CT Construction Digest Frday February 10, 2023
South Norwalk School meeting to give public a voice in neighborhood's 1st school in decades
NORWALK — The community has the chance to learn more about South Norwalk’s new school on Monday.
The district has invited the public to a "community conversation" that will explore the proposed “site design, floor plans, (and) layout elevations” with the construction project’s architects, according to Norwalk Public Schools. The workshop also will include a question and answer portion.
This event will be held at the current South Norwalk School on Concord Street from 6 to 7 p.m. The new school will be South Norwalk's first elementary school in decades, and the proposed plan has three floors, an outdoor learning area on the roof, and a versatile space called a multi-use learning stair within the media center, where students could work and collaborate.
The school will have a large capacity, at nearly twice the size of a typical elementary school.
"South Norwalk School is completing schematic design phase and we are about to proceed with design development phase," Alan Lo, the city building and facilities manager, said last month. "Assuming we are able to maintain schedule, we will go out for bids this winter and start construction in the spring of 2024. Construction would take about 14 to 16 months with potential school opening fall of 2025."
Former Gateway building, Long Wharf reimagined under New Haven district plan
NEW HAVEN — A former Gateway Community College building on Sargent Drive may become home to the school's automotive and transportation technology programs, according to city officials.
The initial concept for reuse of the currently underutilized building would be a part of Gateway District, which is under the Long Wharf development plan to upgrade the city's waterfront. Residents got an update on the project Wednesday night.
The presentation came as the city is in conversations with the state, the Regional Water Authority and the owner of One Long Wharf to explore the possibility of working together to redevelop the area.
City Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli said the Gateway District will focus on education, health care, operations center and retail and commercial spaces — with a plan for stormwater management and adequate parking.
Piscitelli said it would take about eight to 10 developments to make the district get to the “reimagined” point, but there are three major buildings planned: the old Gateway building, a new APT Foundation building, and the RWA building, which will remain there under the plan but with a new equipment and tools organization.
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is looking to use the space on Sargent Drive for its automotive needs for Gateway; the school's North Haven campus currently houses those.
Gateway CEO William Brown said the college also is thinking of using the space for other education and workforce programs that relate to transportation technology and infrastructure, given its location near two interstates, a train station and an airport.
With the RWA right next door, Brown said students in the public utility management program also can take advantage of the space.
The city is in the process of acquiring the space from the state. There was a bill recently introduced in the General Assembly (H.B. 5719) to transfer the parcel to New Haven for $1.
CSCU last year received a bond authorization of $28 million for the automotive project, according to the system. It has undergone a preliminary design process.
Piscitelli said the district also would house a new, standalone building for APT Foundation, a substance use treatment clinic currently located in One Long Wharf medical center.
“Because it's patient care, very personal to the user and the families, how does that fit within this district," Piscitelli said. "We think it fits in a little bit smaller but standalone so it's well-managed and well-designed."
The idea of a new building for the clinic wasn’t well-received by some residents, citing issues some had with activity around the center, lack of community benefit and possible exposure to children. Foundation leadership offered to organize a clinic tour for residents to get insights on management and organization.
In terms of Long Wharf Park, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the city came up with a master plan based on what made the already-upgraded “food truck paradise” popular to turn the area into “a jewel of a park on Connecticut's waterfront.”
According to the presented plan, there would be an outdoor classroom/amphitheater space, a play area for children and some art and sculpture nodes next to the existing veterans memorials.
The city also proposed eliminating a portion of Long Wharf Drive to the east of the “food truck paradise” to allow more space for a play area, seating spots for eaters, an open market and restrooms.
Zinn said there also would be a 20-foot-wide walkable and bikeable promenade along the water, similar to West Haven’s Savin Rock boardwalk.
Throughout a question-and-answer session, community members voiced concerns over safety and security, maintenance, traffic, soil disturbance, panhandling and drag racing, among other issues.
Under the Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan that was adopted in 2019, there are four other districts in addition to the Gateway District — Innovation, Market, Parkway and Harbor districts.
A 12-month building moratorium on Long Wharf has been in effect since September last year to prevent any development that hasn’t been collectively envisioned, said Laura Brown, executive director of the City Plan Department.
City officials stressed that the plan presented was not “set in stone” and it will be adjusted based on community feedback and suggestions.
