For the last several months, work has been continuing on Phase VI of the Complete Streets Masterplan. This $3.6 million grant-funded project involves making road improvements along East Main Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Main Street. Milling and paving will take place on Myrtle Street between Main Street and Washington Street. In addition to the paving, work includes new landscaping, brick paver sidewalks, granite curbs, ADA upgrades and more. This project will continue into next year. Work on Myrtle Street is almost complete and the contractor has recently started on the East Main Street section of the project.
Work is also underway on Phase VII of the Complete Streets Masterplan, which includes the area around Columbus Boulevard near the Harry Truman overpass, the north side of Chestnut Street, between Elm Street and Columbus Boulevard and on Herald Square. The improvements are similar to Phase VI, with new granite curbing, paver sidewalks, paving, new signage and new trees.
The 2020 milling and paving program will begin July 12, with $2.2 million set aside for roadwork. Several streets including Columbus Boulevard, Kensington Avenue, Lincoln Street, Kelsey Street, Beaver Street, West Street and Shuttle Meadow Avenue will be paved. In all, 32 City streets, for a combined 7.7 miles, will be repaved by the end of the summer. Milling will begin July 12 and paving will start July 19, with the program running between six and eight weeks. Once the project begins, daily updates will be posted on our website www.newbritainct.gov under the public works section. Public works will also be doing crack sealing and trench repairs.
You may have noticed that there is a new traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Lafayette Street, along with the replacement of some deteriorated walkways on Lafayette Street. The project was initiated to address pedestrian safety and congestion issues at this location. This intersection has had the most motor vehicle versus pedestrian incidents in the City and needed to be addressed.
At Stanley Quarter Park, work just wrapped up on the new playscape, walking path, pavilion and basketball courts. Public works also put in place a new entrance along Stanley Street. More work is to come as we work now on the pond dredging project and then we will be able to pave that bumpy park road! We will also be replacing the exercise equipment thanks to a grant from the health department.
Don’t forget to visit the new playground at A.W. Stanley Park down the road as well - thanks to a special donation from the Stanley Park Trust fund.
As you may have seen at our parks, we have updated our signage to create uniformity throughout the City. These signs are similar to the ones you’ll see at our schools. SignPro, Inc. did a fantastic job crafting these to match all of our original wayfinding signs seen all across town.
FYI: Funding is still available for homeowners interested in repairing the sidewalk in front of their property. This is a matching program and funding is limited. You can find out more information by contacting the Public Works Department at 860-826-3350.
Despite the challenging circumstances of the times, we are moving ahead with plenty of projects that will benefit both residents and business. We must continue to invest in our own City. As I have said before, developers are attracted to cities who are investing in themselves. It also creates for a better place for us all to live. We deserve the best New Britain, and our infrastructure improvements lead the way. Erin Stewart is the mayor of New Britain.

Newington on track to complete near $30 million renovation to town hall, community center
Erica Drzewiecki
NEWINGTON – The town is on track to complete its $28.8 million renovation to Town Hall and the Community Center this July.

Submarine base embarks on latest energy project
Julia Bergman
The Naval Submarine Base has embarked on another project that according to commanding officer Capt. Todd Moore "will ensure reliable, cost-effective, and uninterrupted electric power" to support the base's dual mission of deploying combat-ready submarines and crews and training professional submariners.
Officials on Friday marked the start of construction of a 10.75 megawatt combined heat and power system to be installed at the base’s power plant, replacing the current system that has reached the end of its service life. In addition to generating electrical power, the new system will generate steam heat for “mission-critical" waterfront operations and training buildings.
The work is being performed through a 21-year, $169.3 million energy savings performance contract between the Navy and NORESCO, one of the largest energy services companies in the U.S.
The project increases energy efficiency on base through improved building heating and ventilation systems, efficient building lighting improvements and steam system improvements, achieving an average of about $10 million in annual energy savings, Moore said.
Energy expenses are the single largest cost for Navy installations, making up about 28% of installations' operating budgets. The cost savings anticipated through the contract can be used to support operations and improve the tactical performance of forces, Moore said.
He said the project also readies the base for a new, cybersecure microgrid, which will allow the base to generate its own electricity and will provide automated data gathering and precise peak demand control, but also allow the base to seamlessly disconnect from the utility grid and efficiently redirect power to areas where it is most needed.
Bob Ross, executive director of the state’s Office of Military Affairs, pointed out at Friday’s event that the site of the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new combined heat and power system was the same spot where on Sept 24, 2009, officials gathered to announce the first state-funded investment in the base: $7.65 million to support the construction a new Diver Support Facility at the base as well as modernizing a boiler at the base's power plant.
The state did not contribute to this project but since 2009 has invested in other projects to enhance the value of the base to prevent it from being targeted for closure or downsizing.
"The base looks so much different today than it did 11 years ago," Ross said. "A lot has changed in the world since we started. We're now talking about sea level rise, microgrids and resilient power. No one was talking about those things 11 years ago. It's nice to be in a place that's ready to respond as they become priorities in national defense."

