THE SUZIO STORY 125 YEARS OF FAMILY ENTERPRISE PHILANTHROPY AND SERVICE

The Meriden Historical Society is hosting an exhibit entitled "The Suzio Story - 125 Years of  Enterprise, Family, Philanthropy, and Service" at its Museum and History Center, at 41 West Main Street in Meriden every Sunday in October from 11:00 to 3:00

Featuring memorabilia and photographs from Suzio headquarters on Westfield Road as well as videos of interviews with past and present employees

Capturing the remarkable story of a 21 year old Italian immigrant, Leonardo Suzio, who grew Suzio York Hill into one of the most successful and enduring family-owned businesses in Connecticut history starting in 1898 

Including the role of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Suzio members and Henry Altobello in the evolution and growth of the business from building (1910's) to road construction (1930's) to building materials (1955 - today)

Highlighting Suzio loyalty to its origin city Meriden, its employees, its vendors, and its community.

Friday October 6th Bond Commission Agenda CLICK HERE

CT Bond Commission set to OK funding for crumbling foundations and projects in East Hartford, Windsor

Eric Bedner

The state Bond Commission is expected to approve millions of dollars for projects in north-central Connecticut, including the next installment of $25 million for crumbling foundations.

The agenda for Friday's meeting includes the fiscal year 2023-24 allocation of $25 million for the Connecticut Foundation Solution Indemnity Co., or CFSIC, which announced last week that it has fixed more than 800 homes with crumbling foundations.

New participation agreements through the captive insurance company have periodically halted as CFSIC awaits state bonding dollars.

CFSIC Superintendent Michael Maglaras has said that the most recent bonding allocation, along with about $11 million-per-year from a $12 annual surcharge on some homeowner insurance policies, would help the company to fix its 1,000th home by the holidays. 

More than $100 million for the Community Investment Fund is also expected to be approved Friday.

Funding includes $3 million for East Hartford for the construction of a community facility that would serve as an amenity for the 150-unit Veterans Terrance multi-family development, and $4 million to Windsor to convert a long-vacant parcel into a multi-dimensional park.

The Community Investment Funds are also slated to provide $4.8 million to Windsor Locks for the restoration of its train station, including public restrooms and the acquisition of 255 Main St. adjacent to the train platform to provide a path for redevelopment into transit-oriented, mixed-income housing.

A $66 million agenda item includes new funding for various projects throughout the state, including $1.3 million for South Windsor's Water Pollution Control Authority to help mitigate odors coming from the town's facility, and a $200,000 grant to Manchester to construct 600 feet of trail and a pedestrian bridge across Bigelow Brook on the Bigelow Brook Greenway Trail.

The same agenda item calls for South Windsor to get $1.2 million for the Crosstown Trail to finance the first phase of a multi-use trail through the town to be used by pedestrians, bicycles, and horses, as well as $2.6 million for a new public safety complex in Enfield.

Valley Laboratory in Windsor is slated to receive $3.2 million for architectural and engineering design fees to provide added programming and carbon reduction renovations to the agricultural experiment station. 

More than $95,000 is expected to be approved for East Windsor for a grant for the Library Association of Warehouse Point's remodeling project.

In light of a recent incident in Bridgeport, during which a woman was captured on video dropping multiple items into a ballot collection box, commission members are expected to approve $25 million for the Secretary of the State's office, which would be used to purchase new ballot-counting tabulators and information technology upgrades for use in elections and primaries. The state would distribute the equipment to each municipality, and the existing equipment would be retired.

The University of Connecticut is getting $30 million to buy land and construct a new nursing program facility, and an additional $10 million for new and replacement scientific equipment to support academic research. The UConn Health Center is also getting a total of $13 million for information technology improvements and new scientific equipment.

More than $1 billion is on the agenda for transportation projects, including funding for highways, bridges, and bus and rail services.

Commission members are also expected to approve more than $6.5 million to finance the planning, design, and construction of electric vehicle charging stations at state facilities to comply with state law requiring that 50 percent of the state's fleet be electric by 2026.

