State Contracting Standards Board says status quo funding would ‘gut’ the board

Kimberly Drelich

Members of the State Contracting Standards Board say the status-quo funding included in the governor's proposed budget would "gut" the watchdog agency.

Gov. Ned Lamont's budget proposal, released Wednesday, instead calls for allocating $218,770 to the Auditors of Public Accounts, a legislative agency whose mission is to "audit state agencies," to fund three additional auditors.

But the proposal does not adjust funding for the Contracting Standards Board, leaving just enough money to fund the agency's two existing staff members — an executive director and an intern — and for the 14-member board to operate, according to board Executive Director David L. Guay. The agency has been requesting an additional $467,055 for more staff.

The Contracting Standards Board's mission is to ensure "that state contracting and procurement requirements are understood and carried out in a manner that is open, cost effective, efficient and consistent with State and Federal statutes, rules and regulation," according to its website. The watchdog agency recently issued a report on the Connecticut Port Authority and has been reviewing the potential disqualification of the Mystic Education Center developer as a state contractor under a lease he formerly had with the state.

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said Thursday that she and other members of the southeastern Connecticut delegation have submitted a bill that would move the State Contracting Standards Board to the legislative side of the budget and fully fund it. She said the bill would be taken up by the Appropriations Committee.

David Bednarz, a Lamont spokesman, said in an emailed statement that, "In order to enhance oversight of state agency contracting, Governor Lamont is including $218,770 for the Auditors of Public Accounts for three additional auditors to review procurement and contracting processes. These positions will improve the State Auditors' ability to review state agency contracting in a non-partisan manner while providing efficiency and cost savings to the state. It also adds to the Contracting Standards Board's powers to refer cases to the auditors."

But Contracting Standards Board Chairman Lawrence Fox said the intention of the governor's proposal amounts to "a wholesale gutting of the authority of the board."

The Appropriations Committee last year had approved $624,994 for five new positions for the Contracting Standards Board, according to an email from Office of Policy and Management Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs Jeffrey R. Beckham to Guay. However, the budget implementer bill rescinded $449,124 of that funding for fiscal year 2022 and $454,355 for fiscal year 2023, so the new positions were not funded. Beckham said that left about $175,870 for the board, enough to fund the executive director position and an intern position, which has been the status quo for years.

The governor's new budget proposal shows $637,029 for the Contracting Standards Board in fiscal year 2023 but notes a zero net adjustment. Guay said that means the proposal will have no adjustments after the implementer bill rescinded funding, so it does not include the extra money for the additional positions.

OPM could not immediately be reached for clarification.

Noting that the governor's proposal includes funding for auditors, Fox recommended that funding go to the Contracting Standards Board so it can do the job the way the legislature and the statute itself think it should.

"We need a chief procurement officer, we need a staff attorney and we need an auditing staff, and that would go a long way to be an effective watchdog," he said.

Osten said legislators will delve into details of the budget proposal. "Right now we're not convinced that that it is providing the funding they need and fully staffing the contracting board," she said.

She said Lamont's proposal for additional auditors "doesn't address the issue" of the Contracting Standards Board missing staff members.

"The Contracting Standards Board continues to get pushed around," Osten said. "It needs to be fully funded and fully staffed."

She said while auditors may be needed, "that's different than the fact the Contracting Standards Board was designed with a mission and it's not meeting that mission."

The board was established in 2007 by then Gov. Jodi Rell in the wake of procurement scandals that occurred during the administration of prior Gov. John Rowland. Osten said the lack of funding dates back to the Rell administration.

Formica, Kelly call for audit and public hearing on school financing program

State Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford and Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, are calling for a state audit and public hearing on the state's school construction financing program.

Kelly and Formica wrote to Connecticut State Auditors and Democratic legislative leaders with the request in light of federal authorities requesting documents associated with the projects overseen by Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, former head of the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review.

A federal Grand Jury issued a subpoena in October requesting documents associated with Diamantis, who as part of his duties as deputy secretary in the Office of Policy and Management led state oversight of the Connecticut Port Authority’s $235 million State Pier reconstruction project.

