CT contracting watchdog close to adding investigative team

Keith M. Phaneuf

For its entire 15-year history, the state’s contracting watchdog agency has been a shell operation, battling to secure funds to hire an actual investigative staff.

And while the State Contracting Standards Board finally won that fight in May, it is well into its fourth month of the new fiscal year with no investigative team in place — though officials say that’s about to change.

“We’re on it, we’re active, but it’s just taking its time,” said West Hartford Democrat Lawrence Fox, the board’s chairman. “No one is slow-walking it.”

The board, which wants to delve deeper into all state agency contracting procedures — particularly those involving the Connecticut Port Authority and an offshore wind farm near New London — expects to ramp up activities this winter, Fox insisted.

But he also noted that while securing funding was a crucial first step, state agencies cannot hire until proper job descriptions and classifications have been drafted and approved, until jobs are posted and initial applications are reviewed — all of which is done in conjunction with the Department of Administrative Services. And DAS officials have their hands full these days after watching more than 4,500 state employees — spread across all agencies — retire during the first six months of 2022.

The surge in retirements between January and June — roughly double the annual total in recent years — was triggered largely by a 2017 concessions package between the state and its employee unions. That deal tightened pension benefits for workers who retire after June 30, 2022.

“DAS is pleased to partner with the State Contracting Standards Board to support its mission and critical recruitment efforts,” Commissioner Michelle Gilman said this week. “All positions are on track to be filled expeditiously, yet in accordance with statutory, regulatory and collective bargaining procedures.”

The contracting board will receive lists of candidates for all five positions in its investigative team this week.

Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature included $454,000 to fund the new positions in the $24.2 billion state budget they adopted in early May for the fiscal year that began July 1.

The board was the linchpin of the “Clean Contracting” system created in 2007 in response to the contracting scandals that drove Republican Gov. John G. Rowland from office amid an impeachment inquiry in July 2004. Rowland later served 10 months in federal prison after admitting he accepted about $100,000 in gifts from state contractors and his staff.

The board was empowered to review Executive Branch agencies’ contracting processes to ensure they were transparent, cost-efficient and in compliance with the law. It also would have authority to suspend any procurement effort deemed improper.

But it never was provided with funding to employ more than an executive director and occasional clerical staff.

Pressure from legislators to strengthen the contracting watchdog office has intensified since early February following reports that the FBI is investigating school construction work and other projects once overseen by Lamont’s former deputy budget director, Konstantinos Diamantis.

The contracting board also wants to delve more deeply into the Connecticut Port Authority’s efforts to renovate State Pier in New London to make it the staging point for development of an offshore wind-to-energy project.

The watchdog board’s volunteer members contributed their own time last winter to begin investigating a $523,000 “success” fee the port authority paid to a New York consulting firm that helped it find a pier operator. That consulting firm, Seabury Capital Group of New York, has close ties to a former port authority member.

Fox has said he believes the contracting watchdog, once fully staffed, both can improve the quality of state services and reduce wasteful spending through better monitoring of contracts.

Norwich voters will be asked whether they support $385 million schools project

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― On Nov. 8, voters here will find a referendum question at the lower right of the ballot on a proposed $385 million bond that would restructure city schools for decades.

The measure calls for consolidating the current seven elementary schools into four new schools that would be built on the grounds of the John B. Stanton, Moriarty Environmental Sciences and Uncas schools and the former site of the Greeneville School. The Teachers Memorial Global Studies Magnet Middle School either would be substantially renovated or replaced.

The Samuel Huntington School would be renovated and converted into the adult education center and administrative offices. The new elementary schools would house preschool through grade five, also eliminating the Early Child Learning Center at Bishop School. Closed buildings would be reused in some way or sold.

Although the bond question asks for $385 million, the city’s total cost would range from $97 million to $153 million, depending on state reimbursement levels.

Without the new schools construction bond, the city would face an estimated $225 million with no state reimbursement just to repair and maintain the current city schools, which were built between 1925 and 1975.

The schools would remain cramped and inadequate and would continue to offer unequal amenities to students in buildings that lack parity, School Building Committee Chairman Mark Bettencourt said.

“When you look at the project verses what happens to us when you do nothing,” Bettencourt said, “that’s where it makes the most sense. No one wants to spend that kind of money, but what happens when you don’t. You have to spend $225 million and then what do you get, seven very old schools that do not meet education needs.”

City officials estimate the tax impact for the first 10 years of the 30-year bond to range from 2.9 mills and 4.6 mills.

Despite the price tag and monumental scope of the project, the fall campaign season has been quiet on the measure. No signs dot the landscape urging voters to “vote yes” or “vote no,” and no political action committees have been set up to promote or campaign against the bond.

The city cannot spend public dollars to promote a referendum issue, but Norwich received state approval to print a large poster of explanatory text for the bond that are placed in each city school, at City Hall and the Norwich Community Development Corp. headquarters at 66 Franklin St.

Two speakers at Monday’s City Council meeting expressed urgency to the council and questioned why city leaders have not embarked on a public information campaign, with sessions at local firehouses and civic events as was done in the past. Resident Brian Kobylarz and former Alderman Samuel Browning pointed to past successful campaigns that won voter support for multimillion-dollar downtown revitalization programs and vital police communications equipment upgrades.

Aldermen, school board members and the School Building Committee attended a workshop meeting Sept. 15 that explained limitations city leaders face in promoting referendum questions, including prohibition of use of city money to promote the bonds.

But that would not prevent political campaigning, Browning told the council Monday.

“Now’s the time,” Browning said for political leaders to support the bond.

“You guys need to do a better job publicizing this if you want it to pass,” Browning said. “Right now, the average voter in Norwich is going to walk in, take a look at it and go, ‘huh?’ This is a real danger.”

Browning said Bettencourt and the School Building Committee have done a lot of work to get to this point but added: “This hasn’t been given the corresponding political push.”

Kobylarz suggested using the new online CitizenLab public input forum to explain the referendum question.

Shiela Hayes, president of the Norwich branch of the NAACP, said its Robertsine Duncan Youth Council have launched its own campaign to promote the referendum. The group printed blue and white fliers and laminated cards stating “VOTE YES FOR OUR CHILDREN” depicting an image of a school building. Beneath the image, the flier states, “Norwich New School Buildings Construction Bond,” with the NAACP branch logos at the bottom.

The youth group members handed out the fliers at the candidate debate the group co-sponsored Wednesday and will ask businesses to post them at local shops. The NAACP also will promote the referendum on social media, Hayes said.

Bettencourt said he plans to do social media promotion as well, including videos with interviews of city and school officials on YouTube.

“I am hoping and will be encouraged if they can get a couple informational pieces on why is this important,” Hayes said. “I understand there may be some limitations on whether they can say, ‘support or not,’ but what is lacking is why is this bond important, why is it on as a referendum this year?”

Shelton sells off more Mas property land for $2.4M

Brian Gioiele

SHELTON — With Constitution Boulevard extension work nearly underway, the city has secured deals with companies to buy land on the Mas property and adjacent city lots to which the new road will connect. 

The Board of Aldermen, at its meeting last week, approved four deals, in which the city will sell some 26 acres for a total of nearly $2.4 million. Mayor Mark Lauretti said the city purchased the Mas property for $600,000 in 1996. 

“I think the goal for all of us is to sell property,” Lauretti said. “We paid very little for it, and by selling this land, it will be a windfall for the city. But it will be a bigger windfall for the taxpayers by putting buildings on the property and collecting taxes on all that personal property and real estate for the next 40 years. That’s the real silver lining here.” 

The price for the land ranges from $85,000 to $125,000 per acre to various groups for use in industrial and retail capacities.

Lauretti said he placed the $85,000 per acre price on the land after discussions with the city’s appraisal company. He said the acres being sold are “raw land. There’s no utilities, and its rough terrain. A lot of sitework will be needed" he said, adding "The price is reflected in the condition of the land."

Lauretti said three of the sales are in the heart of the Mas property, but a parcel bordering Bridgeport Avenue carries the higher, $125,000 per acre price tag. The recent realignment of Constitution Boulevard allowed the city to sell to a retail operation because of the location along Bridgeport Avenue, Lauretti said.

Lauretti said Constitution Manufacturing, already Shelton-based, specializes in steel manufacturing and plans to build a 40,000 square foot building.  

Barone Ventures, LLC, plans to move its industrial, manufacturing and corporate offices to the site. The company has informed Lauretti that it plans to build a 150,000-square-foot building for its operations. 

Kyma, LLC, specializing in interior audio design and consulting, plans to build a 50,000-square-foot building. 

The final property, adjacent to Bridgeport Avenue, is planned for retail.

These deals come after the city agreed to sell six acres to William and Nicole Charney, owners of Shelton-based Advanced Home Audio, which is presently located on Long Hill Cross Road. 

The couple agreed to pay the city $85,000 per acre, which comes out to $510,000. The aldermen’s approval states the total acreage and payment amount will be determined after the final subdivision of the nearly 70-acre parcel near Constitution Boulevard. 

Lauretti said, from his understanding, the company would be consolidating its operations on the purchased land.

The city has also reached a deal with Bigelow Tea, which agreed to purchase 25 acres of the property for an estimated $2.1 million for its future expansion. 

Port authority moves to cover additional construction costs at State Pier

Brian Hallenbeck

New London ― Ongoing infrastructure improvements at State Pier have added $7.5 million to construction costs that now exceed $225 million.

The Connecticut Port Authority moved Tuesday to cover the shortfall by shifting available funds, including “a modest contingency” of about $2.5 million, savings on non-construction-related “soft costs” and $3.7 million the authority will remove from an escrow account containing 10 years’ worth of lease payments for the New England Central Railroad property next to the pier.

The authority will shift the last five years of lease payments ― the period from 2028 to 2033 ― to future operating budgets, David Kooris, chairman of the authority’s board of directors, said during a board meeting that was conducted remotely. He said the additional $7.5 million in expenditures does not increase the overall budget for the project.

“The bottom line impact is no additional money from the state,” he said.

The total funding available for the project remains $255.5 million, a sum that includes a $178 million commitment from the state and another $77.5 million from private partners. Over the last three years, the project’s original price tag has more than doubled.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Marlin Peterson, construction manager for AECOM, the consulting firm overseeing the project, described complications encountered during excavation work at State Pier, which is being turned into a staging site for the offshore wind industry. He said timber and concrete foundations believed to have supported warehouse structures had to be removed. Additional demolition, excavation and backfilling of material also were required.

During installation of a foundation wall, underwater obstructions have been discovered, causing delays, Peterson said. Supply-chain issues have caused late delivery of electrical equipment, contributing to adjustments in projected completion dates.

Final acceptance of the completed project is now set for Oct. 30, 2023.

Ulysses Hammond, the authority’s interim executive director, told board members construction activity progressed on each of the project’s major work fronts during October. On the Northeast Bulkhead, the last of four concrete slabs and curbs had been poured in September, completing a heavy-lift platform. Fill placement at the Central Wharf is 95% complete, Hammond reported.

Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting began dredging on the project site during the first week of October.

“State Pier heavy-lift platform work continues to represent the critical path for completion of the project,” Hammond said.

Current plans for South Fork Wind, the first offshore wind project scheduled to use State Pier, call for vessels to start arriving in the summer of 2023.

“The Northeast Bulkhead’s substantial completion forecast of Feb. 28, 2023, and the Upland/Central Wharf’s substantial forecast of April 10, 2023 are on track to accommodate terminal operations,” Hammond said.

