Bridgeport seeks exemption of CT regulation for Sikorsky Airport sale

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — City officials will likely seek an exemption to a "well-intentioned" but "flawed" state regulation that has complicated already delayed efforts to sell off the municipal airport.

The exemption would address the costly snag that recently hit the months-long negotiations between Mayor Joe Ganim's administration and the Connecticut Airport Authority over the latter's proposed $10 million purchase of Sikorsky Memorial.

A preliminary review by the CAA of potential environmental contamination at the Bridgeport-owned, Stratford-based facility identified issues requiring anywhere from $6 million to $19 million worth of remediation, depending on the findings of future analyses.

Under the state's property transfer program, established in the mid-1980s, one of the parties involved in such a deal must agree "to investigate the parcel and remediate pollution caused by any release of a hazardous waste or hazardous substance" there.

Daniel Roach, a Ganim aide closely involved in the sale talks with the CAA, said it is likely the administration will pursue "an exemption" to that requirement, though any details are still to be worked out.

"Although well-intentioned, (the transfer act) has been flawed from day one," Roach said. 

That effort to get an exemption could be bolstered by the fact that a majority of Connecticut lawmakers agree with Roach's sentiment. Believing the current iteration of the transfer program is impractical and slows economic redevelopment efforts of former manufacturing and other contaminated sites around the state, the General Assembly in 2020 voted to sunset the law.

But that will only happen after a replacement process is developed by a "working group" of legislators, representatives with the state's departments of environmental protection and economic development, and attorneys, real estate brokers and environmental professionals.

A spokesperson for the economic development department was not immediately able to provide an update on that effort.

"Unfortunately we have to go through this (transfer process) even though they're getting rid of it," Roach said.

One of his arguments against applying the transfer act to the sale of Sikorsky is that the facility will continue to operate as an airport. The CAA's goal is to develop it into a more economically viable aviation hub, including reviving and adding the long-dormant commercial passenger operation to existing business, charter and private flight services.

"We're talking an airport, not a residential use," Roach noted.

Still, eventually either Bridgeport or the CAA would have to perform some level of additional testing and environmental cleanup. As Kevin Dillon, the CAA's director, noted in an interview last week during which he also spoke about finding a workaround to the transfer rule, "As you develop that property and start to disturb soils ... you're going to have to deal with whatever contamination would be on those sites potentially before you could move forward with the construction."

Any airport sale will need the approval of Bridgeport's City Council. Council President Aidee Nieves this week said the revelation about the potential remediation expenses is just another reason why she and her colleagues remain uncertain whether the pros of selling Sikorsky outweigh the cons.

CAA's tentative purchase offer of $10 million depends on the results of an ongoing audit to determine how much money Bridgeport has invested in the mostly federally funded Sikorsky over the years. Under federal law, the city is prohibited from selling the airport at a profit, and instead can only recoup prior expenses. 

But, as Dillon acknowledged last week, "When you start talking about a $10 million acquisition price and a cleanup of $4 million to $16 million, you have to really take a step back and say, 'Where are we going with this from a financial standpoint?'"

Roach emphasized that when it comes to the possible environmental cleanup and related costs, "We have no intention of having the city on the hook for this."

"I want to see it in writing," responded a skeptical Nieves, who, while Roach and Dillon were aiming to finalize the purchase by 2022, had publicly stated she expected it would take longer to complete — in part because of questions and concerns council members have. At this point, Nieves said, were the airport sale to come this week before the 18-person council, all of whom are Democrats like Ganim, "It would be 'no'."

State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, is an advocate of selling the airport and believes most of his peers locally are also willing to help pursue an exemption or provide Bridgeport other assistance if necessary.

"I think the (Bridgeport) delegation is pretty united in the belief the airport should be sold to the state (CAA)," he said. "The legislature is phasing out the transfer act because it is failed policy. ... If you have contamination on an airport property and if that property is going to continue to be used as an airport, just with new ownership, why require one owner to clean it up? ... The requirement for cleanup should be at the time you're changing the use or otherwise disturbing the environmentally sensitive area."

State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, represents the Lordship neighborhood of that town where the airport is located. Gresko works part-time for the Ganim administration but has supported an effort by Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick to buy Sikorsky instead of the CAA. Hoydick, Gresko and others would prefer it remain in local hands. 

Gresko said his opinion has not changed as a result of the news about the extent of the environmental issues there and Stratford should still have the right of first refusal.

"They say, 'Buyer beware,'" Gresko said. "This is on the property — whomever buys it — and it's gonna have to be dealt with. ... I want to give Stratford the option, rather than be at the mercy of someone else."

If Stratford officials or voters, should the question be put to a referendum, decide they do or do not want to take on the contamination complications and related fiscal burdens, so be it, Gresko said. 

"I'm just trying to set the table and give the town choices, pros and cons, what do you want to do?" Gresko said.

State legislature to consider funding for Norwich’s $385 million school project

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― The city’s $385 million school construction project was approved easily by voters in November, but state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, needed to convince the General Assembly committee in charge of school funding that the project should be on the state’s priority list this spring.

By a vote of 5,600-3,660 in November, Norwich voters approved the $385 million plan to build four new elementary schools, either replace or substantially renovate one middle school and move adult education and administrative offices into the vacated Samuel Huntington School. Three school buildings will be demolished and three other elementary schools will be shuttered as the new schools come online.

Osten, whose district includes Norwich, said the Norwich project initially was not on this year’s priority funding list by the legislature’s School Construction Project Priority List Review Committee. Osten said she called the state Department of Administrative Services and was told state officials did not think the Norwich project would be ready for funding this year.