While it is unclear what federal authorities are specifically investigating, they requested documents associated with school projects, hazardous materials projects and the State Pier improvement project. Diamantis was involved in numerous municipal school construction projects that include New London’s high school and middle school, with costs totaling more than $150 million.

"Connecticut has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer sacrifices are always respected," Kelly and Formica said in a statement.

"An audit is vital to immediately identify and correct any breaches in public trust and begin a long process to rebuild public confidence. The legislature must also seek transparency and demand answers for the people we represent. Lawmakers have long raised concerns about the Governor's administration shifting management of the school construction financing program from the Department of Administrative Services to the Office of Policy and Management. We have always said that school construction financing should be free of politics and partisanship,” the statement reads.

The two Republican leaders said the reported federal investigation “has tarnished the reputation of this vital financing program intended to support schools across the state. We must demand transparency, accountability, and answers to root out any wrongdoing and begin to rebuild public trust."

$100M apartment, townhome and retail development planned in Cromwell

Michael Puffer

Plans to replace the shuttered Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell with a mixed-use apartment development will cost about $100 million, developer Martin Kenny says.

Kenny is teaming up with frequent business partner Alan Lazowski and the current owner of the property – a limited liability company tied to California-based investment management firm M360 Advisors.

M360 acquired the shuttered hotel and 9 acres of associated land at 100 Berlin Road for $2.55 million in October. The town sold a neighboring, undeveloped 3.7-acre property to the company for $60,000 in November, land records show.

The plan is to knock down the hotel and replace it with a mixed-use development with 265 apartments, 24 townhomes and 30,000 square feet of retail. Designs are underway, Kenny said.

Kenny said the development will include a walking trail by a “wetlands preserve,” open to residents of the development as well as other area residents.

Kenny said he and Lazowski will buy a majority stake in the property once local and state development approvals are secured. The State Traffic Commission is part of the approval process because the site is located adjacent to Interstate 91.

The State Department of Revenue Services abruptly closed the hotel in January 2020. At the time, the state claimed the hotel owed more than $200,000 in back taxes and fees. About 50 employees lost their jobs.

Kenny hopes to demolish this summer and launch construction in fall.

Proposal for 110 apartments off Greenwich Avenue would develop land that was called ‘underutilized’

Robert Marchant

GREENWICH — A row of homes and businesses on Benedict Place and Benedict Court in central Greenwich would be demolished to make way for 110 residential units if a local developer gains permissions from the town.

A six-story apartment building would be erected a short distance behind St. Mary’s Church on Greenwich Avenue under the proposal submitted late last month.

The plan would demolish the structures at 7, 9, 15, 19, 21, 23 Benedict Place, which are currently residences, beauty salons and offices. Around the corner, the buildings at 5, 7, 11, 13 and 15 Benedict Court would also be razed for the new housing, according to the preliminary application on file with the town Planning and Zoning Commission.

The latest application follows a surge of other proposals for central Greenwich that seek to encompass the state’s affordable housing law and build large-scale residential units. The Benedict Place application would set aside 30 percent of the units as “affordable,” gaining benefits in the approval process under the state’s 8-30g affordable housing regulation.

Plans have also been submitted for a proposed 192 rental units on Sherwood Place near Church Street, and the 30 percent set aside for affordable housing would be invoked in the approval process there as well. Another developer is looking to build 86 residential units on Brookridge Drive near Greenwich High School, also using the 8-30g statute.

The state law prohibits local zoning and planning agencies from denying or modifying building proposals that invoke the affordable housing statute for any reasons except public health and safety, which gives local land-use commissions much less discretion over the projects.

The application for the 110 housing units behind St. Mary has yet to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The developer is listed as Benedict Court Development LLC, and the application was signed by Joseph Tranfo, who is listed as the managing member of the limited liability corporation.

Tranfo has been active in downtown construction proposals and had discussed plans for new construction on Benedict Court and Benedict Place in 2018.

According to the lawyer representing the application, Chip Haslun, the land on Benedict Place and Benedict Court is “underutilized.” The proposal would “add diversity to the housing stock and would considerably increase the affordable dwelling units in Greenwich,” Haslun said.

