CT Construction Digest Thursday January 18, 2024
January 17 CT DOT Bid
Hartford's 4-mile underground tunnel emerged two years ago, but it won't operate until 2026
HARTFORD — After churning its way through the Earth 200 feet below the surface, the Metropolitan District Commission's four-mile long tunnel emerged in West Hartford in 2022, but its story didn't end there.
The tunnel, which has an 18-foot diameter, is meant to catch overflowing water across the southwest portion of Hartford. Once the water enters the tunnel, it will be treated and then deposited into the Connecticut River. Even though the tunnel portion itself is complete, the project is not set to be functional until 2026 because the pump station isn't finished.
"The tunnel is nearly complete," said Susan Negrelli, director of engineering at MDC. "But the tunnel can't operate without the pump station being online."
IRIS, the name given to the tunnel boring system, ends at the MDC's retrieval facility on Talcott Road in West Hartford. The project is the first of its kind in Connecticut and is a major component of MDC's Clean Water Project, required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The MDC — which provides services to Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor — decided to build the historic tunnel after an attempt in 2006 to separate sewer and water operations in sections of Hartford. The tunnel started on Brainard Road in Hartford in August 2018.
In Hartford, the sewer system is outdated, meaning storm water and sewage share the same pipes. But the sewer separation was proving too challenging. Thus, IRIS was born.
"The sewer separation is a long and tedious process," Negrelli said. "So at some point, I wasn't up here at that point, but it was determined that with the schedule we had and the requirement of complete elimination of overflows to Wethersfield Cove, that we pivoted and decided to build a tunnel in the southern part of Hartford."
But in the years since then, a lot has changed — most notably the climate. Hartford, in the wake of increasingly severe storm events, has experienced worsening flooding. And in Hartford, where the sewer systems are still merged, the flooding can involve both storm water and sewage.
Negrelli said in some cases the storms are so bad that even a tunnel like IRIS couldn't prevent flooding.
"A lot of these events that we've been having are 100-year storm events, 200-year storm events," Negrelli said. "Nothing we do is going to help the flooding associated with a storm event like that."
In the North End of Hartford, residents sharing stories of basements flooded with sewage after a heavy rainfall scored a $175 million grant to address flooding. Of the $175 million, $170 million went to the MDC to make improvements to the combined sewer and water systems in the North End. And while these projects have already kicked off, they have also delayed some progress on the tunnel.
"The tunnel was made up of five contracts," Negrelli said. "Contract four, which is the overflows that go to the Wethersfield Cove, that is one of the projects that was deferred in order to do some of the North Hartford projects."
The North Hartford projects began in July, including new drain pipes, lining of existing pipes, and some water main relocation. One of the main projects is the North Branch Park River Drainage Study, intended to address the regularly submerged Park River, which backs up into neighborhoods near Granby Street and Blue Hills during rain events.
Additionally, the funding allows for private property sewer improvements.
"(The improvements) help with getting the sewage backup out of people's basements, lining the lateral from the sewer in the street to your home, which is typically your own responsibility as a homeowner," said Nick Salemi, communications administrator at MDC. "We've now got money to be able to help inspect, reline, and repair if necessary, which we were never allowed to do before. So that's a big, big change."
Relining a pipe is the process of inserting a new pipe inside the old pipe to prevent having to dig up the street to replace the pipe.
Both Salemi and Negrelli said the improvements aren't for flood mitigation specifically, but rather to upgrade and improve sewer systems. And the process has a long way to go.
"These people, they're gonna get sick of us doing all this construction in the neighborhood," Negrelli said. "And we block streets off, and they can't get through and it gets onerous for the neighborhood. We're in there ripping things apart doing separation."
South Windsor delays long-stalled $7.5M plan to upgrade high school athletic facilities
SOUTH WINDSOR — After much discussion and public comment, the Town Council voted 5-4 to delay setting a date for a long-stalled plan to upgrade the high school's athletic facilities.
Voters would have chosen in March whether to have the town borrow $7,555,000 in bonds for campus improvements and new athletic facilities at South Windsor High School or other town property, in accordance with a plan recommended by the Board of Education.