Killingly Community Center’s fate in limbo as issues mount
John Penney
KILLINGLY – When one of the heaters recently stopped working in the Killingly Community Center’s gym, facility employees did an internet search in hopes of finding a replacement part.
“But the only place that showed up as having the part was an antiques museum, in the Midwest,” Recreation Director Tracy Mason said.
A lack of easily obtained replacement parts for needed repairs is just one issue plaguing the Broad Street center in Danielson, a building whose fate has been in limbo for years with no immediate solutions in sight.
The Town Council in March declined to move forward with a $16 million bonding proposal that, if approved by residents, would have shifted programming to the town’s former high school on Westfield Avenue and made any repair issues at the Broad Street site moot.
Town Manager Mary Calorio said council members were leery of approving two large bonding packages – the council eventually approved a $16 million Killingly Memorial School upgrade plan – in the same year.
“The idea is to bring the issue back up in a year or two,” she said. “But more than half of that community center bonding was to make improvements to the Westfield building’s roof, security, windows and other items that need to get done before it can be used for recreation. The estimates are the price of that work will increase 5% every year going forward. So, what was a $16 million bond will likely be $17 million next year and close to $18 million the year after.”
In an attempt to keep the current facility running, Calorio proposed including $100,000 in the 2020-21 budget for an engineering and evaluation study aimed at pinpointing what work would be needed to keep the center’s doors open, at least for the next few years.
“That money did not survive the budget process,” she said. “Instead, $50,000 was directed to be taken out of the town’s contingency fund for any emergency repairs that might need to be handled this year.”
The center, built in the mid-1900s, still has most of its original, single-paned windows whose lack of efficiency forces employees to plug gaps with towels and blankets in the winter. Many of the facility’s rooms with high ceilings are cooled – poorly – by window-mounted air-conditioning units, and a cooling system dedicated to the theater area is on its last legs.
“Without air-conditioning in that theater, it’ll be very uncomfortable for people to keep using that space, which is used for productions and senior movies,” Mason said. “We’ll continue to work with what we’ve been dealt, but at some point we may have to modify or scale-back our programming here.”
Conversations on how to best address the center have cropped up frequently in the last decade, though without any hard movement.
A November 2018 feasibility study found several issues plaguing the Broad Street site, including a building “not adequate for large events and fully scheduled times.” The center’s infrastructure was judged to be in sound condition, though its original incarnation as a former school means its floor plan largely consists of utility and small storage rooms rather than program-friendly spaces.
The center’s gym was deemed undersized and not handicap-accessible, while security features needed upgrades and jumping and other impacts cause continual vibration problems.
The study offered several suggestions, including a $27 million build-as-new option complete with indoor soccer fields that received a lukewarm reception from officials. A $21.3 million plan to renovate the current center was also offered.
Council members in January 2019 approved exploring a $7-9 million upgrade plan – one that ultimately fizzled - that also called for making bare-bones repairs to the Broad Street building that offers space to the Retired Seniors and Volunteer Program overseen by the Thames Valley Council for Community Action and the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse group.
Several council members previously said they hoped to use anticipated money from a community development benefit agreement with power plant developer NTE to cover some center upgrades, though no firm discussions have been held on what portion of that $4 million might be drawn on.
“The issues at the center aren’t going to improve in the coming years,” Calorio said. “So right now we need to decide what we need to do to keep those doors open, understanding that no one wants to heavily invest in a building we might eventually stop using.”