Berlin officials expect $5 million road improvement project to begin in April
BERLIN – Town officials expect a $5 million road improvement project to three local roads to begin in April.
The latest step in the long-awaited project came this week, when town council members agreed to allow the town manager to contract Manchester-based Fuss & O’Neill for design services in tandem with New Britain-based Tilcon and SLR International Corporation in Glastonbury – the latter of which have already been contracted in the 2.57-mile paving and road improvement project to Christian Lane, Deming Road and Porter Pass.
According to town officials, Fuss & O’Neill was the design engineer for the project, having already completed its original scope of work once the construction contract was awarded to Tilcon.
Gov. Lamont proposes $600M for affordable housing, tying it to fair economic growth
Gov. Ned Lamont plans to nearly double the state’s investment in affordable housing development, raising it to $600 million in the coming two-year state budget, according to documents released Wednesday.
Lamont unveiled his $50.5 billion two-year budget proposal Wednesday in a speech focused on economic growth that benefits a wider range of incomes. That speech carried a heavy focus on meeting growing housing needs, as well as investing in education, workforce training, child care and tax cuts aimed at lower-income households.
The Connecticut Business & Industry Association and others have highlighted Connecticut’s fast-rising cost of housing as a challenge to worker recruitment and filling approximately 100,000 open jobs in the state. Housing advocates are trying to coordinate with industry leaders on a joint push for affordable housing investments on redeveloped industrial sites and near mass transit.
“Millions of dollars for workforce training will go to naught if we don’t have enough housing where workers can afford to live,” Lamont said during his address to the General Assembly. “For the first time in a very long time, more and more young families are moving to Connecticut. Last year we built more market rate and affordable housing than any time this century, yet we are still desperately short of housing. Having just climbed out of a fiscal crisis, I don't want to fall into a housing crisis.”
Lamont’s budget aims to incentivize developers to build 6,400 housing units in the next two years.
That spending includes $50 million annually for the Housing Trust Fund administered by the State Department of Housing. It provides loans and grants for affordable housing development.
“Time is money and the Housing Trust Fund will allow developers to move quickly, with an emphasis on multi-unit housing in downtown areas close to transportation,” Lamont said.
Lamont’s budget proposes a further $100 million annually for the Department of Housing’ FLEX program, which provides loans, grants and loan guarantees in support of affordable and mixed-income housing development.
Lamont proposes another $100 million in each budget year for “workforce development housing,” focused on households with 60% to 120% of the area median income. The governor said this funding will help build housing in downtowns of Connecticut cities.
Lamont’s budget also allocates another $50 million in each of the two coming years to the “Time-to-Own” downpayment assistance program administered by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
According to a budget summary provided by the governor’s office, the program will provide forgivable down-payment assistance ranging from $18,750 to $50,000. It is expected to assist in the purchase of up to 1,250 homes each year.
Lamont also urged municipal officials to adopt “friendlier zoning and expedited approvals” to facilitate rapid addition of needed housing.
“Towns may submit their plans to facilitate housing on their terms,” Lamont said. “Doing nothing is not an acceptable strategy.”
A man authorities describe as part of a years-long conspiracy to rig bids at major construction projects across Connecticut has agreed to pay the government more than $300,000 in addition to serving five months in prison.
Gary DeVoe of Bethlehem is one of four men and three companies convicted of dividing up among themselves industrial insulation contracts at public and private construction projects valued at $39 million.
“The charged bid-rigging conspiracy occurred amongst individuals at competing insulation contractors seeking to allocate customers amongst insulation contractors and extract higher prices from project owners,” federal prosecutors said in court filings. “The aim of the bid-rigging was to fraudulently benefit all of the insulation companies, rather than directly lining the pockets of any particular individual.”
The jobs involved installing insulation around heating, cooling and duct systems at 34 new construction and renovation jobs. The government claims the rigged bids cost building owners more than $1 million in losses.
DeVoe, 69, worked for BC Flynn Contracting Corp of Oxford, a regional contractor. The Department of Justice said BC Flynn was responsible for about $635,000 in losses due to fraud in more than a dozen projects that included Weaver High School In Hartford and a variety of projects for UConn, Stamford Hospital and Yale University.
DeVoe agreed to forfeit $183,000, pay a $131,000 settlement and was fined another $20,000.