Continuing, Haslun said, “Due to its central location, we believe the development will be attractive to those looking to down-size, to young professionals and to workforce employees, such as hospital workers, teachers and first responders, both currently residing in Greenwich and looking to relocate to Greenwich.”

The state’s affordable housing law has been under scrutiny in recent months, as a large number of 8-30g applications have been submitted in Greenwich.

The proposal has not yet been scheduled for a preliminary review at Town Hall.

Plans for Mercedes-Benz dealership near Danbury airport move forward

Rob Ryser

DANBURY — Plans by a New York car dealership to build a Mercedes-Benz sales and service center on a construction lot near Danbury Municipal Airport got a green light from the city’s Environmental Impact Commission this week.

The thumbs-up for Curry Automotive to disturb a corner of environmentally sensitive land near Kissen Brook clears the way for the dealership to apply for a permit from the Zoning Commission and for special exception approval from the Planning Commission. Curry also needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The environmental commission’s approval on Wednesday follows a positive recommendation from the city’s Health Department, which found that the proposed construction of a retaining wall and parking lot in the wetland buffer was “limited” and should be permitted.

Before a Wednesday’s vote, Danbury’s EIC chairman double-checked with Richard Janey, a public health inspector with the city’s Health Department.

“Richard, you’re all set with this I assume?” EIC Chairman Bernie Gallo said.

“Yes, sir, I’m all set with it,” Janey said. “Our project report went out with six conditions.”

Janey is referring to plans by Curry to transform a 2.5-acre storage yard at Miry Brook and Sugar Hollow roads into a dealership with 230 parking spaces and the display of 85 vehicles on the second-story roof.

Among the conditions of approval is a requirement for Curry to “maintain sediment and erosion controls at the site … to prevent the pollution of wetlands and watercourses.”

“[C]controls are to be inspected by (Curry) for deficiencies at least once per week and immediately after rain events,” the health department said.

Wetlands have important flood control properties that degrade and stop working as nature intended if measures are not taken to protect them during development.

“If the project is conducted in accordance with the plan and with appropriate conditions of approval and site control, the proposed activity will not significantly affect wetlands or watercourses,” Janey wrote.

The proposed dealership sits at the gateway of an emerging high-end auto niche that is home to luxury dealerships, storage garages, and a manufacturer of $400,000 sports cars.

Milford aldermen OK $20 million for school and sewer upgrades

Saul Flores

MILFORD — Funding is in place for some $20 million worth of improvements citywide.

The Board of Aldermen, at its meeting Monday, approved some $20 million worth of bonds to cover improvements of sanitary sewers and wastewater facilities ($3 million) and various public and school upgrades ($16.2 million).

“The projects for which we are seeking bond authorization this evening will not be bonded this October. It will likely be bonded in a subsequent October bonding session,” Mayor Ben Blake told the aldermen. “For the first year or two, those projects are funded by the anticipation note and through cash advancements.”

Blake said the $3 million sewer improvement section will be used to upgrade Rogers Avenue Sanitary Pump Station, including replacement of pumps, removing a buried oil tank, and design materials and construction costs.

“There’s always a possibility of a leakage when you’re dealing with an underground storage tank, and it’s an active tank,” said Christopher Sealey, public works director. “The tank is still being used, but we are taking it out because, in the past, people weren’t as concerned in this area, but now with sea-level rising and other weather effects in that area, it is open to flooding.”

Improvements for the schools include partial roof replacement at Joseph A. Foran High School for $3.6 million, traffic flow and safety improvements at Orchard Hills Elementary School for $1.8 million, athletic facility improvements and upgrades at Foran and Jonathan Law High School for $4.2 million, and playgrounds and exterior play area improvements at various schools for $525,000.

“I’d like to thank the PTA members, parents from the schools that came out to advocate for the kids and for the improvements,” said Alderman Anthony Giannattasio. “I think that’s what makes Milford great. We have people that live here that have a stake and are very dedicated to the schools that their children attend.”

