Old Lyme Pitches December Date for Sewer Referendum
OLD LYME — After a number of postponements,
the Board of Selectmen is expected on Monday to call a Dec. 16 referendum to
approve additional borrowing to fund the construction of sewers on the
shoreline.
The new price tag, $19,321,565, more than doubles the amount
originally approved in a 2019 referendum but
the state is expected to cover 47% of the cost through grants and forgivable
loans from the Clean Water Fund.
Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority Chair Steve
Cinami told CT Examiner on Friday that he estimated the cost at about $3,100
per year per EDU,
a calculation used to assign each sewered property a share of the total project
cost. That’s about $300 more expensive than the last estimate by an outside
accountant hired by the town.
Cinami said the cost increase is mainly due to the
expiration of a bid for the force main and bioxide station. DEEP negotiated a
new agreement with another contractor for the work, but at a higher cost.
“Perhaps we went out to bid too early,” Cinami said,
referring to the Town of Old Lyme and the three beach associations — Old
Colony, Old Lyme Shores and Miami Beach.
Cinami said the numbers reflected the “worst case scenario”
and include a 5.5% contingency funds that would “probably” not be used.
Cinami said DEEP would pay for 25% of the project with a
grant and will add a $15 million forgivable loan to the shared infrastructure
payment.
In October, state officials warned Old Lyme it could lose
that forgivable loan if the town failed to move quickly enough on the project,
but Cinami told CT Examiner on Friday the money was still on offer.
The project has sparked strong opposition from many homeowners in
Sound View and an adjacent neighborhood faced with paying for the sewers — the
annual cost for some homeowners would equal their property taxes — others argue
that sewers are unnecessary.
Cinami, who has faced significant criticism from opponents
of the project, announced on Tuesday he would resign at the end of the calendar
year.
“I believe I’ve accomplished everything that I’ve set out to
do or I will have by December 31st,” Cinami said. “And I have other things I’d
like to pursue in my personal life, but it’s been a privilege to serve the town
and I thank everyone for your patience.”
Selectman Jim Lampos, a Sound View homeowner and leading
voice on the issue, had placed three conditions on calling a referendum:
reliable cost estimates, an approved sewer ordinance and a cost-sharing
agreement between the private beaches and the town.
After weeks of debate, town leaders reached cost estimates
that they considered reliable. On Tuesday, the WPCA voted to sign the
cost-sharing agreement — with dissent from Brad Yerks and two longtime
opponents, Mary Daley and Dennis Melluzzo.
Lampos said the agreement met the conditions he considered
essential, like operation and maintenance fees distributed by flow rather than
calculated EDUs; that homeowners included in the initial project shouldn’t pay
additional costs for expanding the system to other areas; and that a Sound View
resident should have a seat on the construction committee.
Those points were stipulated in the signed agreement, but a
new point of conflict emerged at the last moment and is pending approval.
The Old Colony Beach Association, which will invest in
shared infrastructure and then charge other residents, requested an additional
connection fee for seven Area B houses to connect to its network. Cinami said
the change would eliminate grinder pumps and reduce costs for every resident —
but it raised the question of how those fees would be distributed.
Bill Reynolds, one of seven included homeowners, complained.
“It sounds like Area B once again is getting the worst-case
scenario here,” Reynolds said, and asked whether they would become part of Old
Colony’s sewers.
Cinami said Area B residents would remain part of the town
project but would be physically connected to Old Colony’s network in something
that would be “invisible” for them.
“Nothing is invisible to me,” Reynolds replied. “I see
everything here when I open the mailbox and get a bill.”
Cinami assured him he would not be billed differently than
anyone else in Sound View or Area B.
“Steve, if I can afford to live in this house anymore … I
was planning on dying in this home,” Reynolds said. “You make it sound like
it’s nothing to you. It’s freaking huge to me.”
A confusing vote in Miami Beach
Even if Old Lyme’s referendum passes, the sewer project
faces significant obstacles. One is a confusing situation following a vote at
the Miami Beach Association last weekend.