Others sentenced previously in the conspiracy:
Thomas F. Langan, owner of Langan Insulation of North Haven, sentenced to a year and a day in prison; paid a $20,000 fine and $481,000 in restitution.
Langan Insulation, of North Haven, paid a $15,000 fine and $489,000 in restitution.
Axion Specialty Contracting of Foxborough, Mass., paid a $1 million fine and $313,000 in restitution
Paul Camara, an Axion employee, sentenced to a year and day in prison; paid a $10,000 fine and $313,000 in restitution.
BC Flynn Contracting Corp. paid a $300,00 fine and $1 million in restitution.
A fourth individual, Michael S. Flynn, part owner of Flynn Contracting, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday and is expected to be ordered to forfeit $802,000 and pay $327,000 toward a settlement.
The conspirators used cell phones with masked registrations to conceal their conversations and used an encrypted and disappearing telephone messaging application, which prosecutors said investigators were unable to penetrate.
“Bid-rigging and fraud-based crimes, like the one perpetrated by DeVoe, are very difficult to detect and investigate,” federal prosecutors said in a memo filed with the court. “These crimes consist of secret agreements between individuals who are motivated to conceal their criminal activities. The difficulty in detecting these crimes is highlighted by the fact DeVoe and his co-conspirators avoided detection for nearly seven years.”
The construction projects involved in the conspiracy included hospitals in Stamford, Danbury, Bridgeport; high schools in Meriden, Stratford, Bridgeport and Hartford; and three universities.
During their conversations, prosecutors said the conspirators agreed on who would win bids and what the bid submissions would be. In some cases, they agreed to submit one or more inflated bids to create an appearance of competition.
The prosecutors said the conspirators used the “disappearing messaging application” to exchange “proposals, estimates, and other bid information.”
Government's Estimate of Fraud Loss and Restitution by Project
United States v. Michael S. Flynn ((3:19-CR-112) (KAD))
| Project Name | Time Period | Winner | Contract Amount | Victim |
| CCSU Willard and Diloreto Halls (HVAC) | 2016-11 | Langan | $670,000 | CCSU |
| CCSU Willard and Diloreto Halls (PLG) | 2016-11 | Langan | $109,000 | CCSU |
| Danbury Hospital (PLG) | 2011 | Langan | $535,000 | Nuvance Health System |
| Maloney High (PLG) | 2013 | Langan | $320,000 | City of Meriden |
| Stratford High School (PLG) | 2017-04 | Langan | $305,000 | Town of Stratford |
| UConn Engineering and Science Building (PLG) | 2015-08 | Langan | $132,000 | UConn |
| UConn IPB "Innovation Partnership Building" | 2014-10 | Langan | $1,950,000 | UConn |
| Yale Science Center | 2017-06 | Langan | $3,150,000 | Yale |
| Yale SCL Teaching Lab | 2014 | Langan | $2,447,000 | Yale |
| Bridgeport Hospital EPU ("Emergency Power Unit") | 2016-11 | Axion | $30,300 | Yale New Haven Health System |
| Central High School (Bridgeport) | 2015-11 | Axion | $1,275,000 | City of Bridgeport |
| Liuna Training and Education Fund | 2016-05 | Axion | $21,464 | Liuna Training and Education Fund |
| Stamford Hospital "Fit Out" (Packages 49/51/52) | 2013 | Axion | $866,549 | Stamford Hospital |
| Stamford Hospital Café | 2016-2 | Axion | $11,796 | Stamford Hospital |
| Warren G. Harding High School (Bridgeport) | 2016-08 | Axion | $2,100,000 | City of Bridgeport |
| West Haven High School | 2018-01 | Axion | $1,837,103 | City of West Haven |
| Yale KCL ("Kline Chemistry Lab") | 2016-10 | Axion | $27,220 | Yale |
| Yale Schwarzman Center Enabling | 2017-08; 2017-12 | Axion | $93,000 | Yale |
| PepsiCo (Valhalla NY) | 2017-10 | BC Flynn | $1,244,000 | PepsiCo. Inc. |
| Pratt Whitney UTRC Building H | 2017 | BC Flynn | $310,000 | Raytheon Company |
| Stamford Hospital 5th Floor Fitout | 2015-11 | BC Flynn | $258,600 | Stamford Hospital |
| Stamford Hospital "Fit Out" (Packages 50/53) | 2013 | BC Flynn | $3,230,000 | Stamford Hospital |
| Stratford High School (HV AC) | 2017-04 | BC Flynn | $722,486 | Town of Stratford |
| UConn C Building Medical Center | 2016-01 | BC Flynn | $2,525,000 | UConn |
| UConn Hartford Downtown Campus | 2016-01 | BC Flynn | $1,255,000 | UConn |
| UConn Recreation Center (PLG) | 2017 | BC Flynn | $207,000 | UConn |
| Vassar Brothers Medical Center - Wetside - Pipe/Equipment | 2016 | BC Flynn | $3,500,000 | Nuvance Health System |
| Weaver High School (Hartford) | 2017-06 | BC Flynn | $1,315,000 | City of Hartford |
| Yale Baker Hall | 2017-04 | BC Flynn | $734,000 | Yale |
| Yale Beinecke Library | 2015-01 | BC Flynn | $1,622,015 | Yale |
| Yale Hendrie Hall | 2014-11 | BC Flynn | $660,000 | Yale |
| Yale School Of Management (HVAC) | 2011 | BC Flynn | $3,660,000 | Yale |
| Danbury Hospital (HV AC) | 2011 | Company A | $1,471,670 | Nuvance Health System |
| Yale School Of Management (PLG) | 2011 | Company A | $288,770 | Yale |
| Total Value | $38,883,973 | |
House confirms Katie Dykes at DEEP, Michelle Gilman at DAS
Republicans in the General Assembly registered dissatisfaction Thursday with two of Gov. Ned Lamont’s agency heads, casting largely symbolic votes against the confirmations of Katie Dykes and Michelle Gilman.
Dykes, the commissioner of energy and environmental protection, had come under fire for enforcing a bottle deposit law as written, as opposed to how lawmakers described their intentions in debate
Gilman, the commissioner of administrative services, angered Republicans during her confirmation hearing for failing, in their view, to adequately explain what her agency was doing to ensure school construction money was properly spent.
The House confirmed both commissioners after brief debates.
The House voted 105-36 to confirm Dykes after passing a bill that corrected the legislature’s error in a 2021 law that expanded the types of cans and bottles that carry a deposit as of Jan. 1 of this year.
During the debate in 2021, legislators said there was no intent to extend the deposit law to hard seltzers with spirit alcohol, while hard seltzers that are malt beverages are covered. They made no effort, however, to define hard seltzers in the law.
“It’s not the commissioner’s fault,” said Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, who worked for the bottle bill’s passage in 1978 as an environmental activist, then was elected to the House two years later.
As is the well-established practice of courts, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection relied on the plain language of the law and disregarded the verbal “legislative intent” as irrelevant.
“I think that the legislature was clear through legislative intent when they drafted the language,” House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, told reporters before the vote. “I think the department saw an opportunity, and they stuck their foot in that door and opened it up to expand the bottle bill to things that we did not intend to.”
The fix enacted Thursday was simple, requiring the addition of a dozen words to the bottle law: “‘Carbonated beverage’ does not include any product that contains wine or spirits.”
The rationale for exempting wine and spirits is that the industry does not have the infrastructure for redeeming bottle and can deposits that have been developed by beer and soda distributors.
Mushinsky said all beverage cans should be covered by the deposit law, but the wine and spirits industry should be given two years to prepare.
Every Democrat and 14 Republicans voted for Dykes’ confirmation including Candelora, the House GOP leader.
The House confirmed Gilman on an 89-48 vote, with one Democrat, Rep. Minnie Gonzalez of Hartford, joining 47 Republicans in opposition. Candelora was one of three Republicans voting for passage.
Rep. David Yaccarino, R-North Haven, the ranking House Republican on the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, said he found Gilman less than responsive during her hearing.
Gilman was appointed as commissioner of administrative services after a federal investigation of school construction grants, which comes under the purview of her agency, came to light.
Local officials from several towns alleged that the former director of the school construction office pressured them to hire specific contractors for school projects.
The administration ordered an audit of the grants, but it did not contact the local officials.
Gilman told lawmakers that municipal officials were not questioned because the scope of the audit was focused on reviewing the documentation that the state collects after each school construction project is completed.
Yaccarino said he has been impressed by the quality of Lamont’s appointees but said he should have opted for “a fresh start” at DAS at the start of his second term in January.