The centerpiece of the Board of Education's plan is a lighted, multipurpose artificial turf field at South Windsor High that would primarily serve the football and soccer programs. The project also includes seven new post-tension concrete tennis courts to replace the high school's six existing courts, alongside a new space for pickleball.
The Board of Education requested that the Town Council set a referendum date for March 12, allowing for construction to begin in the spring if approved.
At a meeting Tuesday night, the Town Council's three Democrats voted against postponing the referendum decision, alongside Republican Deputy Mayor Matt Siracusa.
Council member Toby Lewis, who proposed the idea to delay the decision, said he would prefer to wait until the municipal budget is completed this summer before committing the town to a large, expensive project.
Mayor Audrey Delnicki said a delay could give the town and the Board of Education the opportunity to find other funding opportunities, including a corporate sponsorship.
Town Council member Erica Evans said moving forward on the referendum as soon as possible would be the right move, especially considering the superintendent's prediction that project cost could increase by more than $1 million if the referendum is held in November.
Town Council member Steven King Jr. said a March referendum date would ensure that the new facilities would be built as soon as possible, as it must be constructed during the summer.
A handful of residents spoke in favor of holding the referendum in March, with many stressing the importance of letting voters decide as soon as possible.
Eric Mahan said new athletic facilities are long overdue and the vast majority of South Windsor's peers have lighted fields available.
"This has been on the strategic plan for the Board of Education for five years and has been a need for much longer than that," Mahan said.
John Sexton said though he was not entirely on board with the proposed facilities, a referendum would let the town finally decide whether to move forward on the plan.
"That seems like an awful lot of money," Sexton said. "Maybe if I could see in greater detail this whole proposal, I could be convinced otherwise."
Ray Paulin said he would like to see new athletic facilities in town but felt that the town should pull together a variety of funding sources like other towns have done with similar developments.
"Let's be creative about financing this project," Paulin said.
US commission to weigh 'effects of aging' in any renewal for CT's Millstone nuclear power plant
Nearly five years after forcing Connecticut to pay more for electricity produced by the Millstone nuclear power plant, owner Dominion is considering a longer lifespan for the Waterford facility — while staying mum for now on whether it might seek to build a new reactor there, as well.
Dominion took an initial step toward filing for another operating extension on its Millstone Power Station nuclear plant in Waterford. If approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, any extension would give Dominion the option of stretching the shelflife of the Millstone 2 reactor to 2055, and the Millstone 3 reactor to 2065. The NRC last approved a license renewal for Millstone's two reactors in November 2005.
"The letter is not a request to extend the licenses," stated Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby in an email response to a CT Insider query. "It’s advance notice that we intend to seek subsequent license renewal by the end of 2027."
NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan told CT Insider that the commission expects a number of nuclear plant operators to seek similar authorizations for existing nuclear plants in the coming years. Initial reactor licenses stay in effect for 40 years, with NRC authorized to grant two extensions lasting 20 years each to push the total operating life of any plant to 80 years.
The NRC has three existing applications now under review for extensions on nuclear power plants in Ohio, Texas and California.
"If the company decides to submit a Subsequent License Renewal application, the NRC will perform thorough and comprehensive safety and environmental reviews," Sheehan told CT Insider via email. "A primary focus of a license renewal review would be an evaluation of how the company is managing the effects of aging on the facility."
Millstone is one of two nuclear energy power plants in New England, along with NextEra Energy's Seabrook Nuclear Power Station on the New Hampshire coast. Combined, the plants supplied about 23 percent of New England's electricity through the first 11 months of last year, according to ISO New England, which oversees the region's power markets.
According to a Yale School of Management study, Millstone first came online in 1970, adding two additional units in 1975 and 1986, respectively, turning it into the largest power generator in New England at the time.
Millstone is also a major employer, with the U.S. Department of Labor reporting its workforce last year at about 1,200 people, including 300 independent contractors.