Miami Beach received bids in August that exceeded its
budget, requiring a new vote.
But instead of voting yes or no to a new amount — as Old
Lyme residents will do — Miami Beach residents were offered three options:
build sewers and additional storm water infrastructure, build sewers only or
build no sewers.
Killing the sewers project was the most popular option with
64 votes, followed by 52 votes for sewers with storm drains and 21 for building
sewers only.
Tom Larson, a Miami Beach resident, said he received an
email at first announcing that the sewer project had been rejected, then
another saying legal counsel was reviewing how the vote should be interpreted
given that a combined vote gave a majority to sewering.
“Ultimately, I think they screwed up,” Larson said. “The
‘no’ option was obviously the majority of the three, but then they changed
their minds and decided that they were gonna make A and B combined. And they
didn’t portray that on the ballot.”
If the association opts to repeat the vote, it could face
challenges from sewer opponents like Larson, who sat the matter is already
decided.
Miami Beach president Gary Fox and the beach association’s
WPCA chair Scott Boulanger did not respond to requests for comment.
The issue came up at the WPCA meeting, where
Cinami acknowledged the results were “a little confusing” because the ballot
was poorly structured.
“Now they’re trying to get an opinion on exactly what they
would want because no sewer beat out those other two individually,” Cinami
said. “So they’re looking for some clarification.”
It’s one more disruption in the project timeline, according
to Cinami, because contracts with the three beach associations were expected to
be signed on Monday, but are now on hold pending resolution of the Miami Beach
vote. Old Lyme’s bids have been extended through year’s end, said Cinami.
New Haven approves 462 apartments in two buildings off State St. between Chapel & Fair street
NEW HAVEN — The City Plan Commission has given a revised
plan for 462
mixed-income apartments in two buildings on what are now parking lots off State
Street between Chapel and Fair streets the final approval the
developer needs in order to proceed.
One seven-story building, "The Frontier," to be
built first, abutting Chapel Street as Phase 1, will have 151 units. A second,
12-story building, "The Iron," to be built abutting Fair Street in
Phase 2, will have 311 units.
Those numbers are up from at least 145 units and at
least 300 units the last time the transit-oriented development was aired
publicly. The 462 total number of units on 3.25-acres of property between State
Street and the railroad tracks is up from 450 proposed units a few months ago.
The two parking lots are being joined together to
create the site, Melinda Agron, a principal at Newman Architects, told the
commission.
Both buildings, to be built along a
realigned State
Street, will include a number of "affordable" units, as well as
"workforce" and market rate units, as well as outdoor public amenity
space and retail space, according to documents provided to the Board of Alders.
The development was approved under the city's Inclusionary
Zoning laws and 69 of the 462 apartments will be at below-market rents.
Forty-six will be reserved for renters who make no more than 50 percent of the
area median income, or AMI, and 23 will be for those with housing choice
vouchers.
The project also will include 38 units set aside for renters
who make 60 percent of AMI and 17 for renters who make 80 percent of AMI.
The development, which had a positive City Plan staff
recommendation, is proposed by GDXP NH JV LLC, a joint venture between Gilbane
Development Co. of Providence, R.I. and New York-based Xenolith Partners
CT.
It will include 5,000 square feet of retail space in its
first phase and 3,000 square feet of retail in its second phase, Grant Petracca
of Gilbane told the City Plan commission.
It also will include a shared public plaza, said Agron. The
two buildings will include a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and
three-bedroom apartments, she said.
The City Plan Commission's unanimous approval Wednesday
night came a little over two months after the Board of Alders agreed to sell
the property to the developer for $1.29 million. Those voting in favor of it on
the City Plan Commission included members Leslie Radcliffe, Joy Gary and Alder
Adam Marchand, D-25, and Chairman Ernest Pagan.
The two all-electric buildings, which each will be between
State Street and the railroad tracks, will have a total of 176 vehicle parking
spaces and 208 spaces for bicycles.