The various public improvements include citywide road, parking lot, sidewalk and curb repaving adding up to $3 million; various city building maintenance improvements adding up to $1.5 million; various erosion and flood control projects adding up to $525,000 and automated recycling and solid waste vehicles adding up to $756,000.

Director of Finance Peter Erodici said the city’s total bond principal stands at $170 million as of June 30, 2021, and it includes the clean water fund loans.

“So those low-interest loans are part of the bond principal because we had refunded them and gotten lower interest rate through bonds,” said Erodici in response to Alderman Raymond Vitali’s question about how many bonds the city has.

Could Danbury’s career academy be built at a different site? Leaders are discussing new locations.

Julia Perkins

DANBURY — City leaders expect to grow closer this week to determining the location for the career academy after faltering negotiations with developers threw a wrench into the flagship school project.

Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito was scheduled to meet Thursday with City Council leadership to discuss where to build the middle and high school that would serve 1,400 students.

“We’ll bump questions off of each other,” Esposito said Thursday morning before the meeting. “We’re going to have a list of positives and negatives for each location, and hopefully with their advice, we’ll move forward on one in the near future, the very near future.”

The proposal for other sites for the school come a little over a week after Esposito walked away from deliberations with the developer over the purchase of space in the 1.2 million-square-foot building for the school.

Still, he and city leaders have been in touch with the developers and building the school at the Summit remains a possibility.

“They’ve made some change in their proposal, and in my mind they’ve been positive,” Esposito said.

Summit developers agreed talks are improving.

“All is well here,” Mike Basile, project manager for the Summit, said in a text message in response to a request for comment on the negotiations. “I don’t have much to add other than we’ve had productive discussions over the last week.”

But the city is also negotiating with another party to build the school on a different property that the mayor declined to name. The city could build another high school by Danbury High School and an addition to Broadview Middle School.

“Our goal is to increase space for the school system and we’re going to do what we have to do to make sure the location is suitable for the staff and students,” Esposito said.

School staff have been working to prepare the curriculum to go along with the new school, which would see students at the academy and Danbury High School gaining experience in career fields of their choice.

“We are still optimistic, very optimistic that our work, all the work behind the Danbury career academy is still moving forward,” Superintendent Kevin Walston told the school board on Wednesday night.

He said his impression is that the school could open on time in fall 2024, regardless of the location. He said he expected to have more answers for the board members at their next meeting.

“We’ve all been a little anxious about what’s next,” Walston said. “We were all a little surprised by the stall in negotiations and a little confused about what that meant for us moving forward, but we’ve been assured by the city that a venue is their top priority.”

City Council initially approved borrowing $99 million for the project, with Danbury seeking a state grant to cover 80 percent of that cost. But the mayor informed the council last week that cost estimates have increased to $144.5 million. That was when the plan was to build the school at the Summit. The city is still working with the state to earn the grant.

‘What’s best for the students’

Republican Vinny DiGilio, City Council president; Warren Levy, Republican majority leader; Paul Rotello, Democratic minority leader; Jack Knapp, Republican legislative leader; and Fred Visconti, Democratic legislative leader, were expected to attend the Thursday meeting.

The superintendent or representatives from the schools won’t be at the meeting, but Esposito said he’s received feedback from him.

“He’s been involved every step of the way,” the mayor said.

Esposito said he hasn’t ranked the options.

The mayor hasn’t physically met with the Summit developers since last Thursday but has been in “constant communication” with them. He said he won’t schedule another meeting with the Summit or the other party until after he’s met with the council leadership.

It’s unclear what the next steps would be or when the city could decide on a location.

“I don’t want to rush this thing,” Esposito said.

He said he’ll get feedback from the council leadership and school officials, but he’ll ultimately decide what the city should do. That decision would then be subject to counsel approval, he said.

The city will consider construction costs, purchase price and building accessibility as officials look at locations, Esposito said.

“In the end, it’s what's best for the students and what we’re going to provide for them, and the best possible project we can get for the best possible price,” he said.

The academic experience will remain the same, regardless of the location, Walston said.

“The team and I, we’re working very hard to make sure the academic experience is top notch,” he said. “That is not going to change, but the venue might.”