Last February, Millstone CEO Bob Blue signaled the possibility for a Millstone license extension, with the company having fielded questions previously on any appetite to add a new reactor in Waterford and possibly in Massachusetts. In the spring of 2022, Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law an end to a moratorium on new nuclear reactors in Connecticut, which had been in effect since 1979.
"Millstone is a great asset and we believe the policymakers in New England are recognizing increasingly its value for them to meet reliability and any chance to meet the kinds of decarbonization targets that they may have," Blue said last February during a conference call. "We see the possibility of being able to take action with policymakers to give us the certainty we would need in order to extend the life of Millstone and have that valuable resource for New England for some time to come."
In August 2022, Blue cited the new Connecticut law allowing for additional nuclear reactors, saying "obviously that would be Millstone" and leaving open the possibility of the company pursuing that option with the support of "stakeholders throughout the region" in his words.
Natural gas power plants continue to dominate the New England grid, producing 55 percent of the region's power through last year. But pipeline constraints have prompted big swings in prices during cold snaps when power plants compete for available supplies with natural gas customers who need the fuel to heat homes and commercial buildings.
Natural gas prices shot up in 2022 to make Millstone's electricity prices a comparative bargain at the time, before gas prices tailed back off last year.
While the Millstone facility generates little air pollution, nuclear fission produces radioactive waste which is stored on site. That reality has prompted opposition to other nuclear operators that have sought to extend reactor operations past their original sunset dates.
As of August, the average age of nuclear power reactors in the United States was about 42 years, according to the most recent estimates by the Energy Information Administration. The nation's oldest reactor is Nine Mile Point Unit 1 on Lake Ontario in New York, which began producing power commercially at the close of 1969.
In 2021, Entergy shut down its last reactor at Indian Point Energy Center on the Hudson River, with the reactor dismantling process now ramping up.
Last July, Georgia's Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant began generating electricity from a fourth reactor, the first new nuclear generator in nearly seven years in the United States.
Facing Strong Local Opposition, Cashman Makes its Case for Thames River Development, Revival
Cate Hewitt
LEDYARD — Plans by a Massachusetts-based developer to cart away part of Mt. Decatur to create a suitable site along the Thames River for the budding offshore wind industry, appear to have struck a chord among residents of Ledyard who turned out again in numbers to voice concerns about noise, dust and vibrations, as well as the historical significance of the site.
CT Examiner spoke with Alan Perrault, vice president at Jay Cashman, Inc., a marine dredging and construction company, that is working under the name Gales Ferry Intermodal to develop the 165-acre parcel. He laid out the reasons for choosing the location in Gales Ferry as well as longer-term plans for the area.
Later, we attended a Jan. 11 Planning and Zoning public hearing at the middle school auditorium, where roughly 100 residents turned out — overwhelmingly in opposition — to speak in person about their concerns and more listened in by Zoom.
The project would remove portions of Mt. Decatur and regrade the parcel over a five- to 10-year period – using quarrying and rock crushing – to create a 40-acre pad for industrial businesses.
A vision for connecting with offshore wind
“It’s a good secondary location for us, having a marine site, and it has rail and access to two interstates, so that was what the attraction was,” Perrault told CT Examiner in a phone call on Jan. 11.
“This is why we call ourselves Gales Ferry Intermodal,” he said. “We’re interconnected by rail as well as water so that’s the main thing that attracted us to this site.”
Perrault said the infrastructure bones built over a century ago along the Thames River were already in place and economic revitalization was afoot.
“The roadways are fine, but as roadway infrastructure gets more and more tied up with traffic, people are now reverting back to what we originally had – like water and rail. So that’s kind of why this is happening. We’re not the only one. There’s a couple other industrial sites along the river that have been reacquired or are being repurposed as we speak and on both sides of the river,” he said.
He said the site’s access to the Genesee Wyoming rail line was significant – connecting to rail all over the country – as well as highway access to CT-12 and relatively deep water access on the Thames River.
He said the location complements the company’s Quincy and Staten Island sites. It’s also convenient to State Pier – his company had been awarded the pier’s dredging subcontract – where offshore wind staging and assemblage was already underway, and had easy access to the open ocean.