Connecticut DEEP wants to demolish historic Farmington River dam to clear way for migratory fish

Natasha Sokoloff

AVON — A dam on the Farmington River that once provided waterpower for a world-renowned factory in the 1900s is on the state's radar to demolish.

Located in both Avon and Burlington, the Collins Company Lower Dam was constructed in 1912 to power the Collins Company, which was founded in the 1800s and produced the first ready-to-use axes in the United States.

But the dam hasn’t been in use since the 1960s, when the Collins Company shuttered and ownership of both the upper and lower dams was donated to the state.

And while the Collins Company Upper Dam, which was built in 1867, was redeveloped for hydropower and began producing electricity again in December 2021, the lower dam was determined to be economically unfeasible to develop by a 2011 study.

The Lower Collinsville dam, about a mile downstream, has been "kind of languishing there," said Aimee Petras, executive director for the Farmington River Watershed Association.

Now, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is looking to remove the obsolete dam, in an effort to open up the river for fish passage and restore a free flowing river.

Dam removal could open up about 19 miles for fish passage on this part of the Farmington River, said Ramona Goode, state dams sanitary engineer for DEEP Water Planning and Management Division. Right now, migratory fish aren't able to get over the wall that the dam creates.

And as one of the largest rivers in the state, the top priority for anadromous fish restoration in Connecticut is the Farmington River, according to DEEP. Diadromous fish species targeted for this project include the alewife, blueback herring, American shad, sea lamprey and American eel.

“It was always on the DEEP’s radar,” Goode said. “I think there's a bigger push now to remove the fish barriers because I know there's lots of grants out there.”

Goode estimated that construction costs alone could cost around $5 million, and said that they hoped to use the funding currently available through the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to remove the dam as soon as realistically possible. Goode said that, ideally, construction would get underway in 2024.

And not only would the dam removal enhance the fishery further upstream, but it would also be getting rid of a hazard of the river, Petras said.

The area near the Collins Company Lower Dam can be a popular swimming spot, but the flow of water can create extremely dangerous conditions.

In July 2021, two teenagers drowned in the Farmington River after they had gone to swim at the area by the Lower Collinsville Dam and pump house off New Road in Avon. The family of the 15-year-old Plainville boy who died filed a lawsuit last year against the towns of Avon and Burlington, along with organizations and businesses deemed responsible for controlling the Lower Collinsville Dam and posting warnings in the popular swimming area.

At a public informational meeting last week, DEEP officials, environmental experts and project engineers presented background on the removal project and a conceptual design to a crowd of over 30 community members, who voiced varying perspectives, citing concerns that ranged from historical preservation to other ecological impacts.

"You have a gem here with the Farmington River, it's gorgeous," said Jake Dittes, water resources engineer for Princeton Hydro, the consulting firm working on the project. "And I'm sure most of you are here because of that reason," he said to the crowd.

Princeton Hydro, in collaboration with DEEP and NOAA, are working on a conceptual plan for dam removal, which also includes the removal of the defunct gatehouse and power house. It also includes removing as much of the spillway as possible, filling the raceway with dam materials to the extent feasible and restoring the floodplain with native plant community, according to the presentation.

Some residents questioned the removal methods, as DEEP officials said that explosives were an option. Others brought up the dam's historical significance, in which officials said they would be working with the State Historic Preservation Office.

And Jennifer Davis, who has lived along that section of the river for over 20 years, said she was thinking about the ecosystem that has developed around that dam for decades.

"I spend every day looking at the birds and the animals that live in that impoundment that we have created," she said at the meeting. "We have created an ecosystem. The animals didn't ask us to dam all of this. But we did. And we created this area for them."

She said it was great that we had the funds to restore this river, but we still needed to be thoughtful about what is there now.

In response, DEEP officials assured the crowd that they would be consulting with the wildlife divisions to ensure they were doing this project in a way that was environmentally conscious.

Other residents at the meeting were in full support of the removal and expressed feelings about the dam being dangerous, saying that if the state has the money to take care of this removal, then they should do it to avoid another tragedy. 

"We want to make sure that the river is safe for people," Petras said. And in general, rivers thrive more ecologically without dams, so there's a number of reasons why a group like the FRWA would be in support of the removal, she said.

Post-project impacts could include cooler water temperature within and below the dam area, improved habitat quality for all life stages of 

trout and other resident fish species and full restoration of aquatic organism passage through the river reach.

But for the removal to actually happen, DEEP would still have to go through the entire permitting path, and it was hard to say how long that could take, Goode said.

Davis expressed a sentiment that other residents seemed to be feeling as the meeting ended due to time running out, leaving some questions unanswered.

"I'm on the fence," she said. "I'm attracted by the idea of it rebuilding. I want to know more."

Two Gas Utility Companies Planning to Raise Rates

Brendan Crowley

As United Illuminating fights state regulators in court to raise its electric rates, the company’s two natural gas subsidiaries announced on Friday plans to hike rates as well. 

The requests to increase distribution rates – which would raise revenue by 5 percent for Connecticut Natural Gas and 9 percent for Southern Connecticut Gas – come at a tense time between utilities and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority tasked with overseeing them. 

Customers have bristled at high costs, lawmakers and PURA have pushed for more accountability from utilities, and the companies have warned that the state’s new direction will make it harder for them to attract outside investments. 

It’s particularly tense for the two subsidiaries’ parent company, United Illuminating, which just had its request for a rate hike rejected by PURA and is appealing the decision in court.

“These rate increases will go directly towards investments in our natural gas infrastructure that are essential to our commitment to ensure safe and reliable service, today and into the future,” United Illuminating spokesman Craig Gilvarg said in a statement. “The increase will also fund new headcount for our union workforce as we look to expand our gas operations and customer call centers to better serve customer needs.”

The notice from the two subsidiaries comes about a month after PURA rejected United Illuminating’s request for an electric rate hike, and about two weeks after the company challenged that ruling in court.

It also comes about two weeks after a S&P Global Ratings report that lowered the ratings outlook for United Illuminating and Connecticut Natural Gas to “negative,” saying they could downgrade both companies in the next 12 to 18 months because they believe Connecticut’s regulatory system is “becoming less supportive for credit quality,” after PURA rejected United Illuminating and Eversource subsidiary Aquarion Water’s requests for rate hikes this year.

“These rate orders did not approve the multiyear rate plans filed and included material disallowances, penalties for UI, and below-average returns on equity,” the report said. “In addition, we expect that these rate orders will increase regulatory lag for these utilities.”

CNG, which serves about 185,000 customers in 25 municipalities in central Connecticut and Greenwich, will ask to raise rates to increase its revenue by about $21 million – a 10 percent increase to delivery revenues and 5 percent increase in overall revenue, the company said.

SCG, which serves about 208,000 customers in 24 municipalities, is asking to raise rates to increase its revenue by $42 million – a 20 percent increase to its delivery revenues, and 9 percent increase to its overall revenues.

Both companies told PURA that they need the rate increases to make up for “operating deficiency” in their revenues since their last rate cases in 2017 and 2018. That revenue shortfall is the result of the companies speeding up replacement of “leak-prone” cast iron gas mains and bare steel service lines.

The companies also said the additional revenue will allow it to invest more in the “clean energy transformation,” including pilot programs for recapturing purged gas and advanced leak detection systems.

Attorney General William Tong, who has been critical of recent utility rate hike requests and of United Illuminating’s public campaign to support their rate hike, said in a statement that he would be watching the case closely.

“Connecticut families pay far too much already for basic, necessary utilities, and these increases are just one more added expense,” Tong said. “I will be thoroughly scrutinizing these applications and actively engaged at every single step of this process to ensure that Connecticut ratepayers don’t pay a penny more than they need to.”

