Connecticut Port Authority faces criticism, chooses firm for State Pier redevelopment

Greg Smith  The Connecticut Port Authority is negotiating a contract with Omaha-based Kiewit, a national construction, engineering and mining company, to serve as construction manager for the $157 million redevelopment project at State Pier in New London.

The authority’s board, facing some opposition from critics, approved the move on Tuesday and additionally voted to spend up to $2.8 million with Kiewit for preconstruction services that involve examination of the project’s design, budget, schedule and logistics.

The recommendation of Kiewit, one of two companies shortlisted for the job, came after review by representatives from the port authority and state Department of Administrative Services and Office of Policy and Management.

Among other projects in its portfolio, Kiewit was contracted for work at Electric Boat in Groton in 2004 and 2005 to perform $22 million in emergency repairs and $38 million in long-term repairs to a dry dock.

Over the next few weeks, Kiewit is expected to start behind-the-scenes work related to State Pier while port authority Executive Director John Henshaw works out terms of a contract to present to the authority's board for a vote in January.

“We’re going to be proceeding with the project full steam ahead,” Kosta Diamantis, deputy secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management, told the board at its monthly meeting, which was held virtually Tuesday afternoon.

Those involved expect the choice of Kiewit will help jump-start a project slated to be completed in 2022 and transform State Pier into a hub for the offshore wind industry thanks to a partnership between the state and joint venture partners Ørsted and Eversource.

Critics, however, some of whom spoke during the port authority's annual public hearing, also held virtually, on Tuesday evening, are seeking to halt the process and have taken a list of complaints to the State Contracting Standards Board, a group that examines whether or not state contracting and procurement requirements are consistent with state and federal statutes and regulations.

Chris Fryxell, the president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut, spoke before the State Contracting Standards Board on Friday and to the port authority board on Tuesday, calling for the construction manager position to be rebid “openly and fairly” without a project labor agreement so that it includes nonunion companies. Project labor agreements assure the use of union labor.

Fryxell said while state statute allows the use of project labor agreements, there needs to be justification because it unfairly discriminates against nonunion contracts.

“Unfortunately, what a PLA does is create an uneven playing field for contractors and it prevents qualified contractors from a fair opportunity to bid on a project,” Fryxell told the state board.

Diamantis cast doubt on the contention the project labor agreement was contrary to state statute and said Tuesday the statutory authority “was there” and that he was sure the port authority had a PLA in place “for the best interests of the project.”

Fryxell is not the only one to lodge a complaint with the State Contracting Standards Board, which heard concerns about the project at its meeting Friday.

Longtime port authority critic Kevin Blacker and Peter Olsen, a spokesman for the longshoremen displaced by the State Pier redevelopment project, both offered criticism.

Blacker alleged the port authority has shown a pattern of disregarding state statute, as evidenced by the lack of a quorum at its annual public hearings over the past two years.

“I understand you guys are the watchdogs,” Blacker told the state board. “I think the watchdog should have teeth and there needs to be consequences when the rules are broken.”

Olsen, trustee and financial secretary for International Longshoremen’s Association, Local 1411, wrote to the state board on behalf of the 60 longshoremen displaced by the project to complain about the contract the port authority entered into with Gateway for operation of State Pier.

The request for proposals for an operator of the port referred to a multi-use port, Olsen said, with service to ships that have delivered cargo such as steel, lumber and salt.

“After Gateway received the contract, with no explanation, the plan changed to making State Pier as a single use wind facility,” Olsen wrote.

Out of the 60 longshoreman working at State Pier, only four remain on a temporary basis.

“Neither Gateway nor the Connecticut Port Authority has given ILA 1411 any assurance that our union, which has provided labor at New London State Pier since the 1930s, will be the workforce after renovations,” Olsen wrote.

He asked the State Contracting Standards Board for a review of the concession and harbor development agreements at State Pier.

“It doesn’t seem right that the State and CPA should shut down a multi-use port to benefit a Hedge fund, Utility Company, and Foreign countries at the expense of Connecticut taxpayers, Eversource rate payers and existing Connecticut businesses and organizations,” Olsen wrote.

Steve Farrelly, president of DRVN Enterprises, which is being displaced from State Pier and working to sell its massive pile of road salt or forfeit it to the port authority, additionally spoke before the State Contracting Standards Board.

“We find ourselves on the brink of bankruptcy,” Farrelly said.

Members of the State Contracting Standards Board did not vote on whether they intended a formal review of the matter but did indicate throughout the meeting they planned further talks with those who had filed complaints.

The port authority's board on Tuesday formally approved an extension for DRVN to stay at State Pier an extra month, through January. DRVN has asked to stay through the winter.

More criticism came during the port authority's public hearing on Tuesday evening.

New London Mayor Michael Passero said there had been a series of “egregious broken promises” that have resulted in a strained relationship with the port authority.

Instead of remedying “a history of grossly inadequate compensation,” Passero said, the port authority has turned a blind eye to the stalled negotiations for a host community agreement that would benefit New London.

State Sen. Paul Formica said transparency and communication should be the priority of the port authority, a reference to a previous shakeup in management and reports of financial mismanagement at the authority that led to state oversight. He expressed concern about the lack of progress with the host agreement with New London and said it was “time to finalize the relationship with the host city.”

The one bit of praise came from Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, who said the harbor redevelopment was “an enormous opportunity for the region and the state.”

With many people out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheridan said the project would provide good-paying jobs and help expand and diversify the economy of the region.

The chamber’s board of directors last month unanimously endorsed the project.

CRDA begins to visualize overhaul of XL Center’s lower bowl

Matt Pilon  The quasi-public overseer of the XL Center in downtown Hartford is close to signing a construction management contract that would lead in the coming year to long-sought upgrades to the aging arena.

The Capital Region Development Authority this month received renderings from SCI Architects depicting what some of the key elements of the interior renovations -- which will focus on premium offerings in or around the XL Center’s lower bowl -- could look like.

They include images of a new club area, bunker suites and concession areas. 

The renderings of the fan-facing amenities are only preliminary designs, and there’s no guarantee they will become a reality, as much hinges on the state Bond Commission releasing approximately $60 million previously authorized by state lawmakers for the $100 million project. CRDA has about $23 million remaining of a previously issued $40 million, according to Executive Director Michael Freimuth.

The agency has scheduled a hearing for early January to lay out its vision of the work ahead and to receive public input.

CRDA is in the final stages of selecting a construction management firm to oversee the work. A contract is expected next month.

Freimuth said Tuesday that upgrades to the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are expected to begin in early 2021. Exactly how much of the lower-bowl fan amenities can be completed without the remaining $60 million in bond funds is uncertain, but it’s essential to complete the back-end systems work first, Freimuth said.

”It does no good to put all the fun stuff in and have the building not work,” he said.

The XL Center is closed right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it easier to do renovations, since contractors won’t have to plan around events. 

Recent federal approval of a COVID-19 vaccine has the concert and sports industry eyeing a return to more normal attendance levels in the latter half of 2021, Freimuth said, though there are no guarantees.

“Whether it’s that sudden I don't know, but we see the world kind of reawakening, if you will, in the fall of next year,” he said.

It would likely take 12 to 18 months to complete the full scope of work at the XL, assuming it receives funding, but Freimuth said CRDA would schedule the phases of work to allow for revenue-producing events to return to the venue.

“It’s going to be an evolving thing,” he said.

East Hampton residents OK $1.1M project to rehab high school athletic fields

Jeff Mill  EAST HAMPTON — Residents overwhelmingly approved a $1.1 million proposal to rehabilitate athletic fields at the high school.

The vote was 36-1, with 28 people voting by Zoom and nine — “mostly council members and staff,” according to Town Manager David E. Cox — voting in person.