Perrault also said that the state’s push to address climate change, from off-shore wind construction to hardening and resiliency projects along the shoreline, would create a demand for rock and gravel.
“For some of the offshore wind renewables, it’s an
attractive location because we’re next to the grid,” he said. The
property is “near the new substation that Eversource just built on Route 12,”
with a 115KV transmission line that bisects the southern side of the site, with
proximity to the Montville power station.
“How do you get that into the grid? You’ve got to come up places like the river
and tie into places like the Montville power plant to get it into our energy
grid,” said Perrault.
To do that, he said, the company plans to carve away part of the hill by quarrying the rock over a five to 10-year process, which times the work perfectly for the offshore wind industry.
He also promised that carting topsoil offsite would be limited.
“We imagine that being as a max with 50 one way trips a day, or if you wanted to count them out is 100, but that would be the max not some of the numbers that have been thrown out – some people said it’d be 100 one way or 200 round trips,” he said.
He said that one of the misconceptions about the project is the amount of truck traffic the project would generate. According to Perrault, his company had spent about $4 million this year to rehab 300 feet of the 800 foot pier for a heavy-load capacity so that “most of the material would be barged out, so there is minimal trucking.”
The timing, he said, was perfect for offshore wind.
“Those projects haven’t even been let as of now… The New England states are putting out RFPs now for offshore wind companies to give them proposals and some of those people are talking to us saying, ‘Would you be a support facility if we got a contract?’” he said. “It’s all dependent on contracts, depending on them being awarded, depending on where it goes. But I think in the next 10 years, you’re gonna see a sizable amount of renewable energy projects in the Connecticut area near the shore.”
Noise, Vibration, Property Values, Health
But that vision for the site has been met with a small storm of local opposition.
About 100 people attended Thursday night’s Planning and Zoning public hearing in person, which was also available by Zoom, and many waited in line to sign up to speak.
First at the podium was local resident David Harned, a member of the Citizens Alliance for Land Use, which, he emphasized, was not an opposition group but existed to raise public awareness and promote responsible economic development.
Using a detailed slide presentation, Harned listed and broke down 13 town regulations that he said the project violated, including issues of transmission of vibrations, dust, pollution and fumes, as well as increased intensity of use, excavation regulations.
Harned said that the proposal violates the town regulation that prevents projects from having an adverse effect on property values or historic features of the immediate neighborhood – and emphasized there were no exceptions.
“This one is pretty self-explanatory. It doesn’t say it’s okay if only a few property values go down, it doesn’t say it’s okay to have some damage to historic features… it says no adverse effect,” he said. “So let me remind you that there is a residence that is actually on Mt. Decatur, been there since 1963. This proposed quarry would turn their hilltop sanctuary into a nightmare and any reasonable person would argue that their property value would plummet and the same is true for properties nearby.”
He emphasized the harmful effects of silica dust, a carcinogen, that would be produced by quarrying and rock crushing. One regulation called for “no unreasonable pollution,” which Harned said fit the definition of exposure to silica dust. Again and again, his remarks were answered with applause and cheering from the audience.
He told the commission that the project could not be approved without violating the town’s zoning regulations.
“There are many violations that could not be overcome under any conditions, therefore the option of approval with conditions is not an option either,” he said. “I would like to see this property developed responsibly so that our town might actually benefit from its redevelopment, and I hope the company brings that type of proposal to our town but this proposal is not one of them and it must be denied. I think that if Cashman truly wanted to show this community that they wanted to be a good neighbor, they would withdraw the application and not continue to put us through this exercise.”
Resident Rebecca Soleyn said that she had planned to farm crops on her property on Chapman Lane but “all of our land will be covered in dust, even the flowers.” She said her property value will be “decimated” by the proposal.
Ann Roberts-Pierson told the commission that Mt. Decatur should be on the National Historic Register. She said that because the project will degrade a historic site, it is also “inconsistent with the Connecticut Coastal Management Act.”