Osten responded that voters already had approved the project and it would be “very much ready” for funding this year. The review committee, which consists of chairpersons and ranking members of Appropriations, Finance, Revenue and Bonding and Education committees, approved the Norwich project “with very small amount of debate,” Osten said. She said members asked questions on local voter support and project timing.

“I was able to tell them the taxpayers in Norwich have turned down a lot of bond agendas in the past, and voters came in and overwhelmingly supported the school bond. I told them it is a testimony that Norwich taxpayers want these schools (upgraded),” she said.

As the local School Building Committee is going through the early steps of selecting an owner’s representative program manager, Osten is working to secure state reimbursement for much of the project cost through the current legislative session.

Voters were told of the estimated $385 million total project cost, city taxpayers would pay between $97 million and $153 million, depending on the reimbursement rate provided by the state.

Osten said she will work to boost the city’s reimbursement rate later in the legislative session in connection with state budget discussions. Norwich is slated to receive about 67% reimbursement, but Osten said she will argue that Norwich should receive at least “what Stamford got,” which is a 80% reimbursement for its school construction project.

The General Assembly’s Education Committee will hold a public hearing on the school construction priority list this spring, Osten said. The date has not been set.

The Norwich project calls for building new schools on the grounds of the current Moriarty Environmental Sciences, Uncas and John B. Stanton elementary schools. The existing buildings will be demolished when the new schools are ready. A new school will be built on the grounds of the former Greeneville School, which was torn down several years ago.

The Teachers Memorial Global Studies Magnet Middle School either will be completely renovated or replaced. The recently renovated Kelly Middle School will remain as is.

School Building Committee Chairman Mark Bettencourt said the committee is moving forward with plans to hire an owner’s representative program manager for the first phase of the project. The committee received five responses to its request for qualifications and will interview candidates at its Feb. 21 meeting.

Once the program manager is hired, the committee will work with the manager to select an architect for the first phase of the project, which calls for building the Stanton, Greeneville and Moriarty schools.

Bettencourt said the committee also will focus this spring on securing a higher state reimbursement rate.

Middletown’s $8 million pool complex splash pad to be free, accessible to all

Cassandra Day

MIDDLETOWN — With just more than three months remaining until a planned mid-June opening, the $7.8 million Veterans Memorial Pool rebuild will transform the circa-1958 facility into a state-of-the-art swimming complex to rival that of other similarly sized municipalities.

The pool will be some 50 percent to 75 percent larger than the original at the 64-year-old aquatic facility on Walnut Grove Road, according to  Public Works Director Chris Holden. It will include a splash pad, walking resistance area and more.

Preliminary plans were announced in October 2020. Costs associated with updating the facility rose about 200 percent since the original estimate — from $2.6 million to nearly $8 million. 

Officials have said the increase was due partly to pandemic-related issues as well as the project’s shift from renovations to a nearly full rebuild. The feasibility study conducted in 2015 called only for a remodeling of the facility.

It originally was scheduled to open in time for the 2022 summer season.

Recent expenditures include the addition of a building, which will be used for storage and contain a break area out of the sun for lifeguards, Holden said.

There were two change orders recently, including for a surge tank required by the health department to maintain the water levels, which cost $48,000, he explained, as well as two water heaters instead of one, which added $15,800 to the bottom line.

Instead of working on the fire alarm and security system in-house, that portion now is being overseen by a subcontractor at a cost of $58,800, Holden said. “They were able to coordinate all the wiring and everything that needed to happen without another step of the city slowing it down,” he noted. 

Initial specifications didn’t include a larger pool with two additional lanes, plumbing, splash pad, utilities relocation as well as other features, all of which upped the price, Holden said last fall when local officials gathered at the site for a ceremonial groundbreaking.

Veterans Memorial Pool was dedicated in memory of Dionigi Arrigoni, who, with his brother, Frank, owned the former Hotel Arrigoni, now The Buttonwood Tree on Main Street.

At the time, Middletown veterans wanted city children to have a place to gather and cool off during summer, as they have done for generations.

The complex will contain a six-lane competitive pool, zero-entry walk-in, and a five-foot resistance walking wall for people to exercise against the current. “It’s all continuous water between all these features,” Holden pointed out.

“We are so, so excited,” Middletown Recreation & Community Services Director Cathy Lechowicz said. “It is going to be an incredible facility for our community, and it’s great seeing it happen in real time.”

There were a number of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the pool project, she added, acknowledging that both the city and community may have experienced frustration. “There was always going to be a summer that we were going to miss,” because of the scope of the project, Lechowicz noted.

“It’s almost two pools in one, in the sense that there is an area for lap swimming, which is the more traditional pool setup,” the recreation director explained. A walkway will allow swimmers access from the pool to other areas, she added.

The zero-degree entry eliminates the need for stairs to enter the pool. There won’t be a distinct area designated for babies and toddlers as there has been in the past. Instead, young ones can swim in a foot-and-a-half of water, Lechowicz explained. More filtration has also been put in to accommodate younger patrons, she noted.

Because of construction, skating at Veterans Park was unavailable this winter season.

When Lechowicz’s children were younger, her husband would drive the kids to various splash pads during the summer. That was before Cromwell installed its pad, which is "simpler" compared to what Middletown will have, she said.

“This will have a little bit more bells and whistles to it,” Lechowicz explained. “It’s going to be a beautiful space,” she said, where families can have free access to the cool water.

Some communities incorporate their splash pads into the pool area and charge to use both, the recreation director noted, but, at Veterans Pool, there will only be a fee for using the pool section.

“It will feel part of one facility, but you’ll have to check in for the pool,” she said.

A related, longer-term project will provide better access to the park from the North End for walkers and cyclists via a multiuse trail that eventually will connect to Newfield Street / Route 3, but completion is a couple of years off, Lechowicz said.

“Making sure the park is very accessible to our community is really important to us,” she said.