Transportation leaders aim to boost equity in federal infrastructure efforts

Julie Strupp

Six state DOT heads signed a pledge last week to leverage funding from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reduce the racial wealth gap. California, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana and Michigan, plus Washington, D.C., aim to do so by creating more opportunities for historically disadvantaged construction businesses — with an emphasis on prime contracting roles.

“We thought that contracting was one of the ways we could use to increase generational wealth in underserved communities,” said Phil Washington, co-chair of the Equity in Infrastructure Project, at a press event on Oct. 11. “These six [DOTs] represent billions of dollars in infrastructure monies, and billions of dollars in terms of the work that they do in their respective states. So this pledge to significantly increase minority prime contracting is very, very significant.”

The IIJA stipulates that at least 10% of federal transportation and transit project funds go to DBE enterprises, and it also places an emphasis on prompt payment to DBE subcontractors in order to remedy ongoing effects of past discrimination against small firms owned and controlled by disadvantaged individuals. In July, the White House proposed updates to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program regulations. 

These efforts are part of the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative goal for 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments — including the IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act — to flow to disadvantaged communities.

Although it is an independent entity, the Equity In Infrastructure Project aims to support those federal efforts to increase the number, size and proportion of contracts going to historically disadvantaged contractors. Participants have also committed to streamline processes for obtaining necessary DBE certifications, improve payment time and expand access to financing to help underserved businesses meet infrastructure contracts, according to EIP’s website.

Attendees at last week’s event offered other strategies to address the gap as well, such as: provide technical assistance to DBEs, increase skills training and publicizing civil work opportunities.

Barriers for small and disadvantaged contractors

One of the challenges that small and disadvantaged businesses face is getting access to insurance needed for such federal work. The criteria for better rates favors established builders, and makes it difficult for newer ones to compete.

“We recognized that our industry is itself an institutional perpetuator of inequity,” said Ingrid Merriweather, EIP Advisory Council member and CEO of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services, at the event. “Lack of access to required insurance at competitive cost and bonding — both of which are standard risk management of all public construction — were inhibiting equitable contracting participation by minority and small construction firms.” 

To address this, a few decades ago the organization procured bonding for DBE clients on public works projects through a process called aligned risk management. It sought to prove that a more level playing field benefits both small contractors and project owners alike — and indeed, over 25 years, the program demonstrated that use of DBEs reduced project costs and slashed the loss ratio to almost nothing.

“We were afforded the opportunity to prove that effective risk management and inclusion of minority businesses were not mutually exclusive. You could in fact do both, and moreover, you can expand the field of those enabled to bid [federal] work,” Merriweather said. “We were able to prove that when you remove these barriers, provide supportive services and integrate risk management in the process, not only can [small contractors] participate, but according to the stats, outperform their larger peers.”

Another challenge small contractors face after they land a contract is a lack of cash flow, according to Merriweather. One way to address this is to partner with Community Development Financial Institutions to provide contract funding, and use the contract as collateral and the source to repay funds.

Experts at the event urged other state, local and private leaders to step up to close underutilized firms’ participation gap.

“We have to seize the moment,” said EIP Co-Founder and former U.S. DOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari. “We have unprecedented funding at the federal level for five years, we have a public that’s hungry for infrastructure across the spectrum, and we have public agencies and private partners that are eager to deliver.”

South State Street finally re-opens under new Stamford train station garage

Ignacio Laguarda

STAMFORD — The new 928-spot parking garage at the Stamford Transportation Center is not yet open, but drivers have recently been able to get a much closer look at the structure.

That's because South State Street, now partially covered by the new car depot, re-opened this month. The street, which connects Greenwich Avenue to Washington Boulevard just south of Interstate 95, had been closed down for months, as work has been ongoing to construct the new garage.

City and state leaders broke ground on the $81.7 million structure in October 2021. It is being constructed to replace the much maligned garage on Station Place, directly across from the station.

Originally, state officials had set a target date of late 2022 to open the garage. Work is expected to last until summer of 2023, as contractors will be working on interior finishes.

Once it opens, motorists will be able to enter and exit the structure from South State Street from two separate locations.