decided as late as next June. The Building Committee will also have say into the hiring of an architect, something that should happen in January or February, according to a consultant serving the school board. The full Board of Education needs to vote on the new committee arrangement. It will be up to Board of Aldermen President Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. to appoint two aldermen. School board members said they'd look to Amato to recommend a parent member. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE