Stamford officials hope to put Westhill project on fast track

Ignacio  Lagurda  STAMFORD — City and school officials this week said they would seek a consultant’s help to develop a plan for Stamford’s school buildings in the coming years. But they already are sure of one thing: Westhill High School needs serious work.

Officials have come to the conclusion that a Westhill renovation or replacement is a necessity, Mayor David Martin said this week during a meeting of the Long Term Facilities Committee.

“More than likely, under almost all scenarios, we are going to have a major renovation at Westhill on the Westhill campus,” he said.

Other school needs are not as clear, which is why the city is getting ready to submit a request for proposals for a vendor to develop a facilities master plan, with an eye on approving it in the first half of 2022.

Last year, a proposal was presented to the Board of Representatives to have a private developer rebuild five schools — Toquam, Hart and Roxbury elementary schools, Cloonan Middle School and Westhill.

But the Board of Representatives rejected the funding to develop that plan.

As officials have looked at different scenarios for rebuilding or renovating schools across the district, doing a project at Westhill — estimated to cost $125 million — has been a constant.

“All the scenarios that are possible tend to lead us back to Westhill being Westhill at the Westhill site regardless of any other configuration of buildings,” said Cindy Grafstein, a member of the Stamford Asset Management Group.

Grafstein said the hope is to have the consultant chosen to prepare a school facilities plan also prepare documents to apply for state funding for a Westhill project in the coming year.

“It’s a big ask between now and June 30,” which is the dedline to apply for state construction money, she said. “However, we must take that step in order to at least have a shot for state funding.”

Liz Levy, a Westhill parent, said she was happy to see some progress, but wants more action from the district.

“The issue is I’m still concerned regarding follow-through on promises,” she said.

Levy was behind an online petition this year calling for better ventilation at the school, which still utilizes 1960s-era equipment.

“We need to filter the air to keep our teachers and administrators safe,” she said.

Westhill may not be the only project the city submits to the state for funding.

Martin said there are two other projects to consider. Those would involve the building at 83 Lockwood Ave., which used to be the home of the Trailblazers Academy and is owned by the city; and a potential new home for the Anchor program, which is designed for struggling middle school and high school students, at a site on North Street.

Martin said the goal is to move Anchor into the North Street building by September of next year.

The Lockwood project would involve a complete renovation or tear down, Martin said, and would cost around $60 million. There are currently around 400 students who attend preschool in the building currently, Martin said.

Finding funding to do all three projects will be a major challenge for the city. Martin said Sandy Dennies, director of administration, set a safe debt limit of $40 million a year.

Martin said he thinks the city could issue as much as another $20 million, but the city would still need substantial help from the state.

“I really believe that it’s time for the state to take some more responsibility in funding the Stamford school system than it has for the last 40 years,” he said.

Tucked inside omnibus spending package: another $5 million for Coast Guard museum

Julia Bergman  Tucked into the massive omnibus spending package passed by Congress this past week is more funding for the National Coast Guard Museum planned for the downtown New London waterfront.

The bill includes $5 million for the museum, which brings the total support for the project from the federal government over the last four years to $20 million. The Coast Guard Museum Association, the fundraising arm for the project, has set a goal of $30 million in federal support.

As of late Saturday, President Donald Trump still had not signed the legislation.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., announced the latest round of federal funding in a post on Twitter on Monday, saying “the museum is going to be an economic generator for decades” for southeastern Connecticut.

Murphy, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, continue to advocate for the project in Congress. Several years ago, they successfully lobbied to change a federal law to allow the Coast Guard to help pay for interior aspects of the museum, such as displays and exhibits, which previously was not allowed. A ban still exists on the use of federal funds for actual brick and mortar construction.

The museum association, in its 2020 Year in Review, reported nearing the halfway mark to complete the estimated $150 million project — $30 million for museum exhibits and programming, $20 million for the pedestrian bridge and $100 million for construction of the museum.

The association reported $73 million in contributions, with fundraising ongoing.

The construction of the museum is expected to take place in three phases, starting with waterfront improvements. The museum association is in the permitting phase, with hopes of starting work in the fall of 2021 and opening the museum in 2024.

Earlier this month, New London's Planning and Zoning Commission granted conditional approval to plans for a nearly $20 million pedestrian bridge linking downtown to the museum. Plans call for a 400-foot, glass-walled pedestrian bridge spanning Water Street to the city’s waterfront.

The state has long pledged up to $20 million for the pedestrian bridge with the understanding the bridge and museum projects would proceed together. Talks continue with state officials about the release of that funding.

Day Staff Writer Greg Smith contributed to this report.

$135.5M budgeted for new Hartford federal courthouse in spending bill

Liese Klein  artford is on track to get a new federal courthouse with $135.5 million in funds added to the  fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending package, the state’s congressional delegation announced this week. 

The new courthouse would be built downtown and replace the Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 450 Main St., an aging and outdated structure that was No. 1 on the federal judiciary’s national priority list for replacement. 

The General Services Administration estimates that $271.2 million is needed for the entire project, including buying a site and design and construction of a new courthouse.

“The 57-year-old U.S. District Courthouse in Hartford has simply outlived its sell-by date. There are major structural problems and its design makes providing court security very difficult. A new courthouse will bring judicial civil and criminal operations into the 21st century,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.

The Hartford courthouse funding was added after Connecticut’s delegation noticed that Senate Republicans had bankrolled a federal courthouse project in Tennessee in the spending package. Hartford ranked first on the Federal Judiciary Courthouse Project Priorities list for the second year in a row and was left out in the first draft.

 “When it became clear that the Hartford funding was in trouble of receiving nothing because of an egregious and frankly unfair earmark inserted by Senate Republicans, the delegation was able to come together to make it right to ensure Hartford received its fair share,” said U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3rd District, incoming chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Brookfield lists top 5 names for new elementary school as bidding process begins

Shayla Colon  BROOKFIELD — The Board of Education is asking the public to help name the town’s new elementary school.

At last week’s board meeting, the school naming subcommittee revealed a list of five names — Candlewood Elementary, Candlewood Lake Elementary, Lakeside Elementary, Newbury Elementary and West Brook Elementary — for the board to consider. The committee compiled the list based on suggestions from students and the Municipal Building Committee.

Committee members used a “student-driven” process,” asking students and school professionals what the new school should be named based on Brookfield’s history and geographical relevance.

Each name submitted met the necessary criteria for an official name, according to Board of Education chairwoman Rosa Fernandes. The board decided to wait to hear public opinion before taking a final vote.

“We kind of just want to make sure the public has a say in every step of the process and this is the most exciting part, so we definitely would like their input,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes plans to send a survey seeking residents’ input which will be discussed at the board’s second meeting in January, according to meeting minutes.

The Municipal Building Committee is soliciting bid proposals for the project from contractors that are due on Jan. 7 — if an extension is not given, according to committee Chairman, Paul Cecco. The town will not know the actual cost of the project until after bids are reviewed, although the construction budget is set at just over $66.6 million, Cecco said.

Cecco hopes the cost will come in at the projected budget despite an increase in the building’s size due to rising enrollment numbers. The building — designed by Tecton Architects in Hartford — will have modern fixtures including Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playgrounds, miniature man-made wetland for environmental learning, STEM. lab and several recreational spaces.

The design addresses problems seen in other schools and is years in the making, according to Fernandes.

“We’re finally getting to the point of the project where we’re really going to get to see some things coming along physically,” she said.

The project’s timeline is tight and the town has a small window to get the building up. Cecco aims to break ground in March for the school to be open and occupied by the fall of 2022.

Project managers will not know the full cost and extent of incoming proposals until the bids are open in January. Officials decided to solicit several bids for different portions of the project to yield a “greater economic benefit” by directly going to the trades for a bid rather than through a general contractor, according to Cecco. That means one contractor will be responsible for the concrete work, another for steel, etc.

Still, any contractor who meets the state’s requirements for working on a public project is welcome to bid.