Griswold to get $8 million for water and sewer project - here's what that means for the town

Matt Grahn

Connecticut’s Community Investment Fund 2030 has been crucial for funding redevelopment efforts in Norwich and Preston. Now, in its third round, more communities in eastern Connecticut are seeing its impact.

The largest of these projects in eastern Connecticut is $8.707 million expected to go to Griswold to fund a municipal water infrastructure project to extend water and sewer access to 325 acres of commercial land, according to a press release from state Sen. Heather Somers’ Office.

With $175 million awardable per year for five years, split between 10 rounds, Community Investment Fund 2030 offers 55 eligible municipalities across the state funding  for projects ranging from infrastructure to economic development and community needs, The Bulletin reported in March.

While the Community Investment Fund projects still have to be bonded, this approval from the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board is a good sign, Somers said.

Ineeded for development to proceed

Developers are interested in the land around Preston Road on Route 164, but the infrastructure development is needed before moving ahead, Somers said.

“This is a game-changer for Griswold for economic opportunities,” she said.

Once the infrastructure project is completed, developers will be in a better position to access funding for the Heritage River Village, which will provide workforce housing, elder housing, and space for community amenities, including a YMCA, Griswold First Selectman Dana Bennett said.

There will be 216 units of workforce housing, and 210 units of age restricted housing, according to Somers’ Office.

On the workforce side, continued projects for Electric Boat is incentivizing the company to hire thousands of people each year to meet demand, along with others brought to work at supplier companies. Those workers will look to nearby communities, like Griswold, for a home, Bennett said.

Griswold’s advantage is that its equidistant between EB’s Groton and Quonset Point, RI facilities, Bennett said.  

As for age-restricted housing, the town’s population is aging, and many want to be able to downsize and stay in town, Bennett said.

“These will be one-level apartments, so they can adapt as they age,” she said.

Projects are 20 years in the making

The seeds of the water and sewer infrastructure started 20 years ago with the vacant land on Route 164 being rezoned for commercial use. The town’s Department of Public Works had also redesigned its wastewater plant to accommodate this, but the plans have been lingering. There was a 2019 referendum which bonded $6.07 million for the project. However, the project took a back seat to the Griswold Senior Community Wellness Center, which officially opened in December. Costs had gone up in that time, more funding was needed, Bennett said.

“It got pushed to the wayside, but now, we’re in the process,” she said.

As it stands, the public water in Griswold extends to Oak Tree Village , nestled between I-395 and the school complex. The water and sewer lines would have to cross the bridge over the highway, and extend it almost to River Ridge Golf Course, Bennett said.

When does the work start?

Groundbreaking on the infrastructure project is expected in the spring, and the construction portion of the project will take 18 months. Supply chain issues may still affect the project, including with acquiring the right kinds of generators, Bennett said.

Work on the housing units is expected to start in late 2024 or early 2025. The units will need their own attachments for sewer and water, parking lots, and other “horizontal building,” before the houses themselves are built, Bennett said.

As there will be a total of 10 rounds of Community Investment Fund 2030 funding, both Somers and Bennett encourage other communities to take advantage of this opportunity.

Other projects approved in round three of Community Investment Fund 2030 in eastern Connecticut include $1.117 million to New London for the Lynn Allen Park, $581,000 to Scotland for town hall renovations, $250,000 to Voluntown for a Community Water Systems Study, and $250,000 to Windham for the Mill #4 Planning Grant, according to the Community investment Fund 2030 Board minutes.

Court delay means future development around CT city’s ballpark no clearer as legal fees mount

KENNETH R. GOSSELIN 

HARTFORD — The future of development around Dunkin’ Park promises to get no clearer in the coming week, as the latest efforts in court by the city of Hartford to wrestle back control of the land are pushed closer to the end of the year.

The delay of a hearing scheduled to start this week — possibly until late November — comes as the mixed-use development around the city’s minor league ballpark remains stalled. A legal battle between the city and the former developer — fired by Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin — has ensued for months over who has the right to develop the property.