Other amenities will include a shared courtyard and
outdoor pool, coworking space, an outdoor kitchen, storage, bicycle rooms, a
lounge, and a fitness center, according to documents filed with the City Plan
Commission.. In-unit finishes will include stainless steel appliances,
microwaves, dishwashers, stone countertops, walk-in closets and
washer/dryers.
Prior to the vote, Radcliffe expressed concerns about
potential traffic issues.
“We just need to be sure this doesn’t create a whole new
traffic nightmare on top of the one people are already adjusting to,” she said.
Representatives of the developer assured her that work
currently underway along State Street would be completed long before the
construction is done.
Marchand, who represents Westville on the Board of Alders,
noted that the project is in the middle of the proposed "Downtown
For All" overlay zone, which would allow greater height and density
than is allowed elsewhere in the city. He asked whether the developer would
consider building any higher to include even more housing.
Petracca told him there are "absorption" concerns
about how fast the building might fill up, and at what rate. He said the
developers are looking to include as much housing as possible, given those
market concerns.
Andrea Kretchmer of Xenolith said that for everyone who
calls for even a greater number of units or higher construction, there is
someone else decrying that density and the developers are trying to balance
concerns.
Agron added that more stories means higher construction
costs, and that's also something the development team is balancing.
In December 11, 2023, the city issued a "request for
qualifications" to redevelop the property. Gilbane Development and
Xenolith Partners responded in January 2024. The city selected the partnership
in April 2024 and agreed to a memorandum of understanding with them on June 25,
2024, according to documents provided to the alders.
The developer has proposed to meet "high
standards for sustainability and energy efficiency," according to
documents provided to the alders.
Meriden to vote on turning the old Meriden-Wallingford Hospital into Pulaski school
MERIDEN — City Council will decide the fate of city's
health department and alternative high school, as well as whether to turn an
old hospital into a school at Monday night's meeting.
The City Council's Finance Committee voted to recommend the
full City Council approve those three items out of four proposed new
construction projects, including a new
school for Casimir Pulaski, a renovation to the city's
health department and a conversion to the second floor of that building for an
alternative high school.
A proposal to build a new Thomas Hooker School was rejected.
Committee members met for four hours Thursday to hear
details of the proposals and how the spending would impact the city's debt
service and future budgets.
A key selling point for the new Casimir Pulaski School at 1
King Place would include the demolition of the city's
largest eyesore, the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital on Cook
Avenue. City officials said by putting a school in there, the state's 90%
reimbursement rate would cover the $16 million estimated demolition cost. It
was the easiest vote of the evening.
"You had me at $16 million," said Democratic
Councilor Larue Graham.
The committee recommended the council give City Manager
Brian Daniels the authority to apply for an $11 million Community Investment
Fund Grant to renovate the first floor of the Department of Health and Human
Services at 165 Miller St.
It also recommended he and the Board of Education move
forward on plans to convert the upstairs of 165 Miller St., now the home of the
state's Adult Probation Services, and apply for a $13 million state school
grant with a 76% reimbursement rate.
The committee also approved using project labor agreements,
that use union labor and a percentage of local workers for the project.
Republican Dan Brunet opposed the project labor agreement and rejected the
plan. But Daniels said using the project labor agreement would make it
easier to get the money from the state.
The committee also heard presentations from Board of
Education consultants on a new school at Thomas Hooker to replace the current
school built in 1962. After learning the cost of new construction was nearly
identical to renovations, committee members expressed concerns about the city's
debt service over time, given the numbers of projects it was considering.
However, members were sold on the plan to build a new
Casimir Pulaski Elementary School at the site of the former hospital and
include a pre-kindergarten and special education programming.
Consultants told committee members both Hooker and Pulaski
were outdated, lacked sprinklers, and in the case of Hooker, was built when
many students went home for lunch.
Pulaski holds 600 children on three floors, and noise
permeates between walls and there's no handicap access, consultants said.