On Zoom, Kelly Berliner of the Archeological Conservancy, said that her group was interested in acquiring all of Mt. Decatur to preserve it. She emphasized the importance of the Planning and Zoning Commission withholding a blasting permit until they have signed agreement from Cashman detailing that the company will donate parts of Ft. Decatur as well as several surrounding areas.
One 14-year resident of the neighborhood said her concerns included increased traffic, noise, vibrations, dust, and loss of personal health, quality of life and property values. She said the potential economic benefits to the town did “not justify the level of destruction” the project would bring.
On Zoom, resident Samuel Roudebush warned that the town did not have the expertise to ensure compliance in quarrying practices and that monitoring and enforcement were beyond the town’s capabilities. He named numerous examples of towns that had tried to enforce quarrying compliance, with little to no success. He said that administrative fines and litigation would come “after the fact of destruction” and that once a violation occurs, irreversible damage usually had already been done, with lasting effects on the community.
Resident Bruce Edwards said he was “deeply offended by this application because it’s harmful.” He said that Gales Ferry Intermodal had not addressed the neighbors’ exposure to silica dust and that the airborne dust could not be controlled with water. “Silicosis develops over time and shows up years later,” he said.
Resident Thomas Thomas said he had lived through the remodeling of the substation nearby, which resulted in needing to dust his house every day. “I cannot begin to imagine the level of dust, with heavy trucks up on the hill,” he said. “I implore you not to go through with this… I’m living in it now with huge trucks going to and from the substation… I’m terrified.”
Susan Axline, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1983 and recently bought her condo, said she worried about the noise, dust and “aggravation.” She said that as a shift worker, her day starts at 11 a.m. six days a week, but with the quarrying schedule – potentially starting at 7:30 a.m. – she might not be able to sleep.
Carlo Perazzi, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for 55 years, said he was worried about the noise from quarrying and blasting. “We can hear reveille at the sub base five miles away,” he said. He expressed concerns about his property values – his house is located 1200 feet from the site. He questioned the tax benefits to the town and asked, “At what cost?”
Milton Shroeder said the applicant “would have us believe blasting away Mt. Decatur is the last best chance for our town.” He added that that Gales Ferry Intermodal was an LLC and can “simply be dissolved with little or no consequence,” which was “not a reassuring model for a company to follow regulations.”
Resident Dave Schroeder said the project would “leave a hole in the ground.” He told the commission it was “unconscionable to consider passing this application” and that “it’s the wrong thing to do.”
Other residents spoke about the loss of habitat on Mt. Decatur, the sound of rock crushers as “louder than traffic on Route 12,” and potential contamination of wells and cracked foundations resulting from blasting.
The attorney for the applicant, Harry Heller, granted an extension on the application through Feb. 22, 2024. The public hearing was continued to Feb. 8, 2024.
A developer partnered in a plan to build 402 apartments on the former Showcase Cinemas site in East Hartford told officials this week that financing is coming together, and groundbreaking is expected in April.
East Hartford officials have an agreement to hand over the 25-acre site off Silver Lane to developers Avner Krohn and Brian Zelman for $1. The pair have been behind several large-scale and high-profile apartment developments in downtown New Britain, adding to the anticipation of East Hartford officials.
Under the agreement, Krohn and Zelman are to build at least 300 apartments in exchange for the land. They have an agreement with the town to secure financing by April 30.
In an update delivered to the East Hartford Town Council Tuesday night, Zelman said the partners are on track to secure financing in March that will allow them to build 309 apartments in eight buildings. That sets the project up for an April groundbreaking, he said.
The three-story apartment buildings, part of the Concourse Park multifamily development, are expected to be completed over 18 months, he said.
This construction phase will also include a clubhouse, mail and maintenance building.
Zelman said the partners are working to secure financing from a separate lender for a 93-unit building serviced by an elevator. That building will take about two years to complete.
Zelman, on Wednesday, put the total project cost at $115 million.
An earlier version of the agreement Krohn and Zelman struck with the town called for a minimum of 360 apartments, with financing secured by Sept. 30 of last year.
However, amid higher construction costs and interest rates, financing became more difficult to secure. Town officials agreed to reduce the required number of units to 300 and extend the deadline for Krohn and Zelman to secure financing to April 30, 2024.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Connor Martin thanked Zelman for sticking with the project despite growing challenges. Members of the Town Council were similarly supportive. Officials view the Zelman-Krohn development as a big step forward for a multipronged effort to revitalize the long-declining Silver Lane commercial corridor.
The development will come with amenities including a soundproof band rehearsal room in the clubhouse, dog washing station, pool, party room for rent and coworking space.
“It’s going to be pretty spectacular,” Zelman said.
Plan for massive new neighborhood near CT Capitol could get $3 million boost
The state would lend $3 million to a developer to purchase a parking lot on a prominent corner in Hartford’s Bushnell South redevelopment area, a proposal that also would remove the property from among the options for a new federal courthouse.
The multi-faceted proposal also calls for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts to have at least three years of free access to the parking lot for its patrons. The proposal also calls for the arts and education organization to potentially invest in future development on the two-acre lot at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Hudson Street.
The loan would come from the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority, which along with the city and The Bushnell, have been key forces working for years to reshape a bleak swath of parking lots just east of The Bushnell and a short walk from the State Capitol.
The parking lots would gradually give way to a new neighborhood of more than 1,000 residential units over the next decade, plus restaurants and shops, a public promenade, parking and other amenities.
The proposal, which will be considered by CRDA’s board of directors Thursday, also calls for the development of an overall parking and traffic management plan for the area. In addition, the agreement addresses stiff opposition against building a courthouse in the middle that has been envisioned for years as a new residential neighborhood just south of Bushnell Park.
At the proposal’s center, is the $3 million loan that South Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners would use to purchase the parking lot for future, mixed-use development.
Spinnaker is emerging as a major developer in Bushnell South and is now nearing completion of the conversion of the former state offices at 55 Elm St. into apartments. The $67 million project includes a second phase of new construction on parking lots around the historic building. The second phase is now in the planning stages and is across Capitol Avenue from the parking lot Spinnaker would purchase.
Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said Wednesday the loan would help solidify how the parking lot would be developed in the future. The vision for Bushnell South already is unfolding on nearby Spinnaker properties.
“It’s an opportunity to step in and map out with some comfort the future of that parcel,” Freimuth said.
Bushnell South challenges
One challenge in developing the area has been the mixture of public and private ownership. But planning for the development of the largest parking lot, owned by the state and just to the west of the one Spinnaker may purchase, is already underway. A preferred developer also has been chosen for that property.
And the foundation has been put in place with the $205 million renovation of the historic State Office Building and the construction of a 1,007 space garage nearby.
Spinnaker has had an option to purchase the lot at Capitol and Hudson for more than two years. In September, its owners, Simon Konover Co. and its partners, triggered the option, requiring a purchase this month.
However, the sale of the property has stirred up concerns — simmering for years — about how redevelopment — no matter how attractive on paper — would gradually erode parking options, particularly for The Bushnell’s theater-going patrons.
For years, the idea has been to establish “district parking” in Bushnell South, with different users — residents, state employees and Bushnell patrons — sharing the parking. But in practice, the approach might prove more challenging, especially when there is a surge of theater-goers entering and exiting the area in a short amount of time.
Even at this early stage, there has been heavier-than-usual congestion as Bushnell patrons try to use both parking lots and the new, $16 million parking garage on Capitol Avenue.
The agreement calls for the development of a long-term parking and traffic management plan that goes beyond the realm of a study, Freimuth said.
A consultant’s rendering of how a fully redeveloped Bushnell South could look in the future. (Goody Clancy)
“Some of it is complementary,” Freimuth said. “You’ve got state employees during the day and patrons at night. That’s a nice double hit at the garage.”
“But some of it is conflicting, Freimuth said, “You’ve got residents in the evening and patrons coming in, in the evening. They may not clear out in time for the state employees.”
The idea, Freimuth said, is not to build an “endless stream of parking garages.”
