Committee backs $5.65M change order for Meriden sewage project

Michael Gagne

MERIDEN — The City Council’s finance committee this week voted to forward a change order requested by Meriden officials to increase the total of bond funds issued for the ongoing high flow storage tank project at the city’s Water Pollution Control Facility by another $5.65 million. The project is designed to prevent the flow of untreated sewage into the Quinnipiac River during storms.

If approved by the full council, the total bond funds appropriated toward various city capital projects would increase from just over $77.39 million to $83.04 million. 

In 2018, an administrative order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the city failed to fully comply with its wastewater discharge permit. During a four-year period prior to that order, the EPA identified eight incidents in which untreated wastewater discharged from the Harbor Brook Pump Station exceeded both federal and state limits.

The city subsequently issued a $50 million bond for a project to divert wastewater into two concrete digester tanks at the Evansville Avenue facility. Utility officials could then store untreated wastewater in those tanks during high rain storm events, instead of allowing that wastewater to combine with rainwater and overflow into the Quinnipiac River.

The project included the further removal of phosphorus from treated wastewater before it is subsequently discharged into the river. 

Details sought

Questions raised by city councilors and Mayor Kevin Scarpati during a public hearing sought details about project costs, the impact of inflation on those costs, along with the project’s timeline and whether it could potentially be deferred until after the rate of economic inflation has decreased. 

Richard Meskill, the public utilities director, explained the project includes the installation of some 1,800 feet of 18-inch pipe to the onsite storage tanks. 

Council Minority Leader Dan Brunet asked Meskill how the project’s costs would impact city sewer rates for city residents. 

Meskill said he did not have an estimate at that time. 

Scarpati sought further information about the project’s history and the phosphorus related upgrades. 

“I would like to see a clear outline of what took place previously, how much we’ve allocated, what’s being funded now, and what’s left, if anything,” Scarpati said. 

Finance Director Kevin McNabola explained that the project was originally approved at $49.6 million, with a balance of $1.9 million remaining. That remaining balance actually reduces the cost of the requested change order, which would have been around $7.5 million. 

McNabola said stricter state and federal mandates are driving the costs of the projects. 

Meskill explained further that the tank storage project had been requested by federal and state authorities in 2020. 

“DEEP and EPA saw we had tanks not being used… They saw an opportunity to solve the overflow issue by diverting that overflow,” Meskill said, noting that the diversion component of the project actually has nothing to do with phosphorus reduction. The city of Hartford, Meskill noted, has been tasked with undertaking a similarly extensive wastewater diversion project.

Risk of fines

During discussions, officials explained the city may risk future fines from DEEP and EPA if it continues to allow unpermitted discharges into the river. The city has also received assurances that state reimbursement will be available to offset the cost of the change order. The reimbursement could potentially cover $3.5 million. 

“We’ve gotten pretty hard assurances we will get that,” said City Manager Timothy Coon, who described the reimbursement as “the carrot from the state for us to go forward and do this.” 

“We could ignore it and run the risk of doing fines… or we can do this now while going through the process of building and installing the new phosphorus treatment plant,” Coon said. 

Deputy Mayor Michael Cardona asked officials when the city would find out about the funding reimbursement officials anticipate receiving. 

Meskill responded he did not know. He said the project itself would take about a year-and-a-half to complete. 

Extension or increase?

During the exchange that followed, Scarpati asked Meskill and McNabola about the potential to request an extension for when the project needs to be completed. The mayor also asked whether officials can confer with the state about potentially increasing the city’s reimbursement to 75%, over the anticipated 50% reimbursement. 

In response to Scarpati’s question about seeking an extension, Meskill said the carrot for the project “has always been the grant — how much grant money they could give us to make this happen.”

McNabola followed, “They’re looking for this to happen now.” 

Scarpati pressed given the fact the cost of the project had increased, “what’s the harm in asking for either an extension or an increase on the grant?” They’re tied directly to costs that are beyond our control. Factors outside of our control are causing an increase. Would they consider an increase, up to 75?” Scarpati said. “I don’t see the harm in asking.” 

The mayor further suggested a discussion happen during the time between the finance committee meeting and the next council meeting to determine what type of funding could be available to offset any potential increase in expenses for local ratepayers.

Mark Zaretsky

NEW HAVEN — Tweed New Haven Regional Airport won unanimous approval for a 203-space parking expansion following a four-hour public hearing, convincing the City Plan Commission of the need for more on-site parking despite the testimony of 17 neighbors opposed to the plan.

Tweed currently has 927 spaces among its three on-site parking lots. With this week's approval, it will have 1,130 spaces. 

What originally was an application for 507 additional spaces was reduced first to 237 spaces because of wetlands issues. That proposed number was reduced further this week to 203 spaces.

Bulk of the new spaces, 178 of them, will be in an extended area with "permeable," or porous, pavement, adjacent to what is now the most remote and least expensive of Tweed's three parking lots, according to the latest plans. It's located behind the terminal and the tarmac where Avelo Airlines parks its airplanes.

Another 25 spaces will be in the closest and more expensive of Tweed's two front lots, directly outside the terminal's front door.

An additional 34 spaces in the farther of the two front lots were removed from the application for expediency, because of the need to move a security fence in order to add them to the existing lot, a member of Tweed's development team, Raymond Paier, vice president of engineering for Westcott & Mapes, told the commission.

The team still must apply to move the security fence, he said.

Eleven proposed new spaces that would have required paving what currently are grassy areas also were removed from the closer-in front lot.

Approval by City Plan Commission members Ernest Pagan, Joshua Van Hoesen, Alder Adam Marchand, D-25, and Chairwoman Leslie Radcliffe came after a presentation by Tweed's development team and more than three hours of testimony from neighbors, seven of whom were allowed to testify for a second time.

At Marchand's suggestion, the site plan approval included a condition that the applicant provide documentation on a quarterly basis of its adherence to a regular schedule of maintenance of the permeable asphalt material used to pave the lot, which allows water to drain through it. 

"I heard and I appreciate" the testimony, Radcliffe said before the vote. But much of the testimony was unrelated to the actual parking expansion and comments were more about the airport itself, and "they are not within our purview,"  Radcliffe said.

Several speakers asked the commission to table the application until after a currently underway environmental assessment is complete. The EA is for a broader airport expansion plan that includes lengthening the runway from 5,600 feet to 6,635 feet and building a new, 74,000-square-foot terminal with 4 to 6 gates on the East Haven side of the airport.

Van Hoesen said that part of his perspective was that if Tweed "didn't have this parking," people would park on the streets in adjacent neighbors, and neighbors would continue to be "annoyed."

Radcliffe said she found herself weighing the need for more parking "with the desire to find alternatives to parking and encourage use of public transportation elsewhere in the city."

She said she recalled other cases, and one in particular, in which restaurants in the city wanted to increase their parking in order to increase their business, but were denied.

Marchand said the airport is not like other residences or business in the city.

"It's a business that generates a lot of trips. It's a different entity ... even than a big residential tower," he said.

One thing the city can do, however, is "to keep the press on Avports," Tweed's contract operator, "and push them to deepen those partnerships" with other transportation companies that can bring people to the airport, including ridesharing service such as Uber and Lyft.

Currently, only Lyft, taxicab companies and CT Transit and an occasional shuttle that Tweed runs from the Union Station garage can serve Tweed. The airport has been unable to agree to a contract that would allow Uber to serve the airport and the leading rideshare service cannot bring people directly to the airport.

CT Transit has a bus that can drop off passengers at Tweed if they ask. But it doesn't pick up passengers there unless they call in advance, Avports spokesman Andrew King told the commission.

Other members of the development team included attorney Joseph Williams of Shipman & Goodwin and Donald Tone, a traffic and parking expert from Sam Schwartz, a New York engineering, planning and consulting firm.

Williams said the team has tried "to be sensitive to the fact that Avports is managing an existing airport that is abutting a residential neighborhood" and also has tried "to be sensitive to that neighborhood." While the existing parking is not always full, "we expect demand to increase during the holiday season" and "it's very important that we get this into place before the holiday season," he said.

Nevertheless, "We view this as a temporary solution ... while we get ready to move the terminal and the parking over to" the East Haven side of the airport, Williams said.

Tone said part of the parking problem is that leisure travelers are parking at the airport for longer than originally anticipated. 

King and Tone said that adding more onsite parking actually results in less traffic through adjacent neighborhoods compared to passengers being dropped off — two trips versus four for passengers being dropped off by friends, relatives or ride-share services, he said. 

"Even though there are some people in the community who will always want to shut down the airport ... we have to act as stewards," said King. "Part of our responsibility is to reduce neighborhood traffic if at all possible."

In addition, "As an airport, we're not allowed to prohibit an airline from expanding," King said. "Airport customers are showing up by the hundreds and thousands ... and regardless of how much parking we have, they're going to keep showing up."

Neighbors weren't buying it, however.

"I must strenuously object to the characterization put forward by the representatives of Avports that this process ... has in any way been sensitive to the needs ... of the people who live in the neighborhood," said Gretl Gallicchio of Hyde Street in New Haven.

"The needs of that commercial airline must be weighed against the needs of that neighborhood," she said, pointing out that East Haven, in which roughly half of the airport is located, is an Environmental Justice Community.

"I would suggest that they should start by actually talking to the residents of the neighborhood. ... Talk to us before you draw up a plan and submit it," Galliccio said.

Galliccio and Susan Bryson of Branford's Short Beach section were among several speakers who asked the commission to table the application until the environmental assessment for broader airport expansion is complete and more information is available.

Bryson pointed out that the airport is located within a FEMA-designated flood zone and "it's an extremely sensitive ecological area." She suggested "that we can drop this extremely bad idea and create trains to Bradley, the airport with which this is now competing, which is owned by the state and paid for by the taxpayers." 

Patrick Rowland of Minor Road in East Haven, about 3,800 feet south of the runway, agreed, as did Lorena Venegas of East Haven, co-founder of the anti-airport expansion environmental and community group 10,000 Hawks.

"I implore you to do nothing until you've asked for an environmental impact study," Rowland said.

"I believe that the premise of the airport expansion is wrong all the way around," Rowland said, suggesting that "a non-comforming use should never be expanded."

Lighthouse Road resident Gloria Bellacicco also asked the commission to table it, saying any parking expansion "affects the wetlands, adds to more traffic and noise ... Tweed needs to revisit their original plan, which was to provide a shuttle," she said.

Morris Cove resident Gabriela Campos said the airport's "lack of planning" shouldn't inconvenience the city. She also asked the commission to table the matter and "wait for the federal process."

Townsend Avenue resident Lynne Bonnett said that "in terms of reducing traffic, the best way is shuttle. That's more preferable to everybody driving their car to the airport," she said.

Nelson Street resident Lisa Bassani said, "this is a neighborhood hugely impacted by flooding. The whole area is just a bowl ... that collects water. ... You have huge flooding issues in this community that are not ... going to stand up to the changes that we know are coming up."

Townsend Avenue resident Margaret Wheeler said, "I really feel that this is an environmental issue, putting parking in next to a the tidal wetlands.

"How often is (the permeable pavement) going to be cleaned?" she asked. "It needs to be vacuumed and power washed on a regular basis." 

Newington officials hear from staff about infrastructure needs and improvements

Erica Drzewiecki

NEWINGTON – Elected officials heard from town staff this week about infrastructure needs and improvements made around town.

Assistant Town Manager Joe Salamone, Acting Director of Facilities Management John Kubachka, Town Engineer Gary Fuerstenberg and Highways Superintendent Rob Hillman addressed the Newington Town Council at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

Two separate presentations covered recent and soon-to-come projects at town-owned facilities, schools and roadways.

A facilities assessment conducted by Owens Realty Services, Friar Architecture and TLB Architecture back in 2021 indicated over $20 million in repairs and upgrades needed to be made to town properties over the next few years. The report included 16 buildings with high-priority needs.

Under the guidance of Town Manager Keith Chapman these Capital Improvements are being addressed in terms of need and funding availability.

“I think it’s refreshing we’re looking at our facilities as a whole rather than waiting until something breaks,” Majority Leader Tim Manke said.

Fuerstenberg reviewed road resurfacing projects that had recently been completed, covering 32 roads or 7.2 miles of corridor. Improvements included ADA compliance, traffic signals, curbs, milling and paving and more.

“I really try to protect our infrastructure around town,” he told councilors. “There was no ADA parking at the community center, now we have four spots. We removed 29 slip, trip and fall hazards throughout town.”

Construction projects currently going on or about to begin in the near future include the realignment and improvements to the Robbins and Maple Hill Avenues corridor, funded by a $3.3 million grant. Changes coming to the Alumni Road and Cedar Street intersection include removing the gate on Alumni and eliminating left turns onto the road from Rt. 175.

“We’re also looking to do a total reconstruction of the Garfield Street parking lot,” Fuerstenberg said.

Councilor Mike Camillo praised staff for being “proactive not reactive” and Jim Donahue called Newington’s leaf pickup and snow removal systems “extraordinary.”