As Bridgeport smokestack demolitions loom, Soundside organizer has major concerns for music festival
BRIDGEPORT — As the developer and manager of the
city-owned concert amphitheater, Howard Saffan looks forward to the
just-announced demolition
of the decommissioned power plant and its three smokestacks that loom over the
live music venue.
"Nobody happier in this world those things are coming
down," he said.
But as an organizer behind the fourth annual Soundside music
festival, also nearby at Seaside Park, Saffan is not as
enthusiastic about the tentative implosion date of Sept. 28, which is also day
two of the concert event.
"Our major concern is environmental — pollution and
potential airborne material," Saffan said.
Chad Parks, whose Bridgeport Station Development purchased
the retired PSEG plant last year and is preparing the site for housing and
public waterfront access, said he does not believe there will be an issue.
Parks previously said if
the demolition goes forward Sept,. 28 it would be around 4 a.m. Gates
at Soundside open nearly eight hours later at 11:45 a.m.
Still, Mayor Joe Ganim's administration is hosting a meeting
on a possible demolition date change Thursday.
"We look forward to gaining more details," Saffan
said.
Thomas Gaudett, Ganim's chief administrative officer, said
Tuesday there may be valid logistical reasons to not have the ex-PSEG
structure, recognized by its tallest, 500-foot red-and-white striped
smokestack, razed on the same weekend as Soundside.
"It's a very short-lived problem, but there will
probably be some kind of dust ball and we may need to block off a certain
radius around the building, so we need to get a handle on what those details
are," he said.
Parks is also a part of the Beesley's Point Development
Group which is similarly transforming an old power plant property in New
Jersey. Video
footage taken by the Associated Press from the fall 2023 demolition of that
facility shows an initial large plume arising from the toppled
structure.
The mayor's office also received two emails Monday from
members of the public worried about the potential impact on Soundside. One said
they will be attending the festival Sunday and, as someone "who is
impacted by poor air quality," urged the plant be removed on a different
date.
"There will be plenty of opportunity for the public to
ask questions to our team as we work toward the plans and finalize the
implosion," Parks said Tuesday.
Although some, including
Ganim, have called for the preservation of the so-called candy cane smokestack
in Bridgeport, Parks and partner David Kreutz told downtown business leaders at
a meeting last week that the entire plant was being torn down. They cited the
costs of maintaining the red-and-white striped edifice and how difficult it would
be to remove it at a future date once surrounded with new construction.
There is also sentiment that the smokestack, though a local
icon, represents
pollution and the past and Bridgeport needs to move on.
Ultimately, Gaudett said, deciding whether or not to
tear down a shuttered power plant on the same weekend as a major music festival
drawing big names like Weezer, The Killers and Hozier is staged is a good
problem.
"Both are an indication of a changing, developing,
vibrant city," he said.
Southington elementary school expansions and roof improvements to head to referendum
SOUTHINGTON— The expansion of Kelley and South End
elementary schools, along with roof replacements for three other elementary
schools are on the horizon once they pass referendum.
The expansion of Kelley and South End elementary schools
were previously part of the original South End construction project, said
Superintendent Steven G. Madancy. They were also included in the
discussion at the special
Board of Education meeting presentation of the Elementary Facilities Plan
recommendations last month.
This project would build a new, slightly larger Kelley with
four sections per grade, and includes a capacity of around 450 students. It
would also build out the lower level of South End to have additional
classrooms.
Madancy said these changes will allow the district to
redistrict and close one of the elementary schools. Though closing Flanders was
considered during the special BOE meeting Madancy said further studies will be
done before a decision is made on which school will be closed.
This approved phase would cost $73.9 million with an
estimated district share of $47.8 million.
The Kelley portion of this phase would be $66.4 million with
an estimated district share of $43.7 million and South End's
buildout would be $7.5 million with an estimated district share of $4.1
million.
The $6.8 million roof replacement projects at Thalberg,
Strong and Hatton elementary schools have been on the town’s Capital
Improvement Plan since 2019, but have been pushed out each year “for a variety
of reasons,” Madancy said.
“They were slated to go to referendum in November 2026, but
the worry is that pushing the school construction to 2026 pushed the roofs out
yet again to 2027, which would be viewed as risky since they are well past
their expected life,” he added.
Madancy said the BOE would like to target a referendum
date this November for the roof replacements at Thalberg, Strong and Hatton and
May 2026 for the new Kelley and buildout of South End.
The latest work on these buildings' roofs dated back two
decades. Madancy said Strong’s roof was done in two phases in 1993 and
2003, Hatton’s roof was also done in two phases in 1996 and 2003 and Thalberg’s
roof was last done in 2002.
The Town Council approved a nearly $15.2 million
Capital Improvement Plan as a part of its 2025-2026
town budget on May 12, which reflected the BOE's request to expedite
the Board of Education roofing projects. $7.3 million of that budget was for
the three elementary school roofs, according to Town Manager Alex Ricciardone,
which must go to referendum.