And as legal fees mount for the city, both sides in the long-running dispute — the city and the former developer — appear dug in for the long haul, a potentially costly endeavor that could stretch out for years. Still, earlier this summer, both sides exchanged public volleys over a potential settlement.

An attorney for Centerplan and DoNo Hartford — the developers fired from the stadium construction project and the mixed-use development around it — suggested there could be could be an opening to end a dispute over claims the developers were wrongly terminated by the city.

“Centerplan and DoNo are prepared to fight to the end to correct the wrongs they have suffered,” Louis R. Pepe, a partner in the law firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter in Hartford, told The Courant in late July. “But we all know that litigation is seldom the best way to resolve disputes like this. Centerplan and DoNo are open to any reasonable proposal to end the current standoff or to engage in mediation for that purpose.

“Unfortunately, the city has made it clear it will not sit down with Centerplan and DoNo, and so there can be little doubt who must bear the responsibility for the freeze on the parcels in question,” Pepe said.

City Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin responded to Pepe in a statement to The Courant that disputed the claim that the city was not open to talks to resolve the litigation.

“The city is confident that at the end of the day, we will prevail again in a jury trial, as we did the first time,” Rifkin said.  “We can agree with Attorney Pepe that litigation is seldom the best way to resolve disputes like this, and we take very seriously our fundamental obligation to protect taxpayers. The city has never closed the door on discussions to resolve this litigation, and we are certainly open to reasonable resolutions — but I’d put a lot of emphasis on the word reasonable.”

The city’s legal fees in the case have now topped $6 million, according to city records.

Rifkin declined late last week to elaborate on his comments on a potential settlement. Pepe couldn’t be reached.

Long-running legal battle

The hearing that was scheduled to begin Tuesday and continue for a week was delayed because the lead attorney for the city, Leslie P. King, a construction law attorney at the Hartford law office of Carlton Fields, could not appear for all the scheduled days. A judge granted a delay but because of his trial schedule the hearing was pushed back until at least mid-November.

According to the city’s court filings, the potential list of witnesses included Bronin; RMS Cos. chief executive Randy Salvatore, the current North Crossing developer; Town and City Clerk Noel F. McGregor; and Michael W. Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority.

In filed motions, the city is essentially arguing — among other things — that attempts by the former developers to stop the city from continuing to develop the parcels around the ballpark are illegal because those restrictions were lifted by the courts after the first trial. The restrictions can’t be reinstated because the second trial is part of the same legal action and not a new one.

The developers, in their court filings, push back on that contention. They argue they have the right to reclaim — in fact, never lost — the right to develop the land around the ballpark.

Neither Pepe nor Rifkin would comment on the pending motions.

The long-running legal battle between the city and the former developers stretches back more than seven years.

Centerplan and DoNo Hartford filed a civil lawsuit claiming they were wrongly terminated by the city from the ballpark construction project in 2016; and then, a year later, the development around the stadium.

The 6,100-seat Dunkin’ Park was completed by another contractor and opened for the 2017 season of the Yard Goats, a year later than scheduled.

In 2019, a Superior Court jury sided with the city’s decision to terminate the developers. But last year, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial because the critical question of who had legal control over the stadium and its design was ambiguous. The developers have argued that it was the city, that the designs were flawed, resulting in cost overruns and delays in the ballpark’s construction.

With a new trial ordered, Centerplan and DoNo Hartford last year also moved to essentially take back control of the development around Dunkin’ Park.

A new developer

After its 2019 court victory in the wrongful termination lawsuit, the city chose a new developer, RMS Cos., to take over the redevelopment. The first phase of 270 apartments has been completed, but litigation over who has the right to develop has prevented RMS from breaking ground on the second of four planned phases.

RMS’ Salvatore has said he remains committed to the redevelopment.

The barrier to further development strengthened in May when a Superior Court judge ruled that who had the right to develop needed to come after the new trial and a decision on the wrongful termination issue. The new trial is scheduled for April of next year.