The withdrawal of the parking lot as a site for the new federal courthouse follows a similar move by Chase Enterprises last year for the parking lot it owns on the other side of Bushnell Park. That parking lot was the site of the former Hilton hotel, demolished in 1990.
If the Bushnell South site is withdrawn, two would remain: a parking lot on Allyn Street and a state office building at the corner of Woodland and Asylum streets.
At public meetings on the planned, $335 million courthouse, opponents have argued the new public edifice would not fit well with the vision for 24/7 Bushnell South neighborhood.
“A courthouse is everything counter to that,” Freimuth said. “We didn’t want a big federal building with all its protective structures, isolating itself in the middle of the neighborhood. It’s the wrong place, wrong day, wrong time. And that’s a parcel that is literally one block from the park. Why would you do it?”
Durham-Middlefield school officials seek public input on planned school renovations
Michael Savino
School officials are seeking input from the public as they continue to narrow down options for school renovation and construction plans.
Durham-Middlefield's Regional School District 13 scheduled community forums for Wednesday and Thursday, giving residents the chance to hear from the board’s consultant and talk about their preferred options.
The forums come a week after the school board was scheduled to hear from Rusty Malik, principal with the architectural firm Quisenberry Arcari Malik, prior to its Jan. 10 meeting.
The board hopes to narrow down the options before the two community forums.
The Wednesday forum from 4 to 6 p.m. and the Thursday forum starting at 6 p.m., were scheduled for Middlefield Memorial School. The board was supposed to have a workshop prior to its Dec. 13 meeting, but Malik couldn’t make the meeting.
Also during the Dec. 13 meeting, Superintendent Doug Schuch said school officials are deep into planning for a grade reconfiguration despite having few firm plans.
“We’re doing a lot in anticipation, even if there isn’t a lot to show for it,” Schuch told the school board.
Brewster Elementary School will house preschool through first grade next September, second- and third-graders will go to John Lyman Elementary School, and fourth- and fifth-graders will attend Middlefield Memorial.
Schuch said he expects the schools will have the same start times next school year, even after the grade reconfiguration.
The district puts all its 17 buses into service and Finance Director Kim Neubig said changing start times could mean contracting for more, at a price of $65,000 each.
Schuch said the staggered start times will also allow the district to accommodate parents who need to bring students to multiple schools.
He also said he and the principals are using the time to create more time for teachers to focus on English/language arts, or ELA, and math.
Schuch has not yet determined teacher assignments. Teachers recently completed a survey indicating their preferred assignment — to stay with their grade level, even if they have to move, or stay in the building and switch grades.
“Spoiler alert: not everyone’s going to get what they want,” he said. “We already knew that.”
OSHA Announces Switch From Traditional Hard Hats to Safety Helmets
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that the agency is replacing traditional hard hats used by its employees with more modern safety helmets to protect them better when they are on inspection sites.
In 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported head injuries accounted for nearly 6 percent of non-fatal occupational injuries involving days away from work. Almost half of those injuries occurred when workers came in contact with an object or equipment while about 20 percent were caused by slips, trips and falls.
Dating back to the 1960s, traditional hard hats protect the top of a worker's head but have minimal side impact protection and also lack chin straps. Without the straps, tradition hard hats can fall off a worker's head if they slip or trip, leaving them unprotected. In addition, traditional hard hats lacked vents and trapped heat inside.
On Nov. 22, 2023, OSHA published a Safety and Health Information Bulletin detailing key differences between traditional hard hats and more modern safety helmets and the advancements in design, materials and other features that help protect workers' entire heads better. Today's safety helmets also may offer face shields or goggles to protect against projectiles, dust and chemical splashes. Others offer built-in hearing protection and/or communication systems to enable clear communication in noisy environments.
The agency recommends safety helmets be used by people working at construction industry and the oil and gas industry; in high-temperature, specialized work and low-risk environments; performing tasks involving electrical work and working from heights; and when required by regulations or industry standards.
OSHA wants employers to make safety and health a core value in their workplaces and is committed to doing the same by leading by example and embracing the evolution of head protection.