Meanwhile, Salvatore, frustrated by the inability to move forward, has a contract to purchase the neighboring, former campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He recently announced plans to build a similar phased-in, mixed-use development on the RPI campus. Approval is now being sought to use $16.6 million in financing set aside for the next phase of North Crossing to be also used, if necessary, for the first phase on the RPI campus.

Connecticut Plans New $10M Bridge Over Salmon River

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has a plan to replace the State Highway 16 bridge over the Salmon River in East Hampton.

It will be unveiled to the public in an upcoming virtual meeting at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5, according to the transportation agency. It is listed as Project 0041-0121.

CTDOT noted that the purpose of the project is to address the structural deficiencies of the bridge along Conn. 16 and "to provide a structure that accommodates safe travel for all facility users," the agency said in a statement.

"[The bridge], originally constructed in 1932, has exceeded its design life," added Francisco Fadul, the project manager. "This project will replace the bridge with a new structure in accordance with CTDOT and [Federal Highway Administration] design standards. We encourage the community to attend this meeting to share their feedback with the CTDOT project team. Public input is essential during our design process."

The following are other project details shared by the department:

The replacement bridge will be a steel plate girder structure with integral abutments.

It will be designed as a single span structure with a span length of approximately 150 ft., eliminating the need for a center pier.

The Conn. 16 roadway will be expanded to provide a 32-ft. curb-to-curb width.

Right-of-way impacts are anticipated with the proposed improvements.

These impacts will include temporary construction easements on each side of the bridge.

The bridge's construction is anticipated to begin in April 2026 based on the availability of funding, acquisition of rights of way, and approval of permits.

The estimated construction cost for the project is approximately $10 million.

It is anticipated to be undertaken with 100 percent state funds during the building phase.

The Oct. 5 meeting is intended to "provide the community an opportunity to learn about the proposed project and allow an open discussion of any views and comments concerning the proposed improvements," according to CTDOT, which added that a question-and-answer session will immediately follow the presentation.

If interested in participating in the meeting, CTDOT said that that can be done via a Zoom link, but it requires pre-registration. Once that is done, participants will receive a confirmation email with a link to access the session. The meeting also will be livestreamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@ctdotofficial. To learn more, visit https://portal.ct.gov/DOTEastHampton41-121.

New Canaan Preparing to Build New, $29M Police Station

After years of work and getting its necessary approvals in place over the summer, the New Canaan Police Department Building Committee in the southeast Connecticut town is close to announcing a construction date for the project.

The New Canaan Board of Selectmen recently approved nearly $360,000 to start construction of the project, which is expected to total about $29 million, the Greenwich Time reported Sept. 25.

Selectman Nick Williams said the town has talked about a new police station since he was first elected to the board.

"Hallelujah, it's about time," he said. "We were talking about a new police station when I took office in 2011. It's great we're finally moving forward now."

The town has a contract with SLAM Collaborative, an architecture group with an office in Glastonbury, Conn., to design the renovation of the police station. The firm also was involved in the Saxe Middle School renovation.

The lead contractor for the effort is Turner Construction Co., the noted New York-based builder. It earlier rebuilt the New Canaan Library.

The city's police department building was first constructed in 1926 and saw its last renovation 42 years ago, the Greenwich news source said.

On Aug. 29, the town's Police Department Building Committee approved a guaranteed maximum price of $20.2 million for the project as well as $1.9 million for contingency costs, $2 million for the temporary relocation of the department during construction, and another $4.8 million for costs not specifically related to its construction.

Joe Zagarenski, New Canaan's senior engineer, said the entire effort should cost about $29 million, a budget total approved by the Board of Selectmen on Sept. 5.

"The last time we presented to the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance and the Town Council, the budgets were $20 million for construction, $5 million for soft costs and $2.2 million for the temporary [police station], so we're right at where we [said]," he explained. "It's the same project, it's just further developed and competitively bid now."